Chapter 6 : The training begins :
The next day :
When Erza woke up, she was surprised to see Ichigo, sleeping on her couch, soon after that, Mirajane and Wendy entered into the room, and, while the dragonslayer took care of her wounds, the barmaid explained what happened last night, how she met the substitute, and how he falls asleep on the sofa after saying that he needed to lie down, Erza simply nodded, looking at Ichigo, it didn't take long for Wendy to heal the knight's wound, once the dragonslayer was done, Erza got up, take a shower, and the three headed to the guild hall.
Once in front of the guildhall, the barmaid and Laxus asked her about what happen for her to be wounded like that, Erza explained how Ichigo discovered that a group of monster called Hollow was near and who could attack Magnolia, that she followed him and fought those monsters, resulting in her wounds, Mira nodded, happy that her friend and Ichigo stopped a threat for Magnolia while Laxus was still suspicious about the substitute.
And now, the knight was still in front of the guildhall, talking with Natsu and the others about what happened yesterday, Lucy, still surprised the event of yesterday, asked "So, this Ichigo defeated Natsu in one second, then bring you into a fight with a horde of monster." Erza simply nodded, the fact that Natsu got defeated so fast made Gray laugh and started a fight between him and the dragonslayer, fight that quickly ended when the knight spread them apart.
"He just took me by surprise, next time I'll win this fight !" Said while crossing his arm, still angry about his defeat
"I wouldn't count on that, boy." Said a new voice
Erza and the others looked around after hearing that, only to find a black cat with golden eyes, sitting a bit away from the group, while the wizards were surprised and both Happy and Carla were wondering if this cat wasn't a exceed using magic, the knight had the feeling that this cat is bound to the substitute in a way, so, Erza walked towards it and asked "Are you here for Ichigo ?"
"Well, I'm here for-" Started the cat
"Hey, Are you implying I can't beat this guy." Interrupted Natsu, a bit confused by the cat's words
This brings a lot of attention to them as the members of Fairy Tails get out of the guild hall to see what is happening, but, after hearing what Natsu said, the cat laughed and reply "My, my, I must say miss knight, your friend is kinda slow." this taunt angered the dragonslayer how shouted "Well, I'm gonna defeat this guy and you, stupid cat." this surprised the other, Erza wanted to stop Natsu, but, before she could react, the cat sighed.
"You don't get it, boy, you may be strong by your standards, but..." Said the cat
Right after saying that, the cat disappeared, surprising everyone, turning her head, the knight saw the cat on the Dragonslayer's shoulder, the animal simply looked at Natsu "For us, people how know a lot about battle, you are weak." the cat once again disappeared and returned to its previous spot, the dragonslayer didn't react at first, but, after a few seconds, Natsu took a step back, shocked by the beast's move, the other where shocked as well, after all, they just saw a cat teleported from the ground to the Dragonslayer's shoulder and go back at an insane speed, Erza wasn't so surprise after witnessing Ichigo's speed, the cat, then looks at her and said "To answer you miss knight, yes, I'm here for Ichigo, and for another reason that not important for you."
The knight nodded, then, said "He is probably still sleeping on the couch as we speak, given what happened yesterday." this seemed to intrigue the cat, who said "You two fought Hollow, right ?" this surprised Erza, but, before she could the cat how he knows about that, the beast started to walk towards her.
"I can feel the traces of Hollow's Reiatsu in the region, and on you, so it's easy to guess." Reply the cat
After a few seconds, the cat continued "So, can you bring me to Ichigo then ? I have a few things to talk with him." the knight hesitated at first, but, soon enough she nodded and the cat jumped on her shoulder, the beast said "Let's go then." and the two left for Fairy Hills.
A few minutes later, Ichigo's inner world :
When the substitute woke up, he saw that he is in his inner world and saw how Shiro and Ossan were looking at him, Ichigo then noticed something behind them, it's a golden flame, for some reason, a part of the fire looks like the skull of the monster he fought the other day, the substitute asked "What is this ?"
"This fire appeared after your battle with the beast the other day, but, that's all we know for now." Answer the Quincy's spirit
"I see..." Said Ichigo
He then walked towards the flames and looked at it, by any means, it felt like Reiatsu, but, something was off, it was like the fire of the lamp he saw a week ago, it's Reiatsu, but, it wasn't of any kind he ever saw before.
"Oi King, the knight and Yoruichi are here, you better get up before that annoying cat tries anything." Said Shiro
Ichigo simply nodded and left is inner world, as much as he wanted to know more about this strange Reiatsu, he couldn't just spend the entire day here, upon opening his eyes, the substitute saw both Yoruichi and Erza looking at him, the cat, sitting on his chest,said "Had a long night, sleepyhead." the substitute didn't reply and got up while the cat climb on his shoulder.
"Good morning." Said Erza
The substitute replied "Good morning." before the three leaved Fairy Hills to go back to the guild halls, once here, Ichigo noticed how the members were all outside and looking at Yoruichi, the substitute choose to not ask if anything happened and noticed a small old man coming towards them with the young girl he saw last night.
"I heard about what you did the other day and how you saved a member of my family, for that, I wanted to thank you." Said the old wizard
"It's nothing, really." Simply replied Ichigo
After a few seconds, Yoruichi saw the spirit of the young girl and looked at the substitute, Ichigo looked at her and both nodded before the substitute say "But, I have a question." this catches everyone's attention, Ichigo then asked while pointing the young girl "The spirit beside you, only the people who had your guild's mark can see it ?" the question shocked everyone, after all, until now, nobody who wasn't a member of Fairy Tail could see, hear, and interact with the spirit, but, now, two people who are not members of the guild can see her, even for Erza, who started to get used to crazy things happening around Ichigo, was surprised by that.
"So you can see me." Reply the young girl
While the others were still shocked, the spirit walked towards the two and smile while saying "I am Mavis Vermillion, founder of Fairy Tail, nice to meet you."
"Well, I'm Yoruichi and this boy here is Ichigo." Said the cat while pointing the substitute
Both Yoruichi and Mavis started talking to each other, Ichigo looked at this interaction and had the feeling that his mentor wasn't just here for him, the substitute asked "Yoruichi, did Kisuke sent you here ?" the cat looked at him and sighed before answering "Yes, he wants me to gather information about the custom and the way they use magic in Fiore." Ichigo simply nodded, glad that Yoruichi cover them with a small lie, this also catches the spirit's interest.
"So you are seeking knowledge ?" Asked Mavis
Before any of them could react, the founder, said "I can give you all that, but, I'll need one thing in return." before walking away, making a sign for them to follow her, the two thoughts 'Of course, it couldn't be that easy.' And followed her, the current master and Erza quickly catch and followed Mavis as well.
Once far enough from the others, Yoruichi jumped from Ichigo's shoulder and asked "So, what do you want in exchange of the knowledge."
"It's simple, I want Ichigo to join Fairy Tail and participate in the Magic Game." Answered Mavis with a big smile
Upon hearing this, the four people got different reaction, Makarof was shocked, the knight was surprised, after all, having the substitute in their team would make them win the games pretty easily, Ichigo was thinking about this, and, Yoruichi stayed silent for a few seconds before saying "Alright, if it's only that, he can do it."
"F-first master..." Started the old man
"Third master, don't worry, I do this only for Fairy Tail's win." Said Mavis, interrupting Makaroff
Erza saw the discussion between the two masters, but, ignored it and walked towards the substitute before saying "Sorry to drag you into all of this."
"It's okay, not the worst thing I've been dragged into." Simply reply Ichigo
After a few seconds, Makarof approach them and asked "Are you sure you want to help us in the games ?" the substitute simply nodded and the third master takes out something that look like an ink pad out of a pocket before saying "Where do you want your guild mark."
"On my arm." Said Ichigo while rolling up his sleeve
Makarof applied the pad on the substitute's arm and a black mark of the guild appeared, the old man then said "Welcome to Fairy Tail."
"Thanks, I guess..." Said Ichigo, not sure what to say
The substitute, then looked at Erza and said "While Mavis is helping Yoruichi, we should go to a friend and start your training." the knight was about to say something when Ichigo interrupted her by saying "And don't worry about luggage or anything, our friend while provides you everything." he heard from Mira that Erza had the habit of bringing a lot of lugage when she travels, and thought this could be troublesome to travel with this in the garganta.
Erza thought about this and nodded, the substitute then moves his hand into the air, shortly after, the reality splits to reveal a dark portal, this shocked the wizards, but, Ichigo ignored this and walked into the darkness, quickly followed by Erza, before saying "I'll see you later, Yoruichi." and closed the portal, leaving a shocked Makarof, an excited Mavis and a cat who's gonna have to do a lot of explanation.
A few hours later, Karakua :
Once inside the Garganta, the knight asked a lot of question about this, the substitute answered that this is a bridge between worlds and apologise to Erza for lying about him, the knight said that it wasn't a problem and, to his surprise, she explained how she, Gray, Gajeel, Natsu and Lucy ended up in another world, the two talked about this and about how Ichigo ended up in Earthland during the travel, as soon as they arrived in the shrine, the substitute saw his human body and had to explain to Erza why a body was here before entering it, he also told her to take off the armor, and, after the knight reequip into a normal dress, the two leaved to shrine to go to Karakura.
And now, while they are walking into town, Ichigo couldn't help but smile at Erza curiosity and excitement about everything she saw, almost looking a child, the knight saw a car and said "Wow, those magic car are really different from the one I know."
"Yeah, here they are just called « Car » and work without Magic." Reply the substitute
This answer raised Erza's curiosity, who said "Fascinating." while looking at another car, the substitute giggled about that and the two continued walking for a few minutes, the knight looking with fascination all this time.
"We are almost here." Said Ichigo while pointing a small alley
The two walked inside, then, the knight a small place between those buildings, and, at the other side of it, a small house who is very different from the other, it looked like some of those « Oriental houses » she saw once in a book, Erza looked around her and asked "Are you sure this is a good place for training."
"You'll see, let's go inside first." Answer the substitute
Erza simply followed Ichigo inside the building, the entrance looked like a shop full of candies, the knight wanted to taste some of them, but, before she could do anything, a door opened.
"My my, you are finally back Kurosaki." Said a new voice
At the door is a man, with light skin, messy light-blonde hair half hidden by a dark green and white hat, he is wearing a black Haori and a top similar to what Ichigo wear, with a dark pants and some oriental sandals, if she had to guess by the man's appearance, he doesn't seem strong, but, Yoruichi also seemed weak as a cat, and yet, it outspeed them easily, the substitute then whispered "Don't let his appearance deceive you, this guy is pretty strong."
"And who is your guest ?" Asked Kisuke
"I'm Erza Scarlet, wizard of Fairy Tail." Reply the knight
The shopkeeper nodded and said while covering his face with a fan "Oh, where are my manners, I'm Kisuke Urahara, Owner of this humble shop." Ichigo was about to say something when Kisuke interrupted him by saying "Let me guess Kurosaki, you want to use my training ground to train your friend here." Erza was surprised by this and looked at the substitute, who simply nodded.
"Very well, follow me then." Said The shop owner before walking away
They followed him into a smaller room, then, Kisuke take out a part of the ground to reveal a ladder, the three took it, and, soon enough, the knight was shocked to see an immense space beneath the shop, this place is huge, maybe as big as a small town.
"Impressive, isn't it !?" Said Kisuke, amused by Erza's reaction
"H-how, how did you create a place so big beneath a city ?" Asked the knight
"Well, this is my little secret." Reply the shop owner
Erza couldn't argue with that, she then saw Ichigo walking away and followed him, once far enough, the substitute takes out his Haori, put it away and roll up his sleeve to reveal a white ribbon tied to his arm, Ichigo suddenly says "For you first training, you'll have to cut this ribbon." the knight thought about this, it may look like a silly training, and yet, with this, he was going to teach her one of the base of his power.
"I guess it won't be as easy as it sounds ?" Asked Erza
"Of course, I will not restrain myself, this is going to be hard, but, at the end of it, you will find your own determination." Answer the substitute while drawing his Zanapkuto
While she was summoning a sword, the knight was curious of what Ichigo said, she already had the determination to protect her guild, so why did he mention finding the determination, Erza then pull herself together and reequip to the Flight Armor while while the substitute walked a bit away, after that, the two faced each other, Kisuke, who appeared on a rock nearby, then said "Alright, you can start now."
Before the knight could react, Ichigo appeared in front of her and swing one of his swords, Erza barely avoided it and moved back, the substitute saw that and swing is second sword, this time, the knight blocked, but, after one second, she was sent in the air, Erza reequip into the Heaven's Wheel Armor and started summoning swords when Ichigo appeared in front of her and grab her face, then, the substitute throw her on the ground, this move created a small crater and made the ground shake by the impact, the knight got up with difficulty, panting, she looks in the sky to see Ichigo, standing here, with deadly serious eyes, he warned her about the training, but, she didn't imagine it would this hard.
After a few seconds, the knight reequip into the Black Wing armor and was about to jump into the air when she noticed the substitute in the crater, she also noticed that he was holding something, her eyes opened wild upon realising that Ichigo is holding the blade of her swords, once again, the substitute appeared in front of her and, before she could react, he flicks his finger and sent her crashing into a rock the strength made her go trought the rock and fall on the ground, after getting up, Erza noticed that she was near a ravine who, for some reason had the form of an X, shortly after, Ichigo appeared and simply look at her.
She looks at his swords, and, thanks to her skills, noticed something, each one of his blades are screaming « I'll kill you if I have to. » this shocked the knight and made her wonder, what kind of things did Ichigo go trough, and what kind of determination did he want her to find, Erza was taken out of her thought when Ichigo said "You noticed it, didn't you." then, the substitute looked at his swords and continue "They are screaming determination, both of them are ready to go all the way, even against you."
"W-what kind of things are you trying to teach me ?" Asked the knight, uneasy about all of this
Ichigo sighed and reply "Simple, what I want from you is the determination to kill." Erza's eyes opened wide upon hearing that, but the substitute ignored it and continued "You see, everytime I look at your sword, I see the fear, everytime you avoid my sword, you are afraid of being defeated, and the same thing happens when you are attacking, because of this." the knight looked at the ground, Ichigo started walking towards and said "Because of that, you are weak, if we were at the same level of power, I would still be above you, in a way, this Kagura would be above you if she was a little bit stronger."
"I would never kill others !" Shouted Erza
The substitute didn't reply, after one second, he appeared in front of her and swing his swords, the knight barely avoided the attack, Ichigo then swing his second Zanpakuto and send her once again crashing into a rock.
As soon as Erza got up, she barely avoided another swing and jumped away, she tried to reequip, but, before she could do it, the substitute attacked and she could barely block it, the knight then tried to attack him, but, Ichigo simply counter every attack with ease, the more it happens, the more Erza was realising something, the substitute is just playing with her, he could have easily killed her many times since the beginning, but, every time, he weakens himself so she could avoid the attacks or get up.
The knight also thought about this, she was still by what Ichigo said, why would she need the determination to kill, killing is something she can't accept, even if some foes she faces were ready to kill her, she wouldn't go that far, so why was he mentioning like that, Erza was sent away by another attack from Ichigo, while getting up, the knight reequip into the Clear Hearth Clothing and summoned a sword, ready to continue fighting.
On the other hand, the substitute looked at her, given how things go, as long as she doesn't realise what he meant about determination, she won't be able to get stronger, Ichigo then heard Ossan saying "Ichigo, I think she didn't understand what you mean." the substitute was curious and the Quincy's spirit continued "Erza is only focusing on what you said about killing, she won't be able to learn this in the same way you did, we need to find another way to help her." Ichigo thought about this, it is true that, according to Jellal, even if got through a lot, she didn't get in a war or a situation when you must be ready to kill others, after a few seconds, the substitute had an idea.
"Listen, I know how you are feeling about what I said earlier, but, you don't realise something." Said Ichigo
"What do you mean ?" Asked Erza, still ready to fight
Ichigo looked at Kisuke, then, at her and said "What I say early doesn't mean that you have to become a cold-blooded killer to get stronger." the substitute looked at his swords and continued "Even for me, killing is the last resort." he then looked at her and said "Yet, no matter the battle, I'll fight with the same determination, not because I want to kill, but, because if I didn't, fear would consume and weaken me." the knight looked at the ground, seemingly thinking about it, Ichigo sighed and said "This fear is what made lose so badly against the Vasto Lordes, what made you unable to lift Tensa Zangetsu at first." the substitute took a breath and continued "But, I also saw you having this determination when you followed me into battle or when you used Tensa against those beasts."
"Erza, you need to find this determination within yourself, you need to get up, and fight." Finish Ichigo while pointing one of his Zanpakuto towards the knight
She thought about this, and realised that, and, realised that he is right, because of this fear, she wasn't able to defeat Jose, Jellal, Laxus or Zero, all those times, she was saved by others, like Makarof, Natsu or Simon, who died because of her weakness, just thinking about this felt like she is sinking into darkness.
'Abandon your fear. Look forwards and never stop. You'll age if you pull back. You'll die if you hesitate.'
Upon remembering those words, Erza sighed, those words looked like a light in her darkness, during all this time she let fear take a toll on her during battles, too many times she was afraid of being hurt, of seeing Fairy Tail get hurt, but, now that she understood Ichigo's words, she won't let that happen again, she will become stronger, strong enough so nothing can hurt her, so nothing can wound Fairy Tail anymore, the knight raised a hand towards the light, and, before everything fades to white, one last image appeared in her mind, the memory of an alter-ego she didn't see in a long time, with pure determination in her eyes.
The substitute looked at Erza, who is lost in her thoughts, then, after a few seconds, a red aura appeared around her, Ichigo smiled, knowing that she finally found it, upon opening her eyes, the knight summoned Tensa Zangetsu in her other hand, she then summoned ten other swords and sent them on Ichigo before running towards him, the substitute simply swing one of his Zanpakuto to deflect all the swords, Ichigo also noticed the knight running to him, upon arriving close enough, Erza attacked the substitute with a swing of Tensa Zangetsu, Ichigo blocked the attack with his zanpakuto, the strength of the attack created a blow that destroyed everything around them.
'Time to finish this.' Thought the substitute as he pushes back the knight
After being sent back, Erza realised that, the next move will be the last, gathering all the strength she could use, she jumped towards and swing her sword to him, Ichigo easily blocked the sword with Zangetsu, the knight then attacks with Tensa, but, the substitute once again blocked it, after a few seconds, Erza concentrated all her strength into her swords and pushed back Ichigo, creating an opening in his guard, the knight instantly swings Tensa towards the ribbon and cut it, the substitute could use his speed to stop, but, seeing Erza finally gave her all in this training, he just chooses to let her have it, after that swing, the knight fell on the ground, panting and tired by this fight.
Ichigo then noticed something, on his arm, where was the ribbon, is a small cut, he thought 'So you even manage to cut me, impressive', after all, with his Reiatsu and Hiero always active, it's really hard to cut him, and yet, the knight was able to do that with Tensa Zangetsu, Ichigo then walk to Erza, and said "Congrats, you managed to pass this training." the two heard footstep and saw Kisuke walking towards them.
"My my, I didn't think you would be able to teach someone something like the determination to kill that fast." Said the shopkeeper
The two started talking about something while the knight is getting up, looking at them, Erza couldn't help but wonder, the determination to kill is something only bad guys or people who really believe in their cause had in Earthland, yet, for them it seems a basic thing, so she wondered what kind of thing they have been through, still thinking about that, the knight walks to them and said "I have a question." when she had their attention, she asked "I was wondering, what kind of things you go trough to get this strong ?" the two looked at each other, the shopkeeper nodded and the substitute looked at her.
"Well, I was dragged into multiple incident in the past, and, in two wars." Answered Ichigo
Erza was expecting a lot of things, but, not war to be the answer, Fairy Tail might consider the incidents with Phantom Lord and Grimoire Heart to be some sort of war, but, given the look in his eyes and the will to kill, those things probably wouldn't be close of what happened to Ichigo, she was taken out of her thoughts when Kisuke said "Well, I'm gonna go get what you asked Kurosaki." before disappearing.
"Well, how about we continue the training ?" Asked the substitute
The knight pulls herself together and nodded before getting into position, after all, they still have time to train.
A few hours later :
After hours of training, Erza choose to seat agaisnt a rock to rest a bit, she knew training was going to be hard, but, those hours of training felt like days to her, the knight then saw Ichigo walking toward her before throwing a bottle of water at her.
"Thanks, I needed that." Said the knight before drinking
The substitute was about to say something when Kisuke appeared out of nowhere and said "Well, look like you two trained well." the shopkeeper covers his face with his fan and continue "But, I think you two shall call it a day and rest." both Ichigo and Erza nodded, as the knight got up, Kisuke asked "Miss Scarlet, can you give the replica Tensa Zangetsu ?" the knight hesitated, but, when she saw the substitute nodded, she summoned the sword and gave it to the shopkeeper before walking away with Ichigo.
"Also, don't forget the ceremony, Kurosaki." Said Kisuke while looking at Tensa Zangetsu
Ichigo didn't reply and the two walk out of the training ground, then, they found a bag, Ichigo simply took it and they walk out of the shop, when Erza asked about the ceremony, the substitute explained it was a ceremony to commemorate a fallen comrade, she nodded, during the way to the substitute's house, she couldn't help but looking around and being curious about everything here, it didn't take long after that for them to arrive in front of a big house, and a sign saying « Kurosaki clinic »
Upon opening the door, Ichigo noticed that he didn't get attacked by his father and saw the living room being in the dark, after turning the light on, he noticed a paper on the table saying « Ichigo, I took Yuzu and Karin for some family training, we won't be here for the next weeks, so take care of the house in our absences. PS : Yuzu packed food for you in the fridge. » Ichigo heard Shiro saying "Well, talk about timing." he simply sighed and looked at Erza before saying "Make yourself at home."
After that, the substitute puts the bag on one of the couch and explained to the knight that this bag contained some stuff for her stay, then, the two eat the food Yuzu packed, and, Ichigo was amused to see Erza being quite enthusiast when he takes a strawberry cake out of the fridge, once done, the knight go and took a shower before Ichigo lead her to the room of his sister's, explaining that sadly they didn't have a guest room and she will have to sleep on the bed they usually use when they had a guest.
And now, Erza is lying on a bed, looking at the roof, lost in her thoughts, she wasn't expecting her first day of training to be like that, but, in the end, she got stronger and learn something, now she'd a bit more a month and a half to get stronger and to discover this unknown world, the knight then closed her and fell asleep, wondering what kind of other training Ichigo had for her.
And this concludes this chapter of A Fairy's Spirit, I hope you enjoyed it, on that, I'll see you next time.