63 Back to school
"Ichigo! Where the hell have you been huh?!" Tatsuki growled as she gripped Ichigo's shirt's collar tightly.
"Training trip in China. Me and my Kung Fu master went to a Shaolin Dojo and trained over there." Ichigo muttered. Tatsuki narrowed her eyes.
"Oh really? And you didn't think to tell Orihime and me about this?" Tatsuki asked him. Ichigo chuckled nervously and didn't reply back.
"Do you have any idea how worried I was, mister?" Tatsuki whispered. Ichigo cupped her chin and kissed her.
Tatsuki widened her eyes at the sudden kiss. She closed her eyes and enjoyed it. After a while, they released it. Ichigo looked at her and smiled gently.
"I'm very sorry for not telling you, Tatsuki. Is there any way I can make you forgive me?" Ichigo asked her. Tatsuki blushed and looked away.
" Tch. Don't think just kissing me can make me forgive you. You're going to pay for this. " Tatsuki muttered. Ichigo chuckled.
" Yaayyy!!!! We're happy again!" Orihime shouted excitedly and hugged them. Tatsuki grumbled.
"Did you have fun visiting your relatives, Orihime?" Tatsuki asked the orange haired girl.
"We did a lot of things together." Orihime replied vaguely.
" What did you do specifically? " Tatsuki questioned.
" We went to a very strange place. " Orihime answered which alerted Ichigo and Chad.
" It was an Edo period-style town with lots of people carrying around swords. Oh! And there was also a talking cat. " Orihime stated further alarming Chad and Ichigo.
"The cat also transformed into a woman—
" It's a very nice tale Orihime. You have a very great imagination and all, but a talking cat? You're going too far off there. " Tatsuki rubbed her head affectionately.
"But it was true." Orihime muttered causing Ichigo and Chad to palm their faces with their hands.
Their teacher, Misato Ochi entered the classroom, prompting the students to sit down on their assigned seats.
"Where's Reiishi and Keisuke?" Misato muttered. But she shrugged.
" Well. If they don't want to succeed in life then it's their fault. " She dismissed it immediately.
School went pretty well for Ichigo and his friends. The occasional cold glare Ichigo got from Uryū didn't get to him at all.
'He'll still help us when we're in trouble anyways despite still claiming that we're sworn enemies. ' Ichigo chuckled to himself.
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It was after school and Ichigo was training with Ryūken in an underground training facility. This secret chamber underneath Karakura Hospital which apparently hides Spiritual Energy was built by Ryūken.
Ryūken was watching Ichigo summoning two bright blue arrows out of thin air and grabbing them. The white haired Quincy had a serious no nonsense face on him, but in his mind, he was surprised to an extent.
'It's only been an hour and he has already improved leaps and bounds. He is as smart or smarter than you, Masaki.' Ryūken thought to himself.
Ichigo threw the arrows at the ground.
*BOOOM!!!!*
The arrows made a medium sized crater when it came in contact with the ground. Ichigo stared at the destruction quietly.
"I wonder what Orihime is doing right now?"
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"So.... You want to train here. Are you up for the challenge? " Gyatsu asked Orihime who was kneeling in front of him. Orihime nodded repeatedly.
" Yes! I want to get stronger so I can protect him and my friends... " Orihime muttered with a small blush on her face. Gyatsu raised an eyebrow.
" Who's him? " Gyatsu asked her. Orihime blushed and started to fiddle her index fingers nervously. Gyatsu chuckled.
"You don't need to answer that. Come on. Follow me, Orihime. We will start your first lesson right away." Gyatsu ordered. Orihime nodded and got up.
" I won't disappoint you, Master!" Orihime promised with determination shining brightly in her brown eyes. Gyatsu smiled and nodded.
"I'm sure you won't, Orihime."
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Ichigo was walking towards Urahara's shop. He just finished his first training session with Ryūken. He didn't even break a sweat.
[Reishi Absorption Lvl 30
Increase absorption speed by 60%]
[Reishi Manipulation Lvl 30
Increase manipulation speed by 60%.]
"It's crazy how a few tips can help you a lot. Maybe it's the Total Concentration Breathing speaking. It does increase my mental capabilities to the maximum." Ichigo muttered.
" Ichigo! "
Ichigo turned around and saw Orihime running towards him. She crashed into him and hugged him tightly.
" Hi Orihime. " Ichigo greeted her. Orihime smiled at him.
" Are you heading towards Urahara-san's shop?" Orihime asked him. Ichigo nodded.
"Let's go together!" Orihime intertwined their hands and they started walking towards Urahara's shop.
Once they arrived, they greeted Urahara who was giddy when he saw them holding hands.
After Ichigo slapped the back of his head, he and Orihime didn't waste any time and started training at the underground training facility.
Once again, Ichigo was giving Orihime guidance on how to use her powers effectively.
"It would be better if you can mentally command your hairpins. That way it would save you time when fighting someone. The opponents aren't going to wait around for you to finish your incantations. Make that your first priority." Ichigo advised her. Orihime nodded.
" Got it. " Orihime muttered.
"If you feel tired then it's better to stop for the day and continue tomorrow. There's a limit to pushing yourself. Please remember that." Ichigo added. Orihime nodded, understanding his every word.
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"Koten Zanshun, I reject!" Orihime shouted. Tsubaki, her hairpin flew towards a giant boulder and broke through it.
Suddenly, an orange shield was created inside the boulder, repelling the combined substance and splitting the rock in two.
Tsubaki flew back to Orihime who caught it and put him back to six-petal flower-shaped hairpins.
She looked at Ichigo who was smiling proudly at her. "I did it!!" Orihime squealed excitedly. Ichigo chuckled.
"Congrats. Now you have three more attacks to go." Ichigo congratulated. Orihime nodded.
" Should we continue, Ichigo? " Orihime asked. Ichigo shook his head.
" Im afraid we can't. It's 10:30 p.m. now. " Ichigo smiled sadly at her. Orihime frowned.
" Hey, don't be sad. You already did a lot today. So you should be happy about it. Now smile. " Ichigo ordered. When Orihime didn't smile, Ichigo chuckled mischievously.
" Tickle time!" Ichigo announced happily and started tickling Orihime's waist. Her reaction was instantaneous.
"Bwahahaha!!!!! No Ichigo stop it—Hahahahahaha!!!!!" Orihime laughed and squealed happily. Ichigo chuckled and kept on tickling her.
After a while, Ichigo stopped tickling her. Orihime giggled while breathing heavily. "Alright, you win!" Orihime pouted at him. Ichigo smiled and wrapped his right arm around her waist.
"Shall I walk you home, princess?" Ichigo asked her. Orihime blushed a little and nodded.
"Yes please."
"Then let's go!"
To be continued....
(What should Orihime learn from Master Gyatsu?)
