Chapter 17 - Another Day, Another Struggle

Two months passed by for Itachi who decided to lay low for some time and cover his tracks. He discovered a few squads of the Shinigami stealth force and while they were very good at their tracking, managing to find a few of the spots rested at, none of them could pick up his trail or sense out his presence like the Captain had done.

Given how the only places they found were places he had carried out intensive practices with his Reiatsu, it pointed rather obviously that they could track the remnant of his energy. 

Upon that discovery, he stopped using his Reiatsu extensively and just like he speculated, it did not take long for them to give up his search after losing the only trail they had of him. 

There wasn't really much he could do about that and given how he was just noting which jutsus had higher or lower potency than the original did as it was common sense that not all techniques based on Chakra would work with Reiatsu. In fact, some didn't even work at all while some exploded in a burst of Reiatsu. 

For the ones that didn't work, Itachi wasn't overly worried as unlike a couple of ninjas he knew who had a very large repertoire of ninjutsu and could hardly make even a fraction of that knowledge useful, he had a specialized form of combat. 

"Highly volatile elements like fire, lightning and wind are easy to perform with little to no difficulty, but stable elements like earth and water style ninjutsu are the complete reverse."

Water style being one of his elemental affinities was somehow easier to perform than earth style ninjutsu, but nowhere near the ease he did with the others. 

As for yin and yang releases, these were the techniques that received a rather huge boost in efficiency and control from a soul-based energy system. 

Wearing a dark cloak and a large straw hat over his head, his measured steps calmly walked through the endless forestation that stretched through numerous Rukongai districts. 

The frequency of the Hollows attacks had decreased rapidly so the rising panic that had been budding up in the hearts of the normal civilians was greatly abated. 

After his last fight with the Captain, Itachi did not come across any confrontation with either Hollows or Shinigamis, remaining idle most of the time and even slowing down his pace after crossing the 50th District. 

From his Intel, he learned that from the 50th District and below was where there was recorded frequency of seeing Shinigamis on duty, the frequency going higher the lower the district and closer to the Seireitei you get. 

The living conditions of the local residents did get better as one went lower, less tattered clothes and more people wearing sandals was a rather noticeable change to spot when considering how impoverished and lacking in basic necessities the other district beyond the 50th. 

Blending himself naturally with a group of people he met along the way in the forest, he followed them back to what looked like a thriving village with a healthy density of people. They even had a small market where things could be bartered. 

It was even when he crossed the 50th District that he started seeing people actually using currency for purchase rather than bartering. People still battered but it wasn't a frequent sight like he had grown used to. 

"Want some hot buns? I still have a few of my honeyed special buns, want a try?" The owner of the storefront he stopped at excitedly called him and Itachi agreed to have some and paid with a copper coin before moving along. 

Itachi found an inn and given how he'd been sleeping for months now since his arrival here, he tried spending the night sleeping on a bed, even if it was stuffed with hay. 

"Breakfast will cost you another coin."

"No need. Just the room is enough." 

Taking his key and leaving, he entered the room and locked the door behind him and slowly lowered himself into the bed. 

It left a lot to be desired but this could be called luxury compared to some sleeping situations he used to find himself in during missions. 

He laid his sword against the wall on the side of his bed and kept his cloak just beside it before slipping into the mattress. 

It was either the ambience of the inn or the loud chatter in the background but Itachi was able to fall asleep more easily, or daresay, more peacefully. 

….. 

The first ray of sunlight that peek through the small window of the room stirred Itachi awake. 

Taking a slow glance over the room, he observed that there was no instance of a break-in attempt and nodded to himself. 

This was the North Rukongai, known as the most violent part of the Rukongai, and simple things like break-ins weren't even considered trespassing in this crime infected quadrant. 

"… Another day."

Indeed it was. But the question each new day brought to Itachi was whether to continue forward or slow down a little. He wouldn't lie and say he wasn't curious about the Seireitei, because he was. 

... 

[Seireitei, 2nd Division Barracks]

The sound of faint, almost indiscernible steps, sounded softly through the spacious hallway of the 2nd Division of the Gotei 13 as three people walked down from the long hall to the training area where faint sounds of combat could be heard. 

The strange thing however was that the footsteps heard only originated from two of the people who were dressed in traditional ninja garbs and not the woman donning on a white haori walking in front of them. 

Wearing the telltale sign of a Shinigami Captain, Yoruichi Shihōin, Captain of the 2nd Division and Commander-in-Chief of the Onmitsukidō, also the head of one of the Four Principal Clans of the Soul Society, her very presence exuded a graceful and calm posture that few could match. 

Coming upon one of the numerous training areas of her Division, her eyes trailed all the people present before landing particularly on one - a small figure training in an obscure corner of the otherwise large space. 

"How long has she been at it?" Not asking anyone in particular, her golden eyes were entirely focused on the young girl that was so aggressively engrossed in her training that she paid no mind to anything else around her. 

"It's already past the fourth hour. She's been like this ever since that day, even coming to train in the middle of the night." One of the men behind her answered. 

Hearing that, Yoruichi's face showed no imperceptible shift, only the perpetual calmness remained but the two behind her had served her for so long to know when their Noble Lady was annoyed. 

"How long has it been?"

The two men looked at each other, exchanging a quick glance before the other one promptly answered. 

"2 months and 17 days." 

She merely nodded and entered the training field, drawing the attention of some the Shinigamis who weren't already aware of her presence, ignoring the salutes to her as she made her way towards the girl who despite her body trembling in pain, continued training as if her life depended on it.

"Soi Fon." Yoruichi caught the way Soi Fon instantly stiffened and the way her breath hitched before she turned around and knelt before her. 

"Yoruichi-sama." 

"Oh don't be so stiff, Soi Fon. I was at least expecting a hug after being gone for some time, or did my dear Soi Fon not miss me?"

Her character flipped so fast that no one would have ever thought her face held any expression of the serene calm it did mere moments ago. 

"Yo-Yoruichi-sama…" Soi Fon stuttered so hard, blushing and waving her hands as she struggled and failed to get any other words out of her mouth. 

Seeing Soi Fon's reaction got a hearty laugh out of Yoruichi, further deepening the poor girl's embarrassment. 

"Come on, let's go inside and you can catch me up on what I've missed since being away." She beckoned and Soi Fon was all too happy to rush inside to escape making another public scene like the one that just took place. 

Arriving at the Captain's office, Yoruichi took off her Captain's haori and threw over a chair before taking a seat on the mattress behind a small desk in an elevated corner of the room. 

With the two of them in the privacy of her room, Yoruichi's expression fell into a warm and concerned one.

"Tell me Soi Fon, why are you having trouble sleeping?" 

This wasn't exactly a new development as it started happening even before Yoruichi had left for some clan duties, approximately 2 months and 17 days ago. Ever since the day she came from that mission where she almost died if not for Captain Shiba saving her. 

Soi Fon said nothing, just bowing her head in shame. Even if she was asked, she wouldn't know how to respond because not even she could understand why she kept seeing her throat slit open almost every night when she slept. 

She was a Shinigami. She was supposed to be familiar with the concept of dying on the battlefield. 

Seeing Soi Fon say nothing, Yoruichi sighed. 'I suppose I have quite a lot of time on my hand.'

"Soi Fon, get your things in order. We're leaving in five minutes." She suddenly said, surprising Soi Fon who immediately nodded and went to grab a few supplementary weapons and a change of clothes, but not before asking. 

"Are we going on a mission, Yoruichi-sama?"

Yoruichi's grin at that question carried a certain sinister light in it, nodding and saying in a sweet voice. "We are going on a hunt."

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