I'm really glad I managed to write this chapter in time.
This is the first part of the small training arc (well, arc... two chapters in total :D) where Ichigo'll finally try to improve himself. As I said in one of the previous chapters through the mouth of Isshin "You can have more reiatsu than anyone, but you can still be taken down", which is true. Ichigo may have possess reiatsu reserves on par with Captain Commander, but he's nowhere close in terms of fighting abilities as the old man.
I won't spend too much time on the training though, as I think that it wouldn't be good to talk about every detail.
If you're confused about Kukaku and Yoruichi...well... I'll keed you in the dark for a while.
For those who could think, after reading the part of Ichigo being a Shiba... "Since when were you under the impression that I'll be following the canon to the dot?"
You can expect some twists and as I said before, I'll incorporate parts about the begining of the Afterlife (based on my theories).
And no, Momo will appear in the story again but she won't be Ichigo's girlfriend, I'm only trying to convey the protecting side of Ichigo, that makes him who he is. She's someone who desperately needs help and I think that she was forgotten in the canon.
Enough of this, read the chapter ;)
Chapter 6 – Protector's training pt.1 (Stinging bee, twin blades, the arts & the instinct)
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.
"Normal speech"
'Inner speech/thoughts'
'Inner hollow/Zanpaktou speech'
xxx
"Oi, woman, can't you give it a break?" Ichigo yelled in irritation at the Goddess of Flash, who was once again, lying naked beside him.
After he settled in the house of Kukkaku Shiba, Ichigo quickly found out, that her long time friend Yoruichi Shihoin spent awful lot of time in her house. Whenever Ichigo lied in his bed, he awoke with her next to him.
"Once again I have to say... such a prude." Yoruichi laughed and covered herself lightly with a blanket.
Ichigo sighed and rubbed his eyes.
'I may be yelling at her, but it seems I'm getting used to this...'
"Say, Yoruichi-san. Have you ever been in love?" He asked suddenly, making her jump in surprise.
"What?" She looked at him incredulously.
"It's just... I've never been in love with other girl. I love my family, I love my sisters and I loved my mother. Never have I felt anything towards a woman, that could be called romantic love. How do you know if you're in love? Is it something that can even be described?" He dived his face into the pillow and waited.
Yoruichi was looking at him with wide eyes.
'Did he really ask ... ME?'
"Why do you ask me, Ichigo?"
He rolled over and glanced at her.
"Well, I got no one else. Hell would sooner freeze over, than me asking Dad this kind of stuff. Everyone else is out of question. I can't exactly ask Rukia either, since for one, she's the one who's the subject of this question, and secondly, she doesn't look like she would know how to answer."
Yoruichi mentally slapped herself.
'Of course. That was a stupid question. I still seem to forget that he's so young and has no actual experience.'
"Well... I did once love somebody. It was a long time ago. More than a hundred years actually. It was a brief love too. Nothing serious. It was him, who taught me the Shunpo and made me into Goddess of Flash."
"Really? Who was it?" Ichigo asked in wonder.
Yoruichi shook her head apologetically.
"I can't talk about him. I mean, I can, I hold no longer feelings towards him, but he's a man of a higher rank than a Captain and so he's one of the secrets I must keep."
Ichigo nodded in acknowledgment.
"So how did I know I was in love with him? ... That's a tough one, Ichigo..." She sat and put her chin on her knees.
"Yeah, I know... it's just... Tatsuki practically confessed to me, Orihime admitted that she feels something too and now Rukia? Tatsuki and Orihime I could handle, since I was sure how I feel about them. With Rukia... I don't think I'm in love with her either, I just wanted to be sure..." Ichigo admitted and scratched his head.
Yoruichi raised an eyebrow.
'Well, to be honest I'm kind of relieved to hear that... God knows why...'
"To answer your question... if I'd have to think about it, I simply enjoyed his company. Whenever he was around I was feeling happy, as if I was intoxicated. I felt no worries and I could talk to him about anything. I felt no embarrassment in front of him. When he touched me, it gave me a burning sensation. But that's probably right for an impulsive love, the kind that comes and goes in a few weeks. I think, that if you truly love someone, you'd do anything for him, you'd want to be with him anytime and anywhere. You'd feel compelled to bring him happiness and you'd want him to be there, next to you, while you're sleeping... I don't know, I'm many times older than you and even I can't give you a proper answer and I'm just mumbling and going around one thing like a repeater." She dropped her head ashamed.
To her surprise, she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. She looked up and saw Ichigo smiling at her.
"It's okay. I had a feeling that something like that can't be explained by simple words. I only wanted to hear your opinion. You may be a pervert, but I value your input. You're wiser than me, Yoruichi-san."
She looked at him breathless.
'Wow, he's going to be a lady-killer. I almost want to... '
"Oooh, am I interrupting something?" Devilish voice of Kukaku interrupted the moment.
"Kukaku-san!" Ichigo exclaimed in surprise and flushed a little.
She flashed to him and whacked him on the head.
"I told you to call me just Kukaku. We're family, no need for honorifics."
"I got it, I got it, no need for pain!" Ichigo rubbed his head.
Yoruichi meanwhile turned away and put on her clothes.
'Maybe I should thank her, if she didn't come, I actually could have kissed him...aaah, I need a man. When you're being attracted even to a young boy you know that something's wrong... why can't Kisuke be just a little bit more normal?'
She sighed and shook her head.
It was almost a noon, when an irritated Ichigo walked from the 13th Division barracks. Once again, he couldn't find Rukia, as she was training somewhere and noone in the division knew where. He was starting to consider the fact, that Rukia herself didn't want to see him or that she was even ashamed for what she said to him during the party.
He wasn't watching where he was going and after a little stroll he found himself in front of the 2nd Division.
Having nothing else to do, he walked inside and saw the members of the Division under strict training from their Captain, Sui-Feng.
After a few minutes, she noticed him and grinned evilly.
"What are you doing here, Kurosaki? Finally decided that you want to get your ass kicked in that promised spar?" She called out for him, startling him a little.
The rest of the squad stopped training and looked at him with curious eyes.
"No, I just... you know what? Let's do it."
'I'm a little bit tense. This should get the blood flowing.'
Sui-Feng rubbed her hands. It was time to beat the brat.
"Ichigo is fighting Captain Sui-Feng!" An excited voice of Matsumoto interrupted the Lieutenants meeting, who stared at her in shock.
"What? Why?" Renji jumped from his chair.
"I don't know, but it looks like a friendly spar." She replied and ran aways to spread the news more.
The Lieutenants looked at each other and jumped from their chairs and flashed to 2nd Division barracks.
Captain Sui-Feng wasn't grinning anymore. In fact, she was frowning. She thought that she would beat Ichigo in a few minutes, but he was proving a lot more competent opponent that she thought.
"So? I thought you were going to show me." Ichigo taunted her.
'I say that but if I didn't have my hierro, I'd be probably limping. She's good, really good...' He thought and cracked his knuckles.
"Don't get too cocky, brat." She yelled back and flashed to him, aiming to kick him in the head.
Ichigo quickly ducked and than rolled, as he was sure that it was just a feint. He was proved right, as he felt her leg fell on the dust a little on his left.
From his crouching position, he tried to swipe her legs, but she saw through his move and quickly jumped, with her fist flying at his face.
'Whoa.'
He slapped her hand away just in time and grabbed her at the collar, trying to throw her through his shoulders.
He succeeded, but without effect as she rolled in the air and landed as a cat, on all four.
'She's more agile than me. On the other hand, I have more strength.'
Once again, she tried to surprise him with a flying kick and this time he didn't duck. Instead, he decided to find out, if he's hierro could withstand her kick directly.
Sui-Feng widened her eyes when she saw him extend his hand. She tried to outmaneuver him, but wasn't quick enough and he caught her leg in midair.
'Wow, it only stings a little bit. This'll get handy.' Ichigo thought as he felt only a slight pain in his hand.
He threw her in front of him as strong as he could.
"Urgh." Sui-Feng whimpered a little as she landed hard.
"Shit." She cursed when she noticed that Ichigo was already in mid-jump and she rolled over, trying to avoid him.
'Let's try this.' Ichigo thought and let some of his reiatsu flow into his hand.
He hit the ground with his fist just a few inches from her stomach creating a small crater in the ground.
"Ow." Ichigo yelped as the punched proved too much even for his Hierro to handle and he felt his knuckles scream from pain. Nothing was broken, but he already felt the bruise forming.
'Okay. No more of this for now.'
"What the-?" Sui-Feng looked at mark in the ground with wide eyes.
'That could have done more than just crack a rib. But he looks as surprised as me.'
She quickly jumped away and returned into defensive position.
"What did you do?" She asked him curiously.
Ichigo rubbed his knuckles.
"I tried to put some of my reiatsu into my arm to increase the strength of the punch but it seems I overdid it. It hurts like hell." He admitted.
'No shit. If I'd try that, my wrist would have been broken. What is he made from?'
"Damn, his bones must be made from stone." Renji commented from the sidelines. He and the other Lieutenants have been watching the sparr for the last few minutes.
"Yeah, I don't think even Captain Zaraki would be fine after that." Ikkaku nodded in wonder.
"Ooh, do you think that his muscles are that hard too?" Matsumoto asked quickly, making others shake their heads.
"I think that Kurosaki-san tried to find out the limits of his now hardened skin."
Renji turned his head in surprise at the voice.
"Captain Kyoraku-san? Wait, the other Captains are here too?"
"What do you mean, 'now hardened skin'?" Hisagi asked.
"We think, that after he merged with his hollow, he gained something akin to the Hollow hierro." Komamura answered him.
The others nodded in agreement. Lieutenants weren't surprised hearing about his merging, as their Captains told them about it after the Captain's meeting with Ichigo.
"Doesn't matter, it was too close. Go, Captain!" Omaeda cheered on his Captain with enthusiasm.
"Damn Omaeda, I'm trying to concentrate here..." Sui-Feng muttered in irritation.
'Let's try the good old martial arts.'
She flashed again to Ichigo and aimed her fist to his stomach. He quickly side-stepped and attempted to do the same. She slapped his hand away and changed her aim. With her second attack, she tried to punch him in the jaw and after that she hit him in the chest.
Ichigo successfully evaded her strike to the jaw, but felt the second attack dead on. He grimaced from the pain.
'So she's trying the martial arts, huh?'
He answered with his own series of punches and kicks, both from karate and his street fighting.
Sui-Feng jumped away, after she felt his fist on her shoulder.
'It's time to finish this.' She tought and flashed as fast as she could and attempted to hit his leg from behind.
Ichigo widened his eyes when he barely had the time to dodge, but he couldn't react to her second flash as she grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back, with her legs blocking his.
He lost his balance and was falling down when an idea hit him. With his one, somewhat free leg, he kicked in the ground and spinned himself during the fall, shaking her off him a moment before they hit the ground.
He noticed that she was too surprised and didn't notice him already standing up. Again he tried his drop punch and once again he missed by inches as she barely rolled away.
They jumped at each other with renewed vigour and traded blows after blow, neither hitting the spot and neither gaining any ground.
In the end however, Ichigo's superior strength proved to be the winning element as he gripped her from behind, restricting her movements the same way she did before.
He almost grinned but suddenly he lost his footing and fell on the ground, with Sui-Feng on top of him.
"Shit." They both cursed as the dust swirled around them.
Sui-Feng blinked a little and after a few seconds, she realized that she was sitting on something, that was alive.
She looked down and saw Ichigo looking at her with wide eyes.
"Well, I guess neither of us won." He grinned and nodded in acknowledgment at her.
"Yeah, not that it doesn't bother me. You're good, Kurosaki, I admit it. You think fast during the fight and few times you completely surprised me. It's been a long time since I enjoyed a spar." She admitted with a small grin.
"So if I want another one you won't protest?" He asked sincerely.
"Sure."
"Sooo, could you get off me now?" Ichigo asked in little embarrassment.
She widened her eyes and quickly stood up, dusting herself in the process.
They shook hands and Ichigo walked with her to her office, listening to her tips on how to further improve his Hakuda.
"Did he just?... did he win?" Omaeda asked in disbelief. He never saw anyone who could even match his Captain in pure Hakuda.
"No, it ended in a draw, which is surprising enough. He's quite good to keep up with Captain Sui-Feng." Kyoraku replied deep in thoughts.
"On the other hand, he's lucky to have his Hierro. I don't think he would be unhurt after those few blows, he managed to get from her." Ukitake commented.
"Either way, I think that the next time I want a spar in Hakuda, I'll call him." Hisagi said with respect and the other lieutenants nodded in agreement.
'Damn Ichigo, he's leaving me behind more and more... ' Renji thought bitterly.
"So, Ichigo-kun, how does it feel to be equal in Hakuda with a professional?" Kyoraku asked Ichigo, after the latter one emerged from the office of Captain Sui-Feng.
Ichigo turned around in surprise to see the lazy Captain waiting for him.
"It would probably feel good, but I'm nowhere close to be her equal. I only managed thanks to my Hierro and the fact that I surprised her with my style." Ichigo admitted.
'Hmmm, he's keeping level-headed and even admits his faults easily. Impressive for someone so young.' Kyoraku thought in a little surprise.
"Say, Kyoraku-san. I heard that you're one of the most proficient zanjutsu experts here in Seiretei. Do you think it would be possible for you to teach me a little bit of it in your free time?" Ichigo asked him suddenly, surprising the senior Captain even more.
"Oh? I was under the impression that you were already expert yourself, Ichigo-kun." Kyoraku replied slyly.
Ichigo just shook his head.
"Nah, I hardly know any zanjutsu style, I simply listen to my instincts and react accordingly. I was lucky enough to fight only those without any style till now, too. Well, some of them had some techniques, but I pressured them enough for them to have no time to use them. I fought with Byakuya and he was probably the only one who used proper zanjutsu against me, and it proved quite effective. I'm not saying I have no basics, it's just... you know."
Kyoraku nodded.
'Well, he's right. Fighting only with instinct can get you only so far. Still, it's incredible for him to go so far... '
"I understand. Why don't you stop by my division barracks in an hour? I have some paperwork to do and if I'd put it away, my Nanao-chan would... well... I'd be in no condition to help you." He laughed nervously.
Ichigo chuckled himself and promised to be there on time.
"Okay, since we want to fight only with zanjutsu, we'll only use our swords. No techniques, no reiatsu, no nothing just pure swordsmanship." Kyoraku said in serious voice and saw Ichigo take a stance.
"Your stance is good enough. You're ready to attack or to defend yourself. Your eyes are on your opponent... good."
He put his flower covered kimono away and took out his own twin zanpaktou.
"I wanted to use only one of my swords, but I think it'll be a good opportunity to test your agility with sword and your speed, too. Let's see how can you keep up against someone, who's using more blades." Kyoraku said and sped up to Ichigo with his zanpaktou falling down on Ichigo.
Said person put up his blade to block the incoming attack and almost forgot about the second blade. He noticed it in the last moment and ducked, or else his head would've been gone.
'Phew, no kidding, this'll take som time to adjust.'
He retaliated by swinging his huge cleaver with al of his strength at the lazy Captain, who blocked his attack with one blade at first, but quickly added his second blade, as he felt the force behind the strike.
Kyoraku widened his eyes a little.
'Strong!' He thought and pushed Ichigo away.
Without any time to spare he flashed behind the teen and swung his blades horizontally, trying to cleave him in two.
Ichigo spun around and blocked, but the Captain immediately charged another attack, with his left blade aiming at his stomach.
The blade of zangetsu managed to block it, but Ichigo felt a little pain in his left shoulder and widened his eyes. He quickly jumped, trying to put some distance between them.
He only managed to notice that he obtained a small cut on that shoulder, when he already had to block another vicious strike. He parried it as quickly as he could, but felt a pain in his other shoulder.
'Damn. How can he attack with different hand in different speed?' Ichigo thought angrily.
He spun himself around, holding zangetsu in front of him and managed to get away from the Captain.
"Not bad Ichigo-kun, I never thought of the attack like that." Kyoraku said appreciatively.
Ichigo snorted in disbelief.
"Yeah right. That's why I'm the one who's bleeding."
"Well, to be honest, you should have been more injured. That Hierro of yours is really strong." Kyoraku commented, making Ichigo widen his eyes.
'Shit.' He cursed mentally. His eyebrows twitched in annoyance.
He was aware that this was only a training, but getting cut so quickly was crumbling his pride a little.
Kyoraku prepared himself and blocked the substitute's oncoming slash, but even he was pushed back a little.
'Heh, seems like I injured more than only his shoulders.' He smirked. His plan to anger the teen was working splendidly.
'Let's see how can he hold himself when he's angry.'
"... and after I fainted, I woke up the next morning in our barracks. Since then I'm so embarrassed, I can't meet him. What should I do, Nii-san?" Rukia asked her brother with her head in her hands.
Kuchiki Byakuya was a Captain of 6th Division, head of the Kuchiki Noble clan and by most people considered a strict, cold and uncaring person.
But right now, he was having a headache, because he cared too much about his adopted sister, Rukia, who just told him a story, about how she, under the influence of alcohol, confessed her feelings to Kurosaki Ichigo.
Kurosaki Ichigo. Byakuya found the teen irritating from the beginning. He had no manners, which were instilled in the Noble Kuchiki from his birth. He was young and brash, sometimes borderline rude and most of all, a rebel. During the course of time and mainly, after their fight at the Sokyoku Hill, however he found the substitute to be very caring person and even the aristocratic Kuchiki somehow came to like him on some level.
He would never say it out loud, but that rebel side of him was something, that the Captain couldn't afford, but wanted. To be able to stand for their belief, to stand against the law and fight it for the ones he wished to protect... it was something that was denied to him.
First time he heard about his adopted sister living under the same roof, even in the same room as the teen... he almost flipped and lost his composure. No matter what was said about him, he cared about Rukia deeply. She was his pride, at first a simple stone, now a trimmed diamond, his remainder of his lost love, Hisana, and by her, his family. She was the only member of the Kuchiki clan, that cared about his well being on personal and deep level. She wasn't as cold as the elders or the remainder of the clan. She wasn't as aristocratic, and had a nice sense of humor.
She was the only person who could penetrate his icy cold demeanor and make him chuckle a bit. So when she told him calmly, that she was living in Kurosaki's closet for the whole time... She quickly had to calm him down and after rethinking it, he had to admit, he jumped to the conclusion too quickly. He got to know the young substitute and learned that he valued women too much to do something as vile as... well, shortly, he knew that his sister was in good hands.
But now he was told that she was in love with the boy?
Byakuya was in all honesty perplexed. How should he react? What should he say to her? He himself was in love only once, with Hisana. Should he kill the boy, for attracting her?
Should he deny her access to him?
Should he ignore it all?
Or should he support her?
He rubbed his temples. The headache was already here.
"Nii-san?" Rukia asked timidly.
"Yes, I was listening Rukia... I'm just trying to understand the situation." She nodded shortly and waited.
"Why are you so embarrassed? And is it really embarrassment that you're feeling? Isn't it that you fear the possibility of him rejecting you, that you can't see him?" Byakuya asked after a few minutes.
He watched as her head snapped up and cursed mentally when he noticed her shock.
'... but she needs to hear it. She needs to know that he may not reciprocate her feelings.' He told himself.
"I... I don't know Nii-san. Do you think it's possible? I mean it is possible, I'm not that pretty, I'm small, I'm... not so well-endowed..." She started to mumble incoherently.
"No! Rukia, you are a beautiful woman and every man would be happy to have you as wife. I'm just saying that there may be a possibility, that he only likes you as a dear friend. You have an exceptionally strong bond between you, akin to the one that the damn cat and the Urahara Kisuke share. However, I do not know, if what you have is the kind of the bond you wish to have. You just have to confront him." Byakuya replied quickly. He knew of her low self-esteem and he didn't want to hear it.
She smiled gracefully and nodded.
"Do you think you'd be able to be just his friend, even if he rejects you?" Byakuya asked after a moment of silence.
"I don't know... it would be perfect if he'd accept me. He's one of the few that even Nii-san or the elders would approve of, he's a gentleman, maybe a tad rude, but he always treats women with kindness. He's very strong, caring... handsome... " She mumbled the last bit, surprising Byakuya, who got a coughing fit.
After he calmed down he saw that Rukia was blushing furiously after her slip.
"Yes, well, it seems that women find him quite attractive." Byakuya admitted, not noticing Rukia shocked expression.
"I... think we could still be friends. It's... we've been together through a lot of stuff and that's something that can't be forgotten. We share memories and that's enough for me... but when I see him with another woman I just get so jealous... I hope that when he'll find someone for him and it won't be me, I'll be over him... " She said sadly.
Byakuya beamed at her. His pride indeed.
'She's very mature about it. More than I would probably be... I'm proud of you, Rukia.'
He looked out his window and sighed.
'Think carefully before you speak to her, Kurosaki. I'd hate to go bankai on your ass if you're insensitive towards her...'
'Damn, no wonder he's an expert.' Ichigo thought out of breath.
He and Kyoraku were getting at it for almost an hour and both of them were sweating bullets.
Ichigo was now spurting cuts all over, bleeding slightly. It was thanks to his Hierro that he wasn't already in 4th Division.
On the other side stood Captain Kyoraku. Surprisingly, he had some injuries himself. He was an expert in zanjutsu and yet, he let himself get caught in some of the suprising moves of Ichigo, who thought out of the box.
After he got his first injuries, Ichigo was angry and fought with a little rage, but it quickly cooled off, after he noticed, that it not only didn't help, it made him even more of a target.
So he switched tactics and started to not just swing with his huge cleaver around, but he tried to copy some of the moves he saw Kyoraku performing on him.
It proved a good thing, when after almost fifteen minutes, he finally managed to surprise the Captain and nick him a little on his wrist. Since than, he managed to slightly injure him more.
He was however, the one who was spending a lot more energy on offense and defense and was quickly loosing his stamina.
'But it seems he's getting tired too.'
Ichigo was grateful for having enormous reiatsu capacity, that allowed him to somehow keep up with more experienced Captain.
He jumped and tried to flash to his opponent, when he noticed that Kyoraku held up his hand.
"I think it's enough, Ichigo-kun. I don't think I remember having to spar that much with somebody and I'm getting all sweaty." He grimaced when he smelled himself a little.
"And I start to reek of sweat. I can't have that." He chuckled a little but then got serious.
"As I said after your spar with Captain Sui-Feng, you're really good, Ichigo-kun. Not many people in Seiretei could keep up with me for that long and survive. Of course you have much room to improve as well. I'm sure you noticed that even with your limitless stamina, you're getting tired, which means, that you use too much energy in fight." He said and saw Ichigo nod.
"On the other hand, it's incredible that you managed to last that long and you have only so few injuries. It's thanks to your Hierro, but even then... More importantly, I noticed that you managed to copy some of my moves perfectly after only seeing them a few times. That's... really amazing. Urahara Kisuke was right, your ability to improve is almost scary. I think I can say without thinking, that you're more of a prodigy than even the likes of Captain Hitsugaya or Ichimaru Gin. It took me lot of centuries to get where I'm now and I think that you could surpass me in a few decades. You probably already surpassed me in terms of reiatsu but I think I could still surprise you in other areas." He chuckled a little.
"You can say it Kyoraku-san, if you wanted to, you could kick my ass." Ichigo laughed a little bit bitterly.
"No, I don't think so. Remember, we were using pure swordsmanship and even with that you managed to injure me. I can out-class you in Kido for now, but there's no way I could simply 'kick your ass'. No, if we would to go full out, I'd be probably quickly pressed to use even my bankai to fight you." Kyoraku praised him.
Ichigo looked at him with wide eyes.
"Really?"
Kyoraku nodded slightly and motioned to follow him to get some refreshments and to talk about some tips on Ichigo's zanjutsu.
Ichigo was walking through the halls of 4th Division with a smile on his face.
After he trained a little with Kyoraku, he visited Aizen's ex-lieutenant in 4th Division again. Since his first visit, Hinamori became a little bit calmer and she didn't have that oppressive aura around her. As Ichigo suspected, talking about her memories helped her release some of the angst she felt, ever since Aizen defected.
Today, she told him the story about how she met Toshiro when they were younger.
As Unohana later informed him, it was the first time after long weeks that anyone saw Hinamori truly smile.
Ichigo was happy for her. He may knew her for only a short time, but during his talks with her, he was convinced that she was a truly nice person, kind-hearted, who deserved to be happy.
While he thinking about his visit, he accidentally bumped into someone with pink hair.
"Oh, sorry Hacchi."
The person he bumped into was one of the Vizards, the pink giant, Hacchigen.
"It's fine, Ichigo-san. What are you doing here, if I may ask?" The Vaizard asked him politely.
"I was just visiting Hinamori Momo. She was Aizen's lieutenant and she's... well, she wasn't doing very good." Ichigo sighed with small smile.
"But she's a little bit better now. It'll take more time, but I think she'll get over it."
Hacchi nodded encouragingly.
"Yes, poor soul. Aizen did horrible things to her as well, I'm sure of it... where are you headed now? You look a little bit roughed up. Something happened?"
Ichigo looked at his clothes and chuckled.
"Naah, I was just training with Kyoraku-san in zanjutsu. I thought, since I'm here I could use the time to improve myself. Long story short, I found out I have a long way to go till I can beat someone of his caliber with pure swordsmanship." He snorted.
"I was just thinking that maybe I could finally try to learn some Kido, since it's the one thing I know nothing about, but I don't know who could teach me. I was thinking about asking Rukia but... she's kinda out of the question."
Hacchi frowned and stared at Ichigo who raised an eyebrow at him.
"Well, if you wanted to, I could teach you Kido. You are one of the Vizards, after all, so I don't mind." Hacchi finally said to a surprised Ichigo.
"Really? Ohhh, I almost forgot that you were lieutenant of the Kido Corps. That would be great!" Ichigo exclaimed with enthusiasm.
"No problem. Wait for me in the courtyard. I'll go to Unohana-san to get an approval to use her barracks." Hacchi chuckled lightly and walked away.
"So, Ichigo-san. Tell me, how is your control of your reiatsu?" Hacchi asked, standing next to a sitting Ichigo.
"Uhm... not that good?" Ichigo smiled nervously.
"Yes, the first step in our training will be learning how to withdraw the reiatsu, you're constantly emitting, back into your soul, so that your output would be minimal. I don't expect you to do it perfectly today. Actually I think that if you'd be able to do that in a week's time would be incredible. So, no worries if you can't do it." Hacchi smiled and sat in front of him.
"Now, in order to release your bankai and your resurrección, you need to increase your reiatsu output. I know that when you return back to your shikai, that output in decreased by your doing, so you know the basics. To further improve that, you have to visualize your reiatsu. Close your eyes." He said and watched as Ichigo closed his eyes.
"The best way to do it is to imagine some sort of container. In your case it must be something huge, proportional to your vast amount of reiatsu. I'd suggest a dam. When you have it, increase your output the same way you'd do before the bankai release. Hold it there and then slowly withdraw it back but this time, put it in your dam. You may find out that your dam is a little bit small and in that case don't push more, just do it again from the beginning, this time with a dam of increased size."
'Easy, right?' Ichigo snorted bitterly and focused.
He tried to imagine a dam as instructed. When he was sure it was done correctly, he raised his reiatsu on the level of releasing his bankai and held it steady.
After a moment he slowly started to withdraw it back.
'Huh? I can see my dam but it's not filling up?' He thought confused.
"Uhm, Hacchi, why isn't my dam filling up? Am I forgetting something?" Ichigo asked with closed eyes.
'It's a good thing I put up that barrier to prevent reiatsu from leaking. It's really heavy.' Hacchi was sweating a little and wiped his brow.
"Yes, I forgot, sorry about that. You have to visualize the flowing reiatsu and transform it into something that has physical mass. Since you're filling up a dam, I'd say, imagine your reiatsu as the water flowing in the river and point that river into your dam." Hacchi replied.
'Ooooh... why didn't I think of that.' Ichigo mentally slapped himself.
He did exactly as instructed and when he tried to feel his reiatsu and visualize it as the river, his mind pictured an image of a wild and raging torrent of water that constantly flowed around him.
'Wow, is... is this my reiatsu?' Ichigo thought amazed.
After shaking his head, Ichigo started to withdrew the massive stream back into his dam. It was a slow process and it seemed that no matter how long he let the dam to be filled, the stream wasn't weakening.
Hacci watched Ichigo struggle and smiled. He was already making a progress. The heavy reiatsu that was pushing him to the ground just seconds ago was slowly but surely disappearing.
He expected Ichigo to have more problems with it, but him merging with his hollow probably sped up the process, as he now possessed a little bit better control than before.
When Ichigo's reiatsu dropped to his normal levels while in his constant shikai, he noticed that Ichigo's frown deepened and a little sweat started to form on his brow.
Now was the moment for the true test of his control. If Ichigo could lessen his normal output even just by little, he would do some progress.
'Damn, it's getting harder to direct the flow into the dam every minute.' Ichigo gasped mentally.
His dam wasn't completely full, as he made it practically bottomless, but the torrent of water flowing around him was loosing its obedience towards his will.
'What am I doing wrong? I'm no longer conflicted about my hollow so what is it? It can't be just because I have so much reiatsu. If yama-jii can do it, so can I!' He cursed and concentrated again.
Hacchi widened his eyes as he felt that Ichigo's reiatsu did a huge drop and was now on Lieutenant level.
'And it's still dropping, interesting.'
After ten more minutes, when Ichigo's output reached the level of 4th seat and was no longer dropping, Hacchi stopped him.
"I think that it's enough Ichigo-san. Now imagine that you close that dam and reinforce its walls, so that the pressure won't destroy it. After you do it, you can drop your concentration. If you did it correctly, the reiatsu you contained in it should remain there. You're doing great so far."
He saw that Ichigo's face showed relief and after ten more minutes, he saw him open his eyes and wipe his brow.
"Haaah... so it's working?" Ichigo asked tiredly.
"Yes, it's working splendidly. You now only emit the reiatsu of the seated officer, what is in my humble opinion incredible progress. I expected you to drop your reiatsu to a Lieutenant level, at best, but you again proved to do better." He gave Ichigo thumbs up.
"So? Now what?" Ichigo asked with a happy smile.
'I did it! Not completely, but it's something!'
"Now, we can try to learn some actual Kido. We'll try the basic ones and see how will that go."
Hacchi rubbed his chin in thoughts.
"Firstly, Kido or Demon Arts in other words, are divided into three classes. Bakudo or Way of Binding which are supplementary spells, Hado or Way of Destruction and Kaido or simply Healing Kido. Each class is important and can drastically change the direction of fight. Surprise use of Bakudo can trap your opponent, with the Hado you can cause great damage to him all the while you're healing yourself with Kaido. With me so far?"
Ichigo nodded in enthusiasm.
"Good. We'll begin with Hado, as I think we'll agree that destruction is something you can do quite well. Its number is one and the name is Sho. Hado #1 : Sho!" Hacchi turned and pointed at the practice target, which got blown a small distance.
"As you can see, this Kido has no incantation. It's a simple spell, where you direct your reiryoku into your index finger, point it at your target and let the energy flow. It helps if you visualize the effect, which is a simple thrust. Be carefull and do not use too much of your reiryoku. This spell can be used effectively by students in academy and therefore the need for energy is very low. Now you try."
Ichigo stood up and walked next to Hacchi. He pointed his index finger in the direction of the second practice target and concentrated.
'Focus the energy into your finger, visualize the effect and let it flow. Got it, it's like Getsuga, only with lesser amount of energy. Should be easy enough.'
He imagined the target to be blown away and let a bit of energy flow into his finger. When he couldn't contain it any longer, he let it out and watched as the target was blown from it's place to Hacchi's barrier like a bullet.
Ichigo widened his eyes when he felt a pain in his finger and saw a little smoke emerge from it.
"Ow. What happened?"
Hacchi chuckled and turned to him.
"You used too much reiryoku and the redundant energy burned you. But it seems you grasped the context quickly enough."
Ichigo nodded.
"Yeah, it's similar to when I use my Getsuga. I thought I put as little energy as I could but I guess it was still too much."
"Yes, if you wanted to use it for example to get your injured comrade out of the combat zone, you'd probably injure him more." Ichigo cringed at the words and got into the stance again.
"Again." He said and focused once again.
This time, the target was blown away with a smaller force and his finger was no longer smoking.
"Hehe, easy as pie." Ichigo grinned cheekily at his success.
"It is the most basic Kido spell after all." Hacchi commented, making Ichigo pout a little.
"Now try the basic Bakudo spell. It's called Sai and its purpose is to bind the arms of your target behind its back."
Hacchi aimed at the practice target with his index and middle finger together.
"Bakudo #1: Sai!" The target's arms locked behind its back instantly.
"I know this one! Rukia used it on me when we first met!" Ichigo remembered and then grinned evilly.
'Revenge will be sweet.'
Hacchi only chuckled and let him took the stance.
"The process is the same as with the Sho. Energy into both of your fingers, visualize, let it out."
"Bakudo #1: Sai!"
This time Ichigo managed to do it correctly on his first try. He already knew how much energy he should use. He turned to Hacchi with a victory sign and waited for another instructions.
"Good. You can try to improve the speed in which you perform these kido in your free time, since both of them aren't that potent and you can't destroy larger areas with them. Now we'll try other two kido that don't require incantation. The first one, a Hado type, is called Byakurai. Watch closely."
Hacchi turned to the practice targets and held up his palm.
"Hado #4: Byakurai!" He said and a torrent of blue energy, similar to a lighting bolt, emerged from his hand and destroyed the target.
'Byakuya used this on me...heh another one bites the dust.' Ichigo thought mentally.
"For this Hado, you have to gather a little bit more of your energy and compress it as hard as you can. When it's done, imagine the energy to be the energy of electricity and let it out. Bit of a warning though. This time start with as little reiryoku as you can. Byakurai is a Hado, which when used with too much energy and little control can electrify you and it's not pleasant." Hacchi warned him.
Ichigo held up his hand and concentrated. He gathered as little reiryoku as he could and pushed it into his hand.
'Now compress it.'
"!"
"Ow!" Ichigo cursed after a small explosion engulfed him with a smoke.
"Ah, it seems that you tried to compress the energy without paying attention to the said energy. You can't simply compress something without having it wrapped in something. Just like with your energy being in your dam, the energy in your palm has to be contained, you need to define its borders." Hacchi said through the smoke and heard Ichigo mumble something.
'He could have said that before I tried it...'
"Got it." Ichigo replied and tried it again.
He compressed the energy successfully on his second try.
'Okay, transform it into electricity just as it emerges from your palm.'
Hacchi watched him struggle and saw a small blue air flow from Ichigo's hand.
"Try again with a tiny bit more reiryoku and you didn't transform the energy correctly."
Ichigo's mouth twitched in annoyance.
'Like I wasn't trying...'
For the next ten minutes Hacchi watched Ichigo fail, but on his ninth try, he managed to produce a regular Byakurai.
"Good. Add more energy and again, till the torrent is the same diameter as your palm." Hacchi commanded and he waited another five minutes for Ichigo to complete it.
Ichigo wiped his brow after the practice target in front of him blew up from his successful Hado.
"Okay, we will learn one more kido today, Ichigo-san. It's called Seki and it's a Bakudo. For this I want you to try and kick me when you'll see an orb on my right hand." Hacchi told him and waited for Ichigo to nod.
He raised his right hand.
"Bakudo #8: Seki."
'Here goes.' Ichigo thought and tried to kick him in the hand, but when he made contact with a light blue orb, his foot was blocked and repelled back, sending him few meters back.
"I trust you understood the effect of this Kido?" Hacchi asked him after he released the kido.
"Yeah, it can block and repel physical attacks?" Ichigo replied.
"Yes, but it's not limited on physical attacks only. It can do the same with other Kido but mostly only those, which are of lower level. However, if you can put more reiryoku in it while maintaining it, you could block Hado of even higher level. I think that low powered Shakkakho can be blocked too."
"Sweet."
"For this bakudo, you have to push the reiryoku to the part of your body that you want to protect. It's easiest to use with hands so you should start with that. Gather the energy and flatten it so that it would form an orb, covering that part of your body. Imagine it and let the energy emerge." Hacchi instructed him and walked a few steps away.
"When you're sure you have it, announce it and I'll try a regular Sho to test it."
Ichigo nodded and focused on the task. He raised his hand in similar way Hacchi did and gathered the reiryoku. From his knowledge on Byakurai, he firstly contained the energy and formed borders around it and only after that he proceeded to flatten it. He let the reiryoku flow from his body and glanced at his hand. He noticed a translucent orb next to his right hand.
"Got it!" He yelled to Hacchi and braced for the possible failure of his kido.
Hacchi pointed his finger on the orb.
"Sho!" He called and Ichigo could almost feel the energy stopping on his Seki and bounce back at Hacchi, who managed to avoid his own spell.
Ichigo grinned at Hacchi, who only applauded him.
"Very good, Ichigo-san. You can try to improve yourself in these kido on your own since you know the basics. For now switch between speed in which you can use them and the level of power put behind them. You could try and use them without calling them out loud, but be carefull with it. Kido tends to be harder to control without verbal command."
"Thank you Hacchi. I hope we can do this again soon. I kind of like this kido stuff. It's nice too see the results of your hard work as soon as you get it right." Ichigo grinned and lied on the floor tiredly.
Hacchi smiled and sat on the ground too, assuming meditating pose.
'Well, I could have told him that what he learned in mere two hours, takes more than a month in a Shinigami Academy...'
Ichigo woke up in his inner world facing his zanpaktou spirit.
"Oh, Zangetsu, what is it?" Ichigo asked, still lying comfortably.
"I wanted to talk to you Ichigo, but before that I'm curious... how can you lie there?" Zangetsu asked in amusement when he saw Ichigo open and widen his eyes.
He looked down and saw that he was floating in the air. Instantly, he jumped on the nearby skyscraper and with twitching brow glanced at Zangetsu.
"You did it on purpose!" Ichigo yelled and sighed when he saw his zanpaktou smirk.
"I'd never do that." HIs smirk widened when Ichigo only cursed quietly.
"But enough fun. Ichigo, I noticed that you finally decided to train and I must say I'm proud of your accomplishments."
Ichigo looked at him in surprise.
"What accomplishments? I got my ass kicked by Sui-Feng, Kyoraku-san and it took me long two hours till I learned the easiest kido..." He grimaced but had to dodge a surprise swipe from his zanpaktou.
"What the-?"
Zangetsu shook his head.
"You're giving yourself too little credit, Ichigo. Sui-Feng is a master assassin, second only to your friend Yoruichi and to equal her is not something many can do. I don't think that most of the Captains are so skilled in Hakuda. Captain Kyoraku is at least half a millenia older than you and yet you managed to press him. Those kido you learned are easiest to learn maybe for academy students, because they don't have much reiatsu. You, on the other hand possess so much reiatsu that learning basic Kido should have taken you a lot more time. That you did it in only few hours time is... very, very good. Remember that even your friend, Renji, who's a lieutenant can't do some Kido properly and yet you already learned four of them." Zangetsu scolded him with stern voice.
Ichigo looked at the ground embarrassed.
'Well, only Zangetsu could encourage me and scold me at the same time.' He chuckled and looked at his zanpaktou.
"I guess this isn't the reason you called me here."
Zangetsi nodded and turned away.
"Soon we'll train too, Ichigo. It's time that you learn my secrets. I can't have you swing with me and using only one technique." Ichigo gasped and flashed to him.
"Cool, what do you have in mind?" Zangetsu almost chuckled at the eagerness in Ichigo's voice.
"You'll see, but I must warn you Ichigo. When I'm training, I'm not very kind. You'll have to show me that you deserve to know what I want you to learn." Zangetsu warned him with serious voice.
Ichigo gulped and nodded. He remembered from his training for bankai, just how unkind his zanpaktou could be.
"But now, Shirosaki would want you to learn some of his techniques. You did good using them in your fight with Aizen, but you spent too much energy on them. When you'll wake up, he'll talk to you. Ask your friend Hacchi to erect a strong barrier around you, since you'll be using your hollow reiatsu and we don't want anyone to mess with the training." Zangetsu surprised Ichigo again, who only widened his eyes.
'I guess I'll be sleeping like a baby tonight.'
He turned around and prepared to go out of his inner world when he heard zangetsu.
"Go, Ichigo. If you'll train hard enough in time I may show you the true form of my bankai too..."
Ichigo turned his head in shock, just as he woke up at the training grounds of the 4th Division.
'True form? What does that even mean?...'
Ichigo jumped in surprise when a familiar voice interrupted his thoughts.
'As Zangetsu said Kingy, you'll see in time. But you can't be a pussy and have to show Zangetsu who's the boss around here.'
'Shirosaki, you've been quiet these days.' Ichigo greeted him
'Nah, I've just been asleep. Additionally, I'm proud of you Kingy. Even someone as gay as you managed to get two hotties in bed with himself.' Shirosaki laughed when Ichigo flushed a little, after an image of naked Yoruichi and Kukaku entered his mind.
'Shut uuuup!'
He stood up and walked to Hacchi, who was watching him for a moment.
"Hacchi, could you... could you do a strong barrier around me? Just like you did in the warehouse, when I was trying to control my hollow?" He asked him and watched as Hacchi looked at him in surprise.
"Of course, but may I ask why?"
Ichigo scratched his head nervously.
"Aaah, well, Shirosaki, my hollow, wants me to learn how to use his powers properly so that he won't be ashamed by me."
Hacchi's surprised face morphed into a shocked one and he looked at Ichigo with alarm.
"Are you sure? I mean... ."
Ichigo held up his hand and stopped him.
"It's okay, I understand your concern, but trust me, it'll be just a training."
Hacchi nodded and motioned him to stand in the centre of the training grounds. He was preparing to build up a barrier when Ichigo called out to him.
"And make it so that it can mask and endure a lot of hollow reiatsu. I'm going to go into resurrección so... you catch my drift." Hacchi nodded and prepared the barrier.
Inside Ichigo frowned.
"You know, I still don't know why I have to go into bankai and only after that into resurrección." Ichigo muttered to his hollow.
Shirosaki facepalmed.
'And I thought you're supposed to be the intelligent one. Tell me, can a shinigami go to a bankai from his sealed blade? No, he has to go into shikai first. Arrancars can release their resurrección immediately, but we are different. Our resurrección works as another release of our power. Only when your shinigami powers are at your max you can use the hollow ones. It's because the shinigami side of you is preventing them from releasing too early as it could damage you. Resurrección, mainly ours is extremely strong and it has to have an opposing force that could balance it accordingly and that's your bankai. You can use your hollow powers even when you're in shikai, but they can only be as strong as is your shikai.' Shirosaki explained to a surprised Ichigo.
"So basically, my hollow attacks can be only as strong as is my shinigami level? It's... confusing. It means that even when I'm using hollow powers I can't do stronger attacks than with my shinigami ones?" Ichigo asked in confusion.
'It's like this. You're in shikai now. If you'd use your cero, it would be as strong as your getsuga. In bankai it would be as strong as kuroi getsuga. But! If you release your Resurrección, the attacks would be strong as the cero and kuroi getusga combined. To answer your question, it's good to learn how to use hollow powers even when you're not in resurrección, because of the diversity of attacks. Additionally, a cero is a lot faster that getsuga and bala is even faster. Imagine how surprised could be your opponent if you'd spam getsugas on him and suddenly a bala hit him." Shirosaki replied and could almost see a light bulb lighten above Ichigo's head.
"Oh, never thought about it in that way. Cool." Ichigo admitted.
"Of course, that's why I'm the instinct and you're the logic." Shirosaki snorted in amusement and waited for Ichigo to release.
On the other side of the barrier, Hacchi was looking out for any damage in it when he saw Ichigo release his resurrección.
Immediately , the barrier started to crack and he widened his eyes.
It was a first time anyone damaged his barrier with pure spiritual pressure. He quickly added more layers to it and wiped his brow. His eyes glanced to Ichigo's new form and he felt another bead of sweat forming on his forehead.
He never witnessed Ichigo's resurrección before.
'Truly, a frightening sight.' He said and had to sit down.
"So, what is the first thing I'm going to learn?" Ichigo asked in wonder.
'You're going to learn how to use your Cero properly. As Zangetsu said, you used too much energy on it last time and only burned out your reserves.' Shirosaki replied.
"But it was a stronger Cero." Ichigo protested.
'No, the excessive energy only dispersed, it wasn't used in the Cero because of your lack of control. I expect you to do it properly on your first time right now.'
Ichigo shook his head in amusement.
'It's only natural that my hollow would be the most harsh one.'
"So what did I do wrong? I didn't concentrate enough and didn't compress the hollow energy properly?" Ichigo asked in thought.
Shirosaki blinked in surprise.
'Exactly... See? You're not as stupid as you look.'
"Idiot, if I look stupid and we look the same, doesn't that mean that you look stupid too?" Ichigo asked him while facepalming.
'Naah, cuz I'm too handsome for that.' Shirosaki laughed and watched Ichigo drop to the ground comically.
"Fine, let's get it over with."
Ichigo concentrated on his hollow energy and pointed into his horns. As he noticed the red ball forming between them, he focused on the said ball and imagined it being compressed, all the while adding more reiryoku.
'Idiot! Enough! We're inside a barrier, do you want blow us up?' Shirosaki yelled at him, startling him enough to let the Cero strike the practice target, which exploded on contact with it and the shockwave cracked the barrier and pushed Ichigo backwards.
"Oops." Ichigo laughed nervously and glanced at Hacchi, who was already busy repairing the barrier.
'I swear everytime someone praises you, you screw up...' Shirosaki sighed, '... but, you managed to do the Cero correctly. No wasted energy whatsoever. You probably didn't even feel that you used any energy, right?'
Ichigo nodded.
'Good. Now, we'll try to improve your use of high-speed regeneration and that would be all for today, as you'll be too wasted to do anything more.' Shirosaki said, getting a raised eyebrow from Ichigo.
"And how are we going to test it?"
'Simply. Cut off your left arm.'
"..."
"WHAT?!" Ichigo yelled loudly.
"Are you fucking kidding me? You expect me to cut off my own arm? I have a preservation reflex for god's sake!"
'Or you could blow yourself up with your own Cero...'
"..."
"Which arm was it?" Ichigo asked in defeated tone and shook his head.
'This is crazy...'
'Left one. Don't be a pussy kingy. It'll grow back, we're just trying to improve the speed and the amount of used energy.' Shirosaki said calmly.
"If that was supposed to calm me down... you suck at it." Ichigo grimaced and gripped his zanpaktou in his right arm and looked at his left one.
'Crazy, crazy, crazy... 'He thought and sliced his left arm up to his elbow.
"Gah!" He gasped from the pain and looked at his lump.
'Jesus, what is that kid doing?' Hacchi thought in shock.
"Now what?" Ichigo asked through gritted teeth.
'It's quite simple. Just redirect the flow of your hollow energy into the wound and imagine your hand. Do it slowly, so that you can learn the proper amount that you should use.'
Ichigo nodded and with a pained frown focused on his wound.
After few seconds he saw a new hand forming and as the pain receded, he exhaled in relief.
'Okay, do it again. You used a good amount of energy, now I want you to do it faster. You should be able to repair your wound almost instantly.' Shirosaki commented without mercy and Ichigo grimaced.
'Stupid, crazy, insane... ' He cursed and prepared his sword for the second time.
Hacchi has been watching him cutting his own hand for the past hour and was holding himself back, so that he wouldn't interrupt him.
He was aware what was Ichigo's hollow trying to teach him, but he still considered it too cruel.
Hacchi glanced at his right hand, that was previously destroyed in his fight with the Segunda Espada, Barragan, and only thanks to Orihime, it was restored, and sighed.
After that fight he realized just how vulnerable he was. Seeing Ichigo learning to use high-speed regeneration gave him an idea.
Not once the Vizoreds tried to use their hollow powers to heal their wounds as they feared that it would only make them more hollow-like as they already were. But it was probably time to try it.
He was interrupted from his musing when an extremely tired Ichigo knocked on his barrier and passed out from exhaustion.
Hacchi smiled and let the barrier down.
Yes, it was time for Vizoreds to walk in Ichigo's steps and try to learn more about their powers.
End of chapter 6.
The name of the next chapter will be: Protector's training pt.2 (The cat, the healer and the Soul).
I wonder if I'll manage to publish it next Monday, since I'm having finals...