"That was fast," said Unohana.
Yoruichi smiled. "I dropped everything as soon as I got the Hell Butterfly."
Next to her, Soi-Fon sighed. "That wasn't very prudent, Lady Yoruichi. There's still work to be done back at the Squad Two barracks."
Yoruichi shrugged. "It's just paperwork, Soi-Fon. It can wait."
Especially given how long I've been waiting for this day, she silently added, Itachi, it's about damn time you woke up!
"So, how's he doing?" she asked.
"Physically, quite well," Unohana replied, "I'd still like to observe him for a little while just to be on the safe side, though."
Yoruichi nodded. "That sounds prudent. How about mentally? I mean, I can't imagine all those memories from the other half of his soul rushing back into him would be easy to handle."
Unohana shook her head. "No, it would not. That being said, I think he'll be all right. However… he may need a little time."
There was something in her voice that made Yoruichi nervous. "What's wrong?"
Unohana sighed, and Yoruichi was surprised to see a somber look in her eyes. "I cannot say for sure since Itachi has not seen fit to enlighten me, but… it seems like the portion of his soul that was revived went through a great deal. Actually, that may not be the whole picture; from what little I can tell, it would seem that Itachi had been through some very trying ordeals before his initial arrival in the Soul Society. Whatever happened after the soul fracture was tied to what transpired in his past life, and it impacted him profoundly. When he woke up and began to reconcile the memories… he wept, Yoruichi."
Her eyes widened; she hadn't seen that coming. "Are you serious? What the hell did he go through?"
"I don't know," the Squad Four Captain replied, "However, they were not tears of sorrow, of that I am certain. He told me that he was able to right a past wrong, to make what seems to be a confession of sorts, but he did not elaborate further. It must've been something monumentally important to him, though. I could sense a great air of relief about him, as if a truly heavy burden had finally been lifted from his shoulders."
Yoruichi nodded. "I see. Under those circumstances, would it be better if we came back another time?"
Unohana smiled. "I think he's well enough for a visitor or two today. Just be mindful of all that's transpired. It would be best not to speak of his memories unless he brings them up."
"Understood," said Yoruichi.
"What about… you know, our Fourteenth Seat?" said Soi-Fon, "Lady Yoruichi, shouldn't we tell Itachi about him? I mean, I told him before the exams that I'd explain after he graduated from the Academy, but with all of this…"
Unohana raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"
Yoruichi shook her head. "It's nothing to worry about. We won't do it tonight; I prefer your original idea of waiting for Itachi to graduate, Soi-Fon. There's no need to bring it up on the off-chance that it's tied to the memories he's trying to sort out. It could make things harder for him. Better to hold off and be safe for now."
Soi-Fon nodded. "Very well, Lady Yoruichi."
"If you're ready, please, follow me," said Unohana.
She led them down the hall, and it only took a few moments for them to arrive at Itachi's room. Unohana opened the door as quietly as she could and peeked in, and Yoruichi saw her smile a second later.
"Ah, glad to see you're looking well," she said, "Itachi, would you be up for a pair of guests? One of them in particular is quite keen on seeing you today."
"Sure," Yoruichi heard him reply, "Please, send them in."
Unohana nodded and fully opened the door, standing aside so Yoruichi and Soi-Fon could pass. "Please, try not to make too much noise. I don't have too many patients to look after right now, but there are still people who need rest around here."
Yoruichi nodded. "We'll keep things low-key. Thanks again, Unohana."
"Anytime," her fellow Captain replied, "I'll be in my office if you need anything."
Yoruichi and her bodyguard stepped inside. She smiled when she saw that Itachi was sitting upright in bed and looking little worse for the wear. A book was open in his lap, although he closed it when he saw Yoruichi and Soi-Fon enter the room.
"Hey, Itachi!" she said as she approached him, "How're you feeling?"
Itachi nodded. "Physically, pretty well. Mentally, I suppose you could say I'm still finding my feet."
"I bet," Yoruichi replied, "What you went through is pretty rare around here."
"So I've heard," he said, "It's good to see you again."
"Hello, Itachi," said Soi-Fon, giving him a polite nod, "It's been quite some time. Do you remember me?"
"Of course," he said, "It's nice to see you as well, Miss Soi-Fon."
Yoruichi leaned forward. "Hey… isn't that Jiraiya's book?"
Itachi nodded. "Yes. Have you read it?"
Soi-Fon scowled. "Do you seriously think that Lady Yoruichi would read the garbage peddled by that oaf?"
Yoruichi laughed. "Soi-Fon, calm down! I actually have, and I think it's a fun read! You should try it some time, Soi-Fon."
Her bodyguard's face turned a deep shade of red, and her eyes widened as well. "Lady Yoruichi! You mean… you've read that… that…"
"It sounds like Jiraiya's reputation hasn't changed a bit," said Itachi with a small smirk, "It's nice to see that some things remain consistent no matter how much time passes."
Yoruichi nodded. "Yeah. So, what do you think? Do you like it so far?"
"Yes," Itachi replied, "which is rather surprising. I never considered this genre to be my thing, so to speak. Still, it's been… enjoyable, so far."
She saw Soi-Fon's eyes widen again when she saw the sword laying by Itachi's bed. "Hold on… is that…"
Yoruichi nodded and smiled, pleased that her bodyguard had caught on so quickly. "You got it; that's Itachi's awakened Zanpakutō!"
Soi-Fon looked back and forth between Itachi and the sword. "But… but he's still in the Academy… he's been unconscious for months… how is it even possible for him to have already awakened his Zanpakutō?"
"To be honest, I'm still not entirely sure about that myself," Itachi admitted, "It would seem that she awakened in response to my condition; I did nothing consciously to bring this about. Besides, she has only awakened; I do not know her name."
Yoruichi smirked. "So it's a girl, eh? Nice! It's the same for me and Soi-Fon."
Soi-Fon blushed. "Lady Yoruichi… you shouldn't go around giving people information like that! It's… personal."
Yoruichi shrugged. "I don't think it's that big of a deal. Whether a Zanpakutō is male or female is trivial in the end. It's the nature of the Zanpakutō and its bond with its wielder that matters most."
Soi-Fon nodded. "Very well, Lady Yoruichi."
"So," said Yoruichi, "what's she like?"
Itachi closed his eyes for a moment before answering. "Harsh, brutal, intelligent… and very powerful. I learned more about the ways of the sword from her than anything my Zanjutsu teacher had been able to instruct the class in before I passed out."
Yoruichi nodded. "I saw the wounds she left on you. You're lucky Unohana was able to take care of those."
Itachi's eyes widened slightly as he looked himself over. "Where…"
Yoruichi shook her head. "Don't bother; like I said, Unohana already took care of it."
"Any wounds that you suffer while in your inner world are reflected on your body in the real world," said Soi-Fon, "That's why it's important to be cautious whenever you interact with the spirit of your Zanpakutō."
Itachi nodded. "Duly noted."
"Now that you've managed to open your inner world, I recommend making time to visit once a day, even if it's just for a short while," said Yoruichi, "You've already learned about Jinzen, right?"
"Yes," said Itachi, "It was one of the first lessons in our Zanjutsu classes. Our instructor told us to practice it every day even though we had yet to awaken our individual Zanpakutō."
Soi-Fon nodded. "There was good reason for that. It's important for you to become accustomed to that form of meditation as quickly as possible. Jinzen will be the key to entering your inner world and communing with the spirit of your Zanpakutō."
Yoruichi smiled. "As your training progresses and your rapport with your Zanpakutō grows, she'll be able to grant you great power. However, bear in mind that this process is a two-way street. Do not simply try to draw power from your sword and leave it at that. We all have the ability to reverse the process and lend power to our Zanpakutō. It's this mutual growth that's the true key to a Soul Reaper's strength."
"I'll remember that," Itachi replied.
She saw him look out the window, his brow furrowed in thought. "Will I really be able to continue my studies after Unohana releases me? I may have learned a lot in the time I spent in my inner world, but I'm not a fool; I know that the courses at the Academy continued while I was out. The first semester must already be over by now. I'm pretty far behind."
"That's true," said Soi-Fon grimly, "Awakening your Zanpakutō so early is impressive, but there's far more to becoming a Soul Reaper than just that, which is what the Academy's meant to teach. You were in the advanced track, too, which means that you've got even more work to make up than the average student would under these circumstances."
Yoruichi nodded. "Normally, given the situation, the Academy would have you start over. You wouldn't have to retake the entrance exams, but with how much time has passed I know the head honchos would still have you go through the rest of the curriculum. That's a waste of time, though; I know you can catch up. You just need a little boost, and I think I've got a way to give that to you."
Itachi raised an eyebrow. "What do you have in mind?"
"I'll get back to you on that," Yoruichi replied, "I need to run it by the Head Captain first; he has ultimate authority over the Academy, which means he can overrule the top faculty that would normally have you go all the way back to square one. Normally he's not the type to dish out favors like this, but with your skills I think I can talk him into making an exception. I'll just need a little help from Unohana."
"With all due respect, Lady Yoruichi," said Soi-Fon nervously, "are you sure about this? I mean… this is the Head Captain you're talking about, after all. His views on rules and tradition are not quite as flexible as yours."
Yoruichi smiled. "Don't worry about it, Soi-Fon. Just leave everything to me."
Her bodyguard bowed. "Very well, Lady Yoruichi. Forgive me for questioning you."
Yoruichi rolled her eyes and smirked. "Oh, relax. How many times to I have to tell you that it's okay to do that? I think you need to spend some time with Kisuke; he'll find a way to get you to loosen up!"
Soi-Fon's face paled. "No! I-I mean… I don't think that's necessary, Lady Yoruichi."
Yoruichi chuckled. "I'll be the judge of that."
"What should I do?" asked Itachi.
Yoruichi smiled and gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Rest up and listen to Unohana. You'll need to be strong and sharp to pull this off. I'll come by again soon. Catch you later, Itachi!"
….
The next day…
"Good to see you awake," said Jiraiya with a smile as he pulled up a chair next to Itachi's bed, "You had us all worried for a while there!"
Itachi nodded. "Thanks for coming by. How were you able to find your way to the Squad Four barracks? The Seireitei may not be as big as the Rukon District, but the layout's still quite the labyrinth for uninitiated like us."
"Unohana sent her Lieutenant to escort me," he replied, "He seems like an okay guy, although I would've preferred to be accompanied by the lovely Captain herself!"
Itachi shook his head in amusement. "Why am I not surprised?"
The afternoon sun shone through the open window, and there was a pleasantly cool breeze filtering in as well. He was still confined to bed rest per Unohana's orders, but under the circumstances Itachi didn't mind. He still had Jiraiya's book to read, after all, not to mention it gave him time to continue sorting through all the memories that had been jammed into his head since the soul fracture had been healed. His classmate visiting like this was a surprise, but definitely a welcome one.
Jiraiya nodded at Itachi's Zanpakutō. "So, what's that about? That's definitely different from the Asauchi they gave us when we all first started at the Academy."
"Apparently that's my awakened Zanpakutō," said Itachi, "The time I spent unconscious here wound up being surprisingly productive."
Jiraiya smirked. "I see. So, what was your inner world like?"
Itachi closed his eyes for a moment before replying. "Alien, yet familiar… it's not an easy thing to put into words."
"I bet," said Jiraiya, "What about the spirit of your sword? Did you meet him?"
"I met her, yes," Itachi corrected him, "She was… interesting."
Jiraiya grinned. "So it's a woman, eh? Is she a real babe? Come on, give me the details!"
Itachi shook his head. "That's none of your business. Besides, I have a feeling that if she caught you leering at her she'd burn you alive."
Jiraiya chuckled. "Oh, so she's a feisty one, huh? I could go for that!"
Itachi rolled his eyes. "What kind of woman don't you go for?"
Jiraiya shrugged. "Hey, what can I say? There's enough of old Jiraiya here to share with all the ladies!"
"I'm sure they all appreciate that," Itachi quipped dryly, "Your generosity is legendary."
"Not just my generosity," said Jiraiya, nodding at the book on Itachi's bedside table, "It looks like even in the afterlife I've still got my writing talent. That thing's been quite the hit since it got published. What did you think of the final draft?"
"I'm still reading it," Itachi replied, "Still, I like what I see so far. I can certainly understand it being popular."
Jiraiya smiled. "Thanks. I've actually already started working on the next volume. It feels good to have a new series going again. It really makes it feel like all this is a fresh start. When you look at it that way, this afterlife really isn't so bad."
Itachi nodded. "Yes… I suppose you have a point there."
He looked at Jiraiya for a moment, and the memories that had come surging forward upon the mending of the soul fracture flew through his mind. He knew that the sage needed to know just what he had seen, but figuring out how to put it into words was easier said than done.
Jiraiya immediately caught that something was up; Itachi should've expected no less from a man as perceptive as him. "What's going on? Did something else happen while you were out?"
Itachi closed his eyes for a moment to give himself some room to gather his thoughts. "What did they tell you about my… condition?"
Jiraiya leaned forward. "Not much, to be honest. Unohana said something about a 'soul fracture', but she didn't exactly go into detail on it. What the hell happened to you, Itachi?"
"It would seem that our old world was not quite finished with me," said Itachi, "I was revived… by Kabuto Yakushi."
Jiraiya's eyes widened. "Kabuto? Wait a minute... was Orochimaru pulling his strings?"
Itachi shook his head. "From what I could tell, he seemed to be acting independently of him. The situation was… complicated."
He then went into detail regarding how he and other members of the Akatsuki had been revived to fight on behalf of Tobi, the man who Itachi had initially believed to be Madara Uchiha, in the Fourth Shinobi World War. He told the Legendary Sannin about how he had been paired up with Pain, who had in the past been none other than one of Jiraiya's old students, Nagato, and how they had wound up confronting both Naruto and Killer B, the man who was the vessel for the Eight-Tailed Beast. To say that Jiraiya was taken aback by all this would be a considerable understatement; the man's jaw had nearly hit the floor when Itachi had relayed it all to him. As Itachi continued his tale, however, he saw the shock in the veteran ninja's eyes be replaced with something else when it came to the actions of his last student; pride.
When it was finally over there was a long moment of silence. Jiraiya closed his eyes, and to Itachi it appeared that the man was meditating over everything that Itachi had told him. Itachi couldn't blame him; he'd already had to deal with his reunited memories for a full day, and he was still having trouble processing it all.
After a while, Jiraiya opened his eyes again, and there was a smile on his face. "Well, now… it sounds like Naruto's really grown."
Itachi nodded and allowed himself a small smile in return. "Your last student is really something else. This Fourth Shinobi World War… I have no doubt that how it all ends will ultimately come down to Naruto. Him and Sasuke both still have a hard road ahead, but I believe they'll make it through. The future is in their hands, now. We played our parts and left the stage; it's up to them to carry things forward from here."
"Yeah," said Jiraiya, "It's time to let the next generation pick up the torch. From what you've told me, I think they'll do just fine."
There was a contented silence as the two men took a moment to reflect on the sense of relief they both felt. They had both done all they could to prepare the way for those who had come after them, each in their own fashion. It was now up to their successors to finish what they had started and usher the ninja world through the night and into a new dawn.
"I wouldn't mind going back sometime," said Itachi after a moment, "As a Soul Reaper, I mean. It would be nice to see what sort of new world they build out of what we left behind."
Jiraiya nodded. "It would. I suppose we'll just have to wait and see if either of us get assigned to head out that way. You never know where the future will take you, after all."
Itachi couldn't help but chuckle. "Those might be the wisest words I've ever heard you say."
Jiraiya gave a hearty laugh. "You might be right about that!"
How strange it was for him to share a laugh with the sage that had once considered him an enemy… and yet, it also felt perfectly natural. When he was alive, he would never have imagined that the future would take the strange twists and turns that his afterlife had, but here he was. He still could not comprehend why he had been taken to the Soul Society rather than Hell when he had died, but he was most thankful that he had gotten the chance to be reborn into such a unique and wondrous place.
And his afterlife was still quite young.
"So," said Jiraiya after a moment, "what's next for you? I know you're gonna want to hit the ground running, and I bet you could catch up given the chance, but the teachers… well, with the way I've heard them talking over the past few months, it sounds like they don't share my confidence. From what they've been mumbling, it sounds like the best-case scenario in their eyes is you starting pretty much from scratch."
"Don't be so sure," said Itachi, his eyes narrowing, "I've got two backers that might just be able to help me turn the tables on our instructors."
Jiraiya smiled. "You mean Unohana and Yoruichi? What are you planning on talking them into?"
"That's the thing," Itachi replied, "I haven't talked them into anything; they're acting all on their own. In fact, if I'm right, they should be making a case for me as we speak."