“If there is such a thing like happiness in this world, it should resemble the endless nothingness. Nihility is having nothing and having nothing to lose. If that isn’t happiness… then what is?” — Ulquiorra Cifer.

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Itachi and Amaterasu’s blades locked with each other but instead of sparks flying, the flames around them rose higher and pranced around ecstatically.

Itachi was wearing only his mesh shirt and pants with his hair tied in a ponytail. He was barefoot but that couldn’t be seen as black flames covered not only his knees to his toes, but also covered his hands from his elbows to his fingertips.

Amaterasu on the other hand remained a silhouette of flames but unlike before, her features are now more defined and clearer even if it was still in the form of flames. For example, it was easy to make out that she was wearing a kimono and had some kind of hairpiece with ribbons on her hair.

It was like she was now painted black with small wisps of flames dancing around her instead of flickering flames in a vaguely female form.

As for the reason they were fighting, it was because Itachi had nothing better to do. He could now freely materialize his Zanpakutō spirits after achieving Bankai and other than sparing with other Captains, which was something he could only do with Kenpachi as the others were mostly busy. Besides, apart from Kenpachi, there were only two other Captains he was close with that he could ask for spar.

Kyōraku – but he was too lazy and refused to release his Shikai no matter what, claiming it was tiresome – more for him than Itachi.

Unohana – except that he couldn’t as she said she hadn’t drawn her blades for centuries and had solely focused her time on being a healer.

He could ask Isshin. The man was more likely to agree than Kyōraku, but he wasn’t that close with Isshin to ask him to spar.

So of course he would fall back to his Zanpakutō spirits which were also a plus as they could fight on equal grounds with him. And of the two, Amaterasu was the one most eager to fight him, sometimes even arguing with the slow and soft-spoken Tsukuyomi to take his chance in fighting Itachi.

Black Sea Conflagration.

Itachi sank into the sea and three Itachis spawned out and closed in on Amaterasu from three different directions.

“Haha! You’ll have to try harder than that, my dear.” As the first blade reached her, Amaterasu swapped her position with the farthest Itachi and swiftly stabbed her blade through the second as the first stabbed the third who had been swapped into Amaterasu’s position.

The first made the mistake of turning back to face Amaterasu only to turn rigid when a blade stabbed through him from behind while the Amaterasu he was looking at burst apart in flames.

“Come on. Make this a little interesting for me!” She grinned at Itachi who turned to face her with difficulty.

“I-I d-did.” He stuttered before his head fell to the side in death. She looked in the direction where the clone’s head was facing and saw herself and Itachi but the image she saw was a complete replica of their current position but with a slight difference. She and Itachi had swapped roles, where she was the one looking over in this direction with dead eyes while Itachi skewered her.

She scowled even more when she found the memory of that aberration in her head. She couldn’t even tell which of them was the real one.

“Burnout.”

Her flames soared and she blasted everything in their immediate surroundings to nothing—

Her instincts screamed at her and she immediately retreated, just barely safe enough to dodge the black rise of flames that silently swallowed everything.

“Fucking brat. Since when?” She asked angrily but there was also a happy grin that was threatening to spill out from her lips.

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“When not?” Itachi simply replied, his answer too vague and contemptuous for her liking.

The subtleness of Tsukuyomi’s abilities were one of the reasons why she hated the damned sagely crow.

With the Black Sea still spread below them Amaterasu simply teleported to Itachi to drop an explosion on his face but he was quick to react and used his own influence to ready himself for the explosion in a split second.

The fraction of a second between her arriving and disappearing was when the bomb went off and yet Itachi reacted to it as his upper body exploded like flames and combined with the resulting explosion from Amaterasu before joining back together with a wobble.

Amaterasu fell towards him from above with a torrential downpour at her behest.

“Enton: Sever and Swallow.”

He used the same move he used against Gin’s false Bankai and swung his sword into the incoming downpour of flames.

The two attacks collided against each other in no great show of power and explosion and instead tried dwindling the other with a low hum.

Itachi’s eyes spun as he and Amaterasu weaved their swords in a dizzying flurry of stabs, blocks, counters and parries – both trying, failing and trying again to gain an edge over the other in skill and power.

Unfortunately, and like Amaterasu would always say after every fight, ‘all good things must come to an end’. They had lost track of time six times during the entire duration of their fight and it was a reminder from Itachi’s crows that finally put an end to their heated fight.

“Don’t keep me waiting for too long.” Amaterasu had simply said before fading away and turning silent.

A murder of crows brought Itachi his shihakushō and haori when he got ready to leave.

“Things have been really slow lately.” He said to himself as he jumped down the mountain and freefall to the ground without much concern.

He was in the Rukongai Districts, choosing to leave the Seireitei anytime he wanted to train by himself, and was slowly making his way back at a measured pace when he caught a glimpse of someone familiar picking what seemed to be herbs by a flowing stream.

He was contemplating whether to stop, make his presence known or simply carry on quietly when she called out to him.

Granted he wasn’t doing anything to hide his presence.

“Captain Itachi, what a pleasant surprise seeing you all the way out here.” Unohana said with a warm smile while holding a basket under her arm where different types of herbs were neatly arranged.

“Likewise.” Itachi said as he came closer to her. “I sometimes come out here to clear my mind.”

“I see. We all do it every now and then. I know how crowded the Seireitei can be sometimes.”

She was really understanding and it wasn’t just a show either. Sometimes even without speaking a word she could somehow guess what her patients were going through, physically or mentally, which Itachi attributed to how long-lived she was.

“Before you go, mind being a dear and gathering some of those herbs with yellow leaves for me?”

Itachi silently accepted the request and bent down like her to pick up the herbs she pointed out.

“Do you come out here that often?”

“Not that much.” Itachi replied while taking a closer scrutinizing look at the plants he was picking up. “I don’t have the free time to take frequent long walks through the Rukongai.”

She hummed noncommittally. “That is a sentiment I truly understand.”

“And you? You could have sent one of your nurses if you really needed to procure these herbs.”

She covered her mouth with her sleeves and let out a soul-stirring teal of laughter. “Interrogating me, are we?”

Itachi shook his head. “No such thing. I’m just curious.”

“It’s a long time hobby of mine. Gathering herbs or exploring rare plants.” She chuckled once more. “While also taking long walks through the Rukongai I guess.”

“I guess the Rukongai have a way of drawing us back in no matter our status. All the Captains, even the former ones, every now and then, find themselves walking through the Rukongai time and time again. Even the Head Captain does so at his own time.”

Their conversation flowed slowly, as neither were extensive speakers, but at a balanced pace they were both familiar with.

“This is enough for today. Thank you.” The sun was already setting when Unohana ended their little herb foraging. They both carried filled up baskets while slowly making their return.

“Thank you for staying for so long. I don’t think I would have managed it all on time.” She said.

Itachi looked at the basket of herbs hanging off his arm and plucked up one of the leaves from the yellow ones he first picked up. “It’s alright. I found it—”

“—Calming and therapeutic?” She guessed with the usual warm smile on her face becoming a tad bit warmer when Itachi nodded.

Itachi glanced at her, then at his basket of herbs and sighed loudly, something he was doing rather frequently these days. “Was it that obvious?”

Unohana however shook her head. “Natural activities like these help rest your mind after stressful activities like training.” She once again laughed when she saw the question in his eyes. “It wasn’t obvious, but I can tell. I’ve been in your shoes a thousand times and I’ve recommended it a thousand more times to people. It all comes down to experience.”

“I’m getting the feeling you’re more experienced than you let on.” It was a casual comment, at least Itachi had thought so.

“Oh? Are you saying I’m older than I look?” She asked him with closed smiling eyes.

It was an honest slip up but Itachi was too late to realize that.

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