The next day, Ichigo woke up and found a change of clothes next to him. 'I have to thank Koganehiko the next time I see him.' he thought. He headed to the garden.
He was 30 minutes early but he decided to warm up a little before his training with Kūkaku. After doing that, he decided to meditate until she arrived. Just like his mentor told him, meditating helped him calm down and regulate his reiatsu.
"I see you're already here, eh? Never took you as an early riser." his sister commented from behind him.
He stopped his meditating and stood up to face her. "I've always been an early riser. So are we going to start?" he asked.
"Yes we are and since you suck at reiatsu control and sensing we will start working on that."she said while taking something out from between her *ahem* ample assets.
Ichigo blushed furiously and tried to look away, only to quickly catch something round and small with his right hand. He looked at it and recognised it as the small orb they used to make a cannonball back when they entered the Seireitei.
"I'm pretty sure you're familiar with that. Now I want you to do the same thing you did last time and make a sphere. I wanna see just how bad your control is." she smirked at the last part.
"Yeah thanks for encouraging me." he said once more with sarcasm.
"Do not worry Ichigo. Your control has improved drastically since the last time." his mentor told him.
'Old man? You were silent all the time, how come?'
"You were meditating so I decided to let you focus and not interrupt."
'Ok. So what do I do now?' he asked, hoping for advice.
"Slowly push your reiatsu inside the ball just like you did with your Zanpakuto. Then try to stabilize it and form a sphere around you." he said.
Ichigo started slowly inserting his reiatsu and he could feel the small orb responding. He felt the energy around him and he started shaping it into a sphere around him. After a while he was done, however this time he learned from his previous mistake and didn't lose his focus.
Kūkaku watched him with a mix of surprise and pride flashing in her eyes. Who would've thought her idiot cousin would improve this much in only a few days. She now knew what Yoruichi meant with his rediculous growing rate. "Good that's enough." she said while inspecting the sphere. She found it lacking some stability, but it was still acceptable.
"You're not so hopeless like everyone thinks you are, I'm impressed. However you still need better control if you want to learn Kido."
"How do I improve my control then?" he asked.
"It's simple." she said.
"Keep focusing on that sphere like that... and don't die." she said with an evil smirk while firing a Byakurai towards Ichigo.
Ichigo flashed away, however the sphere broke. "What the hell? Are you trying to kill me?" he yelled.
"Your training is simple. Keep dodging my attacks and focus on the sphere at the same time. Now make another one." just as he made another one, she fired once again, and the sphere shattered.
Twenty minutes later, Ichigo finally managed to dodge an attack without the sphere breaking. However two attacks later, it shattered once again. "See? You managed to dodge without shattering it. Keep doing that and your control will be much better." she told him.
One hour later, Ichigo managed to keep the sphere stable for 5 minutes. He was sweating and panting heavily. Kūkaku put a hand on his shoulder and he turned to look at her. "That's enough for today. Go have some rest. Breakfast is in 30 minutes." she said, and he left.
"Man, he sure learns fast." she mused to herself.
Ichigo went back to his room and picked up the change of clothes and headed to take a shower. After he finished his shower he went to eat breakfast with Kūkaku and Ganju. While they were eating, Kūkaku turned to face Ichigo. "You know... you need something other than your Shihakushou. Like normal clothes or something. I'm sure as hell not gonna let you take your entrance exam in a Shihakushou. You'd blow your cover before even entering the academy."
"Well what do you want me to wear then?" he asked.
"A yukata."
"And where the hell am I going to get one?"
"You won't get one. We'll make you one." she said.
"And how are you going to make one?"
"I won't. But a friend of mine will. She's one of the best out there. Been in business for centuries. She will come over this evening to take your measurments and stuff."
"I see, well thanks." he said.
After breakfast Ichigo went to his room, and meditated. He attempted to suppress his reiatsu once more. He once more directed his powers through the door. Two hours later he was surprised his reiatsu was only reduced by a little amount comparing it with the last time he suppressed it. 'Old man, why is it harder to suppress my reiatsu?' he asked in his mind.
"You must understand this, Ichigo. Each time you suppress your reiatsu, it will become harder the next time. The reason is because the less your reiatsu, the harder it is to suppress it. Otherwise everyone could completely hide their reiatsu. This is a feat only the best in stealth, namely the Omnitsukido can barely do. Even your mentor, Yoruichi has difficulties doing that. However don't let that fact demotivate you. You're known to make the impossible possible."
'I see... well how long do you think I could reach the level of stealth?' he asked curiously.
"I believe you can do that before you enter the academy with your rediculous growth rate, but I still recommend you wear the armband."
'Why should I? You just said I will be able to supress my reiatsu enough, before entering the academy?'
"Because, Ichigo if you wear it, your reiatsu output will be reduced. Suppressing your reiatsu will become even more difficult. That way you can further increase your control, and also you would increase your reserves."
'How?'
"Think about it, King. If you become stronger while most of your powers are sealed, what would happen when that seal is removed?" Zangetsu said, pissed at his King's idiocy.
'That makes sense I guess.'
"Sometimes I wonder if I'm really a part of your soul. Surely I'm not that stupid."
'Well, I'm done suppressing my reiatsu for today. What should I do now?' he asked both his spirits.
"Train your body. If your physical strength increases you would not only be stronger, you would also increase your stamina."
'I don't think some push-ups would make me that stronger.'
"They wouldn't under normal circumstances, however I have an idea that would make you much stronger quickly."
'I'm all ears.'
"I suggest you visit Kurotsuchi Mayuri, and ask him to make you special weighted clothes. The additional weight would make it harder on you to train, thus being an effective training method."
'I don't like the idea of asking clown face a favour. He'd probably ask me to become his test subject. He wouldn't agree anyways.' he said.
"Well King, I have an effective method to persuade him to make you these clothes."
'Oh yeah? Well what do you want me to do?'
"All you have to do is..." he said.
'You clever bastard.' Ichigo said with an evil grin.
Later at the Shinigami Research and Development Institute, Ichigo was looking for a certain clown face.
"Can I help you, Kurosaki-san?" asked Mayuri's artificial daughter and Fuku-Taicho, Kurotsuchi Nemu.
"I'm looking for your captain."
"Mayuri-sama is not accepting visitors now. He is busy."
"Tell him it's urgent." Ichigo said.
"Very well, I will. Please wait here."
"Ok"
A moment later, Mayuri came out the door, sporting a wicked grin. "So have you finally decided to become my specimen?" he asked.
"Of course not! I'll never become your specimen you wicked bastard!" Ichigo yelled, even though he anticipated the question.
"Well why did you even bother come here?" asked Mayuri, pissed he just lost his chance of Ichigo becoming his specimen.
"I want you to make me some special weighted clothes. Make them so heavy I can barely move with them." Ichigo demanded rudely, not concerned if Mayuri will refuse, since he had a way to convince him.
"I refuse! I can't believe you wasted my time for this." Mayuri immediately refused.
"What you can't make it? And here I thought you were the best scientist here. I'm pretty sure Urahara-san would make them immediately. I never thought Urahara-san turned out to be better than you." Ichigo said, smugly.
"What did you say?" Mayuri said through gritted teeth. "Don't you dare compare me to that pathetic excuse of a scientist!" He yelled. "Two hours! In two hours your pathetic clothes will be ready." he said.
"Nemu you useless piece of shit! Get me his measurements and see how much weight he can handle!" He yelled at his daughter.
'Poor girl.' Ichigo thought.
"Very well, Mayuri-sama." she said while bowing. "Pease follow me, Kurosaki-san." she said as she entered a door.
Ichigo followed her into what seems like a measurement room. She took a tape and faced Ichigo. "Please strip." she said, without any emotions evident in her voice.
"W-What?" Ichigo stuttered.
"Please strip so I can take your measurements." she repeated.
Ten minutes later a blushing Ichigo and an emotionless Nemu left the room.
"Pease follow me once more." she said, this time entering another room.
This time it was a room full of weights and weird equipment. Nemu effortlessly lifted one of the huge weights. She handed it to Ichigo. Ichigo took it, and was surprised it weighted like nothing.
"100Kg have been lifted without trouble." she said.
Ichigo looked surprised. "That was 100Kg? How could I lift it so easily? I never remember being so strong." he said.
"Shinigami are physically stronger than humans." she said.
After a while of testing and Nemu scribbling notes, she announced the final results.
"Forearms 300Kg. Biceps 600Kg. Torso 1000Kg. Thighs 400Kg. Legs 450Kg. Feet 250Kg." she said, if she was impressed she didn't show it.
"If you wear this, you would barely be able to stand. Do you still want us to create them?" she asked.
"Yes." he said, his eyes reflecting his determination.
"Where would you like me to send them?" she asked.
"The Shiba Manor. It's in Rukongai. Can you reach it?" he asked, hoping they knew how to get there.
"Yes." was all she said.
"Thank you. I will leave now." he said and then flash stepped out of the Institute.
While walking away from the Twelfth Division, he thought of Rukia. 'I wonder how she is doing now.' he thought.
"Why don't you find out yourself?"
'What do you mean, old man?'
"Are you stupid King? Well you are, but still. He means you should go visit her. She's at the Thirteenth Division. We are at the Twelfth Division. She's just one Division away from us."
"You have a point. I should visit her." he said, heading to the Thirteenth Division.
When Ichigo entered the Division he started looking for Rukia's presence, however he couldn't find her. So he decided to look for the best person who would know her location. After knocking on the door and getting permission to enter, Ichigo was facing a smiling Ukitake.
"What brings you here, Ichigo-kun?" Ukitake asked politely.
"I'm looking for Rukia. Do you know where she is, Ukitake-san?" he replied.
"Kuchiki? I believe she headed to visit the Shiba's. You might want to look there." he said.
"Why would she visit them?" he asked.
"Did she tell you about my former Fuku-Taicho, Shiba Kaien?" Ukitake asked.
"Yeah I know what happened. She told me she blamed herself."
"Well she finally decided to face them and apologize." Ukitake said, happy she finally decided to go.
"Well I wouldn't wanna miss her apologize to Kūkaku-nee. Will be interesting to watch. Thanks Ukitake-san. I'll see you later." and he disappeared.
"I wonder why he called her Kūkaku-nee. He sure does look like Kaien. Could they possibly be related?" He mused aloud.
Back at the Shiba Manor, Ichigo just arrived in time to witness Rukia apologize to his sister, and get whacked on the head for it. He couldn't stop his laughter, so he started laughing aloud, which didn't go unnoticed by Rukia and Kūkaku.
"Ichigo? What are you doing here?" Rukia asked, obviously surprised her orange haired friend was here.
"What am I doing here? I live here you Midget." he replied like it was normal.
"Y-You live here? What do you mean?"
"Well last time I checked I didn't have anywhere to stay here now, did I?" He replied, the smirk never leaving his face.
"I asked Kūkaku-nee if I could stay here and she agreed. That's all."
"I see... wait a minute. Where's your Zanpakuto? And why are you weaker?" she asked, confused she couldn't see the oversized Kitchen knife on his back.
"What do you mean weaker?" he asked, looking at her weirdly.
"Well your reiatsu isn't that strong anymore. Were you training and exhausted your reserves or something?"
"First of all Midget, my Zanpakuto is over here." showing her his sealed Zanpakuto. "As for my reiatsu, it's called suppressing. Surely you have heard that word before, right?"
"You managed to seal your Zanpakuto and suppress your reiatsu?" she looked at him like he had grown another head. "Alright, who are you and what did you do to Ichigo?" she stared at him.
"What the hell Midget? And here you were the one to encourage me to get stronger. Is your faith in me that bad?" he asked with mock hurt evident in his sound.
"Well it's not my fault you sucked at it alot, Strawberry." she shot back.
"Well it's good to see you have your powers back." he said after feeling a decent amount of reiatsu coming off her.
"So what are you up to, Ichigo?" she asked.
"I'm joining the Academy." he replied.
"That reminds me, I still haven't given you the dye yet." Kūkaku interrupted.
"Oh, right." he said as his scowl deepened.
Rukia looked at them, confused. "What dye?" she asked.
Ichigo turned to look at her. "Well the old man insisted I keep my identity a secret, so he demanded I change my last name and dye my hair. Kūkaku-nee adopted me into the clan so I'm Shiba Ichigo now." just as Rukia was about to reply, a hell butterfly approached them and landed on her stretched out finger.
'Kuchiki, you have a mission to The World of The Living. Please report to me immediately.' the message was sent by none other than her captain, Ukitake Jushiro.
She looked at Ichigo with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry but I've just been assigned to the Real World. Any messages you want me to rely?" she asked him.
"Well tell everyone I miss them and make sure Kon doesn't mess with my body. Otherwise I have nothing else to say."
"Okay. Good bye Ichigo, Kūkaku-san." she nodded to them both, then left.
"Well let's get back inside shall we? Akane is coming in two hours." Kūkaku said while heading inside.
Ichigo followed her inside. "Who the hell is Akane?" he asked, confused since he hadn't heard about any Akane visiting.
"She's the one who will make your new clothes, idiot. Her name is Kannagi Akane." she said.
"Oh, well you never mentioned her name. By the way a package from the Development and Research Institute will arrive in about an hour or so. It's an item I requested for my training, so if it arrives please inform me."
"Sure but what is that item?" she asked curiously.
"Secret." he said while smirking at her. "You'll see when it arrives."
About one hour later, Koganehiko knocked at Ichigo's room. "Ichigo-dono. Your package has arrived." Ichigo left the room and headed to the front door. There he found a large box with his name on it. Kūkaku came too. "So are you going to open it or not?" she asked impatiently.
"Yeah yeah." he opened it and took out the clothes, however there was no extra weight.
There was also a note in the bottom, which he picked up. 'The additional weight will be added one minute after you wear the clothes, and they will only respond to your reiatsu. To remove the effect, you need to take off the clothes. If you can, that is.' it said. Ichigo could imagine clown face's evil grin while writing the note.
"That's it? Some weird grey clothes?" asked an irritated Kūkaku.
"They are weighted clothes." he replied.
He picked up the box and left to his room. "Aren't you gonna test 'em King?"
'Not yet. Tomorrow morning. If I test them now, I won't be able to take them off.' he told his Zanpakuto.
"He has a point there. Wise decision Ichigo." commented his mentor.
"Well, let's wait for that Akane to come." he said as he laid on his bed.
Later Koganehiko called Ichigo once more, and he went to meet Akane.
He was shocked to see a woman in her early twenties, with brown hair reaching below her neck and beautiful emerald eyes, staring at his own amber ones. She was wearing a green kimono with white markings.
"My my, are you Ichigo-kun?" she asked him.
"Yes I am. It's a pleasure to meet you, Kannagi-san." Ichigo said while politely bowing.
"No need to be that polite. Just call me Akane." she said.
"Very well, Akane-san."
"Now, I'm sorry to say this but I'm very busy so we need to start with taking your measurements." she said, slightly apologetic.
"Alright."
"Please come over here and stand in front of me, while giving me your back." she said.
Ichigo did as she told him, and she pulled out a measurement tape. She started taking his measurements, starting from his waist. Then she moved up to his chest. She then went to face him and measured his neck. Ichigo started blushing slightly when her chest touched his, however she didn't seem bothered by it. She then told him to lift his arms, and she continued measuring him. After a little while she was done and she faced him once more.
"Any special colours and markings you prefer?" she asked.
"Yes. I like dark colours. I also like the moon alot. I don't think there is anything else."'he told her.
"Very well. I shall send them after 3 days. It was a pleasure meeting you Ichigo-kun. I shall take my leave now." with that she and Kūkaku left the room. After that they ate dinner, and Ichigo returned to his room. He laid on his bed, only to once more be pulled into his inner world.
"So what are we going to do today?" he asked his spirits.
"Today, Ichigo, you will learn how to sense the reiatsu of other people."
"And how will you teach me that?"
"Wear this. And survive." he told Ichigo while handing him a black cloth, to cover his eyes.
"How is that going to teach me how to sense reiatsu?" Ichigo exclaimed.
"God dammit King! Tell me, how did that blind lapdog of Aizen fight? Did he pull new eyes out of his ass?" Zangetsu said, once more pissed at his King's stupidity.
"Oh." was all the idiot could say.
"Just put the damn thing on." Zangetsu demanded.
Immediately after Ichigo covered his sight, he had to block an attack from his Zanpakuto. "What the hell? At least give me a warning or something!"
"Yeah like your enemy is going to tell you 'Hey! I'm coming from your right!'. Just don't die on me King." he said the last part with an evil grin.
One hour later Ichigo collapsed on one of the buildings in his inner world. He was panting heavily and he was bleeding from many wounds. "Man you look like shit King. It's as if Byakuya pulled his Bankai on your ass." Zangetsu said while laughing.
"Shut up! Whose fault do you think I'm in such shape?" Ichigo yelled.
"Yours. If you didn't suck at sensing me that much, you might have been able to actually cut me once you know?"
"We shall continue this everyday, until you manage to fight as if you weren't blind. Now go have some rest." and with that he left his inner world. The last thing he thought about before falling asleep was how sadistic his inner spirits are.
The next morning Ichigo grabbed his new 'Training Equipment' and headed to the garden. He put on the clothes and waited for the effect to appear. Just as he thought it wasn't working, he felt the pressure of a building on top of him. He immediately collapsed on the ground, barely able to look up. 'Shit, this is heavier than I thought it would be.'
"Well it's worth it King, trust me."
He spent the next hour just to trying to stand up. After he managed to do that, he started slowly walking around the garden. The only reason he was doing it slowly was that he couldn't go any faster. Again one hour later he decided to take a little break. After his break was over he tried to go faster, however he just couldn't. "Don't let it bother you Ichigo. Your body has to get used to the extra weight. This will take some time."
Finally after a total of 4 hours training, and 1 hour just taking a break, Ichigo decided it was finally time to end his training. Now Ichigo knew taking off the clothes would be hard, but he never imagined it would take him 30 minutes to do that. 'That damn clown face. He did this on purpose. He could've just made a button for this. Heck I'd rather say one of Hat 'n clogs crappy lines of justice and rainbows and shit.'
After he took a shower and changed his clothes, he realized he missed breakfast and was just about to miss lunch too. So he hurried to eat lunch before Kūkaku killed him. As soon as he entered the room he found a pissed Kūkaku staring at him. "So you finally decided to eat something, eh?" Ichigo started sweating. "*sigh* Just don't miss another meal. Even if you have huge reserves, you need to replenish your reiatsu. By the way Kido training starts tomorrow morning. So I guess you can do your physical training the next day. And the day after that would be Kido and so on." After lunch Ichigo returned to his room and tried to suppress his reiatsu and he once more found it harder than the last time. Then he ate dinner and headed to bed. Well actually he headed to train once more with his spirits. This time he still couldn't land a hit on Zangetsu. "Listen King. Ignore the pain. Ignore everything but my presence. Keep focusing on it and try to imagine me. That way you can at least tell where I'm attacking from." Zangetsu advised him.
Ichigo touched one of his wounds, and focused on the reiatsu lingering from it. He started tracking it to it's source, and tried to imagine Zangetsu. He could only make out a humanoid shape, however it was more than enough to tell him where the attacks are coming from. So when Zangetsu attacked him, this time he managed to block and counter the attack. "See King? That wasn't so hard now, was it?" The spent one hour fighting, then Ichigo left and went to sleep.
The next morning Ichigo headed to the garden with a deeper scowl, since he knew he would suck at Kido. "Do not lose faith in yourself Ichigo. The amount of control and improvement you showed in the previous days indicates you will be able to learn Kido efficiently." his mentor encouraged him. He was surprised there were some targets.
"Alright now listen up brat. When you practice Kido, the most important part is how and where you focus your reiatsu, and the amount of it. Some spells require you to focus it on your fingers like Sai, Shō, Byakurai and Rikujōkōrō. Whereas some spells need your reiatsu focused on your palm like Shakkahō, Sōkatsui and Raikōhō. Now point your finger on the target and say, Hado no Ichi: Shō." The target was pushed back a little by the force.
Ichigo pointed at the target. "Hado no Ichi: Shō!" he yelled. He was surprised the target was completely ripped from the ground. "You idiot! Who told you to push all of your reiatsu? Just use a small amount and direct it to your finger you dumbass!" she yelled at him. "Now try again."
Ichigo tried it again and this time the target was only pushed back. "Good. Now it's time for Bakudo no Ichi: Sai. This Bakudo will restrain the target and force it's hands beind it's back." She explained. Ichigo was reminded of when Rukia used this particular Bakudo on him when they first met, and he couldn't help but smirk anticipating the day he payed her back.
"Now listen. Bakudo spells require more control and less reiatsu than Hado spells. So use even less reiatsu than when you used Shō." she then proceeded to demonstrate Sai. The target's hands were tied behind it's back.
Ichigo pointed his finger at the target and focused some reiatsu in it. "Bakudo no Ichi: Sai!" He said. The target's hands were tied, however it was a bit too forceful. "Not bad, but you need to use less reiatsu." Kūkaku commented. "Now do it again." she ordered.
And this is how Ichigo's days went on. He became much more physically stronger, and his body became chiseled with muscles. His reiatsu control became much better, and like his mentor said, he reached a level of stealth that would make Soi-Fon proud. His Kido improved as well. He has now mastered Bakudos Sai, Hainawa, Geki, Hōrin, Shitotsu Sansen, Enkosen, Rikujōkōrō, Hyapporankan and Sajo Sabaku. Also Hados Shō, Byakurai, Tsuzuri Raiden, Shakkahō, Sōkatsui, Haien, Tenran and Raikōhō. He also received the armband he was supposed to wear and dyed his hair black. You could say he was Shiba Kaien instead of Shiba Ichigo. Kūkaku was impressed with his improvement and she figured if he trained formally in the academy he could become even stronger. Tomorrow would be the entrance exam,and she was sure he would enter the advanced classes.