บท 13: Start of Training
***Author Note***
Sorry for the delay~
***End of Author Note***
"Whoa~ this place is so big~ To think there would be such a massive place hidden underneath the store~"
Hearing Kisuke praise his own underground training hall, which was located underneath his little store, Yuna could only shake her head.
"I've seen bigger."
Kisuke seemed genuinely shocked by Yuna's words as he looked at her with wide-open eyes.
"What!? I wasn't expecting there to be someone who has a bigger one than me."
Hearing Kisuke's ambitious words, Yuna couldn't help but chuckle in amusement while Naruto sagely nodded his head.
"Can't always have the biggest one in the room."
Hinata couldn't help but facepalm as Naruto made the conversation even more ambiguous.
"This conversation is still about hidden training areas, isn't it?"
"Sure, let's pretend it is."
While Hinata simply rolled her eyes at Naruto's answer, Tatsuki couldn't help but facepalm.
"Urgh, seriously? A dick joke? How old are you guys? Five?"
Naruto shook his head when he heard Tatsuki's question before he resumed talking in a serious fashion.
"I'll let you know, Tatsuki; a good dick joke is ageless."
While Tatsuki glared at Naruto, Yuna nodded in agreement
"Indeed, but it's important that the jokes about the dick and that the dick isn't the joke."
A pained groan escaped Tatsuki's mouth as she held her head in pain due to Yuna continuing with the jokes. Suddenly, Tatsuki felt a hand land on her shoulder. She looked towards the owner and saw Hinata looking at her in sympathy.
"Since you are pretty much dating Naruto, you better get used to stuff like this, or you'll be in for a bad time."
Although Tatsuki blushed a little when Hinata mentioned her dating Naruto, she still took her advice to heart and nodded her head.
"How are you dealing with this, Hinata?"
Hearing Tatsuki's question, Hinata's eyes became somewhat empty as she stared blankly to the front.
"I grew up with them; you get used to it."
For some reason, that didn't make Tatsuki feel any better. Especially not after seeing Hinata's facial expression.
Anyway, since everyone would be going to Soul Society together, Kisuke offered Yuna a place to train. Well, it honestly didn't matter too much for Yuna and her little group, as neither of them is likely to get any sudden powerups in just a mere 17 days, but all of them were curious about what Kisuke planned to do with Ichigo, who apparently had lost his Shinigami powers.
In addition to Hinata and Naruto, Tatsuki, who could definitely improve in these 17 days, and Ichigo, who needed this training the most, were with them as well. Apparently, Ishida, Orihime, and Sado will be training somewhere else.
While Naruto and Tatsuki separated from the group to do their own thing, Yuna, Hinata, and Ichigo followed Kisuke towards a place where a young girl with a sad expression, an energetic-looking boy, and a muscular man with a mustache were already waiting for them. These three were Jinta Hanakari, Tessai Tsukabishi, and Ururu Tsumugiya, Kisuke's employees.
Before anyone could react, Kisuke jabbed the tip of his walking stick at Ichigo's forehead, causing him to collapse. Or rather, his physical body collapsed as his soul was ejected out of it. Instead of being in his Shinigami form, Ichigo's soul looked exactly like his physical body, to which he was currently chained.
"Hey, what are you doing!?"
"Mah, no need to yell. Since everyone is here, let's quickly get the show started."
Although Ichigo scoffed at Kisuke's words, he quickly got up while dusting off his clothes. However, as he was standing up, he staggered a little.
"Whoa, I feel heavy."
"Indeed, this must be the first time you left your real body as just a simple soul. Currently, you do not possess any Spiritual power, so you are like an average human soul."
Ichigo couldn't help but frown when he heard Kisuke's words. He felt incredibly weak and could barely move his body. There was no chance of winning a fight like this.
"To fight Soul Reapers and save Rukia, this will obviously not do. The first step to getting your power back is improving your control over your soul by increasing your Spiritual Power. The more you have, the stronger your soul will become, and as soon as your soul has more power than your body, you have completed the first step."
As Kisuke finished his explanation, Ichigo tilted his head in confusion.
"That sounds really complicated; what am I supposed to do?"
Kisuke, happy that Ichigo was eager to go, nodded his head as she pulled Ururu towards him.
"Well, first of all, fight and defeat Ururu here."
An awkward silence followed Kisuke's words. Ichigo looked at him, then at Ururu, who appeared to be around 12 years old, and then back to Kisuke. He was just about to ask what the hell Kisuke was talking about when a spectator chimed in.
"You can do it, Ichigo! She appears to be around 12 years old, but I think you can take her on if you give it your all!"
Hearing Yuna's "cheers" Ichigo threw her a seething glare before focusing on the little girl in front of him. After a few seconds of silence, Ichigo simply shook his head.
"There is no way I'm fighting such a young girl."
Instead of responding to Ichigo's words, Ururu tossed a set of defensive equipment at Ichigo, confusing him a little.
"Please put these on, or you will die."
Before Ichigo could fathom what Ururu had just told him, she appeared in front of him with her fist already reeled back, ready to turn Ichigo into blood mist. His eyes widened as he slightly shifted his body, barely evading the blow, resulting in Ururu punching the ground and causing a massive explosion.
"Oh? Did he die?"
"Nah, he's fine... probably."
As Kisuke was having that kind of conversation with Tessai, Ichigo rolled out of the dust cloud and started running away from Ururu, while holding the protective gear he initially tossed at him.
"How the hell do I put this one!?"
"Eats easy; you just have to put it on your forehead and yell:..."
Hearing what he was supposed to do, Ichigo briefly considered throwing the protective gear away, but another close dodge quickly made him change his opinion.
"Shit, fine! I'll do it! Do you know who this young master is!? Do you know who my father is!? I command you to protect me! Young Master Crown: Activate!"
However, absolutely nothing happened...
"Whoa, I didn't think he would actually say it, Kisuke."
"Mah, as expected, due to the danger, he momentarily forgot about his shame, Yuna."
"Indeed. So, did you regret using my line about being a young master instead of yours about justice?"
Kisuke pondered Yuna's question for a brief moment before shaking his head in denial.
"No, that was pretty good. I haven't been in Soul Society for a while, so hearing stuff like that after such a long time is quite refreshing."
While Yuna and Kisuke were happily chatting with each other, Ichigo realized that he had been tricked and flushed crimson.
"You bastards, stop playing ar... Urgh!"
As Ichigo was yelling at Yuna and Kisuike, Ururu continued her assault, forcing Ichigo to dodge another blow.
"Shit, tell me how to put this on al... WHAT THE F*CK ARE YOU DOING!?"
As Ichigo continued yelling at Yuna and Kisuke, he glanced at them, and what he saw almost made him trip. While Kisuke and his group seemed to watch Ichigo's struggle intently, Yuna's head was currently firmly placed on Hinata's thighs. While Yuna seemed to at least watch his actions, Hinata seemed to have completely lost all interest in this matter and was only occasionally feeding Yuna some popcorn while combing through her hair with her other hand.
Unfortunately, Ichigo couldn't complain any further as he had to dodge another punch. While he was running away, Kisuke finally revealed the proper way to put on the protective gear and as soon as Ichigo had put it on, he was ready to fight...
*Boom*
"Shit, are you joking!? Won't this still kill me instantly!?"
... Or not... Rather than fighting Ururu head-on, Ichigo would rather not come in contact with a punch that could shatter a boulder, protective gear or not. However, as he was running away and dodging, he came to a realization.
'Wait, since I can run and dodge her attacks, I should be able to counterattack as well, right?'
Coming to that conclusion, Ichigo turned around and decided to face Ururu. He wanted to dodge her punch and defeat her in one swift counterattack.
As her punch flew towards him, Ichigo's eyes sharpened, allowing him to barely dodge the attack and counterattack. However, Ururu reacted in time and tilted her head to the side, resulting in Ichigo only grazing her cheek.
Suddenly, the atmosphere shifted as Spiritual Pressure exploded out of Ururu, while her face turned cold and emotionless.
Before Ichigo could react, Ururu suddenly stood on the arm that had graced her cheek with her right leg reeled back for a powerful kick.
As her foot approached Ichigo, his eyes widened in shock due to Ururu's sudden speed burst.
'Too fast, can't dodge it!'
*Boom*
Another loud explosion occurred as Ururu's leg collided with a hand and after the dust settled, the whole scene was revealed. Yuna had blocked Ururu's attack just before it could hit Ichigo, while Kisuke stood behind Ururu, grabbing her leg to soften the blow.
"Ohya? To think you could catch Ururu's attack like that. That's quite impressive."
Hearing Kisuke's praise, Yuna only scoffed in disdain as she slightly shook her hand.
"Rather than being impressed by me catching the attack, I'm more impressed by my hand actually feeling a little numb. This girl certainly isn't a normal human."
Kisuke nodded his head in agreement before shrugging his shoulder.
"She certainly isn't; however, blocking that attack is still more impressive. You do realize that a normal human would have died instantly, right?"
Yuna scoffed in disdain as she returned to Hinata to retake the position on her lap.
"Normal? Please don't insult me like that. As if there is anything normal about me."
Kisuke could feel his eyebrows twitch due to Yuna's words, but he didn't argue any further than that. Honestly, he couldn't help but agree with Yuna's statement: There really was nothing normal about them. In fact, there wasn't much normal about her whole little group in total.
Meanwhile, Ichigo managed to get out of his near-death-induced state and gritted his teeth in anger.
"Shit, I know I lost, so let's go another round! I know I can win this!"
Kisuke chuckled in amusement when he heard Ichiso's motivation-filled words before simply shrugging his shoulders.
"There is no longer any need for that. The goal was never for you to win the fight but for you to get used to your soul form. Additionally, a soul grows stronger as it faces the risk of destruction, so just dodging the first attack would have been enough."
Ichigo was surprised by Kisuke's words and quickly noticed that he could now move around much easier than he initially could. All that heaviness he felt at the start was gone now. However, there was something else he realized as well.
"Wait a moment! Dodging the first attack was enough!? SO, YOU DID ALL OF THAT JUST TO MESS WITH ME!?"
While Kisuke simply opened his fan to hide his smile, Yuna chuckled in amusement before shaking her head and putting her hand on Ichigo's shoulder.
"Of course, that wasn't the only reason."
Ichigo relaxed a little when Yuna claimed that there was more reason, but when Yuna continued her explanation, he could almost feel his blood boil.
"It wasn't just to mess with you; it was also to have as much fun as possible while doing so~"
Ichigo's anger exploded as he punched towards Yuna, who easily dodged the attack while chuckling in amusement.
"Mah, no need to be hasty, Ichigo. If you want to fight, we can fight after you regain your power."
"Indeed, that being said, let's start the next phase, shall we?"
*Clang*
While Kisuke asked whether they should continue or not, the sound of metal colliding with metal echoed over the training ground. While Ichigo wasn't paying attention, Tessai had approached his physical body with a massive axe and cleaved down on the Chain of Fate, connecting Ichigo's body with his soul. However, before he could sever it, a sword appeared and blocked the strike.
"What is the meaning of this?"
When Yuna realized Tessai's intentions, she moved instantly and blocked the strike, while Hinata moved pretty much at the same time. She was currently sitting on Tessai's shoulders while holding her sword to his neck. Both of them were oozing powerful Spiritual Pressure, shocking everyone present.
"Well, care to explain yourself, Kisuke?"
Kisuke couldn't help but shudder a little as Yuna's eyes zeroed in on him. Since the whole procedure to regaining his Shinigami power was rather dangerous, Kisuke wanted to do the whole thing without allowing Ichigo to think too much about what was going on, but now that plan was stopped by Yuna and Hinata, who both oozed pressure far beyond what Kisuke believed a human should be capable of.
'I knew they were special, but this is on a completely different level. Rather than "interesting special", they are "dangerous special". I should tread carefully here, or things might go south.'
"Well, let's calm down for now, and let me explain the situation. Those that have their Chains of Fate severed will inevitably turn into a Hollow. Or that is at least the common story going around, which isn't entirely true. The is a chance to not become a Hollow after severing the chain: Becoming a Shinigami."
Yuna patiently listened to Kisuke's explanation, and after hearing the whole thing and thinking it through, she nodded her head in understanding. In addition to Kisuke's explanation, she found it rather weird that he suddenly wanted to kill Ichigo, so that helped make his words more believable.
"Very well, what do you want to do, Ichigo? This is your decision. Whether you trust Kisuke or not and whether you believe you can do it or not, it's all in your grasp now."
Silence reigned the training ground for a few seconds before a look of pure determination appeared on Ichigo's face.
"Do it! The only chance I have to save Rukia is by taking this risk, so I'll take it!"
Yuan nodded in approval at Ichigo's resolve and slashed down her sword, cutting Ichigo's Chain of Fate with ease.
Seeing that the deed was done, Yuna'a eyes landed on Kisuke with a predatory smirk on her face, immediately causing him to take a step back.
"Well then, Kisuke. Could you tell me if this method to become a Shinigami works for everyone or if Ichigo here is a special case~"
Hearing Yuna's seemingly honey-glazed words, a shiver went through Kisuke's spine as he started pondering how he should answer this question.
'What should I do?'
Meanwhile, Naruto and Tatsuki were facing each other with serious expressions on their face.
"Alright, Tatsuki, the greatest difference between the upcoming fights and the ones you have had so far is the willingness of your enemy to kill you. Although that Hollow you defeated wanted to kill you as well, its strength was so insignificant that it barely mattered. Additionally, there is no way that a random Hollow could use its Killing Intent or Spiritual Pressure to its advantage."
Tatsuki nodded in understanding while not really understanding what the difference was. Wouldn't she just have to defeat her opponent? What was the point of talking about esoteric concepts like Killing Intent?
Obviously, Naruto saw the doubt in her eyes and smirked a little. He lowered his stance, immediately alarming Tatsuki as her eyes sharpened. Then, Naruto jumped towards her and punched her stomach, just for Tatsuki to immediately react and dodge the punch. She swiftly counterattacked, but before her counter could connect, Naruto had already distanced himself from her.
"Well, that was a pretty normal exchange, right? Now, let's do the exact same thing again."
Also, Tatsuki initially relaxed after Naruto retreated; her sense immediately sharpened again when she heard that he would attack again.
Yet again, Naruto lowered his stance and charged Tatsuki a moment later. However, this time things were a little different as just when he was about to throw his punch, his eyes became fierce, and a powerful wave of pressure collided with Tatsuki, stunning her momentarily and allowing Naruto to land a hit. Well, he didn't actually land a hit but stopped his fist just before the collision, but it was obvious that Tatsuki lost this exchange, despite it seemingly going exactly the same as the first one.
"W-What was that? It felt like my whole body was suddenly engulfed in ice-cold water."
Naruto hummed in acknowledgment as he removed his fist from Tatsuki's stomach.
"The presence of someone used to combat can become so intense that it can stun the less experienced. That is what you just experienced. Unlike humans, Shinigami have a very long life span, so there is a high chance that a lot of them will be able to put that kind of pressure on you. So, while experimenting with your new power and sparing against you, I will frequently put pressure on you, so you can get used to it."
Although Tatsuki was surprised that something like someone's aura actually existed, she still eagerly nodded her head. She could clearly feel that she was about to grow much stronger, so she couldn't help but be excited. However, despite her excitement, another question popped up in her mind.
"You said that it takes a long time to develop that kind of aura; how come you can use it then?"
A smirk appeared on Naruto's face when he heard Tatsuki's question. Obviously, he was hoping for her to ask that question.
"Well, as you have undoubtedly noticed, there is a big secret about nee-san, Hinata, and me, so if you manage to defeat a strong opponent within Soul Society, I'll tell you everything about us."
Tatsuki's eyes gleamed with determination as soon as Naruto stopped speaking. Naturally, she noticed the weirdness surrounding the trio, but not she could finally hear all about it, greatly stimulating her drive to push herself further.
Seeing the gleam in Tatsuki's eyes, Naruto nodded in satisfaction as a smirk appeared on his face.
'Well, how's that for a good motivation to improve.'
[*Sigh* You have really grown used to manipulating people, didn't you?]
'Well, what can I say? I learned from the best~'
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