"Disintegrate, Black Dog of Rondanini. Look upon yourself and burn. Tear away your own throat! Bakudo: Number Nine...Strike!!" Sora gathered the energy in his hand and sent it at his masked opponent.
"Damn... you..." Sarugaki Hiyori started struggling against the red light which had engulfed her.
"Wow." Hachigen started towards them. "To do that much with such a low-level spell... You might actually get better than me."
Sora closed his eyes and laughed. He was getting good at this. He might never even have to use his weapons, even if he did fight a shinigami.
A burst of blood-red light shot from the enraged girl. She was free. She raised her sword and started slashing even more furiously than before. Sora, afraid for his life, started parrying and blocking.
He had stopped about twenty slashes when his mask shattered on his face.
The very next attack sent him flying backwards about thirty feet.
Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
"Ye Lord, Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man, Inferno and pandemonium, The sea barrier surges, March on to the south! Hado: Number Thirty-one... Shot of Red Fire!" Kurosaki Ichigo's spell sent a giant ball of red reiatsu into the wall of the training area. Kami be praised they weren't training anywhere near innocent people.
"Man, if the incantation weren't so damn lame, I'd use that as my opening move!"
"Try doing it without the incantation this time, then. Like you did with One and Four." Rukia had insisted on teaching him kido while Urahara was away, instead of letting Ichigo rest from his sword training.
"Hado: Number Thirty-One... Shot of Red Fire!" A barely-any-weaker spell shot through the air, and made an almost identical crater. "It's perfect."
Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
"Twenty minutes, three seconds. Not bad, considering this is your first day of training." Kensei looked up from the stopwatch. Sora was clutching a slight cut that Hiyori had put on his arm in her rage at being struck with a binding spell.
"Man, that spell only held her for eight seconds. I need more practice." Sora removed his hand from the cut so that Hachigen could reject the wound.
"I won't deny that you can become much more powerful with practice, but that spell was still expertly made. Holding Hiyori for eight seconds while she's wearing her mask is about as impressive as holding an average shinigami fukutaicho for five minutes." Hachigen sighed. "Try using the mask again."
--One ass kicking later--
"Twenty minutes, ten seconds. You catch on quick." Kensei pocketed the watch. "Time for lunch."
Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
The two shinigami slashed at each other mercilessly. The one with the bucket-hat smiled slightly. Kurosaki learned quickly, for such a dense human.
Kurosaki suddenly jumped back. He raised his hand menacingly.
"Bakudo: Number One... Restrain!"
Kisuke's hands shot behind his back. He dropped to his knees. His face hit the ground. His tongue tasted dirt.
Please review... having only three with ten chapters hurts my feelings.