Force of Souls Chapter 19 (Patreon)

Hey friends and fans, Kairomaru is bringing you another Force of Souls Chapter! Rukia has been taken back to the Soul Society. Urahara is taking in Ichigo, Tatsuki, Orihime, and Chad for training. Just how much stronger can the group get in roughly two weeks? Will it be enough to save Rukia?

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So, without further delay, please enjoy.

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Chapter 19 – Rescue Rukia, Training, Soul Society

If it rusts, it can never be trusted
If its owner fails to control it, it will cut him
Yes, pride is
Like a blade

‘I feel…warm.’ That was Ichigo’s first thought as he began to awaken. It wasn’t the comfortable warmth he felt when snuggled up with his girlfriends though. He slowly opened his eyes and came face-to-face with Tessai.

“Hi.” Tessai greeted the teen plainly.

“WAAAHH!!!” Ichigo freaked out at being inches away from the older man’s face.

“A quick response! Very good!” Tessai complimented the Substitute Shinigami.

“You’re too close!” Ichigo tried to shove Tessai off of him. “Wait a minute…” He noticed the he was in a futon and that Tessai was underneath the blanket with him. “Why the hell are you underneath the blanket?!”

“Boss! Kurosaki-san is awake!” Tessai called out, barely being budged by Ichigo.

“Get the hell off of me!” Ichigo demanded of the other man. Tessai obliged and moved away, letting Ichigo sit up.

“What happened?” Ichigo had no idea why he’d woken up here, nor how he’d gotten here in the first place. “Wait…RUKIA!” Ichigo bolted to his feet; his eyes looking around wildly. “Orihime?! Tatsuki?!” Not seeing any of his girlfriends, Ichigo was about to tear out of the room to find them.

“No, no, Kurosaki-san.” Urahara stepped through the door. “Your perfectly fine, as are your girlfriends.”

“Hat n’ Clogs?” Ichigo blinked at the shopkeeper and Soul Society exile. “Is this your house?”

“Yep!” Urahara smiled, unfolding his paper fan.

“Where are Orihime and Tatsuki?” Ichigo questioned, still looking for both of them.

“Still asleep.” Urahara waved his fan side-to-side. “They don’t have as much Reiryoku as you do, so they’re slower to break the effects of the Bakudō that Kuchiki-san used.”

“They’re not hurt, are they?” Ichigo eyes told of his worry and concern for his girlfriends.

“No, no, they’re perfectly fine. Just sleeping.” Urahara assured the teen calmly. “The same cannot be said for Kuchiki-san though.”

Ichigo looked down at the tatami floor with a look of self-loathing. He hadn’t been able to do anything. Rukia had done everything, accepted all of the responsibility for a crime that shouldn’t even be called a crime! Now she was gone. Back in Soul Society. The only meager comfort that he had was the white-haired Captain’s words that he’d do what he could to lessen her sentence.

“You want to save her, right?” Urahara asked rhetorically.

“Of course, I do.” Ichigo scowled at the shopkeeper. “But Rukia went back to the Soul Society. How am I supposed to get there? How can I save her?”

“Do you really think there’s no way to get to the Soul Society?” Urahara’s eyes were shadowed by the brim of his hat.

Ichigo’s eyes snapped towards Urahara instantly. “Well? Is there?! How?! How can I get there?! Tell me!” He demanded of the blonde man.

“I’ll tell you, on one condition.” Urahara held up his index finger. “For the next ten days, you must allow me to train you.”

“You’re going to teach me how to fight?” Ichigo scoffed at Urahara’s condition. “We don’t have time for that! Who knows when they might sentence Rukia to whatever punishment they decide on?! Right now, we’ve got to…”

“You don’t understand.” Urahara cut him off midsentence. The bottom of his cane lightly tapped Ichigo’s forehead, but the orange-haired Shinigami was knocked to the floor anyway. Suddenly Urahara was on the opposite side of Ichigo, his cane hovering over the teen’s throat. “What I’m trying to tell you is, they’ll kill you.” His sharp eyes stared coldly into Ichigo’s. “Could you win? If you fought them as you are now? You couldn’t even see the three of them move last night, could you?”

‘What’s this sensation?’ Ichigo stared at Urahara and the can poised over his neck. ‘It’s like the point of a sword hovering over me.’ He could swear he almost saw a blade-shaped aura surrounding the cane.

“At your current level of ability, you wouldn’t stand a chance in Soul Society.” Urahara stated factually. “You’re weak. For you to venture into enemy territory now would be suicide. You want to save Kuchiki-san? Don’t make me laugh.” His visible eye was cold and piercing. “Don’t use her as an excuse to kill yourself.”

Urahara’s cane lost the threatening feeling and the Soul Society exile stood up again. Ichigo could only stare up at him from his place on the floor. There was nothing he could really say to that. The shopkeeper was right. He hadn’t even been able to see the Shinigami from last night move. As he was now…he couldn’t win against them. He couldn’t save Rukia.

“The Soul Society generally waits one month before executing a capital offender.” Urahara informed the Substitute Shinigami. “That should hold true for Kuchiki-san as well.” Ichigo sat up and listened to Urahara before what the white-haired man had said to him last night came back to him again.

“Wait…that guy, the one in the white haori. He said that he’d try to get Rukia’s punishment lessened. Would they even execute Rukia?” Ichigo questioned, his brown eyes boring into Urahara’s eyes and demanding the truth.

“Captain Ukitake has quite some leverage among the Thirteen Court Guard Squads.” Urahara admitted of his former colleague. “But if what I think is going to happen does come to pass, then Kuchiki-san will be executed regardless.”

“Damn it.” Ichigo growled under his breath. He probably shouldn’t have expected anything else.

“Ten days to abuse you.” Urahara spoke again, his voice calm, but intense. “Seven days to open the gates to the Soul Society. And then thirteen days for you to save her. That’s the time we have.”

Ichigo looked down at his lap for a long moment, thinking back to watching Rukia walk away last night. “Can I get strong enough, in just ten days?”

“Of course.” Urahara nodded, looking at the young Shinigami before him. “If you wish to save Kuchiki-san with all your heart and soul, then you have at your disposal a power stronger than iron.” He placed his hands behind his back. “But if your resolve is half-hearted, then forget it.” An almost threatening grin appeared on Urahara’s face. “For the next ten days, I’m going to put you through hell.”

“All right, let’s do it.” Ichigo stood up, his eyes burning with resolve.

“Of course.” Urahara grinned at the fire in Ichigo’s eyes.

The next hour or so was spent with Ichigo at Orihime and Tatsuki’s bedsides, just waiting for them to wake up. Once they had awakened, Ichigo had pulled them both into a hug, holding them closely as the memories of last night came back to them and they realized that Rukia was gone. Orihime was in tears for a bit. Tatsuki had a few that ran down her cheeks as well, but she was trying to be strong for Orihime. Once they’d calmed down a bit, Urahara had made his offer of training to both of the girls as well.

“Yes!” Orihime had nearly bolted to her feet. “I want to save Rukia!”

“Damn right!” Tatsuki punched her fist into her opposite palm. “I don’t give a damn who they are! They’re not taking Rukia away from us!”

“Then meet here tomorrow morning, right after breakfast, and we’ll get started.” Urahara instructed the three of them.

“Yes!” Ichigo, Tatsuki, and Orihime confirmed strongly.

-Urahara Shoten ~ Next Morning-

“Welcome, you three, did you get permission from your families?” Urahara asked, his mouth hidden by his folding fan.

“Somehow my old man got a letter in the mail from a youth camp that I’ve volunteered to help at as a teen councilor for my summer break.” Ichigo stared Urahara dead in the eye. “I wonder how that could have possibly happened?”

“Same here.” Tatsuki was glaring at the shopkeeper. “Orihime is going, and since Karakura High didn’t make it to Nationals, I decided to do this with her, apparently.” The letter had been incredibly well-made and convincing as hell. If Tatsuki hadn’t known better, she’d have possibly thought she signed up for something and forgotten about it.

“The camp even has a website!” Orihime looked more amazed by how thorough Urahara was in this fabricated story he was using to cover up their whereabouts while they went to Soul Society.

“Glad that I could be of help.” Urahara grinned behind his fan.

“Shut it, Hat n’ Clogs!” Ichigo and Tatsuki both yelled at the blonde man. Orihime just smiled, knowing that both were actually thankful for not having to come up with lies for their families.

“Hey, I’m here.” Chad walked up to the Urahara Shoten with his hand raised in greeting.

“Chad?” Ichigo blinked at his best friend showing up. “What’re you doing here?”

“Helping you three save Rukia.” Chad revealed that he’d not forgotten about Rukia after she’d been taken back to Soul Society. Which meant that he had enough Reiryoku to resist the memory replacement abilities of the Soul Society. “I’ve always got your back, Ichigo.”

“I think you’ll find that I’ve prepared proper instructors for all four of you.” Urahara motioned four the four teens to follow him.

“So, you remember everything?” Ichigo spoked to Chad as the four of them followed after Urahara.

“Yeah,” Chad nodded simply. “I didn’t at first. But it slowly came back to me over time. Then I was attacked by one of those monsters the other day. I was trying to lead it away from anyone else, but ended up leading it to your little sister. I’m sorry.”

“What?” Ichigo nearly stumbled as he heard about this for the first time. “Was it Yuzu…no, no, if it was Yuzu then she would’ve told us about it at dinner. You saved Karin.” Ichigo looked Chad directly in the eye and gave him a bow. “Thank you, Chad, for saving my little sister. I can’t repay you for saving her life like that.”

“It’s fine, Ichigo.” Chad shook his head. “She helped me see the monster before I could see it on my own. She saved me just as much as I saved her. Besides, getting your back means helping your family too.” He smiled at his best friend, mutual understanding between the two forming as they fist bumped.

“Down the ladder everyone!” Urahara called cheerfully, removing one of the tatami mats to reveal a hole in the floor and a ladder that led down into who knows where.

The five of them climbed down the ladder, only for the four teens to gawk at what was revealed to be beneath Urahara’s store. A massive, cavernous area, filled with large rocks and plateaus. There were large amounts of flat space and dead trees here and there as well. The freaking ceiling was even painted to look like the sky outside! None of them could even tell where the light was coming from. There didn’t appear to be any fixtures anywhere, it was like the sun was really shining normally.

“Whoa! What is this?! This huge, cavernous chamber is right beneath my store!” Urahara exclaimed, as if he wasn’t the one to lead them down here.

“Oh, shut up.” Ichigo deadpanned at the man.

“Geez…” Tatsuki rolled her eyes at the dumb joke.

“I think it’s amazing!” Orihime beamed at the space, clapping her hands together.

“Oh, thank you, Inoue-san!” Tessai was suddenly before her, a handkerchief rubbing at his teary eyes as he gently shook her hand. “Such genuine praise for all the hard work. I’m so moved!”

“Ehehehe…you’re welcome.” Orihime rolled with the sudden appearance of the emotional man with a stunning ease.

“Anyway,” Ichigo began to stretch a bit. “We don’t have much time. Let’s start training already.” Tatsuki was already stretching as well, clearly of the same mind.

“Good. That’s the spirit!” Urahara praised them as he held up his cane. “Let’s do this first!” He tapped Ichigo, Tatsuki, and Orihime on their foreheads. All three reeled back ack their Shinigami Forms were forced out of their bodies.

“A little warning would’ve been nice!” Tatsuki growled at the shopkeeper. Looking at her own unconscious body was always a bit weird.

“Don’t you worry, we’ll take care of your bodies and keep them perfectly healthy while you’re training and off in Soul Society.” Urahara promised with a wave of his fan. Tatsuki was really wondering if she could punch him one good time. “Now, I’ll introduce your instructors!” He declared with over the top flare. “For Inoue-San, our very own Kidō Master, Tessai!” He pointed to the large man.

“It’s been a long time since I last had a student, I’ll strive to teach you everything possible over the next ten days.” Tessai smiled down at Orihime.

“Yes, sensei!” Orihime nearly saluted, making everyone smile slightly at the bubbly airhead. The two walked off, already starting a discussion about what she’d be learning from Tessai.

“For Sado-san, an old friend of mine!” Urahara pointed to one of the plateaus of rock and the teens finally noticed a man leaning against one of them. “Muguruma Kensei!”

The man was tall and muscular, with sharp features, short silver hair and brown eyes. He had a tattoo of the number ‘69’on his chest. He wore a dark purple A-shirt with white trim, green cargo pants, black combat boots, and a pair of orange fingerless gloves. The man also had a series of piercings, with one on his left eyebrow and three on his left ear. “Shut the hell up, Urahara! Let’s get this over with, boy.” He motioned for Chad to come over to him. Damn Urahara for springing this on him so suddenly! Even saying shit about favors and such! If Kensei thought it would do any good, he’d punch the scientist in the back of the head one time…or three.

“He’s a power fist fighter, much like how your own power works, Sado-san.” Urahara explained with a nod. “He’ll be a good teacher to help you make the most out of your abilities.”

“Alright.” Chad nodded and started heading over to the man.

“I’ll be working with you, Arisawa-san.” The masculine voice of the black cat that Tatsuki had met during the Hollow invasion spoke up from right beside her.

“Shit!” Tatsuki actually jumped slightly at not even noticing when the cat had shown up. “When did you get there?!”

“I see that we’ll need to work on your awareness over these ten days, on top of your combat skills.” The cat ignored the question and began walking off. “Follow me, we haven’t got time to waste.”

“I’m getting training…from a cat?” Tatsuki questioned Urahara blankly.

“Oh yes, Yoruichi is quite the teacher!” Urahara smiled and waved her off with his fan.

“What the hell is my life anymore?” Tatsuki wondered as she followed after the black cat.

“Was that a talking cat?” Ichigo had the most disbelieving look on his face at what he’d just witnessed.

“No need to worry about that, Kurosaki-san!” Urahara assured the younger Shinigami. “Because for the next ten days, you’ll be working with me!”

“Yeah, sure.” Ichigo looked at Urahara dubiously. “How’re we going to do this?”

“Kuchiki-san taught you three the skills that you’d need to fight and survive against average Hollows.” Urahara commented plainly on the training that Ichigo, Orihime, and Tatsuki had received up to this point. “She helped you build a foundation from which your skills could grow.”

“Yeah, what about it?” Ichigo raised an eyebrow at the man.

“But she never put you three into any real danger during your training.” Urahara continued, as if Ichigo hadn’t spoken. “She gave you structured guidance on every one of the four Shinigami Arts. That is not how I will be teaching you.” The shift in tone made the hairs on the back of Ichigo’s neck stand on end. “Lesson one: Knock my hat off my head. If you do that, you pass. If you don’t, we’ll keep going until you do. Just know that I’ll be fighting back, Kurosaki-san.”

“That’s it?” Ichigo placed his hands on his Zanpakutō. “I feel like you’re underestimating me, Hat n’ Clogs. Knocking off your hat shouldn’t take more than a few minutes.”

“All right,” Urahara smirked as he pulled on the handle of his cane to reveal a hidden sword blade. “Let’s see you do it.”

-With Kensei and Chad-

“Guh!” Chad hacked as Kensei’s fist landed in his stomach and sent him bouncing across the ground.

“What the hell kind of piss poor defense is that?” Kensei demanded, pointing at the downed form of Chad. “You think that just because you have a strong body that you can take blows from others? You don’t know a damned thing about spiritual combat, do you?!”

“N-no…but, I need to learn.” Chad stood up and stumbled a step forward.

“Then you better start by activating your power first.” Kensei mentioned, looking at the teen expectantly.

“I…don’t know how to do that.” Chad admitted to his impromptu teacher.

“Don’t know how to…” Kensei repeated before face palming. “Damn it, Urahara.” He growled before walking up to the teen. “Alright, we’ll start from the basics then. What were you feeling the first time that you activated your power?”

“What I was feeling?” Chad pondered on the fight with the Hollow, trying to keep Karin safe, not wanting her to die, and not wanting to die himself. “I wanted, to protect someone, and to protect myself.”

“People discover their true inner power when they want to protect something.” Kensei spoke, looking in Chad’s direction, but his gaze was clearly on something in the past. “Their own lives, status, honor, loved ones, a principle, a strong desire to protect is the key.” His gaze refocused and he looked at Chad pointedly. “Why are you going to Soul Society?”

“To protect my friends.” Chad replied after only a second of thought. He felt his right arm flex automatically as a strange feeling encompassed it.

“Good.” Kensei acknowledged as the Reiatsu of the tall teen continued to build before his right arm transformed.

“It changed again.” Chad looked at his right arm, seeing the black and magenta armor over it again.

“So, that’s what your power looks like?” Kensei remarked after a quick look over of the transformation. “I’ve seen a lot of weird shit in my centuries of life, kid, but that’s certainly a rare ability you have there.” He locked eyes with the teen. “Now, are you ready to learn how to use it?”

“Yes.” Chad felt the strange power flare from his shoulder before he threw a powerful straight punch towards Kensei.

“That’s more like it.” Kensei knocked the incoming blast away and then caught Chad’s transformed fist with ease. “Looks like you aren’t a hopeless case after all.” He smirked as he overpowered the teen and nailed him with a right hook, sending Chad staggering to the side.

-Orihime and Tessai-

“Now, Inoue-san, tell me what you know about Kidō.” Tessai encouraged his new student.

“Well, it uses Reiryoku and an incantation to produce a specific spell.” Orihime recalled how Rukia had explained Kidō to her. “They’re divided into Hadō and Bakudō for the listed spells, but there are also things like Kekkai and Fu that are done through Kidō.”

“Very good.” Tessai smiled at the answer. “Kuchiki-san clearly covered the basics with you.”

“Hehehe~” Orihime smiled happily at the praise.

“However, there is much more to learn about Kidō, both in relation to how they work, and how to cast them. Not to mention how a strong affinity for Kidō usually correlates to having a Kidō-based Zanpakutō.”

“My Zanpakutō can do Kidō?” Orihime looked at her sword in wonder, little sparkles in her eyes.

“It can have a Kidō-like effect, yes.” Tessai chuckled at the excited girl. “For now, tell me all of the Kidō that you currently know, and we’ll work from there. Good Reiryoku control will be a boon for this study, and if you prove proficient enough, we’ll work on casting without incantations.”

“Rukia said that using a spell without the incantation made it a lot weaker though?” Orihime recalled from her previous lessons.

“Indeed, it does,” Tessai confirmed before a small grin formed on his face. “But there are ways around such limitations, if you advance in the Art of Kidō.”

“Okay!” Orihime cheered, both of her arms raised above her head.

Tessai was happy to have such an eager student after so long.

-Tatsuki and Yoruichi-

“So…how do I learn to fight from a cat? No offense.” Tatsuki looked down at the black cat.

“You learn by doing.” Yoruichi gave the equivalent of a grin for a cat. “For example: can you catch me?”

“Can I catch a cat?” Tatsuki vividly recalled what she’d seen this particular cat do to a large group of Hollows.

“Yes, can you catch a cat?” Yoruichi chuckled at the girl. “Using Hohō, of course. No Kidō or Zanjutsu for this task.”

“I’ll try.” Tatsuki gained a challenging look on her face. “You might be fast, but I should have a much longer stride.”

“Yes, you should.” Yoruichi confirmed with a nod. “But until you catch me, we won’t move on from Hohō to Hakuda. I think that will be some good motivation.”

“It was Hakuda that you used to destroy the Hollows, right?” Tatsuki wanted speed and strength like that.

“Something like that.” Yoruichi vanished from Tatsuki’s sight, but the teen felt a weight gently alight on her shoulder. “You’re it.” The cat declared and vanished again, reappearing on a rock almost a dozen meters away.

“Shouldn’t the force of that Shunpo have dislocated my shoulder, or worse?” Tatsuki shot out the question as she rolled her shoulder, not even having felt when Yoruichi moved.

“I mean, if you want me to do that, I can.” Yoruichi yawned. “But if you’re really in control of your body and your Reiryoku, why wouldn’t you be in control of the force you generate and where it’s applied?” The black cat tilted its head at the raven-haired girl.

“Awesome.” Tatsuki grinned and vanished straight towards Yoruichi’s position.

“Try not to be so predictable.” Yoruichi was on the ground, ten meters away, looking at Tatsuki’s hands passing through the air above the rock. “The most direct path is the shortest and most efficient, but it is also the easiest to dodge.”

“Alright, then I’ll just speed up even more!” Tatsuki’s body glowed slightly as she channeled more Reiryoku throughout her form. This time when she vanished, the yellow-orange glow of her Reiryoku gave her away.

“Control more so than power, little Tatsuki.” Yoruichi was back on the rock again. “You can’t master Shunpo with brute force.”

“Wh-when did you pass me?” Tatsuki blinked, standing a few meters past where Yoruichi had been.

“When?” Yoruichi’s ears flicked. “I simply walked right past you is all.”

“This is starting to feel like some folktale about a Martial Artist learning from an old hermit sage.” Tatsuki chuckled, having been a fan of books and movies like that as a little girl.

“I’m afraid I can’t grow a long white beard for you.” Yoruichi stretched out on the rock. “But I can impart wisdom and help you improve.”

“Right!” Tatsuki vanished in a blur and Yoruichi was once more gone before she got there. Undeterred, Tatsuki slid into a second Shunpo right after the first, now in pursuit of the mobile black cat.

“Progress already, very good.” Yoruichi grinned at Tatsuki.

-Soul Society-

Thirteen people, three women and ten men, stood in a large meeting hall together. Even though they had various looks and builds, one thing that unified them was that all thirteen were wearing white haori over their black shihakushō. One of them, the oldest of all, sat on a high-backed wooden chair. Beside him, a gnarled walking cane rested. The other twelve stood in two lines of six, one on the left side of the chair, and the other on the right side. These were the Captains of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, the thirteen strongest Shinigami in the Seireitei.

“The verdict for the accused has been delivered.” The old man sitting in the chair spoke up, holding the official verdict from the Central Forty-Six. The highest decision-making body in all of Soul Society, outside of two others, and the old man himself (though that was only during war time). “Kuchiki Rukia, Tenth Seat of the Thirteenth Division, for the crime of giving Shinigami power to a human, has been sentenced to death in one month’s time.”

One of the Captains maintained a stoic face, but a pain formed within his chest. The man had slate gray eyes and long black hair, which he kept up with intricate white headpieces called kenseikan, three of which he wore on top of his head and another two on the right side. In addition to the standard shihakushō and the Captain’s haori, he wore a white scarf of immeasurable quality around his neck.

“Head Captain, please, forgive me, but isn’t this sentence too harsh for the crime committed?” Ukitake took a single step forward to leave the line that he was in and speak to the old man at the head of the hall.

“We do not make choices of the Central Forty-Six’s decisions, Captain Ukitake, you know this.” The old man replied, his voice a bit gravelly, but with an undeniable strength and presence behind it. “The accused has been convicted and a punishment set. That is the end of the matter.”

“It does seem a bit harsh.” The Captain with the flowery pink haori over his white haori mentioned, but didn’t step out of line. He tilted his gasa hat upwards slightly to gauge the reactions of the rest of the room.

“If I recall, this law was put into place only after another human had been given Shinigami powers and then went on to kill others to take their powers as well.” The Captain Kurotsuchi spoke up, his yellow eyes focused squarely on Ukitake.

“This situation is not the same, Captain Kurotsuchi.” Ukitake narrowed his brown eyes at the scientist. “Declaring guilt when the same incident has not resulted in the same outcome seems wrong, does it not?”

“The law is in place for a reason, we don’t change who is held accountable on a person by person basis.” The short woman closest to where the old man’s chair was spoke up. Her dark eyes shot a stern look at Ukitake. “She broke the law. The punishment is death. Do not let your attachment to your squad members cloud your judgment, Captain Ukitake.”

“So harsh.” A taller woman in the same line as the short woman sighed lightly. She had long, wavy orange hair, blue eyes, full lips, and a beauty mark located under the right side of her mouth. She also had the most curvaceous figure of the three women in the room. Of particular note (at least for a vast majority of the male Shinigami in Seireitei) were her very large breasts. The orangette woman wore the typical Shinigami shihakusho, though she allowed her robes to hang loose so that her ample cleavage was revealed. She also wore a thin golden necklace tucked between her cleavage and a long pink scarf over her shoulders. Unlike most of the others in the meeting hall, she carried her Zanpakutō behind her back, rather than at her hip. “Kuchiki-san’s little Substitute didn’t do anything bad, right? Why go for the harshest sentence right away?”

“The matter is settled, Captain Matsumoto, we will not be discussing it further.” The old man spoke up, raising his voice slightly to prevent any further talk.

“Yes, Head Captain.” Matsumoto acknowledged, shooting a small look of sympathy towards Ukitake.

“In one month’s time, all Captains and Lieutenants will gather at Sōkyoku Hill for the execution.” The Head Captain made it clear that this was not a request, but an order. Attendance for this was mandatory for all of them. “Now, the verdict has been made known to you all, so this meeting is adjourned. Dismissed.”

The twelve Captains began to file out of the room, none speaking, but eyes were meeting between some of them. The only difference was in the meanings behind the various gazes.

-End Chapter-

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Training has begun at Urahara’s! The man even gave the four teens an ironclad alibi! Even a website! Lol

Chad gets to meet and be trained by Kensei, another high powered fist fighter. Chad better learn quick if he doesn’t want to just be a punching bag for the next ten days!

Tessai is so happy to have a new student after so long! Bubbly Orihime is an adorable student!

Tatsuki has to catch Yoruichi?! Not even possible! But maybe that’s part of the lesson, hmm?

Urahara is about to make Ichigo face down a deadly experience to force his Reiryoku to grow rapidly! Perhaps this constant state of danger will also bring about another form of growth? But only if Ichigo can hear it of course.

Is ten days of training going to be enough?

Keep reading to find out!