Path To Power

A day has passed since Kuroi had a fallout with his father. After a thoughtful conversation with Orihime Inoue, Kuroi decided to apologize to his father for his unsympathetic outburst. Now, he walks into his classroom. He walks towards his desk until a student waves in his direction.

"I'm surprised that you're here," said the student.

"Why wouldn't I be here and who are you again?" asked Kuroi.

"How do you not remember me! I'm Momohara Tetsu and we're part of the same club!" exclaimed Tetsu.

"I guess we must have never talked," said Kuroi.

"We talked five days ago," said Tetsu.

"Really? My memory must be fading. Before I go, I have something to ask you," said Kuroi.

"What is it?" asked Tetsu.

"Have you seen Rukia around?" asked Kuroi.

"Who's that?" asked Tetsu.

"Thank you for answering my question. Your help is very helpful," said Kuroi.

"What?" asked Tetsu.

Kuroi walks away before Tetsu can learn more. Kuroi takes a seat at his desk and waits for a few minutes until his homeroom teacher walks into the classroom. She walks towards her desk and stands behind it.

"Well, because today is the last day of school, I don't have anything to say. Just remember to have fun and relax over break. But first, it's time for our final pop quiz!" said Ms. Ochi.

The class groans after hearing that their last day won't be spent having fun. To avoid working, Kuroi raises his hand.

"What is it, Kuroi?" asked Ms. Ochi.

"May I use the restroom?" asked Kuroi.

"Of course. Just come back this time," said Ms. Ochi.

"Whatever," said Kuroi under his breath.

Kuroi grabs his bag and walks out of the classroom. He takes a right and avoids the bathroom. He exits the school and starts to walk home. He walks for ten minutes until he stops in the middle of the sidewalk. He turns his head and looks at the wall behind him.

"Will you follow me forever, Orihime?" asked Kuroi.

Orihime pops her head out from the wall.

"How long did you know?" asked Orihime.

"Since before you were born," said Kuroi.

"Huh?" asked Orihime.

"I'm just messing with you. So, what do you want to talk about?" said Kuroi.

Orihime walks away from the wall.

"Where's Rukia? Everyone at school acts like she doesn't even exist. I thought that you would know what happened to her," said Orihime.

"Rukia decided to go back home. She liked her homeland better," said Kuroi.

"So, she returned to where she came from. Are you going to save her?" said Orihime.

"Why would I need to save her? It's not like she's going to get executed or anything," said Kuroi.

"If she was, would you save her?" asked Orihime.

"Of course, but I don't believe that I have the power or skills to save her. I would need to train," said Kuroi.

"She's not from this world is she?" asked Orihime.

"I don't know. She has always acted differently than us," said Kuroi.

"You don't have to hide your secret from me anymore. I already know what she is," said Orihime.

"I know. That's why I'm not surprised. You may act like an airhead, but you have a big brain in that head of yours," said Kuroi.

Orihime blushes.

"Are you going to save her?" asked Orihime.

"I will no matter what. Now, I have to go and achieve Bankai," said Kuroi.

"What's that?" asked Orihime.

"You will learn someday. See you later," said Kuroi.

Kuroi runs towards Kisuke's shop.

"I'll be cheering you on!" exclaimed Orihime.

"Thanks! I appreciate it!" exclaimed Kuroi.

Kuroi continues to run until he runs into Kisuke, peacefully strolling through the neighborhood.

"Kuroi, aren't you supposed to be in school?" asked Kisuke.

"Forget school. It was the last day anyways," said Kuroi.

"I don't think that your father wants you to skip school even if it's the last day," said Kisuke.

"I don't care. We have to save Rukia and defeat Aizen. I need to spend my time training instead of taking stupid pop quizzes," said Kuroi.

"I knew that you were going to do this. Ichigo is already at my shop, so let's go," said Kisuke.

"Ok," said Kuroi.

Kisuke and Kuroi walk for a few minutes until they reach the shop. They enter the shop and walk towards the back of the shop. Kisuke kneels and opens a hatch. Under the hatch is a flight of stairs. Kisuke and Kuroi walk down the flight of stairs and see a large training ground.

"Whoa. How long has this been here?" asked Kuroi.

"Years," said Kisuke.

"Why haven't I been invited to train here before today?" asked Kuroi.

"There was no need. While you and Ichigo are learning Bankai, you guys will need a little more space than a dojo. Here, you can go all out without causing too much damage. Ichigo! Your training partner is here!" said Ksiuke.

Ichigo turns around and sees Kuroi and Kisuke near the stairs. Ichigo runs up to them.

"Are we finally going to start Bankai training?" asked Ichigo.

"Yes, but first, let me turn you two into soul reapers," said Kisuke.

Kisuke holds his staff up and taps the insides of Ichigo and Kuroi's heads, knocking out their spirits.

"Now, come with me," said Kisuke.

Kisuke, Ichigo, and Kuroi walk towards the center of the training ground. They stop walking once they reach a hill formation.

"Pull out your Zanpakutos," said Kisuke.

Kuroi and Ichigo pull out their Zanpakutos.

"Ichigo, have you ever noticed that your Zanpakuto is always in its Shikai state?" asked Kisuke.

"Yeah. It never changes when I say Zangetsu's name," said Ichigo.

"That's good. It will be easier for you both to achieve Bankai if you guys already have your Shikais. If you didn't already know, Bankai is the second release of a soul reaper's Zanpakuto. This second release can help you both grow stronger by five to ten times. Such a power boost usually means that you have to train at least ten years, but we only have nine days," said Kisuke.

"How will we achieve Bankai in only three days?' asked Kuroi.

Kisuke turns around and grabs two large dolls.

"How will dolls help us?" asked Ichigo.

"These are Tenshintai. These are special artifacts of the Special Operations Division. These "dolls" can forcefully materialize the soul of a Zanpakuto. To achieve Bankai, you need the materialization and submission of the Zanpakuto. Materialization means that your Zanpakuto's soul will materialize into this world instead of their world. Just stab your Zanpakutos into these Tenshintai and forcefully materialize their souls. You guys only have three days. Do you want to know what happens if you guys fail?" said Kisuke.

"No, because we won't," said Kuroi.

Kuroi and Ichigo walk up to their respective Tenshintai. They stab their Zanpakutos into the Tenshintai and the souls of their Zanpakuto appear behind them. Kuroi turns his head and sees a well-endowed woman with black flames as hair who covers her private parts with black flames. Purple flames come out of her eyes.

"Hi, Kurayami," said Kuroi.

"Don't hi me! We haven't talked in nearly a year and now you want to use me to achieve more power!" exclaimed Kurayami.

"I'm sorry. I don't have time to talk with a sword," said Kuroi.

"So, I'm just a sword to you now!" exclaimed Kurayami.

Kurayami turns to look at Ichigo. She walks up to him and places her breasts on Ichigo's back. Ichigo starts to blush and his nose starts to bleed.

"You seem like a way nicer guy than that jerk over there," said Kurayami.

"I am," said Ichigo nervously.

"Hey! There's no time to sexually harass these boys. We have important things to do. Did you two hear everything I said?" said Kisuke.

"Yes," said the Zanpakuto souls.

"You guys can begin immediately. I don't care how you decide to train. Just get it done," said Kisuke.

"Fine," said Zangetsu.

Zangetsu and Kurayami place their hands on the ground and multiple versions of the Shikai states of Zangetsu and Kurayami appear around the training ground.

"Your objective is to find the correct Zanpakuto and defeat us with it before we kill you. Force us to submit to achieve Bankai," said the Zanpakuto souls.

Ichigo and Kuroi run and grab a version of their Zanpakuto. Their Zanpakuto souls grab a version of themself and prepare to fight. The blades of the soul reapers and Zanpakuto souls collide, but the Zanpakuto of the soul reapers break.

"Go and find some more before you guys die," said Zangetsu.

Ichigo and Kuroi run to find more blades.

"I'm gonna love this," said Kurayami.

"You shouldn't want to kill your master," said Zangetsu.

"I usually wouldn't, but he has pissed me off," said Kurayami.

The three days are very intense. The two soul reapers grab and break many fake Zanpakutos. They get no sleep and no food as well. Even though the training feels like it lasts forever, it finally ends on the third day of summer break. The two boys are exhausted and lay next to each other on the ground. Kisuke, Zangetsu, and Kurayami stand over them.

"Ahhh. They look so cute when they're exhausted," said Kurayami.

"It's scary how similar you and Kuroi are," said Kisuke.

"A Zanpakuto's master always has a similar personality to their Zanpakuto," said Kurayami.

"They finished a few minutes before three days. I'm impressed. Kids, you can have the rest of the six days off. The Senkaimon will be ready by then," said Kisuke.

"I think that they're sleeping. I don't think that they heard you," said Zangetsu.

"Leave them. They deserve the rest," said Kisuke.