Sixth Sense

"Indeed it would. That fight today was eye opening. I never thought I would have to worry about protecting someone else. My strength came from my bloodlust. I used to be a man no different than Captain Zaraki. I just wanted to be stronger, faster, better than my sister at everything. But spending time being in charge of the Maggot's Nest gave me time to quell my mind and focus on spiritual growth. That has lead me on the path I walk now, and this is my next step. Taking my strength and using it not only to protect....but to teach."Senji told them "And you two are in need of being taught...immediately. You both possess zanpaktou with strong personalities. Whether your body is ready to manifest their powers or not, they aren't going to wait for you to catch up."he said "Remember, your zanpaktou is attuned to your soul. The longer you spend together the more your souls will resonate, but any hiccups in your soul will also cause uneasy in your zanpaktou. The best way to master your sword is to defeat it in combat and learning your swords true name. Only then can you truly realize your potential."

Shota looked at her shoulder at the crow and reached up to rub a finger under his chin and he reciprocated in rubbing his head against. She knew that though they trusted each other, she was weak in comparison to Jeteimaru. Because she was weak, he had to compensate for that weakness or put himself in harms way for her. She turn back to Senjin, ”lets do it.”

Koharu would shift that much more, but at the same time she couldn't remain as she was as she looked at them seeing as Shota was sure on this risk. "Alright....I suppose a third attempt for me will be alright..." she said out loud and she bit her lip wondering...if her captain knew her past.

Senji nodded as Shota praising her for her boldness before he paused in mid step as he turned to look at Koharu "Third.... does that mean....no."he said as he looked at her closely "You were one of them...one of Mayuri Kurotsuchi's experiments in forcing a bankai to manifest.....that's the research that got him locked up in the Maggots Nest for over a century...I thought everyone he had experimented on had died....I was there under my Sister's Division when Mayuri was apprehend and sentenced to the Maggots Nest......it is no wonder why your bankai is so unstable right now. It's a forced manifestation much like the one we are about to undergo, but much more crude and unsafe.....Koharu....why didnt you say something before?"

Shota looked between the two of them in confusion. “What are you talkin about? Katharine isn’t....some science experiment....right Koharu?”

Koharu sat there as she would look over at Senji as he soon brought up Kurotsuchi and she tensed up that much more, her hands shaking and she closed her eyes before speaking "because I don't want to remember it!" she wanted to forget everything that was her past. "I was a child when He grabbed me...." she gripped har arms tightly before she slowly raised her hand and gripped the collar of her uniform and pulled it down revealing the tag that the man liked to put on his 'tests'. "Its why I wanted to just stay...a low member...out of his sight...I didnt...didn't want anyone to know or he to find out....I was still alive..."

"I see. That makes so much more sense now."Senji said shaking his head "In seeing how he treats his Lieutenant it's no wonder you want to stay clear away from him" he said before turning to Shota "About 110 years ago the current Captain of the 12th Division and Chief Scientist of the Shinigami Research and Development Institute was a mad scientist fugitive named Mayuri Kurotsuchi. He had been abducting souls throughout the Rukon district to use in his experiments as live test subjects. Eventually the Gotei 13 caught him and he was imprisoned in the Maggots nest, a secret underground prison that is usually run by my family's Stealth Forces. It just so happens that a century ago, Kisuke Urahara was in charge of the Maggots Nest when he was 3rd seat in my sister's Division. When he was promoted to Captain of the 12th Squad he decided to free Kurotsuchi and make him his 3rd seat since he seemed to appreciate his.....scientific mind. When I took control of the Maggots Nest after Urahara's promotion I was glad to see him gone. The man is a basket case. The fact that he actually managed to pass a Captain's Proficiency test still baffles me to this day...with his scentifically modified zanpaktou."he said in disgust "He is twisted down to his very essence."

”if his crimes were so bad, how is this guy allowed to be free? Let alone in such a position of some power?”

Koharu closed her eyes as she pulled her shirt back into place hiding the mark that she was more or less ashamed to have, she then just listened as he explained just what sort of monster Kurotosuchi was...a true living nightmare as far as Koharu was concerned. "Because power is still power Shota..." she said softly taking a deep breath, "he's dangerous....but so long as he does his 'job' as captain and keeps his experiments...under-wraps or at least not as vile as before he can do what he wants....the captains are chosen for their abilities and the skills they bring....they put him in the perfect spot for his skills..."

She pushed herself up from the bed as she finished speaking taking a deep breath as she looked towards Senji. "I'm sure you want to start training right away....but.....may I ask just for a few hours alone....I....want to make sure I'm ready for this again...."

"Unfortunately she's right. The Shinigami Research Institute has been a huge boon for the Soul Society. They create all kinds of devices from communication systems to the gigai we use when we go into the Real World. After Urahara left Kurotsuchi picked up all of his work and took it on as his own....even when he goes too far."Senji said before noticing the state Koharu was in and nodding his head "Of course. Take all the time you need to regain your composure. I'll take Shota and start her training and you can meet us at the training ground under Sokyoku Hill like usual."he told her as he put his hand on her shoulder "I'm sorry about the things he did to you, but just know that with your strength now he can never do those things again."he said "And I'll protect you if he ever tries." he told her before turning to Shota "Alright, let's go. I'm going to flash step there so...try to keep up"he said as he suddenly vanished as he turned to leave

Shota said nothing and nodded before he vanished. She stepped forward in a strop at first, her pace quick but nothing that could keep up with him. Her mind was elsewhere.....her emotions boiling as she thought of Koharu and what she discovered. She let her hands balk into costs till her knuckles were as white as her hair. She was so angry that she didn't even realize that her shadow was shrinking and pooling at her feet. It began to bubble and warp at her feet.
”shota....you must calm yourself.” jeteimaru spoke softly.
”no, I don't. I'm fine.” she Snapped.
”you cannot let your emotions overtake you. Your anger will cause the darkness to overtake you.”
”what, is that a weakness to now, to be angry?!” she snapped at him again.
”shota..listen.....”
”no! I do t need to listen Jeteimaru! I'm allowed to be angry. Right now I WANT to be angry! This place lets some psyco have a command here for what? So they have some kind on convenience? At the expense of Koharu and others like her?! That's sick!”
She said and stopped in her walk to the training ground, the black mass now up to her knees. ”what I need to do is to become stronger, stop these allows and get out of here for good.” she said and made to take another step forward but couldn't move her foot. ”what?”
She looked down and finally noticed the mass of inky blackness surrounding her. Upon noticing it, she began to sink into it. ”ah! What! Jeteimaru, stop this!”
” ”i cannot. For I am not the one doing this. You are.”
”but...I'm not doing anything!” she said as she struggled to get out of the mass, she was now waist deep and gripping at the cobbled street.
She tried to cry out for help, but was completely sucked in. The mass vanished from the street with no sign of her having been there at all.
The next thing hay she knew, She was in the training grounds. She looked around and and saw no attackers or even Senji yet, but she saw her shadow was back to normal and the blackbeas was gone. ”h....wha....how?” she asked herself before turning to see senji arrive after her and looked at her in shock and confusion

Koharu would nod her head as she looked at Senji "thank you captain..." she whispered softly and would watch as the two left. The look on Shota's face told her the girl didn't like how things where done here....but this was not the mortal realm this was a whole new place entirely and operated under different means. Koharu would shake her head to clear her thoughts before she would leave to head back to her own quarters there she could calm down...no one would bother her.

As she walked she was lost in her own world, unaware of those around her as her face half hidden by her hair seemed lost but as she stepped into an intersection she froze. She could sense something no....someone and then heard him...the sick sound of laughter as she slowly turned her eyes growing wider as the man of her nightmares....locked eyes with her.

Senji blinked as he arrived at the training ground to find Shota suddenly appearing there before him as he raised an eyebrow "The look on your face tells me you don't understand how you ended up here before me either?"he stated as he walked up to her "What happened in the moments after I left?"

"Well, well, well, what a pleasant surprise"came the voice to Captain Kurotsuchi as he cocked his head to the side curiously as he locked eyes with Koharu "It's always such a nice treat to see some of my old handiwork still up and running. What was it now, I believe your label was #1129 if my memory serves. One of my few successful test subjects to pass phase one...but I was certain that phase two killed everyone before my lab was discovered....the fact that you are standing here alive is almost a scientific miracle....almost."he said turning to look behind him "Nemu, take note that #1129 seems to be functioning well outside my original hypothesis."he stated to his Lieutenant/Daughter/Experiment behind him as she softly nodded "Yes, Captain, noted."

”i....i....i got angry.....my shadow swallowed me.....dropped me out here.” she said. She swallowed hard on the lump in her throat. But she felt like there was something missing about the entire thing. Like she was forgetting something.

Koharu was standing there shacking, every horrible moment with this man flashing before her...the screams of his 'subjects' echoing in her ears and she was unable to turn away. Even as he called out her number she could almost feel him burning that into her skin, well not him directly but her hand slowly slid up to grip where it was on her neck. As he brought up his second testing she dug her nails into her neck more, "I wanted to die that day...." her voice echoed trembling as she looked at him. "I wanted that to be the last time I ever saw you....or heard your voice" the more she talked the darker her energy seemed to grow around her, "but....all it did was what you wanted....but you never got to see it...." soon Orichi would appear beside her the white fox hissing towards him the longer she stood there facing her living nightmare....the more her energy grew around her pulsating almost ready to unleash.

Orichi would look towards her some though growling towards the man that had harmed her spoke softly "Koharu....you need to calm down....the captain won't approve if you unlock it here....you still havn't mastered the bankai..."

Senji had a concerned look on his face as he approached Shota "Are you sure that's all that happened? I don't quite follow that story...you were angry and your shadow dropped you off here? Are you sure you didn't use up too much energy trying to beat me here? Perhaps you should lie down for a while and catch your breath"he said motioning for her to sit

Captain Kurotsuchi tilted his head 90 degrees the other direction looking at her "Now, now let's not be hasty. As you well know, Lieutenant, it is illegal to attack any member of the Gotei 13 and especially a Captain."he said matter of factly with his finger pointed up and his eyes closed before they snapped open facing her "However"he started menacingly "If you were to attack me, then I would be forced to defend myself....in which case anything that happened to you afterwards would be no fault of my own....even if you were to say....turn up missing?"he said cracking a wide grin "Those are odds I rather like if I do say so myself. So please if you feel compelled to act upon that fury built up inside you, be my guest. I'm sure your Captain wont mind if you're gone for a couple of days or weeks or so"

”i....mean....i wanted to get this whole thing over with...the training and get stronger.....this being where we train maybe it was just a passing thought? She said, unconvinced as she sat down as he instructed.

Everything about this man drove her to almost the brink of insanity, she wasn't sure how long it took her before she stopped waking up in the middle of the night screaming....his laughter that sent chills down her spine....or the way he looked at her as if he owned her very soul. Her energy continued to build making the stones crack slightly beneath her feet and even crack the walls, she wanted nothing more than to attack him but as he stood there taunting her almost begging her the energy seemed to vanish. Her eyes cold almost dead looking even as she recalled her captains words that he'd never allow her to be hurt again, her hair falling into her face and she would soon begin to step forward Orichi moving slowly along side her and as she soon was before him she spoke "I will never.....allow you to touch me again.....others may not know what a true monster you are....but the moment you step out of line I will gladly take your head...."

Though her eyes seemed dead he knew that look, it happened right before she managed to unlock her power the first time....when he tossed her into that void hoping for something it seemed his test had worked...before she looked away from him and kept moving. Her heart throbbing in her chest, she felt sick as she rounded the corner and Orichi spoke "that wasn't a smart thing to do Koharu....you know what he does to you..." "Shut up...." she whispered as she kept moving, "Captain gave me his word...I must keep mine that....I'll never lose control again....we both know...I was a test to be the perfect weapon...."

Captain Kurotsuchi looked at the experiment before him with an inquisitive look in his eye as she said her peace before quickly moving away as he grinned to himself "Nemu, finish taking those notes and let's go."he snapped "I'll be paying special attention to Captain Shihouin and his little pets. A ryoko and defective weapon that can both achieve Bankai. My, my the Seireitei just got much more interesting again."he commented as they began walking off again "Much more interesting indeed"

"I see"Senji said with concern still showing on his face. He was no fool, for here to have appeared here before him meant that she had tapped into a previously unknown power, whether that was a good or bad thing "It seems to me as though your emotional state has a direct influence on Jeiteimaru and your zanpaktou's abilities."he commented "Seeing this now, it's important that we focus on strengthening the mind as well as the body."

She gave a slight nod as she rested her zanpakto in her lap. She sighed and took a deep and calming breath. She closed her eyes and began to clear her mind and silently waited for instruction

Senji frowned slightly before he also sat down before her crossing his legs "Breath deeply and focus your energy directly into your zanpaktou in order to manifest your spirit. It seems you and Jeiteimaru have some words to exchange with one another"he stated as he focused on his own blade

She started to focus on her breathing and then moved her focus in to Jeteimaru. “How do I know if I’m doing this right?@ she asked with out opening her eyes.

"Well for starters you'll see the image of your zanpaktou appear in your mind. After that he will begin to appear in the physical world as his spirit is filled with your energy. It's easier to summon them in this training space than out in the real world as well so dont be afraid to really pour your energy into him" Senji instructed her

She sighed and took a few Moore deep breaths before saw saw her zanpakto in the center of the dark space that she was surrounded in. She Approached it and the closer she got, the more she saw of jeteimarus form. His cloak blending into the darkness and he held the sword in his hand.

"That's it"came Senji's voice through the darkness "Focus on him, you are almost there in bringing him about in this world."he commented though he himself stood up on guard. The last time her spirit formed and she lost control it decided to attack her and he could not allow that to happen once again