Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction (obviously..) that I wrote for my own enjoyment and hopefully yours as well. I own nothing related to Bleach (except for a nifty keychain that I got with one of the dvds), and can only claim the plot as my own.

Zanpakuto

Hollow

Thoughts

==Chapter 7==

"You idiot! How could you?" Rukia screamed at Ichigo as he and Renji walked into the Kuchiki training grounds before heading over to them.

Ichigo gave a shrug and Renji responded with snicker as the pair made their way over to the petite Shinigami who seemed intent on hurting someone if the look on her face was anything to go by.

"How could I what?" Ichigo asked when they met in the center of the enclosed training area.

"How could you make Captain Zaraki's Zanpakuto stab him like that?" explained Rukia. "You're lucky he's not dead."

"And you 're calling me an idiot?" Ichigo asked, honestly in shock. "Can you answer a couple of questions for me Rukia?"

"Fine," huffed Rukia, "what?"

"Firstly," Ichigo began, "you did go through and complete everything at the Shinigami Academy, right? Second, did you miss the classes they had on Shinigami and their Zanpakuto?"

"Yes I did complete the ten years of Academy training," an annoyed Rukia replied, "and no I did not miss any classes at all. To think that you would even think that.."

"So you mean that you had no idea at all what you were doing when you had me pierce my heart with your Zanpakuto?" Ichigo interrupted, receiving a shocked look from Rukia in response. "You had to know, and you should know that a shinigami's zanpakuto cannot harm it's wielder if wielded by the zanpakuto spirit."

"He's got you there Rukia," snickered Renji, earning a smack to the back of his head for the comment.

"Of course I know that," huffed Rukia in annoyance, "but it is still a very shocking thing to witness when you're not prepared for it."

"Rukia," began Ichigo calmly, "Zaraki's zanpakuto was screaming in anger and frustration. Zaraki only ever fought with his own monsterous strength and believed that those who fought with their zanpakuto were weak. He had never even tried to communicate with it before. To him, his blade was merely a tool. It was the same with Muramasa's original wielder Kouga. Although he could speak with his Zanpakuto and had achieved shikai, he believed in only his own strength and power. That is why he ended up having to be sealed away. You saw what he did after he was released. I'm glad your brother did what he did, if for no other reason than he was making a mockery of the bond between a shinigami and zanpakuto."

"Heh, when did you become the expert on such things?" Rukia asked, looking impressed with Ichigo's words. "I never thought you ever really took the time to learn such things."

"With all of the shit I've been through, that we've been through, you still thought that?" a hurt sounding Ichigo questioned. "I thought you of all people would know me better than that Rukia."

Hanging her head in shame, Rukia could only nod in acceptance of Ichigo's rebuke. Letting her mind wander back, she recalled all she knew of the orange haired teen in front of her and all that he had been through in his brief time as a substitute shinigami.

"I'm sorry Ichigo," apologized Rukia, "you're right."

"So what are you planning on doing now?" Renji asked, breaking the tension that had settled over the other two. "Are you going to stick around and train like you had said?"

"I'll be around, yeah," replied Ichigo, "but I still have other training to do as well. Yoruichi has agreed to help me train my speed and hand-to-hand fighting abilities. I've also got to go back to another group for training with my mask and it's uses. I'm glad that it's summer and I don't have to go to school as well, or I'd never have time for all of this."

***Here ends Part 1 – Reforging the Blade. My sincere apologies for the length of time it took to get this last part out, as well as for the short chapter length. I've been thinking about Part 2 – A New Mask, and have a good start on the concept and idea I want to explore with it. I'll try to have the first chapter of it up within the month. Thank you for reading, thank you for your patience, and I hope you've enjoyed reading this.***