The Blue Bird's Song {Bleach}

Chapter Eight {The First of Many Battles}

Three o'clock finally came and I found myself standing outside the Urahara shop yet again. I was pumped for this battle but the same time, extremely nervous. I knew that there was no way for me to truly beat Kisuke with how strong I was, but it was bound to be a good fight between us. Knowing him, he was trying to test me rather than having a battle for the sake of it. Everything he did had some reasoning behind it; I knew that.

I headed straight down to the training area where Kisuke was waiting patiently for me. "Good to see you showed up. I was starting to think that you'd decided to hide from this." A sly smile was plastered on his face. He was going to enjoy beating me far too much.

"Don't doubt me so much Kisuke. You raised me better than to skip out on a fight because of fear."

"So, you're telling me you're scared?"

"Of course! I'm not going to let that stop me though."

"Let's get started then, shall we?" I nodded, grabbing my pill from my pocket. I swallowed, feeling a sense of freedom as my soul splits from my body. "Are you ready for this Blue?" I asked my Zanpakuto as I pulled him from his sheath.

"Of course, I am. I've always been ready for this. Let's take this guy down." I could feel his eagerness to fight. From the days when I first met him, I would have never pictured him like this.

"Let's do it." Kisuke drew his sword from his cane. I'd never seen his Zanpakuto in its released form, but I hope that today will be that day. "It seems we have an audience." His comment brought me out from my fighting stance to look at the people sitting on a large boulder to watch. There was the Urahara shop crew as well as Rukia watching. She gave me a faint smile of encouragement and I gave a small grin in return. "Don't get distracted." I caught movement from the corner of my eye and quickly brought my blade up to counter. Kisuke swung his weapon down with full force and I struggled to push him off.

"Need some help?" I didn't need to reply to his useless rhetorical question. A blue flash erupted from my Zanpauto and Kisuke went flying. I stood up straight again and recover my stance. I muttered a thank you under my breath, receiving no reply. Kisuke landed on his feet and slides backwards.

"That was a neat trick. When'd you learn that one?"

"Just now."

"How about we pick up the pace and release our Zanpakutos first. This will take a while if we don't." I nodded in agreement

"Age before beauty Kisuke," I chuckled. He smiled slightly as he prepared to release his blade.

"Awaken now, Benihime!" Kisuke yelled as his cane took on the form of a true Zanpakuto. Benihime; Crimson Princess. The spiritual pressure it gave off was rather intimidating.

"Soar across the heavenly skies Aoi Tori!" I felt my Zanpakuto release and smiled at the sensation. "Get ready Blue. This is going to be a tough one so I'm going to need a lot of help from you. Let's do it together okay?"

"You've got it. I've been waiting for this a long time." I could feel him grinning inside with eagerness. Without hesitation, both Kisuke and I charged, our blades clashing together.

We continued to collide and I kept looking for any weaknesses or an opening but there anything visible. My expression turned serious whilst he looked like he was having fun playing a game. He was toying with me and I hated that.

"Focus, Kukiko. Remember you're not alone in this. Use me when you're ready." I nodded and continued the fight. Kisuke broke the pattern and flash stepped behind me. He slashed down my back and I let out a gasp of pain.