54 Crazed Monster

"We're going to need more teachers when it comes to Reishi Manufacturing, especially in the areas requiring knowledge about food and clothes." A weary sigh echoed through the room, as Rei responded. "Ok, do a wide search of the people who have currently mastered the craft enough to teach. Well, pay them depending on how well they do from there."

With that, the sound of footsteps and a door opening and closing followed as a different voice took the room. "It would be best if you lower the requirements to join a division. Although the numbers of recruits and people in training are slowly rising, most seats below the fifth will remain absent." Again Rei let out another groan.

"No, we were not lowering the requirement. Picking the cream of the crop means that we'll have a more efficient force to use around the Soul Society." There was a brief pause before the same voice spoke again. "But Captain Shisui's special division still requires more members to be used efficiently."

Rei shook his head and waved the person away. "I said no. The population has already risen two-fourths of what it was in the past few months. Talent will come eventually." Rei's voice had a hint of annoyance not directed at anyone but just at the general situation. Of course, the person talking to him couldn't tell the difference and immediately stopped talking.

"I'll take my leave now, Sir." With the door opening and closing one last time, Rei went limp in his chair. "Told you are making this place bigger would help. Besides, you couldn't keep working from the library. You needed an office eventually." Rei looked over to his right, lazily seeing Shisui standing there with that same neutral smile.

"Ya well, I was the one who had to make it bigger… Alone. It was tiring as hell, and outside of that, I had to make the treasury room." Despite his complaining, Rei had a slight smile on his face. Three months wasn't a very long time, yet things had changed a lot. Instead of idly training and whatnot, everyone was busy, especially Rei and Shisui, who was officially his adviser.

"Well, then I guess you're up for doing your other duties now?" Changing the topic, Rei looked at him as if he was crazy. "Wait, I still have more to do today?" Shisui nodded, causing Rei to put his face in his hands. "Whatever happened to that whole Council idea Haku recommended? So I can have people do this stuff for me."

Shisui looked as if he thought as he responded. "It's going to take a few more weeks or maybe months before we find people suitable enough. They need to be trustworthy, and just having me run things would be overloading." Rei narrowed his eyes while thinking to himself. 'At this rate ima be glued to this desk. I have barely been able to train with Ryujin Jakka.'

"Don't worry, and I'm sure everyone else is having just as hard of a time as you." In the same time span, a familiar red-headed Uzumaki was walking down the road. 'This place really is amazing no matter how many times I look at it.' Since Rei's original clan village followed Feudal Japan's style, he did the same for everything else he built.

It was over two years of work, and it was finally being put to use. Different sized buildings stretching for miles on end. Since almost everything was made of Reishi, there was never any litter in the streets or imperfections in any structure. Everything looked pristine and clean, making the atmosphere cheerful as everyone went about their day.

The weather and wind were almost too ideal, and even when the sun fell, the lantern's being combined enchanted with Kido automatically lit up, making the entire Soul Society glow. Rei's words of saying it would be a paradise on earth came true. And she found herself a part of keeping that paradise under control.

In the first two months, things were pretty hectic. The training reminded her of how she learned back in the academy. She couldn't try to the utmost of her ability due to the risk of her exposing herself. However, that risk decreased because once you passed the recruitment part of the training, everything changes.

Reiryoku, Reiatsu, Reishi and Kido, four of them were new terms to her, especially when it came to using them. It was stronger than Chakra, more versatile but a lot harder to control and could be dangerous if used wrong. Kushina found it hard to cast Kido properly and even more so when it came to training Spiritual Energy. In the end, she resorted to showing her 'raw' talent and skill to pass.

As she walked through a fairly large plaza, Kushina's eyes landed on the biggest and tallest building in the centre of Soul Society.'If I could get into that place, I could learn everything I need to. In the middle of her thoughts, Kushina heard the sound of screaming. "Get off of me!" The crowd of people in the plaza turned their heads as they spotted a man shaking a woman's shoulders.

The woman was clearly distressed, and the man had a crazy look in his eye as he repeated the same phrases."I can't live like this! I want to be free! I shouldn't be here!" Kushina had seen some people go slightly crazy before. You can't expect some people not to react like that. However, they all eventually calmed down, but this guy was different.

She couldn't tell what it was, but something was strange and off about him. Shaking her head slowly, she proceeded cautiously through the crowd. "Stop right there." Kushina's voice caused the man to stop shaking the woman as he glanced at Kushina briefly. Looking at Kushina, she was wearing a black uniform given to anyone who passed the recruitment faze and was recognized as a Shinigami.

Rei decided to keep Zanpakuto limited to the Captains he had and their Lieutenants with and kept everyone else equipped with a sword and their ability to use Kido. Recognizing the uniform, the woman shook herself from the man's grasp and ran behind her. "Please help me! He's acting like a crazy person all of a sudden!"

Kushina looked at the man who had shaggy clothes and hair along with the sudden twitch in his figure. By all means, he did look like he was going crazy and seeing Kushina caused him to speak. "You… You can help me. Take me out of this place. Please, I can't live like this. I must have had a family, right? I'm not crazy. I just need a little help. Take me out of here, please. I…"

The man was prattling on as his eyes turned more and more bloodshot. Holding out her hand, Kushina cut him off. "I understand your concerns, but it's advised that you do not attempt to go beyond the walls. I can escort you back to your home if you would tell me where you live." The man seemed to have slightly zoned out as Kushina spoke as he looked at her.

"You...You won't help me, will you? You're just trying to keep me here!" The man's jittery nature continued as he began darting his eyes to the scene around him. As he looked at the people staring at him frighteningly, he suddenly snapped as he turned and broke into a dash. His behaviour and running were erratic as he pushed people off the road and ran down the street.

"Ok, then. Will you be ok?" Looking at the woman behind her, Kushina saw her nod before she began chasing after the man. He ran through the plaza bumping into people and knocking over anything in his way. Chasing after him, Kushina swiftly manoeuvred past everything while slowly increasing her speed. "Stop before you hurt someone!"

Kushina's real personality leaked through her voice as she yelled at the man. Still, he didn't stop, and as he ran by, he ended up knocking an old woman to the ground. Seeing that, Kushina's eyes turned dark, and her blood began to boil. "Ok, that's it!" Holding out her right hand, she tried her best to focus on the man. "Hado-"

Before she could finish speaking, the man did a sharp turn and ran down an alleyway adjacent to the main street. "Would you just!" She chased her for another two minutes before eventually, he hit a dead in a secluded alleyway. "You are starting to really piss me off, you know! I get you mad about being stuck here, but you-"

Kushina was ready to let the man have it; however, mid-sentence, she stopped as she saw something. Radiating from the man's body was a strange miasmic-like aura. "I just need…" The man turned his head slowly and looked towards Kushina. One of his eyes had turned completely black.

A strange feeling caused a shiver to go down Kushina's spine, and it almost made her take a step back as she placed her hand on the sword at her waist. "What the hell…" She had never seen anything like it, causing her to be wary as she saw the man rip at his own shirt, revealing something terrifying.

As if it was carved out, and the entire part of the man's chest was replaced with a hole. "Arrggh!" A warped screech was released from his body as he raised his head. Parts of his body began bulging and growing erratically as a strange material began coating its surface. "My god…" Kushina saw a white liquid spray from the man's mouth as it completely enveloped his face.

At this stage, the man no longer looked like a normal human as his body continued to grow and change until it finally stopped. A terrifying monster is all that could describe what was standing just a few meters from Kushina. There was not a single thing mentioned about a creature like this in her life or a past one.

'The pressure it's giving off… It's a lot weaker, but it feels like when that boy gave that speech.' A drop of sweat slid down Kushina's face. She had been practising Kido but not enough to use it in a battle like this. Quickly she glanced around her, trying not to take her eyes off the monster in front of her. "I guess no one would be around here, and I doubt this thing will let me leave."

Seeing no one was in the vicinity, Kushina did something he hadn't done for quite a long time. Shooting out from her back, chains covered in spikes and a glowing yellow aura sprouted forth. There were four chains in total floating behind her as she stared the monster down. 'I can only hope these work as they did in the past.'

Without any warning, the monster locked onto Kushina before leaping at her. In response, Kushina began moving the chains behind her to counterattack. Simultaneously, a ways away from where Kushina was fighting, there was a fairly large building. And on the second floor of this building was a large dojo-like room.

Laying on the hard wooden floor clutching different parts of their bodies and aching in pain were people dressed similarly to Kushina. Lying next to them on the ground were wooden katanas, and some of them were sliced clean through. "I suppose we can end this lesson here." Standing over all of them was a young girl with a bubbly look on her face.

Looking at her 'students' on the ground, she took the wooden katana in her hand and leaned it against one of the walls next to her cloak and Zanpakuto. "Next time, you should all learn to attack in coordination instead of individually. No point in having numbers if you don't utilize them to overwhelm your opponent." No one verbally responded, but Fuyumi was positive the lesson was pounded into them.

However, as she stood there, her smile fell as she felt a strange presence and glanced out of a nearby window. 'What is that?' Feeling out the strange presence again, Fuyumi's face twisted slightly as she looked back at the students on the floor. "Well, dismiss this class early. I have something I need to do."

Without any rhyme or reason to know off, they could only lay there as Fuyumi grabbed her things and bolted out of the room. Putting on her cloak and her Zanpakuto at her waist, she wasted no time jumping out of the nearest window and launching herself into the air. "Fuyumi, you sensed it too?" A familiar voice came from behind her as she looked up and spotted Seiki above her.

"Ya, it interrupted my lesson, but honestly, it's giving me a weird feeling." The two of them landed on the roof of a building near the ground before they dashed off. "I don't know how to explain it, but it just feels… Wrong."