Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of the characters.
First of all I want to thank everyone who reviewed my previous chapter, I really appreciate the advice and nice words!
DarkJason: Ichigo definitely got faster while training with Lisa, but he's one hundred years too young to be able to beat her at her true speed, hehe. As for the training he's going to get, let's just say he won't be very pleased with it at the start. And who said Tatsuki was going in Bankai training already? *evil grin* You'll read more about it in this chapter! And lastly: after your little inspirational talk and the comments from the other reviewers I've decided to make this an M story later on. Thanks for the advice and your tip! And I hope you'll like it.
Grinja: It's true that a lemon isn't going to make or break a story, but of course it'd be nice if people liked it! Anyways thanks a bunch for the advice and I'll check your tip out as well.
MKTerra: Yeah, I've read all the Manga chapters from Bleach as well, Shunsui deserved it! And I'm definitely going to do something similar in my story.
Chapter 8: Reinforcements
Tatsuki was beyond rage, Yoruichi had just started to explain everything about her Zanpakuto when they were interrupted. A few men from the 12th squad had found them and they gave a message to Soifon and Yoruichi on their Captain's orders. Yoruichi's eyes had widened at the report and she had cancelled the training for the time being. Yoruichi had told her that they had to go to the 12th squad's Research and Development Institute right away. Tatsuki had protested and insisted that she wanted her training right now, but Yoruichi wouldn't hear any of it, she had agreed with Soifon that it might be better to take Tatsuki with them to the Institute, though.
The three of them were now running through the identical streets and buildings in Sereitei. Even though Tatsuki was angry because of the interruption she couldn't help but feel a little worried. What had those men told Yoruichi? It was probably something serious or she wouldn't have jumped up immediately and followed the men out. I hope Aizen isn't on the move already, I need more time to prepare myself for the war!
After two minutes they had arrived at the Research and Development Institute. Yoruichi and Soifon could've been there much faster but they held back a bit since Tatsuki didn't know where the Research and Development Institute was. Tatsuki was starting to learn Shunpo, but she was not even close to mastering it yet, though. Soifon had only taught her the basics in the time they'd been training. Shunpo was very useful during combat, but Tatsuki wanted to work on her fighting skills first. There was no use in mastering Shunpo if you couldn't even fight properly with it, after all.
As they entered the research centre of the Institute Tatsuki took in the surroundings. The room seemed to be crammed with all kind of devices and sensors. A small group of people stood in front of what seemed to be a huge radar. One man in particular caught her attention. The man had painted himself black and white and had blue hair which was styled into a pharaoh-like crown. The attachments to his ears and chin also contributed to that. When he waved his hand as he talked to the people in front of the radar Tatsuki could see he had one abnormally large blue fingernail. Tatsuki was disgusted by his looks and wondered if he had suffered permanent brain damage from a failed experiment or two.
"That is Mayuri Kurotsuchi, he's the chief of this Institute and also the Captain of the 12th squad." Soifon said as she saw her staring at the man. "He is kind of creepy, but he has helped Soul Society a lot ever since Aizen betrayed us. Thanks to him we also know some of Aizen's plans."
When they approached Mayuri he looked at Tatsuki intently.
"Don't you even think about it, Mayuri." Yoruichi said. "She's not someone you can use for whatever experiments you have in mind. She's here with us because she used to live in Karakura Town and I thought she wanted to know what you've discovered."
"That so?" He replied. "And how many times do I have to tell you that I want to be addressed as Kurotsuchi Mayuri or Captain Kurotsuchi?"
"Tell us what you've discovered, Mayuri." Yoruichi said ignoring his question. "The men who picked us up said something about an attack on Karakura Town?"
As soon as those words had left Yoruichi's mouth Tatsuki visibly paled. Karakura Town got attacked, again? Did they just randomly attack the town or were they after someone? If they were it was probably Ichigo. She hoped he was alright, she wouldn't forgive him if he died now, they had to fight together against Aizen, she had promised herself that!
"Yes, that's right." Mayuri said, distracting Tatsuki from her thoughts. "We recently created this new radar here." He continued, pointing at the radar in front of them. "It's sole purpose is finding Arrancar in the neighbourhood of Karakura Town. It appears that the town has been attacked recently by one or maybe two Arrancar, and not just ordinary Arrancars. Judging by their Reiatsu they were extremely powerful."
"Were there any people hurt during the attack?" Yoruichi asked, voicing the question that was burning on Tatsuki's tongue.
"We don't think so, the Arrancar haven't been Karakura Town very long, so they probably just went there to check some things out." The three women in front of him sighed in relief before Mayuri continued talking. "But in the slight chance they did have a battle there I want Urahara to look for any Reiatsu traces, and also tell him that he has to make sure that the Arrancar don't discover his Tenkai Kecchu, it's of utmost importance that it remains secret. If Aizen discovers it before the winter we might not be able to stop him."
Yoruichi nodded at Mayuri indicating that she would tell Urahara before she spoke up. "What if Aizen is going to keep attacking Karakura Town? I'm sure he's going to attack it a few times just to check if we've done anything with it."
"Yes, Captain-Commander Yamamoto said something similar as well. I believe Hitsugaya Toushiro will watch over the town on his orders, just in case something happens."
"Alright, thank you, Mayuri. I think we should go now, I have a few more matters to take care of before I can return to the Real World." Yoruichi said as she cast a quick glance at Tatsuki and winked at her.
---|---
Hitsugaya Toushiro leaned back in his chair as he rubbed his eyes. He had been working on his paperwork for the last few hours. He didn't like the work, but it was necessary. This very morning Captain-Commander Yamamoto had discussed a special mission with him. There had been another Arrancar attack on Karakura Town and the Captain-Commander thought that some extra protection for the town wouldn't hurt. Yamamoto had given him the task of going to Karakura Town in the evening. Toushiro had wondered if it wouldn't be better if he also took his Vice-captain with him, but Yamamoto had told him that Aizen wouldn't attack Karakura Town with more than two people at once, he was just checking on the town every now and then. It was nothing a Captain couldn't handle.
Matsumoto was going to have a hard time here, though. When he was gone she would have to do all the necessary paperwork on her own. She always ignored it and drank sake until she passed out on her chair or until he had done her part as well. The last time she did that she'd almost killed herself as she had fallen asleep facedown. That woman could be so annoying and childish at times. Despite all of that, though, she was a formidable Vice-captain who could handle herself very well in battles. It was a shame she wasn't working on her Bankai training, but then again, it was one of the hardest things to achieve as a Shinigami.
Toushiro stretched his back, got up and walked outside. It was almost time for him to go to the Real World. He had to get a Gigai at the Urahara Shop when he arrived there and then look for a place where he could spend the night. Luckily Matsumoto wouldn't be there to choose their sleeping arrangements, if you let her choose things like that you end up in the most awkward places. Where is she anyway? I'd better go and see if I can find her.
After a small search he found her at her own quarters, she wasn't alone, though. Kyouraku, Hisagi and Kira were sitting with her at the small table. When Toushiro looked down he saw the room was littered with sake bottles. They'd obviously been drinking… again. Toushiro walked over to the table and saw that the four of them were all sleeping. He covered his head with his palm before he tried to wake her up, this wasn't as easy as he'd thought, though.
"Oi, Matsumoto!" He shouted finally as he smacked her up the head causing her to bolt up knocking the back of her head against Toushiro's chin.
"Captain!" She shouted when she saw him.
When Kira and Hisagi woke up they covered their ears immediately as an avalanche of noise penetrated their ears. Toushiro was shouting at Matsumoto, berating her for drinking in the middle of the day.
"Ouch! Stop tha', it freakin' hurts!" Hisagi slurred when he couldn't take the noise anymore.
Matsumoto suddenly looked at him with big eyes. "Hisagi!" She shouted. "What're you doing here?" When she noticed Kira lying on the table with his hands over his head she looked confused. Then her eyes shifted over the still sleeping form of Kyouraku Shunsui and her eyes lit up. "Ah that's right, I invited you guys over her, didn't I?"
"Matsumoto, I'm going to the Real World to protect Karakura Town today." Toushiro said suddenly.
"Really? That's great!" Matsumoto said happily. "I've wanted to go there for ages, they got a lot of fancy clothes there!"
"I'm ordered to go alone, I can't take you with me Matsumoto."
"Nonsense! I'm going with you."
"You're only trying to come with me because you don't want to do all the paperwork on your own." Toushiro said a little annoyed.
They started bickering, again. And after a few 'shut ups' from Kira and Hisagi they finally stopped and Toushiro agreed to let Matsumoto come with him to the Real World. Although he didn't show it he was very glad she was coming with him. He really thought Yamamoto thought too little from the Arrancar attacks, some extra people to help him out would be pretty useful.
Just when the two of them were about to leave Toushiro looked at the snoring Kyouraku Shunsui. "Does he ever wake up?" He asked.
"Ah, there he is!" The voice from Nanao Ise called out from the doorway before anyone could reply.
"I've been looking for you everywhere! You said you had an important meeting with Yamamoto!" She said angrily.
"No use, Nanao." Matsumoto said. "He's in one of those alcohol induced sleeps again, I've never been able to wake him up from one of these naps. And believe me, I tried everything."
"Really? Then there's no helping it. I have to use the technique I learned from my master…" Nanao replied with a glint of determination and pride in her eyes.
Everyone in the room was silent as they watched Nanao preparing for this rare technique that her master had personally taught her. Nanao laid her book on the table and lifted Shunsui up a little so he was lying on the table without the aid from his chair, she then drew her arm back and lashed it forward, spanking his ass two times.
"No, Lisa-chan! Stop it! I'm awake, I'm awake." He shouted as he jerked awake.
When Kyouraku saw Nanao standing in front of him he realised that the time hadn't just gone back one hundred years. "Why did you have to use that vile technique on me, Nanao-chan?" He whined as he rubbed his sore butt.
Everyone looked at Nanao in awe as she smiled proudly to her prey.
"I'll have to remember that one." Matsumoto muttered as Nanao grabbed Kyouraku's earlobe and dragged him out of the room.
After making sure that Kira and Hisagi would take over the necessary paperwork from the 10th squad, Hitsugaya and Matsumoto left and went outside. Toushiro was glad that Kira and Hisagi had agreed to do their paperwork, but he thought they wouldn't have agreed to do it so easily if they hadn't been drunk. He was sure, though, that if they hadn't been drinking Matsumoto would've found other ways to… persuade them.
---|---
When Toushiro and Matsumoto where walking towards the Senkaimon that would lead them to the Real World a few hours later, Toushiro suddenly stopped in his tracks, deep in thought. They were going to Karakura Town now, this was the town where Kuchiki Rukia had transferred some of her powers into the orange-haired ryoka before she got captured and was taken back to Soul Society. She'd only spent about two to three months there, she couldn't have built up a very good relationship with those ryoka while she was there, but still, all of them came after her and rescued her.
Toushiro had been amazed when he saw the fierce loyalty between the ryoka and Rukia, especially that Ichigo kid. He even achieved Bankai in order to defeat Kuchiki Byakuya and give Rukia a chance to escape together with Renji. At the time they all thought he was their enemy, but in reality he really was their best ally, and now they were going to help him save his hometown.
Only he and Matsumoto were going there at the moment, though. Toushiro couldn't help but think that this was a little odd. Why hadn't Captain-Commander Yamamoto ordered Rukia to go as well? Her Shinigami powers should be completely restored by now, and surely she is capable of handling herself. Otherwise she wouldn't have been promoted to Vice-captain by Ukitake. Yes, this was quite weird indeed. He decided to go to Rukia in the 13th squad barracks and ask if she wanted to come with them to Karakura Town. since they had built up a good friendship in such a short amount of time it would only be logical she would want to protect him and his town as well.
"Captain, why did you stop?" Matsumoto asked. Toushiro was standing still for a few moments now and he had been completely ignoring her. "What's the matter? Is something wrong?"
Toushiro suddenly looked up at the fearful face of his Vice-captain. "Don't worry Matsumoto, it's nothing serious." He began. "I just want to talk to Kuchiki Rukia before we leave for our mission in Karakuta Town, I think she should know about it since the people in it are very important to her."
Matsumoto looked a bit surprised when he told her that, but followed him toward Rukia's quarters anyway.
They sped past the numerous buildings in Sereitei as Matsumoto tried to keep up with her Captain. Damn it! Why does he suddenly want to go to Rukia? Is he going to take her with us to the Real World? It makes sense if you think about it. Karakura Town was were she met that ryoka kid who saved her, she would want to help him as well.
After a short while they entered the barracks of the 13th squad, and made their way to Rukia's quarters, hoping that she was there. Before they reached her quarters, though, they passed the Captains quarters and Ukitake poked his head out of the door and told them to come in. Toushiro wondered why Ukitake wanted to see them, but followed him inside anyway.
"You're probably wondering why I asked you inside, Toushiro." Ukitake began. "The reason for that is because I wanted to talk about my new Vice-captain with you, the two of you came here to see her, right?"
"How did you know?" Matsumoto exclaimed, her surprise clearly written over her face.
"Isn't that obvious, Rangiku?" Ukitake said. "I already thought the two of you would try to contact her before you left for Karakura Town. Not that it would've mattered if you didn't contact her before going through the Senkaimon, though. Rukia follows her heart just like Shiba Kaien always did. If she couldn't go to Karakura Town with you, she would've found another way to sneak out and go to the Real World. Isn't that right Rukia?" Ukitake finished as he opened the door again to reveal an eavesdropping Rukia.
"I'm sorry, Ukitake. I didn't plan to eavesdrop on you, but I walked past and heard you talking about Karakura Town and decided to stop and listen to you. Captain Hitsugaya, Vice-captain Matsumoto." Rukia said looking at the two in question." Please let me join you to Karakura Town, I want to help Ichigo and his friends there to protect them from the Arrancar attacks, I think they can use all the help they can get. Aizen won't go easy on them once he's set his eyes on them."
Toushiro smiled, she was right, he'd need all the help he could get to help Ichigo and his ryoka friends in Karakura Town. Aizen was dangerous, it would be foolish to underestimate him. "Are you sure you want to come with us, Rukia?" He asked. "It's true that we can use some help, but it's going to be pretty dangerous out there, those Arrancar are very powerful, and apart from that, you could get in serious trouble when the Captain-Commander finds out you left Soul Society and went to the Real World."
"Of course I'm sure! It's true they are powerful, but I can hold myself in a battle, the reason I wasn't promoted to Vice-captain earlier was because of Byakuya nii-sama, he didn't want to put me in danger because he had promised his wife that he would protect me, and even if I can save only one human from the Arrancars, I'll gladly take any punishment!" Rukia said a bit angrily, why was it that people still try to protect me? To her surprise, though, Toushiro merely smiled at her sudden outburst.
"That's good, Rukia. I wanted to know if your heart was fully in it, I wouldn't have let you come if you only wanted to go to Karakura Town because you felt you had to repay Ichigo. The two of you have a very good friendship, I admire that." Toushiro took a deep breath and looked from Rukia to Ukitake as he continued again. "If your Captain agrees, I would gladly take you with me to the Real World."
"Of course she may go, it's not like I could stop her even if I wanted to. Take care, Rukia. We'll probably see each other again when the real fun begins in the winter."
Rukia smiled brightly at her Captain and thanked him, she was glad he had faith in her. He had always been the man who had allowed the people around him to fight their own battles in order to let them keep their own pride. He never tried to save them all the time. Rukia was glad he didn't, and although she had wanted he could've saved Kaien-dono she knew he would never have been the same if he failed to fight his own battle for his and his wife's pride. Kaien really resembled Ichigo in the way he talked and interacted with her, this was probably also the reason she had become such good friends with the orange-haired boy. Yes, she definitely liked her Captain. Rukia was truly glad she entered the 13th squad.
"That's good to hear, Ukitake. We should get going now, Vice-captain Kuchiki Rukia, I need to visit Urahara Kisuke before we find a place to sleep." Toushiro said formally earning him a smile from Rukia.
The three of them left Ukitake's quarters and made their way to the Senkaimon, Rukia was eager to see Ichigo again, she'd heard he had been training a lot, she hoped she could see how powerful he had gotten since his fight with her brother. Rukia looked up and to her surprise she saw Captain Kyouraku standing before them with a sad expression on his face.
"What's the matter, Kyouraku?" Toushiro asked him. "Matsumoto is not going to drink with you again, you'll have to wait till after the winter for that."
"No, it's not that, I wanted to ask you a favour, Hitsugaya." He began. "Could you please tell my previous Vice-captain something? I'm quite sure she has contact with Urahara Kisuke in Karakura Town."
Toushiro rolled his eyes at Kyouraku, it was very obvious what he wanted to ask Yadoumaru Lisa, that man never gives up. "What is it you want me to tell her?" Toushiro sighed. It'd be for the man to give him the satisfaction of this favor, even though the answer was clear already.
"Could you please tell her I'm sorry that I never went looking for her, and that I want to meet her again?" He asked. "Oh, and if you could casually mention that I'm free that'd be great as well."
"Yeah, sure. When I'll see her I'll tell her, but don't get your hopes up, you know how she is with these kind of things better than anyone else."
"Thank you, Hitsugaya. I'd better go back to Nanao now, she'll have kittens if she finds out I'm gone again." He said, although he didn't seem to care at all. Toushiro wondered if he tried to get under her skin on purpose or not. He probably did since he liked all the attention from women he could get, no matter what kind of attention.
"Who was his previous Vice-captain?" Rukia asked when Kyouraku had left. "He seemed to be really fond of her."
"His previous Vice-Captain was Yadoumaru Lisa, I wasn't a Captain yet when she was around, but I heard she resembles his current Vice-captain, Nanao Ise. Lisa was the only person that could completely control Kyouraku and get him to move his lazy ass, back when she was still around people wondered if they shouldn't switch ranks, but despite his laziness Kyouraku is still the strongest Captain in the Gotei 13."
"Before you were a Captain? Does that mean that she was one of the people that disappeared together with Urahara and Yoruichi 100 years ago? Why does he think she's still alive? I heard that those people were Hollowfied and had been ordered to be executed immediately. Urahara had been accused for the Hollowfication, but now we all know who did that, of course."
"Yes, that's true, she was one of those people and everyone believed them to be dead, but Yoruichi came to the last Captain meeting and told us something very interesting. She told us that Urahara found a way to help those people and they can now fight as Shinigami with Hollow powers. It looks like they are similar to the current Arrancar but they are more like a human instead of a Hollow. They hate both human and Shinigami, but they are the enemy of Aizen as well so they're probably going to help us in the war. Yoruichi told us they call themselves the Vaizards; masked soldiers."
"I'm glad Urahara could help them." Rukia said with a smile. "It was wrong for Soul Society to sentence them to death without properly researching if there was a way to save them. They were the victims of Aizen's experiments, it wasn't like they were craving for power and obtained Hollow powers for that reason."
"I agree with you on that point, Rukia." Toushiro said as they turned around the corner and the Senkaimon entered their view. "But there's nothing we can do about that now. I hope we can accept each other for who we are, but the Vaizard have deep grudges against the Shinigami who rejected them for who they are, and I'm sure there are still some people amongst the Shinigami's who want to see them dead only because they have Hollow powers."
"Yes, I think you're right. I hope we can meet the Vaizards in Karakura Town when we're there. I want them to know there are still people who want to befriend them or at least accept them for who they are."
Toushiro nodded his agreement. Rukia really was a kind-hearted woman. That Ichigo boy was lucky for having such a good friend.
"Oi! Where do the three of you think you are going without us?" A familiar voice called out to them when they were standing in front of the Senkaimon.
"Ikkaku, Yumichika?"
"You didn't think you could go off and fight Arrancars without us did you, Toushiro?"
Toushiro sighed, damn that 11th squad. The people in that squad only wanted to fight as much as possible in the shortest amount of time. There was nothing he could do to convince the two of them to leave, and besides, it was good to have two more capable fighters with him if things got nasty. "Even if I tried I don't think I could. We have no time for your lucky dance, though, Ikkaku. We need to hurry, I have some things I need to do discuss with Urahara before it gets dark." Toushiro said as he entered the Senkaimon.
Ikkaku smiled at Toushiro as he vanished inside the Senkaimon and went through it himself. This was going to be a lot of fun. He hoped he could find any worthy Arrancar during his stay at Karakura Town. It'd been a long time since he had to use his Bankai.
---|---
Tatsuki panted as she dropped down to the floor, tired from the training. Until now she had never really fought with her Zanpakuto. She had always preferred to fight without it, and Soifon liked that as well so they had always trained that way, but Yoruichi didn't want to hear any of it and had told Tatsuki that she was only allowed to fight with her Zanpakuto from now on. Yoruichi didn't fight with a Zanpakuto, but she didn't need one to keep up with Tatsuki. She a good fighter and started pushing Tatsuki until she started releasing her spirit power during combat, which led to her very first Zanpakuto release.
So this is my Shikai Tatsuki thought as she sat up and leaned against the wall. If I had known this earlier I would've started training with my Zanpakuto right away. With this sword I can still fight without throwing away my own fighting style. I hope those cuts didn't hurt Yoruichi too much, though.
"I have to say you got a nice Shikai, Tatsuki. It suits you well."
"Thank you, Yoruichi. Does this mean I'm ready for that special Bankai training now? You said It could be done in a few days." Tatsuki said eagerly.
"I'm sorry, Tatsuki, but I can't let you go through that training right now. I have to go back to the Real World tomorrow morning and I'm not letting anyone go through that training without me. If something goes wrong and I'm not there it could turn out quite badly."
"But I have to get ready for the war!" Tatsuki said scowling.
"And you will, have patience, I promise I'm going to teach you how to achieve and use your Bankai before next winter. But first I want to talk with you about something else. I was quite surprised after our little training just now. Not only did your Zanpakuto spirit teach you a new skill just after you unsealed it." Yoruichi said as she waved with her left arm, showing the cuts on it. "But also the type is quite unique. You controlled it very good, Tatsuki and I think you might be able to learn some of my other skills. Just like me and Soifon you can control your Reiatsu very well. When I'm gone I want Soifon to teach you some things. This is very hard and dangerous, do not think you can just screw around during this training. You need to listen to Soifon and follow every instruction she gives you. If you don't it could turn out very badly for you."
Tatsuki thought it was very rare for Yoruichi to get this serious so she decided to take her words seriously. "Don't worry Yoruichi, I will follow her instructions very carefully."
"Just what do you want me to teach her Yoruichi?!" Soifon suddenly cut in angrily.
"You've seen her fight, Soifon. You saw the control she has. It's a very rare skill to control fire that precisely. I've seen it with my own eyes, she can do it. Not even Yamamoto has this kind of control. He can control fire very well, but he can't compress it, Tatsuki can. Trust me Soifon, she can really do it, believe in her. She might even be better with it than me."
"You better be right, Yoruichi. I'll kill you if something happens during the training because you lied to me."
Tatsuki didn't know what this was all about, she had never seen the two women this serious. What they wanted to teach her had to be truly dangerous and powerful. She hoped she would be able to learn it before Aizen made his move. "Don't worry, Soifon." Tatsuki said. "I can do it, I have to! Please tell me what to do, I want to begin training right away."
"The training will begin tomorrow, Tatsuki, I need to discuss a few things with Soifon considering the training she's going to give to you. I'm not sure what method she used so I want to make sure it's as safe as possible. Why don't you get some rest while we talk?"
"I don't have time to rest yet, Yoruichi. I'll go and train a bit with my Shikai." Tatsuki said, she was eager to learn this dangerous skill they were talking about, but she could wait a day, Soifon had to prepare for it after all.
"Don't overdo it, Tatsuki. Your going to need your strength tomorrow." Yoruichi said smirking.
---|---
"Oi Lisa, Ichigo, get over here! Dinner's ready. The one who gets here last has to do the dishes!" Kensei shouted waving with his spatula. He turned around and made his way back to their regular spot, but was nearly knocked over when Lisa and Ichigo sped past him. What is it with that speed? Since when is Ichigo able to keep up with her?
"What're you spacing out for?" Lisa yelled at him. "If you don't hurry you'll have to do all the dishes yourself!"
"Oh crap!" Kensei said as he chased her and Ichigo, but he was no match for their speed and arrived last. "Damn it! I should've put my mask on before saying that." Kensei murmered.
Ichigo laughed at Kensei as he started eating with his mask placed on top of his head. Instead of destroying it when they were done with training like Lisa did he kept it on. It increased his endurance and he was able to move his mask now without losing the power he gained with it. Ichigo had been able to keep up with Lisa this training when she was wearing her mask today. He was getting very fast and he started to control his Hollow powers very quickly now. He didn't know why, but his training process seemed to have doubled since yesterday. Although he had been able to catch Lisa once already he knew that he still wasn't able to match her completely, she had told him that she would show him how fast she could get in the evening, when all the other Vaizards were upstairs.
"What're you laughing at you punk?!" Kensei yelled when he caught Ichigo laughing at him.
"Why do you always think everyone wants a piece of you, Kensei? I'm sure Ichigo didn't mean to offend you." Love said, trying to calm him down a little.
"Kensei is such a hothead!." Mashiro whined as she made one of her faces again.
"Shut up Mashiro, you piss me off."
Lisa sighed at Kensei, he could be so annoying once he started bickering with Mashiro. She grabbed a plate of food and thrust it in his hands. "Eat, Kensei. We don't have time for your bickering."
Kensei wanted to argue with her, but when he saw the warning looks everyone was giving him he decided to let it rest and started eating. If he started a fight with Lisa now he might not be able to eat at all for the next few days. It wouldn't be the first time she knocked out some teeth over a small argument like this.
The next few minutes everyone concentrated themselves on their dinner and didn't say a word until Lisa looked up at Ichigo and noticed something was off with his mask. She didn't know what was wrong with it, but somehow it looked a bit different than before. "Hey, Ichigo." She began. "Can I see your mask up close? It looks a bit different, I can't exactly tell what though. It's still the same, but somehow I know It's different."
Ichigo looked at her questioningly but he pulled off his mask and handed it over to her before finishing his dinner quickly. He got up and laid his plate in the sink and sat next down next to Lisa who was holding his mask in her hands trying to find out what was wrong with it. "Found anything yet?" He asked.
"No, not yet. This is very weird, It looks the same, but I can tell something is off. Your mask is still the same menacing skull and still has the red lines at the-…"
"What's he matter? Did you find something, Lisa?"
"Tell me Ichigo," Lisa said ignoring all the looks they were getting from the other Vaizards who had stopped eating as well. "How many red lines did your mask have when you first controlled your inner Hollow.?"
"I think I had three lines on the right side of the mask above the eye."
"How many lines do you see now, Ichigo?" She asked pushing the mask in his face.
"Hmm that's weird, it has five lines now, since when did the mask get two more lines under the eye? Is it normal for masks to change a little once they've been made, Lisa?"
"It never happened with our masks, but the circumstances in which we turned into Vaizards are different. We were completely turned into Hollows in one night after Aizen had performed his experiments on us, but your Hollowfication took a lot more time. That could be an explanation, but why would it start changing, though?"
"I have no idea, but I felt I've been improving faster since yesterday, could these extra red lines be the cause of that?"
"It's a possibility, but I don't think we can know for certain, not yet at least." Lisa said as she gave him his mask back. "Now let's get going again. If we work hard today, we might be able to go to the next training tonight or tomorrow morning at the latest."
Ichigo's eyes widened, he really hoped they would. He was getting tired from those games of tag. He wanted to really start fighting.
"Good luck with the dishes, Kensei!" Ichigo and Lisa said laughing as they sped away and resumed their training.
"Those two!" Kensei fumed as he looked at their retreating backs.
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Rukia smiled brightly when she followed the others towards Urahara Kisuke. She was glad she was able to join Toushiro and Matsumoto to Karakura Town. Even though she had only been here for a mere three months this town felt like a second home to her. She wondered how Ichigo and his friends were doing, they probably had had a hard time dealing with Tatsuki's death, especially Inoue and Ichigo, but Ichigo was probably training very hard by now so he could avenge her. Rukia couldn't wait until she saw everyone again, but they first had to go to the Urahara Shop because they needed some supplies there before they started their mission to watch over the town.
After a few minutes they neared their destination. Rukia looked up when she saw a very familiar figure waving with his fan in front of the Urahara Shop. Rukia sighed, that man never changes.
"My, my, what a pleasant surprise! Come in please." He said cheerfully.
"Do you really think I believe that? I'm sure you knew Soul Society would send some reinforcements here to watch over the town, so the surprise couldn't have been that big, Urahara."
"Yes, you're quite right, Toushiro. I knew Yamamoto would send some help after the past events in this town. I didn't think he would send more than two, however."
"It seems you are right as well, Urahara." Toushiro said. "He only send me, but these people here wanted to help me too, so I let them join me."
"That so? Yamamoto seems to underestimate the danger this town is in. Just because the Hougyoku is not at full power yet he thinks Karakura Town isn't in any danger." Urahara said a bit annoyed. "Now let's get started then, shall we? You're lucky I got some extra Gigai's you can use while you're here, Toushiro. I assume each of you also need an artificial soul for fighting purposes as well?"
"Yes, that'll be everything we need for today."
A few minutes later the five Shinigami's were in their Gigai's. Ikkaku kept complaining that he felt restricted inside his Gigai, but other than that everything seemed to be alright.
"It better be a good Gigai this time, Urahara. If it's the same as last time you'll be very sorry." Rukia said. She knew he had meant well when he gave her the Gigai that would turn her into a human so that the Hougyoku was safe, but she would have preferred it if Urahara had told her about it."
"Yes, it is. I'm very sorry for what I did, Rukia. I just wanted to keep the Hougyoku safe and I was afraid you would refuse to help me if I told you beforehand. I got a little present to make up for it, though, why don't you check your artificial soul?"
Rukia gasped when she saw it. "Chappy the rabbit!" She all but yelled with big, round eyes. "How did you get your hands on this one? They're very popular!"
Urahara smiled at her gratitude. "It cost me a fortune, but it was the least I could do."
"We should get going now." Toushiro said when he looked outside. "It's getting dark outside and we still have to find a place to sleep for the night."
"All of you can stay here tonight if you wish, it'll be easier to find a place to stay tomorrow."
"Are you sure that's alright, Urahara? Do you even have the space for that?" Toushiro asked uncertainly as he looked around.
"Of course I do! Let me show you the guestroom downstairs," Urahara said as he walked to the ladder leading to the basement. "Ururu and Jinta will set up the beds there when they're finished with cleaning."
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Ichigo slowly limped back to their usual place so he could rest a bit before continuing his training with Lisa. He was able to keep up with her when she was wearing her mask now, at least that was what he thought. It happened just after the other Vaizards went upstairs. He was chasing Lisa and had almost caught her when she suddenly turned in mid-air. She smirked at him wickedly and a static sound could be hear when she vanished from his sight. He was standing there looking confused when she appeared next to him and knocked him into a large boulder, he wasn't even able to follow her with his eyes.
"You alright, Ichigo?" Lisa asked smirking, he had been the first to see her at this speed, not even the other Vaizards had seen it.
"Yeah, I'm okay. I just didn't think you'd be that fast, I couldn't even follow you with my eyes. What is that technique it's not Shunpo is it?"
"It's called Sonido, it's similar to Shunpo. It's not something just anyone can learn. Besides me this skill is only known by the Arrancar and Espada. If you can master this technique well you're able to outrun Shunpo easily."
"Can you teach me how to use it? The sound of Sonido rocks." Ichigo asked as if he only wanted to learn the skill because it sounded nice.
"No, I can't teach you how to use it. And don't give me that face Ichigo." She said when he scowled. "I'm not teaching you because I don't want to, but because it's impossible for me to teach it to you. Sonido is based on your instinct rather than knowledge so the only one who can teach it to you is yourself, Ichigo. I've brought your speed to the level where you can try to learn it, but before you try to learn it there are other things I need to teach you. You're able to match almost all the Arrancar in speed even if they use Sonido now, the only ones you'll have a bit trouble with are probably the top Espada's. Being able to keep up with their speed is very useful, but that won't be enough to beat them in battle, though."
Ichigo looked up at her expectantly, does this mean she's going to teach me some awesome fighting skills that she learned from her Captain? What could it be? Probably some awesome hidden techniques no one else knows. Kyouraku is the strongest Captain in the Gotei 13 after all.
"I'm going to teach you how to fight flexibly with this." Lisa continued as she held out a rope in front of him.
All his hopes crumbled and crashed to the ground. "You're going to leach me how to fight with a rope?!" Ichigo said with disbelief. "Are you making fun of me?"
"No I'm not making fun of you, Ichigo." Lisa said chuckling at the face he was giving her. "I learned to be flexible and fast during battle with a rope as well, believe me, it works. Now, tell me, Ichigo, are you right- or left-handed?" She asked.
"I'm right-handed." Ichigo replied, confused at the sudden change of topic.
"That's going to change then." Lisa said as she walked over to him and strapped his right arm behind his back. "From this day until the day I tell you you're done, you will not remove this rope. You will eat, sleep, fight and run with your right hand strapped behind your back. If I ever catch you doing something with your right hand you'll be very sorry."
Ichigo wanted to protest and tell her he'd rather hang himself with this rope instead of doing something like this, but he simply nodded and told her he would do it when the image of a bloodied Shinji sprang into his mind. It'd be for the best not to upset her.
"That's settled then." Lisa said cheerfully. "Now you have to get used to your left arm first, so let's start with the basics and get some strength into that arm of yours!"
"How're we going to do that?"
"You are going to hit this boulder with your left hand until you can hit it just as hard as you can with your right hand."
Ichigo sighed. I haven't even started this training and I hate it already. There's nothing I can do about it, though. Let's just get this over with.
Lisa smiled wickedly as she observed Ichigo obediently hitting the boulder with a scowl on his face. He's going to hate me for this, but when the time comes he'll be grateful for it.
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And here is chapter eight!
I've been quite busy the past few days so it took a little longer than I would've liked, but I hope you enjoyed this chapter anyway!
Please R&R!
