Multiple Breakthroughs

The next morning Ori got up early to practice his sword play in the courtyard behind the inn. His swords gracefully danced through the air. Each movement was swift and precise, but more importantly it flowed, each move flowed perfectly into the next.

Ori practiced diligently for over an hour before re-sheathing his swords.

[Sigh! I'm right on the edge of breaking through to the Grandmaster Swordsman boundary, it's so close I can feel it but I'm still lacking something, I just don't know what…]

Ori made his way back inside the inn to get showered and changed and get some breakfast with the others, when the owner called out to hand him a slip of paper that was left for him first thing this morning. The paper read:

"I know you're a reincarnate and I think I might have known you in my previous life. Meet me at the back of the Moonlight Pavilion at 22:00 and come alone. If you don't come, I will let others know your secret."

Ori scrunched his eyebrows when he read the message.

[Knows me? I'm currently disguised as Kyoraku Shunsui. If he recognises this persona he should be a reincarnate of the bleach world… Interesting!]

Ori tore the paper into tiny pieces until it was virtually impossible to put back together and threw it out the window letting it fly away with the wind before going upstairs to get showered and changed.

Time flew by and it was already just after lunch. Ori who was lying on the bed in his room just sensed Benjiro arrive at the inn and went down to meet him with Roman and the others.

"You made it."

"Haha of course. I couldn't bare to disappoint my first fan.

Where would you like me to play?"

Ori glanced at the owner who shrugged his shoulders indicating he didn't mind.

"How about in the courtyard round back?"

Benjiro nodded with a smile as he said.

"Lead the way."

When they arrived Benjiro removed the Zither which was strapped to his back and sat down cross legged laying the instrument across his lap.

"This is 'Dance With My Father'. I hope you enjoy…

Back when I was a child,

Before life removed all the innocence,

My father would lift me high,

And dance with my mother and me,

And then spin me around till I fell asleep,

Then up the stairs he would carry me,

And I knew for sure I was loved…"

As he began, Ori immediately entered an ethereal state similar to the one he was in last night. As he closed his eyes he began seeing images of the time he spent with his father. When they would playfully bicker, when they would eat together under the stars and when he trained him in the way of the sword.

Tears started streaming down Ori's face as he reminisced in his semi-conscious state. It wasn't only him. Roman, Shaya and Silk were all teary eyed as they reminisced over the time they spent with their fathers. Even Benjiro seemed to tear up whilst he performed. Sabo was the only one with dry eyes as he didn't like his father. Even though he wasn't as affected by the song as the others he still entered a half conscious state under the influence of Benjiro's performance.

Suddenly Ori stood up and drew his swords and started swinging his swords to the rhythm of the song. Sometimes he was fast and sometimes slow but no matter the speed, each move seemed to flow perfectly, staying in time with the rhythm. He didn't use any form of energy, not even Sword Intent. To an untrained eye it was a very ordinary performance, but to Roman and Shaya who had awoken from their prior states due to Ori's sudden outburst, they could feel the endless charm that was emitted from each move.

Benjiro who was had also awoken from his trance like state saw that Ori seemed to be on the verge of a breakthrough and decided to try something different. The song remained the same but there was now a unique energy emanating from each note played.

When Roman and the others felt the new energy coming from the music, they felt their own energies surge, as if wanting to break free of their body. Roman started revolving his Pure Yang Physique feeling that he was on the verge of a breakthrough. As he did his body was covered by a golden aura, thankfully no one was able to see the golden aura as it was hidden by the illusion disguising them, but the temperature in the surrounding area still shot up.

Shaya's hawk eyes began to spin as she felt that she too was on the verge of a breakthrough, but luckily she too was under the illusion created by Fabian, so it was impossible to see the change in her eyes. Even Sabo and Silk felt their strengths reaching all new heights.

Ori who was still swinging his sword started moving faster and faster until he became a blur. Suddenly he stopped and held his swords by his side when he was swallowed by a giant tornado that manifested from out of the blue. For some reason the tornado that by normal logic should've destroyed not only the courtyard but the whole inn didn't affect anything in the surrounding area. Not a single leaf was moved out of place.

The owner who was alerted by the ruckus coming from the courtyard rushed over to give Ori and the others a piece of his mind but stopped before he even got there falling unconscious under the pressure of the monsters that were mid-breakthrough.

Suddenly a terrifyingly sharp energy shot out from the tornado. It was so sharp that Benjiro felt as if he was stood before a peerless swordsman that could tear the void with a wave of his sword.

Sabo and Silk who had just awoken from their sudden breakthroughs when they turned and faced the demonic trio whose shocking breakthroughs was enough to trigger natural phenomenon's.

They had to rapidly retreat as they were stood too close to Roman who was the cause of the heat wave. After retreating to a safe distance, they could only helplessly shake their heads as they once again realised the difference in strength between them.

Suddenly Shaya floated into the air as a pair of scarlet wings emerged from her back. Bar Ori and Roman who were strong enough to ignore it, everyone else present felt their blood surge uncontrollably as if responding to Shaya's sudden breakthrough. The scarlet wings weren't the only physical change that she experienced. Her scarlet eyes that originally only had one black ring surrounding the iris now had 2, but under the illusion no one was able to notice.

Shaya who just woke from her breakthrough smiled as she retracted her wings and smiled happily.

[Finally, I broke through to the 2nd stage of the Hawk Eye technique and I even managed to awaken my blood fruit. Haha this is perfect, I feel more confident with what's to come with this rise in strength!]

She then turned to her monstrous brothers and watched their breakthrough's calmly.

A popping noise could be heard from Roman's body as the temperature spiked once more. Suddenly the heat disappeared and Roman opened his eyes and stood up. No one could see it due to the illusion, but he was grinning from ear to ear as he felt the power held in his body after he broke through.

[My Pure Yang Physique has broken through to the S- Rank a few weeks ahead of schedule. And this strength… I wouldn't even need to dragonize to overpower Ori when he uses qi in a competition of strength.]

Thinking to there he suddenly punched out in a random direction away from Ori and the others.

Boom!

The sound of his fist breaking through the speed barrier was enough to be an attack of his own let alone the shockwave which destroyed a small building 30 meters away.

[Haha incredible!]

Suddenly Shaya appeared behind him and clapped him round the back of the head as she scolded him.

"Can you not destroy other people's property, or we'll have to pay for it!"

"Haha sorry."

Shaya rolled her eyes before looking over at Ori who was still in the process of breaking through.

Benjiro who was still performing had turned pale due to the stress of performance, but for some reason he refused to quit. Maybe it was because Ori was the first person who seemed to genuinely appreciate his music or maybe it was just that he was determined to finish his performance. But Benjiro was determined to finish this song and help Ori break through.

Roman who noticed that he was struggling appeared behind him and put his hand on his back channelling his Pure Yang energy into his body. The handsome musician felt the big palm of Roman on his back when an overbearing energy poured forth. Even though he could feel that the energy was overbearing in nature, it did no damage to him, the energy he had lost before was being replenished at a rate faster than he could use it.

Benjiro was momentarily shocked but knew now wasn't the time to dwell on it. He put all distracting thoughts aside and performed with renewed vigour.

The tornado that had previously swallowed Ori suddenly dissipated revealing the floating body of Shunsui. As they looked at his body they realised that tears were still streaming from his face. But the thing that shocked them most was that the air in the surrounding area had thinned making it a challenge to even breathe.

Ori who was floating, was remembering the last time he saw his parents together. He remembered how much love he felt and how much he had taken it for granted.

Benjiro was ignoring the lack of air as he finished singing.

"Every night I fall asleep,

And this is all I ever dream."

As he finished the song he fell unconscious. Luckily Roman was right behind him and caught him, laying him down gently.

Thankfully just as the song finished Ori woke from his trance and as he did the air that had just disappeared returned in spades. As he opened his eyes he noticed that Sabo, Silk and Benjiro had all lost consciousness. Roman and Shaya were the only 2 who seemed perfectly fine.

Ori who was stood in the air looked to the sky with unwavering resolve.

"Mum… Dad… I promise to find you and bring you home!"