TZC: The Blades And...
It's done! This is my final surprise, the one that I was very careful not to even give a hint about. It's the 50 sentence set for the zanpakutou. Every single zanpakutou featured in any TZC fics so far plus a few that aren't are represented here. I used theme set epsilon from the 1character comm, in case anyone's wondering. As usual, I wrote it in bits and pieces as ideas came to me, not in order from top to bottom. So, it may be a bit uneven. I'm still really proud of it, nonetheless.
Title: The Blades And...
Word Count: 1,745 (including prompt words)
Rating: PG-ish, I think. I know I tend to under-rate stuff, but I really don't think this one is that bad.
Obligatory Disclaimer: Y'all know the drill--I do not own Bleach.
Summary: 50 pieces of the zanpakutou's world, scattered through time the glittering fragments of a broken mirror.
Warnings: Massive abuse of dashes and semicolons. Also, I had to really reach to relate a few of these to their respective prompt words. Whatever you see was inspired by the word attached to it, I promise.
Notes: Why do I feel like I should be apologizing for that summary...? Moving on. Timeline-wise, this fic is all over the map. The individual sentences don't go in a linear order from first to last. Then again, they didn't in the other three fics I wrote in this format, so I'm not sure why I'm saying that. What else? Oh, useful links for my view of the zanpakutou: Zanpakutou Quick Guide Part 1 and Part 2, or you can just hit the zanpakutou post tag and get to it all at once. I can't think of anything else right now.
1.Hood
Kyoka Suigetsu is the wool Sousuke pulls over his pawns’ eyes-the hood that blinds them long enough to get them right where they were intended to be all along.
2.Buzz
Earthly hornets announce their presence through an audible noise, but Suzumebachi would never be so foolish.
3.Wish
Sometimes, late at night after all the visitors and doctors have stopped coming through the horrifyingly sterile room, Tobiume manifests physically, takes one of Momo’s hands in both of her own and prays.
4.Seasons
Contrary to popular belief, Hyourinmaru’s favorite season is actually autumn, because Toushirou absolutely hates summer and Hyourinmaru likes to watch him grow happier and more content as sultry heat slowly gives way to bracing cold.
5.Threat
It is considered the absolute height of stupidity to threaten another zanpakutou’s shinigami; even the most mild-mannered zanpakutou will not let such an offense fall by the wayside.
6.Portrait
To date, there’s never been a portrait painted of any zanpakutou’s spirit form; some things are simply too private and too sacred to be shared.
7.Loud
Sode no Shirayuki had been shocked the first time Ichigo’s anger called a thunderstorm in his inner world; in retrospect, she supposed she should have expected it-the boy really wasn’t the quiet type.
8.Energy
Many zanpakutou used restrained or diluted forms of their true power when first teaching their shinigami; Zangetsu handed over the raw, crackling energy forged between himself and Ichigo and walked with him straight into the heart of the fire.
9.Purge
Fire has a cleansing power and a fearsome might, and no one who faces Ryuujin Jakka’s power ever forgets this fact.
10.Mouse
At one time, Mayuri used mice in his experiments, but they were too fragile for his purposes and died too easily; for as long as he was still able to feel such things, Ashisogi Jizo hated the mice a little for that freedom.
11.Attic
Nejibana once cheerfully compared Ashisogi Jizo to the monster in the attic; now that both are lost-Nejibana to a hollow’s attack and Ashisogi Jizo to his own shinigami’s mad experiments-Sogyo no Kotowari treasures the memory of their laughter all the more.
12.Second-rate
A second-rate zanpakutou is a sign of a second-rate shinigami, and Benihime has no use for those.
13.Dash
Speed will be my gift to you, speed and power-now run forward and never look back, Zangetsu told him when he finally achieved bankai; Ichigo knew then that this wasn’t just about rescuing Rukia anymore and that they could never turn back now, anyway.
14.Attitude
A small, secret part of Toushirou used to worry about the vast differences between himself and Hyourinmaru and what might become of the two of them as a result; but there’s something about finding yourself flat on your back, staring up at a furious ice dragon growling You need an attitude adjustment, brat, scarcely two inches away from your face that tends to change your mind about such things.
15.Wisdom
Oh please, great one, impart your wisdom to me, Ikkaku sneers, turning his back and rolling his eyes; Hozukimaru just cracks his knuckles and grins.
16.Sight
Suzumushi’s bankai holds a painful kind of irony after he falls into Tousen’s hands; he now stumbles through every day in a blinding haze of grief, exhaustion, pain and regret.
17.Address
The idea of sharing his home with anyone but Renji sometimes makes Zabimaru start to twitch, but then Sode no Shirayuki shows up unannounced with Zangetsu in tow and an idea for an absolutely perfect prank against Senbonzakura and Zabimaru allows that maybe company’s not so bad after all.
18.Minute
Isshin’s zanpakutou supposes he really shouldn’t be encouraging his shinigami, but honestly-if Ichigo’s going to stay holed up in his room ostensibly “alone, now go away, dammit” and still making noises like that…well, he should expect to be interrupted.
19.Cotton
Kyoka Suigetsu laughs as Sousuke plunges his blade form into that foolish girl’s stomach, because one look in her eyes and he knows that even now, she doesn’t understand how useless she is in the grand scheme of things.
20.Claw
Shinsou stretches languidly, kneading his claws into his latest victim’s flesh as he glories in the delicious rush of unwilling blood spurting all over his body.
21.Limit
Every zanpakutou has within them the power of bankai, but very few shinigami have the capability-or the courage-to draw that power out.
22.Unique
In the days following the reveal of his bankai, Zangetsu heard all about how “unique” it was until he was nearly sick of the word; just what, he wondered, had all those people expected, especially coming from himself and Ichigo?
23.Gravity
Senbonzakura only spends a few days trying to impress on Zabimaru the gravity and dignity of Renji’s-and, by extension, his own-position before he writes them both off as a lost cause; he may be one of the most competent and efficient of the captains’ zanpakutou, but he is not a miracle worker and some things just cannot be done.
24.Yesterday
Sode no Shirayuki only spent a short time in Ichigo’s inner world, but the feel of it stayed with her; months later, she still half-expected to feel the glass of a skyscraper’s window beneath her feet whenever she sensed Ichigo draw his blade.
25.Jungle
One of Rukia’s favorite memories to watch in her inner world’s reflecting pool is Sode no Shirayuki’s first visit to Zabimaru’s home; the lush green wildness of the jungle is so Renji that it almost hurts, but she takes comfort in the fact that her zanpakutou looks effortlessly at home.
26.Garden
From the very beginning, Katen Kyokotsu never referred to his home as a garden; the ground was covered, not in flowers, but in the skeletal remains of hard-fought battles and half-forgotten secrets.
27.Question
Senbonzakura is not a particularly social spirit; as a result, there was once some confusion among some of the other zanpakutou as to whether he was actually male or female.
28.Text
Renji’s tattoos are a reminder, the physical manifestation of a message that Zabimaru first inscribed on Renji’s soul: I will not be ignored.
29.Plastic
When she was first given to the girl, Nemu’s zanpakutou cautiously reached out to find a mind as blank and featureless and brittle as plastic; this, she thought grimly, will never do.
30.Block
Kyoka Suigetsu is amused by his pawns’ attempts to block his power, but only up to a point-the proverbial point of no return.
31.Escort
Itegumo isn’t the greatest healer or the strongest fighter, but she is a staunch defender and utterly loyal, and Minazuki rewards her with the trust due to her deep devotion.
32.Insult
One of Fuji Kujaku’s favorite pastimes is sitting in on a conversation between Hozukimaru and Ikkaku; only about one word in ten is printable, but somehow they never misunderstand one another.
33.Blood
It’s hardly uncommon for a zanpakutou spirit to spill their shinigami’s blood, particularly during training, but no one does it with quite as much style as Benihime.
34.Gold
Nameless didn’t get why anyone would want to cover their home in gold and jewels when blood and gore was so much better.
35.Spot
The short expanse of sand and rocks at the edge of Katen Kyokotsu’s forest used to be just another part of Sogyo no Kotowari’s coastal home, but now it is much, much more; now it is a place for them to-quite literally-meet in the middle.
36.Melt
Rumor has it that Hyourinmaru never visits Ryuujin Jakka because he’ll melt if he sets one foot in the first zanpakutou’s fiery home-it’s easily the most entertaining rumor Hyourinmaru’s ever started.
37.Guilt
Izuru constantly tries to take the guilt of all his real and perceived inadequacies solely onto his own shoulders-it’s one of his more frustrating traits, so far as Wabisuke is concerned.
38.Duel
Kazeshini and Shuuhei are usually on the same wavelength, but there is one point on which they inevitably disagree: Kazeshini is a killing weapon, and he accepts this-owns it, even-but to Shuuhei, taking life is very near to blasphemy.
39.Stranger
Even though Byakuya expected to face his zanpakutou from a very young age, it was still a shock to find himself staring into the eyes of a complete stranger.
40.Wait
Wait, Suzumushi cried as a stranger’s power pulled him back from joining his shinigami in death, wait, don’t take me-wasn’t I supposed to die?
41.Glow
From afar, Ryuujin Jakka’s power seems no more deadly than a single candle’s flame-to feel the fear, one must be close enough to feel the flames.
42.Action
Haineko is a lazy spirit and spends most of her time curled up in a conveniently-and deliberately-placed sunbeam until Rangiku calls her out to fight.
43.Chain
There are no chains around Nameless’ hands or feet, but that doesn’t mean that he is free.
44.Bitter
Ruriiro Kujaku has little patience for the other Eleventh division shinigami; Yumi earns their regard, such as it is, by placing limits on what the two of them can do together, and Ruri has never been very good with limits.
45.Lock
On the rare occasions that any zanpakutou admits to feeling pity for Nameless, it’s almost always due to the fact that he is locked away from his shinigami; Nameless, if asked, would say that they’re all idiots.
46.Order
Tenken, like Sajin, valued order above all else and considered keeping order to be the surest way to protect those he held dear; they were both hurt beyond all telling to see their friends turn to chaos in the name of justice.
47.Friends
Inexplicable, the other zanpakutou said when stoic, composed Zangetsu and feral, aggressive Zabimaru became fast friends seemingly overnight; every time the subject came up Sogyo no Kotowari and Katen Kyokotsu couldn’t help but smile.
48.Prison
In theory, Senbonzakura was completely unrestricted in his movements; in practice, he was locked in a prison of his own making, made entirely of supposed-to’s and should-be’s.
49.Journal
Day one-Toushirou defeated by his own paperwork, day two-saved a messenger’s life by cracking an abysmally bad joke at just the right minute, day three-convinced Haineko she had fleas, day four-very promising plotting session with Tobiume, plan to go into effect next Tuesday, day five…
50.Zero
Kazeshini knows the pulse of death in his veins, the whisper of impending destruction on the wind; he watches the familiar patterns forming around Shuuhei and his comrades, and he waits.
Alternates:
32. Insult
The persistent confusion over Toushirou’s ability to wield him amuses more than irks Hyourinmaru-when the dust clears and their ice covers everything, their doubters always fall along with their enemies.
45. Lock
Ichigo places no locks on his soul, trusting instead to Zangetsu to keep him safe from any spiritual attacks.
Title: The Blades And...
Word Count: 1,745 (including prompt words)
Rating: PG-ish, I think. I know I tend to under-rate stuff, but I really don't think this one is that bad.
Obligatory Disclaimer: Y'all know the drill--I do not own Bleach.
Summary: 50 pieces of the zanpakutou's world, scattered through time the glittering fragments of a broken mirror.
Warnings: Massive abuse of dashes and semicolons. Also, I had to really reach to relate a few of these to their respective prompt words. Whatever you see was inspired by the word attached to it, I promise.
Notes: Why do I feel like I should be apologizing for that summary...? Moving on. Timeline-wise, this fic is all over the map. The individual sentences don't go in a linear order from first to last. Then again, they didn't in the other three fics I wrote in this format, so I'm not sure why I'm saying that. What else? Oh, useful links for my view of the zanpakutou: Zanpakutou Quick Guide Part 1 and Part 2, or you can just hit the zanpakutou post tag and get to it all at once. I can't think of anything else right now.
1.Hood
Kyoka Suigetsu is the wool Sousuke pulls over his pawns’ eyes-the hood that blinds them long enough to get them right where they were intended to be all along.
2.Buzz
Earthly hornets announce their presence through an audible noise, but Suzumebachi would never be so foolish.
3.Wish
Sometimes, late at night after all the visitors and doctors have stopped coming through the horrifyingly sterile room, Tobiume manifests physically, takes one of Momo’s hands in both of her own and prays.
4.Seasons
Contrary to popular belief, Hyourinmaru’s favorite season is actually autumn, because Toushirou absolutely hates summer and Hyourinmaru likes to watch him grow happier and more content as sultry heat slowly gives way to bracing cold.
5.Threat
It is considered the absolute height of stupidity to threaten another zanpakutou’s shinigami; even the most mild-mannered zanpakutou will not let such an offense fall by the wayside.
6.Portrait
To date, there’s never been a portrait painted of any zanpakutou’s spirit form; some things are simply too private and too sacred to be shared.
7.Loud
Sode no Shirayuki had been shocked the first time Ichigo’s anger called a thunderstorm in his inner world; in retrospect, she supposed she should have expected it-the boy really wasn’t the quiet type.
8.Energy
Many zanpakutou used restrained or diluted forms of their true power when first teaching their shinigami; Zangetsu handed over the raw, crackling energy forged between himself and Ichigo and walked with him straight into the heart of the fire.
9.Purge
Fire has a cleansing power and a fearsome might, and no one who faces Ryuujin Jakka’s power ever forgets this fact.
10.Mouse
At one time, Mayuri used mice in his experiments, but they were too fragile for his purposes and died too easily; for as long as he was still able to feel such things, Ashisogi Jizo hated the mice a little for that freedom.
11.Attic
Nejibana once cheerfully compared Ashisogi Jizo to the monster in the attic; now that both are lost-Nejibana to a hollow’s attack and Ashisogi Jizo to his own shinigami’s mad experiments-Sogyo no Kotowari treasures the memory of their laughter all the more.
12.Second-rate
A second-rate zanpakutou is a sign of a second-rate shinigami, and Benihime has no use for those.
13.Dash
Speed will be my gift to you, speed and power-now run forward and never look back, Zangetsu told him when he finally achieved bankai; Ichigo knew then that this wasn’t just about rescuing Rukia anymore and that they could never turn back now, anyway.
14.Attitude
A small, secret part of Toushirou used to worry about the vast differences between himself and Hyourinmaru and what might become of the two of them as a result; but there’s something about finding yourself flat on your back, staring up at a furious ice dragon growling You need an attitude adjustment, brat, scarcely two inches away from your face that tends to change your mind about such things.
15.Wisdom
Oh please, great one, impart your wisdom to me, Ikkaku sneers, turning his back and rolling his eyes; Hozukimaru just cracks his knuckles and grins.
16.Sight
Suzumushi’s bankai holds a painful kind of irony after he falls into Tousen’s hands; he now stumbles through every day in a blinding haze of grief, exhaustion, pain and regret.
17.Address
The idea of sharing his home with anyone but Renji sometimes makes Zabimaru start to twitch, but then Sode no Shirayuki shows up unannounced with Zangetsu in tow and an idea for an absolutely perfect prank against Senbonzakura and Zabimaru allows that maybe company’s not so bad after all.
18.Minute
Isshin’s zanpakutou supposes he really shouldn’t be encouraging his shinigami, but honestly-if Ichigo’s going to stay holed up in his room ostensibly “alone, now go away, dammit” and still making noises like that…well, he should expect to be interrupted.
19.Cotton
Kyoka Suigetsu laughs as Sousuke plunges his blade form into that foolish girl’s stomach, because one look in her eyes and he knows that even now, she doesn’t understand how useless she is in the grand scheme of things.
20.Claw
Shinsou stretches languidly, kneading his claws into his latest victim’s flesh as he glories in the delicious rush of unwilling blood spurting all over his body.
21.Limit
Every zanpakutou has within them the power of bankai, but very few shinigami have the capability-or the courage-to draw that power out.
22.Unique
In the days following the reveal of his bankai, Zangetsu heard all about how “unique” it was until he was nearly sick of the word; just what, he wondered, had all those people expected, especially coming from himself and Ichigo?
23.Gravity
Senbonzakura only spends a few days trying to impress on Zabimaru the gravity and dignity of Renji’s-and, by extension, his own-position before he writes them both off as a lost cause; he may be one of the most competent and efficient of the captains’ zanpakutou, but he is not a miracle worker and some things just cannot be done.
24.Yesterday
Sode no Shirayuki only spent a short time in Ichigo’s inner world, but the feel of it stayed with her; months later, she still half-expected to feel the glass of a skyscraper’s window beneath her feet whenever she sensed Ichigo draw his blade.
25.Jungle
One of Rukia’s favorite memories to watch in her inner world’s reflecting pool is Sode no Shirayuki’s first visit to Zabimaru’s home; the lush green wildness of the jungle is so Renji that it almost hurts, but she takes comfort in the fact that her zanpakutou looks effortlessly at home.
26.Garden
From the very beginning, Katen Kyokotsu never referred to his home as a garden; the ground was covered, not in flowers, but in the skeletal remains of hard-fought battles and half-forgotten secrets.
27.Question
Senbonzakura is not a particularly social spirit; as a result, there was once some confusion among some of the other zanpakutou as to whether he was actually male or female.
28.Text
Renji’s tattoos are a reminder, the physical manifestation of a message that Zabimaru first inscribed on Renji’s soul: I will not be ignored.
29.Plastic
When she was first given to the girl, Nemu’s zanpakutou cautiously reached out to find a mind as blank and featureless and brittle as plastic; this, she thought grimly, will never do.
30.Block
Kyoka Suigetsu is amused by his pawns’ attempts to block his power, but only up to a point-the proverbial point of no return.
31.Escort
Itegumo isn’t the greatest healer or the strongest fighter, but she is a staunch defender and utterly loyal, and Minazuki rewards her with the trust due to her deep devotion.
32.Insult
One of Fuji Kujaku’s favorite pastimes is sitting in on a conversation between Hozukimaru and Ikkaku; only about one word in ten is printable, but somehow they never misunderstand one another.
33.Blood
It’s hardly uncommon for a zanpakutou spirit to spill their shinigami’s blood, particularly during training, but no one does it with quite as much style as Benihime.
34.Gold
Nameless didn’t get why anyone would want to cover their home in gold and jewels when blood and gore was so much better.
35.Spot
The short expanse of sand and rocks at the edge of Katen Kyokotsu’s forest used to be just another part of Sogyo no Kotowari’s coastal home, but now it is much, much more; now it is a place for them to-quite literally-meet in the middle.
36.Melt
Rumor has it that Hyourinmaru never visits Ryuujin Jakka because he’ll melt if he sets one foot in the first zanpakutou’s fiery home-it’s easily the most entertaining rumor Hyourinmaru’s ever started.
37.Guilt
Izuru constantly tries to take the guilt of all his real and perceived inadequacies solely onto his own shoulders-it’s one of his more frustrating traits, so far as Wabisuke is concerned.
38.Duel
Kazeshini and Shuuhei are usually on the same wavelength, but there is one point on which they inevitably disagree: Kazeshini is a killing weapon, and he accepts this-owns it, even-but to Shuuhei, taking life is very near to blasphemy.
39.Stranger
Even though Byakuya expected to face his zanpakutou from a very young age, it was still a shock to find himself staring into the eyes of a complete stranger.
40.Wait
Wait, Suzumushi cried as a stranger’s power pulled him back from joining his shinigami in death, wait, don’t take me-wasn’t I supposed to die?
41.Glow
From afar, Ryuujin Jakka’s power seems no more deadly than a single candle’s flame-to feel the fear, one must be close enough to feel the flames.
42.Action
Haineko is a lazy spirit and spends most of her time curled up in a conveniently-and deliberately-placed sunbeam until Rangiku calls her out to fight.
43.Chain
There are no chains around Nameless’ hands or feet, but that doesn’t mean that he is free.
44.Bitter
Ruriiro Kujaku has little patience for the other Eleventh division shinigami; Yumi earns their regard, such as it is, by placing limits on what the two of them can do together, and Ruri has never been very good with limits.
45.Lock
On the rare occasions that any zanpakutou admits to feeling pity for Nameless, it’s almost always due to the fact that he is locked away from his shinigami; Nameless, if asked, would say that they’re all idiots.
46.Order
Tenken, like Sajin, valued order above all else and considered keeping order to be the surest way to protect those he held dear; they were both hurt beyond all telling to see their friends turn to chaos in the name of justice.
47.Friends
Inexplicable, the other zanpakutou said when stoic, composed Zangetsu and feral, aggressive Zabimaru became fast friends seemingly overnight; every time the subject came up Sogyo no Kotowari and Katen Kyokotsu couldn’t help but smile.
48.Prison
In theory, Senbonzakura was completely unrestricted in his movements; in practice, he was locked in a prison of his own making, made entirely of supposed-to’s and should-be’s.
49.Journal
Day one-Toushirou defeated by his own paperwork, day two-saved a messenger’s life by cracking an abysmally bad joke at just the right minute, day three-convinced Haineko she had fleas, day four-very promising plotting session with Tobiume, plan to go into effect next Tuesday, day five…
50.Zero
Kazeshini knows the pulse of death in his veins, the whisper of impending destruction on the wind; he watches the familiar patterns forming around Shuuhei and his comrades, and he waits.
Alternates:
32. Insult
The persistent confusion over Toushirou’s ability to wield him amuses more than irks Hyourinmaru-when the dust clears and their ice covers everything, their doubters always fall along with their enemies.
45. Lock
Ichigo places no locks on his soul, trusting instead to Zangetsu to keep him safe from any spiritual attacks.