JapanManiac - Thanks!
KoriChi - I'm glad that you liked the chapter~
Ching965 - For your questions... I'll have to answer 'em through the chapters... ^^"
Karinfan123 - thanks
Rukia4ichigo - Thanks~ Huh. I think you know one of my betaz storiez. she mentioned something. but - then again, it's a tiny world.
VOTE RESULTS!!!
IshiHime~
Yes ~ Two
No~ One
TatsRen~
Yes~ Three
No~ One
SO - THE OFFICAL PAIRINGS FOR THIS STORY WILL BE: ICHIRUKI, ISHIHIME, AND TATSREN
I hope you like it~
Disclaimer ~ I can do magic tricks with pepper spray for those who think I'm Kubo. One teeny little tap on the nozzle and BAM! Pepper spray in your eyes! :p
xTeam Ichigox
The sun was sinking.
"Oi. Ishida... Kuchiki..." Ichigo called, noticing the sky at last. "Let's call it a day, alright?"
"Not yet," Ishida called back - stubbornly.
"For the love of...... You're dead-tired, Ishida. You can't concetrate your reiatsu properly then."
"But...!"
"You're going to strain yourself." Ichigo cautioned. "If you keep working like this. Give it a rest and start fresh tomorrow."
Both Ishida and Rukia had long since passed the basic aiming of reiatsu and had now switched to twisting the reiatsu - a far more complex technique.
"This isn't straining," Ishida muttered, glancing at the fallen strands of reiatsu. "It's manipulating reiatsu to move."
"Which is complicated." Ichigo stated. "This is strenuous on the mind. It's meant to be taken seriously."
"We are." Rukia retorted, entwining her fingers with reiatsu once more. "It's like this thing has a damned mind of it's own...."
Ichigo shrugged. "Tatsuki's team and our team's supposed to meet in about five minutes. It takes three minutes to get there. If we stay any longer - since this is a forest we're in, we'll probably lose the trail and get lost. Now, who wants to stay again?"
Dead silence met his words.
ooxoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxoxoxoxxooxoxxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxooxox
xTeam Tatsukix
"It's getting late..." Tatsuki murmured - glancing at the sunset. "Should we call it a day for now?"
"I... I'm not sure..." Inoue glanced up at the other. "I'd like to stay a bit longer to work on this, actually..."
Sado nodded in assent.
Tatsuki examined Inoue's work briefly.
The once-golden shield had now turned half-black, half-yellow. Stray stands of gold reiatsu lay limp on the ground.
"You've already completed a large part of learning the technique, Inoue." Tatsuki smiled warmly at Orihime. "And Sado's already gotten the basics of reiatsu down. We can get the next half of your technique and Sado's powers tomorrow."
"But... I'd really like to continue..." Inoue glanced at the self-supporting barrier. "I mean... I just barely managed to get the blackness intermixed..."
"You're both tired." Tatsuki stated. "We're going to meet up with Ichigo's team in about five minutes anyways, so we might as well start wrapping up."
"Meet up?" Inoue inquired, curiously. "What for?"
"We're planning to brief everyone over before dismissing everyone to go home." Tatsuki glanced anxiously at the sky. "I just hope that we won't lose the trail on the way."
oxooxoxoxoxxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxxo APPROXIMATELY FIVE MINUTES LATER oxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoox
"This is the designated meeting area?" Ishida demanded, staring at the lone campfire.
"What were you expecting?" Ichigo retorted. "Some kind of fancy motel? You're all going home, idiot. We're not going to get harassed by angry Quincy dads."
"My father's not a Quincy." Ishida replied.
"Ouch! That's cold! Is it because of you?"
"....Shut up....."
Silence ensued before -
"Oi!" A voice broke the silence. "You guys came in before us?"
"I think you're losing your touch, Tatsuki," Ichigo called after the purple-headed woman. "Did you get stuck in some underbrush or something?"
"We lost track of time." Tatsuki replied. "Kurosaki-taichou."
"Someone's touchy today, ain't they?" Ichigo prodded in reply.
Tatsuki smiled. "Not really. Inoue and Sado are doing amazingly well. It seems almost like a reflex for them."
"Wish I could say the same about Kuchiki and Ishida," Ichigo muttered.
"We're listening, you know," Rukia muttered darkly.
"I thought you died back in that lake full of pirahanas. I mean.... How the hell could you trip over a stone that small and manage to fall face-down in a lake that dangerous?"
"It was a mistake." Rukia retorted.
"Kuchiki fell in that lake?" Tatsuki inquired. "You mean the pirahana lake?"
"Yeah. I'm amazed that none of the pirahanas attacked her."
"You're the one that was distracting us!" Rukia replied, hotly. "You were saying stuff like, 'Oi! It's really slippery so don't fall! Watch out for the pirahana! Yeah! There's pirahana in that lake! Man-eating flesh-craving pirahana!'"
"I thought it might help your coordination." Ichigo shrugged, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. "I didn't think you'd laugh."
"Amazing insight, huh?" Rukia asked, dryly.
"Oh, shut up. And, anyways, aren't we supposed to be rallying everyone up, Tatsuki?"
"I thought you'd never remember."
"Amazingly enough, I did. Can you get everyone's attention? I don't think Ishida's going to listen to me. He's still kinda upset I about a pirahana jab I made at him."
Tatsuki rolled her eyes before addressing the group. "Oi! Everyone! Group meeting! Listen up, alright?" She nudged Ichigo. "Your turn, Ichigo."
"Um... Ishida and Rukia did... fairly well..." Ichigo muttered. "We're going to work on... reiatsu-bending... tomorrow... and, hopefully... get to Kido next..."
"Kido?" Rukia asked. "Come to think of it... you never properly explained it...."
"It's magic, Rukia. Little beams of light and explosions." Ichigo replied shortly before continuing. "And... hey! That's all I have to say.... Your turn, Tatsuki."
Tatsuki sighed before consenting. "Alright. Inoue and Sado did amazing. We'll finish up on techniques tomorrow." She smiled warmly. "I'm really proud of you and I appreciate the effort you both put in."
"Don't alter their ego," Ichigo whispered, very much audible as he spoke.
"I try not to trust you with teaching abilities, Ichigo."
"Why not?"
"You were taught by Urahara, that insane idiot. That's reason enough."
"Hey! You can't blame me for my former mentor's antics!"
"I just did." Tatsuki replied flippantly before turning back to the group. "We'll meet back up tomorrow. Right here, at 9 in the morning. That's managable, right?"
"I might have to adjust my schedule a bit..." Rukia offered, hesitantly. "But I think that's managable."
"That's wonderful." Tatsuki smiled. "See you tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow." Ishida promised. A renewed trust fueled in his eyes as he spoke.
ooxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxooxoxxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxxxooxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxxoox
"I appreciate the world. But it's flitting. It won't last forever. So we might as well appreciate it while it remains."
oxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxooxoxoxooxoxoxoxooxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxooxox
"I really wish you wouldn't treat them like that, Ichigo."
Tatsuki and Ichigo walked steadily in the forest. Everyone else had long since gone home. Their forms were darkly shaded by shadows.
"I don't know," Ichigo sighed. "I just... I'm not sure."
"Of what?" Tatsuki prodded, speaking just as softly.
"Them."
"You need to explain a bit more for me to understand, Ichigo," Tatsuki hinted.
"There's something there. Whenever I'm with them, I mean," Ichigo clarified. "It's different. Almost as if something's missing but I don't know what..."
Silence ensued, broken only by the sound of harmonious winds.
"What do you think about them?" Tatsuki questioned. "Ishida-san and Kuchiki-san."
"Ishida's a pain, but he's smart. Brilliant, actually." Ichigo hesitated. "Kuchiki-san....? She's cryptic, and not much regard for ettique if you look carefully - but she's friendly. Forgiving, even."
"Sounds interesting." Tatsuki shrugged. "But you're probably making life difficult for them, ne?"
"Possibly," Ichigo mirrored Tatsuki's shrug. "Your team?"
"Sado's strong. Resiliant. But he doesn't open up. I can't even tell if he trusts me or not." Tatsuki paused before continuing, thoughtfully. "Inoue's extremely kind. She doesn't care so much if she's hurt than if her friends are. I'm worried that she's too nice for her own good sometimes."
"Sometimes?" Ichigo remarked. "I thought we just met 'em today."
"Possibly," Tatsuki smirked at Ichigo's aggravated expression at her cryptic remark.
They continued to walk in silence, examining the darkly-tinted wildlife with minute care.
Until, at least, Ichigo stopped walking. Tatsuki hesitated - backtracking towards him.
"Ichigo?"
"They're still kids." Ichigo murmured. "And yet... Are they really expected to fight in the war, Tatsuki?"
Tatsuki sighed. "That's what I asked the sou-taichou."
"What did he say?"
"There's something different about all of them. Some kind of lever reiatsu. It's abnormal. The sou-taichou chose them out because of that."
"Lever?"
"I don't really know. But it's very faint, you can barely feel it. I could just barely make it out when I was training Sado and Inoue."
"Is it intermixed into their reiatsu?"
"No. It's in their very soul. I think that if you remove them from their bodies, they might actually show the reiatsu, but they're nowhere near the stage at which they should be released from their bodies yet."
"Maybe." Ichigo muttered. "But still... they're just..."
"That's my point. You could be a bit less harsh on them."
"Depends." Ichigo shrugged.
"Ichigo...."
"I'll try."
oxoxoxooxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxxoxo
Rukia opened the window, openly inviting the midnight air.
It was peaceful, wasn't it? At night, if not any other time of the day?
It's insane, isn't it? She thought, softly, as she remembered the day's events. So much's happened in so little time....
Not that she was given much choice in the matter, her rational side remarked cryptically.
She felt her thoughts unconsciously drift towards her mentor.
Kurosaki Ichigo. Apparent 5th Division Captain of Soul Societ - what's-it's-name.
He was insane. Cryptically logical, though. Painfully clear-headed. Like a light in the dark that threatened to clash against your head every so often, just for the sake of it.
She should have wanted the second teacher, Tatsuki, to be her mentor instead... yet...
"Oi... Ishida. Quit flailing around like that unless you're pirahana bait. You're only going to attact them and... hey, what's that behind you? Looks like.... awwww... not pirahana. It's a butterfly. Keep moving!"
Her lips twitched up in a smile - an irrational smile.
"You guys are tired already? Well, if I was Tatsuki, I'd say, 'oh. you look exhausted like hell. let's take a break.' But, then again, I'm not her. Keep walking, idiots. You still have another half-mile to go."
He was hectic, haphazard, annoying....
She closed her eyes.
That soft irregular feeling that bumped out occasionally when he came around....
Was it even normal?
Well... sure, he was fun to be around. Lively. But there seemed something else.... So close to the surface.... So close to breaking out and revealing itself... yet....
The Kuchiki sighed, before closing the window. Something about the fresh night air reminded her oddly enough of the pirahana incident. But, then again - that relation probably came from the fact the water was icy cold..... right?
oxooxoxoxoxxooxoxoxoxxxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxo
"Should we start?" Ichigo asked, tersely breaking the silence.
"How can we when it's not time yet?" Tatsuki shot back.
"They're late."
"No, they're not, Ichigo. We told them to come at 9 in the morning. At the moment, it's 8."
"And why are we up so early?"
"It's irrational if we're not," Tatsuki smiled. "And we're supposed to get breakfast."
"Rabbits and raw meat cooked over a campfire?"
Tatsuki rolled her eyes. "Doughnuts and bagels, actually, Ichigo."
"From where?" Ichigo glanced back at the vice-captain. "You got some in advance?"
"Check the knapsack."
"I believe you, actually. So there's not really a point in checking."
"Do you really mean that or are you saying it so you don't have to waste the extra energy?"
"I'm not a complete jackass." Ichigo retorted. "Anyways... what're we supposed to be doing for an hour?"
"Well..." Tatsuki hesitated. "We could play the name game. Make sure you actually know all of their names."
"Not funny."
"Then.... you could cut the bagels in half to make things easier for the rest of the world, if you'd like."
"....I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually prefer the first option....."
HEY! I'M DONE! Sorry if no one liked it cauze there wasn't any real training scenes... Gomen nasai! I just wanted to tie up the day for the next day..... (if that even makes sense)....
Um... I was wondering if any of you could do me a favor, by any chance..... ?
My beta has a friend on this website, who goes by the name Aiko Hanami. She's an in-progress writer so apparently her stories have a few flaws. But she doesn't get too many reviews, apparently. She writes a collection of Naruto stories, and she has one Bleach story up.... I'd really appreciate it, along with my beta and Hanami, if you read her stories and reviewed. She doesn't mind critics.....
But - that's it, so if you could spare a sec or two for that, I'd appreciate it greatly!
Thanks!
And... please review before you go....?
