I think I figured out a way to better show a significant change in time/location/perspective than what I had been using, so hopefully the slight change in formatting isn't too jarring, I just replaced all the line breaks with something else. Hopefully now it's also easier to have my notes at the start and/or end stand out from the rest of the chapter better.
A week longer of training had Hitsugaya and Rangiku both seeing results. Rangiku had begun to battle against Akio's Shikai, while Hitsugaya had begun to force Akio to use more and more kido against him, though Akio had not unleashed his Bankai to fight against him since the incident a week ago. Today was Hitsugaya's day off from training, and he decided to take the day to travel to the human world. He was not going to see Karin, but rather Urahara. He had questions about his condition, and he did not trust Mayuri enough to allow himself to be tested on by the current Squad 12 captain.
Fate had a strange sense of humor it would seem, for when he arrived at Urahara's shop, Karin was there. She was training with Tessai, in a soul reaper form. Hitsugaya was at a complete loss for words.
"Oh, hey Toshiro!" Karin ran over to him, "I didn't think I'd see you here!"
"Karin… how long have you been training in kido for?" Hitsugaya asked.
"I started right after the war with the Quincy, I wanted to be able to help if anything like that ever happened again. I'd been planning to surprise you once Master Tessai declared me a kido master, but it looks like you found out before then," Karin grinned sheepishly.
"You seemed plenty good at the kido to me," Hitsugaya observed.
"Yeah well… Master Tessai says that I'm a prodigy when it comes to kido, though I'm still far too inexperienced to be a master," Karin admitted.
"In terms of technique you may actually be better at kido than me, though as I've been finding out, kido is a weak point of mine," Hitsugaya admitted. The gap between his kido and Akio's was like the gap between heaven and earth.
"I'm sure it can't be that weak, you're a captain after all," Karin said.
"True. Regardless, how have I not sensed your reiatsu before now? Or at least, how have I not noticed it having increased? You're at least on the level of a lieutenant right now, and with only kido training that is very impressive," Hitsugaya remarked.
"That's 'cause master Yoruichi has been training me in stealth and martial arts! I can suppress my reiatsu with ease, and I can do tons of cool martial arts moves!" Karin exclaimed excitedly.
"Let me guess, you're a prodigy at that as well?" Hitsugaya guessed.
"Sort of yeah," Karin admitted.
"I guess being prodigies runs in the family," Hitsugaya joked.
"I guess it does! So, what brings you here, Toshiro?" Karin asked.
"I was looking for Urahara," Hitsugaya answered.
"My my, for a captain of the Gotei 13 to personally come to visit me, what an honor! How may I help you?" The man in question approached Hitsugaya from behind. Hitsugaya spun around to face him.
"I need to talk to you. In private," Hitsugaya glanced at Karin as he said that last part.
"Sure," Urahara gestured for Hitsugaya to follow him and led him into a smaller room that was empty aside from them.
"So I uh… I think I'm dying," Hitsugaya admitted.
"We're all dying, just very slowly. I know it's shocking when kids undergo this realization, but I didn't expect to be the one you came to," Urahara replied with a deadpan expression.
"No not like-. Ok so during the war I was turned into a zombie by one of the Quincy. So were Matsumoto and some other soul reapers. Anyway I uh, when I was cured Mayuri told me that my lifespan had been cut by a considerable amount. I thought I'd have a couple hundred years at least but in the past ten years I've been getting terrible coughing fits and after I aged myself up using my Bankai during training last week, I've been getting migraines as well," Hitsugaya blurted all of this out.
"And you came to me because you don't trust Mayuri?" Urahara guessed a solemn expression on his face now.
"How did you guess that?" Hitsugaya asked.
"Because even I wouldn't trust him to run tests on my body," Urahara replied, "this is serious indeed. I will need to run tests to see what exactly is going on in your body, and I may need a few days to get it all done. You should alert your squad about an extended absence. I can send a messenger if you want."
"That would be ideal. I don't want to worry my squad though, could we uh. Come up with a fake reason for my absence?" Hitsugaya asked.
"A more responsible person would tell you no, but I am not a more responsible person. We can absolutely come up with a fake reason. How about… Did I need a volunteer of captain level reiatsu to test a new invention? If needed I could even whip something up to really sell the story," Urahara suggested. Hitsugaya nodded, not really caring about what the excuse was as he felt another headache coming on.
"Great, I'll tell them that. I'll begin setting up a room for you where I and Mr. Kurosaki can run tests on you," Urahara stated.
"Why would Ichigo be helping?" Hitsugaya asked.
"Not Ichigo, Isshin. He's a doctor here, after all, he may be able to help," Urahara clarified and Hitsugaya relaxed. "Anyways, just wait here until I come back."
Hitsugaya nodded and sat down on a chair in the room as Urahara left.
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Akio stared at Karin Kurosaki with a puzzled look. Next to her was a friend of Urahara's, Yoruichi Shihoin.
"So, you expect me to believe that Captain Hitsugaya would abandon our current mission, even if just for a few days, to help Urahara with some project?" Akio was very skeptical.
"That is what happened, yes," Karin had already told Akio all of this, but he was perceptive.
"I don't believe that at all, but as my captain, Hitsugaya does not need to tell me of his whereabouts at all times. I trust his judgment and will help Lieutenant Matsumoto run the division in the meantime," Akio responded, "Regardless, I was not aware that Ichigo's sister was a soul reaper as well."
"She wasn't. I've just been helping train her for the past decade," Yoruichi responded. Akio's face lit up as if an idea had just popped into existence.
"Wait, so you're telling me that she isn't at all well known in Soul Society?" Akio asked.
"Nope, not at all," Yoruichi responded.
"And she's been receiving training in combat without a zanpakuto?" Akio continued.
"Correct," Yoruichi was curious as to where Akio was going with this.
"Tell me Kurosaki, have you ever wanted to be a spy?" Akio grinned a bit.
"Uh, duh of course I have! Everyone dreamed of being a spy as a kid at some point!" Karin responded, "why?"
"You would be the perfect help for the mission Squad 10 is undergoing," Akio offered.
"Are you aware that your captain would kill you for suggesting this?" Yoruichi responded.
"She's an adult, she can make her own choices. Besides, she has the perfect "get out of jail free" card, being able to reveal herself as the sister of Ichigo. No one would risk incurring the wrath of the strongest person in existence, not even the most powerful crime family in Rukongai," Akio reasoned.
"I'll do it," Karin responded, "I want to help out Toshiro, I'll do it."
"Oh, that was quick. I was expecting you to need a few days of thinking first, but if that's the case then I can start preparing you immediately. You'll undergo some training in a martial art that I invented first, it's used by the Takanashi family and they may attempt to teach it to you, in which case already knowing something at least similar to it would help. Also, I still need Captain Hitsugaya to sign off on this, but you agreeing to this should hopefully make it easier," Akio stated.
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"Absolutely not," Rangiku declared. Akio had decided to propose the idea to Rangiku first, hoping that her support could help him sway Hitsugaya when the time came.
"C'mon Rangiku, why not?" Karin asked, "I'm an adult now, I'm not a little kid that's in over her head."
"Hitsugaya would kill us if we put you in danger," Rangiku argued.
"As sweet of him as that is, I'm still old enough to make my own decisions," Karin insisted.
"Besides, I'd only send her in if she can sufficiently learn the martial art I intend to teach her, she'd be plenty strong," Akio added.
"Karin, you realize that if anything happens to you, not just Hitsugaya, but Ichigo and Isshin as well would want our heads," Rangiku said.
"I'll just have to not fail then," Karin grinned.
"Fine, if you're so set on your path then I'll allow it. But, only if Captain Hitsugaya gives the ok, and if you can pass Akio's training," Rangiku relented.
"Thank you!" Karin wrapped her arms around Rangiku, hugging her.
"Don't be so hasty in thanking her. You'll begin training with me today, and you'll wish you'd never signed up for this," Akio stated, "learning this martial art isn't like any other training. You will be beaten down until you find a way to beat me down. That's why I don't teach it to anyone."
"I'm not a coward, I think you're underestimating me," Karin said.
"I probably am, you are a Kurosaki after all. Your brother is probably the strongest person I have ever seen," Akio stated, "if your potential is anything like his, you may well become stronger than me."
"So, can we start training now then?" Karin asked.
"Not yet. I want to wait for Captain Hitsugaya to give his approval," Akio replied.
Karin seemed to be disappointed in that answer but accepted it all the same. She looked between Akio and Rangiku, "in that case, I think I'll return to the human world."
Akio and Rangiku nodded as Karin left.
[insert line break]
Hitsugaya was in excruciating pain. He was in the middle of a migraine, one that made him feel as if his head was going to burst.
"I have to say, this is very strange. I had expected there to be some sort of accelerated aging that would cause your shorter lifespan, but instead, it seems as if your body is just shutting down. I do believe that aging yourself to an older form certainly isn't helping," Urahara spoke as he looked at Hitsugaya.
"I didn't intend to do it again, it happened on accident," Hitsugaya replied.
"Make sure it doesn't happen again," Urahara ordered, "I'm going to give you a substance that will put you to sleep. I will be studying your reiatsu and looking for any irregularities there."
Hitsugaya nodded and accepted Urahara's drink, falling asleep within moments.
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Rangiku stood in front of 10 members of Squad 10, among which were Akio, the 7th seat, and the 20th seat. "Listen up, we have been given the assignment of apprehending a group of bandits operating in the 75th district of South Rukongai. We are to bring them to the nearest prison, which is located in the 70th district. We have orders to refrain from killing any of them. The number of bandits is unknown but estimated to be at least 50. We will leave as soon as this briefing is finished," Rangiku spoke. She was a capable leader with quite some experience under her belt, though she preferred to not be the one having to call the shots as she was now.
None of the soul reapers had any questions, so the group immediately began traveling towards the district. It was a long-distance, but it was clear that even just two weeks of Akio's training had been having an impact, as each soul reaper had far better speed and stamina than they would've before. They reached the district in a few hours of running.
Upon arriving, Rangiku immediately saw the smoke of a village in ruins.
"We were too late to save this village it seems, but there still may be survivors," Akio noted, approaching a pile of rubble and beginning to move it aside.
Rangiku began to approach him when a spear shot out of a pile of rubble, nearly reaching Akio. It was stopped by the 7th seat, Hirono Bodo, one of the longest-serving soul reapers in Squad 10.
"Thank you, Bodo. Did you see where the spear came from?" Akio asked.
"Vaguely. If you'd like, I can return fire," Bodo responded, preparing to launch a Shakkaho.
Rangiku nodded in approval and Bodo launched the kido, blowing away the rubble and revealing 3 bandits. Around the town, more bandits broke out of piles of rubble, until there were at least 100 bandits surrounding the group of 10 soul reapers.
"It would appear that we have been taken by surprise," Bodo observed. The danger of this situation felt far less than it would have even just 4 weeks ago, though the two large wars that Soul Society had recently gone through made skirmishes such as these feel like a walk in the park.
"All this for just 10 soul reapers? What a shame," One of the bandits spoke. He held an axe in his hand.
"Remember, take them alive, only use your Shikai if you have to. Akio, this should be obvious but you should refrain from using your Shikai at all," Rangiku ordered.
"Yes ma'am," Akio shouted, leaping at a group of bandits. The rest of the soul reapers followed.
Rangiku found herself battling an opponent who had a reiatsu level roughly equivalent to that of a lieutenant. Rangiku was surprised when she found herself dominating the fight with ease, she hadn't expected herself to have improved this much in such a short time. Rangiku didn't bother to unleash her Shikai, instead just using a mix of kido and sword attacks to subdue her enemy, before trapping him in a binding kido spell. She noticed that overall, her squad was doing well.
In almost no time they were wrapped up. Akio had cast a powerful barrier kido that trapped all the bandits in a cube.
"I will head off to escort the bandits to the nearest prison, I will report back in here when I am finished," Akio stated.
Rangiku nodded and watched Akio leave. It was reassuring to have someone like him in the squad, especially while Hitsugaya was gone. The past 2 days had been less taxing than she anticipated. Rangiku walked around the town, her squad looking for survivors. The fact that they were not finding any brought her sadness, but when Rangiku noticed movement out of the corner of her eye, she saw an old man half crushed by rubble.
Rangiku immediately ran over to him, "This looks bad. I need a medic!" She called out to her squad. Out of the 11 soul reapers on the mission, the best healer was the 20th seat, who was very proficient with kaido. The 20th seat ran over and immediately began healing the elderly man.
"Thank you, Kioka," Rangiku patted the 20th seat on the back, and Kioka smiled.
Akio returned quickly, having moved at full speed to reach the prison and return as quickly as possible. He immediately walked over to Rangiku.
"Any survivors?" Akio asked.
"So far just one, but his condition is bad," Rangiku answered.
"I got a tip from the prison guards that the bandits are part of a larger group that's based in the 80th district near here, I would like to request permission to conduct a raid," Akio said.
"Bodo and I will go with you," Rangiku began, before turning to the rest of her squad, "The rest of you keep searching for survivors here, then return to base."
Kioka nodded and returned to healing the man as a soul reaper stood over him, guarding the medic. The remaining 6 resumed searching the town, splitting into pairs.
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Akio, Rangiku, and Bodo approached a large cave opening.
"I can sense a number of energies down there. There seem to be more than at the town, but the average strength is around the same," Akio observed.
"You and I will go down and conduct the raid then. Bodo, you will guard the entrance and get any stragglers," Rangiku decided.
"Understood," Bodo nodded as Rangiku and Akio descended into the cave.
The cave was lit by torches, and it was a winding mess. Akio and Rangiku had decided to not split up. In the unlikely case that there were any combatants down there that could pose a threat to them, it was better if they were together.
"I do believe that we are right above a large number of bandits. May I break through the floor so that we can have a dramatic entrance?" Akio asked with a grin on his face.
"Sure, do as you wish," Rangiku responded, chuckling to herself a bit.
Akio placed his index finger on the ground, and cast a very basic kido, the first kido that all recruits learn. Usually, sho was not strong enough to be used for much more than bumping stuff, but Akio poured so much reiatsu into his that it easily crushed through the ground and created a hole that lead to what appeared to be a dining room.
Akio and Rangiku jumped down through the hole, looking around. They seemed to be in the middle of a cafeteria. There were tables set up all over the place, these bandits had actually done a rather good job of turning this cave into a base.
"Looks like you all got cocky. Rule number 1 of having a base, always have guards monitoring the entrance," Akio taunted the bandits. One of the bandits tried to stab Akio with a steak knife, but Akio caught the knife and snapped it.
"You're all under arrest. If you resist then we will be forced to take you all down," Rangiku declared.
"So a pretty boy and a whore have come to take us down? What a joke," One of the bandits laughed, "The Gotei 13 must be in a sorry state if they're allowing people like you into their ranks."
Rangiku had expected this type of behavior from the bandits, they were all criminals after all, but Akio seemed to take offense to what was said. He flash stepped over to the bandit so quickly that it flung any nearby bandits to the ground.
"You are addressing Lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto, of Squad 10. You will show her respect," Akio demanded, gripping the bandit by the wrist and twisting his arm.
A few bandits went to attack Akio, but Rangiku defended him. At that point all hell broke loose, Akio and Rangiku battling through a mob of bandits. None of them were strong enough to threaten Rangiku, let alone Akio, so in a matter of minutes, their job was done.
"That was rather easy," Akio quipped. Rangiku chuckled at him.
"I guess we got lucky, their numbers didn't equate to much," Rangiku turned around to survey the room and make sure they didn't miss anyone. She quickly turned around when she heard a thud, and her eyes widened when she saw Akio with a hand sticking through his chest. At the end of each fingertip on the band, a small red sphere of energy was present.
"Akio!" Rangiku called out, activating her Shikai and jumping in to attack his assailant. He had been attacked by a hooded figure who hopped back out of range from Rangiku. Akio stumbled back, but Rangiku caught him.
"I didn't sense him at all, he wasn't here when we started our raid," Akio warned.
Rangiku looked at the hooded figure, seething with anger. "You bastard, what did you do to Bodo?" Rangiku demanded.
"Oh, the guy out front? I just roughed him up a bit," the hooded figure removed his hood, revealing a scarred face and dark brown eyes.
"You'll pay for that," Akio declared, gripping his blade before Rangiku stopped him.
"Focus on healing yourself, I'll handle this," Rangiku ordered.
"I welcome the challenge," the scarred man said, taking a stance that indicated he was a martial artist of some sort. Rangiku had never seen that stance before, and deduced that he was probably in some way related to the Takanashi family.
"Shut it," Rangiku's voice was harsh. She rarely got angry, but right now she was furious. She pointed her blade at the man and ash swarmed him. The man ran to the side to dodge, but Rangiku flash stepped to meet him, casting a kido that shot a lighting bolt at the man.
The man struck the lighting bolt with his hand in a spear-hand strike. The red orbs at the end of each finger gathered into a single orb that met the lightning bolt.
Ash whizzed through the air and slashed the back of the man's knees. When he finally escaped the lighting and ash blades, Rangiku was nowhere to be seen. The man looked upwards just in time to catch Rangiku's kick with his jaw. The impact sent him flying into a cave wall.
Rangiku cast a kido that wrapped chains around the man's body, before slamming her fist into his face.
"There, he's incapacitated. How are you holding up, Akio?" Rangiku turned to face Akio. She was shocked when his eyes widened and she turned around to notice the man glowing a bright red. She heard Akio mutter something, and in the next moment, two things happened.
First, the man exploded in a burst of reiatsu. The explosion quickly filled the cave, but before it could engulf Rangiku and Akio, the second thing happened. A wall of light materialized in front of Rangiku, forming a cube around Akio and her.
A moment later, Rangiku was outside of the cave. She felt Akio's arm around her waist and realized that he'd taken her outside the cave in an instant. His eyes were glowing in a way that she had never seen before.
"Bodo is alive. His injuries seem relatively minor. I can heal him here," Akio stated. He disappeared and reappeared a short distance away, kneeling over Bodo who was slumped over against a tree. His injuries would've been fatal for a human, but as far as soul reapers went they really were rather minor.
Akio healed Bodo quickly, before helping him up.
"Thank you, Akio. I apologize, I could not stop the intruder," Bodo apologized.
"Don't worry about it. I messed up as well, really it's Lieutenant Matsumoto who picked up our slack," Akio stated.
"I see. As expected as our Lieutenant," Bodo grinned.
"Indeed. Let us return to our barracks and regroup with the rest of our squad," Akio declared. He dropped his Bankai finally, sword reappearing on his back. The three made their way back to the Seireitei.
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Inside the safety of the Seireitei, and after a night of rest, Rangiku gathered together with Akio to discuss what had happened the day before.
"So, I assume that was the martial art you were working on?" Rangiku asked.
"Yes, it uses a kido that forms those orbs and that is the focal point of the martial art, a combination of a very powerful secret kido and the body. That combatant did not seem all too well versed in it, but I have to imagine that even masters would struggle to keep the kido part under control, it is incredibly unstable, at least the version that I was working on when he was with me," Akio stated.
"And you plan to teach it to Karin?" Rangiku asked, shocked.
"Don't worry, I was able to make a more stable iteration of the kido," Akio reassured her.
"Oh thank goodness," Rangiku sighed in relief.
"Regardless, this attack means that the Takanashi family was somehow aware of our mission. I believe that there is a mole within the Seireitei," Akio scowled as he spoke.
"That is quite troubling," Rangiku stated, looking at Akio, "I assume you have a plan?"
"Yeah, we keep going on as usual. We will just have to work around the traitor, and keep Karin's mission an absolute secret between you, me, and Captain Hitsugaya," Akio answered.
"That sounds like a plan," Rangiku responded.
"Indeed it does. Oh and- by the way, Lieutenant Matsumoto, you did wonderfully yesterday. I likely would have died if you hadn't saved me, thank you," Akio said, bowing his head before leaving.
Akio left quickly enough that Rangiku was sure that he didn't notice the hint of a blush that had appeared on her face.
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Hitsugaya stood at the entrance to the Squad 10 barracks. He had been released from Urahara's care after 4 days. Urahara had found that there was no scientific reason for why Hitsugaya was dying, or why his life span was even shortened. Urahara had stated that he believed it was an after effect of having been a zombie, and that his body was still altered in some ways from that. Urahara had promised to work on ways to counteract that, but for now, all Hitsugaya could do was wait.
When Hitsugaya entered the barracks, he found his entire squad lined up in orderly rows before Rangiku and Akio. They were facing the entrance Hitsugaya had just walked in from, and the entire courtyard was filled with his squad. Heck, even Karin and Yoruichi were there for some reason. That explained why they had been absent when he'd left Urahara's shop.
"Welcome back Captain!" Hitsugaya's entire squad shouted in unison, and Hitsugaya was shocked. This was something he'd expect from Iba's squad, not his own.
"Uh, hello," Hitsugaya was a bit flabbergasted.
"All your paperwork, while you were gone, was filled out by Lieutenant Matsumoto and me. Additionally, we have full reports of every event of at least mild importance during your absence," Akio informed Hitsugaya.
"Thank you, Akio. All of you are free to dismiss yourselves as you wish, I am going to go to my office," Hitsugaya announced, walking there.
Rangiku, Karin, Yoruichi, and Akio followed him. Once they were all in the room, Hitsugaya shut the door.
"So, why are Yoruicihi and Karin here," Hitsugaya asked.
"I want to help with your mission by infiltrating the Takanashi family," Karin stated bluntly.
"Absolutely not," Hitsugaya responded instantly.
"I'm not a child anymore, I can take on some danger now. Besides, I am perfect for the job," Karin argued.
"It's too dangerous," Hitsugaya replied.
"And I am trained! I have been training for the last 10 years in both kido and martial arts! 10 years may not be a lot to you soul reapers, but it's a lot to humans! And besides, Akio would teach me his super cool super secret martial art before I can even begin my infiltration," Karin persisted.
"I… I don't want to put you in danger Karin. Please," Hitsugaya was nearly begging at this point.
"It's more dangerous if these people go unchecked because you can't get anyone who can infiltrate them. I want to help stop this before it ends up like Aizen or Yhwach," Karin said, having heard all about how dangerous those two were.
"You aren't going to give this up are you?" Hitsugaya sighed as if he already knew the answer.
"Not at all," Karin grinned as she answered him.
"Fine. But only if you can pass Akio's training, then pass a test by me," Hitsugaya relented.
Karin hugged him, "Thanks Toshiro! You're the best!"
Hitsugaya blushed a bit and everyone else in the room pretended to be occupied with something else, to save him the embarrassment.
"Anyways, we'll need to keep this mission top secret. Only those of us in this room can know about it. There's reason to believe that either our squad or Squad 1 has a mole," Akio informed everyone.
"I can look into it if you'd like, I used to be a spymaster, after all, I'm very good at finding other spies," Yoruichi offered.
"That would be wonderful," Akio responded.
"Anyways, can we start training now, Akio?" Karin asked, getting impatient.
"Sure, unless Captin Hitsugaya needs anything from me at this moment," Akio turned his gaze to Hitsugaya as he said this.
"You are free to begin training," Hitsugaya decided.
"You should use the cave under Kisuke's shop to best keep it secret," Yoruichi suggested.
"That sounds like a great idea, thank you," Akio responded.
"And you should depart using my family's private senkaimon," Yoruichi continued.
"Ah, so that no one could suspect Karin being involved with us, good," Akio reasoned.
"I'll show you both the way," Yoruichi said, leaving the room through the window for some reason that Hitsugaya could not begin to understand.
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Karin stood in the cave under Urahara's shop, watching as Akio formed small red orbs at the ends of his fingertips.
"This is a secret kido that was never completed and as such was never taught to anyone. I was in the process of perfecting it when… other issues took my attention. It is simple, these orbs can pierce and destroy objects or people with great efficiency. The version that our enemies will be using is unstable, as I did not perfect it when he had knowledge of my martial art. These orbs can be manipulated at will, but do not deal well with being separated from you for very long," Akio lectured.
Karin was bored already, but she knew that she had to go through the boring stuff to get to the better stuff.
"Most of what you will be learning will be gaining command of this technique, and learning to properly control it. It will make controlling the unstable version that the Takanashi family may teach you easier," Akio continued.
"So is there an incantation? Or what's the name?" Karin asked.
"There is no name or incantation, I never got that far. You will have to learn the properties of these orbs very well. They are simple, just balls of reiatsu, but you will need to learn how to manipulate them and how to give them the properties you want," Akio replied.
"And what about the martial arts part itself?" Karin asked.
"I have some unique moves that are only possible with these orbs, though they can also enhance the power of any strike," Akio answered. The orbs over his fingers merged into one golf ball sized orb that floated at the tips of his pointer and middle fingers.
"Try making a single orb for now," Akio ordered, "Don't worry about anything other than shaping the reiatsu into a sphere."
Karin nodded and began trying to do that. It was harder than she expected, but she managed to form a single sphere the size of a baseball above her pointer finger.
"Is it good that my sphere is bigger than yours was?" Karin asked.
"No actually, the smaller it is the more condensed the reiatsu is, but for now you will do fine with that as you learn to multiply the sphere and move it around," Akio responded.
Karin nodded and looked at the sphere. She waved her hand slightly and the sphere dissipated.
"It may take you a little while to get the hang of moving it, that part was a terror to develop," Akio advised, waving his hand around. The orb at the tip of his pointer and middle fingers did not falter in the slightest.
"Usually it would take months to get to a decent level of expertise at this. The unstable version was far quicker to learn but far more dangerous to use as well. But you are a Kurosaki, I expect you to be adept at moving the orbs around within a week, at least with basic movements," Akio declared.
Karin blinked a few times before grinning, "I'm up to that challenge."
"Good. Now make another orb and try again," Akio ordered. Adding another student to his already large list of students was most likely not wise, but he also decided that a lack of wisdom had never stopped him before, and it would not stop him now.