Zanpakuto

When he got home, he found that his chubby cousin, Lu Mingze, still hadn't returned. His uncle and aunt weren't home either, so Lu Mingfei went into the room he shared with Lu Mingze.

Lu Mingfei's room was a little messy. It had two beds and two desks. The bed by the door was Lu Mingfei's, while the one farther inside belonged to Lu Mingze.

Lu Mingze was his cousin, and Lu Mingfei was currently staying at his uncle and aunt's house.

His own parents only sent money from overseas regularly. As far as he could remember, he hadn't seen them since middle school.

He could still remember that his cousin Lu Mingze had a QQ account called "Lonely Gluttonous Snake." He copied a lot of gloomy quotes into his QQ Space, paired them with close-up photos of himself taken on his phone, and occasionally uploaded pictures of his wrist smeared with red ink to fake having cut himself. The poems he posted were more or less about how he'd rather die than live without love.

After learning about it, Lu Mingfei applied for a new QQ account and named it "Scar of the Sunset."

He put up a photo of a cute, short-haired girl, set the age to sixteen, and wrote in the signature, "Let your smiles and sorrows become the scars of my life."

Whenever Lu Mingze was home using the internet, Lu Mingfei would sneak off to an internet café and strike up a conversation with "Lonely Gluttonous Snake."

Lu Mingze was always arranging to meet up on QQ. Lu Mingfei agreed every time without hesitation, but always scheduled the meeting for when his aunt was taking Lu Mingze to piano lessons. Lu Mingze would repeatedly miss his chance to meet the adorable girl, lamenting his bad luck.

Thinking about it, Lu Mingfei couldn't help laughing. He'd have to find time to go to an internet café and log "Scar of the Sunset" out of QQ.

He set down his schoolbag and sat on the bed, taking a silver cross necklace from around his neck.

At school, he'd discovered that after becoming a captain, the Reishi casing he'd asked Mayuri Kurotsuchi to make especially for his Zanpakuto had come back with him too.

The reason he'd had the Reishi casing made was simply that he thought it would look cool to take off a cross necklace in the middle of a fight and turn it into a Zanpakuto. It would make him look way more impressive, and it was convenient to carry around.

Unlike Ichigo Kurosaki, who lugged a butcher's knife around every day.

Actually, something about this was a little strange. Lu Mingfei had used up all his Shinigami Power during his duel with Aizen.

But now he could feel his body slowly growing stronger. That feeling meant his Shinigami Power was returning!

Not only that, but his Shinigami Power was actually merging with his body. Could the power of the soul manifest in the flesh in this world?

Going by the way things were, it was only a matter of time before all the Shinigami Power he'd lost returned.

There was one thing he could try. Maybe it would help him figure out why.

Lu Mingfei used his Shinigami Power to connect with the Reishi inside the necklace.

A flash of silver light, and a Zanpakuto with a black hilt and black scabbard appeared in Lu Mingfei's hand.

He drew it. The blade was about three feet long.

His Zanpakuto was still in its initial state, not yet released. It would only change further once he called its name. The sword was called Zanshin.

A Zanpakuto's shape, state, and abilities were formed in the image of the Shinigami's own soul.

A Shinigami gained power by learning the name of the Zanpakuto bestowed upon him and speaking with it heart to heart.

While his aunt and the others were still out, Lu Mingfei decided to try communicating with his Zanpakuto.

He placed Zanshin across his knees and sat cross-legged. This was Jinzen. Lu Mingfei tried to synchronize his thoughts with his Zanpakuto, then speak with it.

In the spiritual world, countless skyscrapers rose from the ground.

Looking closely, it was actually the city where Lu Mingfei lived.

But the entire world was gray and white, and beyond the city lay a hazy expanse where nothing could be seen.

Lu Mingfei sat meditating on a rooftop, eyes closed.

The synchronization succeeded. When he opened his eyes, a young man in a black trench coat was standing beside him. It was his Zanpakuto's physical form.

"Zanshin, didn't you tell me before that using the final Zanshin would make me lose all my Shinigami Power?

"But now my Shinigami Power is slowly increasing, and it seems to be merging with my body too. Have you sensed anything on your end?"

Lu Mingfei's body wasn't strong enough to let him analyze it himself, so all he could do for now was ask his Zanpakuto. Maybe he would understand what was going on.

"Mingfei, the final move really does involve pouring all your Shinigami Power into it and turning yourself into a blade. After using it, you lose all your power and become an ordinary person."

The young man in black paused briefly, then continued explaining.

"But for some reason, after your Shinigami Power ran dry, some other power suddenly flowed in. That caused your Shinigami Power to awaken again."

"Your body here seems to be a little special. The Shinigami's power has begun to merge with your body too. I believe that after some time, you'll be able to attain the state of a Shinigami while remaining in your ordinary body."

Something special about his body? What did that mean?

Lu Mingfei thought it over.

After ending his conversation with the Zanpakuto, Lu Mingfei opened his eyes and found himself back in his room. He was still sitting cross-legged, with the Zanpakuto lying across his knees.

He turned the Zanpakuto back into a necklace and put it around his neck. Then, all at once, the world slowed down.

Lu Mingfei saw a well-behaved-looking little boy sitting by the window. The boy swung his legs, his feet in white shoes with square toes. He wore a black suit and a white silk cravat.

Lu Mingfei stood up, but before he could speak, the little boy turned his head. He had a pair of bright Golden Pupils.

"Brother, have you been keeping another man on the side? Why do I sense someone else here?" Lu Mingze said, sounding aggrieved.

"Huh?"

Lu Mingfei was baffled.

"Did my Zanpakuto change again?"

The situation felt just like when he'd entered his Zanpakuto's spiritual world. Lu Mingfei could sense that this was some kind of spiritual domain.

"I'm your younger brother, Lu Mingze, of course, Brother." Lu Mingze blinked.

"Impossible! My chubby cousin can't be that cute!" Lu Mingfei crossed his arms, refusing to believe it.

"That little chubby kid? He may be called Lu Mingze too, but I'm not him." Lu Mingze looked disgusted.

It was strange. Although the little boy had appeared out of nowhere, Lu Mingfei felt a hint of familiarity with him. He couldn't believe it.

"I don't know where you got this new power, Brother, but please, remember me. I'm the only one worthy of making a deal with you."

Lu Mingze grinned at Lu Mingfei.

Before Lu Mingfei could ask anything, time started flowing normally again. He looked around, but there wasn't a trace of anything.

Lu Mingfei clutched his head. What a bizarre situation. A being that seemed to be his Zanpakuto's physical form had inexplicably said a whole lot to him, then inexplicably disappeared. But that little boy clearly wasn't his Zanpakuto.

If he were at full strength, he probably would have been able to figure something out, but his Shinigami Power was still recovering.

Lu Mingfei shook his head and stopped thinking about it. He'd always been good at taking things as they came and looking on the bright side.