I do not own Bleach.

~Urahara's shop~

It had been a week since Nanao had gotten her zanpakutou, but she still didn't know how to unseal them and unlock Shikai. She tried meditating for hours and practicing for hours, but it didn't seem to help. She lounged on a rock in the training area with her zanpakutou in the tie of her uniform. 'This is taking longer than I though. I have less than two weeks to become strong enough to rescue Shunsui.'

'Ever thought that the outcome might be different?' Chishitoge mused. 'Maybe he saves you this time?'

Nanao had never really thought about the possibility that it might go differently this time around. 'It doesn't matter to me. As long as he doesn't die. I would give anything for that.'

'Even your second chance at having a life?' Chibara spoke softly.

Nano closed her eyes and relaxed. She needed to concentrate, not daydream about Shunsui. His soft smile on his unshaven face. His velvet voice when he whispered in her ears as his beard tickled her cheek. His large hands-

Nanao slapped her face to pull herself out of her dreams. She jumped off the rock and pulled out her zanpakutous. She had become ambidextrous while she had filled out forms and had to forge Kyoraku-Taichou's signature. He sighed all of his forms with his left hand, despite being right handed. She never understood that, but then he was ambidextrous as well having two zanpakutou.

She swung her zanpakutou around in fluid motions as she concentrated. She could feel her power rising, wanting to be released. She could feel something under her feet and a whisper of something in her ears, but it was just out of reach. She relaxed more and let her mind wander.

Yorichi watched as the young girl danced with her zanpakutou. She had moved back as she watched the ground go dark and a purple mist rise from it. She could almost swear she could hear laughter coming from the girl. It sounded like a madman, a killer.

Nanao kept moving till she could almost feel the words on her tongue. She held her zanpakutou up in front of her. She held the hilts with her palm and the blades with her fingers. She opened her eyes slightly and noticed the purple mist swirling around her. She smiled for reasons she did not know. Her smile turned into a wicked grin. "Laughter permeates the stagnant air, madness rises from the blood soaked ground. Chibara Chishitoge."

Nanao pulled her hands apart and down to her sides. She looked down at both her hands. A claw covered each figure tip and chains connected each claw to cuffs around her wrists. She smiled at her zanpakutou's true form. 'So we like doing things personally. I like that.'

'Of course we do. What better way is there?' Chishitoge chuckled at his master. 'Looks like the other cat wants to play.'

Nanao turned to Yorichi, the woman seemed to want to keep her distance at the moment. Nanao noticed circle around her and focused on the dark ground and willed it to shrink. It did and so did the mist. It reduced until it was gone. "That was surprisingly easy." Nanao could hear Chishitoge snicker, she ignored him.

"Looks like we're a third of the way there. Let's move on to Shunko. That way you can get used to your Shikai before you try to get Bankai." Yorichi really didn't have a good feeling about going against the girl's zanpakutou, but it needed to be done. "Shunko is using kido on your body as you fight hand to hand. How good are you at hand to hand?"

Nanao had never been one for physical fighting. She was much better at kido. "I've sparred with Kyoraku-Taichou, but I'm still not that skilled." Nanao ran her hand through her hair. She still had trouble remembering how short it was, but it was growing on her. She had also broken her nervous habit of pushing her glasses up, but now it was running her hand through her hair.

"Good enough." Yorichi attacked without waiting for Nanao to be ready.

Nanao managed to block the kick with one of her hands. The chains dug into her skin, but didn't hurt to much. She leaned back and deflected the rest of the blow. She placed her hands down on the ground and twisted sideways while kicking her legs up.

Yorichi easily blocked Nanao's kick. She launched at the girl again once she had footing. She kicked downwards this time.

Nanao brought both her hands up this time. She grunted as the kick landed. This was going to be difficult. "Hado 33: Sokatsu." A small ball shot off of each finger tip. All missed the nimble cat woman. 'What was that?'

'Your a kido kind a gal. So we're a kido kind a cats. You like?' Chishitoge sung in his laughing voice. Nanao could tell he was enjoying himself.

'What else can you both do?' She smiled at the thoughts and scenarios going through her head.

'Keep fighting.' Chibara spoke calmly.

Nanao knew her less talkative zanpakutou was right. She had found out he usually was when he spoke. She shot off at Yorichi. She used complicated Shunpo techniques to try and confuse her.

"Nice. You've gotten faster." Yorichi struck out in front of her. Nanao barely blocked the attack. "You're still not fast enough to fool me though, but Sui-Feng might have a run for her money." Yorichi let out an onslaught of attacks.

Nanao manage to block most, but not all. She was struck in the shoulder by the cat lady's kick and made a fairly large crater in the ground. Yorichi landed at the top of the crater. "Done already?"

"Nope." Yorichi hadn't realized Nanao was behind her. She kicked the purple haired woman across the crater. "Dress-Up. Pretty convincing doll, don't you think?" Nanao rolled her shoulder. This move didn't block all of the damage, but it blocked most of it.

"Doll? When did you switch?" Yorichi stretched her shoulder. She was going to be sore in the morning. This girl was good.

"When I tried to confuse you. I'm not the strongest fighter, but I certainly have a strong mind." Nanao smiled as she watched the doll of herself crumble back into dust. "Shall we continue? Or do you need a break?" Nanao pulled her arms up in time to block another attack. "I'll take that as a continue." Nanao smiled as she counter attacked.

~several hours later~

Nano and Yorichi lounged in the hot springs. They were both sore and covered in scrapes and cuts. The hot springs were helping to heal their wounds and relax their muscles.

Yorichi smiled at the girl beside her. "You're not bad. You're stronger than you look and what you think. You'll be really strong with Shunko. Mostly because of your strength with kido. How high can you go without an incantation?" Yorichi could have sworn the girl had used at least a level 80 without an incantation.

Nanao smirked at the woman. Had she actuall praised her? "I can go pretty high. The highest I went was with a few forbidden kidos and some sorcery ones." Nanao flushed a bit with embarrassment. She had found a book of forbidden kido and had practiced a few in secret and also quite a few very powerful sorcery spells.

Yorichi laughed at the girl's reaction to her confession. "Is that so. Well that's good. At least you can pull a few curve balls. Not many people know about forbidden kidos, and only the kido squad members know about sorcery kidos. And not many of them know how to use them. How many do you know?"

"All the way up to the kido canon. I never knew it was actually classifies as a forbidden kido sealed in a solid form to make it legal to use." Nanao was hoping the woman didn't know exactly how many kidos that was.

Yorichi stared at the girl. 'She probably knows the 20 Sorcery kido that I know of, not bad.' Yorichi guessed there was probably more, but she hadnt found any others. Not that she could use any, they needed a large amount of Reiatsu and a very high skill level. One that she did not posses.

Yorichi climbed out of the hot water. "That was relaxing. Shall we continue?" Yorichi was pleased at the progress Nanao was making. 'She'll have Shunko mastered by the end of the week probably.'

Nanao climbed out and used a kido to dry her self off before putting her shihakusho back on.

Once the two were dressed they stood and faced each other. Yorichi let her kido crackle across her shoulders. Nanao focused and let her kido do the same. It swam over her body in fluid motions. It was a bright red color.

Yorichi grinned. "Seems as if you are quite a creepy person on the inside. First the evil laughing, and now your Shunko element is water and it's the colour of fresh blood. Very creepy, Nanao-chan."

Nanao smiled at the woman's words. "Everyone has to have a bit of darkness. Otherwise did they really ever have any light in them?" Nanao smiled as she heard her zanpakutou purr.

"Yorichi-dono." A man with braided hair walked up to the two women. "We have lost contact with Urahara-dono and the others. It seems access to Soul Siciety has become impossible."

"What?!" Nanao stared in disbelief at the man. Her Shunko evaporated with her broken concentration.

"Try to get back in contact, Tessai." Yorichi stayed calm. There was no point in worrying about something that already happened.

The man bowed before he left leaving the women to continue their training.

Nanao was too worried about how to get to Soul Society to train. She didn't notice Yorichi getting close till she had placed a hand on her shoulder. Nanao looked into the other woman's face. "What now?" Nanao felt like crying, but held back her tears.

"We continue of course. Not much else to do." Yorichi walked away from her to take her position again. "If you are strong enough to do what you have set out to do, then don't worry about what is to come, because you are already determined to overcome them." Yorichi started her Shunko again and waited for Nanao's answer.

Nanao thought about the woman's words. 'She's right. I was too worried about so many other things, that I never got to spend the time I wanted with Shunsui. I won't let that happen again.' Nano let her Shunko run over her arms and legs. "I'm ready." The two shot off at each other with deadly speed.

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