Okay, everyone, here's the next chapter. Enjoy and let me know what you think.

Chapter Eight—Friends or Comrades?

With the tournament's first round over—and given time to recuperate and heal—Jin had decided to take the time to train, enhance his own abilities, and, hopefully, do better next time. Despite the victory, Jin felt as though he could have done better. Captains Ukitake and Kyoraku had been immensely strong. His next opponent might be more bloodthirsty.

With Izanagi released and the gauntlet covering his arm, Jin trained against dummies set up by Shuhei, slashing carefully at them as they were triggered. Nothing less than a fatal strike was used, and no movements were wasted. There were a few he sliced, and others he blew to pieces with Izanagi's powers. But as of right now, fighting against inanimate objects weren't helping much. He wanted a live opponent.

"Shuhei!" he called across the field. "Care to train with me?"

Shuhei, who had been activating the dummies to spring up at the right moment, paused. "Me, sir? I don't know—"

"Soul Reapers need to keep their skills sharper than their swords, right?" Jin countered. "It's important that your skills don't stagnate. As your captain, I order you to train with me!"

Shuhei, taken aback but not disobedient, moved forward, pulling Kazeshini from its sheath but not releasing it.

"Aren't you going to use Shikai?"

"Not yet, sir," Shuhei replied. "If possible, I prefer not to use Shikai. I don't really like the shape of it."

"That's a first; never heard of a Soul Reaper who didn't like his or her Shikai. But as you wish!"

Fifteen minutes into the mock battle, and Jin realized just how powerful Shuhei was without the use of his Shikai. With just a sealed sword and Kido, Shuhei was fighting extremely well, though he was not exactly at a captain's level. He wasn't far from it.

With a bit of tiredness and a slight hunger beginning to gnaw at them both, they slowed down the fight until they had stopped. Jin returned Izanagi to its sealed form and sheathed it, just as Shuhei did with Kazeshini.

"You're really good," Jin said. He had not been fighting as seriously as he could, but that had potentially been an oversight. Shuhei was, certainly, no slouch in his own training. "Glad to see my lieutenant's got some skills."

"Thank you, Captain Narukami."

"Well done, Jin," said a voice. Kyoraku was approaching them, holding onto his hat so that it did not blow away in wind. "Of course, you were holding back, though, weren't you?"

"Well, I was a bit worried about going all out on my lieutenant," Jin admitted.

"It's a mistake to underestimate your opponents. That's what leads to a defeat."

"Did you underestimate me in our match?" Jin questioned. He had wondered how he had so easily defeated Kyoraku and Ukitake with surprising simplicity.

"No, but Jushiro was never one to go all out on a kid," Kyoraku answered. "And I didn't really want to embarrass you in your first battle as a captain. Figured it'd boost your confidence."

"How about a real match?" Jin challenged. "No holding back, no restrictions."

Kyoraku laughed. "Really? Right before you get to your next match in the tournament? After the tournament, I'll gladly test your mettle against mine. Pretty sure you'll be stronger than me in a hundred years or so."

"A hundred years?"

"Don't get discouraged," Kyoraku told him. "Many Soul Reapers take centuries to refine their massive power. What I'm more amazed about is your teamwork with Sajin. You two work like gears in a machine, like natural-born comrades."

"I know," Jin replied, "but I've just gotten lucky to be his partner. As a matter of fact, I had planned to go by and run some battle tactics with him for the next match. With his power and my speed, we're pretty much—"

"There's that youthful confidence that ignores the opponent's skill. Be wary, Jin. You never know what could happen."

"Right."

"Actually, I was going to head over there myself if you want to come with me."

"Sure... Shuhei, why don't you return to the barracks? There's probably some work that needs to be done."

"Yes, sir."

"Well, I'm glad you're doing well," Ukitake remarked as he entered Komamura's office. As usual, the dedicated wolf-captain was working hard with Koji by his side.

"Same to you, Captain Ukitake," Komamura replied respectfully. "I hope we did not hurt you in the match."

"Oh, no, Shunsui and I are fine," Ukitake responded. "Just glad that you and Jin are moving onto the next round. "We're actually really looking forward to watching your next match-up. Quite frankly, I'm very impressed with how prodigious Jin's abilities are. He'll probably outclass us given time."

"Like me?" Koji put in. He had been told them himself.

"The younger generation always outclasses the older generation given time," Ukitake answered. "But, Sajin, what I'm really impressed with is how well you're responding to him. I was worried that there might be a bit of friction between you two."

"How so?"

"Well, I was worried that he might become a replacement for Kaname for you. I'd hate for you to have to go through that again," Ukitake explained. "But I'm glad to see that you're handling it well."

Komamura listened, ears perked at the sound of Kaname Tosen's name. "I've grown wiser, Captain Ukitake. You do not need to worry; I would never look for someone to replace Tosen."

"Okay," Ukitake said, slightly worried by the sudden change in Komamura's attitude. It seemed darker, more foreboding. "Well, in any case, good luck in your next match." He backed out of the office.

"Father, what's wrong?" Koji asked, noting his father's demeanor.

"It's nothing, Koji."

"I know when you're lying. You can tell me."

"It's nothing. I just realized why Captain Narukami and I can't be friends."

"Father, why can't you—"

"We've got work to do, Koji. We should get back to it."

Apparently, Kyoraku's reason for visiting Komamura was not enough to satisfy Lieutenant Nanao Ise, who hurriedly whisked him away and took him back to his own division to do real work. As he was taken away, Jin absentmindedly wondered if Kyoraku was simply avoiding real work. Yet before he could contemplate it, he soon found himself coming face-to-face with Komamura and his two shadows, Iba and Koji.

"Sajin! I was actually coming to visit you," Jin said, walking over with his usual confident stride.

Komamura nodded. "Is there something you needed, Captain Narukami?"

"No, I was just wanting to discuss some tactics with you for the next round of the tournament," Jin explained. "We did really well, but the next round's going to be much harder, so—"

"While that would be beneficial, I've got some work I need to be doing. I was on my way to the First Division to speak with Captain Yamamoto."

"I'll go with you."

"No, thank you," Komamura said quickly. "I can do this on my own."

"But—" Komamura said nothing as he continued forward. Jin hurried after him, determined. "What's going on, Sajin? Since the first round, you've been avoiding me for the past two days. The next round's tomorrow and we've got to do some kind of strategizing."

"Not right now, Captain Narukami." Komamura doubled his pace and Jin stopped following, confused. He looked after him when a hand clapped onto his shoulder.

"Don't take it personally, Jin," Koji said, dropping the title. "Father has some... trust issues that he's still kind of working through."

"What kind of 'trust issues'?"

"You've heard of the Aizen incident, right?" Iba asked, joining the conversation. Jin nodded. "Well, when Kaname Tosen defected and left him behind, it really damaged his confidence and during his bout with Tosen, he started to develop severe trust issues with people. He and Tosen were remarkably close, but when he left..."

"I see..."

"He is probably drawing parallels between you and Tosen that he wants to avoid," Koji added. "After all, Tosen was captain of the Ninth just like you. The Seventh and the Ninth used to be really close, but since Tosen's defection, the two divisions kind of... avoid each other."

"Yeah, but I'm not Tosen," Jin insisted.

"I know, but it'll take some time to break through Father's shell."

"Well, I don't want him to hate me. We're friends."

"You're comrades, which isn't the same as friends," Iba corrected.

"Then I'll make him my friend," Jin answered, his voice filled with determination. "I'll prove that I'm nothing like Kaname Tosen and I'll show him that we can be more than just 'comrades'."

Okay guys, here's Chapter 8. Enjoy, my friends. Hope you like it.