Leaving Rangiku to finish paperwork and look after Kadaj, Toshiro led Cid, Barrett and Yuffie through the Senkaimon and into the World of the Living.
"Urahara will be there to greet us." He said over his shoulder to the Gaians behind him.
"So what are we supposed to do here?" Yuffie questioned, looking at her Soul Candy dispenser before slipping it into her short's pocket on her Gigai. Their soul forms were already in the Soul Reaper uniform.
"Train to use your Shikai better and to keep Hollows from consuming souls. You should be able to tell the difference between souls and humans, as souls will have a broken chain attached to their chest. As for Hollows…if you mistake a Hollow for anything else then we have a lot to talk about."
There was the hint of a threat in his last sentence and the Gaians all nodded. Vincent had told them about what had happened when he sparred with the Ice Captain and they didn't want a repeat with them.
They arrived in the same place Vincent had where Urahara and his two younger assistants awaited them.
"Ah, there you are. Your Gigai is waiting upstairs, Hitsugaya." Kisuke grinned behind his fan.
Toshiro nodded and used Flash Step to the shop portion of Kisuke's property, the Gaians now following behind said shop keeper as they walked towards the stairs. Behind him the Gaians turned their heads, mouths open, to gape at the enormous arena under Kisuke's shop. They had been told it was huge and that it was underground, but they hadn't expected this.
"For the duration of your stay this is where you'll be training." Kisuke grinned over his shoulder at them. "Get used to seeing it."
They climbed the ladder up and met with the rest of the Gaians waiting in the yard in front of Kisuke's place, Toshiro among them in a Gigai with Ichigo and Rukia.
"You guys all made it." Tifa greeted them with a smile.
"Yup, the whole gang is here." Cid replied.
"Kadaj isn't." Shelke corrected, pointedly ignoring the several warning glares sent her way.
"And for good reason." Toshiro added as he joined them. "Seeing as Sephiroth stole Kadaj's Inner Hollow already we have to be careful. He's still in the World of the Living somewhere."
"Stole his Inner Hollow?" Vincent looked at the child curiously. "That's possible?"
"Apparently for him. However, we do have some time. Unlike Kadaj, Sephiroth has no way of reverting to Spiritual Pressure and as such probably can't use any of that Hollow's powers. Until he finds a way to break down that barrier between him and the Inner Hollow we have time to train."
"Oh great." Yuffie groaned and Toshiro gave her a quick glare.
"I suggest you shape up." He snapped at her. "This isn't something you can slack on, Kisaragi. If Sephiroth attempts to do here what he has done on your world it could cause the destruction of all five realms of this world."
"Realms?" Barrett crossed his arms. "I don't remember you mentioning realms."
"There's this world, the World of the Living, Soul Society where we Soul Reapers live and the souls go, Hueco Mundo where the Hollows live, Hell where the sinners go, and the Soul King's realm."
"Oh, right, those places."
"My apologies for not being clear before. Back to the point, if either the World of the Living or Soul Society is destroyed by Sephiroth, the balance of souls will shift and cause the collapse of all the realms."
"What about the other realms?" Red questioned.
"If Hueco Mundo was destroyed the Hollows would most likely overpopulate the Soul Society or the World of the Living, also causing an imbalance." Rukia answered. "Hell is unlikely to fall due to its many levels, but if it were the miasma that keeps sinners weak would spread into the World of the Living, killing humans and causing an imbalance. As for the Soul King's realm…" She let Toshiro finish.
"The Soul King ties the realms together. If the Soul King dies the destruction of worlds is inevitable." He said gravely.
"Is there a way to get there?" Shelke asked.
"Only if allowed by the Royal Guard or the Soul King himself to enter, which is unlikely ever to happen. The Head Captain knows the location of a key that can take one there, but he would die before revealing the location of that key."
"Good, then Sephiroth can't get there." Tifa said and the Soul Reapers nodded in agreement. "Can he get to Hueco Mundo or Hell?"
"A Hollow would have to take Sephiroth there and the gates of Hell only open to drag sinners in and are deadly to the living, especially for someone with Lifeforce which, in a manner of speaking, could be the opposite of Hell's miasma."
"So we really only have to worry about the Soul Society and the World of the Living." Ichigo surmised. "If he went to Hueco Mundo it would be to make an army, not destroy it. Especially if he already took Kadaj's Hollow."
"Exactly." Toshiro nodded. "Now, on to the matter at hand. I'll be stationed here in Karakura Town to help train all of you while you're here for field training since you are under my jurisdiction."
"So you're our commanding officer while we're here?" Cloud asked and Toshiro nodded. "I guess that makes sense. What are we doing first?"
"If I remember right, Kadaj was the only one to kill a Hollow yesterday. But considering there were very few Hollows anyway added to the fact that you can't sense Spiritual Pressure yet it makes sense that you weren't able to find them. Sensing Spiritual Pressure is important to finding the enemy so that will be our secondary training objective, basic combat and bonding with your zanpaktou being the primary focus."
"Sounds like a full schedule." Red sighed.
"It will be, but this is normal for beginner Soul Reapers." Rukia smiled kindly at them. "Ichigo and I will help when we can and Captain Hitsugaya will be guiding you."
"I can show the basics but you need to develop a fighting style unique to your set of skills." Toshiro corrected. "Training with Shikai will be taught by your own zanpaktou, but if you need advice I'm willing to give it."
"It's more than we can ask for." Tifa replied, bowing her head slightly. Toshiro was glad she was learning their customs quickly, especially considering he was to be their Captain for quite a while.
"A'right, let's get started." Barrett exclaimed loudly, slapping his hands together in a loud clap that made Toshiro's brow twitch. "How do we find a Hollow?"
"By looks it's anything with a hole in its chest and a white mask." Toshiro replied with a glare, still irritated by the man's loudness. "As for sensing its Spiritual Pressure, allow Kurosaki to show you the difference."
"Eh?" Yuffie tilted her head.
"If a Soul Reaper is approaching, their Spiritual Pressure will have a quality like this." Toshiro ignored her and let his Spiritual Pressure rise. It was the familiar cold touch they always felt when he approached. "Recognizing individual Spiritual Pressures will take time. I'm only interested in having you recognize a Hollow's Spiritual Pressure. Kurosaki."
"Yeah yeah." Ichigo scowled and lifted his hand up to his forehead.
'Watch closely, Valentine.' Chaos spoke up in Vincent's mind. 'This is how using the powers of your demons here will work.'
When Ichigo pulled his hand down a black energy with a red outline, similar to the Getsuga Tensho in Bankai, followed, bringing with it a white mask, a red line going down on each side of the face and over his eyes, which were now completely black with bright golden irises.
Then they felt his Spiritual Pressure. Now it was heavy and dark, a definite difference from the familiar feel of the Soul Reapers. It struck fear in them when they looked into his eyes and they felt like he was going to try and consume them at any moment. Red even let out an involuntary growl.
"Calm down guys." Ichigo said, voice echoing with a dangerous tone as he lifted his hand again and removed the mask. "I can control my Inner Hollow; it's nothing to worry about."
"They're experiencing the effect most Hollows have on souls." Toshiro explained. "Especially since your Hollow is the level of a Vasto Lorde."
"W-What's that?" Yuffie whimpered out, still trying to shake off the fear.
"There are different levels of Hollows." Rukia began to explain and pulled out a sketchbook. The Gaians noticed Toshiro's eyes light up in amusement while Ichigo frowned deeply at the small Lieutenant. They didn't quite understand until Rukia quickly drew something down before showing it to them. For a moment they thought it was a joke, what with the 'Hollows' being drawn as bears. However, seeing as Rukia's face remained expressionless, they realized she was serious. It didn't stop several zanpaktous from laughing wildly and Chaos found it rather hilarious as well.
"The most common ones are simple Hollows made from souls after their Chain of Fate is corroded. These are the ones you'll see around Karakura Town the most and should be child's play for experienced fighters such as yourselves, even if you're new to fighting them. Then there is the Menos class, which is when Hollows can no longer be sustained with just human souls. Menos will attack other Hollows in order to grow stronger." She didn't seem to notice that they were ignoring her drawings and listening only to her explanation. "There are three classes among the Menos. Gillians are the weakest and most common of the Menos and are also called Menos Grande due to their enormous size. Most Hollows stop evolving here as Gillians are made up of multiple Hollows. The personalities overlap and create a Hollow that has no control over its own actions. These can be dangerous because of that and are challenging to kill.
"If a Gillian does manage to gain a dominant personality over the other Hollow souls inside it will continue to consume Hollows as well as think for itself, even consuming fellow Gillians. It's these kind that advance to the stage of Adjuchas. Once there they must continue to consume other Hollows to advance. If any part of them is eaten by another Hollow they cannot evolve or if they stop eating other Hollows, thus regressing back into a Gillian. These can never go back to the rank of Adjuchas. However, Adjuchas have the capability to combat a Captain in battle."
Toshiro nodded gravely at this while the Gaians paled. So far the Adjuchas were only the middle class.
"And finally the Vasto Lordes, the most powerful of all the Hollows. They can overpower a Captain easily if they tried but are fortunately very rare in number. There are less Vasto Lordes in Hueco Mundo than fingers on your hand." Rukia was still drawing but they paid that no mind, sharing worried glances between them. What if Sephiroth found a Vasto Lorde to help him? "We don't know specifically how a Vasto Lorde is created or maintains its high status other than the need to continually consume other Hollows, but we do know they're dangerous."
"So…Ichigo's Inner Hollow is a Vasto Lorde?" Tifa surmised, though she still looked rather pale. "Does that mean he consumed Hollows?"
"Nah, he feeds off my Spiritual Pressure." Ichigo replied. "The stronger I get the stronger he gets. He became a Vasto Lorde when I was fighting a really strong Arrancar in Hueco Mundo."
"Okay, so what are Arrancars?" Cid scratched his head.
"That information can come later." Toshiro cut in before Rukia started drawing again. "With so many of you here having rather high Spiritual Pressure the Hollows are sure to be curious. We need to split you up into stations around town so they don't all flock to one place. It's best to stay in at least groups of two in case someone gets hurt and I, along with Kurosaki, Kuchiki and Urahara, will be moving between the groups to make sure everything is fine."
"Sounds good, off we go." Barrett said roughly, wanting to get moving. His zanpaktou was restless for a fight and so was he.
"Hey, wait!" A voice called out and heads turned. "I want in on this too."
"Karin?" Toshiro blinked in surprise at the black haired twin that had rushed over in Soul Reaper form to join them. "Did you run all the way from home?"
"No big deal." Karin shrugged. "But, uh…dad followed."
Rukia and Toshiro grimaced, the Gaians blinked in confusion, and Ichigo looked about as white as his Hollow mask.
"HE WHAT!?" The teen shouted at his sister.
"IIIICHIIIIIGGOOOOOOOO!" A voice shouted and the Gaians jumped in surprise, looking towards the figure of a tall man racing towards them, mostly concealed by the dust he stirred up from running. Ichigo cursed and the figure suddenly leaped, going feet first towards him.
"SHUT UP!" Ichigo screamed at him and dodged the kick only to hold his arm out, the man slamming his face right into it. "HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU NOT TO ATTACK ME ALL THE TIME!?"
"But son, I have to keep you in top shape!" His father replied, holding his bleeding nose. "There's nothing left to teach you!"
"Then stop attacking me, ya old goat!" Ichigo landed a hit on his dad's chin, sending the man flying into Kisuke's store, the man himself watching him fly by in amusement.
"My my, Isshin, seems you've pissed off your son. Again." Kisuke grinned deviously behind his fan and turned to see the reaction of the Gaians.
Needless to say, they were speechless. Even Vincent had his mouth open in surprise.
"Attack me again and I'll kick your ass all the way to Soul Society!" Ichigo shouted angrily at the black haired man that was his father.
"Masaki, when did our son become so cruel?" Isshin whined to seemingly air, before pulling a picture of a woman out of his pocket. "He's always pushing me around!"
"Because you come out of nowhere and attack him, dumbass!" Karin shouted this time and knocked her father down. "And stop complaining to pictures of mom all the time!" She snatched the picture.
"Masaki, I fear Karin is taking after her older delinquent brother." Isshin mumbled, face pressed to the floor by Karin's foot.
"Does this…happen often." Cloud asked Toshiro, pointing to the three Kurosakis fighting.
"Unfortunately it happens at least five times a day when Kurosaki is home." Toshiro grumbled. "And though you won't believe it, that man used to be the Squad Ten Captain before me when I was just a third seat."
"Him? A Captain?" Cid's eyebrows vanished into his hair.
"Impossible to believe, I know." Toshiro nodded. "He's gotten worse than before, I almost feel sorry for Kurosaki."
"Ichigo said his dad attacks him." Tifa said worriedly.
"They attack each other. His dad is known to wake him up rather violently and a fight usually ensues right after." He looked to see Karin and Ichigo both still growling at their father. "Let's leave them to it and get a move on. They'll come when they're done, though probably with a few bruises."
"Is it really okay to leave them?" Shelke said cautiously.
"Trust me; you don't want to get in the way of a fight between Kurosakis. That's almost worse than finding yourself in the middle of a fight between Vasto Lordes."
"Seriously!?" Yuffie gaped.
"I said almost. No one dies but there's a lot of destruction."
The Gains shared glances amongst themselves.
There's the encounter with Isshin I promised! ^^ Hope it was funny! And Rukia's drawing lessons on Hollows. Should get a few laughs XD Enjoy!