Clang!
"Hmm?"
Having been invited inside, Rukia sat in the guest room with Urahara, drinking tea served by Tessai while Jinta and Ururu were playing tag outside.
As soon as Urahara offered to invite Rukia inside, she agreed without any hesitation. In fact, she seemed happy about it considering she might obtain information regarding the town's recent state from him.
It was at that time she heard a loud clanging sound. Being an experienced Shinigami, she immediately recognized that the sound came from two swords clashing fiercely.
A short time passed and the clashing sound kept ringing, almost in perfect sync rhythmically.
"Is that..."
"Hahaha, that must be the nearby kid playing around." Urahara spread his fan and laughed happily. "Ignore it and enjoy your tea."
"No, that's-"
"Just kids playing around." Urahara repeated and grinned creepily behind his fan.
"... O-Okay..."
Rukia didn't try to say anything anymore and drank her tea in silence. She glanced around to avoid eye contact with Urahara because the former captain was definitely frightening her out. His presence alone caused goosebumps on her skin.
Swallowing nervously, she glanced toward the shop owner who merely sat opposite of her drinking his green tea.
"Urahara Kisuke." She addressed carefully.
"Hai~ Anything I can help with, Kuchiki-san~?" He smiled cheerfully.
"I never expected a man like you to live a normal life. Running a humble candy store. Are you trying to act like a good citizen?" she asked.
"What~? I have always been an honest and upright person~! Please stop treating me as if I were some sort of criminal."
Rukia twitched and replied dryly, "Yes, I can totally see you as an ordinary salesman now. Forget it."
"See? See?! Someone finally believes in my innocence! Now can you stop calling me names?!" He grinned wider and opened his palms in a dramatic manner. "You may not believe it, but I swear I'm completely different compared to what happened back then."
Rukia resisted the urge to roll her eyes at his obvious display of theatrics.
Instead, she took another sip of her beverage before putting it on the table and gazing calmly at the shady shopkeeper, "About that... May I ask why are you here?"
"Oh? Is that an interrogation session?"
He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively making Rukia scrunch her nose.
"... Stop it," she deadpanned.
"Hahahaha!" Urahara threw his head backwards while holding onto his stomach due to uncontrollable laughter, "Forgive me for being so silly just now, Kuchiki-san~"
"..." She couldn't tell whether he genuinely enjoyed teasing people or actually possessed sadistic tendencies underneath his cheerful exterior.
Probably both.
She decided to let it slide nonetheless because she wasn't here to get on the ex-captain's bad side either way, "Urahara-san, I want to ask about these twins. You know them right?"
"Hmmm?" He tilted his head sideways with curiosity evident in his tone, "What are you interested about?"
"For starters, their origins. What are they? Ichigo aside, Shirou has a strange power too. Where does their abnormal reiatsu come from?" The raven haired girl questioned earnestly.
Urahara paused briefly as he pondered deeply over her inquiry, "Well..." he eventually answered, "... I can't exactly answer that without their permission. It's like asking what kind of panties are you wearing right now."
"Wha—" Rukia gasped loudly, cheeks flushed red, eyes widened in shock.
"Ahaha! Gotcha! You should have seen your face!" He burst out laughing once more, clutching onto his stomach again due to excessive giddiness. "You've got a cute expression!"
"T-The nerve..."
"Hahahaha!" He laughed heartily while hiding his lower face with his fan once again, "But seriously though. Why don't you ask them instead? I'm sure they'll gladly tell you everything."
"I did, but he didn't tell me."
"Then keep observing them until you have enough evidence to accuse them properly." Urahara shrugged nonchalantly.
No use.
Rukia realized she wouldn't get much information from him.
At that moment, both of them felt something from the underground. A burst of unusual reiatsu which belonged to Shirou.
"Well... looks like Shirou-kun is fighting," Urahara muttered with a smile. "Do you want to watch?"
This might be the best chance for her to know those twins better. Curious to find out what caused the sudden spike in spiritual energy, Rukia nodded eagerly.
Urahara grinned mischievously and led her towards the basement.
Both walked down a long staircase before arriving in front of a massive cave filled with hundreds upon thousands of blades sticking out of the dirt ground.
A pair of teens stood atop the barren wasteland with countless blades surrounding them.
Around them was destruction. Ground gouged everywhere, dirt flying around, several holes that pierced through stone as if a meteor crashed through.
All done by those two boys.
One had spiky orange hair and black clothing; it was Ichigo. He was holding what seemed like a large cleaver with a bandaged hilt. And the other was none other than his twin brother who held twin curved swords.
"Wow, this is more than I initially thought." Urahara voiced his thoughts aloud in genuine surprise, "What's going on here?"
Shirou noticed their presence and dismissed his swords. He scratched his cheek and smiled wryly.
"Ha-haha... Actually..."
***
A few minutes ago.
Shirou attacked Ichigo with a heavy swing. He moved in fast and fluid motions as he swung down his twin swords towards his brother.
Clang!
Ichigo defended using a sword he pulled from the ground. But upon impact, the sword shattered like glass.
"It broke!" Ichigo yelled in surprise before rolling sideways to dodge Shirou's next attack.
"Here's another!"
Dodging, Ichigo grabbed another sword to block and the result was the same.
"Damn it! Again?!"
"A half-assed sword won't ever stand up against real swords. Come on, try another!" Shirou attacked him again and shattered the newly grabbed sword.
"What is happening?!" Ichigo yelled and gritted his teeth as he blocked more swings from his brother.
He quickly realized what Shirou meant by half-assed. Everytime Shirou attacked him, the blades would shatter, not to mention all of these blades felt weak.
Ichigo couldn't feel any connection to these swords that Urahara called Shikai.
Before leaving him on his own, the shady shopkeeper explained what Shikai was. It was a stage in the process to gain power as Shinigami.
It left Ichigo confused as hell, especially since most of his explanation was through weird comparisons that were supposed to make sense in Urahara's mind only.
However, now that Shirou told him that, he somehow understood. The swords he picked were just random things, half-assed trash. There was no meaning to using them. No reason to pick them at all.
They didn't fit Ichigo.
While dodging his brother's attack, Ichigo scanned every blade scattered on the ground.
"You can't just dodge the attack, Ichigo," Shirou said as he swung faster. "You need to attack me too! Even a half-assed sword can be better than the original!"
"Argh!" Ichigo gritted his teeth.
As if it was easy. The swords he randomly picked broke so easily!
Screaming out of frustration, Ichigo leaped forward, closing their distance. He grabbed another sword and charged at Shirou.
The twin wielder easily parried his reckless charge, causing the poor Shinigami to stumble awkwardly. Sparks flew when the two clashed again.
Many swords shattered, however, Shirou's Kanshou and Bakuya remained unchanged. It became clear which sword was stronger. The fake had somehow won.
After spending almost twenty seconds attacking relentlessly, Ichigo stopped.
"Alright," he took a deep breath and scanned every single blade on the ground.
There was a strange blade that attracted him.
Without warning, Shirou rushed toward him again. However, he was ready this time. Grabbing the sword that caught his attention, he slashed downward.
Surprisingly, instead of breaking into pieces like previous ones, the chosen weapon deflected both swords aside, creating sparks between steel as Shirou was thrown backwards due to momentum.
Ichigo inspected the new blade on his hand. The grip was firm, strong and solid. A large cleaver-like sword with a hilt covered in bandage. It was simpler than other swords, but it somehow felt right.
***Chapter End***
I changed a bit how Ichigo gain his Shikai and his training!
If the fight scene feels a bit rough, I admit I am a bit rusty about it. I wrote and read too many slice of life. I will try to improve it along the way, I promise!
Also, one thing I quite dislike about Bleach is the lack of conversation and everyday life in the canon. I wanted to have some build up so there might be some shift in POV or something like that to explain something behind the scene, bear with me!
So power stones? I am addicted to it cough