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Chapter 10: Strengthening Souls

Ichigo and Uryu were on edge; understandable considering the indignation from Masaki. 'Haven't seen mom this angry since dad did something stupid...' Normally Ichigo was an unflappable paragon of strength and bravado – especially when it comes to situations where he can take charge. Here...well, he was far from unflappable.

Masaki, for her part was annoyed but had calmed down after hearing her son mention the shopkeeper. Breathing out again, she looked at her son. To his credit he didn't flinch, but internally he was VERY scared.

"So I assume Mr. Urahara trained you right?"

"Yes!" He's going to keep his answers short and precise while his mom was in that mood.

"How long was the training?"

"10 days or so. He said he pushed me to at least a seated officers level of power."

"Why 10 days? Why not longer?" Masaki tilted her head. From what she remembered of the man, Kisuke wasn't one to do things in half measures. Even if he came across as...lax.

"Kisuke said that Rukia's execution would be in 25 days. 10 for training, 7 for opening the gateway here and the rest for us to try and rescue Rukia." She knew her son was on edge, as his voice was monotone, but tense. Masaki sat up from her bed, putting her hands on her hips. Smiling. "Okay then, looks like we have time to get you and Uryu some proper Quincy training!"

"Whaaat!?" The slightly estranged relatives echoed in unison.

"You both heard me. I'm going to train you. Ichigo -" she directed her gaze to her son, "- you will need to start from the basics, as I never did get to train you or your sisters in our ways-" She then turned to her bespectacled nephew, "-and Uryu I assume I won't need to teach you the basics, but I would like to gauge your skill-set and go from there...also-" She looked down at his right hand, clearly worried "we need to talk about that glove." 'Of course she would know about the Sanrei Glove!' "Y-Yes...Aunty!"

Happy with her 'talk,' she waved her son and nephew off. Directing them to her door, they followed and moved outside. "Okay then, see you two early in the morning here, say 6 am? Have a good rest you two!" Ichigo and Uryu were robotic in their movements, waddling out in the hallway, 'Oh boy, I must've really frightened those two...' she sweat-dropped.

/Next Day – Masaki's Room 6.30am

Masaki had woken up about 30 minutes early a little anxious about training her son and nephew. She got herself ready from her room, putting on her training uniform, which was a Quincy styled suit (so white with blue accents), with long leggings, and fabric that started from her waist, resembling a long skirt. She had platform boots on (also white), and her Quincy medallion was attached to her left wrist.

Masaki looked into her bedroom mirror and styled her hair similar to how she had it when she was younger. Though her hair was longer now, 'Yeah I might cut my hair down to shoulder length, especially for combat purposes' she thought, arranging her hair into a pony tail at the back, and clipping her hair up in the front, so no stray strands could distract her.

She clapped her checks, getting her self motivated 'right, time to train!'

About 5 minutes before she expected the boys to arrive, she felt their spiritual pressures slowly making their way to her door. She waited for their knock.

knock, knock

"Mom, you up? It's me and Uryu, we're ready when you are!"

"Coming to the door now."

Masaki opened up and saw that her son and nephew looked nervous. She wasn't that surprised, considering the events of yesterday. She was also happy that the two of them washed up for this long session. 'Well...at least Ichigo kept his manners, and Kanae and Ryū definitely made sure Uryu kept up good etiquette.'

She smiled lightly at the boys, and then asked them to "follow me."

The journey to the training room took around 10 minutes, walking across hallways, down stairs, and repeating the process a few times. Then Masaki stopped. In front of her looked like a dead-end concrete or steel wall. She placed her hand on the left side of that wall. Using her spirit energy, the area glowed blue around her hand, and after a few moments, a small rumbling and unlocking sound could be heard. The wall parted horizontally, revealing a slide door a few metres away. Her and the boys proceeded to that door. Behind them the wall closed slowly.

Masaki opened the door sliding it to the right, and within was a sight to behold!

"M-Mom, what is this!?"

"I agree with Ichigo...Aunty, what is this!?"

A large and spacious room (could you call it a room?) was decorated with a mixture of feudal era (or Soul Society) and more modern decor.

To the far left was what looked like a rest area with a few seats, that seemed to be constructed out of transparent material (maybe glass?). In the centre was an elevated stage, that looked like the main training portion of the room. There were a few doors around the perimeter of the room, with one open revealing some training equipment stored inside.

She turned to the two of them, "This is the training room I use to keep my skills fresh. I modelled it after the typical Quincy style of training area, but left some of the Shiba decor because this is still their home." The boys looked around again, realising it was a nice mix of East and West architecture. As typical of what Ichigo knew to be 'Quincy tastes' (as Uryu would put it) the room was a nice combination of blues and whites. 'Wow, so it's not only Uryu who has a thing for blue and white,' Ichigo shrugged.

"Also -" Masaki continued her explanation "-the wall we entered in from is made of a material that limits those outside, from sensing spiritual pressures. Perfect for making sure we can train to our hearts content, without alerting anyone above...right?" she winked at her son and nephew. This sent chills down the boys spines, knowing this was going to be a long morning.

/Masaki's Training Room – Shiba Residence

The three of them made their way to the stage. Masaki turned to face the boys.

"First things first. You two, release your spirit energy in a controlled manner. I want to see what I am working with here." She kinda knew how powerful they both were already, but needed to see if they had decent control over that power.

Ichigo raised his hands, "Mom...sorry if this is a dumb question...but how do you do that?" Masaki could've fallen over if she didn't predict this might be a problem for her boy.

"Are you stupid Ichigo, how can you still not have control over your power!?" Uryu knew Ichigo was foolish, but to NOT prioritise power control was the height of stupidity. Especially for someone like him.

"Hey it's not my fault! Hat and clogs didn't really teach me how to release my power carefully, it was sort of life and death fighting him!" The Quincy boy and Soul Reaper boy argued energetically, waving their arms about. Masaki sighed and put her right hand on her forehead, 'So basically Ichigo has skipped some important lessons.'

"Well son, to put it simply it just means looking into the well of power within you – your spiritual centre – and releasing your power. However try not to go too far, as too much power can be taxing or have other consequences. Here, I'll demonstrate." Masaki took in a deep breath, closing her eyes. Then she opened them, and just as sudden her spiritual pressure exploded out of her in concussive waves, causing the two boys to brace themselves from the sheer power on display here. Blue and white waves of energy pulsed outward from her.

'Mom's power...is insane!'

'So this is the power of a fully trained Quincy. Aunt Masaki is incredible!'

After a few seconds, Masaki calmed her energy down, breathing out as she did so. "So, you understand how to do it now, Ichi...go...Ury...u?" Her son and nephew stood motionless, paralysed in shock. Masaki blinked a few times. "W-W-What you two? Something on my face?" She pointed at herself, clearly confused by their reaction. The boys shook their heads in unison.

Ichigo swallowed, trying to compose himself; at least a little. "Um...Mom...you didn't mention that...you were...that...powerful..." He scratched his head nervously.

Uryu adjusted his glasses, a bead of nervous sweat travelling down his forehead, "Aunt Masaki, I think what Ichigo is trying to say is that...your power is far more than we expected."

"What do you mean? This is pretty much par from what I understand. Most lieutenant class combatants or medium level Quincy are atleast capable of this. Though in saying that I was merely testing my power," she had a puzzled look on her face. She didn't think her power was that special, especially the amount she showed here. It was, like she said a test.

"Mom, seriously that was crazy! I haven't felt anything like that since I fought that Captain."

"Oh...yes, you did say you fought a Captain. But I doubt he was showing anywhere near his full power. From what you told me, he took it easy on you – no?"

Ichigo nodded in resignation.

"Also, Lieiutenant and Captain Class Soul Reapers need to limit their powers while in the World of the Living, something like 20% of their actual capabilities. Hmm, can't quite remember..."

"Wait, 20%!?" Ichigo knew that Soul Reaper, Captain Kuchiki (had to be Kuchiki since he's Rukia's ass of a brother), took it easy on him, but to only be using one-fifth of his power on him – at the most – was sobering. Ichigo was a little deflated, then realised why he was here in this room – to train and get stronger!

Masaki observed her son, who went from shocked, to almost depressed, to resolute in the span of a few seconds!

"Well Ichigo, this is why we're here, to train you up, so you can gain enough power to atleast contend with Captain Class enemies."

"Same with you Uryu!" She narrowed her gaze at Uryu's arm. Uryu in reaction clutched the arm that was wearing the Sanrei Glove. "Yes, I know."

Author's Note: Well, Masaki shows a little of her power. As she basically hinted at here, she's Captain Class, and due to consistent training has elevated her powers well beyond what she had when she was alive. She's actually close to a 'certain power' but hasn't quite perfected it.

P.S. Thanks for the massive amount of views. Never thought this story would get any real recogniton.