6 - Way of the Spirit 2

Ichigo sat back up with a groan after healing himself and admitting defeat. "You could probably wipe the floor with any of the vice-captains."

"You're exaggerating, Ichigo. Renji, I could believe, but the other vice-captains are strong. I wouldn't be able to beat them."

She remembered clearly how strong her vice-captain Kaien-dono was. He was the one who turned her from an academy graduate with subpar zanjutsu grades into a skilled swordswoman. The thought sent a pang of guilt through her, as it had for the past few decades every time she thought of the disaster that led to his death.

And Ichigo was scarily similar in appearance. She had even wondered if he was his reincarnation, but that was just fanciful thinking, wasn't it?

This wasn't a chance to atone for killing Kaien-dono to save herself.

He was gone and in his own words, scattered into spirit particles. Even if he did reincarnate, it would be a different person. It wasn't like the way souls passing from the human world reincarnated in Soul Society whole.

But she definitely wouldn't let someone else die because of her again. Certainly not Ichigo. She had to show this fool she didn't need protecting.

"No, I'm serious! You defeated that sand hollow in one hit, when Ishida, Chad, and I were having trouble against him three on one! I also heard that you killed the 9th espada one on one, even though those guys are all at least captain-level."

"I don't know what you're talking about…what are the espada?"

In the distance, Gesshokuro and Sode no Shirayuki had decided to have their own friendly bout.

Both Rukia and Ichigo watched the two spirits move with incredible grace.

"They're the ten strongest Arrancar in Aizen's army. All of them were at least Adjuchas level Menos and crazy strong. Every other Espada took a captain, or multiple captain-level Shinigami and Visored working together to take down."

"I must have gotten lucky. I'm nowhere near captain-level." She sheathed her zanpaktou with a frown, as Gesshokuro began to overwhelm Sode no Shirayuki.

Sode no Shirayuki was just as good as Rukia herself, but Gesshokuro seemed to be in a different league entirely, contrary to what she'd have expected based on Ichigo's own performance.

"Come on, Rukia, you have to admit there's something wrong. You're definitely strong enough to be vice-captain level. There's no reason for you to not even be seated."

"Why does it matter? It's not like I care about having a high rank."

She knew why she hadn't been promoted for so long. It was the fault of her brother, who didn't want her to get assigned more risky missions. But she'd never had big ambitions in the first place, and with Kaien-dono's tragic death, nobody wanted to try and take his place as vice-captain of the 13th.

"It bothers me." Ichigo stood up next to her. "Isn't it unfair? Why is Soul Society like that? The law about transferring power to humans is stupid too. You're doing your job saving lives. What the hell's wrong with that? Even if Aizen might have had a hand in your judgment, the fact that law exists at all is just retarded."

"You shouldn't say that, Ichigo. I'm sure the law is there for a reason. One of the most important rules for Shinigami is that we can't interfere with the lives of the living. Transferring power to a human is a gross violation of that."

"You interfere with human lives all the time and erase their memories after fighting hollows. Why's this any different?"

"I don't know. I didn't make the laws."

"Well who did?"

"Central 46, I assume."

"Who are the Central 46 anyways? Where do their members come from? After they died, I never heard any more about them."

Every Shinigami that went through the Academy had been taught about the government in Soul Society. Rukia drew upon that knowledge as she answered.

"They are the ruling government body in Seireitei, and their identities are secret. They've existed since the beginning of Soul Society, and were handpicked by the Spirit King. After that, each time a member had to be replaced, the remaining members would nominate a new candidate for the Spirit King to appoint. That's probably why you didn't hear any more about them. If they all died, there's nobody left to do the nominations, so it would take a lot longer for the Spirit King choose them all."

"…they're appointed by the Spirit King? Are you sure?" Ichigo asked with obvious doubt on his face. He had witnessed a memory of what the Spirit King was. How could that thing choose anything? It wasn't dead but it didn't seem alive enough to be capable of conscious thought, especially without a brain.

"It's just what they taught us in the Academy," Rukia said with a shrug. Then her face looked annoyed as the spar between their spirits ended, with Gesshokuro victorious despite having used only a single hand to wield his spirit sword and not even looking winded. Sode no Shirayuki hadn't used shikai, but there was no dying that the black clothed man was her superior in swordplay. "More importantly, why is Gesshokuro so skilled? How can he be so much better than you?"

"Huh? I thought all zanpaktou spirits were like that."

"No, they're supposed to grow with the Shinigami. Sode no Shirayuki might be better at using her dances, but in Zanjutsu we're exactly the same."

"I dunno. He was better than me in my visions too, so it's not like he absorbed my future skills faster." Ichigo recalled the times he'd trained with Gesshokuro. "The few times I fought him, they were impossible to win, and I wasn't supposed to. Just had to find the right answer to pass his…tests."

He'd overlooked something. There had been times when he trained against his hollow—the other part of Zangetsu—and they were basically evenly matched. When his hollow was stronger, it was because he knew how to use Zangetsu's sword better, not because he was better in swordsmanship. It was just Gesshokuro that seemed to be far beyond either of them. So much that in the times he'd seen his hollow Zangetsu talk to Gesshokuro, the hollow seemed to respect the man and took orders from him, where he was always insulting Ichigo for being weak.

It was a mystery, probably one of those things Ichigo would be expected to figure out as part of some other test, he thought. In the mean time, he was just grateful to have a teacher that so skilled at everything. He was pretty sure Ishida didn't have a personal spirit teaching him anything.

O O O

"O Lord, mask of skin and blood, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of man, light and firmament, the veil of earth is torn, pierce the endless sky with your shining fist! Hado #32: Okasen!"

The hollow that was stabbed into the ground by numerous Quincy arrows was hit by the arc of golden light from Ichigo's palms, and disintegrated.

"That was great, Ichigo!" Rukia gave him a hard pat on the back. "Now to take care of that Plus."

He gave her a grin before the two walked over to the scared woman ghost they saved from the hollow.

"Relax, we're not going to hurt you. We're soul reapers, and we can help you move you to the next life," said Ichigo.

The woman didn't look convinced, but didn't try to run either.

Ichigo sighed and regretted that they didn't look like proper soul reapers, being in their human bodies and wearing casual clothes.

Nevertheless, he began the incantation for the ancient Kido version of Soul Burial that hardly anyone used anymore, but which Rukia learned anyway a long time ago.

Just when the soul passed over, someone stepped out from the shadow of the telephone pole behind him.

He was dressed in priestly white robes, and on his right wrist was an irregular and physical Quincy Zeichen that had only four ends with a small circle at the centre.

"Good evening, Kurosaki-kun, Kuchiki-san," he said.

Ichigo and Rukia looked at each other, an unspoken understanding passing between them, before fully turning and returning the greeting.

"Good evening, Ishida-san," said Rukia.

"I was wondering when you'd come to us, Ishida," said Ichigo, forgoing the honorific.

Ishida Uryu's glasses glinted in the street light, and his eyes went to Ichigo's own Zeichen, which was materialized in spirit form on his left wrist. It was the standard shape emblazoned on Uryu's back, except for the round hole in the centre.

Constructing permanent spiritual artifacts without a physical medium was an advanced technique. One that he couldn't believe Kurosaki had mastered in the week since he first noticed the Quincy nature of his classmate's spirit pressure.

And he wouldn't have noticed at all if it weren't for Kurosaki actively using Quincy techniques in class, gathering spirit particles right in Uryu's range.

Had he been hiding his powers all along?

Unlike Shinigami or Hollow spirit pressure, Quincy spirit pressures were much more difficult to detect, and easily hidden by a skilled Quincy. Instead of expelling it for their techniques, it gathered spirit particles toward them—and the spirit particles could mask the Quincy's own spirit pressure.

"So you were already aware of me. When did you notice?" He asked, his eyes moving back to Kurosaki's face.

"Honestly? Only a week ago. My sensing ability was pretty bad before that."

"…a week ago? That would be the same time you started practicing Quincy techniques in class."

As he spoke, spirit ribbons materialized around them. Uryu reached out a hand to grab onto a red spirit ribbon as his eyes narrowed into a glare.

"The spirit pressure of a Shinigami is distinct. When condensed into spirit ribbons, it is red, rather than the white of humans. Unlike you, Kurosaki, I have long since mastered such a basic skill as spirit pressure sensing. I sensed your spirit pressure the first day you entered Karakura High. I sensed the changes in your spirit pressure last month, when you gained the powers of a Shinigami. I know what Kuchiki-san is too. And today, I confirmed with my eyes your use of Shinigami powers. So tell me, Kurosaki, what did you do to yourself to gain the hereditary powers of a Quincy? Did you take the souls of dead Quincy in the spirit world and steal their power?"

"Woah, calm down. I was always a Quincy," said Ichigo. "I just didn't know about it until last week."

"Impossible…"

"Why? I've always been spiritually aware, even before Rukia let me borrow her Shinigami powers."

After a long silence, Ichigo and Rukia tensed when Uryu's hand moved up. Then he merely adjusted his glasses, and they relaxed.

"If that's true, then why are you still working with a Shinigami? I see. You must be unaware of the history of our people. How they slaughtered us all. We are the last Quincies alive, Kurosaki, and here you are, consorting with our enemies. Don't be fooled by their lies! To them, our very existence is a crime. You can fight for them with all your heart, and they will but watch pitilessly as you die, never lifting a finger to help you in return, if they don't kill you themselves first!"

Rukia flinched at the hateful tone. "It's not like that…when you kill hollows, you obliterate them completely…we were just trying to stop the Quincy from breaking the balance of souls."

"And I agree with that. But the Quincy have tried to work with Shinigami before, and each time, we were told that we weren't necessary! Should we not have the right to defend ourselves and protect others when you Shinigami aren't there? You say we're unnecessary, but when we needed your help, where were you?! Where were you when my grandfather was surrounded by hollows, unwilling to destroy them because of your demands, and died for it?! When a Quincy soul is eaten by a hollow, it is also obliterated! Are our lives somehow worth less than the hollows you forced us to stop killing in the name of preserving the balance?!"

"Quincy souls are obliterated when eaten by a hollow…?" Ichigo asked with wide eyes.

"That's right, Kurosaki. You didn't even know that much? When a soul is eaten by a Hollow, it becomes part of the Hollow. But Quincy souls cannot become Hollows, so the soul will struggle against the Hollow until one or the other is completely obliterated," said Uryu in a scornful tone.

"But…I…"

A mix of shock, disbelief, and confusion was on his face, when Ichigo contacted Gesshokuro again.

'Is it true that Quincies can't become Hollows? Why was it possible for me to Hollowfy in my visions?'

'A Quincy cannot hollowfy, this is true, but you also have the nature of a Shinigami. It is possible to suppress your Quincy nature such that the part of you which is Shinigami can hollowfy. This is why accessing the powers of the Hollow within you will cause your Quincy powers to weaken. I would have no choice but to suppress our Quincy nature to prevent soul suicide.'

"That means…mom…!" Ichigo's legs felt weak.

Rukia grabbed onto him before he could collapse to his knees.

"Even if I find Grand Fisher and kill him, Rukia…she won't be released! She'll never pass on to Soul Society…her soul was…obliterated…" He said in a empty voice.

"Ichigo…I'm so sorry…I didn't know that about Quincies," she said in a guilt-stricken whisper.

Uryu looked at his fellow Quincy, and stayed silent in respect. He had wanted to criticize his ignorant classmate further, but it seemed that they were more alike than he'd thought.

"I'd been wondering…if she was a Quincy, why did she lose to Grand Fisher…I thought it was my fault…because she was protecting me. But that's wasn't all, was it? She must have been holding back, trying not to destroy the Hollow…it's obvious in hindsight. She married a Shinigami, so of course she'd try to respect their ways. And I also wondered…why didn't Grand Fisher finish me off after she died?"

Ichigo clenched his fists and stood straight again. "Now, I get it. It's because he couldn't. Mom's soul must have continued to fight inside of him even after death."

"So you understand, Kurosaki? When we needed their help, the Shinigami left us to die," Uryu said coldly. "That's the kind of scum you're working for."

"Yeah. I understand," said Ichigo.

"Ichigo, it's not like that…we probably just couldn't get there in time…there are so many Hollows, we can't be everywhere…" Rukia said weakly with a hurt expression.

"So you admit that you can't handle all the Hollows, yet still think the Quincies are unnecessary?" Ishida scoffed.

"That's…I didn't make that decision…"

"Enough, Ishida. Not every Shinigami is the same. I know that Rukia is a good person. She saved my life nearly at the cost of her own. Don't misunderstand, I'm not working for the Shinigami. In fact, we're criminals right now, in their eyes. We hunt Hollows and help souls pass on because there's no one else here to do it," said Ichigo.

"Criminals, huh? I should have known. You're a delinquent to the soul," said Ishida.

"Hey! I'm not a delinquent! The teachers just treat me like that because of my hair, which is natural!"

"You mean you don't get into fights with thugs and gangs all the time?"

"I don't go around picking fights! They pick fights with me!"

"Tch. Whatever. If you're not working for the Shinigami, then I suppose we aren't enemies," said Uryu, turning around to leave.

Ichigo watched his back incredulously. "That's it? Did you come prepared to fight or something? And now that we're not gonna fight, you're just gonna leave?"

Uryu stopped and slightly inclined his head. "I came to find out what you are. Now that I know, I have no other business with you."

"We're the last Quincies, right? Shouldn't we at least try to be friends or something? How about we train together?"

Uryu turned back. "Hmph. If you wanted help with your abilities, you should have just asked me. I would not mind teaching a fellow Quincy."

"Who said anything about teaching? I bet I know some tricks you don't," Ichigo said with a cheeky grin.

"Is that a challenge?" Uryu tilted his head as the glare on his glasses flashed again.