Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.
Spirit exhibition: Reitenjikai
"I'll throw-up if I eat another bite." Toushiro complained pushing away the half-finished plate.
"That's perfect." Kisuke cheered as he appeared behind Toushiro making him jump at the surprise.
"You're happy about that?" Toushiro glared at the taller man.
"Yes, because it means your energy has been completely replenished and you are ready to begin training." Kisuke cheered stepping aside for Toushiro to move from the table.
"You seem a little too eager to train me, Kisuke." Toushiro commented.
"Is there a question in that sentence?" Kisuke asked as they headed into the backyard.
"Why? Why are you doing this?" Toushiro asked when he caught up with Kisuke in the middle of the yard. He blinked at the object Kisuke was holding in his right hand: a glass ball with the image of a red bird, wings extended in flight toward the sky.
"As I said before, you have so much potential and all you need is someone to draw it out. That, Toushiro, is the very reason I want to train you. I know how to draw all of your abilities out from deep within you. Now, shall we begin?" Kisuke asked holding the glass orb out to Toushiro. He accepted the orb and shrugged his shoulders.
"Sure," Toushiro looked at the ball in his hands in curiosity. "What am I supposed to do with this?" He raised the ball in one hand toward Kisuke.
"That is called a Reitenjikai, it is a little trinket I developed as a way to visualize one's reiatsu. All you need to do is direct your reiatsu into the orb and the orb will do the rest. Alright, let's see it." Kisuke pushed Toushiro into the center of the yard. He looked down at the orb and pondered how this object was supposed to reveal the amount of his spiritual energy. While he was concentrating on the orb, Jinta decided to pop out and see what Toushiro would do.
"Don't you think that's a little too complicated for him, Kisuke?" Jinta snickered when he saw Toushiro concentrating on the orb. Jinta hopped onto a wooden crate and leaned against the side of the house. Toushiro glared at him from the corner of his eye.
"Jinta this task is most simple for the young Captain to perform." Kisuke stated in his attempt to avoid any more arguments for the day.
"Don't be so sure. This guy can't even find his village on a map. How is he supposed to funnel his reiatsu? I bet he can't even perform one of those kido spells." Jinta snickered as Toushiro glared at the boy relaxing on the crate. Toushiro thought of yelling at him, but instead decided to prove his proficiency in kido.
Toushiro extended two fingers to the box that Jinta was seated on and called one bright, blue beam to shoot from his finger tips and destroy the crate. Lucky for Jinta, he was able to jump from the crate before the blast could decimate it.
"YOU TRIED TO HIT ME!" Jinta accused with his finger pointing to Toushiro in the middle of the yard.
"Now Jinta, if I wanted to hit you, then you would resemble that crate." Toushiro explained as he turned back toward the Reitenjikai in his hands.
'A Sokatsui without any incantation or announcement,' Kisuke looked back to Toushiro as the orb began to glow a silver blue. 'This is going to be fun.' Kisuke tilted his head down hiding his grin while playing with the idea of training Toushiro.
Toushiro closed his eyes as he gathered his energy into the orb. He felt the orb expand and tiny bits of electricity jump from the sphere. As he channeled more of his energy into the sphere, Toushiro felt the air surrounding him become cool and he took a deep breath noting the droplets of ice sprinkled in the air. After a moment, the cold sensation began to grow outside of his sense of detection while he kept his eyes shut.
Kisuke looked on as Toushiro pushed more and more reiatsu into the Reitenjikai. A blueish, white dome began to form around his body and grow. The dome grew taller and wider with each passing second as Toushiro slowly controlled his energy passing into the orb. Jinta blinked at the size of the dome, it was now bigger than the shop and it still wasn't finished growing!
'How much energy does this kid have anyway?' Jinta stared as the dome started inching toward his spot at the wall. He noticed the small particles of ice forming on the blades of grass under Toushiro's feet within the dome, and Jinta got the feeling that it was fairly cold within the dome.
'Still growing?' Kisuke took a few paces back as the dome continued to grow when it finally stopped. The dome retained the shape as it was, now, two times wider than the shop and easily two stories high.
'Looks like that's all the energy he has,' Kisuke cupped his chin in his right hand as he gauged the dome. 'It's no wonder he didn't feel exhausted with so little food, and using up so much energy. However, with this much energy it will be difficult for him to detect when he's used too much. Looks like I'll have to adjust my training methods.' Kisuke dropped his hand and stepped up to the edge of the dome.
"That's great, Toushiro, now just channel your energy back into your hands from the orb." Kisuke called out causing Toushiro to open his eyes. Toushiro blinked when he saw Kisuke, but for some reason there was a blueish mist momentarily obscuring his form. With a nod of his head, Toushiro concentrated on reversing the flow of energy and feeling the reiatsu return to his body. As his energy returned the chill in the air slowly disappeared until finally returning to the spring warmth of the late afternoon day. Toushiro felt his energy fully return to his body and he watched Kisuke approach him.
"I must say you have more energy than I previously thought." Kisuke commented and extended his hand for the orb.
"I shall take that off your hands." Kisuke accepted the orb and promptly tossed it over his shoulder for Jinta to catch before it shattered on the ground.
"Now, seeing as you are far stronger than I had anticipated we will have to make a small adjustment to your training schedule."
"What kind of 'adjustment'?" Toushiro asked as Kisuke stepped up to him.
"Hold still please." Kisuke placed his right index finger on Toushiro's chest, just above the heart. A bright, golden light formed at the tips of Kisuke's finger. Kisuke barely touched Toushiro's skin when the golden light exploded momentarily encasing Toushiro in a shell before disappearing from his skin. He blinked in shock trying to figure out what the heck Kisuke had done. Looking down at his chest, Toushiro noticed a black tattoo in the image of a circle surrounding the kanji symbol for "chi" right where Kisuke had touched.
"What did you just do?" Toushiro stared at the mark on his chest confused as to its purpose.
"I just sealed 80% of your energy." Kisuke calmly explained and silently observed the expressions of shock and surprise flitting through his eyes.
"YOU DID WHAT?" Toushiro screamed at the top of his lungs.
"What was that?" Karin asked Ururu as she was sitting up in bed. "I thought I heard someone scream." Ururu looked out the window and spotted Toushiro staring up at Kisuke who simply pulled out a fan to cool his face.
"Toushiro has begun his training with Kisuke. I'll be back in a little while." Ururu exclaimed stepping out of the room.
"I wonder what Toushiro's training will be like?" Karin asked the empty room before her gaze fell back to the book in her lap.
"Why would you seal 80% of my power?" Toushiro demanded soon after he had calmed down enough to speak at a normal volume.
"I did so for you to better control your energy."
"I can control my energy just fine! Now answer my question?" Toushiro glared up at the blonde shop owner.
"Yes you do have a great amount of control however you are unaware of the amount of energy you use up during your kido spells. You see, a major lake can't tell when a bucket of water has been removed. A pond, on the other hand, loses a great deal of water when a bucket has been taken off. Now when you perform kido spells you will be able to tell a difference between your energy levels." Kisuke calmly explained. Toushiro took a slow, deep breath to calm his nerves.
"Will this be permanent?" Toushiro asked as he massaged the bridge of his nose in frustration.
"Nope, this will only last for the duration of your training period with me."
"And how long will that be?" Toushiro glanced up at Kisuke who snapped his fan closed with a flick of the wrist.
"That's a very good question," he tapped his chin in deep thought.
'We'll only be here until Karin gets better. As soon as that happens, we're outta here and I won't have to see this guy ever again.'
"4-6 weeks," Kisuke finally answered.
"It'll take that long for Karin to get better?" Toushiro asked with surprise ringing through his tone.
"No, but it will give you enough time to gather the finances you will need for your trip back to your little village."
"Do I want to know what job you're planning to set me up with?" Kisuke's smile made Toushiro wary of the thoughts bouncing around the older man's head.
"It just so happens that your job will be tied in with your training."
'Don't tell me . . .'
"You will deliver goods from my shop to my many customers throughout Rukongai," Kisuke opened his arms to indicate the large kingdom.
"Am I to assume that you will supply the map for the area?" Toushiro crossed his arms over his chest and his eye twitched upon feeling the small tattoo brushing against his arm.
"No," Toushiro's eye continued to twitch.
"Then how am I to find my way around if I have no map?" Toushiro asked as he tried to figure out how he wound up in this insane situation.
"I will have Ururu and Tessai set up energy markers at the locations where a package is to be delivered. You will find these energy markers by using a reiatsu detecting technique that I will teach you. Now, once you find these markers and deliver the packages, you will need to de-activate them giving me notification that the package has been delivered. At the end of the day I will pay you a day's wages if all of the markers have been de-activated. However, if there are some markers still active after the end of the day, then the cost of that package will be docked from your pay, which is why I suggest you make all of the deliveries and de-activate all of the markers throughout the city. Any questions?" Kisuke looked back down to Toushiro who remained still as a statue now that his eye had ceased the twitching.
"Only one: why can't you just give me a map instead of making your employees do all of this running around?" Toushiro looked up to Kisuke as he hid the fan in his robes.
"I need to teach you energy detection and this is the most effective means for doing such. I have found monetary gain is an excellent incentive for positive results. Anymore questions?"
"Is that all we're doing today?"
"Yes," Kisuke answer before leading Toushiro back toward the house, "you need to become accustomed to that seal before we can begin any real training. Let's go inside it's starting to get late." Toushiro looked to the west observing the sun as it slowly sank into the horizon.
'We were supposed to be back in Karakura by now.' Toushiro sighed heavily as he followed Kisuke into the store turned hotel. 'It can't be helped . . . I wonder how Rangiku is doing?'
. . . . . . . . . .
Byakuya stared down at Rangiku lying down on his couch. Not two seconds after he entered his home, Rangiku had barged inside demanding any information he had discovered concerning the location of her charge. Byakuya gave his report and she answered by fainting in his living room. Now, he pressed a cool cloth on her forehead as she lay on the couch mumbling in her sleep.
"I am surprised that she fainted," Byakuya spoke to the empty room as Rangiku slowly drifted to consciousness.
'Uh, that was a horrible dream,' she squinted her eyes open to stare at the wood ceiling of the Kuchiki home. Allowing her eyes to wander the room, she found Byakuya sitting in a nearby chair picking up a book from the center table.
"Captain Kuchiki," Rangiku slowly sat up to gain the man's attention. "I had the strangest dream: I dreamed that you said Toushiro and Karin were traveling with dragons and you believed they were safe." Rangiku explained as she placed the cloth on the table in front of her.
"That wasn't a dream, Rangiku. I did tell you that Captain Hitsugaya and Karin Kurosaki are traveling the forest with dragons. Do you not remember?" He asked, returning his book to the short table. Rangiku could only stare blankly at him.
"That's not possible." Rangiku mumbled as she focused her sight on the wood grain of the table.
"On the contrary, it is very possible. Do you not remember what I explained before you passed out?"
"Yes, but it's hard to believe. Everyone has grown up to believe that dragons kill humans, and now you say they don't kill. What else could possibly be the killers if not dragons?" Rangiku asked. Byakuya could hear a small tinge of fear ringing in her voice at thinking of this unknown enemy.
"Gargoyles," Rangiku blinked at him and he mentally prepared himself for explaining an apparently foolish suggestion. "The personal account of the wizard, Soken Ishida, has revealed the true killers are gargoyles that he, along with a dragon named Muramasa, awakened to defeat an evil army destroying his country. Their original purpose was for good, but someone or something came along and re-awakened the gargoyles only to be used for evil. I have a drawing of what Soken observed of the evil gargoyles." Byakuya handed Rangiku a scrap of scroll that had the drawing of a gargoyle fox from the diary.
"I plan on asking Rukia if the beast that attacked her is of similar stature to this picture." He finished his explanation and watched as Rangiku stared at the image in her hands.
'A stone beast brought to life,' she outlined the fox with her finger, "no one in their right mind would believe a stone beast capable of movement let alone killing a human." She absently whispered as her eyes remained focused on the beast.
"Those are the exact same thoughts as Captain Kyoraku and I expressed shortly after completing the diary. That is when Captain Kyoraku observed that blaming the attack on dragons was a cover up for the real culprits: gargoyles. The dragons were blamed for attacked perpetuated by garboyles." Byakuya clarified as their eyes met.
"What are you going to do?" Rangiku asked watching Byakuya stand from his chair to set the image in a drawer for safe keeping.
"First, I plan to ask Rukia if this is a similar creature, then I will present my findings to Princess Shihoin. She will be most interested in this piece of news." Byakuya answered as he walked into the kitchen leaving Rangiku in the living room staring at the fireplace. The flames seemed to extend a peaceful glow to the room, calming Rangiku's tumultuous thoughts and fears running through her mind.
Byakuya stepped from the kitchen carrying a tray with a teapot and two empty cups which he placed on the table in front of Rangiku. He gently poured tea for the both of them and handed a cup to a very quiet Rangiku. She slowly took a few sips before she dared to speak.
"Do you really think they're alright?" She asked staring into her cup.
"Yes, you should know better than anyone as to what lengths Captain Hitsugaya will go to protect Karin." Byakuya explained taking another sip. Rangiku allowed a gently smile to fall onto her lips as she thought back to her charge and a small drop of pain sprung to her chest with his absence.
"It's been so quiet since he's been gone. He was supposed to be back before nightfall just yesterday. Now, I don't know where he is or what he's doing." She placed her cup on the table as she looked over the eleven years Toushiro stayed with her. "I can still remember the day he came to my home. He was only two years old and he had lost his parents to an attack by dragons . . . or something."
"If I may ask, how did Toushiro come under your care?" Byakuya asked returning his empty cup to the tray.
"Well, it was a stormy, summer's night when I heard someone banging on my front door. When I went to open it, a rider stumbled inside carrying a young boy wrapped in a cloak in his arms. The man was in terrible shape, he was coughing and gasping for breath as he stumbled to a nearby chair. He must have ridden in that storm for hours before finding my home. Anyways, he opened his arms and I saw Toushiro sleeping inside a cloak. The rider pleaded with me to care for the child and I accepted his request. I had put the child on my bed to warm up while I ran to fetch Dr. Kurosaki. When I returned, the boy was awake and curled up in the covers glancing around the room in fear before he looked at me then hid under the blankets. The rider gripped my arm and told me Toushiro's name and begged me to take care of him. So, I accepted. I had no idea where they had come from or from what family he was part of: Toushiro was too young to understand and the rider died of pneumonia only a day later. After going to Chief Yamamoto, it was decided that Toushiro would stay under my care and I would be his guardian. That was eleven years ago. I can't believe such a long time has passed." Rangiku sighed as her gaze remained on her hands lying in her laps. A single tear dripped to her hand as she kept her head bowed. Byakuya was unable to see her face through the curtain of strawberry blonde hair blocking her expression, but he was able to see the tears dripping onto her hand.
"It is getting late. You may stay here if you wish." Byakuya's offer surprised Rangiku as she glanced up to him. Byakuya simply returned the tray of tea to the kitchen leaving a bewildered Rangiku to sit in the living room mulling over the day's events.
"Thank you," she quietly whispered as Rukia ran into the living room.
"I'll show you to the guest bedroom." Rukia explained as she led Rangiku further into the house.
A/N: Okay, I am back. As I said I have not forgotten this story, I've only had some major writer's block on how this story should proceed. I know it has gotten to a sort of slow block and I apologize for it. Things will pick up in the next chapter. I can't believe I was able to write so many chapters covering only two days!
Anyways, I thought it would be a good idea to give a brief explanation on how Toushiro came to live with Rangiku. So let me know what you think, and I will do my absolute best to update this story sooner and try not to take so long in posting a new chapter.
I looked back over the last chapter and I was not happy with it, so more than likely I will go back and clean it up. Not sure when I'll get around to it, but just keep your eyes open.
I think that covers everything . . . pulls out notepad and looks over checklist.
That's right: please let me know how this is going by dropping me a lovely review.
Disclaimer: This story is inspired by Dreamwork's "How to Train Your Dragon." I haven't even gotten this movie on DVD yet, so there is no way I could possibly own it! Instead the lovely producers at Dreamwork's own this title and are making all the profits.