Gateway 40

As I entered the 5th division’s front courtyard to wait for Isane and her friends, I noticed that, despite the architecture being the same, it still allowed enough space for the divisions to showcase their character.

The 11th was all about combat, so any slightly open area became a ‘training ground’, with only packed dirt to denote its purpose, and it was dotted with workout rooms and dojos. The 4th felt like a high-quality hospital, at least the parts I had seen did. But considering their other duties, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was also full of break areas so their members could relax.

Now the 5th division? As the Kido generalist division, its front courtyard lead directly to a 3-story library. No doors, or even walls really, to bar anyone from entry, just archways and pillars to hold the structure together, at least on the first floor. The second and third floors were surrounded by balconies, with the second floor’s balcony being shaded by the third’s.

The balconies were full of tables, giving the library the feel of a restaurant or a café, and seeing the people sitting there drinking coffee or tea didn’t exactly disabuse me of that notion.

Thanks to the early afternoon sun and the placement of the library, the courtyard was filled with people lazing around reading, and from a cursory glance, most of the books were about some form of Kido.

Essentially? My people.

At least until I found where the Kido Corps barracks were, as according to Yachiru, they liked to keep to themselves to the point that seeing a member was rare.

“Alex, over here!” Isane’s voice called out to me from the other side of the courtyard.

She was with two other women. One was a short girl with brown eyes, her black hair tied in a bun, and a Lieutenant’s badge on her left arm. The other was a slim, youthful girl with long black hair pinned back at the back of her head. She had flat bangs falling to the right side of her face, and pale blue eyes with a deep violet tint behind slightly oval glasses.

As I approached, the first gave me a look brimming with curiosity while the second didn’t let anything past her no-nonsense demeanor.

“Alex, this is Momo Hinamori, Lieutenant of the 5th division, and Nanao Ise, Lieutenant of the 8th division,” Isane said, pointing first to the short girl and then to the no-nonsense girl. “Girls, this is Alexander Lupi, the new Lieutenant of the 11th.”

“Heya!” I raised my hand to send them a small wave when I stopped, realizing my faux pas, and quickly corrected to a mild bow and a, “Pleased to meet you.”

“Good enough,” Isane sighed while Momo giggled.

“Sorry, I’m still getting used to Japanese etiquette,” I said, bashfully rubbing the back of my neck.

“And I’m sure being on the 11th doesn’t help,” Nanao said.

“Yeah, they’re not exactly the most formal,” I agreed, eliciting snorts from all three women.

“So, how did you get to Lieutenant so quickly?” Momo asked, turning around and motioning us to follow her. “I hadn’t even heard of you until the memo came in a few days ago!”

“I’d like to know as well,” Nanao said. “Promotions to Lieutenant usually come after weeks, if not months, of warning. To have one happening suddenly like that is not normal.”

“Yeah, well, you see, they needed someone to dump the division’s paperwork on.” I deadpanned.

Nanao missed a step.

“What do you mean ‘dump the division’s paperwork’ on you!?” She asked, staring at me incredulously.

“Yeah, that’s not normal,” Momo nodded in agreement while Isane just looked on in amusement.

“Your divisions must not have many official dealings with the 11th,” I said, indicating Momo to keep leading after they stopped to question me. “Because the only paperwork that got done there was combat-related, everything else was dumped in a pile in the Lieutenant’s office. Although I’m pretty sure someone comes around every one or two years to force them into getting it done, since the oldest there was from 13 months ago.”

“Ah, that’d be Captain Unohana,” Isane said. “She does it every time she’s really mad about something, it’s pretty entertaining,” prompting both Momo and Nanao to look at her weirdly.

“Makes sense,” I nodded. “Only a firm hand like hers could force Zaraki into doing paperwork.” And now the girls turned their weirded out looks to me.

Nanao tsk’d, “We’ll have to schedule something so you can meet the other Lieutenants and so they can meet you.”

“Yeah, it’d be bad if something happens and you’re not recognized,” Momo nodded.

“In the meantime, you should start wearing your armband while outside your division’s barracks, less confusion that way,” Nanao said.

“Sure,” I shrugged. It wasn’t like it was a big ask, and if it would help stop any misunderstandings, I was all for it.

Momo shook her head and stopped. “We’re here.”

We were in front of an unremarkable building, with the only thing differentiating it from the others surrounding it being a set of double doors in front.

“Where exactly is ‘here’?” Nanao asked. “You said you had a special place for us to do this in, but you never answered any of my questions about it.”

“Well, since Isane was being tight-lipped about what we were going to do beyond ‘helping the new Lieutenant catch up’ and ‘learn everything he can teach us,’ I asked Captain Aizen if we could use the Captain’s Library for it,” Momo said, unlocking the doors and leading us into a cozy British-inspired library.

I wasn’t underplaying it either. Plush and leather armchairs, carpets, soft lighting, and small tables with decorative pieces we all around. The bookshelves were a rich, dark brown that matched the wooden floor, and the walls had different-sized paintings and light fixtures to match the rest of the place.

“Whoa,” I said, feeling as if I had just been transported to a modern version of the Hogwarts library.

“What is this place?” Isane questioned.

“I’ve heard about it before from Captain Kyoraku, but I never imagined it’d look like this,” Nanao said, looking just as impressed as I was.

To find such a modern and Western room in the middle of a place that could be best described as feudal Japan was completely unexpected.

“From what Captain Aizen said, the previous Captain of the 5th and Lieutenant Sasakibe worked together to make it,” Momo said, adopting a lecturing tone. “It’s the best library for high-level Kido research outside of the Kido Corps, and only Captains have unrestricted access to it. Well, and me, thanks to my position. Other Lieutenants have to get permission from Captain Aizen to enter, and other seated officers need their Captain’s permission to send their requests to Captain Aizen.”

“Which doesn’t happen often since not even most Lieutenants know about it in the first place,” Isane said.

Momo nodded in agreement as she led us to a small study area, and as we sat down, we all looked expectantly at Isane.

“What?” She asked in confusion.

“You’re the one who set this up,” I said.

“So you’re the one who will explain what we’re doing here,” Nanao finished.

We looked at each other in understanding for a moment before we returned our focus on Isane.

“Ah!” She said in embarrassment before looking at Momo. “Do you know how you said you never heard of Alex before?”

“Yes?” Momo nodded

“Why did you think that is?” She asked.

“Um, because he’s a recent graduate?” Momo replied while Nanao leaned forward.

“That’s a good guess, but no,” Isane shook her head. “You never heard about him because Alex only arrived in the Rukongai less than two weeks ago.”

“How’s that possible!?” Nanao asked. “The date of his promotion in the report was less than two weeks ago.”

“Well…” Isane said, launching into an explanation, with me filling in the details she didn’t get.

___

As Isane finished her explanation, Momo and Nanao looked at me in awe.

“I never thought a prodigy greater than Captain Hitsugaya would appear,” Nanao muttered.

“Does this count, though? Captain Hitsugaya had already achieved Bankai when he joined the Gotei,” Momo said.

“But how long was he in Soul Society before that? Alex barely got here, and he should already be training Jinzen, right?” Nanao aimed her final question at me.

“I have,” I nodded. Jinzen was the training to talk with your Zanpakuto in your inner world to learn its name, I had started doing it in the mornings after I finished the backlog of paperwork. “Although I haven’t managed to get into my inner world yet.”

“That’s the norm for a regular Shinigami, but considering how fast you progressed, I thought you had already reached that point,” Isane said.

“Hm,” Momo nodded, “If you’re anything like Captain Hitsugaya, I wouldn’t put it past you to already have a Shikai. That you haven’t even reached your inner world is a problem.”

“So what does this mean?” I asked them, wondering what could be hindering my progress.

Momo and Isane looked at each other for a moment before turning back to me with somber expressions.

“It means there’s a disconnect,” Momo said.

“Your Zanpakuto is part of your soul,” she started, “And your inner world is where you two can talk with each other, harmonize.”

“A Shinigami not being able to reach their inner world means their Zanpakuto is blocking access,” Momo continued. “That only happens when it doesn’t think you’ve earned the right to it, which is weird.”

“Because the only way to correct whatever they don’t like about how you act is to talk to you,” Isane said, hands fiddling in worry.

As they talked, dread pooled at the bottom of my stomach, increasing with each word.

I was the one stunting my growth? How? Why? I needed answers.

“How do I fix this?” I asked, a little bit more forcefully than I intended, but they didn’t seem to mind.

Another shared look, this time somehow worse, until Momo widened her eyes and looked at me.

“Alex, how many Hollows have you killed?” She suddenly asked.

“Hollows?” I asked, rearing back slightly in surprise. “I haven’t even seen one yet, why?”

“I’ll ask Captain Aizen to see if you can accompany him next time her takes a class on a hunt,” she nodded. “What you’re missing, that Captain Hitsugaya and everybody else have had, is use of the blade. You’ve never actually used your Zanpakuto for anything besides training. You need to go out and kill some Hollows!”

“Well, then, I guess I better start killin’,” I said, flabbergasted at are notion. “Although, why ask Captain Aizen when I can just take the next mission that comes around?” I really didn’t want to wait for that.

“I mean, if you have some lying around in your office, you don’t have to,” she said. “But Captain Aizen has one set up for tomorrow, so you can just get it over it as fast as possible.”

“Huh,” I said, surprised by how thoughtful she was for that. I was expecting something that’d delay me for a few days or more, not the most efficient way to fix the problem. “Thanks for that, Momo, I’ll be in your debt.”

“Aw, it’s nothing,” she waved me off.

“No, it is. If you need anything, just ask,” I said seriously.

Nanao gave us an unimpressed look before turning to Isane, “Be that as it may, you only gave part of the answer. What does he have to teach us if he’s a rookie with less than 2 weeks in Soul Society?”

“Alex has his own type of magic from when he was alive,” she started, “He tried teaching me one spell, and I’ve practiced it every day, but it just doesn’t seem to work,” she finished with a frustrated huff.

“Another type of magic?” Nanao’s eyes shone at the mere notion. “How does that work?”

“My best guess is that the bases of the two are different,” I said, reaching into the expanded pocket of my shihakusho, pulling out a book on basic spell creation, and sliding it towards her. “I don’t know how spells based on spiritual power are discovered, but it seems completely different from creating spells with runes and math like I’m used to.”

Passing off Hogwarts’ magic as my native one wasn’t a hard choice. Thanks to its versatility, I had studied it much more than my world’s magic.

“Where did you pull that book from?” Nanao asked, examining the book closely.

“From the expanded pocket in my shihakusho,” I said simply.

Her eyes sharpened, “And where did that book originally come from? You haven’t been to the World of the Living, and such objects don’t come with you when you die.”

I smirked, “I just connected the expanded space in my shihakusho’s pocket to the one I had when I was alive. This was the last thing I figured out how to do before I ended up here.”

Nanao and Momo were instantly all over the book, with Isane lazily standing up from her chair at my side to stand behind them and read over their heads.

It didn’t take long for Isane to be left in the dust as Nanao and Momo tore through the book. She looked at me with a resigned expression.

“What?” I asked with a lifted eyebrow.

“Nothing,” she muttered.

Isane was about to say something else when Momo backed off from the book.

“This is pointless,” she sighed before looking up at me. “I’m going to guess you want the Kido equivalent of that book, right?”

“Yeah,” I nodded. “From the basic Kaido Isane taught me, I can already understand how casting works and guess at some of the basic mechanics, but I wanted a more in-depth look to see if I find any similarities.”

“I know exactly what you need, then,” she nodded, standing up to go look for it.

___

Enlightening didn’t even begin to describe the contents of the book Momo gave me.

My guess was right. The base of the two systems of magic was wildly different. The verbal component of spells wasn’t just a necessary step, it was a vital aspect of their magic, more akin to wands in the Wizarding World than the wand movements that I first assumed to be.

That was because, in this world, names had power. True, measurable power. Calling out the name of an attack always resulted in a better result, always. That’s why the spells here always finished with the spell’s name, it was not only the trigger but also the spell itself. Everything before it was optional, just like wand movements and vocalization in the Wizarding World, although around here, doing so without the proper mastery was likely to have it literally blow up on your face.

Another thing that cemented my comparison of spell names with wands was the fact that, just like in the Wizarding World where not even masters would forego their wands due to how weak their casting capabilities would be without it, here, foregoing the spell’s name gave the same result. The obvious difference being that one of them was dependent on outside assistance, while the other only needed their voice.

“I got it!” Nanao exclaimed, closing the book and leaning forward in excitement.

“Yeah, me too,” I said, leaning back to enjoy the shine in her eyes at her discovery.

“Isane, when you were practicing the spell Alex taught you, you were focusing on the name of the spell, weren’t you?” Nanao asked.

“Yes?” Came Isane’s uncertain reply.

“That’s what you were doing wrong, the name of a spell in Alex’s brand of magic is almost an afterthought compared to the hand movement and visualization,” she said before extending her hand, with her middle and index fingers pointing forward.

“Here, watch this: Lumos!” She cast, doing the required wand movement with her fingers, prompting both of them to light up.

“Whoa,” Isane and Momo said, staring at Nanao’s glowing fingers.

“This opens so many options…” Nanao muttered, dispelling her glowing fingers and turning to me.

“Hello, Momo?” Came a voice from the entrance.

“Captain Aizen, over here!” Momo called out.

As the Captain approached, I was finally able to see what the proper etiquette for such occasions was. All of us stood up and bowed low to the Captain, acknowledging him with a simple, “Captain Aizen!” Although I was a little behind the others when saying it.

“Relax, relax,” he waved us off with a warm smile. “I was a little curious to see what brought this on, it’s not every day you bring visitors here, Hinamori.”

Momo’s face went beet red at her Captain’s attention, and she started muttering something, but the Captain had already turned his attention to me.

“And Alex! It’s good to see you again, I gather the change in Lieutenant and the new efficiency of the 11th were you?” He said.

At my nod, he gave me a slight bow, “Then thank you for your service, and congratulations on the promotion.”

“Thank you, sir,” I nodded.

“Now, why don’t you tell me what you’ve been doing?” He said, taking a seat beside Momo and giving my book on the table a curious look.

Nanao and I quickly launched into an explanation of our discoveries, making the Captain blink in stupefaction at how in-depth our explanations were.

___

After we finished, Captain Aizen took on a pondering look, before commenting, “What would happen if we created a spell mixing both systems?”

“That’s what I was thinking,” I nodded. “Or even modify existing spells so they use both.”

“Would the spell's power increase additively? Multiplicatively? Would it decrease? Do nothing at all? The possibilities are endless…” Nanao mused.

“Well,” I said, leaning forward with a grin on my face. “Only one way to find out.”

Both Captain and Lieutenant gave me matching grins. This would be fun.

___

A/N: And that’s that.

Alex made some new friends, learned more about Bleach’s magic, got set up to reach Shikai earlier, and started what could be the worst possible study group in Seireitei history. And all of that before dinner.

Does our buy do good work or what?

As always, thank you all for your support, and see ya’ll next week.