Cityangelz - thanks, and I'm glad you think I've retained the main point of the characters and yet, still have the main gist of the chapter. :P
Pheonixfire3473 - I will! Thanks!
Hisanachan - Welll... Sado still lost his memories. I'm having Inoue remember hers because her Shun Shun Rikka focus on time-manipulation, so I thought as long as she should have her Rikka, it's a natural element to retain thoughts and memories if you manipulate time to that degree. Thanks!
KoriChi - I don't really mind Ichihime, or any pairings as long as they're not... disturbing... to say the least. In regard to your review, I'll try to level their friendship to a sisterly-brotherly affection, but no promises. :p It all depends really on my editor - because she's really been upholding her promise to editize my stuff. If she hasn't... well... let's just say that this story would be on the same regard as Students For War...... But, anyways - hey, thanks! I'm glad you like it! :)
Disclaimer: Disclaimer, disblamer. I'm not Kubo by any awesome forces. Ma!
"Understand that what I may know may not benefit you. Thus is the nature of the world." - Anonymous
Liquid hazel eyes stared out, searchingly, at the group.
"Four apprentices," Ichigo traced the words to himself. It was a heavy obligation - to tie someone to your life in such a way, that it is really a matter of mastership and kinship in teaching.
Tatsuki's eyes softened. Her thoughts bordered along his, after all.
She gently touched his shoulder. "Ichigo...?" she prompted, making him once again conscious of the group before him.
He snapped to reality with unnerving time - his cool, hazel eyes staring back at the group.
"...We were briefed of your potent as a group, but not as indivisuals," Tatsuki began. "We're going to take reiatsu-amount significance and brief all of you on certain points that we'll be specializing in throughout your apprenticeship."
"Um...." Rukia began, hesitantly. "...Reiatsu...?"
Ichigo impatiently channeled a burst of reiatsu into the air - tinting it blue-black for a nanosecond before letting it fade away.
"Reiatsu," he explained. "Is the core of your essential energy. The more... fighting ability, stamina, and skill you have, really, in Shinigami or Hollow arts, the more reiatsu you gain. It can be used as... both a weapon and a defense."
"Weapons can have reiatsu channeled in them, which would make them more effective than just a weapon," Tatsuki articulated. "Reiatsu is, as Ichigo stated, essentially your core of energy and strength."
"Weapons can also be completely comprised of reiatsu," Ishida retorted.
"Like the toys the Quincies use," Ichigo ammended.
"They're not toys," Ishida protested.
"...Ichigo...." Tatsuki shot the Captain an icy look which kept him from retorting.
Dead silence ensued.
"....So...." Ichigo began hesitantly. "We're planning to have to channel as much reiatsu as you can," he pointed at glassed over, silvern-wrapped cubes of glass. "Into those... cubes... which will then allow me and Tatsuki to gage your reiatsu level."
"Tatsuki?" Rukia inquired before realizing... "We... never introduced ourselves... did we?"
"Um.... no...?" Ichigo tried weakly.
"Guess we have to remedy that," Tatsuki smiled. "Ichigo...?"
"Right... Well, going right-to-left, this is Ishida Uryuu, Rukia Kuchiki, Inoue Orihime, and Sado Yasudora."
"They're in my class," Rukia dead-panned. "I meant you two."
"....Tatsuki Arisawa, 5th Division fukataichou," Tatsuki began somewhat hesitantly. Her lieutant-badge gleamed from her sleeve.
"Kurosaki Ichigo, 5th Division Captain."
"....With that aside," Tatsuki said, an edge of impatience to her voice. "Can everyone take a cube?"
"...To channel reiatsu into..." Ishida repeated.
"You don't trust Shinigami artifacts?" Ichigo guessed.
Ishida cast a disdainful look at the Shinigami, as he took a silver-wrapped cube. "I'm not afraid of a cube wrapped in faulty decorations. I'm afraid that you two screwed up the reiatsu-repellants on the cube, and our chakra will leak - resulting from your incompetience - a mass of Hollows."
"None of your reiatsus are that high, Ishida, so stuff it," Ichigo retorted. "Anyways, don't you know about Soul Society's governmental system...?"
"I thought you'd consider it more monarchy, than anything else," Ishida replied coolly.
"Captains are the elite of Soul Society, Quincy," Ichigo remarked cryptically. "All Captains are identified by a white haori, while other Shinigamis have just about the attire Tatsuki has, minus the badge."
Ishida immediately understood the implication - eyes flashing curoisity, surprise, and then bitterment, and yet... resignment.
"...How're you supposed to channel... reiatsu...?" Rukia questioned.
"Can't you feel it?"
"...Feel what?"
"...Give me a moment..." He sent out a pulse of reiatsu before realization struck him. "...You haven't unlocked your reiatsu yet... have you?"
"...Am I supposed to know?"
He managed a small, bittersweet smile. "...Ask Tatsuki... Her control's... well... not as good as Hina's... but fair enough."
"Hina?"
"....Ah.... An abbreviation of a name of a person I know," Ichigo excused lamely.
"...Right.... But, if you're a Captain to this Soul Soci-thingamagin, shouldn't your control be excellent?" Baiting him.
"Ask Tatsuki. I can't teach... rather... if I teach you, you'd probably be blown to a crisp with sheer reiatsu alone." A bit of an exaggeration there, but, who gives a damn?
She ran off after that, to the second apprenticing teacher.
oxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoooxooxxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxo
Ichigo sent a trace of reiatsu into the silver-wrapped cube, watching the cover unlatch and a bolt of fiery-blue reiatsu stoked inside the metal-wrapped cube.
"This is... 3rd seat's worth?" he asked inquisitively.
"More or less," Tatsuki shrugged. "....Ishida's?"
"Yeah.... who's do you have?"
"Sado's... third seat's worth, likewise."
"Rukia's?"
"You have hers, idiot."
"Shut up.... Inoue's?"
"Tenth seat in attacking... and this is interesting... Take a look here, Ichigo," she pointed at a fiery liquid-gold.
"....Healing reiatsu?"
"She could replace Unohana-taichou," Tatsuki confirmed. "With that potential valve."
"Huh..." he turned back to the second silver cube, entwining his reiatsu to unlock the contents.
A liquid-blue substance trickled out like a fiery water.
"Rukia's... 4th seat."
"So.... how are we going to arrange this?" Tatsuki inquired.
"You can take Ishida and Sado... since their reiatsu valves are identical and exceptionally high, I don't think they'll need much, just enough to unlock their actual potental to rise to... who the hell knows? I'll take aside Rukia and Inoue."
"I have a better idea... support values, remember? Try to have one of them match apprenticing with someone of a current lower reiatsu rank. I'll take... Sado and Inoue. You can take Ishida and Rukia."
"That was just a ploy to avoid having the Quincy around, wasn't it?"
"...No..."
Ichigo sighed. "Forget it... I want to conserve my strength for yelling at the idiot when he argues."
oxoxxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxox
"We're splitting up?" Inoue asked - curious, gray-dappled eyes moving lithely to all of them positioned there.
Tatsuki nodded. "Inoue and Sado can come with me... Ishida and Rukia will be apprenticed by Kurosaki here."
"Why him?" Ishida muttered darkly.
"Because Tatsuki resented the thought of being stuck with you," Ichigo taunted in response - just as curtly.
Tatsuki elbowed him in the ribs - irritation finally breaking through.
"Ow."
"...Anyways," Tatsuki called, addressing the group once more. "... If you can follow me or... him based on your standing with apprenticing..."
She never had to complete her sentence as the four moved in position - two of them splitting on her angle, two of them on Ichigo's.
The group was split in two.
"Can you hear my soundless cry? Surely not. So remember now, and forever embolden your memory, with the truth that I am only here on command, and I will leave in a heartbeat once the command comes to say go. And I will turn my back on your sobs... for you do not know." - Anonymous
Hey! I'm done! Yay! ;)
Anyways - If you didn't like the quotes, I won't put them up anymore. I just found an awesome place where I can get those quotes, and I wanted to put them up on my story. If you want - I can give you a whole list. )) O.o" (I'M INSANE, BWAHAHAHAHA!) O.O"
Hey, hey, sorry it's so short. I'm just outta it. Mwahahahaha (yes, insane. that's the word. I just didn't want to be thrown into a hospital for it, but, who gives?
Hey! Look at the time! Gotta go! Bye!
Please review!
