A few weeks had passed since Jūshirō had first summoned Sōgyo No Kotowari & begun his training to achieve Bankai.

He had cleared two of their tasks and was now in the middle of the last one, a game of fan toss.

The hide & seek game was to have him trust his other senses rather than sensing spiritual pressure.

The second game which had been Daruma-san was for his reflexes by quickly turning around to see the twins and if they moved.

And this last game was for both reflexes and sensing.

His eyes were covered so he would have to trust his hearing and spiritual pressure sensing to know where the twins were and then dodge the fans being thrown at him.

A bit away from him, the twins were hiding behind a bush.

"Ready Sōgyo?"

"Yes"

Kotowari smiled and while Sōgyo stayed behind the bush, he moved up to a tree a bit to the left of Jūshirō.

"1"

"2"

"3!"

Kotowari threw his fan first which Jūshirō dodged before Sōgyo threw his own fan. It went a bit to the side but Jūshirō managed to dodge it quite well.

The twins smiled before Flash Stepping to catch the fans and throw them again.

After a while however, one of the fans went off course and was also spinning a bit too fast.

So when it got close to him, Jūshirō didn't have a chance to dodge it and it hit his shoulder.

The twins quickly ran over to him as he grabbed the shoulder the fan had hit.

"You okay Juu, Sōgyo asked"

"I'm sorry, said Kotowari"

Jūshirō shook his head and removed the cover from his eyes to smile at his Zanpakutō spirits.

"It's okay Kotowari. No harm done"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. But how about we call it a day

-It is getting a bit late"

"Okay"

The twins returned to their sword which Jūshirō placed at his hip before leaving the forest he was in, returning to the 1st division barracks.

Once back, he went to his room where he found Shunsui.

"Hey Juu, where have you been all day?"

"Just doing some training"

Shunsui raised an eyebrow as Jūshirō removed his kosode and shitagi, revealing the bruises on his upper body.

"Must be some tough training baed on those bruises.

-What kind of training is it?"

Jūshirō couldn't help but stiffen at the question.

Up until now, he had been able to keep his Bankai training a secret since the first parts hadn't left bruises like now.

He put on the clothes he had begun changing into before turning to Shunsui.

"If I tell you, you need to promise me to keep it a secret from Genryūsai-sensei"

"Okay"

"Well, a few weeks ago, I somehow manifested my Zanpakutō spirits and they said summoning them was the first part to achieve Bankai"

"BANKAI?!"

Jūshirō quickly covered his best friend's mouth with his hand.

"Sshhh

-Yes, Bankai"

"How?"

"They just appeared when I was meditating and told me they thought I was ready for it

-But I have to clear three games they've choosen to truly show that I'm ready"

"So how have you been doing?"

"I've cleared 2 out of 3 so far.

-Once I'm done with this last one, they'll let me have the power of their Bankai"

"So the bruises on you are from this last training?"

"Yes. They have fans that they throw at me and my training is to dodge them everytime they throw them

-And as you noticed by my bruises, they throw them quite hard"

Shunsui couldn't help but laugh.

"So I guess you're done once you dodged all their tosses"

"Exactly.

-I'm not quite there yet but I'm getting closer everytime"

"Then let's hope you'll clear it soon"

"Yes"

Jūshirō then sat down on his bed while Shunsui stretched out on his own.

"Just one thing Juu.

-How have you managed to hide this from Old-man Yama?"

"Guess I just have good timing for when I leave and come back

-I leave when I'm done with all my work for the morning and come back before it gets dark."

A smirk spread over Shunsui's face.

"You're more sneaky than you look"

"Maybe I am.

A few days later

Sōgyo and Kotowari smiled as they threw their fans.

Jūshirō had gotten used to dodging them, even ones that went a bit off course.

They threw them again and after seeing their master perfectly dodge the fans, they looked at each other and nodded.

"He's ready, said Sōgyo"

The two caught their fans as they returned to them efore walking over to Jūshirō.

"We're done Juu, said Kotowari"

Jūshirō removed the cover from his eyes and looked at the two.

"You've now cleared our test, said Sōgyo"

"So now, we'll grant you the power of our Bankai, said Kotowari"

The two glowed and as they returned to their sword, Jūshirō could feel power surge through him.

"Try it, the twins said in his mind"

"Actually, I wanna release it for the first time in front of Genryūsai-sensei"

"Okay"

So Jūshirō made his way back to the 1st division to look for his teacher.

Once back, he felt the spiritual pressures of the other captains so Yamamoto was probably in a meeting.

So he decided to take it easy for a bit while he waited since he was tired from his training.

As he sat there in the shade of a tree in the garden, Shunsui came.

"Hey Juu

-You're back early today"

"Well I finished my training with Sōgyo No Kotowari"

"You mean you got it?"

"Yes... I have my Bankai

-But it will probably take time for me to master since sensei says it take 10 years to have full control"

"I remember.

-So are you gonna tell him?"

"Once his meeting is over"

"Mind if I join?"

"Of course not

-Maybe it will motivate you to get your own"

"Hey tell that to Katen Kyōkotsu"

Jūshirō laughed and then quickly stood up as he sensed Yamaoto get closer and their teacher soon rounded the corner, seeing the two friends.

"Good afternoon sensei"

"Good afternoon boys"

As the two raised their heads, Yamamoto looked at Jūshirō.

"Your Reiatsu feels stronger Jūshirō

-Any reason?"

"Well sensei... I've been doing some training recently and gotten some good results"

"Mind showing me?"

"Not at all"

So they walked to the training ground were Shunsui sat down a bit away while Jūshirō and Yamamoto drew their Zanpakutō.

"Well then, show me the result of your training"

"Yes sensei"

Yamamoto took on a stance, waiting for his student to attack but Jūshirō grabbed his sword with both hands and took a deep breath.

"Bankai!"

Spirit energy enveloped him, transforming his Zanpakutō into a pair of shields.

A fish and wave pattern could be seen on either shield and the red rope that used to connect his Shikai now hung on the lower part of each shield, two talismans each on them.

"Sōgyo No Kotowari: Tengoku No Hansha"

Yamamoto looked at his student and something close to a smile crossed his face.

"So this is the power you have achieved"

"Yes sir"

"Then show me what it can do"

Yamamoto sent a wave of fire towards Jūshirō who placed one of the shields in front of him.

The fish and talismans on it glowed and a moment later, the flames were sent back towards Yamamoto.

He easily dodged it and nodded to himself, impressed by his student's power.

They kept sparring for a while until Jūshirō's Bankai suddenly deactivated and he collapsed.

Yamamoto sheathed his sword as Shunsui ran over to his best friend.

"Sensei what happened?"

"Calm down Shunsui, he's fine

-A Bankai's power is strong and hard to control when first acheived. It's also draining on ones spiritual pressure in the beginning"

"I see"

"Take him to your room and keep an eye on him

-It wouldn't surprise me if he ends up sick for a few days after training to achieve such power, especially with his frail health"

"Yes sir"

Shunsui got Jūshirō onto his back with Yamamoto's help and carried him to their room were he put Jūshirō on his bed.

"That was quite an amazing sight and feeling of power from you, Jūshirō"

It was dusk when Jūshirō woke up and turned his eyes to his friend.

"Shun, what happened?"

"Well, a bit into you match with old-man Yamam, your Bankai deactivated and you collapsed"

Shunsui got the exact reaction he had expected when he saw Jūshirō's eye widen before he quickly sat up.

"I did what?"

A few coughs then shook his body and Shunsui was quickly by his side, rubbing circles on his back until the fit ended.

"Old-Man Yama said it's because your Bankai was strong and hard to control since it's newly achieved that it happened.

-Guess it drained Reiatsu from you to the point you blacked out"

"So that's the reason why it takes at least ten years to master

-You get your body and Reiatsu used to it so it won't drain your energy as easily"

"Sounds logical"

Then, there was a knock on the door and Yamamoto entered.

"How are you feeling Jūshirō?"

"I'm fine sensei

-Just woke up with a slight cough"

"I see"

Their teacher walked up to them and slightly smiled.

"That was a good display of power back there

-I have no doubt that once you have fully mastered it, your Bankai's ability of reflecting any attacks will be very usefull"

"Thank you sensei"

"Just take it easy and rest for a few days"

"I will"

"Good.

-And you Shunsui"

"Yes Old-man Yama"

"See this as a sign to try get your own Bankai so you won't fall too far behind Jūshirō"

"Trust me, once Katen agrees to do it, I'll get it"

"Keep your word on that then.

-I wanna see as great of a progress with you"

"Don't worry, I'll catch up to Jūshirō in no time"

And so Jūshirō awakened his Bankai and managed to leave a good impression on Yamamoto. All he had to do now was to fully master the abilities of it.

Author's note:

I know his Bankai sounds OP with how it let's Jūshirō reflect any type of attack (But Shunsui's final dan of his Bankai is also kinda OP since it's a one hit KO) and not just energy ones.

But the drawback is that depending on the attack, it drains an equal amount of Reiatsu from Jūshirō and he also needs to be aware of his surroundings and were attacks comes from at all times.

Translation note.

Sōgyo No Kotowari: Tengoku No Hansha - Truth of Pisces: Heavenly Reflection