4 Kido Mastery

Urahara simply started laughing. He laughed while picking up Ichigo. Laughed while they walked back to the shop. And he laughed while sitting at the table across from her.

He tried to control himself a few times but looking at Orihime kept causing him to burst out in laughter. Noticing the look of distress on her face he finally cleared his throat and was able to speak.

"Sorry, Orihime. I did not mean to laugh so long. Since you asked for the hogyoku, I kept thinking you were working for some other power in this struggle, but now I realize how innocent you are. I fully support your goal. Bring some excitement into that boy's life."

"Really? So, you'll teach me Kido? Er, but by no means is me accepting your support affirmation of the earlier accusation."

"Of course, of course. There is a lot of time until we have to make a move. I imagine Ichigo won't stop until he rescues Rukia. However, I won't be teaching you, Yoruichi will."

Hearing that Orihime didn't bother hiding her delight. She looked over at the cat sitting in the corner and nodded her head.

"Since we are already here, why not start immediately." Yoruichi suggested.

Orihime wanted to agree because the sooner she trained the sooner she could officially enter the ranks of Soul Reaper. However, her eyelids started to droop and the fatigue from nonstop memorization and learning hit her all at once.

Before she knew it, she had already fallen fast asleep. Yoruichi walked over to Urahara.

"What exactly happened to make you laugh so much."

"This girl, Orihime, is not simple. Yet, at the same time, she is extremely simple. She has the ability to transcend Hollow and Soul Reaper, but instead alters the nature of her soul to resemble Hisana. Perhaps she herself is not even aware of the desires the hogyoku is fulfilling."

"That Byakuya boy… Perhaps this will be a boon to him and Rukia. He has held onto so much anger and resentment all these years. Although he uses it to drive himself, it is ultimately his limitation."

The next morning, the drooling Orihime was slapped awake by a thin, fluffy object. Having owned a cat before, Orihime seemed to have an understanding and reached out to pet the furball. After a few moments of petting, Orihime sat up and yawned.

'Unfamiliar ceiling, did I reincarnate again? Oh wait, I'm at Urahara's place.'

"Are you done petting me yet?" Orihime didn't realize that she had unconsciously continued petting Yoruichi and gave her an awkward smile.

"Master Yoruichi, what will we be learning today?"

"We will start with the most basic Kido training…"

"Yay!" Orihime couldn't help but be excited. Kido training would help her quickly train her spiritual power.

Yoruichi led Orihime down to the subterranean cave below Urahara's shop. Orihime didn't really get a chance to explore it before so she was naturally excited.

"Orihime, I will be teaching you one of the common spells taught in the academy. Hado #31, Red Flame Cannon. The incantation is…"

Orihime memorized the incantation the first time. She knew that this was an iconic spell for Soul Reapers. It could be used in many ways and the strength was very modular. Unfortunately, incantations on Kido were not part of lower access or she would have already memorized all of them.

"Now, focus your spiritual power into your hand while imagining the red flame forming. Then once you have begun forming the flame and reciting the incantation, try to hit me."

Orihime applied some of the spiritual power techniques from the academy and began forming the ball of red flames. She used the incantation the first time and fired it at Yoruichi. However, the accuracy was off, she didn't even need to dodge.

'Hmph.' Now that Orihime got the feel for it, she didn't need to chant. She let her arms down and got into a running stance. 'You never said I couldn't chase.'

Orihime closed the distance and momentarily surprised Yoruichi. She pointed two fingers forward and shouted, "Hado #31, Red Flame Cannon." An orb of fire bigger than before shot out with perfect accuracy.

After the momentary surprise, Yoruichi smirked and jumped out of the way. However, while she was in midair, Orihime began strafing and shot another Red Flame Cannon at the point where Yoruichi would land.

Fortunately for Yoruichi, the shot didn't fire properly and had a wobble. Because it was just slow enough to impact after Yoruichi landed, it gave her the chance to jump sideways and dodge.

Orihime was disappointed in her mistake, but continued trying to take leading shots. The speed at which she formed and launched the ball was shortening. They continued on like this for several hours. Every time it seemed that Orihime would hit, Yoruichi would twist her cat body and land in a different spot.

[Hado #31, Red Flame Cannon Analysis… Complete. Optimizing Spiritual Power…]

That was exactly what Orihime was waiting for. The ability to enhance spiritual power had a few requirements, one of them was mastering Kido. Once her control of a specific Kido reached a certain level, her body would be able to accept hogyoku's modification.

Yoruichi felt the sudden increase in Reiatsu coming from Orihime and went on high alert. The size, speed, and power of the next Red Flame Cannon was twice as strong as before. Yoruichi barely dodged the first one, only to have two more flying at her. One at the spot she was going to land at, and the other at the direction she could dodge.

Feeling threatened, Yoruichi used Shunpo. She disappeared and reappeared on top of a nearby rock spire. However, what she did not expect was… another red flame cannon already a few inches from her face. Yoruichi had to use Shunpo again to escape.

"Boo, cheater. How can I hit you if you keep using that technique?" Orihime pouted.

"Why did you stop? I never said I wouldn't use any techniques."

"Ha-ha, well I kind of used the rest of my Spiritual Power in that last barrage." Her stomach rumbled loudly after saying that.

"Hm, very well. I was going to end the training anyway. You have already reached a level in Hado #31 equal to my own."

"Yay! Let's go eat." Ururu, a Mod Soul that worked for Urahara, had brought lunch for the duo. The two of them sat on a flat stone and ate the meal. Yoruichi was staring at Orihime the whole time, as she gulped down all the food.

"What is it Yoruichi?"

"It only took you four hours to master Hado #31. Actually, it only took you five minutes to master it. The time up to that point you only reached about eighty-percent mastery."

"Hmm I think the hogyuko pushed me beyond my limit and filled in the gap."

Yoruichi stayed silent for the rest of the meal. Orihime thought about the rest of the main party. At this point they should be in school finishing the last day of school before summer vacation. Uryuu Ishida was off somewhere training alone.

"Don't you need to find Sado and Uryuu to train them too?"

"Indeed. You shall come with me. After we finish eating, I will teach you that technique I used to dodge your attacks."

Orihime stopped eating after hearing that. She beamed in excitement. 'Being taught Shunpo by the Flash (Chocolate) Goddess!'

"The technique is called Hoho. However, once you have mastered it, you will be able to use Shunpo, a much greater expression of Hoho. Unlike Hado #31, Hoho is a movement technique that relies on footwork. The goal is to move from point A to point B using the least number of steps."

Yoruichi demonstrated the footwork a few times and explained a few tricks and intricacies with the technique. However, since she stayed in cat form, it was difficult for Orihime to replicate.

"You should be rested enough to train again. We shall circle Karakura Town one hundred times. Think of it as a game of tag. I will adjust my speed to always be one step ahead of you. If you can tag me within the hundred laps, I will give you a big surprise."

Orihime was instantly motivated. A big surprise from Yoruichi could be one of many things. Master assassin, master swordsman, Shunko master, Hakudo master, and an armory of powerful equipment. The thought of it made Orihime drool a little.

"Don't get too excited yet, you still have to catch me to get the surprise."

'Hogyoku, can you compile everything I know about Hoho and Shunpo and aid me in learning it?'

[Analyzing Hoho… Complete. Analyzing Shunpo… Failed. Missing Prerequisite: Mastery of Hoho.]

All of the memories from the series as well as the short teaching provided were collected and cleaned up in a way that is easy for Orihime to understand. Having memorized the information, she was ready.

"It seems that you are ready. Then, let us begin." Yoruichi disappeared and Orihime followed after. Her first few attempts were failure that were only slightly quicker than her top speed. However, through trial and error she was able to reach a basic understanding of Hoho.

Running around the town at high speeds made the two of them quickly lose track of time. Orihime was always one step behind, as Yoruichi intended, but they were beginning to reach the barrier between Hoho and Shunpo.

Yoruichi was impressed. She was just about to start using Shunpo when Orihime showed a wry smile. After eighty laps she was confident that she could catch up to her using Hoho, but if she began to use Shunpo, there was no chance of catching up anymore.

[Hoho Mastery Analysis… Complete. Analyzing Shunpo… Incomplete. Optimizing speed… Complete.]

Although her body still couldn't reach Shunpo, hogyoku was able to improve her speed just enough. Orihime knew the only way to win was to cheat a little. With a sudden, explosive increase in speed, Orihime took two steps to Yoruichi's one step and clutched at her tail.