Bleach: Azashiro

***Pov Tomakazu Nakamura and Katsu Koboyashi***

Damn brother, because of him we had to change plans and urgently hide. Fortunately, only one platoon from the covert operations detachment was watching us. Dealing with him was not difficult. Unfortunately, the death of the Koboyashi clan also had to be adjusted. Now we will have to completely go into the shadows and not be exposed.

Thank God that we have prepared in advance shelters and ways of retreat as a last resort. I would never stop in a shack like this.

The first shelter was located in the 24th district, in a small village in the middle of a forest, remote from all settlements. Rarely did anyone come here. In general, few people know about its existence, because it was built only fifty years ago with my help and inhabited by people loyal to us. There are only 300-350 souls. Unfortunately, it will not be possible to find a presentable home here. The houses are made of wood, grass or straw roofs. These are simply terrible conditions for someone who is used to living in comfort.

Of course, you don't have to choose, because you can complain as much as you like, but it's better this way than in the dungeons of the Council's mongrels 46. The living conditions there will certainly be worse.

– Ahem-ahem...

Katsu Koboyashi stood at the entrance to this squalor, which someone calls home and looked at me, waiting for an answer. Well, nothing, he'll wait. Having finished tying my belt, I fixed a sheath with a zanpakto on it and sat down at the table, invitingly waving my hand to my ally. I examined him.

He is a — large bald man with thick eyebrows. Wears glasses and gold jewelry around his neck. Dresses in patterned clothes in gray over shinigami uniforms. In terms of strength in a direct confrontation, he will be stronger than me, but if my empty ones are with me, then he will not have a chance to win.

Once upon a time, we both suffered from the decisions of Council 46, and since then we have been holding together and hatching plans to overthrow the noble clans. Now that we have very little left, my stupid brother couldn't even kidnap the girl. Now we will have to wait for the day when they stop actively looking for us.

– What happened there? – It was necessary to find out who killed the empty one and captured my brother.

– Yasuko Ito was accompanied by the heir of the Azashiro clan, and Akuma attacked their group. Of course, he lost and now he is most likely being interrogated by Shihoin – people Katsu answered me.

Damn, is he an idiot to attack the heir of a high-ranking noble family? It was possible to wait or retreat altogether. Why did we need to expose ourselves like that, since we don't need the girl so much to take such risks and attack the Azashiro family.

At least it became clear why a surveillance squad was assigned to us so quickly. Apparently, the Azashiro clan came to the rescue to quickly punish the culprits.

Entetsu Kumoi helped us out a lot this time. I still don't understand how he could find out what was happening in Seireitei, while sitting in the 66th district of Rukongai. As soon as you get to it faster, a new batch of empty ones should be ready.

– Kumoi-san said something else? – Unfortunately, only Katsu could contact him using a kido. I'm not able to use high-level kidos, I have to rely on Katsu.

– No, nothing else.

– Then we should live here for another month, then we will go to Kumoi-san – I said.

– Yes, that's what we'll do, but for now you'll find a place where you can hide your little animals – Katsu said it in a dissatisfied voice, looking around.

Katz's dissatisfaction was understandable, because we were both not happy with the current situation.

Unfortunately, our plans will have to be postponed for several years. Later it is worth figuring out how to get to the knowledge of the Ito family. With them we would have finished twice as fast. Perhaps in a few years it will be possible to try again.

*** Azashiro Manor***

Immediately after reporting to her grandfather, Yasuko went to put herself in order. After such a long absence, it was nice to return home. She only recently realized that from now on the Azashiro family estate, on whose territory she lived, has become home for her in the last couple of years. A real home. And all the sweeter was the return, after such a short but difficult journey.

Having reached the onsen, she stopped holding herself back and ran to the hot springs. The Azashiro clan had as many as six hot springs throughout their territory. Two of them were given for servants. Two were reserved for members of the Azashiro family, while the remaining two were given to vassal families residing on their estate.

While basking in hot water, Yasuko was finally able to relax for the first time since the attack. She was on edge all the way back, trying to distract herself from bad thoughts, which is why she molested Sato-sensei.

It's amazing how Akihiko-sama handled it. He walked next to the corpses and didn't even pay attention to them. It was as if he had gotten used to them and had not seen anything unusual in the pile of dead bodies scattered all over the street. She was initially asked to look after him, because his mother was afraid of an unforeseen situation. Actually, that's what happened. Aya-sama was not worried about her son's safety. She knew how strong he was, and therefore she was more concerned about his emotional state.

Yasuko remembered her first murder. After that incident she felt simply terrible. It took her several hours to recover and recover. Cutting off his head with his zanpakto, Akihiko-sama did not even change his facial expression. She saw his eyes at that moment: he did not feel remorse, he was not disgusted, he expressed indifference with all his appearance. He simply watched with his slightly bored eyes as his head separated from his body.

It seemed wrong to her, so, having decided to help the master for herself, she tried to be next to him all the time. Of course, he didn't need it; Akihiko-sama was always stingy with emotions.

On the way back, she decided to consult with Sato-sensei. The teacher was able to calm her down. He said that he had encountered similar reactions in other Shinigami, and she should not worry about Akihiko.

– You need to find out about the well-being of the gentleman.

She quickly finished tidying herself up and changed into a standard shinigami uniform, after which she jumped into the yard through a window from her room.

***Akihiko Azashiro***

Placed in front of the lake, I looked relaxed at the fish splashing in the water. I had nothing to do: Yoshi-san forbade me to train. The wounds turned out to be more serious than I initially expected. Reatsu empty reluctantly came out of my body, preventing the body from healing the wound on my chest. I have to go through several procedures with Yoshi-san for a full recovery. That's how I earned my first scar.

I spent most of my time training, so I didn't know what to do with myself now. So I sit in the sun, watching the fish. The boredom is mortal, but it won't hurt me to take a short break. I'm really a little tired, but not physically, but mentally. The physiology of souls is different from that of humans, it is mostly dependent on reiryoku and daily training does not carry the same risk as in the human body. The same cannot be said about mental fatigue. Of course, the attack dispelled me a little, but it's probably worth a full rest.

Yoshi-san advised me to rest for a week. During this time, he will finish bringing my carcass into proper condition. My parents and teacher have already been informed, which means I still can't practice quietly.

I can be patient for one day and do nothing, but tomorrow it's worth doing something useful.

Since I can't train and use reatsu in any form, then I'll visit the library. I initially wanted to improve my skills and knowledge in kido. The clan library contained books that contained extensive knowledge of the art of improving and creating kidos. I think my father won't mind giving me a pass to the closed section.

A day has passed since I returned home. During this short time, my father carried out vigorous activity: the number of Shinigami in the clan tripled. Something serious happened, since more than five hundred shinigami had to be collected to protect the estate.

I think today is not the best idea to approach your father with a request to issue a pass. Since he sits in his office forever, there is no need to bother him over trifles.

With spiritual instinct, I caught a familiar reatsa approaching me. Turned my head, I saw Yasuko walking quickly through the green grass.

– Yasuko, who do you think the paths were for? – I asked calmly.

– Oh... – She lowered her head guiltily and looked at her feet.

Standing on her toes, Yasuko began to look around, looking for a path nearby. Mom is very sensitive to all the greenery on the estate, even her father flies in if he walks on the grass. You could say she has such a hobby — caring for flowers, trees and grass, among other things.

– Shumpo, Yasuko, Shumpo – I decided to tell her how to get out of the situation.

Following my advice, she used her tread and landed a little to my left.

– Good morning, Akihiko-sama – Saying words of greeting, Yasuko bowed to me.

– Good, how are you feeling? – I decided to clarify, finding her presence here strange. She usually trains during this time.

– Everything is fine – I heard in response – Akihiko-sama, are you okay? – I'm still not used to these "myself" addressed to me. It's good that only Yasuko addresses me this way. I hope I will get used to this over time.

– Not really. You will have to refrain from training for a week and undergo treatment with Yoshi-san – I told – You should not miss training – Without letting her answer, I said.

– But...

– I'm fine, I'll find something to keep myself busy – Interrupting Yasuko, I said – You saw what strong empty and shinigami can do. You will die if you decide to remain weak.

My words could offend her, but I considered it necessary to say them now. She must understand who she will fight against in the future. Since she intends to follow me, I will not allow her to remain mediocre. She can't help me without having a lot of power. In the future, my enemies will be many times stronger than the Adjukas I killed. Yasuko must have enough force to at least not die from an accidental blow. I will not demand that she reach an prohibitive level, but I consider the development of Bankai mandatory.

I looked at her and expected a reaction. A lowered head, arms clenched into a fist, and trembling shoulders indicated that she would now cry.

– I... will become... stronger... – She whispered quietly under her breath.

– What? – Just say it.

– I will become stronger!!! – Gathering her courage, Yasuko answered firmly, looking at my eyes.

– Okay. It's time for you to train – Turning away from her, I said.

– Yes! – She answered cheerfully and disappeared into the dump.

I hope her mood will last for a long time. It's worth figuring out how to help her with training. Now the number of Yasuko reiryoku is on the lower bar of Lieutenant Kido of the detachment. A fairly good indicator for her age. Closer to the age of one hundred, she will probably approach or reach the captain's level. My task is — to figure out how to reduce this time.

You should hire an intelligent teacher for her. Sato-sensei is not suitable, he specializes in kido and will not be able to reveal its potential. We need someone who knows enough about Hoho and Hakuda. Of course, I myself won't be able to find such a person, but I don't need to do this. I'll ask my father or mother, they both used to serve in the secret operations detachment, they should have familiar masters.

In a couple of years, she will be able to master Hoho and Hakuda quite well, and then join the covert operations detachment with me.

Yes, I still decided to accept the offer made to me by the head of the Shihoin clan.

Now I am sixteen years old, I plan to master the kaido at a sufficient level until I am twenty, get closer to the kido master and master the shikai. Six years of — training is quite a long time by the standards of a past life, but souls live many times longer, and I can afford to spend so much time improving my skills.

Initially, I did not consider the option of joining the covert operations detachment. My plan was to go through the rukongai and gain experience. However, it was too selfish; it was not appropriate for Azashiro's heir to wander around the Rukongai. This could have resulted in a heap of problems, starting with inflated rumors by competitors (they say I ran away), ending with murder attempts. No one will investigate the attack on Azashiro's heir in the far reaches of the Rukongai. It is pointless and useless to look for a murderer in the midst of thousands of criminals and bandits.

This made me change my mind, and I turned my attention to the activities of the covert operations detachment. It was necessary to know better what they were doing. And they were engaged in: espionage, surveillance, investigation of crimes, imperceptible elimination, demonstrative murders, arrests. I was most attracted to the work of punitive detachments, and I decided to join it.

The main reason why my choice fell on this detachment is due to frequent battles. Fighting — is the most effective way to increase the quantity and quality of reiryoku. I haven't forgotten my grandfather's words to me many years ago. Battle of Shinigami — is the battle of their reatsu. I have an advantage over the majority, but I am not going to rely only on the natural increase in spiritual power. And I'm not going to wait decades for my spiritual energy to increase to the desired values.

In the meantime, battles are inaccessible to me, I need to increase the volume and quality of the reatsu using conventional methods. Through meditation, by concentrating on my source of soul, helping to multiply the Hokusui and Sockets reiryok, I will increase the passive rate of growth of spiritual power.

Each living soul has a passive increase in the amount of spiritual power. The rate at which the reiryoku supply grows depends entirely on innate abilities.

I have been endowed with talent since birth, and even without doing anything, by the age of one hundred I would have had a huge amount of spiritual energy, thanks to my innate data. Naturally, this did not suit me. Gaining strength without doing anything for a hundred years sounds tempting, but I can achieve even more strength in the same time.

Another way to increase the spiritual strength of — training. Use reirek more often and more. Learn to use more reireku to strengthen, increase speed, and produce more reireku each time, passively becoming stronger. In theory it sounds perfect, but in practice it is the most ineffective way.

However, it will suit me perfectly. It's worth combining it with your reatsu control training. Even though the method gives a tiny improvement, I'm not going to give it up.

Plans have been outlined, but for now it would be nice to have a snack. Waving my hand, I called the shinigami assigned to me by my parents. He had to stop me or let my parents know if I started training. My parents seriously think that I can't live even a day without training. You can understand them, I trained every day from early childhood, so I did not become indignant.

– Young master – Bowing, the bearded nanny told me.

– Let the chefs start cooking.

– Do you want something specific? – Well, definitely a nanny.

– Let there be shrimp with rice. And tell your father that I would like to talk to him when he is released – Having expressed my wishes and voiced my request, I returned to watching red striped fish.

It is advisable to have time to talk with your father today. The sooner there is a teacher for Yasuko, the better it will be. It will be possible to let Sato-sensei go; he probably has many job offers.

You also need to contact your grandfather. I need help with the kido, and I'm sure he can suggest a good way to improve control of the reatsu.

And don't forget about access to the closed section of the family library. I am already strong enough and I think that the experience of many masters can greatly help me in the difficult task of learning kido.