Bleach: I can't get an amen
Episode 19— Yoruichi's Special Training (1)
Silencing the bells is not about learning silence,
But realizing the way to erase one's existence from the world.
When lightning rends the void
And a mirage mocks the truth,
You finally become a lone haze,
Chasing no one’s back.
May that cold command to stay alive
Be not a chain that binds your ankles,
But wings that carry you into the storm.
"..."
The place Yoruichi had dragged him to was the underground training facility with the rocky mountains he had seen before.
As he was being hauled along, Azuma Shohei looked around. He could see Kazuma Ren, Utsumi Sora, and Shinozaki Mia scattered across the rocky terrain.
Each was engrossed in their own training. He saw massive iron swords, the glint of needles, and released Zanpakuto.
Sweat poured down their faces and soaked their hair.
They looked utterly exhausted.
Tessai Tsukabishi stood nearby, seemingly overseeing their progress.
Seeing the three of them struggling so hard made Shohei feel that he couldn't afford to just be dragged around like this.
He tried to twist his body to stand on his own, but Yoruichi let go of him first with a sudden drop.
"Gah..."
"I had a little chat with Kisuke while you were passed out from fatigue."
"...Pardon?"
"...It was about Soya. Based on the analysis... in the worst-case scenario, it seems as long as there is iron present, an entire city could become his home ground."
Shohei lifted his head and looked at Yoruichi with a bewildered expression.
He escaped, yet he became even stronger? It was hard to believe.
"Of course, his range is limited to things related to iron... but regardless, fighting him with half-baked abilities will only lead to your death. It means his calculations to find you are faster than the speed at which you can hide in your mist."
"Ah..."
His head slumped again. The news that Soya had grown stronger made the regret of not capturing him then weigh even heavier on his heart.
"From now on, we will conduct training to completely integrate your Flash Step with your mist. If you fail... do you understand what will happen?"
Shohei recalled the faces of his teammates who were suffering because of him.
He remembered Soi Fon's command to stay alive and report back.
He nodded and stood up.
"...I understand."
Yoruichi nodded in satisfaction. She pulled three silver bells from her pocket and attached them to Shohei's ankles and the hilt of his Zanpakuto.
"These are...?"
Shohei took a small step. The bells rang much more easily than normal ones.
"Try your best to dodge my attacks. You must move so that the bells do not ring even once."
Normally, the sound he could hide with his mist was limited to standard running.
The sound generated at the speed of Flash Step was a realm his mist couldn't usually handle.
"The bells? How am I supposed to stop the sound..."
"By trapping the friction of your reiatsu within the mist!"
The moment she finished speaking, Yoruichi's foot lunged toward Shohei's side. It was a surprise attack.
Shohei was sent flying, crashing into one of the rocky mounds.
"Cough... Ack..."
A kick from the former Commander-in-Chief of the Stealth Force was, as expected, incredibly painful.
And then, the same attack came again.
"...!"
He tried to read the pattern. It was the same strike as before. He put strength into his legs.
Jingle!
Along with the sharp sound of his soles kicking the ground, the irritable sound of the bells rang out. Before the sound could even fade, Yoruichi closed the distance instantly, her heel slamming into his solar plexus.
"Gah...!"
Shohei was sent flying again, rolling across the floor.
"Too slow. And too loud. Your Flash Step is practically advertising that you're right here. It's not very Stealth Force-like of you."
As he rolled, he thought. He realized that simply manifesting mist wasn't enough.
'Don't spread the mist wide. Keep it within a ten-centimeter space around my body... stack it in dense layers.'
He concentrated his nerves on his feet. He decided he needed to focus the mist particles specifically around his legs.
"..."
Yoruichi appeared again. He tensed his legs and used Flash Step with the same pattern.
Jingle...
There was a sound. But it was definitely quieter than before.
However, because there was still a sound, he was struck and sent flying once more.
"Huff... huff..."
Having seen a glimmer of hope, Shohei stood up and focused his mind again.
Closing his eyes, he gathered his consciousness at his feet. Yoruichi's attack came.
Jin...
The sound was definitely muffled. Of course, he still took a hit from Yoruichi.
"...Huff... huff..."
He tried five more times. He could feel the sound gradually diminishing.
On the eighth attempt.
He sensed Yoruichi's attack again. He tensed his legs and used Flash Step. This time, he pulled the mist particles toward his feet as much as possible.
"...!"
When he came to his senses, he had successfully dodged her attack. Not a single bell had rung.
A faint smile touched the corners of Yoruichi's mouth.
"Good. Phase 1 complete."
"Eh? Phase 1...?"
Shohei collapsed onto the ground. He had already pushed his body to the limit for Phase 1... he wondered if he could even survive Phase 2.
But in that moment, Soi Fon's words to stay alive and report back returned to him. He decided not to entertain such thoughts.
Still, it was undeniably exhausting.
"Since you've deceived the ears in Phase 1, it's time to deceive the eyes in Phase 2."
The eyes? He didn't immediately understand what she meant. As soon as Yoruichi finished speaking, hundreds of spheres appeared in the air above the training ground.
They looked exactly like something Kisuke would make. That man really made the strangest things.
"These spheres will lock onto visual coordinates related to you. If they capture even a hint of visual movement, they will strike those coordinates with powerful lightning."
"..."
Now, silence wasn't the only issue. He had to ensure that not even a silhouette of himself was detected within the mist.
It was a significantly more difficult challenge.
"Don't try to use your mist as a simple smokescreen. Refract the light. Deceive their gaze."
As soon as she finished, Yoruichi leapt up and vanished somewhere.
Once she was gone, Shohei tried to take a single step.
But in that instant—
BOOM!
Dozens of lightning bolts descended upon him. Shohei screamed as he was blasted upward.
"Gah... Aaargh... Ugh..."
He wasn't hit directly by all of them, but they certainly hurt.
He barely managed to stand up.
He deployed his mist again.
He put more effort into controlling his reiatsu.
After redeploying it to a certain extent, he took another step.
"...Aaaagh!"
It only took a moment longer, but the spheres sniped Shohei accurately with lightning.
Again, he wasn't hit by everything, but it was incredibly painful nonetheless.
Yoruichi looked down at him from atop a rocky peak.
"...Don't use the mist like a wall, Azuma. Don't deny the fact that you are here. Make it look like you are over there!"
He couldn't quite grasp how to react to that.
And then, he accidentally moved forward and was struck by lightning once more.
BOOM!
"Gah...!"
Perhaps it was because the lightning had jolted his mind awake. Shohei gripped his Zanpakuto and began to use his head again.
'Control the density of the water droplets to refract light. My real body is here, but make the light reflect as if I'm over there.'
Just as he had gathered the mist particles at his feet earlier, he now attempted to adjust the density of the droplets. He closed his eyes and focused.
"...!"
However...
BOOM!
While concentrating, he accidentally moved and was struck by lightning several more times.
"Ugh... Urgh..."
He closed his eyes again. He began to concentrate.
BOOM!
In the process of concentrating, he moved again. Lightning poured down.
"...Are you still alive?"
Yoruichi peeked her head out, looking at him after he had been struck by lightning multiple times.
"I'm... I'm alive...!"
Looking slightly toasted, Shohei stood up. Yoruichi smiled faintly at the sight of him.
"..."
Shohei closed his eyes once more.
After several attempts, he slowly began to get the hang of it.
The mist surrounding Shohei rose faintly.
Shohei's silhouette also began to shimmer faintly.
The spheres captured his silhouette. Lightning struck toward that spot.
However, the silhouette scattered like a mirage.
The spheres seemed confused, rolling around as they began to reset their coordinates.
"..."
Then, Shohei carefully revealed himself from behind a rocky wall.
"...!"
The spheres immediately turned in that direction. But the moment they turned their heads... they had already been sliced apart by Shohei's blade.
"Huff... huff..."
The aftereffects of the electrocution were still bothersome.
Shohei exhaled a deep breath.
Yoruichi looked at Shohei with satisfied eyes, then slowly stood up and walked over to him.
"You've silenced the sound, and you've deceived the eyes. But just finishing the practice isn't enough... Now, the final Phase 3... is real combat, Azuma!"
Without being able to fathom the meaning of those words, Shohei simply stared at Yoruichi.
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