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Chapter 55: The Restless Voices III
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"Tease me, then flee? That does indeed sound like a bad thing," Akashi nodded, "As I thought, Captain Unohana is the best."
"Akashi!!!"
Unohana is indeed the best.
That quiet thought drifted through Akashi's mind as he gently patted the soil around the roots of the last flower in the row, a vibrant camellia.
He set the watering can down and stood, stretching slowly.
Steam curled from the rim of the teacups he'd prepared just before tending the garden.
Sunlight slid in gently through the half-open shoji screen, warming the space.
Unohana sat just across from him, robes pristine, her expression gentle as always.
Her private quarters were a haven of stillness, the silence rarely broken except for the chirping of small birds, or the occasional whisper of wind through the nearby sakura trees.
Somehow, despite the austere reputation of the Fourth Division, her space bloomed with life.
"You prepare tea better than some of my officers," she said, finally breaking the silence.
"I spent a lot of time learning the art," Akashi replied, sipping from his cup, "One doesn't get into the Fourth Captain's inner garden without at least offering good tea."
Unohana's lips curved, just faintly, "Just for me?"
"I'm kind of desperate for approval," Akashi shrugged, making a light joke.
He didn't do much of the learning, but he has the worker horrors to do the work and study for him.
He does not have the Hive Mind himself, but they can summarize their studies for him to take a look.
That's usually how it goes with all the research he hands to them; he only receives summaries and only takes a deeper look if the results interest him.
There, it wasn't troublesome at all. Unohana is worth it, truly the best.
Their routine had grown comfortable. Every other day, Akashi visited her quarters at dawn.
He tended the flowers under her guidance, set the tea, and then came what he was really there for: knowledge. He only seeks progress.
"You have questions," She said.
"As always," Akashi nodded, setting the cup aside, "Only a few, today. Zanjutsu, mostly."
Unohana rose without hesitation and crossed the room with the same grace she always carried.
She didn't look like a warrior, let alone the most dangerous one to ever walk the halls of Seireitei.
But Akashi had learned long ago that appearances were the least trustworthy thing in Soul Society.
"More lessons on how to kill... faster?" He said.
Unohana didn't blink. She drew a small blade from the table beside her: a wooden training sword.
"I taught you last time speed, but the speed of the weapon is only a single facet of the whole picture," She said, showing a stance.
"The first is footwork, which, when used with the second aspect: Iaijutsu; produces miracles."
She showed him the art of quick draw, slowly, her movements as smooth as water.
Akashi imitated it once. She adjusted his grip gently.
"Again."
"The art saved me countless times, and it's usually the opening I start by... Draw your blade in the blink of an eye, yet make it return to its sheath in another."
She continued to demonstrate, this time much faster. Her sword escaped its sheath, performing a slash with power accumulated not only by her arm, but also her footwork.
At the end of the slash, she twists her sword, using her fingers and the muscles of her hand to reverse her grip, then pushing down for the sword to seamlessly go back to its sheath.
It was perfect, graceful perfection.
Akashi followed suit, trying to mimic her. The sound of his blade cutting air resounded throughout the yard til Unohana stopped him.
"Your hands," She instructed, and he obeyed. She took his hands, then twisted and turned them for a while, seemingly observing how they reacted to extreme movements.
Then... Crack.
She dislocated both his wrists, much to his wonder, making him wince in pain.
It wasn't much, but it started becoming more and more uncomfortable as she dislocated his fingers one by one.
Akashi didn't stop her. He just frowned, his fingers feeling especially uncomfortable.
Then she started fixing his fingers and wrists before using Kaido, healing all the damage she had done.
Akashi didn't quite understand what she was doing. Would doing that improve his flexibility?
That doesn't sound realistic, considering the effect of the dislocation would be fixed with Kaido. And spirit bodies are exactly like living human bodies.
"Dislocation is something you may have to do in dangerous situations. Remember how I did it, and how I healed your joints. For example..." She explained.
But it only made perfect sense to him when she demonstrated it as she struck the air with the wooden sword.
He saw as the hand by which she held the sword dislocated itself, allowing her slash to extend far more than it should, unnaturally turning yet still holding onto the hilt tightly.
Then, amidst the strike, a green glow emerged from her hand, enveloping it and fixing the dislocation with Kaido alone.
"It doesn't have to be for attacks. It can be from getting hit, your joints may dislocate or even fracture... I can reconstruct them amidst heated battles and in seconds." She said.
Akashi now understood. It's harder to heal others because you can never really fully understand another's body more than your own.
That's why he was way more proficient in healing himself than others. He was used to healing himself, and every single time, he felt like he understood his composition just a little bit better.
Zanjutsu sessions are usually brief. He never pushed her for too long on swordplay.
He knew, somehow, that what she showed him was less than one percent of what she knew.
But even that one percent illuminated the dark corners of his style.
Their real training always came after, and the subject almost always comes to it.
As the sun climbed higher, Akashi shrugged off the upper layer of his robes, kneeling beside Unohana's medical table.
"Not bad," She said, as she examined the sealed gash across his ribs; already closing thanks to their earlier session. "Soon, you'll be able to reconstruct shattered nerves. Perhaps even bone."
"Will I?" Akashi murmured, watching his blood soak the cloth on the table, "I feel like my progress is getting stale?"
"It's natural. Let me show you again," She said, moving her hand over his wound. Her Kaidō glowed soft green, "The higher you reach, the harder it is to progress, and very few have gotten to your current level."
She continued to explain, "It takes a very long to progress, yet you got here in only a few years, so do not be discouraged. Train your spiritual control, and all that is left is a process of repetition."
The session continued with the same usual routine. Akashi injures then heals himself.
The best healer in Soul Society is by his side, instructing him, so this was the best opportunity to venture into dangerous territories.
The things Unohana was confident she could heal, he'd destroy and try to heal himself.
Only if he failed would she take action, so they went as far as organ regeneration, meaning he would've had to injure his own organs to try to regenerate them.
The pain was nothing. In fact, he was feeling himself getting more and more detached from pain; the Voices in his mind made sure of that.
The Voices have been restless. They whisper to him every second of every day.
The stronger Kurayami, the louder the voices. They were becoming too annoying, especially after the last meeting with Tokinada.
They were now constantly sending him warnings, as if cautious of the darkness within Tokinada...
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