Hidden Training

Nikitio sat on the Sokyoku Hill. The place where he became what he was. It was his death place. It was his resting place. It was his rebirth place. The place where he became what he is today. A Captain of the Gotei 13. The Leader of the Onmitsukido. He was the Second Division Captain. He had proven his resolve. He had proven his strength. He had done what was needed of him. This is where it had gotten him. He was not to be toyed with. That much was clear from his fight with the Captain Commander. He went over the fight in his mind. He noted his mistakes. He noted her mistakes. He noted his strengths. He noted her strengths. He went through the fight at a frame by frame speed. He noticed all the openings he missed. He noticed all the chances for death she didn’t take. He laid down on the grass of the hill. He looked up at the dark sky above him.

He wasn’t here for reflection though. He wasn’t here to gloat to himself. He was here for training. He was here to learn. He didn’t wear his shinigami uniform though. It was too official. This was a casual meeting slash tutoring session between friends. He wore one of his own clothes. He actually made them. His family wasn’t going to let him grow up without knowing a thing or two about sewing. He was too young to actually make things, however, when he died. But he knew how to repair rips, cause patterns by pulling at the runs, and sew on things. After he died a woman showed him how to craft clothing himself. When he had free time he would make or modify his clothing.

He wore a mesh shirt that only went down to his stomach. It had no left sleeve, but it had a full right sleeve. His left wrist was decorated with bracelets. Some of them were multicolored. Some of them were solid colors. Some of them were thread. Some of them were plastic. His finger had one ring on the middle finger. It was a silver band. There was a single small sapphire in it. The sapphire was held in place by tension from the band. On either side of the sapphire was a small diamond. Nikki wasn’t one for diamonds, but the ring overall was fantastic looking. It was also a gift from someone incredibly special to him. He sighed at the memory and sat up.

His pants were black cargo pants. They had purple butterflies on his butt. They also had a single green butterfly going to his crotch on the left side. On the other side was a blue butterfly going away from his crotch. The pants were tilted on his hips. The right side of his waistband was higher than the left. He purposefully made them like this. They were tight so that he didn’t have to wear a belt. The legs were baggy around the legs. Not so much that you couldn’t feel his legs if you tried. But they were baggy enough to separate his legs from the cloth. They flared out around his legs though. This means that they started off narrow and got larger as they went down. As stated before, they were not terribly baggy though. At the end of his pants it was large enough to hide his boots. He wore black boots with silver buckles. They weren’t high boots. They were low.

Nikitio laid there looking up at the sky. He smiled at the darkness of the space above him. It was relaxing. He felt a pulse. Someone was coming. He did a backwards summersault. When his feet touched the ground he pushed off with his hands and feet, and turned into a flip. He saw the newcomer. It was just Derrick. He landed skillfully and looked at his old mentor. Derrick grinned. ”I see someone is jumpy. I told you I was coming.” He laughed and Nikitio blushed. He had reacted rather quickly. Why was he so nervous? Maybe because being an assassin did that to you. He wasn’t exactly Mr. Popular in the Soul Society. As vital as the Onmitsukido was it was hated. A lot of people hated the Onmitkusido. They claimed it was unjust. They said it was dishonorable. They said cowards attacked from the dark. They all agreed that cowards only end up dead. Nikitio would only look at them emotionlessly. He would walk away. His body wanted to hit them. It wanted to rip their throat out. It wanted to feel their warm blood on his flesh. He resisted the temptation though.

Derrick walked around the Sokyoku Hill for a bit. ”What are you looking for?” He asked eventually. Derrick waved him away. He mumbled something. He continued looking. What was he searching for? Nikitio sighed and sat back down. As soon as he did Derrick shouted. “Ha! Found you! Nikki, come over here!”[/color] Nikitio rolled his eyes and used shunpo. He appeared next to Derrick. They stood in front of a small entrance. ”This is a secret training area. Only a handful of people know about it. A lot of people go their whole lives never knowing about this area. I came upon it by accident about two hundred years ago.” He walked inside. Nikitio followed.

Nikitio went down a long flight of stairs. It seemed to never end. ”Watch your step.” Derrick said. Nikitio wondered what he meant. They were going down a cave of sorts. It was hard to see. The air was thick with moisture. Nonetheless, Nikitio could feel the ground. He could feel the change. It was getting weaker. It was thinning. Nikitio trained night and day in various footwear. Boots, shoes, slippers, sandals, socks, shirts wrapped around his feet, he did it all. Why? Just for this very reason. Also he wanted to be able to fight under any condition. Slippers were hard to do and his footing was still awkward. But he managed to do well enough.

Nikitio then felt it. A slight crumbling. His next step didn’t touch the ground. He fell down and landed skillfully on the ground. It was a hell of a drop. Derrick smiled at him. They were in some kind of field it seemed. It went on for what seemed like forever. Nikitio looked around. The field had a bunch of boulders there. It was just dirt on the ground. How did such a place get here?! It seemed much larger than the Hill itself. How did it go unnoticed was a better question. It must have taken years for this to be built. It was perfectly square. It was hidden. It was large. It was a mystery. Nikitio had heard rumor about this in books. He didn’t know the location though. He also doubted its existence. But he couldn’t do it any longer.

Derrick looked at Nikitio from his rock. ”You have learned all the Bankai. Except for one, but do not worry. We will get to that one today maybe. It all depends on how quickly you move. We have to go over a few of the Bakudo again. Why? Because you are ready for the next stage. I will teach you how to cast spells without the incantation. Trust me. When you are fighting you will want this. You cannot tell me that in your fight with Kenya you didn’t want to use a Bakudo. I know you did. Nonetheless. Let us get started. I doubt you’ll have any REAL problem. So let’s just go. Okay? Okay. We will start with Bakudo number nine. Why? Because it is the first. Also, there are two. Because of that, it is easy. Why? Because if you can do one, you can do the other. Now then, let’s go. Do it. Now.”

Nikitio just looked at Derrick. Casting Kido without an incantation, huh? He head heard that it was possible. He never thought that it would have to be learned. He figured that with years eventually he would just do it. Guess he was wrong. Derrick didn’t know how short his fight with Kenya was. Had it been longer, he would have wanted Kido. Incantations were a bit lengthy. He had to admit that much. It would be useful to know how to do things without it. Just to make things easier. Nikitio nodded at Derrick. He rolled his neck for a woman. He pointed at Derrick. He focused on the mentor. He thought it would be better to go over the incantation first. He looked at Derrick with cold eyes. His mind pulled out the file for Geki. Bakudo number nine was Geki. It had an incantation. It was made to paralyze your enemy.

“Disintegrate, you black dog of Rondanini!! Look upon yourself with horror and then claw out your own throat! Bakudo number nine! Geki!” It was a success. The Bakudo hit Derrick. He was paralyzed. He couldn’t move. A red light outlined him. Nikitio held the Bakudo. He then cast another one. He continued pointing at Derrick, but let go of the Bakudo. Derrick’s shoulders relaxed. Nikitio spoke. “Disintegrate, you black dog of Rondanini!! Look upon yourself with horror and then claw out your own throat! Bakudo number nine! Horin!” An orange and yellow rope shot out. It wrapped around Derrick. The rope stopped moving. Nikitio grabbed the end.

This one held. Derrick was tied up. His arms were bound. Nikitio held the rope firmly in place. Derrick struggled against the rope. The rope held him though. It wasn’t going to budge. Derrick stopped struggling. Nikitio smiled. Derrick smiled back. He let go of the Bakudo. He let out a soft sigh as he concentrated. He would have to picture what he wanted. He needed to do this correctly. Pointing at Derrick he let out a soft sigh again. He saw what he wanted. He painted the picture. He knew what to do. He knew what to get. He just had to focus. He had to want it bad enough. He did. He knew what he wanted. There was only one way to get it. He had to trust in the Kido. He thought about it. He knew what to do.

”Bakudo number nine. Geki.” There was a faint glow around Derrick. His arm began to move. It shook a bit. But his arm did move up. Nikitio frowned. He almost had it. The faint light around him was pink. It was also very translucent. It wasn’t right by any means. The light had to be red. It had to be blood red. It also had to be opaque. It was something right. This was something wrong. Derrick smiled at Nikitio. ”You are not thinking correctly. Before you didn’t need to think that hard. You spoke. The kido listened. Everything was fine. It all worked out a-okay. You need to focus harder. You need to think harder. Don’t just wish for it. You have to see it. You have to feel it. You have to touch it. You have to BE it. Do it again.” Nikitio nodded. Derrick’s voice was hard. He was serious. He was pressuring Nikitio. He was giving him the determination he needed. Nikitio took in a breath.

Nikitio pointed at Derrick again. He did as he was told. He thought about the Kido. He painted a picture in his head. He saw Derrick in his mind. He saw him paralyzed. He saw him held in place. He felt the fear he originally felt when he was attacked with this Bakudo. Fear. Pure, untamed, wild fear. It was a feeling only something like that could give you. He closed his eyes. He opened them again. He looked at him. He looked at his target. He looked at the man he would paralyze. He took a deep breath.

”Bakudo number nine. Geki.” Derrick’s body froze. It stopped moving. The red line came up. It started on his left foot. On the outside is where it started. It moved up his leg. It touched his thigh and hip. It moved up his side. After it reached his armpit, it moved down his arm. Moving over his fingers it went back up his arm. It glided over his shoulder, over his neck, and up on his head. It went down the other side of his body as well. It went down his head, and over his shoulder. Over his fingers and up the lower side of his arm, it went. The line trailed over his armpit and down his side, thigh, and hip. It went down his leg and over his right foot. It went up his leg, over his crotch, and down the other side.

Derrick couldn’t move. Nikitio knew he couldn’t. It was just not going to happen. Nikitio felt a bit happy. He smiled. Nikitio dropped the Bakudo. Derrick smiled and clapped slowly. Nikitio took in a deep breath and he let it out. Derrick rolled his wrist. It was a sign. A sign for him, Nikki, to continue casting. Nikitio nodded. He would do it. He wanted to continue learning. He wanted to get stronger. Even though he wasn’t Kido Corps he wanted to learn. He wanted to master Kido to the best of his ability. It was something that was recommended. The more he knew the better he was. Better at what? Shunko. It was an old technique. One passed down from one Onmitsukido Captain to the next. Nikitio was unlucky though. The last captain wasn’t around to teach him or guide him. He learned through reading and an unlikely teacher. Nonetheless, he was instructed to practice his kido daily to keep his shunko at it’s peek.

Derrick jumped up and landed on a boulder. Nikitio looked up at him. Derrick pointed. ”Hado number one. Sho!” Nikitio used shunpo. He got away. The sho hit the ground hard. Nikitio appeared behind him. ”Bakudo number nine. Horin.” Nikitio shot out the orange and yellow rope. Derrick turned around. The rope wrapped around him. Nikitio grabbed the rope and spun around. Derrick was forced threw the air. ”Hm.” Nikitio slammed Derrick into the ground on the other side. Nikitio let go of the Bakudo. It disintegrated. Derrick stood up from the smoke and laughed. ”Well I wasn’t expecting that last part. It was good though. Nice job. Now then. We can skip over some Bakudo. Why? Because I am teaching you this for combat. You won’t be tracking in combat. You won’t be sending messages in combat. So then. What is the next spell that has an incantation that you must master?”

Nikitio rolled his neck and sighed. He looked at Derrick. [color=indigo]”Bakudo number sixty-one. Rikujōkōrō.” Nikitio answered. Derrick clapped and nodded. ”And I assume you know the incantation. Right?” Nikitio nodded and pulled it from his memory. ” Carriage of Thunder. Bridge of a spinning wheel. With light, divide this into six!” Derrick nodded again. ”Okay then. So. Get on with it. Stop standing there looking at me. Unless I have six yellow rods sticking out of me, you have work to do.”

Nikitio nodded and focused his energies. This was a higher level bakudo. It would need a lot more focus. It would need more determination. Nikitio thought back to his moments of training. When he sought help for learning Shunko. The lessons back then can help now. They would be very useful. Back then he had to rely on the use of Kido. It was in a different way though. Now was the same thing. He has to trust in the kido. He looked at Derrick. Derrick arched an eyebrow. Nikitio took a seat. He would need to focus a bit for the next few kido spells. There were two spells left that had incantations. Not including number ninety-nine. Nikitio sighed and closed his eyes. He drifted back to his moments of Shunko.

”Damnit….why can’t I get this? I need this to work. These damn books don’t help. Nobody is around to help. Wait. No. Someone is around. But can I do that? I guess I have no choice. I guess I don’t need permission. It’s for me. It’s my choice. I have to do this.” Nikitio stood up from his desk. He walked out of his barracks. He began walking through the streets. He avoided the gazes of people. He was in a hurry. He had no time to waste. People wanted to wonder. People wanted to question. People wanted to compliment. They wanted to congratulate him. Nikitio didn’t want to speak to them. He didn’t want them around. He needed one person right now. He wanted to see one person right now. Only one person could help him. Only one person could teach him. So it was that person he needed to speak to. Not these gawking Shinigami and Nobles.

Nikitio loathed the Nobles. He hated them. The majority of them were so stuck-up. They thought that they should be the focus of things. If they weren’t happy, then everyone suffered. They complained. They bickered. They fought amongst themselves. It was disgraceful. It was annoying. It was pitiful on so many levels. Nikitio spent many nights awake because of their annoyances. Nonetheless, he had to “protect them” It was his “duty” He rolled his eyes at this. How sad. How terrible. How annoying.

Nikitio arrived at his location. The guards looked at him. Nikitio folded his arms. The guards stiffened and bowed. Nikitio rolled his eyes at them. He took out his zanpakuto, both of them. He handed them over. Nikitio walked inside the Maggot’s Nest. The door was cold and metal. He didn’t mind though. He opened it. He closed it. He walked down the hall. He moved down stairs. He continued walking down an infinite number of stairs. When he finally touched the bottom he went through another door with guards. The guards looked at him and bowed. He nodded to them and they opened the door. He walked inside to see a large room. In the room there were many many men and women there. All of them were seen as a potential threat.

No weapons were allowed here. It was forbidden. This was the Maggot’s Nest. Also known as the Nest of Maggots. It depended on who you asked. Nonetheless, this was like a prison. It was a holding area for threats. Not for criminals, for threats. It held them here. People who were a potential danger. People who Central 46 saw as a threat went here. Nobody had actually done anything. They hadn’t actually blown something up. They hadn’t killed anyone important. They were accused of thinking about it. They were accused of plotting. So they were put here. Some of them were not tried. Because of their threat, weapons weren’t allowed here. Heaven forbid something go wrong and a riot break out. They would have weapons. They would be truly dangerous. So no weapons. Even the guards had none. It was out of the question. Because of this you were required to be advanced in Hakuda. You had to be able to hold your own. This place was for people accused of being a threat. Some of them weren’t. Some of them were. You had to be able to handle each and every one of them.

Nikitio could. He could kill these men if he wished. He went in there. They knew him. He visited them every day. They had never challenged him though. Not until today. But he remained unaware of this. He continued to walk down the large room. He entered another door. He went down another large flight of stairs. He was entering a separate area of the nest. This area was for the truly dangerous. The insane resided here. Those who nearly acted were here. He needed to see one of these men. He could help him. Why? Because he was the captain before him. How was he captured? He turned himself in. He admitted to plotting. He admitted to thinking. He had been here for a little over one hundred years.

Nikitio went to his cell. Yes, a cell. On this level, the prisoners had cells. He stood before him. The man was bald. He had a gray beard though. Wrinkles littered his face. A long scar ran across his forehead. His eyes were useless. He was blind. He could hear you coming from a mile away though. He looked up at Nikitio. ”What can I do for you, Captain?” Nikitio didn’t question how he knew he was a captain. This man couldn’t see. This man didn’t know his face. But he knew things. He knew things that most would have to see to know. That is what made him even more of a threat. It earned him a one way ticket to this cell. ”Teach me.” Nikitio said simply. The man chuckled. ”Oh. You want to learn? You seek my guidance for your own gain? Bah. Where was my gain? Where was my honor? I turned myself in. I willingly went here. I could have snapped everyone’s neck. I lost everything. And for what? For a glorified cell? In case you didn’t notice my cell has a sink, others don’t.”

Nikitio remained still. He was going to stand strong. He wasn’t going to let this man push him around. ”Teach me.” The man chuckled. ”If you can prove to me you are worthy of being taught I will. I will give you everything you want on a golden platter.” Nikitio snapped and a guard came. ”Open the cage.” The guard looked like he was going to. Nikitio narrowed his eyes, and the guard couldn’t open it fast enough. ”Let’s go.” The man chuckled and stood up. He walked with Nikitio. Nikitio went back up the stairs in quiet. The Ex-Captain didn’t speak. When they got into the main hall, all hell broke loose. ”Kill the Captain!” Nikitio swore. It was a set up. The first up was a tall woman. She threw a chair at Nikitio and he rolled forward. Pushing off of his hand he soared through the air. He landed on the shoulders of another male and bent back.

His hands touched the floor, he pulled his lower body forward, and sent the man flying against the wall. The same female from before came at him. She threw a punch, and he dodged. Others joined in and they all missed. Nikitio moved from one foot to the other. He left openings where he countered them. The guards were restrained. They were no help. ”I don’t have time for this.” Nikitio jumped up and kicked one of the prisoners. He swung his leg back to the side and kicked another. He landed and swung his leg out there again. He nailed another in the chest with his foot. His leg swept to the side and he caught another with his heel on their jaw. He looked at another walked up to him. It was the captain. He launched himself and Nikitio. Nikitio fell back and kicked him in his chest sending him up. Nikitio got up and spun kicked the old man in the face.

The man flew through the air but recovered he landed on the ground as did Nikitio. The man clapped. Nikitio glared. ”There is your lesson. You must always be aware. You must always be able to think. You must always see your surroundings. Listen and answers will come. Oh. Another thing that helps. Stop forcing things. Lighten up. Life is too short, even for us.” The man walked away then. He went back down the stairs. Nikitio looked around. What the hell was going on? Everything seemed to be so wrong. Whatever though. It didn’t matter. He would just learn this by himself. He left the Maggot’s Nest. After gathering his Zanpakuto on the way out he went to the archives. It was quiet there. He was the only one who was ever there. Sometimes a group of students would be there, but that was rare.

He sat down with a pile of books. He flipped through them all. They were all books of the Onmitsukido. He was the only one, save the Captain Commander, allowed to view these as it spoke of secrets. He looked through the reference for Shunko. He found very little information on it. He knew it was a type of Kido. It involved Kido energy anyway. He could fire off powerful blasts of Kido energy while using it. He though about what he needed to do. He thought he had it. He though about what he needed. He thought he had it. He had to focus. He had to listen to the world around him. Pay attention to everything. Feel not just the world but himself. That was what the man meant. Stop forcing it. It would just come to him.

Later that night he did as he was told. It worked rather well. It was a bit uncomfortable, but he got used to it. He continued try. He kept practicing. Eventually he got to where he is now. He was a master of shunko. It was something easy for him by this point. All he had to do was let go. He had to stop trying so hard. He had to lighten up. That part was a bit harder, but he managed. He had to let the energies flow. He had to allow them to run over him. They had to flow through him. He allowed them. He let them. He was stronger because of it.

Because of this memory he had an idea. What if this was similar? What if this was the same? It was always worth a shot. It was better than nothing at the least. He took in a deep breath. He stood up and looked at Derrick. He was rather patient. He rolled his neck a bit and looked at Derrick again. He lifted his hand. He pointed. He thought. He pictured. He painted the effect. He saw Derrick bound. He relaxed. He breathed. He let go. He couldn’t force this. He had to let it flow. He closed his eyes for a moment. He opened them and nodded. Derrick nodded back. ”Bakudo number sixty-one. Rikujokoro.” In the blink of an eye it happened. Derrick had six rods of light sticking out of him. He couldn’t move at all. Nikitio smiled and dismissed the Bakudo.

Derrick clapped for him. Nikitio smiled and panted. He had one more to go, but he didn’t know if he could do it. It was a high level bakudo. It would require a lot of energy. Not nearly as much as number ninty-nine would though. He let out a deep sigh. Next was Bakudo number seventy-five. Gochutekkan. It would summon pillars. These pillars were tall. They were also heavy. They were near impossible to break. It was hard to move too. Gochutekkan was good for restraining. He took in a breath and let it out. He had to let it flow. It had to flow through him. He rolled his neck a bit. He had to focus for this one. It would take a bit of practice. Maybe he would even have to take a break. He shook his head. No. He would take a rest now. He was pushing his limits. It wasn’t good to do that. If you used up your reiatsu you used your life. He smiled at Derrick. Derrick arched an eyebrow. ”Breaking?” Nikitio nodded.

Derrick jumped down. He laughed and patted Nikki’s back. ”Oh how wise ye have gotten. So. How is the new life? Like your status?” He sat down next to Nikitio. Nikitio let out a long sigh. ”No. I hate the paperwork. There is so much.” Derrick laughed. Derrick then nodded. ”Yes…That does tend to happen a lot. Well…at least you are not teaching. Oh wait. You did teach that Kido class. Now. Why is a 2nd Division Captain teaching Kido? Unless. . .You saw someone’s profile. Yes?” Nikitio chuckled. Derrick pulled out a cigarette and lit it. Nikitio didn’t care that he smoked. It was his secret. He shared it with Nikitio a while ago.

Yuki was Derrick’s girlfriend. She didn’t like smoking. So they never told her that he smoked. Nikitio nodded though. ”Yeah. I got paperwork and stuff. One of them was about a possible recruit. When I got here he was in the academy still. So yeah. . . I went to check him out. He learned the first few Bakudo. He is pretty good. Needed some help with control. He can hear. He is going to learn to listen though. Eh. Basically everything you showed me.” Derrick laughed and pretended to cry. He whipped a fake tear away. It was a tad funny because of the cigarette in his hand. ”Oh. It warms my heart. You are using my lessons. Oh. I am such a good teacher. . .” Nikitio rolled his eyes. Derrick laughed. ”God don’t like ugly. And I am pretty sure humility is apart of the seven virtues. You should try it. Maybe it’d help. Y’know. With your soul and stuff.” Derrick laughed and smoked again. He winked at Nikki. ”I’m dead. You’re dead. We are all dead. What can I do for my soul? Nothing. Haha. Nice try though. Anyway. . .We should continue our lesson. Your kid is probably done soon. So let’s get started.”

Derrick put out his cigarette. Nikitio stood. He helped Derrick stand. Derrick stepped back. Nikitio looked at him. Derrick smiled. Nikki smiled. He placed his hands together. His fingers were entwined. He closed his eyes. He felt the Kido energy inside of him. He let it flow. He let it move. It touched him. It moved through him. It surrounded him. He took in a deep breath. He looked at Derrick again. He pointed to him. ”Bakudo number seventy-five. Gochutekkan. Hm. . .Oh! There it is! Great! It worked! Haha. Okay. So. Maybe I should let you go. . .but oh well. Maybe I will let you stay. No. . .I can’t. I need you to show me number ninety-nine. You are lucky.” After saying the name and number it took a second. Eventually they fell though. Five pillars. All of them extremely tall. All of them connected by a chain. They fell. They landed on Derrick. He was pinned. He struggled. They didn’t even slightly rattle. Nikitio continued speaking. He realized he needed him. He snapped. The pillars crumbled. Derrick stood up and brushed himself off. Nikitio grinned. Derrick rolled his eyes. ”Well. Normally I’d let you continue. But you have duties now. I imagine your kid is done. He seemed pretty far and ready to take his test.” Nikitio agreed and bowed. Derrick smiled and waved. Nikitio left to go back to his barracks.

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