Heroes

Chapter Forty-Four

Once we got down to the training ground, I observed my surroundings: bright tan rock everywhere, creating a "rough terrain" feel, fresh air--almost like we were outside, and one of the fakest skies I’d seen. I swear it looked like a child’s room, the perfect sky blue with puffy white clouds painted across the stretch of wall. It was a bit too childish for my tastes, and seemed to mock the serious air of the facility.

The group walked over to Kisuke, where he was standing with Ururu, a small girl with pigtails and the saddest face you’ll ever see, Jinta, a fire-haired annoying little pest of a boy, and Tessai, the kind shop assistant. Beside them was a gigantic chasm, disheartening in its mammothness. I knew its purpose and, to be honest, was scared out of my fucking mind.

"Gooooooooood morning!" Kisuke said in his normal giddy tone. "Today the focus will be giving you your Shinigami powers! Because you girls are first-timers, your training will be much different from Ichigo’s, who has to work his back into his body. But do not be wary; there’s a fifty-five percent chance you’ll make it out of this uninjured. An eighty-nine percent chance alive! So with that, we start!" He clapped his hands ceremoniously, almost as if he was praying at the New Year’s shrine. "Our first to be up will be the girls while I give you your initial powers, and from there Tessai will train you for the remainder of the day!" He leered at us for a bit (A/N: reminds me of Pokemon…at least he didn’t send you a Scary Face XD ) before grinning again. "So! Who’s up first!"

We looked at each other apprehensively, none of us wanting to be the first to make a move. But suddenly, Babs got a swirl of courage and stepped forward, raising her hand. "I’ll go first, I guess."

"Great!!" Kisuke said. "I’ll need you to step in front of me and grab my cane, please!" She followed his instructions and gasped. We all looked surprised as, upon Babs’ contact, the cane transformed into a sword.

"This is my zanpakuto," Kisuke explained. "Benihime. I’ll be transferring some of my power to you three so you can become Shinigami, and this is how I’ll do it." Before Babs could protest or let go of the weapon, Kisuke held it firm and stabbed her through.

We all gasped; Tara shrieked a bit. I felt myself get pale.

Babs shook for a moment before her body relaxed and fell off the sword. The only thing left was…her!!

"BABS!" Tara said excitedly. "You’re okay!"

"Yeah," she said, looking at herself curiously. "I guess. But what the hell am I in?"

"It’s called a shihakusho," Kisuke explained. "Soul Reaper uniform. And on your back--" he pulled something from behind her and handed it to her, "is your zanpakuto."

We observed her sword strangely. It was…a odd-looking thing, to say the least. It was a thin blade, sleek and silver, but with three extra blades pointing out of one side, two on the other. The handle was green and covered in cloth, the hilt a green circle. It was surprising to see her blade’s…shape.

"Weird…" Babs said, admiring her new toy. "This thing’s gonna be awesome! Look at that! I got six blades! AMAZING!"

I laughed at her giddy state and walked up to Kisuke. "Okay, my turn!" I said lamely, too excited to worry about my tone. The shopkeeper repeated the process with me and I found myself in my own uniform, its soft and sleek cloth fitting my body well. Before Urahara could get to it I swiftly unsheathed my zanpakuto and admired it. It was a thin blade, silver with spots of red in it that closely resembled blood, and a black handle with the hilt shaped like a star made out of brass knuckles.

I held it up in nerddom. "Dah dah dah DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA~" I sang giddily, "YOU GOT THE MASTER SWORD!!!" I saw Tara giggle and Babs facepalm herself, but I ignored them in my nerdy state of euphoria. I eyed it closer before sighing. "This is amazing," I said before moving to let Tara through. "Okay," I said, stretching contentedly in my new body, "you’re up, Tara."