Shippoman: Sorry about the super long wait for this one. I've been distracted by work and other stories. And to top it off I'm moving again in a month. But as today is my birthday I wanted to make sure I get this out as well as one more. That's right, there should be a second chapter being posted later today. So look forward to that. And to those of you who are still reading this despite it being a three month gap, thank you so much for your continued wait and hopefully I'm still living up to your expectation of this story.

Now that that's done, ON WITH THE STORY!

Chapter 17:

"We'll be just fine," Shinji stated firmly as he brushed the dust of his hat. Not too far away, Ichigo and Hiyori were continuing his training and some of the resulting dust cloud made its way over to him and the rest of the spectators. "I have the whole day planned. It'll be like we're a couple."

"Saying shit like that is a good way to get yourself killed, Shinji," Lisa pointed out without looking up from her magazine.

"Kensei has been a bit on edge lately," Rose agreed. "It might be best not to antagonize him."

"He'll be fine," Shinji muttered, brushing their warnings aside. "Tonight will be so good, she'll be completely back to normal."

"You probably shouldn't be promising something so impossible, Shinji," Rose murmured lightly. "You know it's not that easy to get over something so traumatic."

Shinji rolled his eyes and frowned. "You lot have no faith in her or me," he grumbled. "You'll see what I mean."

Rose was about to protest when the conversation was cut short as Mashiro ran through the center of the group, being chased by a red blur. "Mashiro, give that back!" the red blur shouted.

Mashiro came to a halt ten feet away from the group as the blur stopped next to them. Shinji was surprised and amused to see the blur had been none other than Yukiko. She was frowning at Mashiro, leveling a light glare at her, and positioned so she could move right into flashstep the moment the green haired Vizard moved.

"I mean it, Mashiro, give it back," Yukiko demanded.

"Only if we get to spar," Mashiro conditioned.

"I told you I'd spar with you once this one day a person is over," Yukiko sighed. "That's just two more days. You can last that long."

"But you sparred with Hiyori yesterday," Mashiro pouted.

"Yes, because sparring was part of my day with her," Yukiko groaned. "Today is Shinji's day and tomorrow is Kensei's. After that...I'll spar with you. But I really don't know what all will happen after tomorrow."

Mashiro was going to argue some more, but Shinji decided to end it by appearing beside her, sliding the object out of her hands, and moving to Yukiko's side. After swiping the object, he took a moment or two to look it over. It was a small charm connected to a chain of silver. It could be added to a necklace, or left as is to be carried around. The charm itself was also silver in the shape of the squad nine flower. He realized it was the same charm her friends had gotten for her the last birthday she'd had in soul society. She'd taken to carrying it around as a lucky charm...though he was sure she hadn't taken it when she disappeared.

"Not fair, Shinji!" The blonde looked up at Mashiro's pouting face and just grinned at her. "I want my match!"

"Too bad, Mashiro," he taunted with a laugh. "Today's my day, and I intend to enjoy it to the fullest."

"What exactly are you expecting from this?" Yukiko asked, raising her eyebrow.

"Nothing more than you falling head over heels for me," Shinji explained dramatically. "You were after all...my first love." He was joking of course but that didn't stop him from pouring it on thicker. "Don't wait up for us guys. We'll be out all night."

"No we won't," Yukiko chuckled shaking her head. "Besides, I know that Kora from squad three was your first love. As was Lisa, Fuu from squad 10, Ayumi from squad 7,..."

"Okay, okay you got me," he exclaimed, cutting her off. "I may have had a few."

"A few?" Yukiko laughed. "Shinji, I heard you go on about so many women being your first love I lost count." Shinji looked her over in surprise and curiosity as he tried to figure out what her take on it was. Was she angry, irritated, offended? She quieted his concerns when she grinned at him. "I will be happy to be a friend though. Is that okay?"

Shinji caught sight of the old playful spark in her eye and grinned in return. Then he dramatically sighed and looked as forlorn as he could. "If that's all you're willing to be...then I guess I have no choice but to accept. You're such a heart breaker."

"Well, let's at least enjoy today before you're broken heart falls right out of your chest then," she teased.

She reached forward and took the charm back before hurrying up the stairs, waving goodbye to the others. Shinji chuckled lightly to himself before following after her. He was determined to make sure they had the perfect day.

First stop on his schedule was a carnival that had set up in one of the Market parking lots. It had a few rides, some games and of course delicious deserts. Yukiko seemed a little confused by the sight so he explained it as a more modern version of the festivals they had back in soul society. She accepted it with a nod and he told her to decide what she wanted to do while he bought them tickets.

After purchasing two wrist bands, because they were cheaper, he returned to her side and noted she was still looking in every direction; half in excitement and half in worry. Figuring he'd get the ball rolling, he picked the first place and took her over to the bumper cars. She seemed confused by the concept and watched what the other people were doing up until it was their turn. By the time she stepped into a car of her own he knew she'd figured out the point of it.

"Ready, Yukiko?" he called out, grabbing a yellow car and gripping the wheel in anticipation.

She nodded wordlessly and he had to wonder if she would actually be alright. Then the buzzer sounded as the ride started up and he floored it. Right away he could see she was having issues with the steering wheel, like all new comers, and he charged right into her. He laughed momentarily until he saw a spark of fear shoot through her and flinched, maybe this was a bad idea.

"Yukiko?" She looked up at him and frowned before her car shot forward and hit his before veering off awkwardly. He laughed when he saw the look of frustrated confusion that covered her face. "Hey, don't spin the wheel so much, just a little is enough to turn."

She looked at him, then at the wheel and tried again. This time she was able to dodge around some of the others and he went around knocking into each one in turn. He was a master and wouldn't let any of the others bump him. Just as the time was running out, he looked around for her and was suddenly rammed from behind. Spinning around in his seat, he noticed Yukiko grinning from ear to ear in triumph.

After the success with the bumper cars, Yukiko was a lot more vocal about attractions that she wanted to try out. They did everything: the zipper, a small coaster, a ride that spun you around as you pulled on the table in the middle of your cart, and finally the ferris wheel. She loved every one of them, laughing out loud after each one and thanking him for taking her. He did notice, however, that each one did cause a near trigger that she had to take a second to recover from. He had no idea exactly what was going through her mind but felt it was better to let her handle it herself.

They stayed most of the day at the carnival, trying out different games and treats until the sun began to set. Then he took her to his favorite place to view the city; hovering over top the Karakura Bridge.

"Wow, this is beautiful," she expressed staring out over the city as the sky became a red-orange canvas. "Do you come up here often?"

Shinji shrugged as he popped open a bag of sweets he'd gotten at the carnival. "Eh, often enough," he murmured. "It's a relaxing place to come when the hideout gets a bit too loud."

"Hehe, I think I can understand that," she expressed with a soft smile.

"Here, have some," he offered, holding out the bag to her.

She looked at it and slowly reached a hand inside, coming up with a piece of the fluffy substance and placing in her mouth. "Ah!" she exclaimed. "It vanished! What was that?"

"Cotton Candy," he laughed. "It's more or less super airy sugar with a little flavor thrown in. It dissolves really quickly when it's wet." He grabbed a piece himself and only put some of it in his mouth to show her.

"Wow...cool." She took another piece and chuckled as she ate it. "It's kind of fun." She smiled and looked over at him. "So, when did Kensei pick up cooking?"

Shinji laughed at that and shook his head. "Not long after we ended up here," he explained. "We found out pretty quickly that paying for food every time was getting expensive so we all sort of tried. Mashiro sucks at it, Hiyori burned her stuff, Love is decent but has some weird tastes, Rose has a tendency to make too little, Lisa is just too lazy, Hachi did a good job but is usually too busy holding the barrier in place to take the time, and as for me I prefer stuff that's really sweet so no one likes it when I cook. So Kensei more or less learned it out of necessity."

"I see," she giggled lightly and looked up at him. "It sounds like you all had to make some rather major changes to your life here."

"Yeah..." Shinji watched her for a moment as questions started coming to his mind. They were old questions that he wanted answered, but wouldn't force her to say. "So...mind if I ask what you did these past hundred plus years?"

Her smile faltered a bit and she sighed in response and stared off into the water far below them. "I believe I've already explained it," she muttered.

"I'm asking for a little more," he pointed out. "Not necessarily details, but at the very least give me something to understand what he did with me?"

She looked at him with sad eyes and shook her head. "I'm sorry...but out of everyone, you and Kensei were the worst."

"Why? What did we do that was different, that was worse than the others?" he asked, trying to understand. He had a feeling Aizen may try to do something more for the two of them because of her relationship with them, but he wanted to know with more surety so he could help her more. He watched her chew on her bottom lip as her limbs began to shake. "If you don't want to, or can't share, then you don't have to. But I would like to know so I can help fix it."

"The two of you...I kept believing in until the end," she muttered sadly. "Just killing me over and over was not enough to make me believe you would do it for real. I knew you too well." Shinji nodded and waited with baited breath. They'd obviously done something other than try to kill her, but what depraved thing did they put her through to finally break her trust of them? "But...you took something worse...something I can never...I know it's not really gone...but I can still feel it. I still remember Kensei...those three..."

She couldn't finish her sentences and began crying as she wrapped her arms around herself. But what she'd said had been enough. Shinji got the message. The bastard really had destroyed her. He waited long enough for her to shake herself off before cautiously placing a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry," he expressed. "Forget I said anything. If you want you can head back home and I'll go back by myself."

He watched as Yukiko closed her eyes, took several deep breaths as she wiped the tears off her face before looking at him again. "No, there's one more thing I want to do tonight," she murmured, her voice cracking slightly. She cleared it before continuing. "Shinji, I would like to spar with you tonight."

"Uh, you sure?" he asked nervously. "I know you did fine with Hiyori and all, but..."

"I did just fine sparring with Youruichi, Kisuke, and Tessai as well," she pointed out. "I'll be fine. Please?"

He scratched the back of his head, not really wanting to tell her no but not certain doing so after their conversation was a good idea. "Alright, but I reserve the right to call it if I think you've had too much," he grumbled.

Her sad smile appeared again and she nodded her consent. Then the both of them made their way all the way back to the warehouse and down to the training grounds. "Hey, Hachi, you may want to add another layer or two to the barrier," he pointed out. "Yukiko and I are gonna get in a match."

He got a strange look from the pink haired man as well as the other Vizard before his request was followed. As he was looking over at the training Ichigo and Hiyori were currently engaged in, he spotted Yukiko talking to Mashiro in hushed tones for a moment before the green haired girl giggled and took off.

"What was that about?" he asked curiously.

"Nothing," she answered, stripping off her Gigai and getting into a position across from him. "If you don't mind, let's make this an escalation battle."

"Really?" Shinji asked raising an eyebrow. "Alright. If you're sure. How far do you want to take it?"

"Eventually I plan to use everything in my arsenal at least once," she pointed out. "You don't have to go any farther than pulling out your sword if you don't want to. I'm not going to say you'll have to release it in this fight...but I do plan on making you need your mask."

Shinji smirked at that. "That was a rather cocky statement," he chuckled, stretching a little. "We'll just have to see."

She nodded and took her stance, waiting for him to move. He took a few moments to size her up as her reiatsu began to flare around her. He began flaring his own as he noticed Mashiro return to watch and both Hiyori and Ichigo stop in their training to see. His momentary distraction cost him as he suddenly felt himself fly across the training ground after receiving a kick to the head.

"Oh come on, Shinji, I would have thought you of all people would remember rule number one," she teased lightly, as he extracted himself from the rubble of a boulder he'd crashed into. "Don't get distracted."

Shinji smirked at this and quickly returned to his feet before shooting toward her. His punch landed on the arm she threw up to block and they pushed against each other before finally breaking away. The next instant they collided in a frenzy of kicks and punches that were blocked and dodged on each part equally.

When they next separated, Yukiko lifted her hand and fired of a hado # 4. Shinji easily dodged it and used bakudo # 61. She was able to get out of the path of it before trapping him in a barrier of wind. Then she took her time murmuring the incantation for hado # 31 and charging it as large as she could. Only when it was about to strike her prison did she release her reiatsu.

Shinji grit his teeth when he saw the massive ball of energy flying at him and pulled his sword out to cut through it and bring it down toward his opponent. He was pleased she was able to get her own sword up in time to deflect his blow. "Not bad," he murmured, as they once against pushed against each other. "But it's clear you're still a little rusty."

"Well, going over 100 years without training will do that," she returned.

He was amused by her retort and they separated once more before bringing their swords together again and again in a sort of dance that rained sparks every time the metal connected. Then, after a particularly powerful push from Yukiko, he watched her release her blade and had the thought their fight was escalating rather fast. He couldn't help but wonder if she was trying to show off as much as she could before she lost her nerve.

After her swords release, Shinji was forced to keep his distance as her cutting wind would lash out no matter how close or far he was; and on one occasion it seemed to follow him. Then all at once the barrage of attacks stopped and he looked at her curiously. He noticed her attention had momentarily gone to the spectators where he could see that Kensei had finally decided to join them and was watching in seeming awe.

The blonde Vizard couldn't blame him for it as he began putting his blade away, believing the fight to be over. But to his surprise, Yukiko spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear. "There's a reason I left you two for the end, Shinji, Kensei," she murmured. "And while yes part of it was because I needed the support of the rest before facing you, it was also because I wanted to be able to keep my promise to you. Do you remember? I never did get the chance to show you what I'd gained from my training."

Shinji was momentarily stunned by her declaration and he couldn't help the burning curiosity that filled him as she crossed her arms over her chest and took a deep breath. When she released it, her reiatsu exploded in a pillar of wind around her making it impossible to see what was going on, but as the blonde Vizard shielded himself from her wind, he felt his jaw dropping. "Did she really...?"

Seconds later, he heard above the torrent a single word: "Bankai". Finally the wind died down and he blinked in confusion a the seeming cocoon in front of him. What kind of bankai was that? Then all at once, the cocoon split and spread open into a pair of elegant and beautiful wings and she murmured it's name. "Amatsukaze."

He couldn't believe his eyes as he stared at the bankai of his ex-5th seat and marveled that she'd been able to reach that point. If Aizen hadn't taken her, how strong would she have been now? His thoughts were cut off as the wings before her flapped, drawing in wind from all directions and pulling it into a compressed ball. The pull was so great that Shinji felt himself being pulled toward it as well. "Incredible..." he muttered to himself.

Then all at once, the ball was released in his direction, quickly flattening out and spreading wide into a massive thin blade that flew in his direction. "Shit!" he exclaimed, as it struck his blade and pushed against him. He could feel it easily breaking through his block and quickly pulled his mask on.

As soon as it ended, he assessed the damage done to himself and noticed his left arm's sleeve was gone and the arm itself was tingling from the blow. Another shot like that and he may have to actually release his own blade just to survive it.

He quickly glanced around looking for his opponent and spotted Yukiko sinking toward the ground where she ended up sitting while leaning back on her hands, panting for air. Her bankai had disappeared and her sword was back in its sheath.

He flash stepped to the ground and walked towards where she was resting. As he drew closer, she caught his eye and grinned. "See, I told you you'd have to use your mask, Shinji," she laughed.

He realized his mask was still on, though it was cracked and seemed to be falling off. So he quickly removed it and plopped onto the ground beside her. "Yeah, yeah you did," he chuckled. "But seriously, you mastered bankai all the way back then?"

"I didn't master it," she muttered with a frown. "That was only the third time I'd gone into bankai...though it was the first time I ever used that attack. Pretty awesome right?"

"Yeah, pretty awesome," Shinji sighed scratching his head with his uninjured arm. Once again it looked like she was going to need some major training if she wanted to be able to use it in any real capacity. Something she said bothered him though. She said this was the third time she'd used it. He understood the first would have been when she reached it with Youruichi...but then when did she use it before this?

"So then, you used it the night you disappeared despite being told not to use it in combat?" Shinji glanced up to see it had been Kensei who'd spoken; who seemed to be panting for air. Now that he thought about it, this was definitely the same energy that had alerted him to her plight in the first place. Looking closer at the others, he realized Kensei wasn't the only one panting. What had happened?

He looked over at the ex-soul reaper and saw her grin sheepishly. "Yeah, but it was the only thing I could think of at the time," she admitted. "It almost worked too."

"Yukiko," Rose murmured once he'd regained his ability to speak. "Are you aware of what your bankai's ability is yet?"

"Well, not really," she admitted. "Like I said I'd only gone into it three times and this was the first time Amatsukaze explained an attack I could use. Why?"

"Because, you very nearly robbed all of us of oxygen completely," Lisa answered easily.

"What?!"

"She's right," Hiyori piped up in irritation. "The moment you started charging your attack, it suddenly became almost impossible to breathe."

"I nearly killed you just by charging?" Yukiko exclaimed as she jumped to her feet. She looked panicked and apologetic and for a moment, Shinji was able to see the girl he'd originally pointed in Kensei's direction. "I'm so sorry!"

"It's fine," Love grunted. "Just learn all about it before you try it again."

"R-Right!" she stuttered. "Uh, how do I do that?"

Shinji pushed himself to his feet and approached her. "You meditate like you would to learn about your shikai," he explained. "However, the difference is you have to go into your inner world while in bankai and talk directly to your second release."

"I see, thank you," she expressed with a bow. "Well, I think I'm done for today. I'll be back tomorrow for my last day. After that, I'd be honored if you'd help me train my bankai. I'm gonna need it if I plan on fighting in this war."

"Sure thing," Shinji promised, ignoring the looks he'd gotten from the others. She smiled at him before walking off, disappearing up the stairs. He had a good feeling about how things went that day, despite the conversation they'd had before. He felt confident she should be able to make it through whatever the fake him had done...unless one included what she'd hinted at before. He hoped not.

Shippoman: Yukiko has one last day to go, but Shinji's starting to wonder if it's even possible for her to move past Kensei's memory after what she said. She showed off her bankai and has been given a hint about what kind of power she now has at her disposal. Stay tuned to see the conclusion of her visits and watch her train up for the coming war. Please remember to R&R. ;p