Uryuu watched as Urahara-senpai stared down at the orb in his hands, gaze unfocused and thoughtful, reiatsu slowly rising around him. In a sudden, controlled rush the power drained straight into the orb, producing a translucent golden shell around Urahara-senpai's body.

Kurosaki frowned and stepped closer, raising a hand to rest it on the solid shell that separated them from Urahara-senpai. "What the hell? Kaito..?"

"This is how we're going to get into Seireitei," his senpai informed them. "The wall might not be down right now, but never doubt the defenses available to the Shinigami. This will protect us against nearly anything, so long as we can work together to keep it stable."

That was a tall order, Uryuu thought as he caught the orb when Urahara-senpai tossed it to him, thankful that the toss was gentle. He didn't know much about meshing reiatsu signatures to power a single skill, just that it was difficult even with people that were related; the idea of trying to get five unrelated people to synchronize their signatures and output was daunting.

(Of course that would be the hurdle they needed to overcome, something that most practitioners had barely heard about.)

"Give it a try. Just focus your reiatsu into the sphere in a steady stream."

Uryuu nodded and concentrated on the orb. Power gathered around his hands, flickers of pale blue that crept towards the orb then shied away, instead of sinking into the orb like Urahara-senpai's reiatsu had. Uryuu frowned and let his reiatsu fade away before calling it back up; Urahara-senpai had said to focus his reiatsu into the sphere, but his reiatsu didn't seem to want to.

(Or perhaps he was thinking about it wrong?)

(Less 'force' and more… 'guide'?)

He breathed out, centered himself, and let his reiatsu rise once more, pointing it at the orb in his hands. It slid like water through his fingers, sinking into the orb with barely a struggle, and an oblong shell snapped into being around him.

"A bit more focus. You want as close to a perfect sphere as you can manage to hold. Keep that in your thoughts as you feed your reiatsu into it."

It was like shaping his arrows, Uryuu realized. Will and belief and thought given form, and the shell shifted around him, flaring outward into something closer to an actual sphere. His mental image needed refining, but now that he understood what his senpai wanted, it was only a matter of time before he managed it.

"Good. Enough for right now. Pass it to Inoue-san and let her try. Once you've all had a chance to try it in front of me, I'll pass out the other two so more of you can practice at once," Kaito explained.

Uncontrolled reishi flared to life around him as he cut off the flow of reiatsu into the orb; he would need to perfect that, too. Urahara-senpai had managed to disengage without a sign, so Uryuu would strive to master that as well.

Inoue started her own attempts at channeling her reiatsu into the orb, and Uryuu watched Urahara-senpai as closely as he could get away with, comparing what he was seeing with how the Rukongai citizens had acted. His senpai clearly wished to give advice or ask a question, but seemed to believe it wasn't his place to speak.

What had happened between Inoue, Sado, and Urahara-senpai on that morning where Inoue and Sado had unlocked their powers? None of them spoke of it, but something had clearly happened.

(Nothing good. Nothing kind.)

(There was only one way he knew to unlock powers in such short order.)

(He prayed he'd never need to make that same choice some day.)

Yet his senpai didn't hold the same hesitance and reserve with Sado; was it the same reverence for a healer than the other Rukongai citizens had shown, made worse by the actions he had undoubtedly taken?

He didn't know, but perhaps the others would.

(They listened when he spoke. Corrected him when he was wrong and acknowledged when he was right, and never dismissed him or his feelings.)

(Was this what friendship was supposed to be?)

If only their lunchtime discussion could have lasted longer, but Uryuu had not expected it to be very long in the first place. They were too exposed in the dining room, with servants able to walk in on them whenever and with no idea of how long Urahara-senpai would be held up. They needed privacy, a thing Uryuu had no idea how to guarantee here within Soul Society.

Uryuu glanced at Sado, thinking on the teen's admonishment. It hadn't been malicious, no matter how humiliating Uryuu had found it; it was just… a reminder that they couldn't afford to screw up. Couldn't afford to antagonize the Shinigami any further than they already were by invading and attempting to free a prisoner.

(It wasn't like he'd ever made a secret of his opinion on Shinigami.)

But then Kurosaki had to go and say that he knew Uryuu wouldn't go back on his word, and Sado had accepted that and said nothing more. His reminder had been spoken, Kurosaki had spoken up, and that was it.

(He didn't think he'd ever grow used to the way the other three just let him in. Didn't think he ever wanted to grow used to it.)

(What if growing used to it meant taking it for granted?)

Inoue passed the orb to Sado, and Urahara-senpai gave the tall teen his full attention. Listening to his senpai encourage and give advice so freely and easily was an experience Uryuu would never grow tired of. The man sounded so natural, his voice even and encouraging even when Sado didn't immediately achieve the goal; it was as if it never even crossed his senpai's mind to be disappointed, or that they should be perfect on their first attempt.

"That's enough for now," Urahara-senpai told Sado once the other teen had shown a basic proficiency in the skill. "You're getting the hang of it, and a short break will help. Kurosaki-san, it's your turn."

"You know, you can call me Ichigo," Kurosaki said as he accepted the orb from his friend. "I'm calling you Kaito, after all."

Urahara-senpai's reiatsu flared and curled like jagged claws poised to strike, and Uryuu stiffened and forced himself to remain still. It was like that first meeting all over again, coming face-to-face with a predator so large, so deadly, that his only option was to freeze and hope the man overlooked him. But this time the fury was aimed at Kurosaki, giving Uryuu a chance to catch his breath and think.

(Kurosaki's body, laying eerily still on the dark pavement. Urahara-senpai's lost, devastated gaze. His brutal attack the moment he was disturbed. A story about a friend killed because they were too proud to work together.)

('I've seen too much death', Urahara-senpai had told him. An explanation, not an apology. A man with a blade whose full name meant 'hidden guardian'.)

Urahara-senpai breathed out and ran a hand through his hair, fury subsiding as swiftly as it had risen.

(Was it only Kurosaki's name, or all of theirs? Did they dare test it?)

"No offense, but one Ichigo in my life is more than enough." Urahara-senpai's voice was laced with brittle cheer, and, irrational as the urge was, it made Uryuu want to strangle Kurosaki for doing that to his senpai.

"Well, offer's open anyway," Kurosaki answered with a poor attempt at a casual shrug.

"Perhaps one day." The words sounded like they were dragged from his senpai's throat against his will, the man clearly uncomfortable with both the offer and his response to it.

Kurosaki flashed a smiled at Urahara-senpai then turned his focus to the orb in his hands, scowl returning full-force as the teen attempted to prod the orb to life. It wasn't long before Urahara-senpai stepped back and scooped up the two spare orbs, tossing one to Uryuu and another to Inoue, and gestured for the three of them to head towards a far corner.

Uryuu went, knowing that there was little he could do to help his senpai teach Kurosaki. He did briefly consider passing the orb to Sado in order to watch his senpai a while longer, but his senpai had told Sado to take a break. Sado wouldn't mention it to Urahara-senpai, but Uryuu knew the man would realize what he'd done, somehow.

(He refused to disappoint his senpai like that. He refused.)

He fidgeted with the orb for a moment, sending tiny bursts of reiatsu into it and watching the way it flickered like a firefly in his hands. He needed to practice, but what he needed to learn wasn't something he could do on his own; it was difficult to tell how spherical he had made the shell from the inside, unable to see the edges. It galled him to ask for help, but… maybe Sado wouldn't mind? "Will you spot for me?" Uryuu asked the other teen warily. "Tell me when the shape isn't correct?"

"Of course," Sado replied with a nod.

Uryuu relaxed at Sado's agreement and bent his focus towards the orb and practicing. Sado's corrections were blunt but kind, and Uryuu let himself fall into a rhythm of creation-hold-destruction that worked for the two of them.

Until, that is, Kurosaki's rising reiatsu distracted him; it was like drowning, his senses overwhelmed by the wild, powerful flood of reiatsu that filled the room. Uryuu gave up on trying to focus through it and turned to look, only then noticing that both Inoue and Sado were watching as well.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Inoue whispered when she noticed him looking.

Uryuu nodded in agreement. Urahara-senpai stood at ease, coils of bright gold reiatsu wrapped around his arms, sparks scattered like stars through his pale hair. He looked like a creature out of legend, an ethereal kami barely touching upon their world as the gold reiatsu slowly evaporated into a heat-shimmer around his body.

Sado tilted his head then looked over at Uryuu. "What causes that?"

"High concentrations of raw reiatsu can cross into the visible spectrum," Uryuu explained, thinking back to what he knew of reiatsu manipulation and trying to phrase it without relying on Quincy terminology. "My bow and arrows operate on almost the same principle, although that's a combination of factors and driven by intent. That," he gestured towards the shimmering strands of gold, "is undirected, and thus visible simply because of how powerful it is."

"Kurosaki-kun is strong," Inoue murmured, looking down at the orb in her hands. "Is… is Kaito-san just as strong?"

"Stronger," Uryuu answered without hesitation, even as more golden strands flared to life around Urahara-senpai, further limning the man in brilliant power. "He's channeling all that power through himself first. I… I doubt I could do the same." The admission stuck in his throat, but Uryuu forced it out.

(There was no shame in admitting weakness. Urahara-senpai had, owning his failures and weakness freely when they came up. There was no shame in it.)

(He still couldn't bear to look at the others as he spoke.)

Urahara-senpai continued his lesson, unaware of the attention he had gained. Uryuu tried to focus past the overwhelming flood of reiatsu to sense what his senpai was doing, but he couldn't. His senses were too dulled, too drowned by the flood, to sense much of anything.

"We should get back to practicing," Sado said, plucking the orb from Uryuu's hands and moving back to the corner.

Inoue shook herself from her daze and trailed after him, glancing back at Urahara-senpai as she did. "I wish I could capture that," she murmured to Uryuu as they moved. "He's so beautiful."

"He doesn't look entirely real," Uryuu said, watching the sparks dance like fireflies through his senpai's hair. "Like I could just… reach right through him."

Inoue hummed and watched for a bit longer, then looked over at Uryuu and asked, "Do you think he's a yokai? Or even a minor kami of some sort?"

Uryuu considered it, weighing what he knew of his senpai against the legends, then shook his head. "If he is, he's a new one. What he's told us… there's too much still human about him, I think. But… maybe." He stared at his hands, flexing his fingers as he thought of Urahara-senpai's stories. "Maybe in that moment when his friend fell. Maybe he fell too, but… kept going?"

"He was already a spirit," Inoue said thoughtfully, eyeing Kaito. "He was born here, right? That's… not usual, is it?"

"According to him, it isn't." Uryuu hesitated, then continued when Inoue shot him a curious look. "It means he's a brand new soul, one that's never been through the cycle of reincarnation. To make a new soul like that, both parents have to be powerful." Which meant, Uryuu realized with a start, that most new souls were likely to be born inside Seireitei, where strong souls gathered under the banner of the Shinigami.

(How much danger had Urahara-senpai been in since birth? Out on the edges of the Rukongai, where Shinigami rarely ventured and Hollows roamed freely, a newborn soul with powers that strong…)

He grimaced and looked away from his senpai, unwilling to continue that train of thought. "We should get back to practicing," he prompted Inoue, stepping towards Sado. "Senpai won't be pleased if we just watch him the whole time."

"Right," Inoue agreed with a final glance at Urahara-senpai, before she turned away and marched to stand a bit away from Sado.

They settled back into practicing, trading the orbs back and forth and doing their best to help each other out.

Uryuu… struggled. Not with the practice, but with trying to help the other two. He'd never given advice before, and found himself needing to bite back comments that reminded him far too much of Ryuuken: disparaging and brutal and hurtful in ways that would never, never help.

(He knew it never would, because it never had.)

(It festered in his soul, angry and hateful and constantly gnawing at his confidence. Urahara-senpai had begun to help, had begun to heal that hate, but… it was still there. Still lingering, like a wound left untreated his whole life.)

Instead, he bit his tongue and swallowed the first words that came to mind every time. He looked away from expectant gazes and tried to think, to come up with how Urahara-senpai would phrase it. How he would explain the things the other two were having difficulty with.

It helped.

(It helped so much.)

During one of his breaks, Urahara-senpai left Kurosaki's side and strode over to them, and Uryuu couldn't help but watch, mesmerized. Reiatsu clung to the man's entire body, wisping away like smoke and heat-shimmer as he moved. He looked comfortable wreathed in someone else's power, like it was a natural part of life.

(Did his father do that? Envelope him in power, so much that Urahara-senpai no longer registered how odd it was to carry another's will so close to his own?)

"You're trailing gold," Uryuu pointed out when Urahara-senpai reached his side.

His senpai frowned and looked down, then gave a soft laugh as if he hadn't noticed until Uryuu mentioned it. He began to absorb the swirls of reiatsu, straight into his core if Uryuu was sensing things correctly. "How are they?"

Uryuu glanced back at the other two in consideration, weighing their progress in his mind. "Inoue-san is quite good, and Sado-san no longer needs his armor activated in order to use the Reishūkaku."

"How about time?"

He hesitated at that; they hadn't been specifically aiming for speed, only for extending how long they could hold it now that they had the basics. Had Urahara-senpai wanted them to be fast, too?

(Did speed matter for whatever scheme his senpai had in mind?)

Uryuu shook his head, reminding himself that his senpai wouldn't be angry if that was the case, only tell them to continue training. The reminder was enough for him to find his words. "It can take them a few moments to call it up, sometimes, but neither of them seem to have any problems holding it for long stretches of time anymore."

A shimmer caught Uryuu's gaze, and he watched in surprise as his senpai fiddled with a strand of Kurosaki's reiatsu like it was a piece of yarn: twisting and coiling and threading it through his fingers in absent movements. As Urahara-senpai watched Inoue and Sado, Uryuu watched him and wondered.

(Would his senpai do the same with his reiatsu, if this ever happened to them? Would he walk, limned in power and completely at ease with it? Would he stand and unconsciously toy with a fragment, so comfortable with his power — with him — that it didn't even register?)

"Alright!" Kaito's voice, combined with the way he clapped his hands together abruptly, shattered Uryuu's haze of thoughts. "Enough for right now. It's time we stopped for dinner."

"You guys go on—"

"Kurosaki," Urahara-senpai interrupted Kurosaki, his smile predatory, "if the next words out of your mouth are 'I'm going to stay here and practice', I'm going to kick your ass, drag you to dinner, and ban you from any further practice for the rest of the evening."

Uryuu couldn't blame Kurosaki for the way his mouth snapped shut and he started edging towards the doorway. Urahara-senpai had gone from pleasant to terrifying in a heartbeat, and while it wasn't the violent fury of before, it still screamed danger to all of Uryuu's instincts.

"Excellent. We'll all be returning after the meal, but I want everyone to eat and recharge as much as possible before we try to tackle the next thing I want us to learn."

That was… ominous. Uryuu shared a look a dread with Kurosaki; they'd both heard that dangerously cheerful tone before. Whatever was in store for them was going to be difficult.

(But they'd do it. For him, Uryuu would do anything, and he knew Kurosaki felt the same.)

(It was the least he could do for the man who had shown him what friendship meant.)