Bleach: The Hunter c4

“I heard that you helped Kuchiki achieve Shikai!” Lisa found Ray’s resting spot as he was sitting in a tree eating his rice and chicken.

“I did. He was close to it anyway.” Ray nodded before continuing to eat his dinner.

“I thought you would help me!” She exclaimed in annoyance.

“And I did. Apart from giving you tips, there is not that much I can do.” He shrugged at her. 

The Hunter did help her. He told the very same things that he said to Byakuya. The synchronisation with the blade is important.

“You need to realise that these things come to you and not you come to them.” He sighed before jumping down from the tree.

He then pulled out a small piece of wood. 

“Since you insist, I can teach you something that could increase your sensitivity to reishi. That could help you establish a connection to your sword.”

She looked at the piece of wood.

“...and this is?” The girl looked at him and then at the wood.

“Use your reishi to cut the wood. You are a soul reaper, so you need to know how to sharpen your Spiritual Pressure.”

As he said, the wood piece got cut in half in his hands.

There were no weapons that he used; it just got cut in half!

“See?”

“...Damn…you. That’s something I never heard or seen before!” Lisa looked shocked as she saw him hand over the two pieces of wood.

“Not difficult, it’s your imagination. Try envisioning how you are going to cut it. We as souls have that kind of power.” He explained before walking past her.

“Keep trying and always have your Zanpakuto with you. The stronger your energy, the quicker the sword will become part of you.” After instructing her, he walked back to the academy.

He needs to see if Rangiku is not lazing around…again.

From the looks of it, she is intending to stay the whole six years instead of graduating early.

Ray has no intentions of staying longer than necessary. He is planning to learn everything they can teach him before joining one of the squads.

After all, only when he is a proper Soul Reaper can he slaughter hollows to his heart’s content.

~~~~~Meanwhile~~~~~

“Scatter, Senbonzakura.” The entire Zanpakuto’s blade turned into sakura petals as they began to circle around Byakuya Kuchiki.

“...Wonderful, Byakuya. That is a beautiful Shikai.” An Old man praised his grandson. As he was watching from a distance, there was another person next to him.

“Well, well! It would seem little Byakuya finally did it! Even before you are twenty. That is impressive!” A woman with chocolate skin there was a teasing grin on her lips.

“S-Shut up, you cat woman!” Baykuya immediately lost his cool as he looked at her.

“Hahaha, still easy to goad you.” She shook her head.

“Though I am impressed you achieved so early.” The woman lost her amusement for a second as she got serious.

“...I didn’t achieve without help.” The next head of the Kuchiki clan lifted his hand as the Sakura petals landed on his palm.

“It reminds me, Yuroichi… the way he can hide his spiritual pressure, it's like your Stealth Force.”

That caused the lady a reaction.

“Who helped you?” She asked, very curious.

“Ray Kurogane. Those who arrived at the academy with a Shikai. He helped me understand more about my sword and what it means to be a Soul Reaper.” 

“...Look at you. You have found a friend.”

Even if she tried to tease, there was no reaction from young Kuchiki.

“You are not wrong. He is different from others. It would seem he doesn’t care about my status… even in training, he is not holding back with his attitude.” 

All of these qualities made the Heir a bit excited to attend the academy now. 

“Interesting.” The lady looked even more interested.

“...Are you thinking of adding him to your 2nd Squad, Yuroichi?” The old man who watched the interaction finally asked.

“...It’s the captain’s privilege to select who can be my Lieutenant.” She said, looking away while thinking of something.

“...Besides… I am tired of all these nobles breathing down my neck. 

This new individual… he will shatter the status quo in my Squad.” 

Byakuya looked at her.

“...I see, I pity my new friend already.” The Younger Kuchiki sighed as he couldn’t believe Ray would need to deal with this woman… all the time!

Instead of hearing a response, the 2nd Squad Leader disappeared and appeared behind Byakuya. He could feel his hair getting loose.

“Is that so, Little Byakuya? How about another game of tag?” She disappeared, making him gnash his teeth. 

“Come back here, you damn cat woman!” He chased right after her into the heart of Seireitei.

~~~~~Several Weeks Later~~~~~

Ray continued his training in the Soul Reaper Academy. He was learning Kido, Hoho, Zanjutsu and Hakuta.

The four core arts of any soul reaper, he decided, he needed to get everything he could from the academy before his graduation.

However, there was something else going on.

‘Why is there a feeling that someone is watching me?’ 

The Hunter can tell that there are more eyes on him. Ever since he dominated in sparings and kido tests, there have been more people watching him.

From the rumour, he has heard pretty much every single squad wants him. 

That is what he wanted. But now he is feeling that he was trying too hard.

Well, whatever, it’s not that he has revealed anything that big.

As time went on, he was cruising through tests, examinations and all that stuff.

Apart from that, he finally found a decent friend who neither fawns over nor fears his power…

Who would have thought that he would be friends with a noble of all people?

“Do you know about Bankai?” All of a sudden, Byakuya asked him.

“Bankai?” Ray pondered a bit. The academy is not teaching much about the final stages of the sword. That stuff is so foreign to the soul reapers who study here that it’s barely even mentioned.

The Hunter could only gather the information by himself.

“The final stage of the Zanpakuto, right?”

“Indeed. Grandfather told me that to achieve it, one needs to bring their sword spirit to the outside world and then subdue it.

This way, the Bankai could be achieved.” The Kuchiki noble explained that, as they were eating dinner outside, it was breaktime.

The themes of conversations were a bit different when it came to nobles. That is something Ray has realised.

Where regular Soul Reapers talk about Kido incantations, or some essential skills… when it comes to someone like this noble before him…

Well, he has already mastered the essentials in the first couple of months… by this point, all he is studying is advanced stuff and actual sword releases.

The sheer gap is wild. Something Ray understands, as he is in the same boat as this guy next to him.

“Funny… I had already been practising that for a considerable amount of time.” 

“... You've been doing that without even knowing that this is the path?” Kuchiki was surprised for a second before shaking his head.

“...no wonder your Spiritual Pressure is this high. You will be rivalling captains soon.”

Ray didn’t respond to that.

“...Comparing yourself to others would only hinder your progress, Byakuya. Never do that. Follow your own road.

That is the way to do it. Make your own goals and try to achieve them before pushing forward.” The hunter commented as he looked at his food.

“Today you are pursuing the final sword release… what about tomorrow? Should you stop when you have it?”  He asked him, but didn’t wait for the answer.

“I won’t stop because I don’t think there are limits to what we can do,” Ray concluded.

The next head of the Kuchiki clan looked at him. This was something he never considered. But he was right, there are levels to Bankai and its power.

If he keeps training, maybe he could rival the most powerful Soul Reapers in history? Make his clan the greatest it ever was!

“...You are right! I knew that I would become a captain one day. That is my destiny as the next head of the Kuchiki clan!

But now, I want to push it even further! I want to be the strongest captain there is!” The black haired noble clenched his fist. He became motivated. 

Ray realised that he caused an eruption of motivation in this guy.

That is given, Noble like this one has no choice but to accept their destiny. No one asked him what he wanted.

However, now Byakuya has what he wants. And it's a greater destiny that the clan gave him.

“Good. I do need a sparing partner.” Ray nodded as his response made the Kuchiki look at him with serious eyes.

“You will get one! Let’s go and train!”

The impatient noble was about to dash into the horizon, but Ray grabbed him and pulled him back.

“After you finish your food, that is, right?”

“...Right!” Byakuya stopped. He looked a bit ashamed. He was still a hothead after all!

~~~

‘Well, well. This is interesting. It would seem Lil Byakuya found a proper friend. This does remind me of Kisuke and me.’ The 2nd captain looked at the academy from the top of one of the buildings, a considerable distance away.

The woman had already begun to arrange things for this guy to join her squad. 

The issue is that someone like this guy has options, unlike other weaker reapers. 

‘Especially, since my Lieutenant is not THAT bad. Other squads have it worse.’ 

They pondered for a second. But oh well. She is the Captain, and she decides who her Lieutenant will be; that is the freedom she has.

‘Considering he already mastered the stealth part before even joining the stealth force.’

She stroked her chin as he continued to watch. Information gathering is something her squad specialises in.

“It would seem you can’t stick in one place, Yuroichi. He has only just started the academy. It would take at least a year or two before he joins the Thirteen Court Guard Squads.” 

The Captain of Squad Two looked down and saw a man lying on the rooftop with a bottle of sake in his hands. He was here for a while… and knows what she is doing.

“Captain Kyoraku. This is my roof, find your own.” Yuroichi complained to the man who was lazing on the rooftop.

“I am as interested as you are. It has been a while since anything happened in here. So forgive me for my curiosity.” He replied, not that he will be going anywhere.

“...So then are you interested in seeing what his sword can do? I bet that they will be sparing with their Zanpakutos soon.” She asked with crossed arms as she saw the two students finish their dinner and rush towards Rukongai.

“...Hmm… why not. Let’s go.”

He got up as the pair moved with their Flash Steps following them.

~~~

“To begin the road towards Bankai, one needs to Master Shikai.” 

Byakuya pulled out his sword. It was different now. The handle and the guard became different after unlocking his Shikai.

“Scatter, Senbonzakura.” The blade of the sword turned into pedals as it began to float around Kuchiki Byakuya.

“Are you going to show your Shikai?” He asked, the next head of the Kuchiki Clan is intrigued by how his friend’s released sword looks.

“...My Zanpakuto is a bit different from what I saw in the Academy,” Ray said with a small smile as he pointed two fingers at the fellow student. Energy began to gather at the tip of his two fingers.

DunDunDun 

A dark purple sphere formed as a beam rushed at the shocked student.

“...My sword allows me to keep the powers of my slain enemies, which includes hollows.” He explained as the beam erased a couple of trees in the distance.

“...That was a Cero? Or something like Cero… only Gillians and above can use such a technique!” Byakuya was breathing heavily; this was something he only saw in illustrations!

“Yep, it took me a while to figure out the ratio of energy I need to use something like this.” Ray shrugged as he pointed his two fingers at him again.

Purple energy began to gather once more.