Belonging

Ch.54 Bankai Training

I help Ichigo sit up as he continued to listen to Yoruichi.

"Besides, Ukitake was there, too. He's Rukia's superior with a strong sense of obligation."

"Yep, yep, Jushiro is a kind old man. He's one of my besties, so I know him well. He won't let any of them get hurt by little Byakuya."

...Nagi speaks the truth. Ukitake stopped Byakuya from killing Ganju and I.

"Little Byakuya?" Ichigo questions her.

"Yep." Nagi nods. "Besides, he would never blindly kill anyone who came to save Rukia."

"So you have nothing to worry over, Ichigo." Yoruichi continues. "Grow strong here. As you are now, you'd never defeat Byakuya. But, I'll train you so that you can. Then, go back and rescue everyone with your own hands!"

Ichigo gave her a determined look.

~~~~Time Skip~~~~

"How's the pain?"

"It's much better than earlier." Ichigo answers Yoruichi.

"We can't wait for you to recover completely. It might hurt, but you must do this."

"Right... Um, this place kind of reminds me of the hidden training room under Kisuke's shop."

The four of us were standing in a large room made of rock. I have no idea where the light is coming from if you're wondering.

"You two are the first outsiders I've ever brought here. Impressive, huh?"

"Just so you know, the rules here are strict." Nagi informs us. "You must pick up after yourself and try not to destroy the whole place, unless you want to rebuild this entire space. That's it."

"..."

I can't tell if she's joking or not.

Readying his sword in his hands, Ichigo focuses on Yoruichi. Nagi and I sat off to the side to watch them.

"Time's short, right? Let's get started then."

The cat woman smiles.

"Fine. First, let me ask you something. Have you ever noticed that your zanpakuto is always in it's released form?"

"Really? So it's like Kenpachi's zanpakuto? No wonder it's a lot bigger than the other zanpakuto. Now that I think about it, it won't change shape when I call his name either."

"Hey, what's it's name?" Nagi calls out.

"Huh? Oh, Zangetsu."

"Zangetsu...? That's so cool~."

"...So you didn't after all... Then...you probably also don't know that there is another level of Soul Release for Zangetsu."

This caught my brother's attention.

"All zanpakuto have two levels of Soul Release."

"Really?"

"The first one is called Shikai. The second is the Bankai. One must be able to do both of them to become a captain."

"It is?"

"Yes. In other words, every captain can do Bankai, with one exception... Kenpachi Zaraki. In the long history of the Soul Society, he's the only one who has became a captain without even knowing the name of his zanpakuto.

His raw strength is not to be taken lightly even by the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. You should know this clearly since you fought him head on. The power and forms of Shikai and Bankai are dependent of the zanpakuto. They also are according to the wielder's strength and training.

However, in general, one's power can grow five to ten times greater."

"Ten times?!"

"Scary, isn't it? This is because from being able to do Shikai and Bankai, even the strongest guys need at least ten years to train."

"Ten years?! But I don't-"

"I know. It takes ten or more years to train if you do it the proper way. But even though it's very risky and dangerous, I will use a different method to make you learn how to use Bankai in three days."

With that said, Yoruichi produces a weird life-size doll from no where.

"What is that for?" Ichigo looks it up and down.

"This is a Tenshintai. It's a rare artifact of the Stealth Force. This thing can forcefully materialize the soul of a zanpakuto. You need communication and synchronization with your zanpakuto to achieve Shikai. For Bankai, you need the materialization and submission of the zanpakuto.

Materialization means the opposite of getting dragged into your Inner World. So instead, you need to summon the zanpakuto's soul into our world. It usually takes ten years or more to achieve it.

Even though it ended in a draw, you managed to fight Zaraki to the end."

"It was a draw?" I face Nagi.

"Yep, you should of been there. The fight was amazing."

"You told me to go ahead with the others."

"Well, I can't control what the author tells me to say. She didn't feel like writing that entire scene out. In fact, she plans on skipping the fight between Byakuya and Ichigo too. Even though that's her favorite battle in the Soul Society arc."

"...What are you talking about? Have you finally lost it?"

"No, I'm just sentient."

"...So you're crazy... Okay."

"What?! No!"

I face Ichigo and Yoruichi once more, ignoring Nagi's comments.

"Hey! Don't ignore me!"