4. He'll never forget the way she clapped for him.
Shi is both stunned and humbled by how seriously how the 5th Division's Fifth Seat treats him in teaching him kido.
The lady is there earlier than him, nearly bouncing from enthusiasm.
He hurries forward, apologising for being late.
She laughs him off, "No problem, I'm early. I was just super excited, I couldn't sleep!"
She looks him up and down for a moment and asks, "Shi-kun right? I don't suppose you have any practice with using your reiryoku?"
"None at all, Hinamori-sama. Yamada-sama has gone over some of the theory and done small demonstrations for the first two bakudo and hado over the past week, but I have not been able to do any of them."
Though thrown by the form of address, she focusses on her task at hand and tells him truthfully, "Shi-kun, I do not sense any reiatsu leaking from you. That means you either have too little, or you do not have the natural reiatsu vents Shinigami have. Given your proficiency with the healing kido, I don't think you have such low reserves. Can you show me Bakudo #1: Sai?"
They arrive in the training grounds, which are clear today.
Shi nods, taking up the stance Hanataro showed him.
Feet slightly apart, index and middle finger out, palm extended at a target dummy.
"Bakudo #1: Sai!"
Again, the same ball of light comes from somewhere and meanders a foot or two before dissipating.
The dummy doesn't twitch, and he watches his kido teacher hide a giggle.
"No matter what we tried, or changed my stance, that's all I seem to be able to do. Yamada-sama said you might know the incantations for the first few kido in series, Hinamori-sama. He said it could help with focussing the reiryoku that I output."
She smiles brightly, "I think you're the first person I've tutored who's ever asked for the chant. Most people want to hurry and do the kido without the chant. And Sensei is fine, Shi-kun. Wouldn't want you to spend the majority of the time addressing me, ne?"
He gives her a small smile in reply, and she hands him a book from the stack on a table under the main building's eaves.
"Aizen-taicho was kind enough to help me in the library, I found all these textbooks and old kido manuals!"
Flipping to pages that have been sticky tagged, he wonders quietly, Why spend so much effort on just a student?
Each tag has something written on it.
"I'll set you homework reading each week, I hope you can read my handwriting?"
It's just numbers, but he marvels at the smoothness of the lines.
"I will work hard, Sensei."
Shi watches the way that Hinamori lights up.
"Okay! Let's get started then! The chant for Bakudo #1 is…"
"Be formed and restrain, Bakudo #1: Sai!"
The arms of the straw puppet snap off.
He blinks, but Sensei is beaming.
"Now do it on me, Shi-kun!"
He complies.
Her hands lock up, but her face doesn't.
Shi thinks, her smile is so wide she could get a stitch.
The sun is already dipping down, and they started in the mid-afternoon.
But she smiles.
"You did it!"
Hinamori flexes her reiatsu, and her smile gets even wider, "And it's so strong, Shi-kun!"
His eyes widen and he hastily releases it, "I'm sorry, was it too tight?"
She claps and lets out a cheer, "Ahhh my student is so smart and talented!"
He insists on looking over her wrists though there's no mark.
"Don't worry about that, Shi-kun. Bakudo are quite harmless, they aren't offensive, so they don't hurt. And the strength of a kido always depends on the amount of reiryoku used. That's why the incantations make something stronger – it's a time for the user to gather reiryoku and shape it. When we do Eishohaki, forgoing the words, we essentially have to gather reiryoku faster, and shape it while the launched mass of energy is in flight."
"And that's why previously I only created little floating lights?"
He hastily scribbles in his book, tugged from his sleeve along with a pencil.
"That's right! You were launching unshaped reiryoku. It left you too fast to have enough to carry itself the distance, and your reiatsu pressure did not extend far enough to still exert the 'shaping' effect."
They walk back to the barracks, each with half the stack of books.
"You're really smart, Hinamori-sensei."
She elbows him playfully in his side, and she gets this glint in her eye when he gasps in response.
"You're so cute, Shi-kun, like a teeny kid! And you're ticklish too!"
When they set down the stack on her table, she pats him on the head.
Shi takes it in stride, lowering his head for better access.
He's a bit taller than her after all.
If the Fifth Seat sees him humouring her, she isn't insulted.
"Come on, let's go get dinner from the kitchen! Shall we eat together?"
He blinks, suddenly contemplating that hey, he hasn't had a full meal in a long while.
"Maybe just a small snack, if I'm not imposing."
"That's great! We can discuss what you wanna learn next week too, and if Aizen-taicho is around, I'd love to introduce you."
He doesn't voice objection.
As it turned out, the Captain has already eaten a quick dinner, so says the kitchen crew member.
His sensei almost seems to deflate.
"He must be busy today… Ever since Ichimaru-fukutaicho got promoted, our Lieutenant and Third Seat positions have been empty. He and our Fourth Seat are always working so hard… That's why! I want to be stronger, so someday I can help too."
She stabs the scoop of mashed potatoes with her fork.
He chews his sandwich, nodding, "I'm sure you'll become Aizen-taicho-sama's fukutaicho in a few years, Hinamori-sensei."
Hinamori blushes red, "You really think so?"
"Mhm, I'm sure your taicho will have noticed your abilities. After all, you're already Fifth Seat."
The lady lets out a sigh.
"After Kira-kun got transferred to the Fourth, Renji-kun went to the Eleventh, then Kira-kun became Ichimaru-taicho's lieutenant. All my strong friends shifted out, so I got promoted instead of them…"
She pushes the sausage around her plate.
"I'm sure someone as intelligent as you make your taicho sound would not promote you just because of that. He trusts your abilities in fighting, and so do I, sensei."
She sees him off at the gate.
"Thank you for cheering me up, Shi-kun."
He waves and she waves back, "See you next week, Hinamori-sensei."
"Today we'll be learning Hado #1: Sho. I know progress is slow for now, Shi-kun, but I'm sure once you get the hang of visualising things, you'll get the new techniques faster. Unohana-taicho has made it clear that because you don't have a zanpakuto, she would like you proficient in at least Kido as a way to defend yourself. So really, more than the Bakudo, I think the Hado are more important."
Hinamori is serious when she teaches, she puts her heart and soul into it, and Shi respects that.
He's been practising with Yamada-sama back in the barracks after all.
"I've memorised the chant, sensei. What should I visualise?"
"Depends on what you feel, Shi-kun. Now, ready?"
He braces for the shove, as the textbook described in one line.
"Hai, sensei."
"Hado #1: Sho."
She doesn't yell, and he knows it's very much toned down.
He feels the wave of reiatsu, like a palm, shoved into his chest, carrying him a distance back.
From his original floating off the ground position, the main force was applied to his mid-chest.
Arms and legs following only after, he assumes that the thing he should visualise is a large glowing fist.
Getting back up, he notes that even Hado affect him in his un-solid form.
"Sensei, can you fire another one at me, please?"
She happily complies, and he phases out the moment he hears her finish speaking.
He doesn't feel anything, but he watches the blue circle ripple through the air where his mid-chest had been, and there's a dull thud when the ripple eventually hits the wall that marks the Fifth Division's boundary wall with the Sixth's.
He manages to make the armless straw puppet move.
He gets the feeling that Hinamori-sensei is patronising him when her Sho sends the puppet flying.
She flashsteps towards it and returns back with the dummy in her arms.
Firmly smacking it back into place, she smiles.
"Your task is to, using Sho, send the puppet flying like I did."
He makes a movement to get closer, but sensei catches the edge of his robe.
She remarks, "You became more solid over the week, you look less like a ghost now, Shi-kun."
While he's not sure if that's a compliment, he hasn't the time to dwell on it, since she insists he remains where he is.
"You need the range too since you don't have a zanpakuto that can help you in close quarters. So take things slow, and serious."
Nodding quietly, he takes up stance again.
Holding his palm out, and the other hand supporting his wrist, he focusses.
Gathering his reiryoku, drawing it from the air, pulling it across his robes, and watching it spill into a floating bubble in front of his palm.
Gently, flaring reiatsu, changing the circular bubble into a ring shape.
"Focus on your intent more, Shi-kun. As you will it, the shape will follow, not the other way around."
He tells the lump, What I desire is for the puppet to fly.
"Be firm and repel, Hado #1: Sho!" drawing his hand back then shoving it forward.
Expanding his reiatsu's area of influence, like an extra wave propelling the blueish ring forward.
It fades before hitting the target, he frowns and gets back into his starting position again.
The puppet snaps messily, upper half flying back.
Hinamori-sensei claps her hands together.
"Looks like you're getting a hang of things, ne, Shi-kun?"
He smiles back.
"Am I allowed to move on now, sensei?"
She mock thinks for a moment, before laughing when he looks crestfallen.
"Of course you can. I don't suppose you memorised the incantations for #2 kido?"
"I read Bakudo #2 Shibireyubi's Focus and be still."
She reaches out, extending a finger before his eyes.
"Bakudo #2: Shibireyubi."
Her fingertip flashes white, and Shi topples to his knees.
Hinamori has taught him for a whole year, this became a usual routine event.
She was promoted a few months ago to Fourth.
He does rounds with Hanataro, delivers paperwork that Unohana-taicho tells him to, goes for class, eats with Sensei, studies kido with Hanataro, then they go to bed.
He reports at the correct time, expecting another training session, expecting just Sensei to be sitting on the table, swinging her legs which don't reach the ground.
There's a huge crowd, possibly even the whole division of about two hundred.
He phases to a position above the crowd, passing through a spherical shield as he goes.
Sensei is fighting the Third Seat, and her taicho is watching from outside the shield.
From the looks of it, Hinamori-sensei is determined to win.
A division member spots him, and their taicho is alerted.
Outwardly gentle looking, with softly curled brown hair, soft eyes, black rectangle spectacles.
He exudes patience, and Shi can tell, all the facets of this man which endear him to his sensei.
Because of that, he phases over to the man when he waves at him.
"You must be Shi? Hinamori's student?"
He bows lightly.
"And you must be Aizen-taicho-sama, Hinamori-sensei has told me much of you."
He laughs, "Good things I hope?"
As if he knows her devotion and that – makes him inwardly horrified.
A man who knew of her devotion and was able to use it.
"Only good things, of course," Shi replies steadily.
Unlike Jushiro-sama who refuses to use his Third Seats' devotion, Aizen-taicho is someone who wouldn't mind doing so.
With a loud yell, "Hado #4: Byakurai!" Sensei wins the match, and the division politely claps.
He applauds as loudly as he can, yelling as well, "Good job, Hinamori-sensei!"
She looks up him, weary but triumphant, and gives him a small wave.
Shi tends to both combatants as Aizen-taicho addresses the crowd.
"As the final component to the test, I would like to show you all the final aspect that I would like in my lieutenant. Our squad is known for being close, I want your fukutaicho to be someone who is approachable. You all may know, Fourth Seat Hinamori has been tutoring the 4th Division's Shi-san. What better way can we observe Hinamori's ability to teach and guide people other than viewing Shi-san's improvement in kido from zero?"
Hinamori starts, hurrying to stand to voice her objects, "But taicho! Shi-kun has never been in a fight before. And he's so young as well, it wouldn't be fair for him to be matched against anyone."
If that man was caught off guard by her ability to refuse him, he didn't show it.
Covering it with a kind smile, "Which is why Shi-san will showcase his ability on me, Hinamori. I will not hurt him."
The squad looks mildly uncomfortable.
It wouldn't do to have a Captain and Lieutenant whose philosophies contradicted.
"I believe sensei has prepared me well enough to last at least a few seconds," he offers.
The Third Seat supports his to-be-fukutaicho to outside the barrier.
Shi wants to prove that his sensei is not a pushover.
Losing is a blow to her pride, her standing in her squad.
But winning means that Aizen-taicho will place duties upon her, it means that their sessions will end.
They've only made it to the #20 kidos, though for 50 sessions at one a week, with no in between meetups, progress has been remarkable.
Shi wonders if because of this, her desire to become fukutaicho has wavered because she had been so convinced that lunch session she told him her dream.
She idolised the man, past tense emphasis perhaps.
The taicho exaggerates his movements, slowly saying the words so Shi has time to react.
"Hado #4…"
"Shi-kun, shield!"
"Solidify this wind, and bar all entry, Bakudo #10: Heki!"
"Byakurai."
The shield remains intact.
The crowd murmurs.
Aizen-taicho pushes up his spectacles, "Very good… What about a level higher?"
Shi brings his hands up before him, pressing his palms flat to the surface of the shield.
"Sensei, should I just hold?"
"Hado #5: Daitoppa," comes as the taicho implied.
He's blown back – the reishi shield is cracked, but very much still present.
"You need to press him, if not he'll break your defence eventually, Shi!"
He strengthens the shield with another layer, giving it edges for the wind to rush past.
One hand on the shield, the other pointed forward.
"Condense and strike, Hado #4: Byakurai!" his smaller blue flash clashes with the larger, faster beam which is silently cast.
Crackling so close he can smell the ozone, he jumps back as a "Hado #1: Sho!" comes his way.
Shi counters with "Be formed and restrain, Bakudo #1: Sai!" and even if only temporarily, the taicho is bound.
He phases forward, both hands forward as he materialises just before the taicho, hurrying, "Flicker white, Bakudo #2: Shibireiyubi!"
The man blinks just once, twice before shaking off the effects, but, "That caught me off guard, Shi-san."
Shi bows.
"Hinamori-sensei emphasised more on defensive techniques rather than the offensive ones."
It's quiet for a moment.
The taicho dissipates his barrier, smiling warmly upon his division.
"As of today, Fourth Seat Hinamori Momo has been promoted to the position of Lieutenant. She will assume duties come tomorrow morning, I ask that you all serve her well."
Among the polite claps, Shi claps the loudest – because – he remembers.
"Someone who was perfect like Aizen to his men. To his not-yet fukutaicho, where did this admiration stem from? What would it take for her to question him?"
Today's may surprise you all, but I think there are too many fics with her paired off, or bashed.
I don't claim to be a huge Hinamori fan, but with Day 3, I invite your prompts to push boundaries like this.
I want to be able to reshape characters such that they gain depth, and from there explain what the world of Bleach would have been like, were you living in it.
Don't worry about the wording if you can't force it into the same opening line I will use for the chapters, I'll find my way around it.
Prompt me in the reviews, feedback much appreciated, saying hi is appreciated too!
So far, I've been writing ideas that I brainstormed last month, but have no fear, audience collaboration will come the moment you all review
Once again, I hope to receive your ideas :)
(4th November 2017)