Chapter Two: Back to Basics
—Shihōin Manor, Seireitei—
The double doors at the front of the majestic Shihōin estate opened just as Yoruichi and Byakuya approached, as if they were automatic. The Kuchiki heir was a bit taken aback as they entered and began winding their way through the complex which his sensei owned. It was least as large as the Kuchiki manor, but the scale was different from his home.
"Welcome to my home," Yoruichi said, gesturing panoramically with open palms.
While the Kuchiki manor was more of a sprawling, single-level configuration of their property, the Shihōin manor was littered with buildings that boasted multiple levels. Byakuya could hardly keep himself from gawking at the ornate structures and their trappings, all done in the finest architecture with impeccable taste. There were lush, well-maintained gardens throughout the place, including lovely water features; however, like many of the buildings, several of the gardens they passed were similar in elevated elegance—quite literally.
There was one peaceful moss garden that Yoruichi led him through which especially captured Byakuya's senses. The babbling of the intricate water feature that lined the pathway was accompanied by the arboretum and moss surrounding them, with their sights and smells. He absent-mindedly slowed his pace to take all of it in.
This is impressive…magnificent, even, Byakuya admitted inwardly.
Then he noticed Yoruichi staring at him, arms folded.
"Are you finished, Byakuya-bō? I was under the impression that you wanted to become a shinigami, not a gardener. Come on," she said.
Byakuya glared at her as she turned away to continue further into the manor, and he followed more closely behind this time. He wasn't about to give her any more fodder for her sarcasm if he could help it.
After leaving the arboretum, they came to a courtyard with a tower-like edifice in the center, which stretched up five stories before coming to a peak with a balcony around the rim. Byakuya guessed this was in the very heart of the manor, and that much of the important business of the Shihōin family was conducted here. Yoruichi led him straight into the tower before stopping and turning about to address him again.
"This is indeed the central structure of my family's compound, and it's where most of the really important stuff gets done, as far as official assemblies and ceremonies are concerned. But the most essential part of being a Shihōin is the Tenshiheisōban legacy. My family has been inexorably linked with the Onmitsukidō ever since its inception. Each successive head of the household is expected to—and inevitably does—take over leadership of the Onmitsukidō," she said.
"So, it's more or less like the link that my family has with the 6th Squad of the Gotei 13," Byakuya replied.
"Sort of—we've inherited the Onmitsukidō for centuries beyond the Kuchiki dynasty within the 6th Squad," she said as she bent over to make her point at eye level. "Many heads of my house have also become captains in the Gotei 13 in addition to leading the Onmitsukidō."
Byakuya frowned. "Doesn't that create a conflict of interest of some sort?"
"No. It does the opposite, because when both posts are held by the same head of my house, the two organizations are essentially merged into one agency. It means that the Shihōin have borne extremely vast amounts of power—and responsibility."
Byakuya's eyes widened upon considering how much influence his sensei had. The Shihōin were arguably more powerful than even his family.
Standing up straight, Yoruichi went on. "So, you're probably wondering what I'm getting at by telling you all this. Well, there's a lot at stake in the welfare of Soul Society that rests upon my family—and yours, too. That means we cannot fail to fulfill what's needed of us. This takes years and years of hard training. This is also where the business side of being a Shihōin takes its first steps. Follow me."
They went across the mezzanine on the ground floor, which was bedecked in black, complete with a black stone floor. Everything was trimmed in gilded finery, not least the large gold Shihōin crest in the center of the foyer. Yoruichi guided them into a corridor which led to a spiral staircase; to Byakuya's surprise, the staircase descended rather than ascending to the higher levels of the tower. He followed her as she moved down the steps. There was no lack of light; the railings themselves were partially translucent, and light came from within them, which illuminated the area quite well.
It didn't take much longer for master and student to reach the end of the staircase. At the end, there was a basic door which Yoruichi slid open. Byakuya followed suit and saw that they had come to a dimly lit room, which was unadorned and housed no items of any sort—no furniture, no equipment, nothing.
Seriously…what is she playing at? She's apparently the commander of an elite fighting unit, and she brought me to a broom closet, Byakuya lamented.
Yoruichi went directly to the center of the room and sat down in seiza position. "Come over here and sit down next to me. Face that direction just as I'm doing."
Byakuya's eyes narrowed as he did what he was told. He had a suspicion of where this was going, but he opted to ask, hoping he was wrong. "Shihōin-sensei, what are we here for? There's nothing in this room, so how can you possibly train me here?"
Even in the reduced light, he could see a stern expression on Yoruichi's face. "Think about it, Kuchiki Byakuya. You can't possibly become a shinigami unless you train yourself within. In battle, unless you remain calm and disciplined, you become a liability. You won't have the courage or the composure to navigate a fight and win—and you certainly won't be able to defend anyone else if you're incapable of controlling yourself." Starting with your big mouth, she thought.
She looked forward and closed her eyes. "We're going to sit here and just breathe. I want you to empty your mind of everything distracting you, because all those things will hinder you in your duties as a shinigami. This is the first step—learn to let go of the things that cloud up your mind."
Byakuya was not pleased, but he couldn't argue with his new sensei either; he knew she was right, and his grandfather would likely have said the same thing. He turned forward, put his hands in his lap, and closed his eyes with a huff. Yoruichi was already quite peaceful next to him.
He tried mightily to let his frown evaporate and empty his mind of clutter. However, this was much easier said than done. Because he was trying to clear his mind, it naturally went the opposite direction as he was bombarded with even more thoughts at impossible speed. He began putting effort into forcibly pushing everything out of his mind; this was only successful in making his head hurt.
"Byakuya-bō, you're trying too hard. You have to stop trying to force your mind to be clear, because it won't work. Just let stuff go as it comes up, and it'll disappear as quickly as it came to you." Byakuya looked at Yoruichi; she was still a picture of tranquility.
He sighed in annoyance and set about the exercise once more. He was marginally more successful this time, but he was constantly driven by the impulse to gain control of what was happening. After what seemed like hours, Yoruichi finally ended the exercise.
"Yame, Byakuya. We're done with that for now." She stood and stretched in feline fashion.
Byakuya groaned and stood up. "How long were we sitting there?"
"Ten minutes."
"You're joking. That was not ten minutes; it was definitely longer than that."
"Nope. It was ten minutes. Quit arguing."
Byakuya frowned yet again, as Yoruichi's face softened with a shrug and a playful smile. "You have to crawl before you can walk, Byakuya-bō. If it makes you feel any better, I had a lot of trouble with that when I was your age, too—although I was definitely better at it by this point than you are right now…"
"How is that supposed to make me feel any better at all?!" He folded his arms and turned his back. "Insufferable woman…"
"Get used to it, Kuchiki Byakuya. If you thought this was going to be easy, and that your genes and status would take care of everything, you can forget it. Come on, I have one more exercise for you today. I bet you'll like this one much better."
Yoruichi sauntered out of the room and back up the stairs. Byakuya waited a moment before following.
"Hmph. Don't count on it," he snorted.
Shortly, they were back outside the tower in the surrounding courtyard.
"Okay, for this one we're going back to the Kuchiki manor. I'll give you more instructions when we get there," Yoruichi said. "Now hop on my back, Byakuya-bō." She crouched down.
Byakuya rolled his eyes and climbed on, piggyback. This woman is unbelievable. What could jii-sama and otō-sama have been thinking? I thought they—
His thoughts were quickly interrupted again as they blasted off from the courtyard onto the rooftops. Byakuya's face contorted into an involuntary image of anxiety as his sensei carried him back across the Seireitei, flash-stepping at blinding pace from roof to roof and launching off of the sides of buildings as they changed directions.
They were back at the front gate of the Kuchiki manor in record time.
Byakuya slumped off of Yoruichi's back, still a bit disoriented from the sheer speed and spiritual force of her shunpo, not to mention the effect of all the air that they just rushed through. He caught his breath a bit more quickly this time, but Yoruichi was completely unaffected by the exertion.
They went back inside the Kuchiki compound through the front gate before stopping in the first courtyard, just in front of an intricate marble fountain surrounded by a ring of camellias.
"So, I understand that you're familiar with all the basics of shunpo, yes?" Yoruichi asked.
"Yes. Jii-sama taught me most of the rudimentary details himself. Some of the family retainers who have largely overseen my instruction until now were the ones who facilitated most of the practice I've had since," replied Byakuya flatly. Secretly, he wished that his father, the 6th Squad lieutenant, had taken time to teach him instead of servants. But duty was duty, and between his responsibilities and his health problems, Byakuya knew he could hardly blame his father.
"I thought as much. But I'm sure that your father Sōjun wishes he could have taught you himself," Yoruichi said kindly.
How does this Shihōin woman know these things? Byakuya thought.
"Your spiritual presence speaks volumes, Byakuya-bō. Back in the meditation chamber, your anxiety and frustration were radiating from you so obviously that it was impossible not to notice." She smiled, hands on her hips. "And our families go way back with each other, so I know Sōjun well enough to understand that about him."
"Anyway, you're able to perform some starting level of shunpo, which is what we're going to be practicing here in a minute. Next question: you've played tag before, haven't you?" Yoruichi continued.
Byakuya was taken aback at the question, and he had to take a moment to think about it. When was the last time I played tag? When was the last time I played any games with other children?
"Byakuya-bō, don't tell me that you don't know how to play tag," needled the Shihōin princess.
"I know full well how to play that game!" he spat indignantly.
Yoruichi laughed. "Well, that's good, because we're going to play tag with shunpo."
Byakuya folded his arms and closed his eyes in a defiant frown. "Stop trying to make a fool out of me. Playing a children's game will not prepare me to become the head of my house, nor will it make me ready to succeed as a shinigami." He turned back to look at his sensei—
She had disappeared.
Before Byakuya could understand what had happened, he felt his hair being pulled lightly.
He turned around, furious. "You demonic woman! That is unacceptable—"
She was gone again, even though Byakuya could hear her laughing, which frayed his nerves even further.
"If you can't beat a young lady like myself in a game of tag, whatever will you do against real adversaries, Byakuya-bō?" Yoruichi cackled.
Byakuya glared maliciously.
"So, let's play. I'll keep it simple at first; we'll use the Kuchiki manor grounds as our boundaries, and I'll be 'it' to start," she continued, putting one hand over her eyes. "I'll even give you a head start of 30 seconds. Ready? Go!"
"Very well, then." Byakuya allowed himself a subtle, wry grin. He knew these grounds far better than his sensei, and that would give him an even greater advantage with a head start. He dashed away, determined to show that he wasn't just a name synonymous with privilege. He sprang up onto the rooftops, which were lower than those on the buildings in the Shihōin estate. He knew exactly where he wanted to go to try and lose Yoruichi; one of the many courtyards in the Kuchiki manor was filled with hedges and rhododendrons that were ideal for taking cover and deceiving a pursuer. He smiled as he envisioned getting one over on his sensei.
She will never find me. That ought to shut her up, Byakuya thought as he smirked.
Yoruichi hummed idly while she counted the seconds of the generous head start she had given to her pupil. Once the time was up, she lifted off onto the rooftops and extended her spiritual senses to get a bearing on the young Kuchiki. It didn't take long, and within moments she was after him and making up massive chunks of distance with each flash-step. She quickly traced Byakuya to the courtyard replete with thick foliage. She sighed.
So predictable…in more ways than one, she thought.
She silently leapt into the midst of the hedges, suppressing her reiatsu just enough to conceal herself from Byakuya's just-emerging spiritual sensory abilities. She padded through the hedges to position herself in the perfect place to make the tag, then stopped and stood to wait. Sure enough, she could sense-and hear-Byakuya approaching on the narrow gravel path. She smiled in faux malice.
He probably thinks I'm on the other side of the complex by now. Silly boy, she thought.
Byakuya felt reasonably secure that he hadn't been followed, at least not closely. He couldn't sense anyone nearby aside from the servants and the groundskeeper milling about, doing their daily work. Still, he moved slowly through the foliage, just in case. He came up to a corner in the hedge formation surrounding him; cautiously, he edged around it—
He found Yoruichi standing directly in front of him, and she poked him right between the eyes. "Gotcha, Byakuya-bō. You're it!" The shock of being so thoroughly startled caused Byakuya to involuntarily leap backwards into a hedge wall. Yoruichi could hear him cursing and carrying on behind her as she sprung into a backflip, clearing the vegetation.
"OUCH! Damn it! You will regret this, Shihōin Yoruichi!"
Yoruichi giggled to herself, then waited for him to extract himself from the plants and exit the hedge maze before she called an end to the day's training.
"All right, all right, we're finished for today. Go get yourself cleaned up, Byakuya; you look like you lost a fight with the bushes," she teased. All she got in return was a glare of adolescent fury before the Kuchiki heir stomped off dramatically.
The Shihōin princess shrugged to herself before scampering away via shunpo toward the 6th Squad barracks.