Orihime and Arata eventually return back to the apartment in silence, both still absorbing the events of the night. Along the way, Arata discovered that he can change in and out of his human and soul reaper form by pressing his mask after they passed a couple of bystanders without enticing any reaction out of them.

They enter and each goes to their respective places in the home. Orihime went to the kitchen to whip up dinner while Arata went to the living room to watch T.V. After his first night of watching television, Arata picked up that he very much liked this form of entertainment as it filled the uneventful void he resided in when he wasn't fighting. Right now, he flipped through the channels to land upon another horror movie, one that involved a serial killer's soul in a children's toy.

After an hour of watching multiple murders, the executioner's nose picks up a nice aroma and he turns to see Orihime carrying two plates to the tables. Following Arata's wishes, Orihime went simple, grilling some fish with some side vegetables with a bowl of steaming rice.

I prefer basic than 'Orihime's fancy cooking' any day.

'And how on earth are you tasting the food?'

Let's just say I can also taste whatever you taste.

Arata hums in response before turning to the plate of food in front of him. He eats, lifting his mask up slightly to put food in his mouth. Orihime does the same as she turns to the movie showing on the screen. She chokes as she witnesses the possessed doll kill another person.

"Can we watch something else?" she politely asks.

"It's your T.V. Go for it. But Why?" Arata questions.

"I'm not really a fan of horror movies. Don't worry though. There are other amazing shows like..." and she takes the remote before flipping to other channels and shows like nature documentaries, action films, cartoons, etc. They eventually land on a certain channel broadcasting a mixed martial art match.

"Stop" Arata says.

The orange-haired girl looks at the match. "You like fighting?" she asks.

"Very" Arata answers simply.

She giggles. "My friend Tatsuki actually watches these and she told me to try and watch one of them so why not?"

They watch in relative silence while also eating their meals. While watching the two combatants clash, Orihime thought back to the event of the night, remembering how Arata took out so many hollows right after he found out about his powers. The display was mesmerizing to be honest, seeing him slice and punch the creatures but in a way that not anyone would expect Arata would use. He's fighting style was brutish and strong but also held elegance and swiftness. He moved with the experience of a seasoned and trained warrior which surprised most who saw him work.

"Are you excited to start your training with Kisuke?" she asks.

"Have you trained under him?" he then asks her.

"Yeah. He and Yoruichi have been helping me and Chad master our abilities. He also trained Ichigo so you're in good hands" she states with a smile, remembering how strong she and Chad became after training with him.

Arata hums in acknowledgement. "Unfortunately, I have work in the morning so I have to go after school"

"Oh yeah that's right! Me and Ichigo will accompany you then! We can even help you along with your training!" she exclaims but was met with a growl from the man.

"What's wrong?" she asks, feeling as though she said something wrong.

"Nothing. It's just I don't like people helping me" Arata states.

"Why not?"

"I rather do things by my own. I'm stronger that way. I don't need to rely on other people"

Ha!

'Shut up'

"It's okay to reach out for help Arata. We're not all strong and even the strong need help sometimes" she said.

"If they needed help, then they were weak in the first place" he says coldly.

Orihime frowns but before she could say anything else, she yawns in exhaustion, indicating it was time for bed.

"Go to sleep woman. You have school tomorrow" Arata says, picking up the plates before going into the kitchen to clean them. She nods in agreement and thanks Arata before heading to bed.

She covers herself in her blankets, Arata's words still ringing in her head. She frowns in sadness when she thought about them as she found out something about the standoffish man living with her.

That he is a lonely man. Looks after himself always and never lets people in. He keeps them at bay like they were his enemies and tells little about himself to illustrate that point. She drifts off to sleep, sadden at Arata's nature.

The next day...

Arata and Orihime awaken to get ready for the day. As soon as Orihime was dressed up, they leave the apartment and make their way to school. They walk side by side, earning curious glances toward them as they notice Arata's old fashioned clothes. Arata continues on, oblivious to their stares but Orihime does.

"Hey Arata" she says, directing his attention to her.

"What?"

"Maybe after your training, we can go clothes shopping" she proposed.

"Why do you need me with you for that?" Arata asks, not really seeing what the teen was insinuating.

"Well, this isn't for me. It's for you" she states.

"Why? I already have clothes" he said as if it was obvious.

"Yeah. These ones and your work clothes, which you leave at school" she counters.

Arata sighs in slight frustration. "Look, I don't even have any money yet"

"That's okay!" she reassures. "I have more than enough. I'll buy them for you"

'Great,' Arata thought. 'I can even get clothes by myself. This world is starting to give me a headache'

Don't look a gift-horse in the mouth.

'Acknowledged. Any other words of wisdom?' Arata thinks sarcastically.

You're gonna get free stuff?

Arata sighs again. "Whatever" he said dismissively.

Orihime smiles brightly and they continue on to school.

Later...

The school day goes by regularly. As the students made their way out, talking about their plans for the weekend, Ichigo and Orihime waited at the gate for Arata. Ichigo decided to come along not only because Orihime asked but felt that Arata might need an extra hand. While he didn't know all the in and outs of being a soul reaper, he knew enough. Plus, it might help the masked man if he had someone who is like him with him.

Arata walks out of the main building and stops only for a moment where Ichigo and Orihime were before they leave together to Urahara's shop.

They arrive in no time, opening the sliding door of the shop before encountering Yoruichi sitting on the counter as if she was waiting for the three to arrive. She was dressed in a orange over-shirt over a black sleeveless, backless undershirt. On her lower half, was a beige sash around her waist with black stretch pants and light-weight brown shoes.

"Didn't think you make it today" the cat-lady commented.

"Let's just get to it" Arata said eagerly.

Yoruichi chuckles. "Alright big guy, let's go. Kisuke's waiting downstairs as we speak"

A thought suddenly enters Arata's mind. Training for powers and skills of that of a soul reaper most likely required much room. How's a basement going to help?

Later...

"I've seen talking cats and evil creatures but this... this is just... wow" Arata commented, surprised. While he prided himself for remaining calm in every situation, unfazed in the face of the unexpected, he had to admit, this was not what he was expecting.

What stood before him was the training grounds underneath the shop. It was not a simple basement but a large room with it's ceiling and walls painted to mimic the blue sky while the ground a desolate, craggy land with some dead trees.

"Pretty impressive huh? I even built this place in a single day and night" Kisuke states proudly.

"Very" Arata simply says back, not sure what else to say.

"Alright then," Kisuke then says, clapping his hands together. "How should we start?"

Kisuke thinks for a moment before coming up with a simple solution.

"Awaken: Benihime"

The man's cane glows red before changing into a decorative sword. The handle's pommel or base was bend forward with a red tassel hanging off. Instead of regular guard, the sword had a U-shaped guard covering a few inches of the blade. The blade itself was straight, colored black with a silver edge ending at a slanted razor-like tip.

Arata thought back to when he met Renji and his bizarre sword, noting that what Kisuke did was awfully similar to that. "What just happened?" Arata asked.

Showcasing the blade, Kisuke explains. "This, my masked friend, is a zanpakuto. Every soul reaper has one and what I just did was unleash my shikai. Prepare yourself!" and then, faster than he thought, Kiuke rushes Arata with his blade in hand.

Pressing his mask, Arata enters his soul reaper form, quickly unsheathes his sword and sparks fly.

"Nice reflexes" Kisuke compliments. He looks at Arata's mask and through his dark eye holes, he saw a fire in his dimly-lit eyes.

"Then you should see my swings"

Arata swings his sword at the shop-owner, putting unrelenting force into each swing. Kisuke was surprised as he found the attack to be quick and precise but yet strong enough to make his arms ache after each block.

Arata sends an overhead strike down towards Kisuke's head, who which blocks and pushes back the masked man off him, ending his assault.

"Gotta say, you're pretty good. Much better than Ichigo when he trained with me"

"Hey!" yelled said teen, who currently watched the encounter along the sidelines with Orihime, Yoruichi, Tessai, and the kids.

"You mentioned something called a 'shikai'. What is it and how do I get it?" Arata demands.

"Easy there cowboy. Patience. But to answer your questions, a shikai is the first release of a zanpakuto, which allows you access to unique abilities only you have" Kisuke explains.

"How do I achieve this?" Arata asks.

"Simple: You need to learn your zanpakuto's name"

Arata's eyes widen slightly.

'So you're my zanpakuto?'

...Apparently.

'What do you mean 'Apparently''.

Look... all I know is that I'm apart of your soul and that I can't tell you my name. So yeah, I'm your sword basically.

Kisuke elaborates further. "For you to learn your zanpakuto's name, you have to try and communicate with it in your inner world"

Arata perches his sword on his shoulder as he listens to the shop-owner. "How do I enter inner world?"

"Usually through jinzen or focusing yourself into your soul. Once you're there, you must talk with your zanpakuto and learn its name your self which you can't just do overnight"

Fortunately, Arata has used meditation before and could enter this "inner world" with enough time. The tricky part however was getting the soul in his soul to tell him it's name.

Weren't you listening dummy?! You need to LEARN my name remember?

'Yeah, yeah. Quit nagging'

"Hold on. You said shikai is the first release. There are more?" Arata questions, to which Kisuke nods.

"There's one final release a zanpakuto can go through; Bankai. It's the most powerful form of a zanpakuto. Something that takes the average soul reaper a decade to achieve" he explains. "You, however, haven't even reached shikai yet so that portion of our training will have to wait"

'Incredible. So much power underneath a ton of training and battles. I swear, I will reach both'

Suddenly, he sees Kisuke rushes in, ready to cross blades again and Arata meets him there. Kisuke attacks but Arata dodges before elbowing the man in the jaw. In his dazed state, he registers a sword coming towards his neck and he dodges, narrowly avoiding the lethal strike.

Arata uses one hand to use his sword but switches hands every now and then to mix things up and to throw his enemy off. Kisuke and Arata engage, clashing blades together repeatedly before one changes movements and throws an unexpected move.

One of which was a sweep by Arata which landed Kisuke on his back. He sees the blade flying down towards him but is stopped by Kisuke blocking said strike and pushing Arata away for a few seconds before jumping back up. He goes on the offensive, attacking Arata with multiple stabs which were met with either a block or dodge but left the executioner on the defensive.

The bout comes to a stop when Arata couldn't block an attack on time but before it would land on his shoulder, it stops, hovering over his shoulder.

"If I intended to kill you, you would be dead but that match was good" Kisuke comments. "Whoever trained you should pat themselves on the back. You're a pretty good swordsman" he then says, complimenting.

Arata nods and looks to Yoruichi. "I want to see what you can do" he says, causing Yoruichi to smirk in response and the others to sweatdrop, cringing on the inside.

"Whatever the man wishes" she shrugs, tagging Kisuke out and facing Arata.

Said man looked at her questioningly. "Where's your sword?"

"Don't need it" and she enters a combat stance. Arata shrugs before coming at her. She doesn't move at first as he approaches, not even when he throws the first swing. Before the blade made it to her however, she moves.

To say she was fast was an understatement. She dodges the sword before back-flipping, kicking Arata hard on the chin. He stumbles back to see her standing straight, smiling at him.

"So it's gonna be one of those fights eh?" he mutters to himself before engaging the were-cat.

Later...

"Uhhhhhh..." Arata groans, walking with Orihime to the mall.

His... "fight" with Yoruichi wasn't much of a fight. Rather it was a game of cat and mouse with Arata being the mouse and Yoruichi being the cat, obviously. She kept evading the man, toying with him. Whenever he swung, she always reacted. She even dodged him and landed on his shoulder. He barely registered her for a second before she sent a kick at the side of his head.

"I'm guessing she was still mad at my previous comment about her body?" he questions to the teen next to him.

She giggles. "Yeah but I think she drained it out of her system"

"More like played it out of her system"