Chapter 6: Hard Lessons to Learn

*Yes, yes I know this is really late, but some stuff came up and I had to push everything back.

Please review. Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, just my OCs.*


Uryu was surprised that he was able to breathe given the tense air between him and his father as they descended the stairs. After agreeing to Ryuken's terms Uryu was told to return the following afternoon to begin training. The older man did not elaborate on what the training would entail and Uryu hadn't expected him to, Ryuken always did the bare minimum when it came to doing anything for his son.

Throughout the whole school day Uryu's mind couldn't stop wondering and speculating over what was going to happen. Though he didn't have specifics, he had a strong feeling this training was not going to be anything like what he used to do with his grandfather. Gentleness was not in Ryuken's repertoire.

But at least speculating about this was better than thinking about Naoko. Her voice rang in his head, taught with restrained anger and hurt emotion.

"This may come as a shock, but there are people who do like you. I walk with you all the time because I like being around you. You're my brother and I enjoy spending time with you…and I thought you felt the same, but I guess not."

His shoulders slumped slightly and his head bent down a little more at the thought of the feelings of betrayal and anger she must be feeling. She meant well, he knew that and appreciated it, but he needed a viable way to get his powers back.

Being weak like this was just not something he could stand any longer.

And if help for that came from the least desirable person in Uryu's life well… he wasn't about to start being picky. Besides his grandmother assured him they would find a loophole in this agreement and in the short time he knew the old woman Uryu found himself trusting her.

The two men finally reached the bottom of the staircase to a door that, if not for the door knob, was seamless with the wall. Ryuken inserted an oddly shaped key and pushed the door open. Uryu followed and his eyes went wide in shock as they entered a cavernous room. There were a few raised platforms and pillars of various heights all around the dimly lit room.

"How… Did you build this?"

Ryuken shrugged, "More or less."

"So how exactly are you going to restore my powers?"

"First, your body will need to be pushed to its physical and mental limits. We'll focus on the rest once we reach that point."

"And how are you…?"

Uryu turned slowly to see his father pointing a glowing arrow directly at him.

Ryuken's voice was as impassive as his face, "You may want to start running now."


"What… is she doing?"

"I have no idea."

Ikkaku and Yumichika stood on the back porch watching Naoko with curiosity and bewilderment. The object of their observation was standing in the garden and moving very, very slowly. She was dressed in a loose white t-shirt and form fitting black pants and no shoes. Her long blue-black hair was pulled up into a messy ponytail with a few thin strands having already escaped and floated around her face.

She wore a look of calm concentration, both unaware of her surroundings, yet keenly attune to the present moment. Naoko slowly breathed in and out as she moved her arms in a slow arc and shifted her weight on her feet. It was like watching a dancer perform in slow motion.

"She's practicing her tai chi."

Both men started and gasped when Setsuna spoke up from behind them. The old dame was dressed in a flowery pastel yukata with her hands neatly clasping the head of her cane.

The elderly dame smiled and continued, "It's a type of martial art that focuses on controlling one's energy. It appears soft and gentle, but can be devastating when applied in battle because tai chi redirects your opponent's energy right back at them. The idea is to not resist an incoming force, but rather meet it in softness and follow its motion while remaining in contact until the incoming force exhausts itself or is redirected. It's all about balance.

"Tai chi is also good at helping calm the mind and brings clarity by focusing solely on the movements. I thought Naoko could do with some of that, she seemed a bit distracted and stuck."

Setsuna tilted her head as she watched her granddaughter, "When I first had her learn I thought it would help in strengthen her Quincy powers," she shrugged, "but no such luck. She does enjoy it though."

The two Soul Reapers go back to watching the slow moving Quincy. Yumichika's eyes, though, catch sight of something. He watches her hand move through the air and as it does a small trail of fine blue particles follows her fingertips.

"Did you see that?" He said quietly.

"Hmm? See what?" His friend asked.

Yumichika blinked and looked again only to see nothing. He shook his head, "Never mind."

When Naoko finished her moves Ikkaku called out, "Naoko, how do feel about a bit of sparring now?"

She reached up to adjust her ponytail, "Really? Sure, Hand-to-hand or with weapons?"

The taller Soul Reaper grin slightly, "How about hand-to-hand. I want to see what this tai chi looks like in combat."

Yumichika couldn't help grinning and rolling his eyes at his best friend's predictability. Of course Ikkaku would want to see a new style of fighting even if it was one he himself wouldn't use, soft and gentle was not Ikkaku's (or the Eleventh Division's) style of fighting. But it was still new and might be worthwhile seeing and experiencing in action.

"Great, let me grab something to eat first," he slipped back into the house and Setsuna followed, saying that her tea must be ready by now.

Despite being focused on her tai chi routine Naoko had been very aware that she had attracted an audience. The attention hadn't distracted or stopped her; in fact, it felt enjoyable to have a few people watch her. She took a few steps towards Yumichika, "Like what you saw?"

He smiled, "I did actually. The way you moved was truly beautiful, it was controlled, but relaxed, soft but firm."

Naoko nodded, "That's kind of what tai chi is all about, balancing two opposing forces. It's making opposites work together to achieve something great. That and it helps with my ballet."

"Ballet?"

"It's a type of dancing that uses a whole lot of balance and a hell of a lot of control and discipline. I should show you sometime, I think you'd find it very beautiful."

That last sentence almost sounds flirtatious and Naoko hoped he didn't think she was coming on to him. She cleared her throat, "Actually I want to talk to you about last night."

He glanced over his shoulder to check that they were still alone, they were and he turned back to her. "What about?"

Naoko pushed up the fabric of her left shirt sleeve to reveal an ugly yellow-green bruise that covered almost all of her bony shoulder. If she had been bruised last night, then surely it would've been healed by his flower. Maybe she had needed more than one? The wound on her stomach had been his main concern and not any other wounds she may have sustained.

He looked at the wound, then at her with mild confusion, "What about it?"

Naoko almost rolled her eyes, but stopped when she remembered that Yumichika didn't know. It was hard to remember that outside of her little group there was no one else who knew about her being bitten by a Bount's snake.

She explained, "Last month when the Bount's invaded I was bitten by one. It left a purple and blue mark, like a huge bruise, behind. That mark hadn't changed one bit ever since I got it until last night after I ate one of your flowers. What gives?"

His thin and partly feathered eyebrows rose, "Really? Well it could've been healed by the reiatsu leftover from healing your more… severe wounds. Though the flowers heal recent wounds, I never thought they could heal such old wounds."

'Can you heal wounds that old?'

Rui'iro Kujaku rolled his eyes, 'With how little you use me, I'd be surprised if we could bring back the dead.'

"By the look on your face I take you didn't know you could do that," Naoko said. "There's something else too. Urahara thought that the… mark stayed the way it was because of some kind of poison that was still in my body. I don't feel sick, nor haven't since that night, but… do you think if there was any poison it's gone now?"

Naoko could still remember that horrific night clearly or at least the pain she could remember, the fever and the idea of letting go of life. And the voice that told her to keep living too. The idea that after all that the snake's poison was flowing through her veins made Naoko sick with anger and disgust.

"If the mark has healed then is it possible the poison might be…?" A tentative hope could be heard in her voice.

It hurt him to admit the truth, but lying could be much worse, "I don't know. I know the flowers can act as an antidote to poisons and toxins, but since you weren't showing any symptoms then or even now I can't tell. If the wound is healing, then it sounds like it's gone, but I honestly don't know."

Naoko felt her rising hopes briefly flutter downward, but shrugged the feeling off. Yumichika might be right in that her healing wound might be proof that the poison was gone. But the only one who could test to see for sure was Urahara and if they were right then Urahara, the curious scientist that he was, would want to know why and how.

Naoko was nothing if not a woman of her word and she would not risk Yumichika's secret being exposed.

She rolled her shoulders, "It doesn't matter, like you said I'm not showing any symptoms and I'm not sick. It's just…"

"You would rather not have such a reminder of your battle," he guessed.

The Quincy lay her hand on her left shoulder, "Yeah, I have enough reminders of that battle."

The Soul Reaper saw an emotion quickly pass over her eyes. Shame? Regret? It flitted by too quickly for him to identify. Regret was an ugly feeling and one that Yumichika avoided, especially when in battle, the same went for shame.

"You ready to get your ass kicked, kid?" Ikkaku said, coming back outside.

A teasing grin spread across her lips, "Oh? Are you so sure it's my ass that's going to be kicked?"

The older man snorted, "Don't get cocky, kid; I've got at least a century's worth of experience on you."

"Prove it!"

The Soul Reaper and Quincy began sparring with just the hands and feet while Yumichika and Setsuna watched from the sidelines.


In the short time she had been captain Sakura Ishida was sure she had done more paperwork than she ever had when she had been alive and working as a doctor. There were forms to fill, reports to write, and documents to file on almost every little thing that was remotely related to the Fifth Division. It was a wonder that there were any trees left in all of Soul Society.

How Unohana did all this and run the Division is beyond me. Her respect for the woman went up another notch though she had a lieutenant to help her with most of the work. That thought directed her eyes to the empty desk where her lieutenant was supposed to be. Momo Hinamori was still recovering at the Fifth and there were some unvoiced doubts about her fully recovering...

Sakura sighed and looked at the small clock on her desk and decided that she had done enough paperwork to warrant a brief break. The weather was pleasantly warm and sunny and it would've been a shame to waste such a perfect day indoors. She rose from her desk, stretched and walked to the door that led out to the training yard.

A decent number of officers were already out there training with each other. Some were clashing swords, others striking with their bare fists, and a few were practicing lobbing kidō spells at one another. A bit of warm pride fluttered in her heart, she had been their captain for less than a month now and yet she was already starting to grow attached to them. It was heartening to watch her subordinates train and grow stronger right in front of her.

Her subordinates…

That's right; these people were all under her command. It was no different than leading a relief team, but that was just a handful of people; here it has been just over two hundred. Am I really fit to lead them all? Do they trust me; could they ever trust a captain of this Division?

Everyone knew about Aizen and Sakura had heard rumors about the captain before Aizen had been exiled after gaining Hollow powers. The rumors varied in how it all happened and something about the story tugged at her memory, but she could not understand why. Since two captains in a row had abandoned the Fifth it was somewhat understandable for people to be wary if the third was going to be the charm.

I'll just have to show them I will not up and leave them. Abandonment of any kind was hard to cope with and more of the same would not help matters.

"Excuse me, but who are you?" Sakura started at the small voice behind her and whirled around to see Hinamori standing there. The girl was pale and faintly gaunt with purplish smudges under her eyes. Her shihakusho hung from her like rags draped on a skeleton. Her brown eyes held a look of hollowed out exhaustion, but still retained their focus.

Hinamori was pointing at her, "And why are you wearing Captain Aizen's haori?"

The Quincy's mind froze and she could only blink and gape stupidly at the young woman. Wasn't she supposed to be in the Fourth recovering? There was no way, even with Unohana's skills, that she could be well enough to be discharged and fit for duty.

When an answer from her wasn't forthcoming Hinamori narrowed her eyes a little, "Are you an imposter? A usurper?"

Her Quincy senses picked up on the minute feeling of energy gathering at the girl's hand and a kidō spell was probably ready to leap off her tongue. Okay, calm down. Breaking the news to her is no different than breaking bad news to a patient. Sakura took a calming breath and put on her warmest and reassuring face.

"Now, there's no need to use such force so you can stop whatever kidō you were planning on using."

Hinamori started in surprise and blinked; caught off guard the energy broke away and dissipated. "Who are you? Or rather what are you?"

She had to find out eventually, but I had seriously hoped it would be someone else to tell her not me.

'Yes it is unfortunate for you, now woman up and tell her,' Kasumi snapped.

Sakura adopted a gentle tone, "Lieutenant Hinamori, My name is Sakura Ishida. I am a Soul Reaper who was once a Quincy and," she took a subtle steadying breath for the next part, "the new captain of the Fifth Division."

There was a beat and then another. Hinamori just looked at her with dumbfounded look and the captain waited with bated breath for the other shoe to fall.

It did a few seconds later.

The girl lieutenant shuffled back a few steps and numbly shook her head, "No… no you're wrong. Captain Aizen is the captain of the Fifth, not you! Where is he?"

I knew she was not going to take this well. Sakura cautiously approached her, "Hinamori, please listen. I know this is hard for you to understand, but Aizen is no longer a captain and neither are Ichimaru or Tousen. They betrayed the Gotei and—"

Tears budded in her eyes and rolled off her cheeks. Hinamori squeezed her eyes shut and clapped her hands over her ears, "Shut up! You're lying!"

"Hinamori please—"

"No!" Her eyes snapped open and tore her hands away from her ears and pointed her palm at the captain. A glowing sphere of angry red energy began to form, "Hado 31 Shakka—"

The spell died on her lips as the lieutenant suddenly sagged to the ground in unconsciousness only to be caught by Captain Unohana who appeared right behind the hysterical girl.

Unohana smiled politely at Sakura, "My deepest apologies Sakura, it seems Lieutenant Hinamori left without my knowledge or permission. I hope she did not cause you any trouble."

Sakura felt relief wash away the adrenaline and her limbs trembled slightly from the feeling. "N-No, not much really, unless you count me almost getting shot in the face with a Shakkaho spell."

The healer gathered Hinamori into her arms with little effort and said, "It seems I had arrived just in the nick of time. I will take her back to the Fourth to properly get some rest and continue healing."

Unohana turned to leave with her charge when a thought occurred to Sakura. "Captain?" The other woman paused and glance behind her shoulder. "She… she knows I've replaced Aizen and…"

The serene woman sighed softly and gave a light nod, "We both knew she would find out the truth eventually. It will be difficult for her to accept, but she must if she wishes to remain here and fight alongside us."

Unohana then gave her a reassuring smile, "I'm sure with the help and support of her friends and comrades Lieutenant Hinamori will recover, you have no need to fret."

Sakura returned to smile with a slightly less real one of her own and nodded. Once she was alone she let her smile drop and ran her hand through her dark locks. Even if she does recover, do I want her to come back? She tried to seriously hurt me, though she was emotionally compromised. It is within my right to have her replaced… Sakura sighed, but that wouldn't win me any love from the people who do like her which is quite a bit of the Fifth.

The captain turned around and saw the group of Soul Reapers who had once been training had stopped and with sudden dread she realized they had seen the whole thing.


*I hope in some way this makes up for being so late. If no more surprises or setbacks pop up I should be able to post the next chapter June 30th.

Please review if you are feeling merciful or that I am deserving of it.*