(Let's have a deal. 2 chapters everyday and 5 extra chapters at the end of the week if we reach top 10!
If we failed, idk. But maybe, if we enter top 50 I can drop some extra chapters along the way.)
Enjoy
***
"Oh, no. I don't need any help at all." She smirked triumphantly after succeeding in getting his attention.
"... Alright then, spit it out." Shirou deadpanned.
"What? I was just coughing because of the weather. No other reason." She rolled her eyes, obviously lying.
'Sigh, this lady will be the death of me one day,' Shirou complained inwardly, sighing tiredly because he had done this before. The difference was, Tohsaka was more direct than this girl when she needed something.
"Do you need something from me or not? If you don't, I will leave."
Rukia was quite persistent, but it was useless. He didn't really have much to say to her unless she brought up topics herself. He decided to continue walking without uttering another word.
Rukia sighed loudly before catching up with him once again. She gazed upwardly at him before asking, "Where are you going now?"
"To Hat and Clogs'."
"Oh..."
She hummed for a moment while thinking about something deeply before she suddenly said something absurd to the redhead boy.
"If that's the case... I am going too."
"Do as you please."
Not that she would stop following him if he said no.
Feeling triumph for winning their small argument, she proudly trotted behind Shirou with a smug smile.
Finally they reached Urahara Shoten which was surprisingly empty aside from Ururu and Jinta sweeping the floor and Tessai resting his back against the counter inside of the store.
Upon seeing the two approaching figures, the children shouted at him.
"Ah, Shirou! Let's play baseball!" Jinta jumped excitedly with joy. "I can hit that ball hard today for sure!"
Ururu meanwhile eyed him and Rukia warily. She hid behind Jinta and greeted him, "... Welcome, S-Shirou... san."
"Hello kids. Where is your boss?" Shirou asked.
"What, you're not going to play baseball with me again?" Jinta groaned unhappily after being ignored twice today by his favorite opponent. "Is that woman your girlfriend or something, Shirou?"
Rukia laughed loudly at Jinta's sudden statement.
"Me? His girlfriend? Boy, if we're counting age, I am 10 times older than him. Don't lump me with someone like him who barely graduated from his diaper." She bragged confidently.
"So you're an old lady?" Ururu asked innocently, causing Rukia to freeze before erupting.
"You brat!"
"Waah, the old lady is angry. Run, Ururu!"
"U-Un, running!"
Shirou scratched his cheek and looked away, chuckling awkwardly.
Jinta and Ururu ran around the store while laughing merrily as they tried to escape from Rukia. They disappeared around corners, leaving behind dust clouds.
With no more people in the way, Shirou entered the shop. No one was there, but he could feel reiatsu coming from the strange underground space that Urahara had in the store.
He moved with familiar gait, having been trained in that said space in the past.
On the path toward the stairs, Shirou met the store owner standing near the corner of what seemed like a large hole.
"Hmm?" Urahara heard his footsteps approaching. He peeked over his shoulder. "Oh, welcome. You came to visit your brother?"
"Yeah..." Shirou stopped and peered down into the depths below, "What is he doing now?"
"He's in the middle of training to improve his skills." Urahara explained with excitement evident in his voice. "Yaa, I have to say that Ichigo-kun is really talented. Do you know the first step a Shinigami requires to unlock their true power?"
"Forming a bond with their Zanpakuto?"
"Correct! Ahaha, how interesting. Normal Shinigami start out their training by performing Shikai. It's a basic level requirement for any Shinigami that wants to move forward."
Urahara explained.
"To unleash their Shikai, they have to know their zanpakuto's name. However, it's not as easy as simply knowing each other's names though. Both parties need mutual understanding first before calling forth such ability."
"But that's not happening with Ichigo right now, right?" Shirou commented. He could still feel his brother's massive reiatsu far below ground even without concentrating too hard.
"Mmn... Ichigo doesn't know anything about his partner yet. That's why I pull it out and have it fight him." A carefree smile spread across Urahara's face as he said something utterly horrifying as if discussing weather.
Shirou's eyes widened as he peered inside the hole. There, he saw a barren land with countless swords stabbed into it. Their shapes were different, ranging from katana, nodachi, scythe-like shape, double edge blade, spear etc.
"Among them, his Shikai is the one he picked out on instinct," Urahara said as he watched Ichigo struggle.
"Instinct, huh?" Shirou mumbled.
What a strange way to find his weapon. But then, Shirou had no right to say that. He could also use Kanshou and Bakuya because he instinctively knew these weapons would suit him well when he fought Archer.
In a way, maybe they had similarities.
'Can I find his Shikai with my structural grasp?'
He could see weapons' history and origin by using the ability called Structural Grasp.
This ability made him able to identify and analyse everything related to creation such as origin, material, development etc. Thanks to this magecraft, he could project even Noble Phantasm of heroes who were known through records and legends.
Therefore, finding the Shikai among a thousand others shouldn't be impossible.
The number of swords in that underground space was overwhelming, but they still fell short to the ones in the barren hill of infinite swords, his reality marble.
"Don't help him, Shirou-kun. This is his test. He need to find his weapon himself or it will be useless."
Before he could do anything, Urahara stopped him with a knowing gaze.
Shirou sighed. If Hat-and-Clogs said so, it would be wise to listen. He didn't know anything about Shinigami training after all.
Talking about Shinigami...
"Urahara-san, do you know Kuchiki Rukia?"
"Of course. The girl from the noble Kuchiki family, isn't she?" Urahara smirked. "I heard from Ichigo-kun that she was the one who turned him into a Shinigami. I guess she's here?"
"Yes, she is." Shirou nodded. "She is attending school with me and my brother right now."
"Heeh~ so she attended highschool in Gigai?" Urahara put his finger under his chin and pondered.
"She transferred to our class this morning. Even manipulated everyone's memory, probably. Right now she's outside the shop chasing Ururu and Jinta."
Urahara chuckled amusedly, but his eyes showed otherwise.
"Then I need to greet her." Saying so, he put down his paper fan and turned around, walking toward the direction Shirou came from. "Oh, if you want to help your brother, you can do it by fighting him. That would give him more battle experience. Anyway, excuse me, Shirou-kun."
Shirou watched his figure disappear to the distance.
Helping by fighting, huh? Shirou nodded in understanding.
He also felt fighting was the best way to grow.
The 7 days of Holy Grail War allowed him to grow more compared to his years of training in this world. He only managed to return back when he fought Gilgamesh. Even then, that was already a huge improvement, since he didn't have Tohsaka's magic circuit in this life.
After thinking for a while, Shirou decided to help Ichigo a bit. He reinforced his body and jumped down.
"Ichigo, need a hand?" He called to the boy who sprawled over his back between the swords. "Urahara-san told me to help."
"Huff... Huff... Shirou?" Ichigo lifted his head and blinked, recognizing his twin brother. "Help? How?"
"Easy." Shirou rotated his shoulders and began to warm up by jogging lightly. He did a few light stretches afterward.
"Huh?" Ichigo sat dumbfounded. He didn't understand why his brother began to stretch and do exercise at all in this situation.
His confusion deepened when he saw his twin looked at him with narrowed eyes.
Ichigo blinked in disbelief before finally noticing what he meant. His eyes widened instantly as cold sweat drenched his forehead when he saw twin Chinese swords suddenly appeared in both of Shirou's hands.
"Brace yourself. I am coming."
Saying that, Shirou rushed toward him, brandishing both swords in full speed attack.
"Are you kidding me?!" Ichigo shrieked and picked up the nearest sword to protect himself.
Clang!
***Chapter end***
Training arc for little bro!
It's time for beati- I mean helping Ichigo. More power = easier to protect, no?