Chapter 79: 1,000 Year Blood War Arc: Meeting the Monk

Byakuya's POV

My time with Captain Shutara was to be the shortest among the guard members that I have met so far.

Since she only needed me for my physical measurements, all she asked of me was to disrobe, stand still, and only move when I was required to. Due to her earlier words, I was wary that she would make a few more . . . crass remarks before the process was over, but the Great Weave Guard was a consummate professional when she was set on her task, working silently to get every number correct.

Unfortunately, once she was finished, she was more than happy to comment once again.

"I will have your set of Ōken Clothing ready by the time you leave for the Seireitei," She announces, her voice slightly muffled thanks to the changing screen that separated me from the rest of her work room. "Captain Hyōsube should be awaiting your arrival at his palace. From what I've heard, your sister and your lieutenant are nearing the end of their training."

"They have progressed so far already," I found myself saying as I secured my hakama pants to my waist, trying to not get distracted by my mind bringing up possibilities on how those two could have gotten stronger.

"Those two already have a good foundation in zanjutsu. It's their connection to their zanpakutos that needed . . . finer tuning," I hear her say as I emerged from behind the screen, only to find the captain approaching me with a large roll of white fabric clutched in her mechanical arms. "If you head toward the exit, you will find one of my subordinates waiting for you there. He will show you to the launch platform."

"Do I not get to see the possible design of the clothing?" I say as I made sure that Senbonzakura was safely tucked into my waistband, only realizing too late that I opened myself up to another one of the woman's remarks in the process.

"Don't worry! You will look completely dignified once you are wearing it," Captain Shutara says as she starts to walk away, her voice somewhat filled with promise. "Your lady love may not keep her hands off you once she sees you in it too. . ."

"There she goes again!" It was the only words that came to my mind as I moved swiftly toward the exit, not giving her the satisfaction of seeing my reaction to her latest remark.

Finding Captain Shutara's subordinate standing where she said he would be, I followed him toward the launch pad, which already seemed prepared with the necessary reiatsu for activation.

The flight itself was the same as all the others that I had to take so far since I had awoken from my coma, but as I grew closer to the last palace, I realized that it would be unlike all the other palaces combined as soon as I entered its airspace. The reishi that surrounded it was noticeably different, growing denser as I flew closer to the landing platform.

By the time I landed, I admittedly stumbled as soon as my feet touched the ground, my eyes closing tightly as I tried to wrap my head around how intense the reishi was around me.

"Don't worry! You'll get used to the reishi soon enough."

Opening my eyes, my gaze was dominated by a pair of single-toothed tengu geta, a style that only the most traditional still deigned to wear these days. Looking up, I find myself standing before a large bald man with a beard that appeared to not have seen the teeth of a comb or brush in a long time.

From the traditional shihakusho and white haori, I knew I was in front of the last captain I was supposed to meet in the Royal Realm, but the sight of him made me a little perplexed. If I was honest with myself, I expected the head of the Zero Division to be an ancient, yet athletic man, much like Captain Commander Yamamoto himself, but the man looked younger than I expected.

The reiatsu was what indicated that the man before me was a lot more than what he appeared. It was ancient, yet potent, only ready to come out once he was ready to show it. The man himself was watching me with a large smile, as if he was eager to meet me. . .

"Finished with your internal assessment of me, young one?!"

. . . Never mind; I might be wrong in my assumption.

"How did you . . ?"

"You have good senses. Observing a new face for potential threats is a good sign of a natural warrior, though in this case, you were a bit obvious in your actions," He cuts in, his tone jovial as he crosses his arms over his chest. "Welcome to my palace Captain Kuchiki. I am Ichibē Hyōsube, Leader of the Zero Division. . . We have a lot to do, and little time to do it so please follow me. We're going to start immediately."

"I see you do not waste time," I admit as I begin to follow him into his domain, which is more mountainous compared to the others. "But what about the others?"

"They've all been progressing well since they arrived. Kurosaki learned more about his true self, and Abarai learned the truth about his zanpakuto's bankai," He tells me, keeping his eyes focused on the trail before us. "As for your sister, you'll be quite pleased to know that she has finally achieved her bankai."

His words almost made me stumble for the second time in less than five minutes. Though Rukia's start as a shinigami was slow - partially due to my own interference - her continuous hard work and tenacity slowly proved to me that she would be capable of achieving her bankai someday. Knowing that she finally did it, I couldn't help but feel pride swell in my chest at her triumph . . .

. . . Along with a little concern.

"She has succeeded in unlocking her bankai, but she's far from mastering it I presume," I say, the subtle nod of the older man's head all I needed for an answer.

"No one is an immediate bankai expert as soon as they achieve it, but your sister may struggle with it longer compared to others," Hyōsube admits, bringing a hand to his beard. "It is one that will immediately damage her if she is reckless with it . . . As long as she takes her time with it, she should be able to handle it just fine."

Knowing that Rukia's zanpakuto revolved around freezing and temperature rather than ice creation and manipulation like Captain Hitsugaya's, it wasn't hard to imagine the negatives that came with such power. No one can say that they have had an ideal first experience with their bankai, myself included.

To this day, I am eternally glad that I had the foresight to not have anyone witness Senbonzakura Kageyoshi until I had completely mastered it. Explaining to Mina and Grandfather why both my arms were heavily bandaged after my first ever time calling my bankai forth over tea was not the best experience.

"And now, there is you, the final part of our lucky quartet . . . You are probably the unluckiest case among the group."

"Well, that's one way of putting it," I thought to myself as I felt a noticeable difference in the reishi in the atmosphere. The further we went up the more concentrated it was. I may have recovered my reiatsu now, but if I was in a weaker state, I would have surely been on my knees, gasping for breath by now.

"You do not have a broken bankai, an incomplete bankai, or a bankai that has yet to be achieved," Hyōsube says, sounding almost patronizing as he turns to face me. "You, simply, have no bankai, and until you get your bankai back, you will strengthen your shikai instead."

"Strengthen my shikai?"

"You say it like it sounds odd, and yes, even I will admit that the idea of fighting a bankai with just shikai is an almost fruitless endeavor. However, it's not completely impossible, especially in this instance," He tells me, his tone stern despite the smile that still occupies his face.

"The Quincies may have succeeded in stealing away yours and some of your fellow captains' bankais, but they are not able to wield them as well as you and the others have. They do not understand the connection us shinigami have with our zanpakutos, so they will never be able to wield them to their fullest ability."

"They will only see them as tools, rather than actual partners." I conclude, understanding the train of thought.

"Exactly; the stronger the relationship you have with your zanpakuto, the stronger the warrior you will be, and that will be your main focus during your training Captain Kuchiki," Hyōsube tells me, his grin somehow getting bigger. "You are probably luckier than most when it comes to their zanpakuto too."

"How so?"

"Most shinigami end up working with just an asauchi all their lives. Those strong enough will learn their zanpakutos' names and their shikais, and the strongest of all will achieve bankai. Everyone's shikai is different, but most follow the pattern of being a singular weapon. Few, like Sogyo no Kotowari and Katen Kyokotsu are dual wield . . . and then there's Senbonzakura," He explains, his gaze somehow ancient and lively at the same time.

"The blade whose name is literally Thousand Cherry Blossoms. . . Most shinigami fight with one blade, a lucky few will work with two. When you think about it, your zanpakuto allows you the ability of wielding a thousand blades in shikai, at your discretion, but how well have you actually used it? How far have you pushed it? Can you really say that, after all these years of wielding it, that you've wielded Senbonzakura's shikai to its fullest potential?" He prods, his smile now venturing on maddening. "You seem like a man that has grown to be set in his ways, but your set ways could be the thing that is holding you back from progressing further."

"My set ways . . . holding me back?" I think to myself, his words striking a chord within me that was much stronger than I expected.

Has my structured way of life prevented me from embracing Senbonzakura more fully? The more that I thought about it, the more I realized that there was some truth to the Royal Guard member's words.

As soon as I was born, my life was seemingly laid out for me, though the plans were a work in progress even now. I followed the path that all the previous clan leaders have followed before me: learn the proper ways of being a nobleman and a shinigami from a young age, conduct myself as a proper Kuchiki while attending the Academy, join the Sixth and eventually rise to the captaincy . . . so on and so forth.

Marrying Hisana was the first time I deviated from that path. It was my first time being selfish, deciding on something for me and not for the clan, and for a time, I was happy.

Then Hisana succumbed to her illness, and I entrenched myself further in my role as shinigami and clan leader as a result. Aside from adopting Rukia into the clan, I spent the past 50+ years being the model of excellence that was expected of someone in my position. I was the example that others needed to follow. I was the person everyone simply . . . expected.

And by living up to all those expectations, did I stump my own growth?

No, not growth . . . My creativity.

I've trained for decades, following all the techniques that my grandfather, father, tutors, and academy instructors have taught me over the years, perfecting them to the point that I could do them as easily as breathing. I've had no reason to change my zanjutsu philosophy . . .

. . . Until my fight with Shūkurō Tsukishima that is.

With the power to insert himself into a person's life with a simple swipe of his blade, he knew all my moves and abilities in seconds. He knew how I fought. He knew my tactics. He knew what I would do next before I could even think about myself.

I couldn't beat him until I finally did something that he never expected. It was risky, it was life threatening, and my arm hurt greatly in the end, but my . . . improvised tactic proved to be the winning move. It was the first time I ever experienced the battle lust that some fighters crave in a fight . . . It wasn't the worst experience, but I was never sure if I wanted to experience that feeling again.

Maybe it really was time to rethink how I fought?

I already know that when Mina finds out about this, the smuggest grin is going to appear on her pretty face.

At this point, I'm already welcoming it.

"Hmm, I never really thought about how my upbringing could hinder me in a fight," I concede as I continue to follow him uphill. "But maybe I do have to rethink how structured my fighting style can be."

"You don't have to completely overhaul how you fight Captain Kuchiki. It has served you well up to this point after all hasn't it?" Hyōsube reminds me, looking over his shoulder like a father checking in on his wary child. "What you should do is to rethink how you've used your zanpakutos techniques! Look at all the past battles you've had where you've used your shikai and see what you could have done better to end those fights sooner. . . Every battle, every situation is different, and not very learned technique you have in your arsenal will fit every situation you face."

Taking in his advice, I simply nod as I finally spot the building that he was leading me to, a small training dojo at the top of the hill. When we eventually entered, the dojo looked like any normal dojo, except it was clean.

No sweat marks, no scratches along the walls or the tatami mats . . . The place looked like it has never been stepped in since it was first constructed.

"Not what you expected?"

"I expected this place to be a bit more. . . used, yes," I admit as the Royal Guard leader starts to sit in seiza in the middle of the room.

"This specific dojo is not to train in actual combat. This place was created for the specific use of accessing one's Inner World," He clarifies, gesturing for me to sit across from him. "Now then, I believe you and Senbonzakura need to have a long chat with each other. . . Once you come back, you can work on what you've learned."

I simply nod as I fall into seiza across from him, placing my zanpakuto across my knees in an all too familiar position that I've grown to appreciate through the decades. Captain Hyōsube was the last image I saw before falling into jinzen, and when I opened them again, I was greeted with a sight that I thought I would never see again just a few days ago.

"Hello Senbonzakura."

A/N: Please review!