Disclaimer::I own nothing but half the idea. lol

Chapter 10: Pushing the Limit

Tatsuki was in a deep state of unconsciousness but she wasn't in her inner world, she was in a deep dream state and all she dreamt about was being with Orihime. It was after the war and they were both enjoying themselves. Tatsuki was at complete ease and her fears of being rejected didn't come to her once. It was the perfect reality for her and she enjoyed every second of it because deep down she knew that this wasn't real and it was just a dream that she would soon have to wake up from.

Her dream ended sooner than she expected and she opened her eyes with pure disappointment when she looked up at the artificial sky above her. She found herself lying on the ground while her head was rested on Yoruichi's lap. Tatsuki quickly tried to get up but found she couldn't move her body any more than enough to gather Yoruichi's attention. The woman glanced down at her and smiled, "You were out for a while. I'm glad to see you're alright."

"Why can't I move?" Tatsuki asked. "Is it the weights?"

"No, I removed them when you lost consciousness." Yoruichi said. "The reason why you can't move is because you have no energy left."

"It took more out of me then I thought." Tatsuki said with a slight laugh.

"It might have been because your reiatsu had to support you and all the extra weight as well. That's why I took the weights off of you." Yoruichi said. "I want to see that technique again but at its full potential. Let me assure you I won't let you use it until you regain your strength. In the meantime I want you to rest some more."

Tatsuki nodded and Yoruichi brought her gaze away from her. The look of sadness still haunted her eyes even when she looked off in the distance. Tatsuki watched her with worry and quickly concluded why this woman was still so upset. "You really like her don't you?"

Yoruichi snapped out of her sadness at the voice making her look down at Tatsuki almost with surprise, "Who do I like?"

"Your subordinate." Tatsuki answered. "It's a little obvious with that look on your face."

"It's not just her that's on my mind, Tatsuki." Yoruichi said quietly.

"What else then?" Tatsuki asked as her worry grew.

"You've grown a lot since you first came here." Yoruichi said with a growing smile. "It's hard to believe that it was only five days ago and you've already achieved so much."

"I had a great teacher." Tatsuki said with the best shrug she could manage, which wasn't much, but it made Yoruichi laugh a little. "Besides, I've been training all my life also so this is a little easy for me."

Yoruichi laughed even more at the last part before she said, "You've been struggling through this whole thing and don't deny it."

"Not the whole thing." Tatsuki said. "It was only really hard when I was working alone. When Honoban is with me then I'm perfectly fine. I even took on that hollow with ease because we fought as a team."

Yoruichi fell silent as she watched Tatsuki carefully for a while before a smile formed on her face, "When did this start happening?"

"It started last night when I destroyed the hollow that was inside me." Tatsuki said. "It took the shape of all my fear but I beat it. I'm not afraid of anything anymore and since that happened I've been able to hear Honoban clearly. I know my training will go a lot smoother now because my bond with zanpakutou has grown."

"You don't care about getting stronger anymore?" Yoruichi asked skeptically.

"I do, but that's not why I'm doing all this." Tatsuki said confidently. "I'm not just doing this for Orihime's sake either. I want to help everyone else too because right now Orihime is out of my hands."

Yoruichi smiled almost fondly down at her and repeated what she said before, "You've grown a lot since you first came here."

"I had a great teacher." Tatsuki replied with a cocky smile.

Yoruichi chuckled a little in response and said, "Let me know when you're ready to continue."

"I'm ready now if you want to start." Tatsuki said with complete determination.

"Let's give it another minute." Yoruichi said.

Tatsuki nodded with a yawn and unwillingly closed her eyes again. She soon found herself drifting back to her dream where she spent time with Orihime. This time was different for her though, instead of her feelings being kept a secret she had confessed them and Orihime had returned them. Now the two girls weren't just hanging out and doing what they usually did together but were cuddling together and enjoying the others company a bit more than they usually did due to Tatsuki's nervousness on her own feelings.

While Tatsuki slept Yoruichi sat deep in thought about the coming war and Tatsuki's involvement in the matter. There would be no time for her to master the technique she had just discovered on her own unless it really was just the weights that used up so much of her energy and considering that it was her reiatsu that allowed her to fly it wasn't unlikely. Though she would only really know when Tatsuki had enough strength to perform it once more. Until then she could only debate how much the technique would really affect her when it was used again.

What really bothered her however, was the hollow that was down here. It hadn't been captured by anyone to be a test for Tatsuki. Even if it was this hollow was far too strong and not even Urahara would have put her up to it without being present to supervise but was he even aware of its presence? Had anyone in the shop known about it? It was very unlikely considering that Yoruichi was in charge of training Tatsuki in combat so if it was caught and brought down to test the human's strength it would have been done by her and no one else.

It was already clear that it was sent to this very location since the shop was protected by a barrier and no reiatsu could get in or out so it had to have been sent on some sort of task by another hollow or Aizen himself. Unfortunately if it were the latter then it meant that he knew of Tatsuki's involvement now if he hadn't already. If he knew then she could be in a lot of danger and would need to be protected but the question still remained, how could he have found out about her? The only way he could have was if she was training elsewhere or if he had noticed her potential long before Yoruichi had begun training her.

Tatsuki stirred in her sleep a little bringing Yoruichi out of her thoughts in time to see her wake up. She slowly sat up on her own and rubbed her face to wipe away her remaining tire. There would be no more time to rest now. That time was up and now the really intense training would have to start no matter how much of a soft spot the woman had for the girl. Tatsuki was as dedicated to her training as her little bee had been and they had many things in common with one another.

Yoruichi stood up while Tatsuki grabbed her zanpakutou and glanced back at the woman with complete determination, "I'm sorry it took so long but I'm ready now."

"It's fine." Yoruichi responded. "This way."

Tatsuki was up and following Yoruichi with ease and found that there was nothing present to limit her movements. There were no questions asked and no explanations were needed to be given. Tatsuki trusted Yoruichi to know exactly what to do and what was necessary for her to know. She slid her weapons under her sash while they approached their usual training area and came to a stop near the pillars. Tatsuki reached for her zanpakutou while watching Yoruichi for approval. When she got a nod her weapons were unsheathed swiftly and she was ready for anything that was to come. "I want to see that technique you used earlier. Can you do it again?"

"Yeah probably," Tatsuki said. "Do you want me to do it right now?"

"Humor me." Yoruichi replied.

A smirk quickly formed on Tatsuki's face, "You might want to back up a bit."

Yoruichi stood her ground so Tatsuki moved back a bit in fear of harming her with the flames. She raised her swords in front of her and positioned them the same way she had before and took a deep breath to calm herself. In one swift movement she pulled the swords apart and yelled, "Yakimsu, Honoban."

The white flames encompassed her blades and orange ones snaked up her arms protectively. Tatsuki exhaled her breath and glanced over at Yoruichi, who looked almost stunned. Her concern for the older woman grew, "Is everything alright, Yoruichi?"

"That shouldn't even be possible." Yoruichi said earning a very confused look. "Tatsuki, you've achieved a shikai in only five days of wielding a zanpakutou. That has never been one before."

"Okay so when can I achieve bankai?" Tatsuki asked half-jokingly with a cocky smile dawning on her face before she became more serious. "Do you want to see what I can do with this?"

"Of course," Yoruichi said and pulled out a throwing knife from her arm warmer.

Tatsuki picked up her stance and the knife was thrown at her. Before the knife even made contact with the blade itself it was engulfed by the white flames. There was a faint sound of contact before whatever was left of the liquefied metal splattered on a nearby pillar. It steamed and dripped down the rock in slow drops while the two watched it stunned by this development but Tatsuki quickly grew cocky and said, "That's nothing, check this out."

She approached the pillar and joined the blades and brought them beside her in a bit of an awkward stance before she swung at the pillar and cut through it at a bit of an angle to make it collapse. Tatsuki separated her blades with pride and watched the pillar collaps to the side. She glanced back at Yoruichi whose shock had intensified before her gaze slowly went back to Tatsuki. "Pretty cool, huh?"

"I fear the flame of your bankai." Yoruichi said slowly. "Fire based zanpakutou are always very powerful but if you can do this with only your shikai… I forbid you to pursue your bankai. There is no telling how powerful it will be or how well you can control it. You need much more training before you try and achieve it. If you achieve it before you are ready not only will you put yourself in danger but everyone around you as well."

Tatsuki was furious with his decision but didn't voice it since she knew very well that Yoruichi has had much experience in these things while she had less than a week. She trusted this woman's judgment more than her own with this even if it infuriated her but all she did was nod and say, "I won't pursue it but I trust you will teach me how to control it when the time comes."

"Of course," Yoruichi said with a nod. "But for now let's start with this, shall we?"

Tatsuki nodded in turn but soon dawned a confused look on what she would be doing exactly since anything that touched her blade didn't exactly last long. "What am I supposed to be doing?"

"Knock down as many of the pillars as you can." Yoruichi said simply as she gestured to them. "I'll be timing you."

Tatsuki nodded and went at them with flash step. She got five or six down before she had to break from her technique but continued on without hesitation and found that by the time she got a good number of them down she could use flash step for a lot longer and was soon knocking down at least ten of them at a time before she had to pull out of flash step. This made her determination rise as she knew she was getting better and stronger with each task she was given.

When she got to the last few pillars she decided to push her flash step and took out the remaining fifteen of them before hurrying back to Yoruichi where she pulled out and just barely managed to keep her composure and nearly lost her balance. She looked over to Yoruichi while the flames continued to dance restlessly on her zanpakutou and offered the woman a cocky smile, "How's that?"

"Not bad." Yoruichi said. "It only took you twelve and a half minutes to knock them all down."

"Only, what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Tatsuki snapped. "That was hard to do."

"That was too slow." Yoruichi said simply.

"It's pretty damned good for just learning that technique yesterday." Tatsuki argued.

"Alright, I'll give you that but for a protégée it's too slow." Yoruichi said.

"Now you're comparing me to a protégée?" Tatsuki asked angrily. "You think I can compete with this 'protégée' of yours?"

A smile grew on Yoruichi's face, "You misunderstood me, I'm calling you a protégée."

Tatsuki fell silent and was completely taken aback. She had always assumed that Yoruichi enjoyed pushing her and messing with her but now she was looking at the woman's actions differently with that statement. "As a protégée you should have been better than that but you haven't mastered your shikai yet."

"Then teach me how to use it." Tatsuki said with determination.

"Another time," Yoruichi said calmly. "Let's take a break for now, you must be hungry."

"I'm fine." Tatsuki said. "I want to continue."

Say that after you seal your zanpakutou." Yoruichi said. "Besides, even prodigies need to eat too. It doesn't matter how stubborn you are."

Tatsuki let out a sigh as the flames died down on her zanpakutou. They went out and she felt a wave of tire hit her from the strain it was putting on her body. She felt now how she felt after she had finished her weight training. Her whole body was stiff and sore while every movement sent aches through her. She sheathed her swords with a wince and she looked to Yoruichi for further instructions or even a small explanation on why her body was so sore and how she could overcome that in the future.

"Keep in mind that you are human even when you use these powers. They will take their toll on you more than they would have if you had soul reaper abilities." Yoruichi explained. "You need to take double the effort to take care of yourself. In battle you must avoid injuries at all cost because you're human body can't resist as much as a soul reaper can. You have to be very careful to protect yourself."

"If I get in trouble then I use my barrier." Tatsuki said. "I've already used it a few times and it works fine."

"How strong is it?" Yoruichi asked skeptically. "And how fast do you think you can use it?"

"I don't-" She was cut off as a knife was thrown at her and hit her shoulder before she could react.

Tatsuki backed away from Yoruichi slowly and waited for the next attack but the woman only smirked at her and disappeared. Her mind told her to grab her swords to defend herself but instead she obeyed her instincts, "Hono-genkai."

Her barrier came up around her protectively but did nothing and she felt something pierce her other shoulder. She unsheathed her swords immediately and picked up her guard and focused on finding Yoruichi's presence but she couldn't find it anywhere around her. It was as if she had no presence anymore but that couldn't be possible. Only a moment before the first attack she had been able to sense it perfectly but now it was like she stood here alone but she knew from experience that Yoruichi was still around for another attack.

She took her swords and crossed the blades in front of her as her eyes narrowed, "Yakimasu, Honoban."

The white flames returned to her blade while she picked up her stance before another knife pierced her leg below the knee making it collapse from the sudden pain but she quickly picked herself up and took in a deep breath and exhaled to calm her thoughts so that she could focus. She searched carefully for Yoruichi's reiatsu but found nothing causing her major concern since she knew that without that she wouldn't be able to fight the woman properly and she refused to be helpless against anyone. 'Honoban, is there anything I can do to counter this?'

Honoban remained silent inside her and another knife made contact with her other leg making her fall to one knee. Tatsuki grit her teeth angrily, some protégée she turned out to be. She wasn't even able to defend herself against this and Honoban had left her to fend for herself. Her breathing picked up with her anger which soon began to consume her along with the flames of her reiatsu. This time she allowed it to happen without concern because she knew that there was no hollow to fear anymore.

So naïve, A harsh voice spoke in her mind. How very human of you.

Tatsuki's eyes widened with fear and she stood up despite the pain in her legs from the knives. When she got to her feet another knife pierced her in the stomach but she paid it little mind and only her vision beginning to blur and fade but she knew this wasn't death coming to claim her. Her mind raced and her fear grew to drown out her anger. The reiatsu danced around her freely, scaring her even more with the knowledge that she wasn't the one doing that.

The flames around her zanpakutou were doused instantly as she lost control of even that making her more aware of how much her hands were shaking. Yoruichi appeared in front of her with a knife ready to be thrown at her while she held a stern look on her face, "Have you already given up?"

Yoruichi watched Tatsuki stand there shaking in her defeat. She hadn't expected her to do any good but this was just pathetic. All Tatsuki had done was attempt her useless barrier and released her zanpakutou then she had choked. The odd thing about this now was that her reiatsu had materialized again even with the control that she claimed she had over her powers now making Yoruichi believe that something had to be wrong. Tatsuki was never silent when it came to things like this, she only felt silent when she was uncomfortable or taking about her emotions. This had nothing to do with either and she had failed tasks before making this no reason for her silence. "Tatsuki, are you alright?"

There was no response proving that something had to be wrong. The only time Tatsuki remained silent was when she was uncomfortable or taking about her emotions and this situation had nothing to do with emotion unless she began to believe that she would be useless to Orihime, though after this point in her training that wasn't possible unless the opponent was far above her strength but even still her speed would prove to be enough. Yoruichi was sure to train her so that she wouldn't have much weakness against any enemy no matter their strength or defence. She was positive that as long as Tatsuki had control she could survive most battles even if she was outmatched.

Yoruichi observed Tatsuki silently for a moment before throwing the knife at her but it was swallowed by her reiatsu instantly and fell away. Both the knife and Tatsuki hit the ground simultaniously making Yoruichi rush to her side only to stop when the flames intensified and burst out at her threateningly like it was trying to engulf her as well. She was hesitant on allowing the reiatsu to engulf her despite how quickly the blood was spilling from Tatsuki's wounds with her body weight pressing the knives deeper into her body. She quickly lost patience and care for her own safety and ran in to Tatsuki's side to try and snap her out of whatever was happening but when she got to her she felt the intensity of her reiatsu making her fear for the girl's safety even more. Yoruichi crouched down and pulled the knives out of her back and legs before turning her over carefully to remove the other ones.

The knives were cast aside quickly before Yoruichi picked up Tatsuki's body and carried it to the hot spring since it was the closest source of water. She used flash step to get there in hopes of escaping the flames but they followed her closely while she carried its source in her arms. When she got to the spring she stopped to take a deep breath before plunging in with Tatsuki still in her arms in hopes of dousing the flames away. She wasn't sure how long she would be under the water but she would remain under it for as long as it took.

It was only a moment before she found Tatsuki's face and pressed their lips together while prying her mouth open with her tongue so that the two could share oxygen. Yoruichi pulled Tatsuki's body closer to her own with one arm while her other kept her face against hers as the water continued to heat around them while the outburst continued but the water killed the fire when it formed and protected them from further injury while healing their wounds. Tatsuki was held closely while Yoruichi paid close attention to any movement that was made along with the growing temperature of the water.

The rise in temperature slowed and began to fade to the regular temperature that it should be and soon after Tatsuki started to move around a bit as she tried to get away but Yoruichi held her still for another minute before finding it safe to surface. They broke the small kiss and Tatsuki pulled away from the woman as she choked on air while she covered her mouth with the back of her wrist with a cold glare at Yoruichi.

"Are you alright?" Yoruichi asked while she panted for air.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Tatsuki snapped.

Yoruichi smirked, "You're fine."

Tatsuki was taken aback for a moment before looking around at her current surroundings with clear surprise and asked, "What happened?"

"You lost control again and with your wounds I couldn't let you vent it out." Yoruichi said. "I brought you in here so you wouldn't bleed to death and with how long it took you to vent your reiatsu you would have if I left you. You're reiatsu vented while we were underwater and you didn't drown because we shared oxygen."

Guilt filled Tatsuki's eyes making her look away, "Thanks for saving me."

Yoruichi placed her hand on Tatsuki's shoulder in comfort and she too held a guilt filled look, "I'm sorry that I keep doing this to you."

Tatsuki met her eyes with surprise, "Don't apologize, I agreed to this. I'll take whatever comes out of this training, good or bad."

Yoruichi smiled a little at her continued dedication and she moved to the edge of the spring, "Shall we relax for a bit before we continue?"

Tatsuki smiled as well, "Why not, we're already in here."

Tatsuki followed her to the side where she began to undo her robes and undress. She placed her robes on the ground before taking off her armor and putting that aside her as well while Yoruichi watched her with an amused chuckle making Tatsuki look over at her questioningly. "You don't have to be so embarrassed around me. Trust me, if I wanted to do something to you than you would already know."

Yoruichi left the water leaving Tatsuki a little nervous since she had no idea what the woman was implying with that. She turned to ask her but found her undressing not far away making her turn back around quickly with a blush on her face and she tried to ask her question, "W-what did you mean by that?"

Yoruichi entered the water right next to Tatsuki and swung one leg over her to mount her while the young girl went as red as possible. The woman lowered her lips so that they were a hairsbreadth from the girls making her stiffen immediately in awkwardness and she tried to ignore her growing arousal. Yoruichi moved her face so her lips were by her ear and spoke in a sultry voice, "If I wanted you I would have already taken you since you make it so easy."

Tatsuki felt Yoruichi's fingertips graze her sides gently while she squirmed unwillingly under the woman's fingers that continued to get closer to her breasts at a taunting pace. Just when there was about to be contact Yoruichi stopped and got off Tatsuki in a burst of laughter, "You're more fun to tease than Ichigo."

Tatsuki felt her face flush even more while she sank under the water a little and avoided looking at her, "Are you just doing this because I remind you of her?"

Yoruichi's laughter stopped at the mention of the girl she loved making her bring all her attention to the embarrassed teenager only a few feet away from her. She watched the younger girl with minor surprise that she had come to that conclusion but she was familiar with the emotional attachment to a really close friend that turned into love. "No, that's not why I did it. I just wanted to tease you and nothing more. Even though our time is almost up we should still relax and have a bit of fun every now and then to relieve stress for the coming battle. There's also your own feelings for Orihime to consider, I may tease you but I'd never go further than that."

"I understand your reasoning but you still don't have to do things like that." Tatsuki said angrily.

"Just lighten up and enjoy life." Yoruichi said with a smirk but it faded when she continued, "You never know how much longer you'll have to enjoy it."

Tatsuki looked over at her but remained silent knowing that her constant outbursts would likely be her downfall in the coming war if she couldn't gain control over her reiatsu and her fears. If that happened in a real battle there would be no hesitation and she would be killed either by her enemy or the hollow inside her. Neither one would give her the slightest glimpse of mercy once she was beaten or she lost control of her reiatsu. There would be nothing more that she could do after that and she would have failed to do anything to help and she would just end up killing herself and not helping anyone at all.