"Welcome back to your soul...my wielder," were the words Ichigo awoke to.

"Ugh...what happened? Why am I back here?," Ichigo mumbled as he found himself back in the tower. Slowly standing up he found his body felt both lighter and easier to move in. Although his face hurt...

"You collapsed after awakening my power...the strain of having your soul almost destroyed was to much...."

"That explains why my face hurts...damn Urahara could have at least caught me...," groaned Ichigo as he looked up ounce again at the withered husk of himself. "We only.."

"Have two days till the gateway is ready...yes I know, we are one, bound as one, I know what you know."

"Why did you bring me here then? We need to be preparing."

"Your soul needs time to rebuild...and I need to teach you how to wield us, you can prepare in here, where time moves slower then the outside world."

Sitting down roughly and sighing Ichigo looked up and waited.

"All Zanpakuto are diffrent reflections of the User's soul. We are a piece of you..."

As Ichigo got comfortable his sword explained.

"We are split into the Six Paths. You are the beginning of the path and we will start with you..."

"Take your blade up."

"Now," moving his hand Pain caused all but the handle to disappear, "Take the handle and place it on your chest."

Placing the handle on his chest Ichigo watched as it sunk into his body..."What use is that?"

"Now place your hand outward and focus your Reishi like you did to shoot the blade at Urahara."

Ichigo stood and placed his hand out focused toward the wall. He remembered the flow of Reishi and...watched as the tip of his blade left his palm focused out toward the wall.

"If you release the Reishi it will shoot out a rod like your sword with the size being based on intent. You can create rods to use to block and stab, and rods that will impale and destabilize Reishi where they hit."

As Ichigo focused he felt the flow around and through the weapon and understood.

"This is also how I can help with your Kido. With the point out of your palm you can use it as a focus for Kido."

"Don't know any. But mabye I can get Urahara to help..."

"We do know one. Remember the night you met Rukia?"

Yeah he did...he couldn't move his arms...what were the words she used...

How to practice in here? He wasn't going to practice on his sword spirit...

Looking over at his sword spirit he saw understanding in its eyes, and then...a quick look at one of the walls of the chamber.

As carefully as he could he looked that way and saw, something, blending into the shadow's of the massive chamber...subtly really wasn't one of his strong suits. The shadow moved and he focused hard on the new lesson he learned pointing his palm's at the shadow.

Boom...Boom.

Okay mabye a tad to much Reishi. Ichigo cringed at the now freshly demolished section of wall and the creature impaled on one of the massive rods almost cutting it in half. It looked like a color swapped and color drained version of him...screaming in a weird high pitched double voice...

"What the fuck you fucking idiot I should have fucking killed you when I had the chance and you ya fucking sword spirit if I had known you would have been in control I would have..."

"Here's the part of your soul I've been sensing that got hollowfied...well now that he's here..."

The sword spirit raised one emancipated hand and quickly shot four rods at the shoulders and hips of the hollow as it screamed obsenities. Gesturing quicky afterward the large pillar now bisecting it disappeared and the wall fixed itself. Leaving a large slowly healing whole through the hollow. It tried to run but found it really couldn't move...

"Well now you have something to practice on. I'm running Reishi in the Rods so he won't be able to move."

"What do you mean HOLLOW part of me!?"

"You came very close to becoming a hollow...it left that part of you changed."

"Huh......anything to shut him up?"

"Not at the moment no."

"Well time to practice I guess."

"Now don't you dare you little bitch..."

"What did she say again...Bakudo Number 1 SAI," Ichigo incanted as he focused his palm at the hollow and tried to focus on the feeling he felt while immobilized by Rukia.

BOOM

"Mabye less Reishi then that."

"Well at least it's quiet now," laughed Ichigo while looking at the somewhat disfigured Hollow slowly healing on the floor. "Ok...less Reishi..." And he saw the glow start to do what he wanted...even if he had to stare at the black Reishi shape this Hollow had at the same time...

"No wait you fucking piece of..."

BOOM

--Time Skip

Ichigo thought he had got the hang of it. Looking down at the successfully bound Hollow who was still slightly smoking he sighed in relief. He could see the Reishi in the binding shape he had been trying for. Hollow had thankfully passed out at some point. The weird double voice made his ears ache.

"Words, Intent, and most importantly control. Even with the easier flow of my Reishi it's like trying to fill a thimble with a bucket...and not spilling a drop."

"We may want to continue practicing in here in the future. You nearly toppled this tower with that second try."

"That...may be a good idea."

"We have less then a day now...we should move on to the next step while we have to time...the paths require powerfull souls as conduits. Each path needs its own conduit. I'll show you how to with him."

"You will need to do this in the future so watch carefully."

Moving forward and up the steps to his Zanpakuto Ichigo watched as his spirit moved the Hollow using some type of Reishi manipulation to in front of him. Pain placed his hands on the Rods imbedded in the hollows shoulders and Ichigo felt winded as he watched the massive surge of energy enter the still bound but clearly in pain unconscious hollow.

As the energy entered through the rods he saw the hollow start to take on color and shift into a more human shape...his human shape he realized...It was turning into a copy of him...as it opened it's eyes he suddenly cried out...something was being forced out his piercings ...he was being...streched...

"I'll share with you this one so that you can understand. Each path has it's own body that acts as if it's one of yours. Your power is split between them but your soul stays inside your main body. They are extensions of you. With powers unique to which aspect of the path they are. This is the true power of Pain," explained his Zanpakuto...as the agony came slowly to a stop he almost puked. He could see himself looking at himself...raising his hands he held his head and fought the urge to retch.

"This is weird," both his bodies said as he tried to sit down on the step he was on...only to succeed partly as the path body fell down the stairs and his body succeeded in sitting down.

"This will take time to master but it is why you can think so clearly. So that you can stay in control of seven different bodies. This hollow born body will add to your power but not be a true path. This is practice. You will need to find souls to make into paths."

"Soul's...no...I don't want to do that."

"You'll have too."