Disclaimer- I do not own Bleach

Chapter Twenty-Nine - Unusual Training

Shiro had just returned from an afternoon spent at Heikichi's house and as soon as he stepped inside his own home he searched the small area for the reiatsu of his parents. He was well aware of the fact that he could easily find them in the modest home that they shared merely by searching for them the normal way however the young boy was in a hurry and this way was simply faster.

He sensed their reiatsu in the small upstairs office that they shared and quickly dashed up the stairs. When Shiro reached the door of the office he found it closed. "I guess they must be working on paperwork or something," the young boy thought to himself as he knocked lightly on the door.

"Come in," his mom's voice called out from within the office.

Shiro opened the door and stepped inside the office. His gaze quickly swept over the small room and he saw that his parents were both seated at their desks, Rukia working steadily on paperwork and Ichigo chewing on the end of his pen and staring off into space. His mother paused her work as he stepped inside the office and she offered him a warm smile. "Hello Shiro-chan. What are you doing home? I thought you were spending the day with Heikichi."

"I was," Shiro said simply, trying not to think back on the events that had led him here. "But something came up and I really need to speak to Grandpa Ukitake. I'd like your permission to travel to Soul Society to speak with him."

"You're actually asking for permission this time?" Ichigo asked as he pulled the pen from his mouth and stared over at his son, his eyes widening in surprise. "This has to be a first for you Toushirou."

Shiro glared at his father but neither agreed with nor denied his accusation. Then he turned his attention back to Rukia. "So Mom, can I go?"

Rukia pondered the boy's question for a few minutes, her gaze focused intently on the young white-haired boy, and then she nodded her head. "That's fine Shiro-chan. You may go and speak to Head Captain Ukitake but make sure that you stay out of trouble."

"I will," Shiro said with a smile as he turned to leave.

Ichigo watched his son leave the office and then he turned to face his wife. "Do you suppose we should send word to Soul Society and warn them that he's coming?"

Rukia shook her head. "It'll be fine Ichigo. If he were planning on causing any trouble then he wouldn't have asked for permission before he traveled to Soul Society. You know our son, he wouldn't see the point in avoiding trouble for one thing just so that he could get into trouble for something else."

"You're right," Ichigo admitted. "That boy of yours never does anything half way."


After he left his parents' office Shiro quickly made his way down to the basement, where he activated the portal to Soul Society with a burst of reiatsu. Once the gateway was open Shiro stepped through it and made his way to the Seireitei. Upon arriving there, Shiro made his way to Squad One without hesitation. He had a favor to ask of the Head Captain of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads and he didn't want to delay his request.

When Shiro arrived at the Squad One barracks he made his way down the hall to Ukitake's office and, on his way there, he ran into the Head Captain's best friend, Captain of Squad Eight, Shunsui Kyouraku. "Hello," he said respectfully as the Captain fell into step beside him.

"Hey Shiro-kun!" Kyouraku exclaimed in a booming voice, offering the young boy a broad smile. "And what brings you to Soul Society today? Are you out to cause trouble?"

"I need a favor from the Head Captain," Shiro replied, choosing to ignore the question about causing trouble.

"Is that so?" Kyouraku said, gazing down at the young boy who was walking beside him. "I was just on my way to see him as well. I guess the two of us can go and see him together."

Shiro nodded, not really minding the company. It wasn't as though he'd planned on keeping his request a secret or anything like that so together Kyouraku and Shiro made their way down the hall to the office of the Head Captain and when they arrived Shiro reached up to knock on the door however the Squad Eight Captain winked at the young boy and pulled the door open.

"Jyuu!" Kyouraku called out loudly as he waltzed into the room, his flowery pink haori fanning out behind him as he walked.

Ukitake glanced up from his paperwork and watched as his best friend made his way across the office. Kyouraku was carrying a small bottle of sake in his hand and it was obvious from his behavior that he'd been drinking before his arrival at Squad One. Ukitake shook his head, his gaze leaving his best friend and going to the young boy who was still standing in the doorway, looking somewhat shocked. "Hello Shiro-chan," Ukitake said, chuckling softly to himself. "Is there something that I can help you with?"

Shiro nodded and, after closing the door behind himself, he made his way across the room to the Head Captain's desk. "I came to ask a favor."

"I'm listening," Ukitake said, his gaze briefly going back to Kyouraku who had flung himself down on the sofa and pulled his hat over his eyes and then returning to the young boy who stood before him.

"Well you see I have this friend," Shiro said. "His name is Heikichi and he has these strange powers. He can control the elements as well as move things with his mind. It's kind of weird actually. Anyway these powers of his are fairly new and he hasn't learned to fully control them yet. I tried to help him out with that but it was a complete and utter disaster. He summoned these really wicked looking black clouds and harnessed the lightening within them, almost killing me, Kasumi and the neighbor's dog in the process."

Ukitake raised an eyebrow.

"I guess that brings me to my request," Shiro said in a quiet voice. "Heikichi is determined to learn to control these powers and he wants my help but I'm not sure his neighbor's dog can survive a second lesson which is why I'd like your permission to bring him here to Soul Society to train."

Ukitake debated the young boy's request for a few minutes, a serious expression on his face. The favor that the boy was asking wasn't something that was usually allowed however special exceptions had been made in the past. He'd made one when Rukia had wanted to train Orihime before the war with Aizen and he trusted Shiro's judgment enough to decide to make another one. He nodded, his serious gaze focused on Shiro. "You have my permission Toushirou however before you bring him here I have to tell you that you are responsible for anything that might happen while this boy's in the Seireitei."

"I understand," Shiro said, bowing to the Head Captain. "Thank you sir. If it's alright with you I'd like to get started right away."

"That's fine Shiro," Ukitake said. "But I'd like for you to bring your friend to my office before the two of you head out to the training grounds okay?"

"Sure," Shiro said. "We'll be here in about an hour if that's okay with you."

Ukitake nodded once more and watched as the young boy turned and left the office. Then, once the boy was gone, the Head Captain got to his feet and walked across the room to the sofa where Kyouraku was lying. He gazed down at his friend, who had his hat pulled down over his eyes and was feigning sleep. "Get up Shunsui, I know you're not asleep."

Kyouraku stretched lazily and pushed the brim of his hat back so that he could gaze up at his best friend. He grinned at the expression on Ukitake's face before he slowly sat up and allowed his friend to join him on the sofa. "So you're going to allow Shiro to bring a normal human here huh Jyuu?"

"Yes," Ukitake nodded. "I trust him and besides, it's our duty to protect the world of the living from threats and honestly what's more threatening than a cocky child who possesses powers that they can't control?"

"I'm sure the neighbor's dog will thank you even if no one else does," Kyouraku said with a grin, imagining a young boy frying a small dog with a bolt of lightening. He laughed out loud at the mental picture that thought produced and Ukitake gazed over at him, shaking his head ever so slightly.

"There's another reason," Ukitake said quietly, his thoughts going back to something that Ichigo and Rukia had told him awhile back. "This boy, Heikichi, is actually the reincarnation of Sousuke Aizen and I want to know more about him."

"Ah," Kyouraku said, nodding his head. He knew that his friend wanted to size up this boy and find out whether or not he posed any kind of threat to Soul Society.


After his meeting with the Head Captain Shiro left the Squad One barracks and dashed across the Seireitei back to the Senkaimon. He had an hour to collect Heikichi, convince him to travel to Soul Society, and explain to his parents what he had planned. The first two should be simple enough however the young boy knew that the third task was likely to be a nightmare.

"Should have thought this out better," the boy thought to himself as he climbed the stairs and emerged from the basement. "It could take all day to explain this to everyone."

There was no sign of either of his parents as Shiro walked through the house toward the front door and he decided that he'd explain things to them when he returned with Heikichi. So, decision made, he left his house and made his way back across town to Heikichi's house.

When he arrived at the small house Shiro knocked lightly on the door, hoping against hope that his friend hadn't decided to go anywhere after their training session. After a few moments the door opened to reveal Heikichi, who wore a confused and somewhat shocked expression on his face. "Kurosaki?"

"Close your mouth before you swallow a bug or something," Shiro said with a smirk.

"Okay I'm confused," Heikichi muttered as he stepped back so that Shiro could enter the house. He closed the front door and then turned to face his classmate. "Okay what's going on Kurosaki? You were royally ticked off when you left."

"Of course I was mad you idiot," Shiro snapped, glaring at the older boy. "You almost zapped me and Kasumi with fifty thousand volts. Wouldn't you be ticked?"

"Probably," Heikichi was forced to admit. "So why exactly did you come back? I thought for sure that you'd given up on me."

Shiro shook his head. "That's not why I left. I don't give up on anything. I left to find us a place to train where you couldn't cause complete and utter devastation."

"And?" Heikichi prompted, curious as to what kind of a solution Shiro had come up with.

"And we're going to Soul Society to train," Shiro told his friend. "They're well equipped to handle this kind of thing. Happens there all the time."

Heikichi looked slightly reluctant. "Is that even safe? I mean I'm still alive and that place is like the world of the dead."

"It's fine," Shiro assured his friend. "I'm still alive and I go there all the time. Not to mention the fact that my dad's been doing it for. . . practically forever."

"Wait a minute Kurosaki," Heikichi said, Shiro's statement not really serving to make him feel better. In fact it actually had the opposite affect. "I've met your dad and. . ."

"Don't worry," Shiro said with a grin. "I know what you're thinking and I have it on good authority that he was like that way before he began going to Soul Society."

"Oh," Heikichi said. "Alright then, let's go."

Shiro nodded and together the two boys made their way across town to the Kurosaki residence. The trip didn't take them long, since Shiro insisted that they jog the entire way, and as they entered the house they ran into Ichigo and Rukia, almost literally as the two adults were leaving the house just as the two kids were arriving.

"What are you boys up to?" Ichigo asked warily, gazing down at the two boys.

"We're going to Soul Society to train," Shiro replied, enjoying the shocked look that instantly appeared on his dad's face. "That's priceless," he thought to himself.

"Is that what you wanted to speak to the Head Captain about?" Rukia questioned.

Shiro nodded. "I had to. I've tried to help him but he's too destructive. He's already almost killed me, Kasumi and the neighbor's dog and he's hasn't had these powers for any real length of time."

Heikichi frowned as he listened to his friend, clenching his hands into fists. "You're lucky that I can't control it Kurosaki or you'd be toast right about now."

Rukia sighed. "Try not to destroy anything okay Shiro-chan?"

Shiro nodded and then turned to his friend. "Come on public menace number one."

Heikichi growled low in his throat as he bowed respectfully to Shiro's parents and then followed the younger boy to the stairs that led down to the basement of the house. "You have a tunnel to the spirit world in your basement?"

"Yea," Shiro said as though that were completely normal.

"Weird," Heikichi muttered.

When the two kids arrived in the basement Heikichi's gaze fell upon the archway that stood in the center of the room. "This is some kind of joke right Kurosaki? That can't lead to Soul Society, I can see right through it."

"Not for long," Shiro said as he walked over to the Senkaimon. The young boy placed his hand on the side of the archway and released the burst of reiatsu that was required to open the portal to Soul Society. Heikichi's eyes widened in disbelief as the archway began to glow. "Unreal."

"Come on," Shiro said from his spot beside the Senkaimon. "We don't have all day you know."

"Right," Heikichi said, snapping out of his trance and running over to join his friend. "And you're sure that this is safe Kurosaki?"

Shiro shook his head and, instead of answering the question, he walked up behind his friend and shoved the older boy through the portal. Then, rolling his eyes and sighing heavily, he stepped through the gateway himself.

"That was really mean Kurosaki!" Heikichi exclaimed once they'd arrived in Soul Society and he'd recovered from his initial shock.

"Sorry but we really didn't have time for that," Shiro said. "And you're here and normal, or at least as normal as you get, so no harm done."

Heikichi looked as though he'd like to argue further however, after a few minutes, he shrugged. "So now what?"

"Now we go to Squad One and talk to Head Captain Ukitake," Shiro said as he began walking in the direction of the Squad One barracks. "He's the one who granted you permission to come here. He's in charge and he wanted us to come to his office before we began our training."

Heikichi gulped as he ran to catch up with Shiro. "So is he. . . um is he a nice guy?"

"Well," Shiro said, pausing briefly so that he could turn and stare at his friend. "Based on the fact that you shouldn't be here and yet he allowed me to bring you here to train I'd say yes he's a really nice guy. Not to mention the fact that he puts up with my dad."

"Wow," Heikichi said. "He must be a very patient man."

Shiro nodded and continued walking in the direction of the Squad One barracks. When they arrived the young boy knocked lightly on the door and then stepped back. "Enter," a voice called out from within and Shiro slid the door open and stepped inside the office, followed closely behind by Heikichi, who had no desire to be left behind in a strange place.

"Welcome back Toushirou," Ukitake said as the two boys walked across the room toward the couch where he and Captain Kyouraku sat. He had to fight hard to hide the shock that he felt upon seeing the young boy walking beside Shiro. The kid was indeed eerily similar to the former Squad Five Captain and seeing him walking beside Shiro was really weird since Aizen was the one who had fired the kidou blast that had ended Hitsugaya's life.

"Sir this is my classmate Heikichi Yamino," Shiro said as he and his friend came to a stop in front of the two captains. "And Heikichi, this is Head Captain Ukitake and Squad Eight Captain Kyouraku."

Heikichi bowed respectfully to the two captains and then turned his attention to Ukitake. "Thank you for allowing me to come here to train sir."

Ukitake nodded in the young boy's direction, fixing him with an appraising gaze. "You're welcome Heikichi. Just make sure that you and Toushirou are careful."

"Yes sir," Heikichi said.

"Alright Toushirou," Head Captain Ukitake said, turning back to the white haired youth who stood before him. "The Squad One training grounds are all yours. Just remember what I told you earlier and try to keep the damage to a minimum."

Shiro nodded and then turned to his classmate. "Come on Heikichi."

"Right," Heikichi said, turning to follow Shiro out of the office.

"Hey Jyuu," Captain Kyouraku said, pushing back the brim of his hat so that his eyes were once again visible as he turned his gaze to his best friend. "What do you say to the two of us going out there and watching them train? It could be interesting, considering who the two combatants are as well as who they used to be."

"It could be at that," Ukitake said with a nod as the two captains got to their feet.

Ukitake and Kyouraku walked out to the training grounds at a leisurely pace and by the time they arrived on the ledge from which they could watch the battle the two young boys were already facing one another, Shiro with his zanpaktou drawn. "Kind of seems like an unfair advantage when you look at it like this," the Head Captain commented, gazing down at the two combatants.

"So what was the old man talking about earlier Kurosaki?" Heikichi asked as he faced his classmate. "What did the two of you discuss?"

"He told me that I'm responsible for anything that happens while you're here," Shiro replied, holding up his zanpaktou. "So do me a favor and try not to do anything stupid."

"Come on Kurosaki," Heikichi said, arching a brow. "Do you honestly think that I would do anything stupid?"

"Yes," Shiro said without hesitation. "And I'm warning you now, try and keep those powers of yours under control because we're both in soul form and if we die here then it's for keeps."

Heikichi's eyes widened. He hadn't even thought about the possibility of dying during this little training exercise. "Is it too late to back out?"

"Yes," Shiro said, lunging toward his friend.

"Crap," Heikichi said, raising his hands and attempting to summon the lightening attack that he'd managed to harness earlier that day. The black clouds obeyed his summons, appearing overhead just like before, however instead of the lightening all he managed to summon was rain.

Shiro rolled his eyes as he felt the droplets of rain hit his skin. "You have got to be kidding me," he thought to himself as he swung Hyourinmaru, instantly turning the rain drops into tiny daggers of ice, which he then directed toward his friend with a second flick of his sword.

"Hey!" Heikichi exclaimed as he dodged the attack.

"Did you even think about that before you did it?" Shiro shouted from his spot a few feet away. "I mean honestly, what makes ice?"

"You think that was what I was trying to do?" Heikichi shouted back, glaring at his friend. "I was trying for lightening but this is what I got. Apparently with my particular powers it's a gamble and I lost this time."

"Pitiful," Shiro scoffed.

"You'll pay for that," Heikichi exclaimed, his eyes narrowing as he gazed over at the younger boy. "Eventually," he added in an undertone that only he could hear.

It was at this point that Shiro noticed the two captains who were watching their battle from a ledge above the training grounds. He wasn't really surprised to see them there however he did feel the need to warn them about the possible dangers that they faced. "Better watch out," he shouted up to them. "Heikichi hasn't learned the fine art of aiming yet. It might not be safe up there. You'd be better off down here with me."

"Kurosaki," Heikichi growled, raising his hands and summoning a fierce wind.

"Nice," Shiro commented, although he didn't speak loud enough for his classmate to hear the single word of praise. "But you seem to forget that I can do that too." This said Shiro raised his reiatsu and caused a chill wind to blow across the battle ground.

The two winds clashed together and a fissure appeared where the two powers connected.

"Unreal," Ukitake murmured as he watched the two young boys doing battle. "Those two could be seriously dangerous in a couple of years."

"Could be?" Kyouraku repeated, his gaze also focused down below. "I'd say they're already a force to be reckoned with."

"I'd say you're right," Ukitake said, nodding his head in agreement as he watched Shiro release the dragon comprised of ice and water.

"What's the kid doing now?" Kyouraku asked, his eyes widening as the dragon soared toward a very shocked looking Heikichi. "Doesn't he think that attack's a little advanced to be using on someone who can't control their powers?"

"I see what he's doing," Ukitake said quietly as he watched the shocked expression that the older boy wore turn into one of extreme concentration. "Toushirou's hoping that in the heat of battle and under the immediate threat of serious injury or death he can force Heikichi's powers out. It's kind of like how Urahara trained Ichigo."

"I see," Kyouraku said, his gaze once again shifting from his friend back down to the two combatants. "Well I hope for that boy's sake that it works or else we're going to be peeling him up off the rocks in a few minutes."

"I hope it doesn't force out something that we're not prepared to deal with," Ukitake said in a quiet voice.

"Crap!" Heikichi exclaimed as he watched the dragon sailing toward him. Apparently his classmate wasn't playing around anymore and he raised his hands, hoping desperately that he could summon an attack that would be powerful enough to block the dragon. "Is this supposed to be some kind of revenge for the whole lightening thing earlier?!"

"You'd better shut up and block," Shiro warned from his spot a few feet away. "Or else run as though your life depends upon it, cause you know it kinda does."

"I will not run," Heikichi murmured, forcing his trembling hands to steady. He concentrated all of his energy and, just as the dragon was about to strike, Heikichi managed to summon another bolt of lightening which caused Shiro's attack to explode into a spray of ice and water.

"Awesome!" Shiro exclaimed, although he quickly lost some of his enthusiasm as he watched his classmate sink to his knees. Sheathing his sword he quickly ran over to the spot where Heikichi knelt, fighting to catch his breath and dropped to one knee beside the older boy. "Are you okay?"

"I'll make it," Heikichi managed to say despite his rather ragged breathing. "Thank you Kurosaki."

"Thank you?" Shiro repeated, his voice filled with confusion as he gazed at his classmate as though the older boy had suddenly developed brain damage. "Wait a minute, you're thanking me for almost killing you?"

"No," Heikichi said getting to his feet and struggling to stand on his somewhat shaky legs. "I'm thanking you for forcing me to use my powers. I get it now. They work best when me or someone else is in imminent danger."

"Oh," Shiro said. "Well you're welcome, I guess."

At that moment the two boys were joined on the training grounds by the two captains who had been watching their battle. "Nice battle," Kyouraku said as he and Ukitake came to a stop in front of the two boys. Ukitake nodded his head in agreement. "It was a very impressive battle but I think that the two of you should call it quits for today."

"You won't hear any complaints from me," Heikichi said. "My legs feel like Jell-O and if I had to face another move like that last one I'd probably die."

Shiro smirked.

"Oh laugh it up Kurosaki," Heikichi said. "But you'd have fun explaining that one to my parents. Um I'm sorry but I took your son to the world of the dead where I promptly killed him. You know that sounds really weird when you say it like that."

"You have a point," Shiro said, sobering a small degree. "On the bright side I could probably plead insanity and get away with it."

"Probably," Heikichi said. "But I'm not sure that you should be bragging about that."

"Hmm," Shiro said with a shrug. "Well come on. The two of us should probably be getting back to the world of the living before my parents start thinking that I killed you. Thanks again for letting us train here Head Captain Ukitake."

"No problem," Ukitake said, smiling at the antics of the two boys. "Feel free to bring your friend back to train just make sure that you warn the rest of us ahead of time."

"Okay," Shiro said with a grin.

Head Captain Ukitake and Captain Kyouraku watched as the two boys turned and walked off across the training grounds, toward the Senkaimon that would take them back home to the world of the living. Both were very impressed with the battle that they had just witnessed between two human boys.

"I don't think anyone other than Shiro and perhaps his young friend Kasumi have witnessed this boy's powers," Ukitake said in a thoughtful voice. "The powers that he is calling forth are unconscious bursts of kidou and it's advanced kidou at that. I only know of a handful of Shinigami who can use kidou to control the weather."

"Do you think there is any significance to this?" Kyouraku asked.

"I do not know yet," Ukitake replied honestly.

"Imagine the two of them as trained Shinigami," Kyouraku said in a rare moment of seriousness. "Captain material if I ever saw it."

"I agree," Ukitake said.

"Now," Kyouraku said, turning to face his best friend and grinning like an idiot. "Let's go and have that drink."

__________________________________________________________________________________

Momo Hinamori stepped back behind the trees, huddling behind their relative safety. She couldn't believe the sight that had just met her gaze. She'd just finished with classes at the Academy when she'd felt the familiar reiatsu of Shiro-chan, along with another strong reiatsu that she couldn't identify but also felt vaguely familiar to her. Curious as to who the young boy was fighting with Hinamori had made her way across the Seireitei to the Squad One training grounds and once there she couldn't believe the sight that had met her curious gaze.

Shiro had been on the battle field, just as she'd expected, and facing off against him was another young boy. Hinamori had gasped as her gaze fell upon the other boy, who appeared to be a few years older than Shiro. She couldn't believe her eyes, he looked just like Captain Aizen. Seeing the two boys fighting had brought back memories that Hinamori had been trying to banish since the end of the Winter War.

"What does this mean?" Hinamori thought to herself as she turned and quickly made her way toward her home.

A/N- And thus ends another chapter of Shiro's story. Just out of curiosity is anyone still reading this? Please review and let me know what you thought, my inferiority complex is threatening to return in full force. Til next time this is Hitsu-taichou signing out.