Bleach: Azashiro

At the Azashiro family's underground training ground, you could see 2 people standing opposite each other. A child in a tense position, with a calm face, clutching a sword in his hands in front of him and an old man with a slight smile on his face, who stood relaxed, his hands were lowered and the sword clutched in one hand almost touched the floor. He didn't seem to take the guy seriously, but he doesn't.

Even though the guy trains with him nothing at all, he surprised his teacher more than once or twice. With his talent, he grasped everything on the fly, difficult topics for many Shinigami, the guy understood perfectly.

If he had enough control to create a kido, he will master it in a maximum of 3 attempts. Of course, first, by studying and observing the spell itself in the teacher's performance. He would later train this kido until he could use it, without reading the spell.

He also has great success in hoho, even if it seems that now he is slower than his teacher. But Sato knew that his skill was already one step away from shumpo.

All this concerned only theory, but when it came to sparring, that's when it was transformed. It seemed like a guy wanted to hone every aspect of shinigami power so that it could be used during combat.

During their sparring sessions, Sato himself was sometimes surprised at how his student used the kido. The seemingly ordinary Bakudo:21 Sekienton, a smoke screen, is used for retreat. But the guy uses the spell to buy himself time, to read a new spell, or to strike an unexpected blow.

The thought was so simple that Sato did not understand why no one had thought of it before. But I quickly found the answer. Most kido masters rarely participate in battles. Their main task is to monitor the operation of the senkaimon, the installation of barriers (seals) and the removal of the seal from Sokyeku during the execution. In their free time, members of the squad prefer to learn new kido or try to create new ones, which only a few succeed in.

The old man's thoughts were interrupted by a surge of reatsu, which indicated that a kido had been launched into him. Anticipating another sparring session with a student, Sato pulled himself together.

-Hado№4 Byakurai-

Blue lightning flew out of Akihiko's finger in the direction of the enemy. Only after releasing the kido did he immediately begin the next ones.

-Bakudo№26 Kyokko-

And he disappeared. At this time, lightning fired at the beginning of the battle reached Sato, but he turned his torso and let it pass him. Looking around and not seeing Akihiko, the old man grinned and concentrated, anticipating a new set of attacks from the student.

-Bakudo№62 Hyapporankan-

Akihiko, never discovered, uttered another kido while 50 meters from the teacher. A pole of blue energy appeared in his hand, swinging, he threw the pole with all his might towards the old man, walking, appearing in front of the teacher and watching the pole flying at the teacher's back, which multiplied by 100 of the same ones, he had a little more than a second before how to hit the old man.

Realizing that Kyokko was asleep as soon as he released another kido, Akihiko wanted to force a short fight to distract his opponent and give him the opportunity for further action. Bringing a sword over his head, he struck with a sword, a block, a blow, a walk, leaving under the blow of his own spell.

-Danku-

Right behind Sato's back, a transparent wall appeared, into which poles crashed, breaking in the process. Marveling at the student's new idea, the old man already wanted to move in his direction, when he again felt a surge of reatsu and...

-Bakudo№61 Rikujokoro-

...it is pierced by six thin but wide yellow rays, paralyzing it. Realizing that he had been caught using Danku, he relaxed.

All he had to do was look at the student who appeared in front of him. He stood on shaking legs, it felt like as soon as he was pushed lightly and he would fall. Sweat poured from his forehead, his eyelids trembled, trying to cover his eyes, but Akihiko still stood and looked at his teacher with a barely noticeable smile.

"3-21, teacher". - the guy said in a tired voice.

-Yes, surprised. The speed of your spells has increased again, in 5-6 years you will be able to use kido without even pronouncing the name. - Freed from the constraining bakudo, the old man put his zanpakto in the sheath.

-Today, your bunch of attacks were the best of them all. But there are a couple of disadvantages that you will need to work on. First, if you are fighting an enemy who has a large amount of spiritual power, Byakurai may not be enough, he will simply not pay attention to him and will try to attack, which will interfere with you. He may guess that such a weak attack in the forehead serves as a distraction. - explained the disadvantages in the combination of attacks by the student, Sato.

-Second, your Hyapporankan, too slow, you even had to force me to close combat so that the attack would have any success. It's too easy to evade. But we will still work with this. But this will create another flaw, accelerating the kido, your entire attack will depend entirely on the actions of the enemy. You simply won't have time to get close to him in order to shackle him with Rikujokoro in the future. - Having immediately found weak points in the combination of the guy's attacks, Sato spoke about weak points and kido attacks that are incompatible for the combination, in his opinion. - In this case, you will have to rely on your opponent not having time to evade Rikujokoro.

Akihiko, after listening to the teacher, nodded his head, agreeing with everything that had been said, and wondered how he could improve the ligament. So far, all that comes to mind is to change the order of attacks, but since Rikujokoro is faster than Hyapporankan, he will have to improve his speed in order to catch the flight of poles, reach the enemy and use Rikujokoro.

Then it turns out that the first attack will be Rikujokoro, it is almost impossible to dodge at close range from it, and while the enemy tries to free himself or repel the rays of the kido, Hyapporankan will have to put an end to the battle.

-At the next workouts, we'll focus on improving reatsu control. Then, we will work on using spells in motion. Having mastered this, in the future you will be able to move with your step, with the Häpporankan unreleased in your hand. - the old man finished with a smile, watching how his student's eyes lit up. He was sure that now he was thinking in his head how many opportunities this would open up for him. But Akihiko needs to rest, but after 24 sparring sessions he also felt tired.

"We'll finish it today, go to Yoshie, let him put you in order". - Nodding Akihiko, Sato went to the exit from the training ground.

Akihiko, bowing slightly, went to another part of the training ground, where a doctor was waiting for him.

**********************************************************

After finishing sparring with my teacher, I surrendered to Yoshi-san, the doctor sent by my father, to monitor my well-being during and after training.

Yoshi-san is a tall man with short black hair, an elongated face and small eyes. He wore standard shinigami clothing and a medical bag on his belt.

-Thank you, Yoshi-san. - After waiting for him to finish, I got up from the couch and headed to my room, wanting to meditate.

-Akihiko-kun, the head asked me to tell him to come into his office when you finish your training. - I heard, already standing in the doorway.

"Okay". I answered and walked towards my father's office.

Walking along the corridor, I came across servants working on the estate on my way. Everyone was busy. I noticed smiles on the faces of women caring for flowers in my mother's garden.

Noticing me, they tried to hide their emotions, as required of servants in noble families, but I know they are proud and happy to serve my family. I noticed a couple of times how they gossiped among themselves, bragging and egging on the servants of the lower noble families who visited us during visits.

Turning the corner at the end of the corridor, the doors leading to my father's office were already visible.

There were 2 guards standing against the walls, on either side of the door, holding their hands on their swords in a sheath. The guards bowed to me and silently opened the sliding doors, letting me inside.

-Father.- Going inside, I bowed and greeted my father.

In the office, my father met me sitting at the table, holding a sheet of paper in one hand and lighting a pipe in the second. There was a strong smell of tobacco, but it did not cause rejection. Inviting me to sit down, my father pointed his pipe at the wooden chair standing opposite his table.

When he finished reading, he focused his attention on me.

"How are you training, I heard from Yoshi-san, are you making progress?" my father asked encouragingly looking at me.

-That's fine, I can use up to level 65 kidos at this point without reading the spell. Tomorrow Sato-sensei wanted to start practicing level 66 kido. - I decided to tell my father my successes.

-What about the rest? How do you control the reirek? - Father asked, removing the phone to the edge of the table.

-The teacher said, I'm comparable to active lieutenants in control. And he could have used a kido up to level 80, but he decided not to force my training in a kido. - I answered.

-In zanjutsu, I'm just short of an expert. Sato-sensei said this due to the lack of real battles. In Hoho, I'm a little slower than Sato Sensei. Hakuda is only at an average level. - I told my father about my successes.

"It turns out that you are comparable in strength to a lieutenant, if you don't take into account the banpacto". - Father muttered thoughtfully. - How are you doing with mastering the chic?

"I can't get into my inner world yet", I shook my head in disappointment.

"Today an invitation came from the Shihoin family to a banquet in honor of the appointment of the new head of the clan". - from what I heard, I looked at him in confusion.

"And you will have to come with us", my father stunned me with this news.

-And it's not discussed, you're the heir to the Azashiro clan. Before this, we didn't bother you with family matters. But this time the invitation came from a noble family and you must be present. - he said.

All I could do was nod my head sadly. From birth, I didn't think about my place in the clan. From the very beginning I decided to follow the path of shinigami and my parents knew it.

They understand that I don't need power in the clan. I was not distracted from training, going to banquets and official meetings. And I was grateful to them for this.

This ended our conversation with my father, he told me to go and rest.

**********************************************************

After finishing my meditation and taking a shower, I went to bed. Lying in bed, I thought about my parents and clan.

During my time with them, I fell in love with them. For me, who was once an orphan, this is unusual. I wished them the best, but I did nothing for it. This request from my father reminded me of my duties to the clan. I am the heir of the Azashiro family and I had to live up to it, but I waved it off and devoted all my time to training.

I used to want to follow the path of shinigami and fight empty ones. Now thinking about my clan and my position in it, I understood what an egoist I was.

I haven't been like this before and I didn't want to become. This family did everything to support me, but even now, when I just had to attend a banquet, as the heir to the clan. I showed my behavior and my displeasure to my father. This shouldn't continue anymore. Deciding to change my attitude, I thought about my parents.

Remembering my mother's tears when she first saw me, after training and the scandal she caused to Sato Sensei, because of this. It warmed my heart, then I first saw my mother in anger, even if I thought that she was too protective of me. Mom was with her family, did not restrain her emotions and often flew to her father because of this.

My father, in turn, tried not to show his emotions, but the rare smiles and glances when he looked at me said a lot. They loved me, rejoiced and were proud of my successes and worried about me when I could barely drag my feet, got to my room, after training.

Thinking about my parents, I had no choice but to admit to myself that I loved them. And I will have to reconsider my future plans, I will not leave my family unprotected. I will make sure that no one dares, even thinks about encroaching on my family.

I will still follow the path of shinigami as I originally planned, but now, having become a captain, I will not break ties and help my family. With these thoughts I fell asleep.

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The first thing I saw when I woke up was black clouds. As I rose from the ground and looked around, I thought that I had returned to my past world. On the battlefield, everything around me was destroyed. I found myself on the outskirts of the ruins of some city. It rained over the ruins, water flowed from dilapidated buildings into craters, where the remains of the foundations of houses were visible, forming small lakes. The moon, with its white light, illuminated everything around. I stood like this for another minute, admiring the ruins of the city.

Turning my back to the city, I was faced with a less preserved building, standing alone on top of a small hill. Feeling the call coming from there, I decided to trust my feelings and headed towards the dilapidated building.

Having come closer and seen better, I understand that this building was once a temple. Deciding not to delay and see what was inside, I entered. Inside, the temple was illuminated by the glow of the full moon, through a dilapidated roof. The rows of benches were destroyed, a fallen column blocked the passage and I had to climb onto it. And then I noticed, at the top of the stairs that led to the barely surviving pedestal, a woman stood with her back to me.

"You have come". - I heard the enchanting voice of a woman who turned to me, allowing herself to be examined.

She had white hair, sophisticated facial features, and pointed ears at the ends, like an elf. Her hands were up to her elbows covered in soot and blood. She was dressed in a black dress with a large neckline at the front, hiding her legs behind a wide hem. A raincoat of the same color, with a decorative shoulder pad, was thrown over the dress.

"I'm glad to welcome you, you're in the ruins of the world, sir". - she said, coming down the stairs to me and bending one knee in front of me.

So this is what you are like, my soul is zanpakto. I felt related to her, but I hate to see her kneel.

-Встань, и больше не преклоняй передо мной колени.- и это мои первые слова моему занпакто, сокрушенно подумал я.

"Your will, sir". - getting up from her knee, she answered.

"Why does my inner world look like this?" I decided to clarify for myself.

"In your case, sir, this world is a reflection of your strength, aspirations and your desires", she replied.

-Desires? - that made me think. What should my aspirations and desires be like since my inner world is a ruin.

"You don't have to address me like that" - somehow I thought it was wrong when she addresses me like that.

"Of course, Aki". - smiling at something, she said in a quiet voice.

-Do you live here all the time? - I was wondering how you could live in the middle of the ruins.

"In the inner world, yes", she laughed. "But don't worry about me, my Aki, I've already found a good place for myself".

Watching her laugh and smile, a smile also appeared on my lips. I shook my head, not understanding how I could find a good place in these ruins.

"Will you help me?" I asked the main question, feeling my time in the inner world coming to an end. But I disappeared without hearing her answer.

"Always, my Aki, always". - she whispered and, going behind the pedestal, looked with a smile at how it was gradually recovering.

**********************************************************

When I woke up, I remembered what happened while I was sleeping. Finally, I was able to get into my inner world. Realizing that this was just the beginning of the journey, I felt full of strength and prepared for morning training.