The Fourth Target: Ally Or Enemy?

Trainin'
"CERO!" Was the young girls cry as she fired the massive red beam just seconds before her mask broke.

The man sliced it cleanly in half and sighed moving his mask up. "Still too weak."

"I know." Akiko muttered.

Shunsatsu watched from a distance away, sitting comfortably on the ground. "I say it was still good for her first go around this..." He replied coolly, tilting his neck to the side.

"Yea," Ahatake replied, "But I just wish she had the natural talent."

"Onii-san shouldn't we be tracking down Mozou?"

"Yeah, but I'm trying to make you stronger." Ahatake turned to Shunsatsu. "What do you think? Should we continue with her training or go after Mozou?"

The brunette shook his head firmly. "We should continue training. We want to be at our peak when we face Mozou again..."

"You heard the man." Ahatake told her. "Back to training. We've got to get you to be able to use your mask for longer than your 3 minute limit."

"Fine." Akiko muttered looking disappointed as she felt her reishi string pull farther and farther away.

Shunsatsu's eyes looked to the side, a skeptical frown on his features as he lay against the tree he was under. "We should be thinking of how we should approach the fourth target, too...." He mused.

"You mean you should be thinking." Ahatake replied firing a Cero to meet Akiko's newly fired Cero.

Shunsatsu's frown grew deeper. "HELL no." He retorted. "We're working as a group now, and as such, you're going to help me out. Otherwise the whole plan'll screw up, because someone wants to do their own thing."

"Mozou told you, didn't he?" Ahatake asked, jumping over Akiko's next cero and firing an Aoshan from his finger tip at her.

"About what?"

"About the next target?" Ahatake sighed as Akiko's mask broke.

A curt nod was Shunsatsu's response. "Yeah... he didn't tell me much about her abilities, though. He only mentioned her name..."

"So maybe YOU should plan." Ahatake replied, waiting for Akiko to put on her mask.

Shunsatsu sighed in irritation. "I can't think right now..." He insisted, planting his back firmly on the ground.

"Then take a nap." Ahatake replied, dodging a sword swipe from Akiko and slicing her across the stomach.

"What...." Was all the blue-clad man could mutter, before he brought his hand to his face, slapping it in exasperation. "You are no help at all!"

Ahatake would have laughed if he hadn't just been stabbed in the shoulder by a Kongōseki blast from Akiko.

Shunsatsu's face returned to that of his thoughtfulness. He closed his eyes, as if contemplating Ahatake's suggestion. But, his mind was very active, swimming with the replay of his solo battle with Mozou.

It was all because of the fact that the man wielded the one power that seemed far beyond his reach. He was beaten because he didn't have the neccessary tool in order to engage in the ferocious fights that the Zero Division were so used to. The one thing that seemed to haunt his mind, even as he joined the Rinji Opere-Shonzu.

Bankai.

The ultimate power of the Shinigami.

"Ban..kai!" Ahatake cried as he decided Akiko needed to train against one. He appeared in his white robe and dragon pronged hollow mask, which he crack half-way. He so resembled an Arrancar.

"Are you ready for this?" He asked.

'''"Of course Onii-san."

Shunsatsu's eyes opened immediately to stare at the Bankai-clad man. He would certainly stand a much better chance against Mozou, since he wielded both that ultimate power, along with the power of the demon that lurked so inside of his body. If he wanted to come anywhere near that kind of power, he would have to master that power for himself.

As if looking for encouragement, he lifted his hand to the sky, letting the warmth of the sun envelop his palm.