Bleach: Brave New World - Chapter 22
Chapter 22 Hirotomaru
“Y-Yamada?! You’re kidding Isane-san, right?!”
“I-I was surprised when I first saw him too, but he’s really Yamada-Kun!” Isane said.
Hearing this, Yamada raised his hair up and then smirked.
“Dude, what happened to you?!” Jan was stunned in disbelief… That tall, muscular, cool-looking dude in front of him was the same Yamada from before?
“Well, while you were away I’ve been working out, and before I knew it I got so stron…”
Before he could finish his sentence, Tenjiro, who was by his side, threw a punch at him, but Yamada caught it easily and then snorted.
“Humph!”
Jan was about to freak out by this point; he couldn’t believe his eyes!
“Tenjiro-San, I really tried to avoid saying this for a while, but your punches are starting to look a bit slo…”
Another punch was thrown and this time, it landed.
Boom!
“Stop acting so cool, punchbag!” Tenjiro snorted while fixing his clothes
“Ouch!” Yamada screamed in agony, “We didn’t agree on the second one!” Yamada wanted to cry.
“Huh, that’s more like you,” Jan said with an emotionless expression.
“Jan-San, you’re so cruel!” Yamada cried even harder.
Isane giggled watching Yamada and Jan; she couldn’t help but feel relieved that all of them were finally together safely.
Kirio, who noticed that lovely expression on her face, fought back the urge to hold her tightly a couple of times, before finally giving up and squeezing the air out of Isane’s lungs.
At that moment, another man joined the party…
As he entered, music played. As he walked, fireworks bloomed and spotlights swayed in all directions before landing on him. He… was dancing, and his prop was what seemed to be a sword wrapped tightly in cloth.
“Yo, yo yo! Who’s ready… to PAAARTYYYYYY!” Nimaiya continued dancing, “Say whoop whoop!”
“Whoop Whoop!” Yamada shouted back cheerfully.
“Stop it!” Tenjiro struck him down with a Karate Chop.
“Ouch!”
Boom!
Kirio struck Tenjiro with a Karate Chop of her own, “Stop bullying the kid!”
Tenjiro held his head in pain as steam came out of it, then shouted, “How about you stop bullying me, old hag!”
Boom! Boom!! Boom!!!
Several hits successfully landed, and Yamada barely managed to see them. However, it was clear that he enjoyed watching Tenjiro being hit for a change. The latter noticed it so he glared at him coldly, and Jan… returned to eating.
With his grand entrance ignored, Nimaiya stood in place dumbfounded.
“Damn that hurts!” Tenjiro said, then stood up and walked to him, “Did you finish working on it?”
Nimaiya smiled, “Work?! Nah, nah man!” Nimaiya wagged his finger in Tenjiro’s face, making him a bit furious, “You still don’t get it, don’t cha?! I told you before; Zanpakuto… they not tools! What I do and how I do be not called work, It’s called giving love!”
Nimaiya had a pervy smirk on his face that made Tenjiro even madder, “Listen, you…”
Nimaiya interrupted him, “I ain’t listening when it comes to Zanpakuto! Who do you think I am? You be lookin’ at the No. 1 Zanpakuto creator! Not Jū, not Kyū, not Hachi, not Nana, not Roku, not Go-mai! Not Shi or San-mai! The name’s Nimaiya Ōetsu! And I ain’t lettin’ no one treat Zanpakuto like trash!”
Isane heard this as she was sitting next to Jan, who was stuffing his mouth with everything he could reach on the table, and she couldn’t help but think, “Not treating Zanpakuto like tools…?” Looking at Ichibe’s back, then lowered her head and got lost in her thoughts, “Is this what Ichibe tried to tell me the other day?!”
When she raised up her head again, she inexplicably found Ichibe grinning in her face, “What are you thinking about?!”
“N-Nothing…” She said with a helpless smile while backing away and putting her hands in front of Ichibe’s face.
After he grinned at her for a while, Ichibe turned around again to quarrel.
“… So, for all these reasons you cannot dispute that what I do… ain’t mere work! Get it through your head!” Nimaiya was still talking.
“O-Okay man, cool down!” Tenjiro seemed to have given up.
“I cool up!” Nimaiya said, “Now that I’ve made it clear to everyone, time for me to show you all this beauty!”
He then opened the wrap revealing a Zanpakuto with a white hilt.
Everyone gathered around him with astonishment on their faces. Even Ichibe was there among them, watching him unwrap the sword with a big grin on his face, while Jan continued eating…
Tenjiro looked at the white hilt for a while, and then his eyes widened, “Hey, you’re kidding right?! Don’t you tell me you’ve…”
“Oh yea!” Nimaiya winked with a big grin, pointing at himself with both thumbs.
Yamada looked at the sword with a confused expression; the hilt is different but it’s still… No way, right?!
“Tenjiro-san, what is this?!” Yamada couldn’t help but ask.
Tenjiro took the Zanpakuto and then pushed it against Yamada’s chest, “This is my gift to you. It’s your new Zanpakuto.”
Yamada’s eyes widened; he could tell that it was his Zapankuto but he didn’t believe it until he heard those words.
He looked at it twice, and then took it in his hands, “M-My new Zanpakuto.”
“Huh…” Nimaiya sighed helplessly, and then took out his megaphone and screamed out at the top of his lungs, “THERE BE NO SUCH THING AS A NEW ZANPAKUTO!!!!”
The sound was deafening, and everyone had to cover their ears, but not Ichibe, who seemed to be enjoying the show.
“Hear that bull Ichibe-San? It’s crazy!! But don’t you worry; I’ll explain it to them.” Nimaiya sighed, then said, “You’re a fool if you think it’s a new Zanapkuto, although one might say it’s an improved one.” Nimaiya explained, “I got rid of the old hilt, and replaced it with that kid’s,” Nimaiya pointed at Jan, who was still eating, “This change introduced new powers to your Zanpakuto’s Spirit and changed it greatly. Try drawing it, you should recognize it easily.”
Yamada hesitated twice, then unsheathed his Zanpakuto, and then widened his eyes, “It’s my Zanpakuto, but it feels…”
“Different…” Nimaiya said excitedly, “I told ya kid, it changed greatly: I don’t believe it even has the same name anymore! But I’m not the expert here.” He continued to say then looked at Ichibe.
Ichibe was already staring at it very closely while holding his chin, and he immediately said, “Yes, it doesn’t have the same name anymore, so you won’t be able to activate your Shikai with your old Kaigo.”
“No way! No Shikai?” Yamada exclaimed, “This is more like a downgrade!”
Tenjiro got a bit annoyed, and couldn’t help but yell at Nimaiya, “You changed too much, man!”
Nimaiya smiled helplessly.
“Dear me, dear me, I’m a bit interested in it, so I will just tell him the new name.” Ichibe said, “I believe it was called Hisagomaru; Hisago, means a gourd, the original Zanpakuto healed by taking the pain and damage, then releasing it, like a gourd right? but that’s old news. It’s now called, Hirotomaru, Hiroto means Fly Greatly, Esteem, and Soar, but also Benevolence, and Wisdom. As well as things like opening and climbing. I can go on and on but you will never get it until you actually grow stronger with it; therefore with Maru being the core of this Zanpakuto, which means a ‘circle,’ in a way it still works around the definition of ‘giving it back.’ The new name, Hirotomaru, reflects how that same capabilities have greatly improved as your power has.”
