Title: Kyrie Eleison

Chapter: Training Buddy

Disclaimer: I do not own bleach nor do I claim to. Actually, I said long ago that bleach governs over me, lol

Listening to: In the arms of an Angel/ UltraNUMB

Review Comments for previous chapter:

Bloodangel95 / Megan: Thanks so much for the review! Yeah, sometimes when I write the chapters I end up cussing at my own characters for the things I make them do, XD. I hope you like this chapter! Hopefully i'll be able to continue this story for readers like you that enjoy it!


Training with an experienced warrior can definitely be daunting. Now training with a sadistic one? Good luck.

"H-hey watch it!" Yumi ducked from the clean sweep of a sword to her head. Slowly, brown stands of hair floated down in front of her eyes.

"No, you watch it!" Reisha smirked and continued with the onslaught of blows. It was only day two of their training but Yumi was exhausted. With this on top of the festival planning, she cursed her luck. With her sword up horizontally, Yumi managed to block the heavy blow of Reisha's own katana. Metal clashed as sparks flew in the air.

Yumi couldn't help but smile grimly. "Still think you'll get any fun out of beating me to a pulp?"

"At this rate, no. If I had released Shitsunen you would have died hours ago." Reisha said simply and took in the pleasure of seeing her student's despair.

"Well, at least it was hours and not just the first day," the Shinigami added lightly but grunted when Reisha send a hard kick to her side as it sent her flying to the left.

The daemon chuckled and thrust her sword point down into the dirt. "Nah. My damn sword was just feeling a bit lazy that day so you just got lucky. On the other hand…" she tapped a finger on her smiling lips in thought. "If I did release her, you might actually consider doing what this whole training session is for: control!"

The Shinigami winced at the harsh tone and frowned. "I can't!"

"Yes you can you damned coward!" she barked and fired a quick restraining spell. Yumi's arms were pulled behind her back and a collar appeared around her neck. On the back of the collar, a cord connected itself to cuffs on her wrists. The material holding her was purple and seemed to glow with energy… Yes, it was something entirely made up of reiryoku.

"What the heck is this?"

"It's similar to the restraints people on death row wore, ain't it?" Reisha spoke while enjoying the scene of Yumi trying to keep balance. Her sword clattered to the floor a few feet away from her. Yumi struggled against the strong bindings. There was a way to break out of kido, right? She recalled a long time ago that Reisha had broken out of her own binding spell and tried to try it on her own. However, this restraint felt…

"Strange?" the Daemon finished for her, earning an annoyed glare from the Shinigami. "That's because it's not kido. We Daemons call it Arceo."

"'Arceo'?" Yumi repeated in confusion.

"It's latin for 'close'. Most Daemon abilities are in latin or greek, as well as their releases for their weapons." Reisha explained and sat down on a nearby boulder, purposely ignoring the still standing Yumi.

"But then how come yours is in japanese like a Shinigami?" Yumi asked but then stumbled. She huffed in annoyance. "And why am I still tied up! And why are you the only one that gets to sit?"

Reisha hesitated for a few seconds before smirking and pointing a finger at her. "Oh, you want down?" Yumi nodded, all too aware of her wobbly legs from the hours of training. The Daemon sent a spark of energy in her direction as a coil of reiryoku bound itself around her ankles. Yumi let out a sharp yelp and fell over in the dirt. "There. You're down."

Yumi spit out the dirt that managed to snake its way from her lips to her mouth. "Pft! Reisha!" a whine escaped her throat and she tried to escape. "C'mon, you're supposed to be helping me! Not antagonizing me!"

"Hm, I don't see how I can't do both at the same time!" Reisha laughed and then stood up. "Alright. Lesson one: break out of that. No time limit! Take as long as you need!…that is if you don't care about being late at that damned human festival." The daemon smirked and began walking to the exit of the training grounds, waving behind her as she did.

Yumi glared and swore that as soon as she got out of there, Reisha would wish for protection in hell because that would be the only thing saving her.


"Ne, ne, Hitsugaya-kun!"

"Look over here! Please?"

"Hey, what's your size? I need it for the play!"

"Toshiro-kun! Help me with lines!"

He twitched his eye for maybe the hundredth time that day. Hoards of girls were flocking to him from god knows where. And he was pretty sure that that some of the girls there weren't even from Karakura High (considering they wore Sailor Uniforms)… The white haired captain had to resort to reading a book to keep himself from freezing the classroom. He swore that the next girl that spoke to him would get a nasty surprise…

"HITSUGAYA TOSHIRO!"

Said-captain snapped the book shut and stared down the person who dared challenge his patience. He caught sight of short auburn hair and the fierce pair of dark brown eyes. It was Eiko, one of his subordinates human friends. He raised a brow irritably and near growled.

"What?"

"Where is your sister!" she demanded, slamming her hands on his desk. He was slightly surprised at her actions. He thought of her as a less physical type of person. "She won't answer her phone and I can't find her anywhere!"

Hitsugaya had to admit that thought passed his mind before. Yesterday, she didn't return from wherever she was going. When he asked those daemons, they would claim not to know anything…although Adachi was being a bit smug…

He could feel her reiatsu somewhat nearby, so that was something at least. However, it seemed almost masked. The thought of going out to search for her crossed his mind.

'Tch…she can take care of herself,' he thought but then paused. '…I'm not worried. I'm not worried. I'm not worried.'

"Hitsugaya-san?"

"Sorry, Fukuyama-san, but I have no idea—"

"You don't know where your own sister is?" she asked incredulously. Then, she strangely enough smacked her hand to her forehead. "Oh my god we really were stupid. How could we think that?"

"Think what?"

"That you two were in a secret relationship!"

The white haired captain's eyes widened and if this was a manga, he might have fallen out of his seat. But that's not the case. There was no way his life would be dictated by some mangaka with an obsession with drawing that stuff…right?

Instead, his jaw dropped and it took a few seconds to recover. "What?"

"Oh, don't worry. Yuki-chama already told me the story! It must have been hard to deal with your family. Were you lonely?" Eiko asked softly.

"Lonely?" What cover story did she make up now? Ugh, he'd have to play along. "Well, not really…I guess I couldn't think about that kind of things at the time." He thought back to when he had to leave his grandmother in Rukongai and frowned. He also remembered the pain when Hinamori left for the academy to eventually meet that bastard Aizen.

Eiko studied him a bit and shrugged in defeat. "Well, at least you were strong for Yuki-chama. I'm sorry for being so rude…It's just that…no, you'll think I'm a weirdo so, c'ya!" When she turned, Hitsugaya made a gesture to stop.

"Wait…What do you mean?"

"Errm…well. I was worried because I… I can't feel Yukina anymore."

"…feel?"

"Oh god no! Not like that! I have my eyes set out on a certain someone else!" she blushed and seemed to look somewhere in the classroom (Which he ignored. He was just glad it wasn't directed at him). Eiko shook her head quickly and then focused back on him. "It's hard to explain. But it's like I can feel if someone is nearby or something. It's kinda weird actually. Tatsuki says she can do the same thing with Orihime but I don't know."

'Fukuyama can sense other people's reiatsu? Interesting… I'll have to keep a close eye on her.' He thought but hid his intentions by closing his eyes.

"Well, anyway… She's probably playing hookie and gorging herself on food. Heh, I wouldn't be surprised if I saw her come out of a store eating Takoyaki while humming a stupid tune." He then concentrated on his book but frowned when he saw the strange look on his classmates face. "What?"

"Hitsugaya-kun…are you feeling okay?"

"What? Can I not read in peace?" his irritation was finally beginning to show once more.

She shook his head and sent him a skeptical look. "You and your sister are close and all, right?"

"Yeah, and?"

"…Yukina-chan hates takoyaki…"

Hitsugaya's eyes widened and he looked down at the floor in silent shock. Now that he thought about it, how much about that girl did he know? Her name, a few things she's scared of, and what? Her obsession with ramen and some snacks? He figured she was the type to just enjoy whatever food she was given.

"Y'know, Yuki-chama talks about you quite a bit." Eiko pulled an extra chair up next to his desk and rested her elbows there before folding her hands. "Wanna know what she says?"

"No," he answered simply in an attempt to hint that: 'Okay, can I just not talk to you now?'

Eiko ignored him. "She says, 'he's so bossy and stuck up! He won't tell me anything I wanna know and won't listen to what I say!' And more things but I doubt you'd wanna hear about your sister cursing you for the rest of your life." His emerald eyes narrowed and the auburn haired girl giggled. "She'll talks about your secret love with watermelons and your hate for lazy people. She'll also complain about how you overwork yourself and calls herself stupid for worrying."

Hitsugaya's ears pricked up at the next sentence and studied Eiko, who's eyes softened considerably. It was almost as if she was thinking about someone else.

"Yukina knows that you work hard. Maybe too hard sometimes. You care about people enough to keep your distance so you don't hurt them. She also said something about wanting to get stronger so that you wouldn't consider her annoying or a burdon…" the red-head sighed but then grinned slyly. "Now do you understand why we thought you two had a thing going on?"

"Tch, how tactless." He rose from his seat and tossed his bag over his shoulder.

"Eh? Where are you going Hitsugaya-sama?" Eiko batted her long lashes cutely but the catlike grin was still there.

"To go find an idiot and bring her back." He replied as he walked out of the classroom. Eiko sighed dreamily. What she wouldn't give for a guy like that…too bad. He was such a nice catch.

"Erm…Fukuyama-san?" called a small voice as she turned to see the nervous guy she was eyeing earlier. "D-Do you want to join me for l-lunch today?"

She giggled and beamed brightly at the brown-haired bookworm.

"Sure! Let me just get my stuff and we'll go to that nice bakery across the school, okay Seito-kun?"


"Ngh…" Yumi groaned as all her muscles strained from being stuck in that restraint for so long. Using brute strength was out of the question since she didn't have much to begin with. Her kido skills might have been worse. Back at the academy, she had the worst grades that were even possible…

'Come to think of it…' Yumi thought as she fruitlessly tried to break the bindings on her. 'How was I able to do Kido all those other times? Like in the weird forest or when fighting Reisha?' She tried thinking back but was immediately interrupted by a shot of pain through her stiff muscles.

"Forget it…this thing goes first," she grunted and tried to use her reiatsu to break it again. For a brief second, she felt the binds give and weaken, but it reverted back to its normal strength if not stronger. Yumi winced.

'This freaking lesson isn't working!' she noted glumly. Now…what did Reisha say on her latest visit?

"Idiot! You're doing it wrong! Don't 'break' the spell! Just cut it! It'll be easier!"

"Cut it? How the heck am I supposed to do that?" Yumi growled. Her sword was kicked away earlier! How else could she cut it!

'Remember…'

"Eh?" the shinigami blinked and she turned her head to the sides. She heard a distant voice, but no one was here. There weren't any nearby spiritual signatures either.

'Remember how you fought.'

"How I…fought?"

'Remember how you survived! Concentrate!'

"Concentrate…on what?" her violet eyes closed, attempting to focus on something not there. Unconsciously, she fell into a different part of her spiritual world. In the pitch darkness behind her eyes a small spark became known. Yumi tried to hone in on it and found a small white orb of highly condensed energy. As she got closer to it, she felt a creeping heat begin to spread from her chest. The glowing white mass of energy flickered and suddenly shot out a beam of light that lightly grazed her cheek. The surface of the orb began to bubble out of control the closer she got to it.

Yumi heard Reisha's voice from the back of her mind.

"…you might actually consider doing what this whole training session is for: control!"

'Tch. You're scared, aren't you?'The voice was considerably closer this time. Yumi swiftly turned around to see a girl that looked almost identical to her. The only difference was that her hair was a few shades darker and her eyes were a yellowish amber. Although the figure was staring straight at her, Yumi couldn't see her reflection at all in those empty eyes. The girl was clothed in a similar shinigami garb, except it mainly white with a red sash and inner robe. The long ends of the sash danced behind her as if an imaginary wind was picking it up.

"You're the one I saw…back during the survival exam." Yumi murmured in surprise. "…are you the voice I heard in Soul Society? The one that lent me their power?"

'Scared of losing yourself…and you're scared of finding yourself…'the girl ignored her previous questions and took steps towards the red orb that was fluctuating out of control. It shot out another beam towards her shoulder but she did nothing to defend against it. It halted centimeters away from her robes and the bubbling ceased momentarily. The girl continued forward towards the orb with ease and then touched the ball with her hands. The surface once more solidified but turned blue instead of white. She regarded Yumi again. This time, her amber eyes were alight with anger. 'Forget that fear! Cast it aside!'The girl shouted and Yumi flinched. 'If you don't, your soul won't be able to handle the strain any longer!'

"I can't…"

'If you refuse to accept it, then die!'she yelled and pointed a finger at Yumi. A blue beam shot out and impaled itself into her chest.


'Where is she? Where the hell could she be at a time like this?' he thought as he continued running throughout the places she usually went on her patrols. She wasn't at the park, nor was she back at the apartment he just burst into. Only Archer was there.

"Sayomi, where's Miyamoto?" he demanded, ignoring the fact that Archer was clad in only simple black boxers and a towel around his neck.

"Yumi? She's training with Reisha, isn't she?" The daemon blinked in confusion as he rubbed the white towel on his damp hair. "She didn't tell you? She's been there for quite a while too."

"No, she didn't tell me..." the white haired captain growled and clenched his fist tightly. "Where is Adachi?"

"Uh, underneath Urahara's shop if not by the hill," as soon as those words left his lips, the captain was gone. Archer whistled and grabbed his pants. "I almost feel bad for Reisha." After a short thought, the man shrugged and went to the kitchen for some milk while humming a playful tune. "Wait, no I don't."

Hitsugaya didn't know how fast he was going. He didn't notice that he had unconsciously popped in soul candy so that he could shunpo over to the shop faster.

Upon arrival, he ignored the bubbly shopkeeper who was recently healed by Inoue and rushed down into the underground training ground. The unmistakable wave of Yumi's reiatsu hit him at full force and he refused to grimace at the heaviness of it. Was this really her? He followed the trail to a far end of the training grounds to see a cloud of dust rolling around one area. In the middle was her spirit energy but he couldn't exactly pinpoint her location. It was almost like it was storm of invisible vines or something.

There was a straining shout that rung out and he involuntarily took a step back. "What the heck are you doing, Miyamoto?"


Plip

Plip..

Plip…

Blood dripped down onto the floor of the black space. The sound of it landing echoed in the silence.

Embedded deep in her abdomin was the blue beam of condensed energy. Yumi coughed and shakily wrapped her hands around the weapon.

'Hurts, right?' she asked. 'This attacks your spiritual body and disrupts the flow of reiryoku. You could have learned this but you're too stubborn.'

Yumi felt a shock course through her body as she nearly fell to her knees. Her willpower was all that was keeping her up. She continued to try in vain to remove the energy rod from the right side of her chest. It caught her below her ribcage, making it hard to breathe.

'See what happens when you hesitate? You idiot…' the girl sighed in disappointment and made a movement to pull the weapon out. 'And here I thought trying to protect you up to this point would change anything. You're still that same stupid girl. Still like Kurai.' However, she was met with a weak tug that held it in place. 'Eh?'

"Who's this 'Kurai'...huh? Saying I'm like that." Yumi murmured quietly. Her eyes were hidden under the shadows of her bangs. The grip on the energy spear tightened. "And it's true that I was scared. Scared of getting hurt. I refused to rely on this power because I didn't want to injure anyone anymore. I wanted to stop fighting…" Yumi finally looked up and her counterpart was surprised to see neither fear nor hesitation anymore. "But…"

She remembered what happened back in the human world when Archer was being attacked by Reisha. She felt so useless then! All she could do was watch him get hurt.

There was even the time in Soul Society when her captain was fighting Ichimaru. He looked so furious then, like he could kill with a glance. Matsumoto had told her that when she grasped his sword with her bare hands, she looked calm. In reality, Yumi was terrified out of her wits facing her enraged captain.

"Compared to the pain they felt...how Ifelt...when I couldn't do anything..." With a sudden burst of reiatsu, the weapon shattered and Yumi shot forward, aiming towards her counterpart. "This is nothing!"

Not expecting the sudden turn of the battlefield, the girl readied herself into attack position. But what surprised her the most was that Yumi simply passed her and went straight for the orb. As her palm landed upon the blue surface, the last thing she saw was it turning into a brilliant red before everything faded to white.


When the dust cloud dispersed, Hitsugaya saw her familiar figure swaying slightly. It was her reiatsu alright, but something felt different now. He ignored the sensation and quickly flash-stepped to her side before the brunette collapsed to the hard ground.

"O-Oi!" somehow, the captain managed to catch her and slowly settled her down. "Miyamoto you idiot! What were you doing?"

She grimaced a bit but chuckled softly to herself. "Training, what else?"

Hitsugaya took in her slightly cut up and bruised body with disdain. The most recent injuries were found on her wrists and neck, which were red and bloody from what looked like cuffs and some sort of sharp edge. Without a word, he hooked his arm underneath her legs while still supporting her back and somehow slung her on his shoulder.

"Gah! What are you doing?"

"Carrying you—what else?" he answered simply and began walking. One arm hooked around her legs while the other held her back so she wouldn't fall.

"No! Put me down! Now!" she demanded and pounded on his back.

"No," was his reply. "I'm not going to until I'm sure you're not going to go missing again."

Yumi bit her bottom lip in frustration.

"Why…?"

Hitsugaya walked towards the exit. Her hands fisted his haori and she lowered her head.

"You stubborn, idiot…" she whispered with her voice shaking.

'Hey, bear with it. You'll be stuck with him for a while—like me!'

Yumi felt a tingle in the back of her head as she heard that voice. Inwardly she groaned and opted to roll her eyes.

'More voices in my head. Peachy.'

'Heh, wait til you really turn crazy. That will be fun to watch.'

'Please don't tell me you're gonna be as annoying as Reisha?'

'No guarentees!'

"Ugh…"

"What was that, Miyamoto?" asked her captain.

"Nothing, Taicho. So, can you put me down now?"

The captain huffed and ignored her the rest of the trip. To make it home faster, he flash-stepped out and practically threw her on the couch.

"Ouch! What was that for?" she asked as her muscles ached. He simply disappeared for a while. She heard the distant sound of the tub filling and a few faint curses. Hitsugaya then returned with a blue towel and a bundle of clothing. Yumi raised a brow in question but he threw the things at her (Which managed to hit her square in the face). "HEY!"

"Bath. Now."

Yumi sighed and slowly got up. As she passed him, she said a quiet 'thank you' and rushed into the bathroom. The tub was almost full so she turned the valve off. After setting the clothes down, she slowly began untying her uniform. It was tattered and dirty now so she wondered what she would do now. 'Hm, maybe Urahara has an extra?'

Once she was stripped bare of the unappealing uniform, she slowly eased herself into the warm water. Her muscles began to slowly relax as she let out a grateful sigh of bliss. Yumi began to scrub away the dirt and grime off her skin and hair when she attempted to recall her last conversation with that girl…

Her counterpart was grinning at her proudly.

'So, you've made your decision then?'

"Yes," Yumi smiled tiredly as she gingerly cradled the red orb in her arms. "So, what does this mean for you?"

'If you need me, I'll help…' she drawled a bit. 'But if you waver in the path you choose once more, I won't hesitate to kill you this time.'

"I've been meaning to ask for a while now," Yumi frowned deeply. "What are you? You're not a hollow. You're not part of my zanpakto either."

'…You remember the time Archer trained with you, don't you?'

"Not really. It's all a blur…" The Shinigami shut her eyes in frustration. "But what does that have to do with it?"

Her counterpart sighed deeply.'Essentially, that and I are the same. I do have the ability to take over whenever I want. However right now you can choose who takes control: you or your other self. I won't sugarcoat it. It is a part of you. it is you. The faster you realize that, the easier it will be able to take when it all comes back to you.'

"…You're really not going to tell me anything, are you?"

'Nope. Oh, gotta run. Your knight in shining armor is coming!'

Yumi sighed. This was getting too confusing. She was pretty sure that no other Shinigami had multiple voices in their heads or an organization after their head. Heck, it was confusing enough in the beginning with her bad memory. Yumi did remember hearing reports of how she was found-unconscious and wounded in the middle of the road of Rukongai with nothing but the clothes on her back and her sword. Even when she woke up, she was like a husk: unable to speak or react to anything around her. It wasn't until she was fully recovered did she start getting her senses back.

Her violet eyes closed and she let hald her head sink underwater. What was going to happen now? Maybe soon she would finally find out why she needed to be watched. She recalled her counterparts words for a moment.

'...you're scared of losing yourself...and you're scared of finding yourself...'

"Urgh! Whatever!" she suddenly yelled out in frustration.

"Miyamoto, what the heck are you talking to yourself about?"

"Nothing!" she called back. She hoped she was right.


"Yukina-chan!"

"Yuki-chama!"

"Are you alright?"

"Hey, I heard you ran away from home!"

"I thought she just decided to skip?"

A small crowd of classmates surrounded her desk and she smiled uncomfortably. She was still unused to school life so this amount of people asking about her was daunting. Back in Soul Society, you practically knew everyone in your squad and nearby ones. Here, there were many unfamiliar faces that seemingly knew her.

Ruriko clapped her hands loudly. "Everyone break it up! If you have question for her, don't bombard her all at once."

Her twin Fumiko tried pushing her classmates back. "C'mon! Move!"

The crowd seemed to part like the red sea when Fumiko shouted. At first, she was shocked at her level of control over the class, but she immediately considered it false when she saw a slim figure walking down the created path.

Tomoe strolled up to Yumi's desk as she smiled sweetly at her.

"Where have you been, Yukina-chan?" she asked innocently. "Little me had to do most of the work while you were gone!"

"Hey, we did—"

"Shut up!" she snapped at the now cowering students that spoke up. Tomoe turned back to Yumi and got close up in her face. Her dark eyes were burning with spite. "Now listen here and listen well. I will not stand for a lazy unproductive student shirking her responsibilities. Do I make myself clear?"

"C-Crystal." Yumi stammered as she was forced to stare into her dark eyes. Sure, she had been yelled at and even had things trying to kill her. But this was pure hate. Why was Tomoe so against her? She didn't do anything to deserve that kind of disdain from her, right?

"Calm down, calm down… Sheesh! Is that how the vice-principal's daughter is supposed to act?" Eiko stood up to the taller female. Her green eyes stared Tomoe's dark brown eyes in defiance.

"Fukuyama-chan, I was simply letting Yukina-chan know that she has to pick up the slack!" Tomoe smiled and turned on her heel. "On that same note, Fukuyama-chan. That vice-principal wishes to speak with you after school about 'you-know-what'."

Eiko's face immediately paled and the crowd murmured among themselves. Yumi and Ruriko shooed them away and checked on their friend. She was still staring at the spot Tomoe was moment before and her face was still as white as a sheet.

"Eiko-chan?" Yumi asked and she put a hand on her shoulder. The redhead flinched. "Are you okay?"

She forced a nervous smile at both of them. "Yes, I'm fine. Yukina-chama, Ri-chan, I think I need to be alone for a bit…" Apologetically, she shrugged Yumi's hand off her shoulder and slowly walked out the classroom.


Omake Theatre

Mana: Whoa, its been 2 months since I last updated? Sorry guys!

Yumi: I rather liked the break

Mana: You did but the readers didn't!

Hitsu: Their loss since they're stuck with you

Mana: Wah! So mean!

Hitsu: Well, if you would just get to the action already I wouldn't be this 'mean'

Yumi: Toshiro, you just want to kick some daemon butt, don't you?

Hitsu: I-I do not!

Yumi: Let's see...when's the last time Taicho actually got some action?

Hitsu: ...The story before this one...

Yumi/Mana: -legasp-!

Mana: No helping it. next up, Hitsu will most likely get some 'action'. Whether it's fighting or fanservice, we'll find out next time on Kyrie Eleison!

Hitsu: O-Oi! Don't act like this is a TV show!


Question Time:

Yumi has attained a new power, but at what cost? What could possibly go wrong now?

Tomoe apparently has something up to get so angry at Yumi. What could this mean for our heroine?

Eiko is struck by Tomoe's words. What could the problem be?

Our favorite white haired captain wants some action! Should we give it to him? XD

Btw, any name ideas for Yumi's 'counterpart'?

Please answer in your reviews! They keep Hitsugaya sane enough to work with me!