"Sorry captain Unohana, just need you for a.s.surance"Itsuki then told her to sit on the other side of Hisana and have her medical kido ready. Byakuya looked suspicious for this arrangement but still decided to trust Itsuki.
What Itsuki did next, shocked the living daylights out of them. They never expected him to do anything like this, no matter how many different ways they thought he would help her.
Activating his eyes, Itsuki unsheathed his sword and stabbed Hisana"s chest right in the middle, not all the way though. Just the tip had entered and was quickly retracted, still Byakuya was shocked.
"ITSUKI!!!"
Byakuya immediately sent a fist towards Itsuki when he saw this. He couldn"t think properly; the love of his life was stabbed right in front of him by his best friend. Itsuki dodged the strike and jumped back.
"Byakuya(-Sama), wait"
Two voices interrupted him as he looked behind, Hisana was okay and there was no blood coming out of her. You could tell she was in shock as someone just stabbed her in front of her eyes. What was more shocking was that she didn"t feel anything.
"She"s getting better, her illness is gone, it"s dying out"
Hisana did indeed have a better expression on her face. Looking towards her husband a joyous smile surfaced on her. She wouldn"t be a burden to him anymore. Byakuya also had a rare smile on his face when he looked at his wife. He also felt sorry towards his friend that he doubted for a second there. Turning around, he was about to apologise when a fist came flying towards him.
Itsuki"s fist hit him right in the nose, sending him flying towards the courtyard outside. Hisana and Unohana were shocked at first but then started giggling. Looking back at Itsuki, they realised that he was already gone.
Unohana then also took her leave and left the couple alone. Remembering that strike, she couldn"t wait to have another spar with him.
Returning back to his division, Itsuki saw Soi Fon barking orders one by one.
Soi Fon was still hard working and staunch like in the anime, yet it lessened due to the presence of Itsuki. After giving out these orders, she returned to do her paperwork. Sneaking behind her, Itsuki put his arms around her and pulled her into a hug while blowing into her ears.
A deep blush immediately appeared on her face as she jumped out like a cat when her tail"s been stepped on.
"W-w-what d-do you t-think you"re d-doing?"
A teasing smirk was plastered on Itsuki"s face. This annoyed Soi Fon as she tried to kick but failed as he appeared behind her and rubbed her head. This time she didn"t react as she melted with that touch. Realising that she was caving she immediately jumped back to her seat and distracted herself with paperwork although she did take a few glances at Itsuki.
Soi Fon felt inferior when she compared herself to Rangiku. No matter if it was looks, figure or feminine charm she felt she was losing out. She also knew that Rangiku had been with Itsuki even before they joined the academy. Thinking about all these aspects, put her in a ma.s.sive disadvantageous position.
However, she didn"t give up and this was noticed by Rangiku. Realising her feelings, Rangiku had confronted Soi Fon and they were out for like a day. This was a day where Itsuki was in the library, so he never knew that this meeting had happened. It was only until later where they would meet frequently before and after their women a.s.sociation meetings that Itsuki found out. Still, whatever was stated in that confrontation, Itsuki had no idea of what its contents was.
Walking out, he looked over the 2nd Division HQ and saw many people training. Everything was the same, but the intensity of the training and the general atmosphere was far from it. A solemn and strict atmosphere surrounded the place which only got heavier with the presence of Itsuki.
Each week, the Onmitsukido were required for field training and were let loose onto the outskirts to battle hollows, with nothing but a sword. Requirements for Shunpo also increased as he got his training idea from when he trained but only lighter. Rocks were thrown at the subordinates instead of weapons like what Yamamoto did to him.
A few weeks went by with Itsuki, with Hisana"s health getting better and better, and Byakuya having endless grat.i.tude within his eyes including a bit of resentment. Remembering that sword strike Itsuki did, he realised that Itsuki had be8en holding back in their spars.
During one of their spars, Byakuya questioned
"Since when?"
Itsuki looked on with a confused look, question marks appeared around him as he looked back at Byakuya,
Gritting his teeth, he finally let it out,
"Since when were you holding back?"
An understanding look flashed thorough Itsuki"s eyes as he replied,
"Since the start"
This shocked Byakuya as he never expected that answer. Itsuki realised that he had hurt Byakuya"s pride as he continued,
"Don"t worry though, you"ve made me use more of my strength since then"
This instead made him more depressed
"I have never made him use his full strength"
"Let"s have a spar with your full strength this time"
Itsuki just nodded as he got into a stance with Byakuya following.
The sun drowned in the horizon, elongating the two shadows. A slight breeze flew by as it broke of a leaf from a nearby tree. With the leaf ever so inching the ground, Byakuya tightened his grip on his sword. Time seemed to slow as he could hear his own heartbeat. He had never won against Itsuki even when he was holding back so he didn"t have much expectations of winning, he just wanted to know the true strength of the one he had called his rival.
The leaf had just touched the ground when Itsuki disappeared from his vision. His instincts screamed at him; warning bells rang out within him. Barely moving his sword to a defensive position, a tremendous force made impact on his sword. Being pushed a few steps back, his instincts started screaming again, but this time from another direction. Moving his sword into a different position he blocked the sword.
A few clashes later, Byakuya saw a chance and thrusted his sword forward. However, it wasn"t what he expected, Itsuki"s swords was centimetres from his throat resulting in his lost.
Another few months went by with there being no change to Itsuki"s schedule. Apart from Hisana joining them as a spectator during his spars with Byakuya, there were no changes.
Today, Rangiku had called for Itsuki and the gang to get back together. They were having a reunion of some sort and Rangiku had invited them to attend the academy.
Rangiku was standing alone outside the gates of the academy but she was attracting quite the attention. She was, by no doubt, a beautiful lady and caught everyone"s attention wherever she went, however, her lieutenant armband deterred them. Suddenly, a commotion was heard, and she looked in that direction.
A familiar face was there with an unfamiliar smile. Aizen was walking towards the academy, dressed in a captain"s attire with Gin following behind, who was now a Lieutenant. She was about to call out to him but was stopped by a hand. Turning around, she saw Itsuki look at her as he shook his head.
Getting his message, she put her hand down and started walking into the academy. As everyone"s attention was on Aizen, no one saw the two entering.
"It"s been a long time, yet it feels short"
Itsuki nodded at Rangiku"s words as they walked side by side.
"Where are the others?"
Itsuki questioned
"They couldn"t make it"
Itsuki felt suspicious but let it go.
Turning into a corner, Rangiku realised that they were in a relatively deserted training area. No student could be seen near this area and various sword marks could be seen sporadically lying about.
Leaning on the familiar tree stump, the two reminisced about their training days. Rangiku leaned on Itsuki"s shoulder as if it was natural while her eyes were gently closed. The two enjoyed this rare piece of quiet.
Suddenly, a rustle was heard behind them as a girl walked out. She looked awfully similar to Hisana but was just a younger version of her. She seemed to be a new student and remembering the timeline of the show, Rukia should have been in her first year of the academy, having just joined.
She seemed to be in her own thoughts due to not noticing the two people already there. What brought her out of these thoughts was a cry of a beautiful white eagle that landed in front of her.
Caught by surprise, she tripped and fell on her back as Seikyo jumped onto her knees. She was frozen as she didn"t dare move in case it earned the ire of the bird.
Seikyo was curiously looking at the girl in front of her. She looks the same but has a different smell. A bird and girl continued to look at each other until a Jigokucho interrupted them. They both looked towards it as it flew towards the tree stump.
It was only now that she noticed the two people in the area. She couldn"t see one of them and only saw a head full of blonde while the other had gotten up. What came into view was a white robe with the number two on the back.
This shocked Rukia as only one type of person could where something like that. Then remembering the bird that was on her knees, she turned to look at it, only to see it jump from her and onto the person"s shoulder.
The said person turned their head and glance back towards her. Coldness, pure coldness was present in those eyes when he looked back. Rukia was frozen when she met those eyes and found it hard to breathe.
By the time she collected her thoughts, the two people had already left.
Itsuki had been called for an emergency. They had lost contact with the students that went to the real world for training. Him being the closest, he received the order first. Upon entering the Senkaimon, he made his way towards the training area.
Arriving at the location, what entered his view was a fairly modern area. The year was currently 1952 and it was only six years after the second world war. j.a.pan was slowly recovering from the war and one could tell with the atmosphere.
In a certain location though, the atmosphere was very different. Countless hollows were killing students left and right with one major one in the middle.
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Author"s note
Guuuuys, bad news, ive fallen ill.
Life gave me hayfever and asthma, then decided it wasnt enough and presented me a cold
So, i"m going to take this chance to rewatch bleach and concentrate on my other book.
I"ll hopefully be back by Monday, finger"s crossed
Lastly, I will need to sort out a timetable for this so I can get you guys a more stable release rate.