Chapter Thirty Three

146 years before Rukia Kuchiki's arrival in Karakura Town

"Again!" barked the spirit of his Zanpakutō.

She's relentless today, thought Itachi as he braced himself for her opening assault.

The woman cloaked in black flames came in hard and fast, immediately putting Itachi on the defensive. The blades of the two duelists flashed like bolts of lightning as they clashed, and despite his foe's ferocious strikes Itachi was holding his own. His defense was solid; tight, efficient, and swift. His footing remained firm, and even as he was under attack he was already looking for the opening he would need to initiate a counter.

That opening came a moment later. After deflecting a diagonal slash, Itachi countered with an overhand strike. His foe was forced to block, and Itachi was able to seize the initiative and go on the offensive. He surged forward, his Zanpakutō little more than a series of silver streaks as he went into a sequence of swift and precise blows. His opponent fell back, but she was hardly deterred by his assault. Just like Itachi before, she was patiently waiting for her chance to strike back, and he knew that she would seize it the instant it was available.

Despite sparring with the spirit of his Zanpakutō every day since his return to the Academy following the healing of his soul fracture, Itachi had never once grown weary of these matches. On the contrary, they were a much looked forward to part of his routine. He always felt like he had something to learn from each fight, and he couldn't think of a better way to keep his Zanjutsu skills sharp. These skirmishes had become even more important to him once he'd learned that Jiraiya had also managed to make it to his inner world; a little friendly competition from the Legendary Sannin was a nice bit of incentive for Itachi to maintain his efforts to improve his abilities.

Not for the first time since these matches had begun, Itachi couldn't help but notice that his inner world had subtly changed since the first time he had visited it. The cobblestone pathway remained, as did the stone lanterns with their eerie blood-red flames and the twisted trees, but the environmental conditions had been altered significantly. The clouds that had once filled the sky of his inner world were completely gone now, allowing the crimson moon's full brilliance to shine down from on high. That wasn't the only light coming from the sky, either; red stars were visible all across the black backdrop above. In fact, Itachi could've sworn that they were shining brighter now than they had in the past.

"I'm so glad that you're able to admire the scenery in my humble abode," his foe gently chided him, "but your eyes should be on me, Itachi."

She made him pay for his momentary lapse by thrusting her blade forward. Itachi was able to deflect the strike, but it was still all that she needed to regain the initiative. Once again, she went into a furious assault, as withering and vicious as it was swift and powerful. There was a certain beauty in her movements that Itachi couldn't help but admire; it was the deadly grace of a she-wolf on the hunt, hounding her prey with her eyes set on its throat.

"Why the changes in the weather?" he asked as their blades crossed yet again.

"Come now, Itachi," she replied with a smile, "You know full well that the conditions in this world aren't influenced by traditional means. They reflect your soul, so they're bound to change as your journey down the path of the Soul Reaper continues."

"So does all this reflect progress or regression?" Itachi pressed as he parried her strikes.

"Progress, of course," said his sparring partner.

Itachi raised an eyebrow as he deflected a slash. "That's unusually straightforward of you."

The spirit of his Zanpakutō smirked as she continued to attack him. "I don't always feel the need to speak in cryptic riddles, you know? Besides, I hear that positive reinforcement for such development is a good thing."

"Perhaps," said Itachi, "but it's still a little strange coming from you."

His opponent shook her head. "You know, it's considered rude to question a compliment like that. I thought you were more well-mannered than that."

"Does etiquette have a place in a fight?" Itachi deadpanned as he blocked a particularly powerful blow.

"I suppose not," his adversary replied.

The song of clashing steel intensified as their duel continued. Back and forth the combatants went, trading the roles of attacker and defender fluidly and frequently. Itachi idly wondered what his Zanjutsu instructors would make of a fight like this. Had any of them ever fought their Zanpakutō in a duel like this one?

It wasn't just his technique that benefitted from matches like this. The daily duels were improving his conditioning as well, to the point that Itachi barely even broke a sweat in his Zanjutsu classes anymore. If anything, the Academy's lessons on swordsmanship seemed rather tame when compared to the fierce clashes that he regularly engaged the spirit of his Zanpakutō in. About the only time he really had to put in work during those official sessions nowadays was when he sparred with Jiraiya.

How would he and the Legendary Sannin perform against Hollows now? It had been a year since their encounter on Terra with the beasts that had attempted to invade their Konsō exercise, and even though it had been a brief fight it still hadn't been far from Itachi's mind. Practice matches both in the classroom and with the spirt of his Zanpakutō were all well and good, but Hollows were the enemy that he was ultimately training to defeat, so Itachi was naturally inclined to wonder when he'd get another chance to face them. It wasn't that he was actively seeking out such an encounter, but he knew that it would have to happen sooner or later.

"What's the matter?" asked his opponent as she launched a fresh offensive, "Don't tell me you're growing bored with our little match here?"

"Hardly," Itachi replied as he fended off her attacks.

"Then why the discontent?" she pressed, "You forget that I can read you far better than others, you know."

His eyes narrowed as he countered her strike and retook the offensive. "There is only so much that I can learn in an academic setting. Our matches have been instructive, but you are not my enemy. I need to know that I'm capable of challenging and defeating Hollows consistently. A single encounter during my entire term at the Academy hardly qualifies in that regard."

"Your time will come," his sparring partner replied, "You of all people ought to know the value of patience. Focus on your training; the chance to prove yourself in the field again will find you soon enough."

Itachi nodded. She was right; the best thing for him to do right now was focus on continuing to improve his abilities and learn new skills. It wasn't like him to be eager to face a new enemy, even one that had proven just how dire the need was for experienced warriors to fight against it. Hollows were unlike any foe that he had encountered during his life in the Shinobi World, and there was still much about them that he did not fully understand. It would not do to rush into a confrontation just for the sake of testing his skills out in the field; he had to take advantage of his time in the Academy to gain as much knowledge and practice as he could before he graduated and officially joined the Thirteen Court Guard Squads.

The duel continued on, but Itachi could sense that it was approaching a climax. His opponent was growing more aggressive, and Itachi had no choice but to match her. Deflecting a diagonal strike, he countered with a thrust that his opponent redirected. She whirled around, adding centrifugal force to her follow-up slash, and Itachi was barely able to block it. He ducked beneath her next strike before bringing his sword up in a slash, but she swiftly parried that attack. The two of them thrust their blades out at exactly the same time, bringing them to a stop just a hair's breadth above each other's necks.

She smiled before withdrawing her weapon. "A tie… well done, Itachi."

"Thanks," said Itachi as he sheathed his sword, "You certainly made me work for it."

"Well, someone has to keep you on your toes when Yoruichi isn't around," she shot back with a smirk, "We wouldn't want you losing your edge just because your classes can't sufficiently challenge you and she hasn't seen fit to put you back under Minerva's tutelage."

Itachi couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Good point. I wonder how she's doing…"

"Minerva or Yoruichi?" she asked with a knowing smile.

Itachi shook his head a little more forcefully than he'd meant to. "Never mind. I need to get going."

"Of course," she said with a mischievous smirk, "Until next time, Itachi!"

….

The training hall sang with the melody of clashing wooden practice swords. As per the normal routine, the lead Zanjutsu instructor for the advanced track students had already paired them up with the sparring partners for the session's drills, and Itachi and Jiraiya were well into yet another one of their fast-paced yet friendly bouts. It was a ritual that Itachi had grown as accustomed to as he had with the matches the spirit of his Zanpakutō engaged him in, and he would privately admit that he enjoyed these skirmishes with the Legendary Sannin just as much as those with the maiden cloaked in the black flames of Amaterasu.

He couldn't help but smirk as his eyes fell on the bruise on the right side of Jiraiya's forehead. "Should I ease up a little, old man? I'd feel bad about claiming a win that was made possible by a giant toad thrashing you beforehand."

Jiraiya chuckled as he fended off Itachi's assault. "Hah, you mean this? That was just a tap! I didn't feel a thing!"

"A 'tap' from an armored fist or boot?" Itachi asked as he pressed his attack, "Or did you get headbutted this time? The spirit of your Zanpakutō rarely seems to hold its punches these days."

Jiraiya grinned as he countered and went on the offensive. "Hey, it's no fun when he's holding back, and the same goes for you! I may look old, but I feel a hell of a lot younger now that I'm dead, so hit me with your best shot!"

Indeed, Itachi mused as he deflected Jiraiya's blows, I never thought that the afterlife would be quite as rejuvenating an experience as it's proven to be. Death, it would seem, is not without its advantages…

It was actually quite easy for him to forget nowadays that he was indeed dead. He had acclimated well to the Soul Society over the past four years, so much so in fact that it was hard to remember that this was supposed to be the afterlife. Itachi might've passed on from the world of the living, but it was hard to recall a point in his past life where he'd felt as alive as he did now. Yes, he was still dead, but a whole new world of opportunity was before him, and he had taken great strides to realize it since enrolling in the Academy.

Of course, no one could progress as rapidly or ascend as highly as Itachi and Jiraiya had without ruffling some feathers. Itachi was all too familiar with how success and prodigious growth could isolate someone from others, and while he had tried to avoid making the same mistakes as he had in his younger days, he suspected that some alienation might be inevitable. Having a friend like Jiraiya, as odd as their friendship might be, certainly helped, as did the support of Yoruichi and her circle of friends, but his relationship with his fellow students was a little on the tense side. Yes, many admired him, and he knew that he was still the object of desire for an uncomfortably large segment of the female student body, but there were others who saw his rise and prominence as an obstacle and regarded it with jealousy and suspicion.

As he continued his match with Jiraiya, Itachi could sense that one of those not-so-friendly students had their eyes on him. A second of distraction could very easily cost him the match, but Itachi felt that the risk was worth it to find out just who was studying him so intently today. It only took a moment to discover them, but in that brief instance Jiraiya was very nearly able to land the winning hit on him.

Jiraiya laughed as Itachi was barely able to block his attack. "Getting sloppy there, mister class genius! What's got you so distracted?"

"We're being watched," said Itachi as he backpedaled and regrouped, "Their scrutiny seems rather sharp, I might add."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow before looking past Itachi's shoulder and spotting who he was referring to. "Oh, so it's little miss Vissy that's got her eye on us, eh? Interesting…"

'Vissy' was the teasing nickname that the Legendary Sannin had developed for the young woman who would've been at the top of the advanced track student rankings were it not for himself and Itachi. Her full name was Visaelya Drakken, and she was none other than the niece of Squad Ten's Captain, Rhaegon Drakken. A rather tall woman with a slender yet athletic frame, she was quite easily the most popular female student in their class. It wasn't hard to see why; her fair complexion, exotic violet eyes and long, silver-blonde hair definitely made her stand out in a crowd, but she was more than just a pretty face. Like every student in the advanced class, male or female, she had demonstrated great aptitude for the Soul Reaper arts, and despite, or perhaps because of, her hailing from one of the Five Great Noble Houses she was a very hard-working girl, putting impressive effort into both her academic and physical studies. Her gifts were considerable, and Itachi had no doubt that she'd go far once she graduated from the Academy.

Unfortunately, it had become readily apparent that 'going far' wasn't enough for Visaelya. It hadn't taken Itachi or Jiraiya long to tell that she was gunning to make herself the standout student in the advanced track, but from the moment the entrance exams had taken place the two former Shinobi had stolen her thunder. It was the two of them that had been invited to meet the Captains reviewing the exam scores, not her, just as it was the two of them who had consistently stolen the top spots in the rankings ever since beginning their education at the Academy.

"You'd better keep your guard up," said Jiraiya with a smirk as he redoubled his attack on Itachi, "She's got fire in her eyes today. Hell, she might just call you out in the challenge fights later!"

"What makes you think she won't challenge you instead?" asked Itachi as he countered and seized the initiative, "She hasn't called either of us out in years. No one has."

"Please," Jiraiya replied, "it's written all over her face. That's confidence and determination if I've ever seen it. She's gunning for the top spot today, and since only one of us in the advanced track has actually sparred with a Captain, I think it's pretty safe to say we both know who she's got in her sights."

Privately, Itachi had to concede that Jiraiya had a point. Although both former Shinobi were at the top of the class, everyone knew that he was the favorite of not only Yoruichi, but several other Captains. Itachi was as high a profile target in the advanced track as one could get, and just because no one had called him out over the past few years in their Zanjutsu class didn't mean that they couldn't. They were in the fourth year of a six-year education; there was still plenty of time for one of his classmates to try to knock him from his perch. Itachi wasn't particularly attached to his lofty position, but at the same time he wasn't about to let himself be dethroned without a fight.

Their match dragged on for a few minutes longer with no clear winner before it was broken up by the instructor's call. "All right, everyone, it's time for the challenge fights! Cease your duels and gather in the center of the hall!"

Jiraiya smirked as the two of them lowered their training swords. "Saved by the teacher."

Itachi nodded. "Indeed. I would've won the duel on the next exchange."

The Legendary Sannin chuckled. "Is that so? I'll have to prove you wrong in our next match. Maybe Vissy won't get to challenge you today; I might just have to cut to the front of the line!"

"You're welcome to do so," Itachi replied casually, "I'll be waiting."

The two of them joined their classmates in forming a circle at the center of the room. Their instructor, a middle-aged Soul Reaper who went only by the name 'Iemon', stepped into the middle of the circle.

"So, who will go first today?" he asked, "Who wants to open up today's challenge fights?"

Visaelya immediately stood up and stepped forward. "I do, Iemon-sensei!"

Your oaf of a friend appears to be right this time, said the spirit of Itachi's Zanpakutō.

She hasn't called me out yet.

Don't kid yourself. She's looking right at you.

Indeed, she was. Visaelya's gaze was locked on Itachi, and he could see the determination burning in her violet eyes. She wanted a fight; there was no doubt about it.

"I challenge Itachi Uchiha!" she barked.