Who Is The Blade?

"Eh? Uh… I'll be honest, I didn't really think that far ahead. I have so many questions, it's hard to pick just one."

Chiaki rubbed her head, taking a moment to think. She had the opportunity to learn about the soul-cutting blade from the most knowledgeable scientist there was (sorry Mayuri), but there was still the trouble of not acting suspiciously. She had a lot to ask, but she had to keep what she said measured and reasonable.

"You don't mind if we move this somewhere else, right? No offense, but I don't feel like having a conversation in this dreary training ground, it makes me feel like I'm in a prison yard.

"Sure, why not, no need to rush anything. Oh, and by the way, I'm willing to answer around, say… 3 questions for you! I'm feeling a little generous today, and anyway, I think it's a good investment, don't you?

"Whatever you have to tell yourself, I'm ready to sit down."

Chiaki simply shrugged, before starting towards the elevator; In all honesty, she really was tired from the effort, so there was no way she was going to miss this opportunity.

"Hey wait! You're forgetting your body!"

——————————

Even in her original body, the aches and pains of combat followed her into her human body. That said, if there was one thing she could give Tessai credit for, it was making a good, soothing tea; The aches were so throughly soothed that she wondered if there was some sort of magic effect behind the man's concoction. He had once been the archmage of Soul Society, so it wouldn't surprise her.

"Wow, this is good stuff! How did you make it?"

"It's all about using matcha of the highest quality! While the outside world may be less stingy, I refuse to use anything but the best ingredients within my own brew. Consider it a sort of pride."

Urahara gave a small chuckle:

"You really do take that too seriously… Anyway Chiaki, you feel ready to discuss business?"

Urahara grinned, the brim of his hat casting a deep shadow over his face, making him look surprisingly intimidating. Ayane had told her that she didn't speak in her head around Urahara to avoid drawing attention, but she wondered if perhaps there was a certain level of fear that was the real driving force. Nonetheless, the benefits of interacting with him clearly outweighed the risk, as the shinigami powers she'd just unlocked could attest to.

"I guess you could say that…Three questions huh?"

Chiaki tapped her chin lightly, a small smile playing at her lips. She couldn't get too wild with what she could ask, but she had a few ideas:

"First things first, can you explain more about the transformation that your blade went through?"

"Ah, that's easy enough. Hmm… Shikai."

With a casual gesture, Urahara summoned his blade again, revealing Benihime once more. Now that she'd experienced its power first hand, Chiaki could definitely see how it could be considered "nasty" (though it was no less intriguing for it).

"This is my blade, Benihime. I won't bore you with the details of its specific abilities: all you need to know is that this is the first stage of a Zanpakuto's evolution, unlocked by learning the name of your blade through meditation."

"I see… so it's sort of, the true form of the blade, huh."

Of course, Chiaki knew all that already. But, there was some key part of that that led into the question that had plagued her since she'd been a normal human.

"All this talk about true blades and stuff… you said that the blade I summoned was just a well of energy shaped like a sword and wasn't real. But Ichigo's blade should be the same, and he's still able to do all that shinigami stuff like sending hollows to Soul Society. Do those not require a real blade?"

"Ah, sharp as ever Chiaki. Maybe I should be trying to offer you an apprenticeship at my shop-"

Chiaki rolled her eyes, at which point Urahara started laughing:

"Alright alright, fine. You really are grasping things quickly. Well, to explain that, we're going to have to do a quick history lesson. Do you know what a balancer is?"

[I do, but I can't really say that to you directly now can I?]

"Not really, no."

"I didn't think so. Well, to make a long story short, the term balancer was the original name for a Shinigami, before it became more formalized and began to work as more of a military force. Before, these balancers were closer to what you might consider wandering monks or ronin, depending on which one you were talking about."

This caused Chiaki to sit up straight, thoroughly interested in what was being said for the first time. This was new and important information, and Urahara took notice of that with a small smirk.

"I see I've piqued your interest Chiaki! Are you planning on being a historian or something."

"I'm more interested in how that ended up changing. I assume the Zanpakuto had something to do with that?"

"That's right. Look at this: Seki."

Holding out his hand, Urahara produced a small blue orb of energy, which Chiaki recognized as Kido. This one in particular created a repelling orb, which Urahara manipulated to dance around in his palm.

"In the old days, Zanpakuto were closer to Kido, energy wells that were given form and power by giving them definite names that described their abilities. The difference was, in the case of a soul-cutting blade, it would gain power from the name that you would find within your inner world, which you would inscribe in it to give it form. Basically, by creating a Kido from the energy of a Soul Reaper and giving it a name from a Soul Reaper's inner world, it would become a tool that could perform a Shinigami's basic duties like soul burial."

"Hrm…"

Chiaki rubbed her chin thoughtfully as she took in all this new information. This was not, on the whole, surprising to her, since she already knew names were power; A certain dark monk had already proved that. But that still did leave some weird holes…

"That doesn't explain why the Shinigami swap to actual blades instead of Kido. That seems a little more practical. Even if the real blades are more powerful, it's a useful skill to have if you're disarmed or need to perform a sneak attack."

"Ah… Hrm."

For the first time, Urahara seemed to grow troubled, an expression of uncertainty on his face. Dispelling the orb of Kido with a gesture, Urahara signaled at Tessai

"Check to make sure we're not being eavesdropped."

"Understood."

The archmage clapped his hands together, releasing a wave of air that reverberated throughout the area with a resounding thud. Chiaki felt the wave of power flow throughout the room, as some sort of mystical effect gripped her, her body being covered in a strange green light. Then, after a moment of quiet, Chiaki heard a strange pinging noise.

"Everything is cleared. You are cleared to proceed."

"Thank you Tessai."

With that, Urahara's expression became a bit more relaxed, but even so, an air of seriousness permeated his demeanor. As he looked towards Chiaki, she could feel a chill creeping up her spine.

"I need you to understand what I'm about to say is very serious. Information about Squad 0 is given only to nobles and those who work under their influence to ensure their secrets are kept safe. I wouldn't recommend telling Rukia you know this, capiche?"

Urahara leaned back, sighing deeply and taking a moment to make sure Chiaki had no objections or desire to turn back. Seeing that she was determined to see it through, however, he continued:

"The modern Zanpakuto was created by Oetsu Nimaya, a shinigami who's now part of the Royal Guard specifically for his contribution. What he wanted was a way to draw out the full potential of a shinigami from their soul, without the waste in energy that the old Zanpakuto created, and he did this by harvesting hollow souls."

"Harvesting hollow souls doesn't seem like it would help much though."

[Even when I read the original manga, I never understood how that would allow a shinigami to draw out more of their power]

"Well, that's the thing: A Hollow's life cycle is finished when they've compiled enough souls into a single form, and their individuality gets crushed because of that. When you take their cores to forge blades, you crush their identity in the same way. That forms an Asauchi, a blade of blank soul power that you can inscribe a new name into. This technique is the basis for modern Zanpakuto, and it's the reason why Shinigami have held such an advantage for so long over their natural enemies in Hollows."

"Since it's stronger, or…?"

"Not just that. Without it, a formal Gotei 13 would never have been possible, since every new shinigami would have to learn to master Kido before they could even create a proper Zanpakuto. Ichigo's potential meant that he could do that without even getting any formal training, same as you."

Chiaki couldn't help but smirk, leaving Urahara to shake his head amusedly.

"You're too full of yourself you know… well, anyway… What's your last question?"

"Hmm… you know what? I think I'll save my last question for another time. I'm satisfied with what I know right now. Still, thanks a billion.

Chiaki began to get up, prompting a look of what was either disappointment or disapproval on Urahara's face. Nevertheless, if he thought she was being foolish, he didn't press the issue.

"Alright. Well, take care! Remember, you do owe me a debt, so I can't have you dying on me before I get paid back."

"Yeah, I know. Next time we meet though, I'll have your money, and you'll be the one owing me a question, so don't get too excited."

"Heh, alright. It's a promise."

With a casual wave goodbye as she left the room, Chiaki simply put her hands in her pocket and walked out of the shop and into the outdoors making her way back home. However, her demeanor had now shifted ever so subtly, even as she went on the same path as before: where she had been confident before, now a different sort of energy gripped her every movement. It was the excited, almost manic energy of a scientist on their way to the lab. Of course, there was a reason: she already was planning how to put everything she'd learned into use.