Departing from the clinic, Jin walked together with Jinta and Ururu to Urahara’s shop. Yoruichi didn’t seem interested in leaving his head, unfortunately. She remained perched there until they reached the shop.

‘Is she trying to test my patience? Wouldn’t be surprised if she’s just messing with me.’

Upon entering the shop, Tessai greeted them with a nod. He briefly glanced at the box in Jin’s hand before saying, “Do you want to start your lesson now or focus on what you have in your hand?”

“Lesson first. I’ve got about twelve hours, so maybe split that half and half.”

Tessai nodded with an understanding gaze hidden slightly by his foggy glasses.

For the next six hours, Jin learned more about the different aspects of Kido. Tessai also taught him the process for activating the first few Bakudo and Hado spells. Ones previously unknown to Jin caught his attention the most. For example, Hado #2: Hi’i. As soon as Tessai explained it, Jin immediately understood why nobody used it in combat during the series. Essentially, it was the exact opposite of Hado #1: Sho. It used kinetic force to pull an object toward the spellcaster, which in the world of Bleach was just asking for trouble. He thought it might be possible to disrupt an opponent’s tempo until Tessai explained the problems with it.

“In other words, it doesn’t have a straightforward usage.”

Nodding, Tessai explained, “When fighting someone stronger, they can easily ignore it. When fighting somebody weaker, it is faster to just cut them down with your Zanpakuto than to cast Hado.”

“But it is still usable.”

“You might catch somebody off-guard once or twice, yes.”

“How many Hado have less straightforward uses like this one?”

“About one third. Bakudo… closer to half.”

‘Seeing some of these in the series would have been cool, though.’

For the next two hours, Jin practiced casting the Hado and Bakudo he had learned. Tessai kindly volunteered as a target, though he easily shrugged off the spells since Jin never bothered using the full chants. Even if it lowered the power of the spell, he couldn’t stomach using the long-winded chants. Not even considering the awkwardness he felt, just the fact that a few seconds of chanting would open him up to multiple attacks made it not worth it in his eyes. At best, he would compare it in usefulness to using Hyper Beam against a steel and rock type Pokemon. At the very least, the chantless Hado gave him more destructive combat options than just his barriers.

After destroying a good portion of Urahara’s training environment, Jin called it a day for training Hado. Despite having the energy to continue, he yearned to find out if he had his own Zanpakuto spirit within himself. He borrowed a small pillow and sat cross legged near the edge of the training ground closest to the exit. He opened the case containing the Asauchi, hoisted it from within, and rested it on his lap. Quiet as a shark in the depths of the sea, his hand caressed the sheath in a respectful manner.

A little ways off, Urahara leaned on his sword and calmly observed Jin without saying anything. The brim of his hat hid his current facial expression. He waited to see if the boy could awaken a Zanpakuto spirit in his unusual circumstances.

Unaware of the curious observer, Jin nodded at Tessai who was still watching over him with arms crossed. Then, he asked, “Trying to awaken a Zanpakuto spirit requires something like meditation, right?”

“Mhm. It is more complicated than that, but that is where most Soul Reaper recruits start. Often, it can depend on the Zanpakuto’s willingness to contact you in response as well.”

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Lowering his gaze to the seemingly ordinary blade, Jin nodded. Knowledge about Zanpakutos flitted through his mind. Even with meta knowledge, he did not know how difficult the process would be upon trying it for himself.

‘I’m eager to find out.’

Lips curling upward unintentionally, he closed his eyes. Everything he knew regarding meditation or spirit-based practices from both his past life and the worlds he once considered fiction filled his mind, leading him into a dream-like state. As the minutes passed, his breathing steadied into a slow rhythm. Gradually, an unusual aura spread through the surroundings.

To Tessai and Urahara, the aura felt similar to Reiatsu, but also different. Neither of them could quite put their hands on what was different about it, though. Strangely, the aura steadily vanished into nothingness. Both men observed with puzzled expressions. Although they could see Jin with their eyes, their spiritual senses could no longer detect him. It was as though Jin became one of the rocks in the training ground.

Meanwhile, within Jin’s consciousness, he remained mentally aware despite losing his sense of the external environment. In a way, it reminded him of his experiences with his geass. Beyond that, however, nothing happened. All he could perceive was a pitch black abyss. He spent several minutes silently pondering what to do next. While thinking, he blinked a few times and rubbed his chin.

“Eh? I can move?”

Perplexed, he moved his arms. Despite a lack of perception, he definitely felt them moving. Since he could move, he tried looking around. Upon turning around, he noticed a small flickering purple light in the distance. Curious, he meandered toward it.

From a little ways off, he saw a small circular table made of dark wood. Atop the table, a large candle burned and flickered with a purple flame, barely illuminating the surroundings. A small and simple tea set rested beside the metal base of the candle. On the other side of the table, Jin saw the shadowy outline of what looked like a person. He could only see the being better after reaching the table.

Across the table, a lady wearing baggy black and purple robes sat with her legs tucked underneath her. Long black hair with purple highlights that glowed under the candle’s light cascaded down her back from underneath a wide-brimmed bamboo hat and trailed across the ground in strangely beautiful circular and wavy patterns. A large black sitar rested upon the lady’s left shoulder. Rather, her large bust held more of it than her shoulder.

Wondering if he had already encountered his Zanpakuto spirit, he sat down cross-legged on a small pillow across from the lady. Now at a similar height, he noticed a black blindfold covering the lady’s eyes. Another striking feature was her bright purple lips that lacked the noticeable nature of lipstick, making purple the natural color of her lips. Her ears were also slightly pointed.

“You have come,” The lady calmly said, her voice distant and ethereal, like that of a gentle song played in an amphitheater.

“...I have.”

A subtle silence fell between them. Eventually, though, Jin could not contain his curiosity and inquired, “You are my Zanpakuto spirit?”

The woman remained silent for a few seconds. Then, she lifted her head, giving Jin a better look at her gentle but mature face. She quietly set down the sitar and reached for the tea set. She poured a glass of tea for both of them and answered, “I suppose I am.”

“Hmm. Well, nice to meet you face-to-face already, then.”

Pouring black tea into two separate cups, the woman’s purple lips curled into an amused smile. She giggled briefly, but then replied, “I suppose that is so.”

Feeling a strangeness in the woman’s demeanor and words, Jin raised a brow and rubbed his chin. Strangely, he felt a sense of familiarity with the woman despite never meeting her in either of his lives. He wondered if that was normal when meeting a Zanpakuto spirit.

‘There could be something strange here, too, considering my situation,’ Jin mused. However, he set the thoughts aside since it didn’t matter that much. Instead, he picked up the tea she poured for him and said, “Thank you.”

“My pleasure.”

The two nodded at each other, then sipped the tea at the same time. Tasting a strange flavor reminiscent of dragon fruit mixed with mint, he furrowed his brows.

“What kind of tea is this?” He wondered aloud.

“The essence of your soul.”

“PFT!” Jin spewed, though he made sure not to spit on the woman.

The woman chuckled, but then casually sipped her tea. As though enjoying the stunned expression on his face despite her blindfold, she then set down her cup and said, “That is a joke. It is just a tea given flavor by the power of creativity.”

“...I see.”

‘This is a Zanpakuto, right?’