Author's Notes; The Corps come in. And Masaki shows off. Takes place 2 years after the last chapter. Please Rate and Review.
Kido Destiny
Jushiro brought the tan tea cup to his lips and took a sip. The feeling of the warm liquid sliding down his throat felt pleasant. He felt at peace. So he had no reason to suspect anything drastic was going to happen when there was a knock on his door.
Sliding the door open, the thirteenth captain was shocked to see who was at the door. A Shinigami clothed in violet, the lower half of his face concealed by his uniform. The Kido corps.
"Ukitake-dono," the man bowed. "I request a moment of your time."
Jushiro nodded. "Would you like to come in?" The shinigami was wearing violet. He wasn't a high ranking member, but he was in the corps, and it was always Ukitake's policy to be polite.
The man shook his head. "No sir, I won't be but a moment. I am here to inform you of the intent of the Kido Corps, regarding your young ward."
"My young ward?" Jushiro asked. "Young Masaki?" It had been two years since the boy had left for the academy.
The man nodded. "Normally permission is not required for recruitment, but as it is, he is under the guardianship of a captain, and,"
"Recruitment?" Jushiro's lips curved into a smile. "He hasn't been in the academy two years."
The man nodded. "The boy shows much promise and already excels in the field of Kido. With your permission, we will begin recruitment."
Jushiro nodded. He knew, despite what the man was saying, that this was only a formality. Regardless of whose guardianship the boy was under, the Kido corps would recruit whom they wanted. "It would be my honor to allow the boy into the corps."
The man nodded. "Thank you, Ukitake-dono." The man vanished, shunpoed away.
Jushiro slid the door closed. "Excels in the field of Kido," He smirked. "Shunsui is going to love to hear this."
"Red Flame cannon!"
Masaki smirked. He easily flew into the air and spun, dodging all 3 shots of red kido. The audience around the kido combat arena cheered as he survived another attack without so much as a scratch.
Masaki held his arm out and began the chant. "Disintegrate, you black dog of Rondanini!! Look upon yourself with horror and tear out your own throat! Bakudo 9: Disintegrating circle!"
A spiraling tendril of yellow an orange shot from his fingertips! Masaki guided the whip-like kido towards the ground.
"There's no way he can capture all of us!" One of his opponents yelled.
Masaki spun, slamming the kido into his three opponents! "Not unless I use the bakudo like a hado," he corrected. As soon as all three were in one place, Masaki threw up his hand.
"Bakudo 62: Hundred steps fence!"
He hurled a spear of light! It split in the air and became a dozen rods. They caught on the uniforms of his opponents and pinned them against the wall that circled the arena.
"That's another win for Masaki Nakamura," The announcer cried. The crowd cheered as the young shinigami smiled and undid the binding kido.
The kido combat arena was a medium sized space located on the academy grounds. It was an open space simply built. There were one hundred eighty-eight seats arranged around the in ground combat area. It was about a quarter of a kilometer wide, not too big, not too small.
Masaki was being congratulated by his opponents. He laughed with them, remembering his past two years at the academy. He had learned the proper names for kido spells and chants. It came naturally to him.
As the students dispersed, Masaki felt a grip on his shoulder. He looked to see his instructor standing behind him. He was a tall man, broad shouldered and fierce eyed. He had dark hair that reached his shoulders and muscled arms. "Masaki."
"Instructor-dono," Masaki bowed immediately. "Is something the matter?"
"You're getting reckless, Masaki." He replied. "Manipulating a Bakudo? Using Eishohaki at your level?"
Masaki shook his head. "Manipulating the spells is a way to confuse opponents and gain the advantage," Masaki defended. "And as for Eishohaki, my final spell didn't need the advantage of a chant to perform successfully."
By then it was just the two of them in the arena. The instructor nodded. "Very well."
Masaki looked up. "Very well?"
His instructor nodded. "I asked two questions and you gave me adequate answers." The red haired shinigami breathed a sigh of relief. "However," His instructor continued, "I'd like to ask how your zanjutsu is coming along."
Back at his dorm, Masaki reached under his bed and pulled out his zanpakuto. It was an elegant sword, clothed in a sheath of the darkest black. The guard was in the shape of a hexagon, and the handle was red with black diamonds along its sides. He stood up and presented it to his instructor.
"Well, here it is."
His instructor sighed. "It, Masaki?"
The red head sweat dropped. "Well,"
"You still haven't learned the name of your zanpakuto?"
"It's just not telling me," Masaki insisted. "I sit by it every night for an hour before I go to sleep and it doesn't say a thing."
"You've been concentrating?"
Masaki nodded. "But it's hard, especially with the sound of the cicadas outside my window."
His instructor shook his head. "Masaki, I can't believe you don't even know your sword's name. Kaname Tosen has achieved shikai, and,"
Masaki rolled his eyes. "I know all about Kaname."
His instructor eyed him sternly. "Then you know how he's being set up with a position on squad three. If you want to graduate early, or even graduate," His instructor tapped on the sheath in Masaki's hands, "I suggest you listen more closely."
Masaki grudgingly took his zanpakuto into rukongai. He often visited the site of his old home, which was now a clearing. After two years there was nothing left of his old home. But one good thing came out of the disaster. The field was populated with hundreds upon hundreds fireweed flowers. He sat down and laid his sword in front of him before closing his eyes and concentrating.
"Masaki-kun?"
He opened his eyes and grinned. Half hidden behind a tree on the edge of the clearing stood a small girl no older than four. She wore big half circle glasses which made her eyes look even bigger. She wore the same student uniform Masaki wore, a white and red shihakusho, red where Masaki's was blue.
"Nanao," He grinned.
"What are you doing here?" She asked.
"I need to learn the name of my zanpakuto," He admitted. "It doesn't seem to want to talk to me."
The little girl nodded. She stepped over to Masaki's side and sat down beside him. She placed her hand on the sheath of his sword. "Are you asking it?"
Masaki nodded. "I'm trying to."
"Masaki," She began, "Can I lean on you while you try?" The little girl blushed profusely.
Masaki nodded. Little Nanao was absolutely adorable to him. She was like a little friend who liked to follow him around. At age twelve, he hadn't had anything more than a soft crush on Lisa, something that resembled admiration. He didn't mind having the little girl around.
They closed their eyes as Masaki focused. The chirping of the cicadas was increasing, something that annoyed Masaki to no end. Why won't they just shut up and let me listen? He thought.
"Don't get frustrated." Nanao whispered, sensing his frustration. "It's trying to talk to you."
Masaki nodded. "But it's so hard to hear."
The chirping cicadas grew louder and louder until the sound of their screeching was almost deafening! "Isn't there anywhere I can go where there aren't any stupid cicadas?"
Nanao opened her eyes. "I don't hear any cicadas."
"How can you hear anything else?" He asked. "They're being so loud."
"It's so quiet here," Nanao corrected. "I can hear you breathing."
Masaki shook his head. What was going on? Why couldn't Nanao hear the sound? He looked down at his sword. It seemed to be vibrating on the ground. The sharp cries seemed to be emanating from the blade.
"Could that be it?"
Nanao nodded. "It's very loud to you right?"
He thought back to the cicadas chirping outside his window. "What do you know," He realized. "I guess I just wasn't listening."