"We have returned from our shopping." Giriko announced as he walked into the Xcution HQ whilst carrying paper bags in both arms, Tsukishima not too far behind as he read a book while a new addition in the form of a young man the same age as Yukio with a mohawk followed after Tsukishima with his own pair of bags.
"Hey, Kūgo! Good to see you're still alive!" The young man greeted Kūgo with a grin as he placed the bags down on the bar counter, Kūgo chuckling as he raised a hand & caught the beer can Tsukishima threw at him.
"Same to you, Moe! How's the training been under Tsuki?"
"Great! I finally managed to activate my special ability!"
"Oh? That's awesome! What does it do?" Kūgo asked, watching as Moe pulled out a brass knuckle & put it on his right hand, focusing his spiritual energy into it before three golden sevens appeared on the front of it.
"Ooh~ nice. I'm guessing from the sevens that it has something to do with luck."
"Yep!" Moe agreed and Kūgo hummed as he looked at Tsukishima just as his friend looked up from the book that he was reading.
"Ranking?"
"In terms of power, just above Giriko. In terms of its ability, just barely below Riruka's." He explained, drawing everyone's attention as Riruka raised an eyebrow while Yukio whistled.
"Damn, that's third from the top, right?" He asked, humming as Tsukishima nodded while looking at his student.
"However, that's only if he's able to hit his opponent and his opponent takes it easy on him. If not, he's at the very bottom."
"Oh, come on, sensei~! Do you have ta take down my ego?!" Moe whined, Tsukishima merely raising an eyebrow as he went back to reading while Kūgo chuckled as he nodded while opening his beer & looking back at the tank.
"I assume Chad & Jackie are in there, sir Kūgo?" Giriko asked as he finished packing and Kūgo smiled as he nodded while Moe looked curious.
"Chad? Who's Chad?"
"The newest addition to our group…I think. We never did settle that little matter. Anyway, he's pretty good. Managed to unlock his special ability & gain some rudimentary control over Fullbring on his very first day here."
"Considering he was able to use it before he even met us, I'd say it's more than just rudimentary control." Riruka chimed in, Moe just looking shocked as he slowly turned to an amused Tsukishima.
"T-They're kidding, right?" He asked, looking dismayed as Tsukishima simply gave him a smirk as if asking him if he wanted to hear lies.
"He has promise, I'll say that much."
"Man, and here I thought I was the prodigy."
"Ha! You barely were a talented learner." Riruka scoffed with a derisive smirk, setting Moe off as he spun while pointing at her.
"I could say the same ta you, panty flasher! What, don't the pervs on the street give you enough attention?!"
"You wanna go, baldie?!" Riruka shouted as she pulled a sleeve back, Kūgo sighing as he watched the two delinquents glaring at each other.
"You had to set him off, didn't ya?" He muttered while turning to look at Tsukishima, who gave a small smirk before he turned back to his book and Kūgo shook his head as he looked back to the fish tank where Chad & Jackie were still fighting.
Unlike the jovial atmosphere outside, the atmosphere inside the fish tank was intense as a large violet sphere surrounded Chad on all sides while a violet blur ricocheted off of the walls at a blistering pace.
The teen himself had his full concentration on the blur as he ducked & weaved around its attack, frowning as he had not found a single moment to try & counter.
'Keep calm, Chad. Your moment will come.' He thought to himself as Jackie landed besides him, moving back while lifting his left leg as Jackie tried to kick it out from under him.
Unfortunately, that was a feint as the woman smirked & aimed for his right leg only to be surprised as she actually connected, quickly following up with a strike as she watched the teen falling to the ground.
However, that was exactly what Chad wanted as an orange glow covered his body, Jackie quickly creating a violet shield in front of her while leaping slightly & curling herself up just as an explosion shook the air.
'Argh! Sand in my mouth!' Chad coughed as he spat rapidly, not waiting for the dust to settle as he rushed out in the direction he had sent Jackie flying.
Watching as the woman flipped to her feet, he frowned as he knew that he was not going to make it before smirking as he pushed on, Jackie a bit surprised as the teen's speed increased before looking down at Chad's legs to see a light green glow covering them.
'Is...is he doing simultaneous Fullbring shifts? Damn, not bad.' She thought with an impressed as the violet glow on her body shifted to light green, the woman crouching lowly as she waited before vanishing with a streak of light.
The next moment, Chad leaned back as a kick barely missed impacting his chest, falling to his knees & sliding across the sand before quickly jumping to his feet & spinning around just as Jackie appeared in front of him with a leg pulled back.
Watching as the green light around her leg switched to violet, Chad waited until the last second as he watched the leg nearing his face before an explosion from his face sent him leaning back.
Jackie was surprised at the explosion as her kick barely missed clipping his nose, but she was too distracted to hear the second explosion as a painful force smacked into her side.
Looking down, she saw the glow around his fist that smacked into her side flickering between green & orange as rapid explosions impacted her side, making her grit her teeth as the barrage of explosions along with the force of the kick sent her reeling through the air.
Chad however was not done as he pulled his right fist back while rocketing up after her, Jackie watching in amazement as his entire arm was obscured in a scarlet glow before the light died down to reveal his arm now transformed into Brazo Derecha de Gigante with a bright orange glow covering the entire arm.
The next moment, Chad shouted as he sent his fist flying forward and Jackie watched as the space in front of Chad's fist warped before a large beam of spiritual energy coated in a burning explosive aura carved through the air towards her.
However, as the attack neared her, Chad was both shocked & in awe as the woman grew serious while a serious amount of spiritual energy covered her legs in a violet glow, Jackie gritting her teeth as she spun through the air before delivering a vicious kick just as the attack neared her.
A struggle for supremacy emerged as Jackie's spiritual energy clashed with Chad's, the teen landing on the ground before looking up as he heard a loud shout only to see his attack visibly being punted to the horizon.
Watching as a devastating explosion erupted in the distance & sent out a shockwave that made the tank tremble, Chad turned back to see Jackie waiting with a proud smirk on her face while wiping the sweat from her forehead.
"Not bad there, Chad. You almost made me work for it, but since we're using special abilities…" Jackie trailed off as she rubbed the heels of her boots together & Chad watched as the woman underwent a transformation.
With its activation, her boots extend further up her legs as white armor appeared on her shoulders and forearms. Next to appear was a scarf wrapped around her neck and as a dark-colored hat appeared on her head with a cloth hanging in front of the right side of her face, Jackie smirked at the hesitant look on Chad's face as she rubbed the toes of her left boot into the sand.
"Since you want us to not hold back, let's get to your real training, shall we?"
"Whew~ That was fun!" Jackie exclaimed with a grin as her ability vanished, looking over before giggling at the sight of Chad lying on the ground while taking deep gasps to catch his breath.
Barely having on a pair of pants & half of his torn shirt, Chad's body was covered in light bruises & cuts that were already fading away, Jackie not looking too dissimilar as her pants legs were torn all the way up to her lower thighs while cuts littered her shins & face from where she had dodged Chad's attacks just barely.
"You know, with a bit of intense training, you'd catch up to the best of us with ease."
"That…would mean…I'd have to…actually leave my life…in Karakura." Chad groaned out as he slowly sat upright, looking down in dismay at his clothing before turning as he felt a tap on the back of his head.
"Not really. However, I'm not going to explain it since I'm sure Kūgo wants to do it himself."
"You damn sure I do. Riruka, do you mind?"
"Not really. I can always make him buy me a new one."
"What am I? The ATM?" Chad heard Yukio asked before blinking as a silver flash cleaved the fish tank from side to side, watching in awe as the ground & sky around them cracked before blinking as he found himself sitting on the wooden floor of the Xcution bar once more.
"Damn, you didn't hold back on him, did you?" Kūgo spoke with a sympathetic smirk as he saw the bruised Chad sitting on the floor, Jackie simply snorting as Chad stood up.
"I tried, believe me, but he's definitely stronger than he looks. Forced me to actually use Dirty Boots to beat him."
"Really?"
"Really." Jackie answered Tsukishima's question with a smirk, to which the man hummed while Kūgo grinned as he turned to Chad, his grin turning to a smirk as he saw Riruka & Moe looking the teen over.
"Damn, dude. Just how tall are you?"
"Would you leave him alone? He just got finished fighting Jackie."
"That's true. Hey, wanna fight me next? They say you're strong, but I wanna see just how strong." Moe spoke with an excited smile and Chad looked at him before the young boy gave a disappointed groan as Chad shook his head.
"Maybe another time."
"That's right. For the rest of the day, you are taking it easy since I don't want you passin' out from spiritual overload as your body tries to recuperate. Maybe next time, Moe."
"Urgh, fine~! I guess I can wait." Moe grumbled as he shuffled over to the bar, Kūgo simply shaking his head with a chuckle before turning back to look at Chad as the teen looked at him.
"Truthfully, I didn't expect you to last that long against Jackie let alone force her to actually try."
"I didn't. She was mostly playing around with me."
"Considering how she looks a bit tired yet excited compared to her usual bored look, I think she was half-serious when fighting you. However, you were right when you say that she was playing with you since I can't feel any major drop in her Reiryoku compared to yours."
"I know. Hah, just another bench-mark for me to pass, I suppose." Chad muttered to himself with a frown while clenching his fist, Kūgo & Riruka sharing a glance before the teen looked up as Kūgo placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry about try to get strong too fast. These things take time, so you just have to enjoy the journey. Now then, why don't you go change and when you get back, we'll have a quick party for your first battle, eh? Giriko bought the good stuff."
"Sir Kūgo, I must say that I do not condone giving liquor to someone that is underage."
"Eh, I was thirteen when I had my first drink and look how I turned around, eh?"
"Reclusive & irritating?" Tsukishima asked with a smirk, the group chuckling as Kūgo simply turned & huffed.
"Yeah, yeah. You all are lucky I like you guys so much. Riruka, why don't you show Chad to the washrooms so he can get ready? Also, we bought you some clothes in what we think is your size, so sorry if they don't fit as well."
"They will." Yukio supplied from where he was seated with a smirk, Chad simply giving both of them a thankful nod before turning as Riruka tapped his arm.
"Come on, big guy. It's this way."
"Move back. Duck. Left, left, right. Duck. Quick left. Move back. Rapid right twice. To the left. Triple quick left. Move back. Cross right. Move forward. Duck & quick left. Cross right. Quick left, left hook, right hook." Chad hummed as he followed Yukio's instructions, his body & mind seamlessly moving in unison while Yukio smirked as he watched the older teen easily punching against the training dummy he was facing.
"Self-sim. Do your own stuff." Chad nodded as he moved back just as the holographic clone of himself quickly blinked before rushing towards him, Chad ducking & rolling around the clone's attack before smirking as he began his attack.
A feint left jab had the clone jumping back & Chad quickly followed after it, ducking under its right jab while delivering a quick left to his abdomen followed by a rising right uppercut just as the clone keeled over.
Watching as its head snapped back, Chad stood upright & landed a left jab to the clone's throat, the clone gasping for air & not guarding as Chad moved to its right while landing a vicious right hook to its jaw that made the clone to its feet.
Looking at the HP bar above its head, Chad smirked at the red zero above it before turning as he heard clapping.
"A month of training and you're already good enough to beat yourself from a month ago when neither of you are using spiritual energy. Not bad there, Chad. How'd he do, Yukio?" Kūgo asked as he looked at the younger man, who pressed a few buttons on his handheld & pulled up a series of menus around him.
"Damage Delivered: 1500HP. Damage Taken: 18HP. Most damage delivered in one strike: 120HP. Battle time: 3 minutes & 18 seconds out of the 5-minute limit. A bit closer and you could have cracked top 5, but unfortunately, you're just barely top 10. Keep grinding, though, and you might get the high score."
"…You did good." Kūgo said with an unsure smirk while shrugging as Yukio closed his menus, to which the younger teen simply rolled his eyes while Chad gave a small smirk & nodded before glancing at his own screen floating in the corner of his eye.
Name: Yasutora Sado
Age: 16 Years Old
Race: Fullbringer (Hollow-Hybrid)
Reiryoku Levels: High
Reishi Control: Journeyman (99%)
Reiatsu: 6th Seat
SKILLS:
Boxing: Journeyman (99%)
Fullbring: Journeyman (99%)
Spiritual Sense: Journeyman (99%)
Brazo Derecha de Gigante(Right Arm of the Giant) [Incomplete]: Journeyman (99%)
Over the course of the month, his STATS menu had just vanished & he guessed that made sense since he had worked out intensely with Kūgo & Jackie to the point that he was sure his stats were in the two to three hundreds.
There was also the new addition in the percentage numbers next to his skills & Reishi Controlthat helped him a lot in learning just how far he was in ranking them up, even if it also made him over-obsessed with making the numbers rise up just one percent.
However, that was where the good stuff ended.
Despite how tremendously he had grown with his training under the two of them along with his spiritual training under Tsukishima, his skills & his Reishi control had hit a hard cap at Journeyman (99%) a week ago.
Even as he felt himself coming up with a technique or two to do with his Fullbring, the skill did not rank up even a single decimal of a percent from where they were stuck and he wondered a few times if that was just how strong he was going to be from now on before Kūgo gave him some helpful advice.
"Oh, training's not going to make you the strongest being in existence. Training helps in that aspect, but sometimes, real combat & experience is what you need to break that limit & take that next step."
So, now that he knew he needed actual battle experience that wasn't just simple Hollows, he had decided to simply take it easy & do the training that Kūgo gave him.
Speaking of Kūgo…
"Yo, Chad. You good?" Chad snapped from his internal monologue to find himself standing in the middle of the Xcution bar, Kūgo snapping his fingers in front of the teen before chuckling as he saw Chad finally focusing on him.
"Oh, you're not broken. Guess you didn't put him in a coma, Yukio."
"Told you." Yukio spoke while rolling his eyes as he continued sipping on his juice, to which Kūgo simply sighed before turning to Chad.
"So, you gonna answer my question?"
"…What question?" Chad asked, Jackie giggling & Giriko looking amused as Kūgo shook his head.
"The question of you staying for the quick party."
"Maybe another time. Tonight-!"
"Is Don Kanonji's live show in Karakura Town and I ain't missing it!" Riruka exclaimed as she kicked the door open and everyone sighed while Chad raised an eyebrow at the flashy purple coat she had on.
"Right. Forgot about that. Wait, you two are going together?" Kūgo asked and Chad blinked before shaking his head.
"No, our friends are going together and some of the girls invited her."
"And we're going to miss it if we don't hurry, so let's go."
"See you all later!" Chad quickly greeted as Riruka pushed him through the door, everyone watching as they left before Moe broke the silence.
"She has him wrapped around her finger, doesn't she?"
"Oh, definitely. Now…who wants ta play some poker?"
A/N: And we are off to a new arc!
Also, yes, I changed the system to make it easier for me to keep track. Hope you guys understand.
Also, sorry for not uploading earlier, but a group of friends came for a surprise visit so I hung out with them and only came back early this morning at like 1 or 2. Sorry for that and I think they'll want to do the same next week before we all go our separate ways once more until next year so I suppose it will be the same next week if I don't upload on Friday or early Saturday before I leave.
Like always, you can go to my Pat-reon-.-com-/-KingCrimsonNova to read ahead on this as well as many other stories & even some that haven't been released out to this site yet. If you want to, you are free to, but if you don't want, all's good as I will still be uploading here. This is just me trying to get some extra cash.
As always, read, enjoy, review and until next week...
Enjoy the cliffhanger & Ba-Bye~!