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I do not own Bleach

Izumi retreated to her isolated training ground. She spent the rest of the day constructing dummies out of the loose branches she found lying around in the dense canopy of trees surrounding her isolated camp and training ground. She was determined: she was going to get stronger, and this was an ideal place to do so in secrecy.

It was dusk before she was finished. That was when she noticed her stomach growling in hunger she suddenly realised- she hadn't had anything to eat since coming to the Soul Society. But she hadn't been hungry before.

Why was she so hungry all of sudden? Takezoe had told her that she would never be hungry in the Soul Society. Had he lied to her?

She heard footsteps from behind her and scrambled to her feet. A tall man, with two deep slashes across his left cheek and another across his bare chest, was standing before her.

Izumi recognised him –he was the Champion of the village below. She had made the mistake of crossing blades with him when she had arrived in the area. The resultant wound on her back had ached for days afterwards.

He was Takashi Ito.

"What are you doing here, Ito?" Izumi asked, drawing her sword.

"Take it easy, Izumi," he replied.

Izumi was startled –his usage of her first name was a surprise in itself. Then she noticed the boy hiding behind Ito. She recognised the boy as the child she had protected from that Hollow.

"Kai wanted to thank you for what you did," Ito said. "You showed courage out there, even if your swordplay wasn't so impressive."

Izumi growled –so he had come to insult her? Ito continued.

"Rumours are already circulating about you, Kihara," he said, and Izumi noticed the shift back to her surname. "They say you're going to enter the Shinou Academy. So, until you go, I'm going to teach you how to sharpen your skills.

"That way, everyone will know you for a Zaraki's fighting power rather than the poverty and death of the 80th Northern Rukon Area. So what do you say?"

Izumi hesitated for a moment –was he serious? Learning from a champion could only help her, prepare her for the time she faced down Tsuji. That confrontation was going to happen sooner or later.

"Thank you, Ito," she said, bowing. "I will do my best to be a worthy student."

"I was expecting you to agree," Ito said. "Now come down to the village. A meal's prepared for you –you used up quite a lot of spirit energy. It drains you and makes you hungry in a world where you're not supposed to feel hungry."

So that was what had happened –the moment she had engaged the Hollow, she had tapped into her hibernating spiritual powers. And being the presence to three incredibly powerful Soul Reapers at once had drained her even further.

Kai lead the way back down the hill to the village, pulling on Izumi's hand most of the way.

Izumi received a hero's welcome, and a festive mood had infected the whole population, young and old. While they didn't have to eat, the villagers had brought barrel after barrel of sake [1] to the festivities. A large group of the men managed o get spectacularly drunk and Ito had to knock them out before they embarrassed themselves.

At one point during the night, Izumi tried one mug of the alcoholic drink; when morning came, she wished she hadn't.

*

Izumi woke up spluttering and soaked. Jolting into an upright position, she suddenly felt dizzy and put a hand against her head. Her face was dripping wet and, looking around, she found the reason close by.

"So you finally woke up," Ito said. He was standing over her, a now-empty bucket in one hand and a grin on his face. It was obvious that he had just dumped the contents over her head.

"You jerk!" Izumi snapped, already in a foul temper.

"Honestly, one drink of alcohol and you completely lose it," Ito said, his smirk remaining.

"Shut it," Izumi muttered, drying her face off.

"Are you ready to begin training?" Ito asked. Izumi drew her sword and nodded.

*

They didn't do any serious training that first day. Ito simply observed her movements and stances, correcting the basics.

The next day they moved onto sparring. Ito was actually impressed, although he'd never admit it out loud. Izumi improved steadily over the course of a day so that, when they stopped at dusk, she was able to hold her own against him. And he had been fighting with all his power behind every attack –she might be his student, but that didn't mean he'd go easy on her.

But there were a couple of things that had puzzled him since he had started teaching her to fight properly.

Ever since that one night, she hadn't needed to eat. She hadn't been using a drop of spiritual energy against him.

And she was a determined student, a fast learner. It was obvious there was some serious motive behind her actions, as though improving her skills before attending the Academy and becoming a Soul Reaper was only one step on the path she was taking.

It was only really her swordplay that really needed improvement. He had tester her hand-to-hand combat that first day. It had been as sharp and lethal as his was. And every movement spoke of grace.

As the sun sank lower in the sky and the fire blazed, the two sat on the grass. Ito passed his student a mug of water. She drank it and lay back in the grass.

He watched as she raised her right arm in front of her eyes and studied the deep parallel scars –the marks of her battle with the Hollow.

"I want to ask you something," Ito said, and Izumi looked at him. You haven't unleashed your spiritual pressure since that fight with the Hollow. Why not?"

Izumi lowered her arm.

"That was more of a fluke than anything else," Izumi said. "I don't know how to do it again."

Ito looked up at the stars, thinking. He knew something about spiritual energy, or reitsu. He had a small amount himself –not enough to enter the Academy himself, but enough to make him stand out. And he was sure that this girl's potential far outshone his own.

"Try thinking of it like this," he said, and sensed Izumi's eyes turning to watch him. "Think back to when you were protecting Kai. What was your reason for fighting back then? What emotions drew out your power? How strong was your will to protect the innocent?"

Izumi closed her eyes, falling into mediation.

Kai had been the first thing she had wanted to protect. She had made her choice then to protect the innocent , to make sure others didn't suffer cruelty and pain. She hadn't wanted a repeat of what had happened to Hibiki to happen to anyone. That red aura had pulsed around her had glowed brightest when she had feared that she wouldn't remain alive long enough to avenge Hibiki.

When she opened her eyes, they were filled with an iron resolve and determination. And that same red aura was pulsing around her. This time, however, it didn't fade away so suddenly- she wasn't surprised to see it this time.

Closing her eyes, she relaxed and the aura faded.

Now she had control of it, she was sure she would be able to call it out again, whenever she wanted it.

(1) A very popular drink in the Soul Society.