Bleach: Evolution Chapter One

Bleach: Evolution

Act 1:  The Shinigami-Hollow War Act

Saga 1:  The Shinigami-Hollow War Saga

Arc 1-The Shinigami-Hollow War Arc

Chapter 1-The Shinigami-Hollow War

Rain crashed down with vicious force, blinding all but the most skilled of combatants. The sky was covered in black clouds, blocking out even the moon and stars from showing light. Thunder boomed and lightning struck at varying locations. On one side of the battlefield a hoard of Shinigami rushed in to battle, each adorned in the standard long, black Shinigami cloak, and each wielding a normal sized katana. From the other side a legion of Hollows charged forward. Most of them were massive, although there were a few smaller ones thrown in, they were mostly black and gray in color, were covered in bones, and had long, sharp teeth in their gaping, growling, angry mouths. Some of the Hollows which had long tails pierced through the chests of several Shinigami each, whipping their tails behind them, tossing the bodies off, which were attached to them like shish kabobs. Breaking through from the crowd one Shinigami took out all of those Hollows with his sword and added a few others to his kill list before he was eliminated by being stabbed through the back with several long, sharp, jagged Hollow claws. Three more Shinigami attempted to kill him, leaping up high behind him, but he managed to sense them, turning around with a start, and blocking their Zanapkuto slashes with both of his hands, each one containing three long, sharp, jagged claws. He effortlessly sliced to pieces those three Shinigami. After that he began to form a small circle of red energy on all six of his claws. With time the circles grew larger, until they combined, making just two circles. With more time they combined into jus tone circle, the Hollow moving hands close enough together so that this could happen, and he fired a powerful Cero. The blast entirely incinerated several body parts of many Shinigami, from arms, to legs, to heads, to torsos, leaving the rest of them to bleed out on the ground, suffering for the last few moments of their lives.

The attack also created a small crater int he ground. Before he could go for round 2 however he was killed by a swift, lightning fast Zanpakuto. The guy who killed him was rather tall, with long, flowing, silver hair, blue eyes, and pale skin. The sword he was using was gripped tightly in his left hand and he had another one safely sheathed on the left side of his body. Noticing him an army of Hollows surrounded this guy. They each fired their own Ceros at him, which ranged in color from red, to blue, to green, to yellow, to orange, and ranged in size from extremely small to extremely large. However, he used Shunpo to avoid them with ease and in the blink of an eye killed every single one of them. He continued attacking and slaying Hollows for several minutes, running hurriedly across the battlefield as he did, until he saw something on the ground. A child. Soaked in rain and crying uncontrollably, although the noise was almost entirely blocked out by the booming sound of the rain and the thunder, he couldn’t have been any older than six. Finding orphans was very common in these war torn days of Soul Society, and every time it saddened him to no end. Once he finished annihilating all of the Hollows in the immediate vicinity, she sheathed his sword, walked towards the child, and knelt down slowly, gently cupping his hands around his armpits. In the past he has had issues with the child fearing him and attempting to get away, but this one was most likely too afraid due to the rain and thunder. The child was very short, only went up to the Shinigami’s knees,, and had blue eyes and short, icy blue, frizzy, unkempt hair. He was also soaking wet from both the rain and his own tears. The Shinigami stood up, pressed the child tight against his chest, and used Shunpo to escape the battlefield before more Hollows arrived. Before long he made it to a different area.

To enter this area he phased through a gigantic barrier. The barrier is normally invisible, but when he touched it, it was briefly made visible until he was done. The barrier not only kept Hollows out, but it also prevented the rain from falling. The barrier contained countless large brown shacks which housed the numerous Shinigami combatants. He ran over to one that was nearby, and several of his Shinigami allies noticed him. He entered one of the cabins, and before him he saw tones of small beds laid out with wounded soldiers laying on them, being treated by doctors and nurses. All four corners of the cabin had a relatively bright candle which provided light for everyone inside. He laid the orphan down on one of the beds that was free, sprawling him out. He was joined by a couple of his comrades, who were able to immediately judge the situation. The first was a slender and tall man, with black, messy, unkempt, shoulder-length hair that partially hung in front of his face, half opened black eyes, pale skin. He has a worn-out appearance, almost as if he just rolled out of bed. He sports a ragged black outfit that consists of a long-sleeved shirt and matching pants that tuck into his boots. He also wears a utility belt and his signature scarf at all times. The second one was a curvaceous woman with long, thick, black hair, and blue eyes. She wears a black breast-less leotard over a white bodysuit, which emphasizes her breasts, body, and legs, along with a translucent black thigh-high stockings and black knee-boots. She has a small mask outlining her eyes, a handcuff on each wrist, and a utility belt around her hips. She also sports a red domino mask. The woman began tending to the child’s wounds. The woman, Shirley Horimoto, brought over a bucket full of water and a few dry rags to aid herself, and a typical hand-held heart monitor dangled around her neck. She took the heart monitor and pressed it against the child’s chest.

Her hand moved up, down, and to the side several times, the top end of the heart monitor stuck in each of her ears so she could listen to the child’s heartbeat. The guy, Michael Daiichi, wet one of the dry rags in the bucket, ringed it out thoroughly, folded it up appropriately, and laid it gently over his forehead. By now the child was completely silent. He screamed and bellowed so loudly before that he seemed to have lost his voice. He shook and twitched every once in awhile, signifying that he was still in pain, but couldn’t let out a single peep from his mouth. The guy who brought him in, Shoyo Tabinin, reached into his long, thin, gray robes and pulled out a syringe. He lightly grabbed the child’s right arm with his thumb and index fingers, prepared the syringe by pulling the tip of the end back, stuck the needle in his arm, and pressed down, injecting something into his body. Moments after that the child stopped moving entirely, but Shirley could still hear his heart beating so she knew that he was still alive. Shoyo finally relaxed, sitting cross legged on the floor, wiping sweat and rain water off of his forehead and his face.

“This is the fifth one this week.”  Daiichi lamented, standing up to his feet. His voice sounded low and timid, yet oddly still confident.

“He looks familiar.”  Shirley commented with a peculiar expression on his face.

“He should.”  Shoyo responded. “This is Lord Goldsmith’s son.”

Both Daiichi and Shirley shot him a piercing glare, which he payed no mind to. “Lord Goldsmith? He had another child?”  Shirley exclaimed. Her voice was slightly deep, for a woman, and mature.

“He did.”  Shoyo explained. “But after Lord Goldsmith and his wife were killed on the battlefield, I thought the kid went with them. I was wrong.”

“You plan on training this one just like Lord Fushiawase’s last offspring?”  Daiichi inquired, crossing his arms, hoping for a quick resolution.

“Of course.”  Shoyo responded. “When he gets better, that is. Daiichi, register him as one of my students. Shirley, inform the others about his arrival. It’s likely that he’ll be out for a few days, but the moment he wakes up we’ll begin.”

“Got it.”  Daiichi and Shirley replied in unison. They both walked away.

Shoyo was about to leave as well, but he was shocked when the child woke up suddenly. His eyes shifted and twitched slightly, he bit his bottom lip with his top row of teeth, and began crying again, although only a few tears this time rolled down his cheeks, and he wasn’t screeching like he was before. After a brief moment the child stopped moving again and began breathing normally. His painful frown turned to a straight face, and his lungs were steadily rising and lowering. Daiichi was already gone, but Shirley noticed and quickly spun around and returned to them. Shirley reached walked over to a nearby wall, grabbed a small blanket that was folded up on the top of a wooden stand, returned to the child, unfolded the blanket, and covered him up, making sure to carefully and neatly tuck parts of it in underneath of him. She also retrieved a pillow and placed it under his head. His tears finally stopped, and she took a dry towel and gently wiped his face dry. He was almost unrecognizable from how he looked before. He looked so peaceful and serene, resting with ease. Satisfied and with a smile on her face Shirley walked away again. Later that night the cabin was almost entirely empty except for the child, who was still sleeping, and Shoyo, who was sitting cross legged by a nearby wall, reading a dusty, ragged book and occasionally sipping a cup of tea. His sword, which was previously sheathed by his left side waist, was laying on the ground right next to him. As he was taking a sip of tea he heard a light groan over to the side of him. His reading was lit with a small candle which was sitting on a small brown table. He set his cup down and hustled over to the child, who was waking up finally. His eyes popped open with a start, and he tried to lean up but winced in pain; as a result, Shoyo lightly grabbed hold of him with both of his hands, one hand on the back of his head and the other on his chest, forcing him to lay back down.

The child remained silent for a few more moments and then finally spoke. His voice was fearful, but he tried his best to sound brave and strong. “W-Who are you? Where am I? What’s going on?”  With each question his speech got faster and more desperate.

Shoyo held his left hand in front of his face defensively and gave off a warm smile. “Don’t worry. I found you on the battlefield and brought you to the Shinigami Order’s eastern quarters to be healed.”

“Hollows?”  The child exclaimed. “Oh, yeah, because of the war.”

“Are you aware of what is going on?”  Shoyo inquired. “Most children of your age aren’t entirely conscious of the battles and the suffering taking place out there.”

“Idiot, I’m already 10 years old.”  The child declared in offense. He threw his covers off in determination.

“Really?”  Shoyo replied in amusement. “Still, I would like if you showed appreciation for saving your life.”

The child paused for a moment, and then gazed down towards the floor and quickly mumbled under his breath, “Thank you.”

“That’s better.”  Shoyo said. “Now, what’s your name?”

“Joel Goldsmith.”  He responded without hesitation. He sat up further and crossed his legs in the same way as Shoyo. “My father was the founder of the Shinigami Order.”

“Founder? But I was the founder of the Shinigami Order.”  Shoyo replied with a chuckle. His smile never left his face even for a moment.

“Well, there are several founders…”  Joel stopped speaking out of nowhere and gave a piercing glare to Shoyo. “Wait, you wouldn’t happen to be….Shoyo Tabinin!?”

“At your service.”  Shoyo answered him, humorously bowing his head and waving his arm and hand across his chest.

All of a sudden Joel bolted towards Shoyo and grabbed him by the scruffs of his arms sleeves, one hand on each sleeve. His eyes were wide, giving off a surprising gleam of hope, and his mouth hung open. Shoyo was so shocked that he fell backward, being knocked out of his cross legged sitting form, but managing to not fall all the way onto his back. Shoyo gave off an extremely puzzled and confused facial expression.

“Are you really Shoyo?”  Joel exclaimed with excitement. “As in THE Shoyo? The Lord Commander of the Shinigami Order? One of the founding Kami?”

“Guilty.”  Shoyo responded with a chuckle. He gently leaned Joel away from him so he could sit up straight. “What can I do for you?”

“My father and my mother.”  Joel said with a solemn tone of voice, looking back down at the ground again. “They are dead.”  Shoyo was aware of this, but he said nothing in response and just continued to listen. “My father, another one of the founding Kami, always spoke very highly of you. He said that if anything should happen to both him and my mother, I should find you.

“It looks like that I’m the one who found you.”  Shoyo joked. He stood up to his feet and stuck both of his hands in the opposite sleeve.

“Yes, I know.”  Joel lamented. He briefly bit his bottom lip with his top row of teeth before continuing. “I would have likely made it on my own, but it started pouring and I lost my way. And before I knew it I was being attacked by Hollows. I would have died if you didn’t show up.”

“I’m gonna take a wild guess and say that you want me to train you.”  Shoyo said. Joel finally stood up to his own feet. He also rubbed his face and eyes, which were drenched in tears of joy.

“Yes, yes please!”  Joel exclaimed, grabbing the front scruff of Shoyo’s hakama. “I want to fight int he war, and I’ve been told that you train young souls for the purpose of battle.”

“Indeed I do.”  Shoyo confirmed. “However, it won’t be easy. My training is known to be the most brutal of all the commanders. Can you handle it?”

“Yes, I will do whatever it takes to become stronger!”  Joel assured him, nodding his head with great eagerness.

“Sounds good to me.”  Shoyo agreed. “What skill do you specialize in?”

“Kido.”  Joel answered. As they spoke the two of them walked over to the door of the cabin, opened it up, walked out, and shut it behind them. “My father was never able to train me that often, but when he did we discovered that I have a special affinity for Kido.”

“By the way, how old are you?”  Shoyo inquired.

“Um, 10.”  Joel responded with a puzzled expression on his face. “Why?”

Shoyo took the lead and simply fingered for Joel to follow him. The two walked at a normal pace through the grassy field. It was mostly pitch blank with the lone exception of a few lanterns placed here and there. There was nobody else in sight, they were the only two around. The field possessed tones of other cabins. Joel shifted his head back and fourth, amazed and excited that he finally reached his destination and what he was seeing; when he was brought in he was unconscious, so this is his first time laying eyes on the western headquarters for the Shinigami Order. A light breeze was passing by them, causing Shoyo’s hair to blow slightly. Up in the sky a few thin clouds were visible. The two eventually came to a forest on the far end of the grassy plains, but kept walking. Shoyo grabbed hold of Joel and pulled him close. He explained that it’s very common for people to get lost in this forest even when they’re walking together, however Shoyo himself knows the way through perfectly, so Joel definitely needs to make sure to stay close, no matter what. Joel looked up and saw that the trees stretched much further than his eyes could perceive. Once they got far enough in it got pitch black without any light from the moon or the lanterns that were outside of the forest being able to reach them. Joel wrapped his arms around Shoyo’s waist and shut his eyes. His trust in Shoyo was rewarded as they didn’t run into any trees or get lost at all, and they eventually reached their destination. As they continued walking the trees became less and less until they arrived at a small area in the center of the forest. The area was surrounded by the trees, and the grass and weeds were cut much shorter. Even though this place was void of trees, the leaves and branches from the surrounding trees will blocked out the sky, so the only way to get light was for there to be five torches to be lit.

Joel saw several children that were roughly the same height and most likely the same age as him, as well as some more adults that towered above him similar to Shoyo. They were undergoing some sort of training, but they stopped and turned their heads when Joel arrived. They all glared at him, but had varying facial expressions. One of the children caught Joel’s eyes specifically. He was a young boy with long, spiky, black, green tipped hair and large, hazel brown eyes. He was adorned in a green jacket with reddish edges and he had long, green, laced boots on his feet. His skin was pale white and he had a frown on his face. The adult that was standing next to him was Shirley Horimoto, who had a big smile on her face. Her long, flowing, silky black hair was tight back into a thick ponytail, which was dangling over left shoulder. All of the other kids and adults noticed Joel, but didn’t seem to be paying him any mind. The kids kept doing training moves, some with swords, others with their fists and feet, and others just simply sitting on the ground in deep meditation, with the adults nearby to help if it was needed. The kid that was looking at Joel was practicing his hand to hand combat with Shirley, but stopped when Joel got close enough. Joel kept by Shoyo’s side, his eyes glazed over with fear, but kept a glare on this new person. Joel’s heart skipped a beat when the new kid’s unwelcoming frown was instantly replaced with a warm, welcoming, gentle smile. He stood up straight, pointed his feet forward, placing them just a few centimeters apart from each other, and put both of his hands behind his back, gripping them both together. Despite this pleasant demeanour Joel remained hesitant, so Shoyo gently forced Joel’s hands and fingers off of his Hakama and walked a short distance away. Joel looked back towards Shoyo for a moment, and then looked at the kid again.

Since Joel wouldn’t speak, the new kid took it upon himself. “My name’s Shikyo Fushiawase. What’s yours?”  Shikyo held out his hand to greet Joel. His voice was high pitched, happy, and inviting.

Joel still looked scared, but forced himself to respond. “M-My name is Joel Goldsmith.”  His voice was quivering and stuttering. He returned Shikyo’s greeting with his own hand, slowly.

Shikyo quickly grabbed hold of Joel’s hand, tightly, and shook it up and down, which startled Joel. Realizing that Shikyo was shaking for too long and seriously starting to frighten Joel Shirley bent down to one knee, her other foot behind her and on its toes, and split their hands apart, a pleased smile plastered on her face. When she did Joel’s hand hurriedly returned to him. He grabbed and caressed it with his other hand.

Shikyo looked up towards the sky slightly and placed his right finger underneath of his chin, adorning a puzzled facial expression. “Goldsmith, Goldsmith.”  He repeated thoughtfully. “You won’t by chance be related to the late Lord Goldsmith, would you?”

“Y-yes. He was my father.”  Joel replied. His response was quicker this time, and the fear was clearly subsiding, but it wasn’t gone entirely.

“Wow, so cool!”  Shikyo exclaimed. He leaped towards Joel and roughly grabbed hold of both of his shoulders, scaring him again. “My father was is good friend, Lord Fushiawase! It’s not often that I meet other kids my age with such fantastic pedigrees!”

“P-P-P-Pedigrees?”  Joel could hardly understand what Shikyo was saying. The little bit of fear that left him had now returned, and was amplified by many times. He held a crooked expression on his face.

Shoyo was about to walk back over, but Shirley intervened, pulling Shikyo off of him. Her smile had now turned to a frown. “Easy! Don’t be so rough, you’re scaring the poor kid!”

“Huh?”  Shikyo responded, looking up to her with a puzzled expression. “I am?”  He then looked back at Joel. “Sorry man, I didn’t realize you were so timid.”

“You need to become more aware of your surroundings and other people’s feelings.”  Shirley scolded him, standing up straight again and crossing her arms.

Shoyo walked back over to him and placed his hand on Joel’s shoulder. “Let’s keep going. The Kido practitioners are a little ways further yet.”

“Hey Joel.”  Shikyo said, trying to keep his voice lower this time, although his excitability did bleed through. Joel turned his head in response. “Let’s be friends.”

“Um, s-sure.”  Joel replied, a little bit more comfortable with Shikyo’s presence now.

“See you back at the main camp!”  Shikyo hollered after Joel was a little ways away from him. He placed a huge smile on his face, raised his arm high in the air, and waved his hand wildly.

Joel looked back at him for one more brief moment and snuck a small grin on his face before turning away again. It wasn’t long after that Joel and Shoyo disappeared into the trees, and Shikyo returned to his training with Shirley Horimoto. Joel and Shoyo kept walking in silence for several more minutes until came to another open area. This one appeared to be slightly larger than the last. Only three surrounded by trees. The other side, which was to the far left, was a long, baron walkway which had a bunch of large targets at the very end. A bunch of children were lined up firing Kido spells of varying sizes, speeds, and colors at the targets. The colors ranged from, red, to yellow, to green, to blue, to orange, to black, among others. On the opposite side of this circular area were more children practicing Kido, except their spells didn’t focus on attacking directly, they focused on stuff like shields, barriers, flight, armor, and restraining, among many other things. Each student, just like at their previous stop, was being trained and aided by an adult. Michael Daiichi noticed Joel and Shoyo coming closer, so he briefly stopped working with his female student and approached them. Daiichi was dripping with sweat so he took the back of his left hand and wiped his forehead, sending sweat flying through the air.

“Glad to see you’re up and about.”  Daiichi said. His arms were crossed, his hands dangling lifelessly off to the sides. “I take it you want to specialize in Kido?”

“Excuse me, but I already specialize in Kido!”  Joel exclaimed defensively, tightly crossing his arms.

The little girl who Daiichi was working with ran up to him and roughly tugged on his hakama. “Dai, what are you doing? Let’s continue!”  She demanded in a high pitched, cutesy tone of voice.

Daiichi turned around and bent down to one knee, using his right hand to pat her on the top of her head. “Be patient, Ainu, I have other business right now. Say high to Joel Goldsmith.”  Daiichi turned back to Joel and waved his hand in an introducing motion.

“Goldsmith?”  The girl exclaimed, shocked. “Are you the son of Lord Goldsmith?”

“Um, yes.”  Joel responded. He stood up straight trying to not allow his timid fear to bleed through. “I guess my father is famous around here as well, huh?”

“He’s famous around the whole Soul Society!”  She shouted excitedly. “Let’s be friends!”

She gripped both of Joel’s hands lightly, enclosing them together. Even though she’s acting similarly to Shikyo, somehow Joel didn’t feel any fear, but instead an overwhelming warmth, emanating from this girl. Her kind and welcoming smile pierced through Joel’s heart like a hot sword through butter and left him completely speechless and dumbfounded. Ainu is a girl about the same height as Joel, with long, flowing, deep violet hair, purple eyes, and is wearing a dark blue kimono and hakama with the straps in the center to keep them together being a much lighter shade of blue, in fact almost white.

“Yeah, sure.”  Joel responded, blushing slightly.

Shoyo cut in, leading Joel over to the side with the targets. “Let’s see how skilled you are now, Joel. Time is being wasted.”

Daiichi continued for him. Shoyo, Daiichi, and Ainu were standing behind Joel. “Show us the Kido spell that you’re most skilled at.”

Joel didn’t say anything, and just simply shook his head in response, turning to the target. He raised his left hand up in the air, gripping his left wrist with his right hand, spreading his legs a little bit and bending his knees. On both sides of him other children continued training. They were clearly entirely invested in and focused on their training, none of them payed any attention to him. While Joel spent time charging up his spell, the others were doing the same, periodically firing them. Most of them were Shakkaho, a large sphere of red energy, but another common one was lightning being shot out of their hands or fingers. It didn’t take long for Joel to start building up red energy, skillfully forming it into a sphere. He periodically took deep breaths, inhaling through his nose, exhaling through his mouth. He closed his eyes briefly so he could better concentrate without having to look at his contemporaries or the scenery. When he opened them his Shakkaho was finally complete. He kept his e yes focused ahead of himself, so he couldn’t see that all of the other children were looking at him now. This was because his Shakkaho was much larger than any of the spells that they were capable of creating. It was more than five times larger than his head, and was surging with some sort of red electricity, which only the most advanced Shakkahos were capable of. Behind him Ainu was just as stunned as all of the other kids. Daiichi couldn’t believe his eyes either, giving Joel a curious gaze, but Shoyo just smiled and continued to observe. Daiichi noticed this, and got the feeling that Shoyo wasn’t surprised at all. If that’s truly the case, then he was the only one. Joel didn’t hesitate. Once his spell had reached its apex, he shouted “Hado #31:  Shakkaho!”  When he did it left his hand and came flying towards the target at great speed. The force caused the grass and nearby trees, even though none of them were right net to him, to rustle wildly.

The hair of all of the nearby students and teachers also did the same, and some of the students even had to hold their arms up defensively to block their faces from the power of the wind, and others were knocked over completely. After only a few brief seconds his Shakkaho reached the target and completely destroyed it. Not only that, but ten targets on the left and ten targets on the right were also completely destroyed, his intended target was in the perfect center of them all. In addition to that, six more targets on his left and on his right were partially destroyed, 10 more on his left and on his right were knocked over, and the rest of the targets, which included five on his left and five on his right, still swayed back and forth because of the wind that was generated from the force of the assault. Once he was done Joel was still breathing heavily, and he was sweating profusely. He used the back of both of his hands to continuously wipe sweat off of his forehead and cheeks. He suddenly fell back into his butt in exhaustion, and he looked up to the sky in success. Before long he turned around, still on the ground, but the sight was not what he expected. He saw absolutely every student and teacher on this training ground, which there were dozens of, sharing at him in abject, awkward silence. Joel was unsure how to respond to this. He looked back and forth constantly, and soon, when his situation finally sunk in, his face turned beat red, an unbelievably terrified and embarrassed expression caressing his face. Tears began to well up in his eyes, but Ainu ran up to him and grabbed his shoulders. She was more forceful than before, but her grip was still gentle and warm, which was very odd. Shoyo walked up behind Joel and patted the top of his head with his left hand. Ainu’s gentle grip, and Shoyo’s warm, pleased smile did manage to slightly calm and relax Joel.

The tears in his eyes stopped running, and he wiped the existing ones away, and the tone of his skin turned back to normal again, and he climbed back up to his feet. Joel still had an awkward expression on his face due to everyone’s stares. Shoyo saw this and shot a menacing glare at everyone, his eyes squinting slightly and his lips held perfectly straight. This immediately struck fear into them, and every one of them returned to their own training, no longer paying any attention to Joel. Afterwards Shoyo turned his gaze back to Joel. Once everyone else began training the noise rose to a level which made it very difficult for them to hear each other, so Shoyo started walking away and used his left index finger to signal Joel to follow. Even though he didn’t tell her to, Ainu followed closely behind, and Michael Daiichi joined them. Once they reached the previous training location again Shikyo Fushiawase and Shirley Horimoto joined their journey. Once they got back to where they came from they walked up to and entered the cabin where Joel was resting before. Shoyo sat down at a table, picked up a pen and began writing on some paper.

“Alright Joel.”  Shoyo said after a moment. “You seem to be getting along with Ainu, so you two can be training partners. She’s been needing one anyways, so the situations line up perfectly.”

“Aw, but I wanted to train with him!”  Shikyo protested, presenting a pouty facial expression.

“You can train with him all you like, but they both utilize Kido, so for the official training they should be placed together.”  Shoyo explained matter-of-fact, paying no mind to Shikyo’s pout. “I will most likely be taking part in your training quite often Joel, but for the time being I’ve got things to do so you Ainu will just have to train by yourselves for awhile.”

“Common, Joel!”  Ainu exclaimed, tugging on his right arm. “Let’s go, I want to show you how skilled I am, hurry!”

Joel struggled for a moment, but quickly relented and followed her. After they exited the cabin he managed to wiggle his arm free from Ainu’s grip, and the two of them ran together, Shikyo following closely behind. Shoyo, Daiichi, and Shirley simply watched them go with pleased grins plastered on their faces. All of a sudden Shoyo’s grin shifted to a frown, and Shirley noticed this and rested her hand on his shoulder.

“I’m worried about that kid.”  Shoyo said in a solemn tone of voice.

“How come?”  Shirley questioned, a concerned look creeping onto her face. “He’s pretty strong, a prodigy even. We need more fighters like that.”

“True enough.”  Shoyo agreed. “But still, he’s timid as hell, which isn’t good when it comes to the teamwork that will be required to fight in this war. Not to mention, there’s the issue of his father.”

“Well, I’m sure that he’ll grow out of his timid nature as time passes.”  Daiichi said with confidence. “I think Ainu will also play a major role in helping him come out of his shell. But regarding his father, I don’t think it’s right to blame the son for the sins of his father.”

“I’m not, don’t get me wrong.”  Shoyo defended himself. He set his pen down on the table in front of him and closed his eyes briefly. “I just think that we should watch him, for a while at least. I want to make absolute certain that he won’t take after Lord Goldsmith.”  Shoyo opened up his eyes back up.

“I understand your reasoning, and I think we can do that just fine.”  Shirley responded. “Still, don’t go too far with judging Joel because of his father. You seem to be nice with him right now, and we want to keep it that way. If he finds out that you’re suspicious of him because of what his father did, that could really screw him up. He is still just a child, after all.”

“True, thanks for your counsel.”  Shoyo said, his smile returning to his face. “Even if he is like his father, it’s our job as his elders to make sure that he travels in the right direction in his life.”

“Exactly.”  Daiichi exclaimed, lightly punching Shoyo’s right shoulder with his left fist. “So stop worrying big guy, he’ll be fine. We need to have faith in our students if they are to grow.”

Meanwhile, Joel, Ainu, and Shikyo ran past several more log cabins until the cabins stopped coming. After awhile they went so far that all of the cabins were entirely out of view. When they looked behind them now all they could see was a seemingly endless grassy field, the grass being slightly blown by a light breeze. After awhile they came to another group of trees. From the outset this forest looked just like the previous, but when they entered it was only a couple of seconds before they reached the center, another open area. The left side had a couple of benches placed by the trees, and the rest of the area was completely baron except for the grass.

“What are we doing?”  Joel inquired. He felt kind of scared and unsure inside, but Ainu’s upbeat and cheery attitude gave him no choice but to put a grin on his own face as well.

“To train of course!”  She responded. She turned to him with a gigantic smile across her whole face and leaned forward with both of her hands behind her back clasped together. “There’s too many people over in that other location, I wanted to get some peace and quiet.”

“Sure I guess, but what did you have in mind?”  Joel questioned.

“First I want you to put up your best Kido barrier, and I want Shikyo to punch it has hard as he can!”  Ainu explained with great enthusiasm.

Shikyo continued for her, responding to a confused look that Joel gave. “Not many people are able to defend against my punches.”  He slid down his sleeve and flexed his arm, revealing that he was hiding some quite bulky muscles underneath, a cocky smirk crossing his face.

“That’s cool, but I hope you don’t mind your streak being broken today.”  Joel was unknowingly starting to be sucked into their frenzy, his eyes glistening with enjoyment.

Ainu walked and sat on one of the benches. Joel stood in front of her a few feet away, and Shikyo stood on the opposite end. Shikyo bent his knees, his left foot in the front and his right foot in the back, and raised and clenched both of his fists. There was a few moments of absolute silence and then Joel commenced. He clasps his hands together and quickly generates a gust of wind around all three of them. He then held both of his palms out in himself and exclaimed “Bakudo #81:  Danku!”  The moment that he did a translucent shield was formed. It was rectangular in shape, reached several stories above Joel. The creation of the wall initiated a gust of wind that smacked into Ainu with great force blowing her hair wildly and knocking her back slightly. Afterwards Shikyo chuckled and then charged forward. Once he got halfway to Joel he picked his feet off the ground. Once he was just a moment from striking he leaned back and then propelled his shoulder and fist forward. Once his fist connected with Danku a shock wave was unleashed which partially  broke the ground below him away. Joel was also forced to slide back, his feet grinding into the ground. The trees on all side of them were shaking wildly, but not to the point where any of them were completely knocked over. Both of the benches flew deep into the forest; Ainu was knocked off of the bench that she was sitting on, but managed stand in front of a tree to prevent herself from getting sent far away. Shikyo gritted his teeth and increased the output force, but still he was unable to so much as scratch Danku. The barrier remained intact and stood tall without any hint of it going down. Joel’s grin was suddenly shifted to a concerned frown as Danku began to fidget slightly. He bent down to one knee and began to breath heavily. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth tightly, but it was no use. His will soon gave out and Danku shattered.

This allows Shikyo to continue proceed forward. Joel obtained a look of fear and despair on his face as Shikyo’s fist was heading right for him, but before it connected Shikyo stopped. It was just in time as his fist was only inches away from Joel’s face. Awkward silence ensued for a couple of minutes. Shikyo had his knees bent down really far, his arm stretched out straight, his clenched fist just barely grazing Joel’s nose and the knuckles facing upward, the front of his body facing the side, and his face directed forward. Joel attempted to speak several times, but was unable to form the proper words, all he could let out were a bunch of inaudible mumbles. He fell backward and plopped on his butt. Shikyo stood up straight and was breathing just as heavily as Joel. He then looked Joel in the eyes and put a big’ol grin on his face. Just as he did his fist began to bleed a little bit, drops dripping on the grass. He didn’t seem to notice it at first, but Joel looked at his fist intensely, which caused Joel to raise it up in front of his face. Ainu also noticed it at this point as well, and she ran up to him and grabbed his arm. She looked worried, but Shikyo himself didn’t, he just continued to grin and open and close his fist repeatedly; this act caused even more blood to be released from his wound and slide and drip down to the ground. Joel scrambled to his feet, and both him and Ainu were starting to freak out, until Shoyo appeared from deep inside of the forest, the same part that Ainu, Shikyo, and Joel entered from. Unlike Joel and Ainu, Shoyo didn’t look worried at all. He reached into his hakama, pulled out a wet rag, bent down to one knee next to Shikyo, took hold of his hand, forced all of his fingers out straight, and began wiping all of the blood off of it. This lasted for several seconds, and when he was done it was almost entirely soaked in blood, and he threw it to the grass. After that he pulled out a bunch of bandages from his hakama, gabbed hold of Shikyo’s hand again, and began to wrap it up. He put on three layers of bandages, pulling all three layers extremely tight. After each layer he would give Shikyo some time to flex his fingers and hand to make sure that he could still move them around relatively well.

“What are you doing here? How did you know that Shikyo would get injured?”  Joel inquired.

“This is common.”  Shoyo responded in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. “Little Shikyo here is never cautious when he trains, which results in dozens of unnecessary injuries.”

“It’s not that bad. I heal pretty quick.”  Shikyo replied with confidence.

“Don’t get too arrogant now.”  Shoyo demanded, looking at him deep in his eyes with a serious expression on his face.

“What I want to know is how you knew about this location!”  Ainu exclaimed with a frustrated expression on his face. “This is supposed to be my secret spot!”

“There isn’t a single location in all of Soul Society that I don’t know of.”  Shoyo demanded, rising back up to his feet. “Mind telling me what you were doing?”

Shikyo explained the situation to Joel, and his frown immediately turned to a pleased smile. “I’m glad to hear that. You three are getting along already.”

“Any idea where I failed, Master?”  Joel questioned in a concerned tone of voice.

“I can’t say for absolute certain because I just got here.”  Shoyo began to explain, rubbing his chin with his left index finger and thumb in a thoughtful way. “But I I were to guess I’d say that while your barriers are dense and well-formed, you seem to have a lack of control. I also noticed this when you used Shakkaho earlier. The blast was pretty powerful, but you were knocked over immediately afterwards. Anyways, let’s get back. The three of you need to sleep. Tomorrow Joel will be introduced to his class.”

“Master Shoyo.”  Joel said suddenly, loudly, catching Shoyo’s attention. “Would it be fine if I work alone for awhile? I feel that if I lack control in my abilities, there’s a chance that I’ll hurt some of my classmates, and I don’t want to do that.”

“I suppose that’s fine.”  Shoyo responded, crossing his arms. “But let’s make clear that you have to enter class. Even if you want most of your training to be solo for awhile, you should still get to know your peers. That sound fair?”

“Yeah, that’s fine.”  Joel said in a low tone of voice. He held his head low with a sad expression on his face.

Ainu slapped the left side of his back with her right hand and had a warm smile on her face. “Don’t worry. Most everyone in our class is nice, I’m sure you’ll feel right at home.”

Shikyo slapped the right side of his back with his left hand and also gave him a warm smile. “She’s right. And even if they weren’t we’re already your friends, aren’t we?”

“Yes, thank you. I appreciate it.”  Joel responded with a smile.

After that, Joel, Shikyo, Ainu, and Shoyo left the area, disappearing deep into the forest. The next day it was bright outside, the sun beaming overhead in the sky, and very few clouds could be seen. There were quite a few people outside in the forest, in the few open areas within the forest, and around the log cabins either chatting, resting on the ground, or training either alone or with the aid of others. Joel was was being escorted to a specific log cabin by Shoyo, with Shikyo and Ainu following closely behind. This log cabin was one of the largest in terms of height and width, and was one of the few to have a chimney on top. Shoyo opened the door and the four walked inside. When they did they saw seventeen students sitting in chairs around in the classroom, with three chairs that have nobody sitting in them. At the front of the class is a massive chalk board and a long, brown, rectangular desk, and in between both of them was Shirley Horimoto. She looked just the same as before except her hair was tied back into a long, thick ponytail. Shirley noticed them and waved, and Shoyo directed Joel to his seat. Ainu and Shikyo hurried to their seats right away, probably because they have been in this class before. While Joel headed to his seat, which was in the far left of the very front, as far away from the door as possible, everyone in the class stared at him. This didn’t help his naturally timid nature, he lowered his head and tried his hardest to avert his eyes from everyone as to not be affected by their piercing glares, but it didn’t help much. He provided a sunken in, sad expression on his face. He eventually reached his chair and he sat down. He folded his arms on his table and laid his head down, his face directed away from the wall. Shoyo walked up to the front of the classroom and began chatting with Shirley, their conversation only being read as a bunch of inaudible mumbles to the rest of the class.

“Okay class.”  Shirley said finally, her voice high and commanding, while still seeming friendly. “We have a new student today. Joel, please stand up and introduce yourself.”

Joel was very hesitant, but Shirley’s warm, inviting smile caused him to stand up, very slowly. His face turned beat red, and his stutter was init8ially uncontorllable, but he eventually managed to form actual words. “M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-My n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-name i-i-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I--is J-J-J-J-J-J-J-J-J-J-Joel G-G-G-G-G-G-G-G-G-G-Goldsmith. N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-N-Nice t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-to m-m-m-m-m-m-m-m-m-m-meet y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-you.”

A few students that were in the back of the class chuckled at a low volume due to his awkwardness, while some of them raised their eyebrows in interest after hearing his last name, and the rest of them remained silent, holding straight, unamused expressions on their faces, and Ainu, Shikyo, Shirley, and Shoyo looked a little bit concerned. Joel remained motionless for a few minutes, but then quickly dropped back down to his seat, burying his face in his arms, which were folded up on his desk.

“He is very skilled, but also shy and reserved. I want you all to make him feel welcome.”  Shoyo exclaimed.

Joel lifted up his head and looked around the room. There were thirty chairs and desks in the classroom. The left side of the classroom, the middle of the classroom, and the right side of the classroom had 10 rows of chairs and desks, each row containing two desks and chairs sitting side by side each other. A few students caught his attention specifically. One was a man who appeared to be the eldest of all of the students. He was twice the height of Joel himself, with sunken in, flame-colored eyes. He was almost entirely bald except for a few patches of black hair around the rim, and was adorned in a thick, black hakama. He was staring at Joel, but soon closed his eyes and shifted his gaze forward. He saw Ainu sitting behind him, her hair tied up in a ponytail this time, and Shikyo was sitting right next to her. Sitting right at Joel’s side was a tall woman with long, flowing, thick, black hair, a black hakama, and black eyes which scared Joel to even look inside of. She had a blank, emotionless expression on her face which was completely impossible to read. Sitting by the far wall, the same wall that the door to the building was attached to, perfectly adjacent to Joel, was woman the same height as him, with long, flowing, blond hair, with part of it tied up in a ponytail, and other parts dangling on the side of her face and between her eyes. She had blue eyes and was adorned in the standard black Shinigami hakama. Sitting in one of the two seats on the opposite side of the room in the very back was a man who was slightly taller than Joel with long, flowing, black hair, black eyes, the standard black Shinigami hakama, and a rosary around his neck. He had one elbow on his desk and his chin was resting in it, his eyes gazing out the window, looking incredibly bored. Sitting right next to the blond haired girl was another woman the same height as her, with long, flowing, black hair, black eyes, and adorned the standard Shinigami hakama.

Sitting in the middle of the classroom, in one of the front row seats, was a man slightly shorter than Joel. He he had long black hair that was tied in a ponytail, and two short strands extending from his chin. He was adorned in the standard Shinigami hakama and was buried deep in a text book, with a notebook and a pen laying on his desk to his right. While Joel was looking around the classroom Shirley was writing on the chalkboard and Shoyo was shuffling through papers that were on her desk. Before long the door to the classroom opened up, and Michael Daiichi walked in, shutting the door behind him. He walked up to the front of the classroom and chatted with Shoyo and Shirley; once again, their voices could only be heard as mumbles.

”Alright class, today we’re going to be undergoing some head on battle training.”  Shirley explained finally, looking forward. She then looked toward Joel briefly. “I’m sorry Joel, I know you just joined the class, but your appearance was unexpected.”  She looked back forward again.

“T-That’s f-fine.”  Joel responded in a low, shy tone of voice.

“Everyone will be split up with a different trainer based on your specific aptitudes.”  Shirley said, holding out her left index finger to point at students. “Joel and Ainu will practice Kido with me.”

The two of them stood up and walked over to her; Shirley moved over to the front left corner of the classroom.

“Burikka and Zen will practice Zanjutsu with Michael.”  She continued.

The guy sitting in n one of the two seats on the opposite side of the room in the very back was a man who was slightly taller than Joel with long, flowing, black hair, black eyes, the standard black Shinigami hakama, and a rosary around his neck, Burikka, and the guy sitting in the middle of the classroom, in one of the front row seats, and was slightly shorter than Joel, with long black hair that was tied in a ponytail, and two short strands extending from his chin, and adorned in the standard Shinigami hakama, Zen, both stood up and walked over to Michael, Michael moving to the front right corner of the classroom.

“Shikyo, Higamoppi, and Higumai, you three will train in Hakuda with Shoyo.”  Shirley continued.

Shikyo, the blond hair girl, who was HIgamoppi, and the black hair girl, who was Higumi, stood up and walked over to Shoyo, who moved over to the back left side corner.

“That’s it for our specialized students. Everyone else can head straight to the training arena and practice among themselves. We’ll be sure to send some instructors to supervise your progress and provide assistance and advise should you require it.”  Shirley finished, setting the chalk down on the gray steel holder at the base of the chalkboard.

When Shirley was done speaking she clapped her hands three times in a row, which signaled all of the other students to rise up from their seats and head for the front door. Daiichi opened the door and his group was the first to go through. After that Shoyo and his group went through, and then Shirley and her group, and after that the final thirteen students, all of which ranging in height, build, hair color, and hair length went through the door, the last one slamming it behind him.