5 Paw Print

"Meeeooooooooo" A pained and sad roar came out of Yoruichi's mouth. Orihime realized too late what she had just done. Fortunately, she didn't apply much grip force, but she remembered that Yoruichi didn't like to be grabbed by the tail.

"Yoruichi… I… I didn't mean to." Orihime was at a loss for words. She stopped chasing and watched as Yoruichi licked her tail. Orihime just waited for her to say something. After some time, Yoruichi stood back up and turned to Orihime. She jumped up and planted a heavy paw on Orihime's forehead and it left a red mark.

"Ow-ow-ow. Okay, are we even? Did I pass?"

"Hmph. Let us go see Sado and Uryuu."

Orihime could only pout and follow after her. Her cheeks puffed up and she let out a sigh. They had conveniently finished their game of tag near the school. The evening classes were just ending.

"Yoruichi, I'm going to go talk with Ichigo first."

"Very well. We passed an abandoned warehouse during our game; I will be there with Sado and Uryuu."

"Probably should only look for Sado, I have a feeling Uryuu is training on his own."

The two of them split off from each other. Orihime didn't need much effort to find Ichigo since he had terrible control over his spiritual power. She sensed he was walking alone towards his house. Using Shunpo a few times she intercepted him at an intersection.

Well, it still wasn't quite considered a Shunpo. She called out to Ichigo.

"Orihime, what are you doing here? Why did you skip class?"

"Ichigo, what are you going to do about Rukia?"

This shocked Ichigo. He knew that Orihime was acting strange since the incident with her brother, but it seemed that she knew more than he thought. He vaguely remembered hearing her voice when he was losing consciousness after fighting Byakuya.

"I have to go and bring her back."

"That's good, you've already made up your mind."

"Thank you for talking with me, Orihime. But, can you explain what's the deal with the Kimono."

"Erm, this, well, I saw you and the other Soul Reapers wearing that black kimono and I wanted to try formal wear too."

Ichigo thought that sounded reasonable. Orihime was impressed at how much of an airhead the main character is. Ichigo was really smart when it came to battle sense and growth, but he seemed to have difficulty with people.

Satisfied that his response would lead the plot the right way, she split up to go meet with Yoruichi and Sado. Once Ichigo wasn't in sight, she used Shunpo the rest of the way. Orihime did not want him to know she had grown much stronger.

She appeared in front of the warehouse and could hear the sounds of grunting from Sado inside. He must be trying to activate his fullbring at will. Orihime slipped inside the warehouse and went over to where he was practicing.

"Hm."

"Hello, Sado, how's the training going?"

"Hard."

"Hang in there. Think about why you have that power and what caused you to activate it in the first place."

"Hm."

Orihime was amazed at how little he spoke. She knew that in the original series he was like this, but what isn't shown is that he really doesn't speak much. She could even dare say the only times he spoke were on screen.

Yoruichi came over and glared at Orihime. She snickered and flicked her tail at Orihime's nose.

"Wait, why are you laughing. Sado, is there something on my face?"

"Paw print."

Orihime turned red and realized that Ichigo must have been laughing inside because of the paw print. She swore to give him a good thrashing the next time she had a chance.

"Yoruichi, have you forgiven me now? Ichigo saw me like this and I didn't even realize!"

"Fine. My little joke is over. As for the surprise, I will give it to you later. Right now, the important thing is for you to hone your unique ability."

Orihime knew this was true. She was focusing on Kido to improve the rate of fusion of her physical body and soul form. But she couldn't ignore her power in the meantime.

"What do you suggest, Master Yoruichi?"

"Naturally, that would be to duel me. And this time, I will fight back."

Orihime gulped at the thought of that. Although her cat form limited her physical strength, she had full access to her spiritual power and Reiatsu. For Soul Reapers, the strength of body and weapon were minor factors to determining the outcome in a clash. The most important factor was Reiatsu.

Reiatsu is a factor of total spiritual power and your control over that spiritual power. For example, if two people had the same level of strength, but one was using a blunt weapon and the other an edged weapon, the one using an edged weapon is more lethal.

The amount of spiritual power that can be concentrated in a fine line on the edge of a blade determines how lethal the attacks are. Since a Zanpakuto is a part of the soul, the shape it holds is not relevant when it comes to battle of Reiatsu. It only affects the techniques and fighting styles usable with such a weapon.

When it matters, just having a strong Reiatsu without any techniques won't always win a battle. This is especially true between equally powerful combatants. Although, right now, none of this mattered for two reasons. Firstly, Yoruichi has captain level Reiatsu. Secondly, even in cat form, her physical body is till stronger than Orihime.

[Estimating Attributes…

Yoruichi Shihoin (Cat form):

Physical Power: 3.2

Spiritual Power: 306]

[Host Attributes Calculating…

Physical Power: 2.3

Spiritual Power: 15

Fusion Process: 25%

Dormancy: 99.5%]

Orihime laid on the ground staring at the sky, not realizing how she had been taken down. Yoruichi and her had been dueling for an hour already. Only recently was she able to block one of her attacks. She had taken this chance to ask hogyoku to do some calculations since she had not checked in a few days.

Her performance against Yoruichi was understood after seeing the results. However, this did not make Orihime depressed. Instead, having a captain level master personally teaching you was wonderful. Although the first-year academy information contained Kendo and Hakudo, she would first need to enhance her senses.

"Giving up already? You just successfully blocked one too."

"Again!"

Orihime got up and regrouped her spirits. The two spirits responsible for healing hovered around her left wrist, and the three in charge of defending flew around her torso. In her right hand was a transformed spirit that she held like a knife.

During this hour of sparring, she had already come up with a strategy to optimize their attributes in combat. Unfortunately, she was unable to show off the technique because Yoruichi kept taking her out in a second. A Red Flame Cannon came from the left which she blocked with a shield after shouting the chant. She then turned to the right to defend.

However, Yoruichi didn't use the same attack pattern as before. Instead, after shattering Orihime's shield, she came through the crack and knocked Orihime on her face. Her wardrobe malfunctioned and her breasts were semi-exposed. She suddenly wondered how Rangiku was able to keep her breasts secure under the Shihakusho. 'Will need to ask for advice when we meet.'

Orihime wasn't in a hurry to fix the issue because getting constantly beaten by a cat had started to make her mad. She couldn't see, but she was certain her face was covered in paw marks. Yoruichi hasn't forgotten about the tail incident.

While contemplating how to enhance her awareness and defense, Baigon, Hinagiku, and Lily, the spirits in charge of defense, couldn't allow their master to stay exposed. They came to an agreement and Orihime felt hogyoku's power.

The three spirits clasped hands and transformed into a sleeveless blue shitagi that snuggly fit around her torso. It maintained a blue flower pattern similar to the hairpins. Orihime felt very comfortable in this new shitagi.

Inside her soul, Orihime could sense the intentions of the three spirits. She felt a little sad because she realized they wouldn't appear anymore. This transformation gave up their individuality to improve her reaction speed and versatility.

Orihime stood up now with determination in her eyes. Yoruichi naturally let her sit and ponder between attacks, so she was aware of all that had happened. When Yoruichi saw the fire in her eyes she smiled and was reminded of a certain young girl that used to stick to her like glue.

"This time, I'll definitely be able to fight back."

"Well, come on then. The day is almost over."

Orihime smiled and charged at the cat. Yoruichi was surprised since Orihime hadn't been confident to even block attacks, let alone go on the offensive. She quickly did a backflip and launched a Red Flame Cannon directly at Orihime's face, then with the momentum, launched herself with Shunpo at Orihime's legs.

Orihime sidestepped the Hado, and walked right into Yoruichi's trap. However, just as she was going to sweep Orihime's legs out, a shield formed instantly without any chant, completely negating the attack.

"Koten Zanshun, I reject!"