Chapter 14: Shinigami
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Chapter 14: Shinigami
'What should I do?'
Kisuke couldn't help but wonder how much information he should give to Yuna as her purple eyes stared at him, making him feel like she was directly looking into his soul. After pondering how to answer for a few seconds more, Kisuke decided to simply tell her the truth while warning her of the risks.
"It is possible for everyone to become a Shinigami, but Ichigo is a bit of a special case. While he is almost guaranteed to succeed, an average human is pretty much guaranteed to fail."
Yuna hummed in acknowledgment, happy that she got the answer she was hoping to get. However, there was something else she was rather curious about. The first Shinigami she interrogated claimed that Shinigami and Hollow were the exact opposite, so she was curious if they could coexist or if combining them would lead to mutual destruction. The difference between Yin and Yang, which could be mixed or fire and water that would mutually destroy each other.
"I see; however, there is still something else I'm curious about. When the Chain of Fate is cut, someone will either become a Shinigami or a Hollow, right? Are there cases of people becoming both?"
Although Kisuke didn't show it on his face, he was rather surprised by that question. After all, there reside people just like that in this very town. Again, he was rather reluctant to give out that kind of information, but considering that it was basically impossible for Yuna not to meet them at some point in time, he decided to just spill the beans.
"Currently, there are no cases of someone becoming a combination of both after their Chain of Fate was cut; however, there are cases of Shinigami gaining Hollow powers and vice-versa.
"Drawbacks?"
Kisuke really didn't like where this conversation was going. Somehow, he felt like Yuna would cut her Chain of Fate at any moment. So, he decided to inform her of the possible consequences.
"I don't know much about a Hollow gaining Shinigami powers, but if a Shinigami gets Hollow powers, they have to constantly internally fight their Hollow, so it doesn't take over control. It's rather clear that you want to become a Shinigami, but I highly advise you against trying. Your chance of succeeding is basically zero for a normal human."
Yuna frowned when she heard the first part of Kisuke's explanation while completely ignoring the second. The chance for a normal human was zero? Yuna didn't understand what that had to do with her.
'Why would you need to fight the Hollow? Shouldn't it be a part of you? Does cutting the chain initiate some kind of summoning that spawns an independent creature inside you? I can hardly believe that.'
While Yuna was thinking about the situation, Ichigo suddenly started screaming in pain. Yuna looked at the source of the scream and noticed a circular hole at Ichigo's previous location.
"What's that all about?"
"Hehe, that is the Shattered Shaft and..."
"Your naming sense sucks."
"... the gas inside the Shattered Shaft will..."
"Shinigami Training Art: Heavenly Reverse Erect Shaft"
"... increase the pace at which the Chain or Fate will start with the Encroachment. Instead of taking weeks and months, this will be done in 72 hours."
As if the chain heard Kisuke's words, the last of its segments transformed, creating multiple mouths that started eating the chain, causing Ichigo a lot of pain.
"See, the first segment is already getting encroacht~"
Yuna nodded her head as she looked at the wiggling Ichigo that tried to stop the Chain of Fate from eating itself.
"Is that gas only enough for one person, or can I partake in this as well?"
An ugly expression appeared on Kisuke's face when he heard Yuna's question. If she really wanted to take the risk, he wouldn't stop her, but losing her here would be a rather regrettable loss of fighting power.
"Although the gas is more than enough to work for multiple people, I highly recommend not doing this. A normal human WILL become a Hollow."
Yuna chuckled in amusement as she jumped into the hole without a second of hesitation, causing Kisuke to sigh deeply.
"Hehe, normal human? Not sure what that has to do with me~"
Seeing Yuna's resolve, Kisuke could only shake his head in bitterness.
'I hope Ichigo won't take this loss too hard. Having him filled with negative emotions isn't exactly advantageous for his training. Wait a moment! Maybe Hinata can convince Yuna? From what I have seen, those two are pretty close.'
**CLANG**
Before Kisuke could make this idea a reality, the sound of a chain getting destroyed came out of the hole where Yuna had just jumped in, resulting in another sigh from Kisuke.
'Too late, huh? She has already destroyed her chain. Mhh? Wait a second? Weren't there two sounds just now?'
Kisuke curiously looked into the hole and almost fell in himself when he saw what was going on. Just as he had expected, Yuna had already cut her chain, but there, surprisingly, was another person who had done the same. Without him noticing, Hinata had entered the Shattered Shaft as well and had cut her chain.
'How the hell did she get in there without me noticing?'
However, what happened next was even more surprising to him, as Yuna's physical body suddenly stood up again, despite being without a soul, picked up Hinata, and then jumped out of the Shattered Shaft.
"*Sigh* What a drag. What is she thinking, making me move around in this inconvenient body?"
Naturally, Kisuke was utterly dumbfounded that Yuna's body could move around, despite her soul not being present. His first thought was that she might have used an artificial soul, but he didn't notice her doing so at all.
"Who exactly are you? No, what are you?"
Yuna's body shrugged as it sat down crossed-legged with an annoyed huff and closed its eyes.
Meanwhile, inside Hinata's mindscape, she had come to the same conclusion as Yuna and was currently slowly turning everything in her mindscape into small boxes. She had already found the box containing her Shinigami powers, so she went at it at a rather leisurely pace. However, as she was doing so, she suddenly felt something foreign in her mindscape. Just like in Yuna's case, it felt foreign, yet it wasn't.
After looking around for a few minutes, Hinata arrived at her destination: A small lake with a boulder protruding out of the water at about its middle. On said boulder, a humanoid-looking woman was resting with an absentminded expression on her face. The most notable feature about her was that her whole body seemed to be made out of water.
Seeing the unfamiliar woman in her mindscape, Hinata couldn't help but frown. Her first instinct was to hide her presence and get rid of the woman, but she decided against that, as she felt no hostility from her.
Instead of immediately going for the kill, Hinata approached her with calm steps, casually walking on top of the water's surface.
The moment Hinata's foot made contact with the water, the woman jerked up and looked toward Hinata, completely dumbfounded.
"Impossible; how could this bloodline possibly produce another Shinigami? Just how many centuries has it been?"
Hearing the woman's words, Hinata couldn't help but frown a little. Hearing the word "bloodline", Hinata briefly considered investigating her parents some more, but considering the woman mentioned "centuries", she quickly discarded that idea.
"Who might you be, and why are you in my mindscape?"
The woman's eyes widened when Hinata spoke to her directly. She was already happy that Hinata could notice her presence, but she was not expecting her to be capable of seeing and talking to her as well.
"I was not expecting this meeting. My name is ?#$%&%, and I'm your Zanpakuto Spirit."
Hinata frowned due to not being able to hear the woman's name, but she shelved that topic for later as there were more important things to discuss.
"Oh? I didn't know that Zanpakuto had a spirit, but considering how familiar you feel, I can believe you. It's a little weird, but you are clearly a part of me. Additionally, I would like to know why I couldn't hear your name."
"Ah, how silly of me. Since this is our first meeting, you obviously can't perceive my name yet. Don't worry; as we get to know each other better, you will soon be able to hear my name and unleash my real form."
Hinata nodded in understanding despite not being entirely sure what the unknown woman meant by "unleash my real form", she still wondered how she was here, despite Hinata not being a Shinigami yet.
"That's all fine and dandy, but how come there is already a Zanpakuto Spirit residing within my mindscape, despite me not being a Shinigami yet?"
At first, the woman got confused by Hinata's words, but moments later, she realized what was going on around her, causing her eyes to widen.
"Shit! Someone severed your Chain of Fate! Quickly, you need to fight your Shinigami powers, or you will turn into a Hollow!"
Hinata couldn't help but chuckle when she heard the woman's voice as she lifted up the box she was holding.
"Well, no need to panic; I already found them. However, this isn't the right moment to activate them yet. How about you answer my question in the meantime?"
The woman visibly relaxed when she heard that Hinata had already found her Shinigami power, but she couldn't help but frown that she didn't want to activate them yet, as she saw no reason to delay that. Nevertheless, she decided to humor Hinata as she could tell that there was still plenty of time before Hinata would turn into a Hollow.
"Fine, I don't know your reason for delaying such an important event, but I'll humor you for now. I don't know how many generations ago it has been, but one of your ancestors was a Shinigami, so the moment you were born, I was as well. Unlike humans and Shinigami, we Zanpakuto spirits inherited some of the memories from our ancestors, so the moment I was born, I immediately realized that it had been a long time since someone from this bloodline awakened as a Shinigami. Regrettably, there was nothing I could do about that, so all I was capable of was wait here, hoping for a chance to meet you."
As she was talking about what she had experienced so far, the woman's face grew gloomy, but moments later, a happy smile appeared on her face.
"Surprisingly, you somehow got a chance to awaken your Shinigami powers, allowing me to finally interact with someone, hahaha."
Hearing her Zanpakuto spirit happily laugh just because she could finally interact with someone, Hinata shook her head sadly and approached her with measured steps. Before she could say anything else, Hinata had arrived in front of her and started petting her head.
"You did well enduring all these years. No need to worry; from now we'll be fighting side by side."
The woman choked a little before a pout appeared on her face.
"Why are you treating me like a child? I'll let you know that I'm just as old as you."
Hinata chuckled in amusement at the woman's words. Despite her words, she happily lowered her head, allowing Hinata to pet her head more easily.
"Tell me your name again."
"Eh? Sorry, but I think that's a bit early."
Hearing the doubt in the woman's voice, Hinata only smirked before becoming more demanding.
"Say it."
The woman paused for a moment before simply shrugging her shoulders. It's not like she would lose anything by telling Hinata her name, so she simply did it again.
"My name is Undine."
Hinata's smirk widened as she nodded her head and resumed speaking.
"I see. Nice to meet you, Undine. My name is Hinata. Nice to meet you; let's get along."
The woman's head shot up as she looked at Hinata in disbelief, and moments later, a massive smile appeared on her face.
"Yup, nice to meet you; let's get along~"
Just like that, Hinata met her Zanpakuto spirit for the first time.
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Chapter 14: Shinigami
'What should I do?'
Kisuke couldn't help but wonder how much information he should give to Yuna as her purple eyes stared at him, making him feel like she was directly looking into his soul. After pondering how to answer for a few seconds more, Kisuke decided to simply tell her the truth while warning her of the risks.
"It is possible for everyone to become a Shinigami, but Ichigo is a bit of a special case. While he is almost guaranteed to succeed, an average human is pretty much guaranteed to fail."
Yuna hummed in acknowledgment, happy that she got the answer she was hoping to get. However, there was something else she was rather curious about. The first Shinigami she interrogated claimed that Shinigami and Hollow were the exact opposite, so she was curious if they could coexist or if combining them would lead to mutual destruction. The difference between Yin and Yang, which could be mixed or fire and water that would mutually destroy each other.
"I see; however, there is still something else I'm curious about. When the Chain of Fate is cut, someone will either become a Shinigami or a Hollow, right? Are there cases of people becoming both?"
Although Kisuke didn't show it on his face, he was rather surprised by that question. After all, there reside people just like that in this very town. Again, he was rather reluctant to give out that kind of information, but considering that it was basically impossible for Yuna not to meet them at some point in time, he decided to just spill the beans.
"Currently, there are no cases of someone becoming a combination of both after their Chain of Fate was cut; however, there are cases of Shinigami gaining Hollow powers and vice-versa.
"Drawbacks?"
Kisuke really didn't like where this conversation was going. Somehow, he felt like Yuna would cut her Chain of Fate at any moment. So, he decided to inform her of the possible consequences.
"I don't know much about a Hollow gaining Shinigami powers, but if a Shinigami gets Hollow powers, they have to constantly internally fight their Hollow, so it doesn't take over control. It's rather clear that you want to become a Shinigami, but I highly advise you against trying. Your chance of succeeding is basically zero for a normal human."
Yuna frowned when she heard the first part of Kisuke's explanation while completely ignoring the second. The chance for a normal human was zero? Yuna didn't understand what that had to do with her.
'Why would you need to fight the Hollow? Shouldn't it be a part of you? Does cutting the chain initiate some kind of summoning that spawns an independent creature inside you? I can hardly believe that.'
While Yuna was thinking about the situation, Ichigo suddenly started screaming in pain. Yuna looked at the source of the scream and noticed a circular hole at Ichigo's previous location.
"What's that all about?"
"Hehe, that is the Shattered Shaft and..."
"Your naming sense sucks."
"... the gas inside the Shattered Shaft will..."
"Shinigami Training Art: Heavenly Reverse Erect Shaft"
"... increase the pace at which the Chain or Fate will start with the Encroachment. Instead of taking weeks and months, this will be done in 72 hours."
As if the chain heard Kisuke's words, the last of its segments transformed, creating multiple mouths that started eating the chain, causing Ichigo a lot of pain.
"See, the first segment is already getting encroacht~"
Yuna nodded her head as she looked at the wiggling Ichigo that tried to stop the Chain of Fate from eating itself.
"Is that gas only enough for one person, or can I partake in this as well?"
An ugly expression appeared on Kisuke's face when he heard Yuna's question. If she really wanted to take the risk, he wouldn't stop her, but losing her here would be a rather regrettable loss of fighting power.
"Although the gas is more than enough to work for multiple people, I highly recommend not doing this. A normal human WILL become a Hollow."
Yuna chuckled in amusement as she jumped into the hole without a second of hesitation, causing Kisuke to sigh deeply.
"Hehe, normal human? Not sure what that has to do with me~"
Seeing Yuna's resolve, Kisuke could only shake his head in bitterness.
'I hope Ichigo won't take this loss too hard. Having him filled with negative emotions isn't exactly advantageous for his training. Wait a moment! Maybe Hinata can convince Yuna? From what I have seen, those two are pretty close.'
**CLANG**
Before Kisuke could make this idea a reality, the sound of a chain getting destroyed came out of the hole where Yuna had just jumped in, resulting in another sigh from Kisuke.
'Too late, huh? She has already destroyed her chain. Mhh? Wait a second? Weren't there two sounds just now?'
Kisuke curiously looked into the hole and almost fell in himself when he saw what was going on. Just as he had expected, Yuna had already cut her chain, but there, surprisingly, was another person who had done the same. Without him noticing, Hinata had entered the Shattered Shaft as well and had cut her chain.
'How the hell did she get in there without me noticing?'
However, what happened next was even more surprising to him, as Yuna's physical body suddenly stood up again, despite being without a soul, picked up Hinata, and then jumped out of the Shattered Shaft.
"*Sigh* What a drag. What is she thinking, making me move around in this inconvenient body?"
Naturally, Kisuke was utterly dumbfounded that Yuna's body could move around, despite her soul not being present. His first thought was that she might have used an artificial soul, but he didn't notice her doing so at all.
"Who exactly are you? No, what are you?"
Yuna's body shrugged as it sat down crossed-legged with an annoyed huff and closed its eyes.
Meanwhile, inside Hinata's mindscape, she had come to the same conclusion as Yuna and was currently slowly turning everything in her mindscape into small boxes. She had already found the box containing her Shinigami powers, so she went at it at a rather leisurely pace. However, as she was doing so, she suddenly felt something foreign in her mindscape. Just like in Yuna's case, it felt foreign, yet it wasn't.
After looking around for a few minutes, Hinata arrived at her destination: A small lake with a boulder protruding out of the water at about its middle. On said boulder, a humanoid-looking woman was resting with an absentminded expression on her face. The most notable feature about her was that her whole body seemed to be made out of water.
Seeing the unfamiliar woman in her mindscape, Hinata couldn't help but frown. Her first instinct was to hide her presence and get rid of the woman, but she decided against that, as she felt no hostility from her.
Instead of immediately going for the kill, Hinata approached her with calm steps, casually walking on top of the water's surface.
The moment Hinata's foot made contact with the water, the woman jerked up and looked toward Hinata, completely dumbfounded.
"Impossible; how could this bloodline possibly produce another Shinigami? Just how many centuries has it been?"
Hearing the woman's words, Hinata couldn't help but frown a little. Hearing the word "bloodline", Hinata briefly considered investigating her parents some more, but considering the woman mentioned "centuries", she quickly discarded that idea.
"Who might you be, and why are you in my mindscape?"
The woman's eyes widened when Hinata spoke to her directly. She was already happy that Hinata could notice her presence, but she was not expecting her to be capable of seeing and talking to her as well.
"I was not expecting this meeting. My name is ?#$%&%, and I'm your Zanpakuto Spirit."
Hinata frowned due to not being able to hear the woman's name, but she shelved that topic for later as there were more important things to discuss.
"Oh? I didn't know that Zanpakuto had a spirit, but considering how familiar you feel, I can believe you. It's a little weird, but you are clearly a part of me. Additionally, I would like to know why I couldn't hear your name."
"Ah, how silly of me. Since this is our first meeting, you obviously can't perceive my name yet. Don't worry; as we get to know each other better, you will soon be able to hear my name and unleash my real form."
Hinata nodded in understanding despite not being entirely sure what the unknown woman meant by "unleash my real form", she still wondered how she was here, despite Hinata not being a Shinigami yet.
"That's all fine and dandy, but how come there is already a Zanpakuto Spirit residing within my mindscape, despite me not being a Shinigami yet?"
At first, the woman got confused by Hinata's words, but moments later, she realized what was going on around her, causing her eyes to widen.
"Shit! Someone severed your Chain of Fate! Quickly, you need to fight your Shinigami powers, or you will turn into a Hollow!"
Hinata couldn't help but chuckle when she heard the woman's voice as she lifted up the box she was holding.
"Well, no need to panic; I already found them. However, this isn't the right moment to activate them yet. How about you answer my question in the meantime?"
The woman visibly relaxed when she heard that Hinata had already found her Shinigami power, but she couldn't help but frown that she didn't want to activate them yet, as she saw no reason to delay that. Nevertheless, she decided to humor Hinata as she could tell that there was still plenty of time before Hinata would turn into a Hollow.
"Fine, I don't know your reason for delaying such an important event, but I'll humor you for now. I don't know how many generations ago it has been, but one of your ancestors was a Shinigami, so the moment you were born, I was as well. Unlike humans and Shinigami, we Zanpakuto spirits inherited some of the memories from our ancestors, so the moment I was born, I immediately realized that it had been a long time since someone from this bloodline awakened as a Shinigami. Regrettably, there was nothing I could do about that, so all I was capable of was wait here, hoping for a chance to meet you."
As she was talking about what she had experienced so far, the woman's face grew gloomy, but moments later, a happy smile appeared on her face.
"Surprisingly, you somehow got a chance to awaken your Shinigami powers, allowing me to finally interact with someone, hahaha."
Hearing her Zanpakuto spirit happily laugh just because she could finally interact with someone, Hinata shook her head sadly and approached her with measured steps. Before she could say anything else, Hinata had arrived in front of her and started petting her head.
"You did well enduring all these years. No need to worry; from now we'll be fighting side by side."
The woman choked a little before a pout appeared on her face.
"Why are you treating me like a child? I'll let you know that I'm just as old as you."
Hinata chuckled in amusement at the woman's words. Despite her words, she happily lowered her head, allowing Hinata to pet her head more easily.
"Tell me your name again."
"Eh? Sorry, but I think that's a bit early."
Hearing the doubt in the woman's voice, Hinata only smirked before becoming more demanding.
"Say it."
The woman paused for a moment before simply shrugging her shoulders. It's not like she would lose anything by telling Hinata her name, so she simply did it again.
"My name is Undine."
Hinata's smirk widened as she nodded her head and resumed speaking.
"I see. Nice to meet you, Undine. My name is Hinata. Nice to meet you; let's get along."
The woman's head shot up as she looked at Hinata in disbelief, and moments later, a massive smile appeared on her face.
"Yup, nice to meet you; let's get along~"
Just like that, Hinata met her Zanpakuto spirit for the first time.
Chapter 14: Shinigami'What should I do?' Kisuke couldn't help but wonder how much information he should give to Yuna as her purple eyes stared at him, making him feel like she was directly looking into his soul. After pondering how to answer for a few seconds more, Kisuke decided to simply tell her the truth while warning her of the risks. "It is possible for everyone to become a Shinigami, but Ichigo is a bit of a special case. While he is almost guaranteed to succeed, an average human is pretty much guaranteed to fail." Yuna hummed in acknowledgment, happy that she got the answer she was hoping to get. However, there was something else she was rather curious about. The first Shinigami she interrogated claimed that Shinigami and Hollow were the exact opposite, so she was curious if they could coexist or if combining them would lead to mutual destruction. The difference between Yin and Yang, which could be mixed or fire and water that would mutually destroy each other. "I see; however, there is still something else I'm curious about. When the Chain of Fate is cut, someone will either become a Shinigami or a Hollow, right? Are there cases of people becoming both?" Although Kisuke didn't show it on his face, he was rather surprised by that question. After all, there reside people just like that in this very town. Again, he was rather reluctant to give out that kind of information, but considering that it was basically impossible for Yuna not to meet them at some point in time, he decided to just spill the beans. "Currently, there are no cases of someone becoming a combination of both after their Chain of Fate was cut; however, there are cases of Shinigami gaining Hollow powers and vice-versa. "Drawbacks?" Kisuke really didn't like where this conversation was going. Somehow, he felt like Yuna would cut her Chain of Fate at any moment. So, he decided to inform her of the possible consequences. "I don't know much about a Hollow gaining Shinigami powers, but if a Shinigami gets Hollow powers, they have to constantly internally fight their Hollow, so it doesn't take over control. It's rather clear that you want to become a Shinigami, but I highly advise you against trying. Your chance of succeeding is basically zero for a normal human." Yuna frowned when she heard the first part of Kisuke's explanation while completely ignoring the second. The chance for a normal human was zero? Yuna didn't understand what that had to do with her. 'Why would you need to fight the Hollow? Shouldn't it be a part of you? Does cutting the chain initiate some kind of summoning that spawns an independent creature inside you? I can hardly believe that.' While Yuna was thinking about the situation, Ichigo suddenly started screaming in pain. Yuna looked at the source of the scream and noticed a circular hole at Ichigo's previous location. "What's that all about?" "Hehe, that is the Shattered Shaft and..." "Your naming sense sucks." "... the gas inside the Shattered Shaft will..." "Shinigami Training Art: Heavenly Reverse Erect Shaft" "... increase the pace at which the Chain or Fate will start with the Encroachment. Instead of taking weeks and months, this will be done in 72 hours." As if the chain heard Kisuke's words, the last of its segments transformed, creating multiple mouths that started eating the chain, causing Ichigo a lot of pain. "See, the first segment is already getting encroacht~" Yuna nodded her head as she looked at the wiggling Ichigo that tried to stop the Chain of Fate from eating itself. "Is that gas only enough for one person, or can I partake in this as well?" An ugly expression appeared on Kisuke's face when he heard Yuna's question. If she really wanted to take the risk, he wouldn't stop her, but losing her here would be a rather regrettable loss of fighting power. "Although the gas is more than enough to work for multiple people, I highly recommend not doing this. A normal human WILL become a Hollow." Yuna chuckled in amusement as she jumped into the hole without a second of hesitation, causing Kisuke to sigh deeply. "Hehe, normal human? Not sure what that has to do with me~" Seeing Yuna's resolve, Kisuke could only shake his head in bitterness. 'I hope Ichigo won't take this loss too hard. Having him filled with negative emotions isn't exactly advantageous for his training. Wait a moment! Maybe Hinata can convince Yuna? From what I have seen, those two are pretty close.' **CLANG** Before Kisuke could make this idea a reality, the sound of a chain getting destroyed came out of the hole where Yuna had just jumped in, resulting in another sigh from Kisuke. 'Too late, huh? She has already destroyed her chain. Mhh? Wait a second? Weren't there two sounds just now?' Kisuke curiously looked into the hole and almost fell in himself when he saw what was going on. Just as he had expected, Yuna had already cut her chain, but there, surprisingly, was another person who had done the same. Without him noticing, Hinata had entered the Shattered Shaft as well and had cut her chain. 'How the hell did she get in there without me noticing?' However, what happened next was even more surprising to him, as Yuna's physical body suddenly stood up again, despite being without a soul, picked up Hinata, and then jumped out of the Shattered Shaft. "*Sigh* What a drag. What is she thinking, making me move around in this inconvenient body?" Naturally, Kisuke was utterly dumbfounded that Yuna's body could move around, despite her soul not being present. His first thought was that she might have used an artificial soul, but he didn't notice her doing so at all. "Who exactly are you? No, what are you?" Yuna's body shrugged as it sat down crossed-legged with an annoyed huff and closed its eyes. Meanwhile, inside Hinata's mindscape, she had come to the same conclusion as Yuna and was currently slowly turning everything in her mindscape into small boxes. She had already found the box containing her Shinigami powers, so she went at it at a rather leisurely pace. However, as she was doing so, she suddenly felt something foreign in her mindscape. Just like in Yuna's case, it felt foreign, yet it wasn't. After looking around for a few minutes, Hinata arrived at her destination: A small lake with a boulder protruding out of the water at about its middle. On said boulder, a humanoid-looking woman was resting with an absentminded expression on her face. The most notable feature about her was that her whole body seemed to be made out of water. Seeing the unfamiliar woman in her mindscape, Hinata couldn't help but frown. Her first instinct was to hide her presence and get rid of the woman, but she decided against that, as she felt no hostility from her. Instead of immediately going for the kill, Hinata approached her with calm steps, casually walking on top of the water's surface. The moment Hinata's foot made contact with the water, the woman jerked up and looked toward Hinata, completely dumbfounded. "Impossible; how could this bloodline possibly produce another Shinigami? Just how many centuries has it been?" Hearing the woman's words, Hinata couldn't help but frown a little. Hearing the word "bloodline", Hinata briefly considered investigating her parents some more, but considering the woman mentioned "centuries", she quickly discarded that idea. "Who might you be, and why are you in my mindscape?" The woman's eyes widened when Hinata spoke to her directly. She was already happy that Hinata could notice her presence, but she was not expecting her to be capable of seeing and talking to her as well. "I was not expecting this meeting. My name is ?#$%&%, and I'm your Zanpakuto Spirit." Hinata frowned due to not being able to hear the woman's name, but she shelved that topic for later as there were more important things to discuss. "Oh? I didn't know that Zanpakuto had a spirit, but considering how familiar you feel, I can believe you. It's a little weird, but you are clearly a part of me. Additionally, I would like to know why I couldn't hear your name." "Ah, how silly of me. Since this is our first meeting, you obviously can't perceive my name yet. Don't worry; as we get to know each other better, you will soon be able to hear my name and unleash my real form." Hinata nodded in understanding despite not being entirely sure what the unknown woman meant by "unleash my real form", she still wondered how she was here, despite Hinata not being a Shinigami yet. "That's all fine and dandy, but how come there is already a Zanpakuto Spirit residing within my mindscape, despite me not being a Shinigami yet?" At first, the woman got confused by Hinata's words, but moments later, she realized what was going on around her, causing her eyes to widen. "Shit! Someone severed your Chain of Fate! Quickly, you need to fight your Shinigami powers, or you will turn into a Hollow!" Hinata couldn't help but chuckle when she heard the woman's voice as she lifted up the box she was holding. "Well, no need to panic; I already found them. However, this isn't the right moment to activate them yet. How about you answer my question in the meantime?" The woman visibly relaxed when she heard that Hinata had already found her Shinigami power, but she couldn't help but frown that she didn't want to activate them yet, as she saw no reason to delay that. Nevertheless, she decided to humor Hinata as she could tell that there was still plenty of time before Hinata would turn into a Hollow. "Fine, I don't know your reason for delaying such an important event, but I'll humor you for now. I don't know how many generations ago it has been, but one of your ancestors was a Shinigami, so the moment you were born, I was as well. Unlike humans and Shinigami, we Zanpakuto spirits inherited some of the memories from our ancestors, so the moment I was born, I immediately realized that it had been a long time since someone from this bloodline awakened as a Shinigami. Regrettably, there was nothing I could do about that, so all I was capable of was wait here, hoping for a chance to meet you." As she was talking about what she had experienced so far, the woman's face grew gloomy, but moments later, a happy smile appeared on her face. "Surprisingly, you somehow got a chance to awaken your Shinigami powers, allowing me to finally interact with someone, hahaha." Hearing her Zanpakuto spirit happily laugh just because she could finally interact with someone, Hinata shook her head sadly and approached her with measured steps. Before she could say anything else, Hinata had arrived in front of her and started petting her head. "You did well enduring all these years. No need to worry; from now we'll be fighting side by side." The woman choked a little before a pout appeared on her face. "Why are you treating me like a child? I'll let you know that I'm just as old as you." Hinata chuckled in amusement at the woman's words. Despite her words, she happily lowered her head, allowing Hinata to pet her head more easily. "Tell me your name again." "Eh? Sorry, but I think that's a bit early." Hearing the doubt in the woman's voice, Hinata only smirked before becoming more demanding. "Say it." The woman paused for a moment before simply shrugging her shoulders. It's not like she would lose anything by telling Hinata her name, so she simply did it again. "My name is Undine." Hinata's smirk widened as she nodded her head and resumed speaking. "I see. Nice to meet you, Undine. My name is Hinata. Nice to meet you; let's get along." The woman's head shot up as she looked at Hinata in disbelief, and moments later, a massive smile appeared on her face. "Yup, nice to meet you; let's get along~" Just like that, Hinata met her Zanpakuto spirit for the first time.
