Though I was happy with the turn of events, I had to admit, I had no idea what I actually wanted.
Sort of took the kid's sword out of annoyance, not with any inherent plan in mind. I was probably going to find him in a couple days to give it back, chide him a little for being a little shit, but otherwise that was the extent of my thoughts.
"So, you seem to know that kid, huh?" I asked.
"Not personally." Yoruichi all but admitted.
"What's his deal?" I asked, leaving the door open as I walked back inside, an opening invitation for him to come in.
Watching a Cat close the door behind him was somewhat comical. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, you told me that humans couldn't be Shinigami in less words. So, how was a human-Shinigami running around? Someone wasn't being honest."
"No, I said that beyond some weird circumstances, it wasn't possible." Yoruichi seemed to be looking around, presumably for the sword.
"So the kid is one of those weird circumstances? How did that happen?"
"It's a secret."
"That's a shame." I shrugged. "You know what's also a secret? Where I hid the sword."
Yoruichi turned to look at me with an eye roll. "You met Rukia Kuchiki too, right?"
"Shortie that tried to flex her authority? Kind of cute?"
"Cute?" Yoruichi blinked.
"Eh." I shrugged again. She reminded me a little of Artoria, maybe I was projecting a tiny bit. "But is that her? She introduced herself as a Shinigami, but felt pretty human to me. Honestly, I couldn't sense nearly any Reiatsu from her beyond what I would in a human around these parts."
"This town almost always has a Shinigami assigned to it due to the high levels of Reishi and the abundance of humans with above average Reiryoku which attract Hollows who think they make juicy meals. Rukia was the latest one sent for her own stint in the human world."
"And how does this correlate to these 'unique' circumstances?"
"Rukia transferred her Shinigami powers to Ichigo." Yoruichi replied.
"Wait, that's a thing?"
"It's not well known beyond seated officers, but it's possible."
"Huh, that's an interesting thought then."
"Don't even consider it. Besides being very unlikely to succeed, it's highly illegal for Shinigami to give their powers to a human."
"So losing her powers made her a human? That doesn't sound right."
"No, she basically lost all of her Reiatsu temporarily and we gave her an untraceable Gigai for now." Yoruichi shook his head.
"What's a Gigai?" I was learning all kinds of new things today.
"You really don't' know anything, do you?" Yoruichi looked at me bemused.
"Depends, it could just be a different term for something I already know." I shrugged again.
"A Gigai is a fake body that Shinigami can put their souls into so they can interact with the human world normally." Yoruichi explained.
"Oh, yeah, I know what that is then." I nodded along at his explanation. Granted, it was slightly different, but Olga should have gotten something similar from Da Vinci.
Hell, Homunculus aren't that different in practice either.
"The thought of Rukia swinging this thing around is hilarious." I chuckled, taking out the Zanpakutō.
That tiny girl using a sword bigger than herself.
Yoruichi's eyes flashed as his head jerked back to me. "Where were you hiding that?"
"It was here the whole time." I smiled back at him.
"Right." Yoruichi said dryly. "But that's not Rukia's Zanpakutō. Hers is actually normal sized. That's just the power she transferred to Ichigo remembering vaguely how it's supposed to be and him not knowing how to compress it properly so he got that monstrosity instead."
"Is that why it feels kind of hollow?" I asked, giving it a swing.
"Probably." Yoruichi jumped off the table. "I'm not really an expert on this kind of stuff, you'd have to ask my friend. Speaking of, thanks for returning it, I'll be sure to give it back to the kid~" He went to snatch it from me, but I held it above his reach.
"Nice try." I snorted.
"Alright, what do you want?" Yoruichi huffed.
"Trade me for another Zanpakutō." I think that would be the best thing I could earn in this circumstance.
"Do you think I just have a bunch laying around?" Yoruichi snorted.
"I was hoping, yes."
"Well, I don't." He stated. "While they aren't super heavily regulated, it's hard to get one without an owner. Each Shinigami gets one when they go to the Academy. Or, rather, they get what's called an Asauchi. Basically, it's a blank Zanpakuto that the academy recruits are supposed to nurture."
"So what you're saying is that you need to go rob a school."
"What I'm saying is that you're a bit out of luck there. I couldn't get you one even if I wanted to." Yoruichi admitted.
"Can't you just like….sneak into Soul Society and acquire one?" I asked.
"Do you think I can just go there whenever I want? What makes you think I can go there at all?" Yoruichi eyed me.
"Just taking a shot in the dark. With how much you know, it's obvious you aren't a normal cat." I shrugged once more.
"….fine, you're right. I can technically go there if I wanted but it's not really a good idea to just pop in if I don't have to for an emergency."
Hmm, good to know.
"You're being pretty candid with me. I'm starting to wonder if you're not a different cat than the one I've met before."
"Kind of have me over a barrel here."
"Really? Because of this stupid thing?" I asked, swinging around the sword again. "Maybe I underestimated how important this thing is."
"It's not really important by itself, but…..Ichigo is going around purifying Hollows in Rukia's place right now. And Soul Society does monitor their members who go on extended assignments. The fact that the idiot is basically wrapped in Rukia's residual Reiatsu is masking what really happened. Not to mention she has a bit of status….if her signature just goes blank for a while, they might send someone to investigate."
"And then they find out that she broke some rule or whatever." I could guess where it goes from there. "You're making me feel bad about stealing this now."
"Good."
"But then I remembered that the kid killed my Hollow~"
"Just tell me what you want." Yoruichi grumbled.
"You said you can't get me a Zanpakutō – Asauchi. How about teaching me Kidō?" Learning how to harness my Reiryoku and use it for 'spellcasting' is one of the main concerns I have right now. I don't' know how long it would take me to do that on my own and I don't have an unlimited amount of time available.
I would prefer a Zanpakutō so I could start playing around with it, but I could settle on Kido.
"You want to learn Kidō?"
"I think I already mentioned about wanting to learn it. But yeah, I want to learn the Magic System those Shinigami use." I don't believe I ever kept it a secret about my interest. "I think it's a fair trade, yeah?"
"Do you even know anything about Kidō?" Yoruichi deadpanned. "I explained the basics to you last time, so of course not. Let me give you a brief overview, there are two – technically three, paths of Kido. But one has to do with Healing so it's its own separate thing when talking about Kidō generally. I told you before, you have Hadō and Bakudō as the two branches. One focuses on defense and the other offense if you want to keep it simple. And in each side, there are 99 levels or 99 spells that make up the more publicized list."
"Hold on, are you saying that there are only 99 spells for each branch?"
"It's complicated." Yoruichi jumped back onto the table. "I'll give you an example." He held up his front paw, pointing towards the door. "Hadō #1 Shō" I could feel his Reiatsu jerk and move in a systematic way. Before, I could barely even sense his presence, but now it was fairly obvious at his incantation. An invisible force shot out, slamming into the door, blowing it open and knocking it off its hinges.
"You're paying to fix that."
"Put it on my tab." He deadpanned. "But you get what I'm saying now?"
"Each spell is literally numbered, not just filling an empty spot. I assume the incantation is intrinsic to the casting otherwise the system would be stupid." I voiced my thoughts.
"Pretty much."
"Why?" I asked.
"Who knows. I don't really care about Kidō so I don't practice it that much. I guess I'm decent at it, but I haven't really cared to delve into it."
"I have so many questions."
"And I'm not a Kidō expert, so I probably don't have many answers. All I know is that there have been spells developed, but they either get sealed away or buried under bureaucratic nonsense. Shinigami are sticklers for tradition if nothing else."
"Seriously? They have that much of a stick up their ass about tradition that they would bury improvements to their Magic System?"
"Believe me, that isn't the most ridiculous thing you'll hear about them."
"That's fucking stupid." Even the Mage's Association would salivate at any beneficial boost to their crafts regardless of where it came from. Would they bitch and moan about the source if it went against their established ideals? Of course, but they would integrate it regardless if it meant forwarding their crafts.
"Welcome to Shinigami society."
"So, you're a Shinigami?" I asked.
"Caught onto that, did you?" Yoruichi grumbled, plopping his butt down on the table.
"Kind of hard to miss the obvious insinuations based on your explanations."
"It was a while ago, I was exiled. Just leave it at that."
"Alright, alright, I won't poke you about it." It was clearly a sore spot he didn't want to talk about, so I wouldn't. "So, do Kido spells get 'stronger' the further up the numbers they go?"
"More or less. It's not really cut and dry with some spells, where the effects are more tailored to particular instances, but you can consider it so. Not to mention that they made spells over 90 illegal."
"…..Soul Society is no fun."
"It really isn't." He agreed. "But it's as you said. The higher the spell, generally the more powerful it becomes."
"Well, I'm interested. Teach me Kido and I'll give the sword back, deal?"
"No." He said immediately.
"What do you mean 'no'?"
"I mean that I'm not really qualified to teach someone Kidō. And Teaching a Human….I don't even know if it's possible, I've never heard of a human learning Kidō before."
"Well, this has been a gigantic waste of time. Guess I'll start my experiments to see how durable a Zanpakutō is."
"Wait." Yoruichi jumped down again. "I said I'm not qualified, not that there isn't someone. I think he would be more interested too."
"I am intrigued." I pushed the sword into the ground, leaning on it. "So this mysterious person can teach me Kidō? Even the 'illegal' spells?" I couldn't help but roll my eyes as I said that.
So stupid.
"The First ten."
"What?"
"He'll teach you the first ten of both branches, nothing else. And whatever you pick up or don't is on you."
"That's some bullshit."
"Do you have any idea how long it would take to teach you the higher-level stuff? Years, and that's considering you can pick up the basics easily, which I'm not even sure is possible. So, you get to learn the first ten only."
I wasn't entirely against this deal, I was just seeing If I could squeeze out some more from him. "Why can't humans learn it?"
"I said I don't know, but if I had to guess, it's probably due to your body again. A physical body impedes the usage of the soul."
That makes sense, even if it was an annoying answer. However, I am a Magus. I have so many memories of working around the restrictions the world imposed on Magecraft. If I couldn't find a work around for this, then all of that was pointless.
"I accept the deal." I tossed him the sword and he grabbed it with his mouth quickly, practically disappearing to the door.
"I'll have someone sent over in a few days, maybe a week at the latest." Yoruichi said before immediately disappearing.
Well, alrighty then.
This turned out pretty well.
I didn't think he would go back on the deal, he came off as the sort that was too prideful to just lie to my face like that.
Well, let's find something to do in the meantime. Maybe I can find another Hollow before the night is up? Maybe I'll run into the kid again and steal his sword again. Would I be able to make another deal then?
That would be a fun conversation to have with Yoruichi when he comes to fetch the sword again.
[***]
If there's one thing I absolutely hate about Japan, it's the xenophobia.
Walking to the store to get some groceries, and people just assume. The look on their faces when I use perfect Japanese just makes it worse. Cause at that point, I'm not just some foreigner that'll leave at some point.
Of all the negative things I could say about my time in Kuoh and at Kuoh Academy, there were enough 'foreigners' there that the students didn't really act like that. In hindsight, it's obvious the reason – them being devils. But at the time a 'foreigner' was the president of the student council, so any of that nonsense was stomped out.
In a small town like this though? I stood out like a sore thumb and people just stared.
At Least my hair didn't look fake, so people didn't assume I dyed it like some kind of thug.
My idle thoughts carried me until I made it back 'home' for lack of a better word.
I had been staying at this abandoned construction site for a little while now, enough that I started buying some amenities.
Thankfully I ran into the little role-player and his friends again. Got the actual paperwork and identification I needed so I felt fine traveling around during the day without a cop thinking I'm an illegal alien.
Though, I paused when I approached the specific building I was staying inside.
There was a very large man apparently fixing the door that Yoruichi broke several days ago.
He seemed to notice my presence as I got closer.
Fully standing up, he was a big mother fucker. Dark skin, visible muscles, probably close to eight feet tall. He had hair done in cornrolls with a handlebar mustache and rectangular glasses. Though, the most amusing thing was the pink apron he was wearing over a white shirt and pants.
"Hello?" I greeted, tilting my head at his appearance.
"Greetings, you must be Wilhelm Schweinorg-dono." He bowed very politely, and the honorifics even made it through my Devil-based translations.
"I am, are you the one Yoruichi volunteered to teach me?" I asked, skipping right to the important matter.
"Indeed." He pushed up his glasses. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Tessai Tsukabishi, former Captain of the Shinigami Kido Corps."
"Oh?" I perked up at his introduction. So he must be very knowledgeable about Kidō, well, I always enjoy talking magical things with masters of their practices.
"As you said, I am Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg, Magus and potential future Kidō user if things work out." I smiled at his polite tone. If someone was polite to me, I was more than willing to reciprocate.
I gestured for him to head inside as I walked to the table and set down my groceries.
"Thank you for the door."
"It was no trouble, Schweinorg-dono. I am aware that Yoruichi can be…..destructive when the mood strikes."
I was impressed he pronounced my name so fluently and correctly.
"Feel free to call me Wilhelm." Japanese pleasantries aside. "You being here means I can assume that you are willing to teach me?"
"Correct." He nodded rather enthusiastically. "I admit, the thought of teaching a human Kido is not something I have considered before. To find someone willing and able to learn are things I thought improbable. I am rather curious to see if it is possible at all. And please, call me Tessai."
"Able, as in possessing the necessary Reiryoku I assume?"
"Correct, once again. It is not merely a matter of just having enough to see what should not be seen by mortal eyes. No, a human requires a few further steps in that direction for their Reiryoku to be abundant enough to cast even the simpler spells."
"And how do I measure in that regard?" I asked because I was curious how I rated after continuously absorbing the Reishi and converting it these past several days while waiting for him to arrive.
He pushed up his glasses and inspected me again. "You possess an admirable amount of Reiatsu for a human, Wilhelm-dono. I believe that Yoruichi undervalued how much you truly had."
Or it wasn't as much as the last time he was here.
Interesting.
"Why don't I get some tea started and we can talk shop?"
"I would appreciate the gesture, Wilhelm-dono. And if you are not against it, I am very curious as to what this 'Magus' identity means. If you would be willing, I would like to exchange knowledge."
"I don't mind trading in that regard." It would be no skin off my back to give him the barest idea of what a Magus is.
But, it was finally time to learn some Kidō and I was always excited to learn new 'Magics'.
[***]
Monday's chapter
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