Author's Note: Now we get to start visiting Masaki's past and eventualy find out what his connection is to Nanao. Please Rate and Review, they build confidence and let me know what works.

Kido Destiny

It was an intimidating sight, all the captains gathered in one place. Nanao was the only lieutenant present, unwilling to leave the sight of the inverted pyramid. Shunsui and Jushiro had backed her decision to stay. Head captain Yamamoto stared into the face of the frozen boy.

"He has a lot to tell us," The head captain announced. "You may release him."

SoiFon approached the tozansho. The blue haired captain drew her katana. "Sting all enemies to death, Suzumebachi!" Her sword became a gold and black gauntlet that extended her middle finger into a pointed stinger. She quickly stabbed the pyramid twice, shattering it into thousands of pieces. They rained over the sky before disappearing.

Without the barrier, the time halting kido vanished. The boy within stumbled forward. He looked at the ten captains curiously, before realization spread across his face. "I can't believe it," he whispered, sheathing his sword before staring at the ground. "He got away, didn't he?"

"To whom do you refer?" The head captain asked.

"Tosen." He declared.

"Kaname Tosen is no longer among us." The head captain declared. "Masaki Nakamura, was it Tosen who sealed you away?"

Without looking up, Masaki replied. "Yes, it was him. I had hoped to be unsealed early enough to make my information useful."

Let me speak to him, Nanao thought. Please, just a few words. At least let him see me!

Masaki has seen Nanao, but he knew better than to speak to her while the head captain was present. He also noticed the absence of his favorite captain.

Kenpachi Zaraki scoffed. "So this is the prodigy."

Mayuri focused on the boy. "The state he must be in after being sealed away for so long! I must analyze his state of being to be sure there are no adverse effects."

"There will be no need," Shunsui replied. "The boy looks fine. And I doubt there's anything wrong with him that he himself couldn't fix." He grinned. "After all, he is the prodigy." He nodded towards Masaki. "It's good to see you again."

Yamamoto banged his staff on the ground. Masaki's head shot up. "Masaki Nakamura, relate to us the events that occurred prior to your being sealed away."

Masaki took a deep breath and sighed. "It's kind of a long story."

"We are willing to listen." Yamamoto replied.

Masaki nodded. "Alright. Here's how it started."

Geki? What is Geki?

Masaki couldn't even tremble. The feeling was so alien to him. It felt like steel rods had suddenly lined his muscles, keeping him still. He kept repeating the words in his head as if focusing on them would somehow make the unsettling feeling disappear.

Bakudo 9; Geki. Bakudo 9; Geki. Bakudo 9; Geki.

SLAM!

His heart leaped into his throat. Masaki couldn't even blink. The sound was followed by a piercing shriek. His eyes watered. Mom,

The sound of a door slamming hit his ears. Then footsteps. What's going on?

He heard voices. Angry voices. It scared him. From under his bed he could see his brother, holding the wooden sword above his head, but Lee couldn't see him. The look in his brother's eyes chilled him. Despite being a year older, Lee was the strong one, never afraid of anything. It was so wrong to see him like this.

"Masaki!?" Lee whispered. "Masaki, I'm scared!"

Masaki was going to speak when a thundering voice bellowed loudly!

"HADO 4; BYAKURAI!"


Life with Ukitake was the most pleasant and calm Masaki had ever felt. He would wake up early each day and put on one of the dark gray kimonos Ukitake ordered for him. He would make his bed before running down to the kitchen to make breakfast for two. After breakfast, he would meditate in the garden just behind the house with Jushiro before Lisa showed up. He would come home at night, bathe, then fall asleep.

As it turned out, Lisa Yadomaru completely loved the little boy. Every day after her duties, the dark haired lieutenant would whisk Masaki out to the rukongai where they would head to the woods. There, she would begin his training.

"As you know Masaki," Lisa began one day as the pair sat on their knees in a wide clearing, "You're one of the lucky souls to posses spiritual pressure."

Masaki nodded. "Spiritual pressure."

"Captain Ukitake will be sending you to the Shinigami academy very soon," Lisa continued. "He and Captain Kyoraku have no doubt that you will pass the entrance exam with no difficulty whatsoever."

"Really?" Masaki asked. "Why do they think that?"

"Easy," Lisa grinned, "Because they've entrusted me with your training. You know the four shinigami disciplines right?"

Masaki nodded. "Hakuda, hoho, zanjutsu, and kido."

"I will spend exactly one week training you in each of these disciplines." Lisa explained. "By the end of the month, you'll be all set for the exam."

"Really?"

Lisa nodded. "But you better be serious about learning and working hard, because the exam is going to be the roughest, hardest exam you have ever taken."

Masaki gulped. "Lisa, you won't let me fail will you?"

Lisa smiled. "Of course not Maki." She patted his head affectionately. "I'll give you a lot of bruises, but I'll make sure you pass."

Hakuda left the most bruises. Hand to hand combat was something Masaki had never really experienced before. The training began with Masaki rushing at Lisa before being thrown into the air then pinned to the ground. The lieutenant always boasted when she had him down.

"Tell me Maki, just how does the grass taste this time of year?"

"Boy, the dirt must really smell good if you have your nose pressed into it!"

"Tell me if you find the coin I dropped!"

That was the first day, just learning to take hits. Then Masaki learned to dish them out. Lisa taught him basic hand to hand stances and breathing. He would practice on trees. At first, it would take him at least an hour to knock one down. By the end of the second day, he could knock one down in exactly six strikes.

Lisa shook her head and held her hands over Masaki's hands. Her hands glowed a bright. Instantly, Masaki's bloody and bruised felt a cool relief. Within a minute, his hands were good as new.

"Can't have Ukitake chewing me out for making you bleed, right?"

Next came hoho. Lisa explained that it involves quick movement by gathering spiritual pressure to the feet. Again, Lisa used taunts to get Masaki to learn quickly. After giving basic instruction, she would leap into the air and levitate above him, then skip circles around him. By the third day, the training had developed into a game of tag played in the air. But even after Masaki had mastered basic hoho, they weren't finished. Lisa would incorporate hakuda into the lesson, resulting in mid air fights.

"You can't learn the four disciplines separately," She commented as she flew backwards while Masaki threw punches and kicks her way. "You have to learn them together and use them together. That is how you become a shinigami."

Zanjutsu was a nightmare. Having used wooden swords before, Masaki thought he might find it easier to pick up. Wrong. The wooden swords he used with Lisa were harder and not at all toys. It ended up taking them almost two weeks before Masaki was at the level Lisa wished for him.

"Well hey, Maki," She said as she helped him up from the ground one day, "We all learn different things at different paces."

Masaki stood and frowned. "We were doing so well. We were right on track with everything else. I'm good at hakuda. I'm good at hoho." He stared at the ground and Lisa's feet. "Why can't I be good at zanjutsu?"

Lisa patted him on the head. "You know what?" She asked, "You're just going to have to excel in kido."

How right she was.