Bleach: Stirring Up a Storm

A week had passed since the great battle at Sōkyoku Hill.

Ichigo’s injuries had already ceased to be an issue two days ago. Although Unohana had instructed him to rest and recuperate, staying in a place like Squad 11 meant that ”resting” was practically nonexistent.

This place boasted the most intense martial atmosphere in the Seireitei. A beautiful day began with morning practice, where the majority of the squad members would gather at the training grounds, and then...

*Crash!* At the familiar sound of shattering windows, the Squad 11 members present silently lowered their heads, secretly praying in their hearts that the next name called wouldn’t be theirs.

”Excellent, next!”

Madarame Ikkaku, acting as the instructor for the morning practice, stood quietly in the center of the grounds with a wooden sword in hand, waiting for the next challenger to appear. Unfortunately, no one responded to him.

”I said, what the hell are you guys doing!” Ikkaku’s gaze swept over the men keeping their heads down and playing dead. He scoffed disdainfully, ”Is there not a single one of you with the guts to step up? A bunch of trash!”

*This guy is so arrogant!* Ichigo’s eye twitched. *And that last sentence was actually directed at me, wasn’t it? It definitely was. That bald guy has already looked at me three times!*

”Let me do it!”

Ichigo hoisted a wooden sword onto his shoulder, deciding to take Ikkaku down a peg.

Seeing Ichigo stand up, Ikkaku felt a surge of joy. Even though he had been the first to encounter him, he still hadn’t had a proper fight with such a strong guy. Letting Ichigo go back just like that would be a real shame.

”You’ve suddenly gotten a lot braver, Ichigo. I won’t go easy on you just because you’re recovering from a serious injury.”

”Right back at you. I won’t go easy on you just because you’re the Third Seat!”

”Ha! I wonder who it was that took a cat hostage and ran away from me!” Ikkaku roared, brandishing his wooden sword and charging at Ichigo. Ichigo, not to be outdone, met his strike with his own blade. ”I told you, the cat was the one who refused to leave, you bastard!”

Neither of them released their Reiatsu. The two simply competed in Zanjutsu and were surprisingly evenly matched. In truth, there wasn’t much technique involved; it was mostly just simple hacking and slashing.

But even just this instantly brought the surrounding squad members back to life. Firstly, because they weren’t the ones facing Madarame, and secondly, because such an evenly matched and exciting duel was a rare sight in Squad 11. Simple hacking and slashing isn’t exciting? How could that be? One must realize that very few people in the squad could even block such basic strikes.

*This guy isn’t half bad!* Ikkaku and Ichigo secretly praised each other in their hearts. Just as they were preparing to swing their second strikes, the tightly shut doors were suddenly kicked open, and a slightly hoarse voice called out rather weakly, ”Morning...”

”Good morning, Captain!”

Zaraki didn’t even look at the squad members bowing in unison to greet him. His gaze was instantly drawn to the two people in the center of the grounds. To be precise, Madarame didn’t hold much appeal; the one who truly caught his attention was Ichigo.

”No way, you recovered this fast, Ichigo? Are your wounds already healed?”

”Pretty much. Thanks to you guys, I’m already fine,” Ichigo said, giving Zaraki a thumbs-up to show that he was completely okay.

Something seemed to sweep past his eyes. Accompanied by a dull thud, Ichigo realized that the wooden sword in his hand had somehow been reduced to a solitary hilt. Opposite him, Zaraki suddenly perked up.

”Is that so? That’s wonderful...”

He shifted into the battle-crazed demeanor Ichigo was most familiar with...

”In that case, I can fight you to my heart’s content without holding back!”

Things had indeed turned out this way. No matter what Zaraki was shouting from behind, the only thought in Ichigo’s mind right now was to run. Even though he had won once, he had absolutely no desire to fight Zaraki ever again.

He had barely leaped out the window when a hand silently grabbed his collar. Before he even felt anything, Ichigo was placed firmly on the ground.

”Where are you off to in such a hurry?”

”Mr... Mr. Chōzuka?” Kōe was clearly smiling brightly, but Ichigo still felt a faint, ominous premonition in his heart. Seeing Yoruichi standing behind him with a look of pity only made that premonition stronger.

”No need to be so polite. Actually, I should have come over to thank you personally much earlier. Not just because Urahara and I are good friends, but also...” Kōe chuckled softly. His tone hadn’t changed at all, yet Ichigo felt a chill run down his spine. ”Yoruichi is my fiancée. Thank you for taking such good care of her these past few days.”

*Taking care of her? When did I ever take care of Yoruichi? Strictly speaking, I only caused trouble, right? Like refusing to let go of her tail while I was asleep...*

”I don’t have much to offer, but I do have a bit of mastery in Kidō. I hope it can be of some help to you.”

Ichigo subconsciously backed away, but a chipped, long sword was suddenly placed atop his head, making him instinctively raise both hands, not daring to move another inch.

”This is my opponent, Chōzuka.”

”Mind counting me in? You know I’m very good at teaching the youth.”

*Is that what you call teaching?* Yoruichi helplessly covered her forehead. *Bullying the weak and ganging up on him to boot... Has this petty guy completely thrown away his shame?*

”That would be too boring,” Zaraki said.

”How about this? We split it into a first and second half?” Kōe proposed. Zaraki thought for a moment, the corners of his mouth curling up as he said, ”I’ll take the first half.”

”Deal.” Kōe snapped his fingers and patted Ichigo on the shoulder with his right hand. ”You’re going to become a strong warrior, Ichigo!”

”No!!!”

And so, co-hosted by two generations of Kenpachi, what could be called the most luxurious morning practice in the history of Squad 11 came to be. However, listening to the shrill and despairing screams coming from inside the doors, even Madarame Ikkaku subconsciously pulled his clothes a little tighter around himself.

*Could this be... the price of becoming strong?*

On the other side, Inoue and the others, who were also staying at the Squad 11 barracks, had no idea what kind of torment Ichigo was currently enduring. They were busy preparing for their departure from the Seireitei tomorrow.

”Since I’m not very good at dyeing the patterns for the chest, I had to use lace for the trim, and then I used the leftover fabric to make some small decorations for the hem. What do you think, Inoue?”

Inoue looked at the new clothes Ishida had made for her. She had never tried this kind of style before, but...

”It’s... it’s so cute!”

”R-Really?” Unlike his confident demeanor when introducing it just moments ago, Ishida now looked somewhat in disbelief. But overall, it was obvious that he was very happy to receive her approval.

”You really have a talent for making women’s clothing, Ishida.” Chad, standing to the side, affirmed Ishida’s skills. He then held up his own tank top—which Ishida had added some ’creative touches’ to—and inspected it. *At the very least, he has more talent for it than making men’s clothing...*

”And for Miss Kuchiki, I prepared the style of dress she always loved to wear.”

”It’s too cute.” Inoue looked at the dress in her hands, suddenly remembering that they hadn’t seen Rukia for the past few days. ”When are we going to see Kuchiki?”

”Ichigo said we’d all go together after morning practice ends,” Chad replied. After thinking for a moment, he muttered to himself, ”But judging by the time, it should have ended ages ago.”

”I’m... back...”