Alright here is another one since i made you wait for so long but after this it will probably be one a month minimum
This is basiclly another fluff chapter but it should start getting good and under way soon so bare with me alright
Ok so hope you enjoy and let me know what you think.
Reminder
"speech"
"Speech from demon or none human entity"
'thought'
(Flashback) ((Flashback within a flashback))
Chapter five
Training and Doubt
Basement under Urahara shop
(Ichigo)
Ichigo was standing hunched over from all of the bruises that were covering his body and completely blind to the rest of the world due to the blindfold he was wearing. As he started to catch his breath again he said "How did I get myself into this again?" to no one in particular as he dived forward into a roll to dodge a downward swing, then jumped up into the air to avoid a swing at his midsection. He didn't need to be told coz he knew the exact fatal mistakes he had made to lead to this point.
(Flashback)
After school had finished and he had come to grips with what he had said to Yoruichi at the front gate earlier that day, he was making his way to the shop alone as his friends were all busy for the rest of the day. He thought that she wouldn't think into what he said unconsciously too much because she was older and more experienced than him and royalty to top it off and she obviously had higher standards so she would think nothing of it.
This thought actually made him feel a little down without him realising it, so he decided to forget about that issue and focused on what kind of training was in store for him.
When he entered the shop and Urahara saw him the shop keeper straight away directed him to the unbelievably large basement that was constructed under the Urahara shop and probably the entire block that the shop was situated in. This was where he and his friends always trained so that they wouldn't be noticed by any passersby when they had to use their powers and abilities.
When he made his way down the long ladder into the large space that had boulders and craters in it he found Yoruichi sitting cross legged on top of a rather large boulder in her usual black skin tight body suit with a loose orange long sleeved shirt over the top, with her eyes closed. He took a quick moment to admire her beauty as he made his way to her. He tried to sneak as quietly as possible behind her to give her a fright, he managed to get right behind her and was about to grab her
When she said "I know you're there Ichigo you wouldn't be able to sneak up on anyone with the amount of reiatsu that is leaking from you constantly"
Ichigo huffed at his failed attempt to get the jump on her while she let out a small giggle and turned to look up at him.
"But don't worry too much that's why I'm here to teach you" she said with a smile that was on the verge of sadistic in Ichigo's opinion
"Alright then where do we start?" he asked slightly nervous now about the little evil glint in her eyes.
"Well I'm going to teach you to become more aware of reiatsu and how to control the amount that you constantly release. Because frankly you are absolutely appalling at both if you ask me" she stated
"Thanks for that I already knew that much" He said flatly "So what are you going to do about it?"
"Well first off I'm going to teach you how to sense and read reiatsu around you. Or else you are completely blind to the spiritual world and of any dangers around you. Once you get the hang of that you're control will follow pretty quickly after that." she explained to the shinigami
"Hey! I can sense when a hollow is in the general area that's alright isn't it" He said in his defence
"Ha yea sure you're lucky you can feel that, because like you they are naturally pumping out monstrous amounts of reiatsu. So if you couldn't feel that you may as well give up on this." she said as she crossed her arms
"So to teach you to have a better bearing on the world and feel of the reiatsu around you we are going to do a basic little exercise. But since it could take a long time I'm going to raise the stakes because you seem to perform well under pressure" the woman stated as she hoped off the boulder and walked into a clear area.
"Bring it on then" he said in a loud voice as he pressed his substitute badge to his chest and followed her in his shinigami form leaving his body on the boulder. He said that but he was getting nervous about what she might have in store for him. As he reached her he asked in a slightly sceptical voice "So what kind of exercise are we doing, and what kind of stakes are there?"
"It's very simple so you don't need to worry" she said as she pulled a blind fold from her pocket
"I'm going to put this blind fold on you and you are going to try and find me."
"That's it?" Ichigo asked thinking that this wasn't too bad, but he was still waiting for the catch
"Basically oh and I'll also be attacking you every now and again to heighten the risk" she added with a big grin
"And there it is" he said to no one in particular. "So basically you are going to beat me until I can feel your presence and find or evade you. Is that it?" not liking how this was sounding at all.
"Yes in a nut shell. But don't worry ill start easy on you and we will see how it goes" Yoruichi said in a sickly sweet tone as she handed him the cloth.
And that's how it started Ichigo was standing in the middle of the clearing trying his hardest to focus and tries to find any trace of the former stealth captain. As he was concentrating he thought he felt a tingling around his back but just as he was about to turn he felt a soft hand give him a slight tap on the back of his neck.
"Too slow Ichigo, I was expecting a little better than that." he heard quietly in his ear. "But that was just a practice run from now on it won't be a gentle tap" the voice said as it moved away.
He was a little disappointed too but he started to concentrate again, trying to find that familiar presence. Once again he thought he felt something followed by that tingling sensation on the left side of his stomach. But before he could react he felt a sharp jab hit him in the stomach and he hunched over as the wind was momentarily knocked out of his lungs. This continued on for some time, he would feel that tingle then he would get hit. He was slowly starting to react but he still couldn't really find her location.
"Come on Kurosaki you've done something like this before out of instinct, remember when Stark had you pinned" her voice said from somewhere in front of him.
He racked his brain trying to remember when then suddenly it came to him
((Flashback))
He had been shaking and releasing so much reiatsu in anger but then the reiatsu and tension abruptly stopped, and he seemed to be concentrating on something. His whole body seemed to relax ever so slightly his stance widened as he planted his feet just a bit more than shoulder width apart with a slight bend at the knees as he prepared for something, his breathing started to slow to a calm steady pace. A black energy begin to surround Zangetsu as he held him out in front in a ready stance, then as soon as a cero was fired from a boulder behind and to the right he released a getsuga tensho in a quick and controlled horizontal slash in the direction it came from.
((End Flashback))
"You remember don't you" he heard her call out from the left somewhere "you've already done it once before, you can do it again. Relax and feel your surroundings, feel the pressure of my reiatsu as it flows from me through the air." she said as she circled him.
He realised that she was right. He stopped and tried to clear his mind; he slowed his breathing and relaxed his body. He was trying to focus on finding any disturbances around him. As he waited suddenly he felt a slight push on the small of his back like a slight breeze as some object was pushing the air out of its way as it moved towards him, he rolled forward as he felt something rush over him where he had been standing a second ago.
"There we go very good Kurosaki now we can really get started. Remember that feeling, every reiatsu is unique eventually you will be able to tell the difference between them but for now let's keep on working on just feeling it. Now I'm gona lower my reiatsu to its usual level and we can start" she said to him happy that it didn't take him toooo long to get the first step.
After that Yoruichi was unrelenting in his perspective. She would come at him faster and harder but he just couldn't get a real feel for how far away the reiatsu was, so when he did feel it sometimes he would react when nothing was coming or he would react to late. But he was starting to get better because his body had had enough of being beaten and was starting to react on its own.
This carried on for a few days, after school Ichigo would head straight to the shop leaving his body under the care of Urahara as he headed down to the basement for his training where he would get beaten until he couldn't move anymore and would need to be taken home. It was on the fifth day that he started to really get the hang of feeling the reiatsu and reacting to it. He wasn't quite perfect but he was defiantly getting there.
"You're getting pretty good now Kurosaki" he heard the woman call out from behind him
"Well I had a pretty good teacher" he said as he jumped to the left to dodge a charge from behind then he had to duck and roll forward to avoid a high swipe then axe kick.
"Hmmm flattery won't help you at all, I'm not going to go easy on you" she said with a smirk as she watched him dodging almost effortlessly now compared to the rock he was a few days ago. It amazed her how much he had been able to improve in such a short time, it reminded her of how much his determination made you want to believe in him when she had helped him to reach his bankai level in a few days. A feat that normally took people years or even their entire lives to attain.
She couldn't help but smile at how he made her want to believe in him again. Also the fact that he had surpassed her expectations and had reached a level that was miles ahead of an average shinigami made her swell with more pride.
Yoruichi decided to end this and move on to the next test with this last move. She started to sprint straight for him head on but just before she got within arm's reach she flash stepped over and behind him. As soon as she landed she flash stepped towards him intending to hit him in the back of his left shoulder since he hadn't moved an inch since she charged at him.
But she was completely caught off guard when as soon as the tips of her fingers on her right hand were only millimetres from his body he suddenly twisted his body to the right and pivoted on the balls of his feet almost rolling along her out stretched arm as she moved forward, then pivoted again so he was behind her where he quickly wrapped his arms around her with her arms pinned across her chest and pulled her into him tightly, all within a split second.
She was utterly dumbfounded at what he had just done
But then he gently rested his head against the back of hers and slowly said into the back of her neck with his husky voice as he gave her a little squeeze
"I found you"
A chill ran down her spine and then back up again. Her whole body was covered in goose bumps as she felt his breath on her skin while he held her. When he gave her a squeeze it felt like a bunch of butterflies had run rampant in her stomach, she was glad that he was behind her and blind folded as he wouldn't be able to see the blush that had totally engulfed her face rivalling the reddest tomato in the world. But she was pretty sure that her heart beating against her chest at a hundred miles an hour had already given her away.
But as suddenly as it had happened it came to an end as he let go and fell flat on the ground sucking in great gulps of air into his exhausted body. She almost protested but quickly stopped herself when he let go, and just stood rooted to the spot for a few seconds until she heard behind her
"What's the matter... I thought that you weren't going to go easy... on me?" he said between deep breaths.
"Well you got a lucky break today Kurosaki" she said still facing away from him
"Awwww maaaaan and I thought I had just done something cool" he said with a playful pout as he lifted the blind fold from his eyes to look up at his teacher.
When the stunned woman had come back to her senses she turned to look at the boy still panting on his back now looking up at her "You did good Kurosaki I think you're ready to move onto the next step. But that can wait for tomorrow" she said as she sat down on a nearby boulder
"SAY WHAT? There's more to this?" he said feeling like this step had been hard enough.
"Yes, you've gotten the hang of feeling my reiatsu but now you need to be able differentiate between different peoples reiatsu." she told him
"Okay so how are we gonna do that?" he asked even though he thought he had a pretty good idea of what she was thinking already and he hoped that he was wrong.
"You'll find out tomorrow. You've done enough for today so go home and get a good rest and since you don't have school tomorrow you can come over earlier okay" she said as she gave him a smile
"But I can keep going I've still got energy..." he started to protest but stopped when she just looked at him with that smile while she shook her head slightly. He couldn't really argue with her when she looked at him like that. So he slowly got up and started to make his way back to the shop. "See ya later then Yoruichi and thanks" he called over his shoulder as he headed out
Yoruichi gave him a small wave as he walked away. She still couldn't believe it; he had completely blown her away with that last trick. He had gone past the level of a seated officer with his senses and reflexes and was now at a level that rivalled that of a captain. He was just full of surprises but now she wanted to see how he did tomorrow.
The next morning when he turned up his fears were confirmed when he entered the basement and saw the younger kids that lived with Urahara. Ururu and Jinta both accompanying Yoruichi both wielding very hard looking bats.
"Hahaha so is this how you were going to teach me to differentiate between reiatsu" Ichigo asked getting more and more nervous.
"Yup aren't you a smart cookie" Yoruichi said in a sweet tone that really didn't make him feel any better whatsoever at that moment. "You've grown used to feeling and judging my reiatsu, but now you have to be able to do the same with multiple reiatsu at the same time. So the same rules as before apply just with a few more players" she stated
"Don't worry Urahara told us that you wanted a challenge so ill make sure to go all out" the small boy known as Jinta said while he swung his large ominous looking bat around
"He did ae? I will have to make sure to thank him properly after this" Ichigo said through gritted teeth
"I will try my best to help you improve" the shy looking girl known as Ururu said while she bowed.
That's what he was really worried about, she may look like a weak, innocent little girl on the outside but he knew all too well about this girls inhuman strength and speed from when he had trained with Urahara to get his powers back. He was just hoping that he would live to see the next day.
"Haha thanks for that guys" he said nervously "I don't have to wear the blind fold this time though right?" he asked hopefully even though he already knew the answer
"Of course you do or that would defeat the purpose of this exercise now wouldn't it Ichigo" Yoruichi said in a very happy way.
'Hahaha of course why didn't he think of that'? At that moment he knew that he would die in this basement, and the way she was talking told him that she was enjoying this too much.
'This must be revenge for the other day?' he thought as he was handed the blind fold and she gave him a little wink.
"Yup defiantly revenge" he said quietly to himself as she walked away.
(End flashback)
When he landed he winced as his chest was jolted and pain shot through his body instantly. He figured that he must have two or three broken or at least cracked ribs. This was from when he learnt very quickly what to feel for to find the two kids with bats after taking three or four big blows to the chest.
He had been going for about two hours into the second day but to him it felt like he had been going for months on end. The rate that the three kept coming at him was back breaking literally. He was doing pretty good but he would still get the odd occasion where two of them would come at him at once then he wouldn't be able to judge both of their distances accurately and he would end up being nicked by a bat or one of Yoruichi's blows which still hurt like hell even if it was a glancing blow.
Again he felt a pressure coming towards his back so he jumped to the side to evade just as he heard a great crash as a bat made contact with the ground in a very solid way. He cringed as the thought of what that would do to him if it connected squarely, made his stomach turn.
He then noticed that one of the three pressures in the room had disappeared, he thought that this might be Yoruichi trying to confuse him. But because he was so focused on trying to locate the missing reiatsu, he only just realised the sensation above him in time to avoid receiving a direct hit to the head but he lost the feeling in his left arm as the bat grazed his shoulder on the way down.
As he recovered from his roll he suddenly tensed as he felt a flicker of the missing presence right behind him, he was about to spin around to jump back but he reacted too late as he felt something warm press against him and two hands gently grab him, one under his chin and one on the back of his head ready to snap his neck at anytime.
He suddenly thought that this was very similar to something for some reason until
"Gotcha" he heard a soft voice purr into his ear which sent shivers all through his body as the warm breath brushed the skin under his left ear.
"No fair you hid your reiatsu" he said in a childish accusation
"That's for the other day" he heard the woman behind him say as she removed her hands from his head.
"I knew this had to be revenge or something" he said as he turned his head and lifted the blind fold to look at his captor.
As he turned golden eyes locked with amber and the surrounding world seemed to disappear. The only other person in this world at the moment as far as Ichigo was concerned was this person right behind him.
A blush tinged his lightly tanned cheeks as he realised how close he was to her. He just stood there being drawn in more and more by Yoruichi's captivating eyes and flawless sun kissed skin, he noticed a ting of pink starting to colour her cheeks slowly getting darker and darker. He took in her scent which was a mix of vanilla and cinnamon which only helped to further entrance him in the spell the goddess had cast on him. He started to turn his body slowly and wrapped his arm around her waist as he continued to take her in, his eyes then suddenly fell upon her lips, those small, soft, inviting looking lips.
As all of these thoughts were rushing through his mind he failed to notice the two younger kids standing right next to them until
"UMM excuse me?" he heard a small voice say next to them and as soon as that happened he snapped out of his daze and quickly released the girl in his arms and jumped back putting some distance between them. It was at this point that Yoruichi seemed to realise what had just happened and went beetroot red.
"U-um very good work Ichigo I think you have developed enough at this point to stop there" she said while looking away from the young man.
"What? Is that it? I was just starting to get into it you know" Jinta protested very loudly
"Yes that may be the case but if young Kurosaki-kun takes much more his body won't be able to handle It." they heard from the direction of the entrance
The group turned to find Urahara making his way towards them.
"Now Jinta, Ururu you two go get cleaned up and help Tessai get what he needs ready to fix Kurosaki-kun up" he said as he drew nearer
"Hai" the young girl said as she grabbed Jinta's arm and started running to the entrance.
"Now you two let's keep it PG around the younger ones alright. And also maybe wait till later since Kurosaki's body here doesn't look like it can do much more than stand" Kisuke said in teasing tone to the embarrassed pair.
Until this point Ichigo whose body was still running on adrenaline and had been so focused on his little moment that he had totally forgotten about his injuries. But as soon as Urahara had mentioned the state of his body all of the pain came rushing back to him in a wave and he fell in a crumpled heap as he passed out from the overload to his brain and exhaustion his body was suffering.
"Well seems even that's too much for him. That was convenient wasn't it" Kisuke said through a chuckle as he looked back at the still flustered Yoruichi.
(Yoruichi)
She couldn't answer right away because her mind was still whirling around at million miles an hour for her to actually concentrate on giving Urahara a direct answer. She just looked down at the limp form of Ichigo in a heap on the ground out of the corner of her eye, as she kept replaying the image of the teen looking at her in that way in her mind.
"Wow you Yoruichi Shihoin left speechless, he must have really done a number on you" Urahara sang out while kneeling down and carefully moving the red heads body into a much more comfortable position.
"What do you mean by that?" Yoruichi asked as the daze began to wear off and she regained the ability to think clearly again.
"Well in the hundred and eighty years that I have known you, I have only seen you act like this once before and that was just over a hundred years ago. But never this bad" He explained while inspecting the state of Ichigo's body. He then paused and smiled to himself.
"Oh shut up you delusional idiot" she breathed out as the weeks exercise started to catch up with her as well.
"From the looks of things it doesn't seem like you took it easy on him?" Urahara said in a matter of fact tone
Yoruichi let out a little chuckle "Well you know what he's like, he just doesn't learn unless you beat it into him"
"Yes but did you necessarily have to actually beat it into him?" Urahara asked slightly worried about the young shinigami as he looked at the amount of damage he had taken
"You're one to talk, telling Jinta and Ururu that Ichigo wanted them to use their full strength so that he could really test himself" she said as she crossed her arms and stared down at the shop keeper
"Oh did I really say that to them. My mistake I must have been caught up in the moment." He said as he scratched the back of his head
"Uhuh sure anyways I knew he'd be able to handle it and you know what he's like, he thrives under pressure" she said proudly as if she were showing off a trophy.
"Hahaha that's true" but he was actually surprised that the young boy had actually held together as long as he had, the amounts of cuts, bruises and immense swelling that covered his body was shocking. He wouldn't be surprised if he had a couple of broken ribs and a few fractures here and there.
"So what do you think? How did he do?" Urahara asked getting serious again
"To be honest I was sceptical at first but he completely blew me away with his progress. At first I thought that he was around the level of a seated officer in the Gotei thirteen but now I believe that he could easily rival a captain's ability. I didn't really need to do this last session but I wanted to see how far he could go, and he was still able to partially sense me nearby while I hid my reiatsu" she said very proudly
"Is that so? Well that's just like him, he never fails to impress." he said but he also was quite aware of his motivations that helped him to develop so much. He just hoped that Ichigo didn't lose sight of his original goals because of it.
But he felt a weight lifting off his shoulders as he heard his friend talking so passionately about the teen's abilities. He was truly relieved that she had something to believe in and to be proud of again. For a few years he knew that she would never show it, but he could feel her losing her fighting spirit. But now she had something to rekindle the dying flame and he was truly happy for her.
"You know to be honest I'm happy for you" he said quietly
"And why would that be?" she asked as her sharp ears faintly picked up what he had said but not quite able to follow the lone comment.
"Oh well I know it was you're decision too. But I always felt guilty after you helped me and the vizard's escape from soul society, the way you picked up and left everything you had going for you behind. I never thought I would be able to see you like this again with something to fight and strive for. And for that I'm happy" he explained and as he finished he turned to look up at her with a mix of genuine relief and joy in his eyes
Yoruichi was slightly taken aback at his last comment and the emotions that he only showed on rare occasions.
When Urahara had let her in on his thoughts an image of a pair of piercing green eyes with a few long thin strands of dark hair blowing around threatening to hide them from the world appeared in her mind. As the image began to fade she felt a light pull at her chest, and a small feeling of regret engulfed her for a split second.
"Hahaha you and you're silly talk, I never know what you're quite thinking in that head of yours. Anyways I'm just going to go out for some air" she said as she began to head for the exit.
"I guess I have something else that I owe you for now Kurosaki Ichigo" Urahara quietly told the unconscious figure in front of him as Yoruichi walked away. "Thank you and look after her okay"
As Yoruichi exited the basement, she walked straight past Tessai, down the hallway and out the front entrance of the shop. She didn't know where she was headed, she just started running. When she reached the corner she leapt up on the fence then up on to the roof of the next small building and away she went invisible to the physical world. She had to do something to help her get her head right, because at that moment she didn't know what to do.
So many things were rushing through her mind, Urahara's comments rushed back and she started to think of all the things she had left behind. Her family, her squad, her friends, her assistant Soi Fon then those green eyes. She almost missed a step as they flashed in front of her.
"Dam it those eyes still playing tricks on my mind even after so long" she cursed as she regained her footing
But another image followed right after that. Green eyes staring intently at her with long locks of dark hair dangling in front of them and a thin scar next to the left eye trailing down along the well tanned cheek finishing just above the jaw line. The sensation of two well trained arms wrapping around and gently pulling her in to them. A sense of calm and excitement fluttering through her body
Then the image changed slightly
Piercing green eyes changed to warm amber, neat black hair became messy and orange and instead of a scar there was blood and dirt smudged across the cheeks. The once gentle embrace was now a pair of arms desperately clutching her close as if she would disappear if they were to ease up even a little, and a feeling of relief and belonging washed over her.
When the image had suddenly changed she stopped running and shook her head to try and clear it again. She looked around a bit and found that she had stopped in the middle of a park in front of a pair of swings and the sky was slowly beginning to be consumed by the darkness of the night. No matter what she did she just couldn't get a grip, as questions and images kept bombarding her over and over again.
The feelings that she thought she had pushed away a hundred years ago and the seeds of these new feelings blossoming. Both raging a war for dominance in her heart and mind. She didn't know what to do, forget the past and move on to a new future or go back and start things anew. But she didn't even know how things stood with her past. Had her actions destroyed any chances or was there still an ember there just waiting for some new fuel. But what about the potential of the present that was looking as if it would mature into something amazing right in front of her. She just couldn't get her head straight.
Why was this happening to her? She had always been known for her cool head even in tough situations. But now she couldn't even keep one train of thought for more than five seconds then it would be abruptly interrupted by another.
This kept going on for a few minutes until she felt a slight tingle in her body as she sensed that she was being watched by something. Her mind instantly cleared of any distractions by the potential threat nearby. But whatever it was, it was very good at hiding its reiatsu so most likely not a human or hollow.
Her body tensed as it automatically prepared for any attack that could come her way. She searched the surrounding area with all of her senses. She looked around the clearing for any out of place objects or movement. She took in deep breaths through her nose to pick up any out of place smell, she was also listening for any noises that could be made by movement as well as trying to sense for the slightest flicker of reiatsu in the area. But all of her searching gave her no results, whoever this was; they were a master in the art of stealth. But the unsettling thing was that there were only a few that would actually be on par or better than herself and they were all amazingly strong.
As she continued to search for the potential threat she heard a wisp and felt the hair from her pony tail move in a breeze as something passed through the air just behind her. She quickly spun around as she jumped back to put space between her and her would be attacker.
But she was completely thrown off as she looked around to find a small flower rather than a person sitting on the swing a few feet in front of her. She was still sceptical until she felt the presence slowly fading away and her body started to relax more and more as the feeling became weaker and weaker.
Once she was fully confident that the threat was gone she looked back at the flower on the ground. Yoruichi sceptically inched closer to the discarded flower unsure if it was trust worthy or not. But as she drew closer she saw that it was a lotus and her heart skipped a beat.
"No way, he wouldn't" she said to herself as a memory that she had locked away suddenly resurfaced.
(Flashback)
Yoruichi Shihoin was finally enjoying her first 'official' day off in quite some time. She had been swamped with so many job requests and applications that kept coming to the newly reformed secret tactics squad or also known as the Special Forces squad. (Combination of -Gotei 13 2ndsquad- and the -omnitsukido- after Yoruichi became commander). She just hadn't had any proper time to just relax and forget about work for a day at least. But that day had just come and she was going to take full advantage of it, she wasn't going to let work interrupt in any way.
So she decided she would head home for once and visit her parents back in the first six noble family area of soul society. This was an area sealed off except for people who were allowed to enter; those people consisted of nobles and the captain commander himself. Other than that entry was only possible if you were closely acquainted with one of the families, invited by a noble or if you had the entire kido corps try to break the barrier. She felt pretty confident that work wouldn't be able to reach her through that.
She was now in the main court yard of the Shihoin estate, which was the size of half a football field filled with a lavish garden. A small stream about two meters wide weaved itself through the centre and had a couple of small wooden arched bridges crossing over it with cherry trees and many other various fruit trees scattered all over one half of the garden. Small stone paths weaved their way around the trees. The majority of the space on the other side was filled with plain grass and a large cobbled walkway running from the bridges to the exits. But along the entire perimeter save a few allocated spaces for entry and exit was a thin flower bed that was filled with many different vibrant coloured flowers that just added to the calming effect of the private little meadow.
This was all enclosed by an open japans style walkway surrounding it that expanded out into the Shihoin estate. This was the only part that she actually liked of the entire Shihoin estate that would eventually be passed on to her. Shortly after becoming the commander of the new second squad in the Gotei 13 she had also been named the twenty second head of the Shihoin family, meaning that this overly large estate would belong to her.
Yoruichi was laying under the biggest cherry tree looking up at the sun through the leaves above and listening to the sound of the water running past her, simply enjoying the peace. But she was rudely interrupted when someone called out breaking the peaceful atmosphere.
"Is this how the Omnitsukido commander should be spending her time?" a male voice said in the distance
"Probably not but does it look like I care too much? Anyway it's my day off so I don't have to worry either way" she said without looking to see the approaching person draw nearer.
"Oh is that right, then it would be alright for me to join you without being offered a place in the second squad" he said as he began to laugh while sitting next to Yoruichi.
"Hahahaha you don't need to worry, Soi Fon isn't anywhere near here Kat" she said as she finally turned her head to look over at the invader.
The man sitting against the tree in front of her was Yasuhiro Katsuro her teacher and friend. This man was the eldest child in the Yasuhiro family, which was the highest ranking noble family outside of the first six. Unofficially he was the leading expert in stealth tactics and one of the leaders in hand to hand combat in soul society. He had also been the one to teach Yoruichi everything she knew about martial arts, kido and the stealth arts and still helped her train every now and again.
Katsuro was also the one who had nominated her and urged her to become the commander of the second squad. He was still years in front of her in the sense of ability and experience but she was slowly catching up to him.
This is why he would receive constant requests for him to join the secret tactics squad from Yoruichi's assistant Soi Fon. But each time he would deny the offer as he enjoyed just being a part time unseated officer in the Gotei thirteen. Which allowed him to do as he pleased most of the time and take perk jobs that Yoruichi would hand to him from time to time.
He had brilliant emerald green eyes that stood out against his tanned skin and long locks of dark hair that hung about an inch above his shoulders and framed his face. He had a thin scar that started beside his left eye and ran down over his high cheek bones and ended just above his jaw line. He had broad toned shoulders and a medium build. He was just a bit taller than her and like her he had a very playful side to him but it was hidden behind a mask that held an almost constant blank expression except for when he was around the people he felt comfortable with.
"Well that's a relief Yoruichi-sama" he stated in a playful tone.
"Aww and I thought you had the hots for her and just liked to turn her down so that you could watch her get flustered." the woman said as she started to laugh at the image of her assistants reactions.
"Hmmmmm well she is kind of cute especially when she gets worked up, but that's not exactly it" he said as he let out his own little chuckle.
"Awww so much for my intuition huh?" she said as she pouted for a second
"You always end up in a mess whenever you tried to trust your intuition Yoruichi" he replied while looking over at the nearby flower bed.
"That was only a couple of times and anyone could have made those mistakes" she said in her defence
"Uhuh. Yea so anyone would mistake an old woman's shaved Chiuaua to be a hollow in disguise" he asked sceptically
"Hey that thing was evil and it tried to get me, it just screamed hollow waiting to get the jump on me" she said loudly as she sat up
"Yea yea whatever you say. You are the only person it ever reacted to"
"Shut up" she said as she tried to forget those embarrassing first few months of her training years ago. "So what brings you here anyway? I'm sure you didn't come just to tease me about the past." she added
"Well that would be very entertaining for a long time, but I thought it would be nice to come say high and see how you were doing" he said while an infantesamil hint of a blush tinged his cheeks. "And what's with that look?" he said as he looked at Yoruichi with a very sceptic look on her face.
"Really? Because you usually only come over if you have business with my father or to train." she said while trying to search him for any trace of a lie, but failing
"Ouch how could you say that after all these years" he said with a mock hurt face
"Well if you are here for what you say you are then... Hello, how have you been Kat?" she said with a very soft tone as her features softened.
"Hahaha now that was a quick change their Yoruichi" Katsuro said cheerfully
"You got a problem with that?" she said with a raised eyebrow.
"No I wouldn't want you any other way" he said as he got up and walked over to the flower bed.
"What?" she asked confused as she watched him pick something from the garden and come back to kneel down in front of her. She saw that he had a bright pink lotus cupped in his hands
He just looked into her eyes for a while before he spoke.
"I was just thinking with the whole disappearances of shinigami lately and all, that I should come clean to you just in case something happens and I never get the chance." as he said this he only continued to stare at her
The young commander was beginning to get nervous about where he could be headed with this, it almost sounded as if he knew that something horrible was about to happen, but she said nothing and waited
"Well we've been close for a long time now right? And I truly feel comfortable with you and I am sure that you are the person who I feel I can confide in and trust in the most in any situation. I have always thought that you were amazing. Ever since I first started to teach you I have found you amazing in all aspects." he paused to see if she was still following, when it seemed like she was he continued.
"I have always thought that you were and still have so much potential and so many more big things in store for you. And I also feel that you are the one person who could truly understand me. So what I am basically saying is" he took a deep breath while he calmed himself and went for it
"I love you... and have for many years now but I have always been too scared to tell you the truth. When I was training with you I felt somewhat complete in a way and always thoroughly enjoyed myself. You would always make my heart throb with your smile and caring nature. So much so that when it came to an end my days became dull and painful as if my heart would lose strength to go on without you, now the only thing I look forward to is when you call me for a job or when I am able to train with you. Anything to see you so that I can see that smile of yours."
Yoruichi was completely and utterly shocked she had been expecting something totally different to what was coming out of his mouth and was too stunned to say anything so she just kept listening.
"In other words I need you Yoruichi because when I'm with you I feel I have a purpose in this world, you make me want to improve myself more and more just to try and make you proud of me. I don't know what I would do if something were to happen to you so let me protect you and that smile that I love from the dangers of the world everyday by accepting my hand in marriage." he said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring.
The ring was white gold with two diamonds imbedded within the band of metal on either side of a large topaz stone that was slightly wider than the ring.
This was a little much for her at the moment, sure she had always had a crush on the man and whenever he stared at her he always made her a little weak at the knees but this was a little sudden. She had hardly even seen him lately and he all of a sudden laid this all on her. She needed some time to sort this out, but at that moment all she was able to physically say was
"W-wh- a wha- eh- uh- wh- ahh" everything that was coming out of her mouth was completely un intelligible.
He looked at her reaction and smiled. "I know this is very sudden and out of the blue but this is truly how I feel and you would make me so happy. But I will give you this for now and I will let you think about it, but I would like to have an answer within a few days." he said as he gently grabbed her hand and slipped on the gorgeous ring.
"Also will leave this with you while you decide, did you know that one of the lotus's meanings is mystery, purity and truth. Let that be a reminder of me to you, my life is a complete mystery covered by a mask but only you know the true me" he said this as he put the flower on her lap and gave her hand a kiss. Then he walked away and out of the court yard.
Yoruichi was still completely confused about what had just happened. On one hand she was so happy that the man that she had feelings for felt same way, but on the other hand she was a little scared and confused for some reason. She just sat there looking at the ring and the flower that he had given her with a smile on her face as everything rushed through her head.
(End flashback)
As she came out of her day dream she felt very warm and her heart was still pounding at a million miles an hour. She then looked at the flower and thought that all her chances were probably gone as a wave of regret washed over her because the day after was when Urahara was being falsely trialled for the experimentation of hollowfacation on shinigami and she had helped him escape to the world of the living.
But a wisp of hope started to creep through her body as she thought that if this flower was here in front of her then that might mean that she may not be on bad terms with her old master.
As she thought this she started to feel much better and decided that it was time to head back to the shop.
(Hueco Mundo – Las Noches)
(Aizen)
Aizen was sitting in his personal quarters looking out from his balcony out across the dark baron sand dunes that seemed to stretch on forever, thinking about how well his recruiting for new espada had gone. He couldn't have asked for better results, but he was brought from his thoughts as he heard a knock at his door followed by it being pushed open by his second in command Ichimaru Gin.
"What is it Gin?" he asked while looking over his shoulder
"You have a certain guest Aizen-sama" Gin replied
"Ohh and who is this certain guest?" Aizen asked becoming a little curious
"Our connection" was all that was needed to tell him who it was that was here
"Well then let him in we can't leave our guest waiting now can we" he said as he moved to a nearby chair and sat down
When he said that, a cloaked figure appeared behind Gin then seemed to glide across the floor and then kneeled in front of the Aizen.
"Well now do you have any good news to give me?" Aizen said as he wondered why this person was here now.
"Yes I believe I will be able to begin our operation in the near future. And I believe that I may have a way to partially disable the target making it easier for capture." he said in a smug tone that told Aizen that he was rather confident about this
"Hmm sounds promising. I'm hoping for some good news when I see you again then" he replied in his calculating tone. As the cloaked figure nodded and made a hasty exit.
"What do you think Aizen? Think he'll be able to pull it off" Gin asked as the figure disappeared down the hallway.
"Oh we'll see, but I'm not getting my hopes up too high" he stated as he turned to look back over the distant dunes.
"But then why are you letting him do that? Wouldn't it be more beneficial to you for him to keep a low profile?" Gin asked not able to follow Aizen's logic
"Sometimes you just need a little excitement every now and again to keep things moving in your favour, even if it doesn't look that way" he said as a smile began to pull at the corner of his mouth.
And there you have it chapter five I wonder what she wants to do now. and who is this connection well find out soon stay tuned for next time
Hope you enjoyed it let me know what you thought and im always open for suggestions so if you have any feel free to tell me
Until next time BYE BYE