Bleach: Azashiro

When I woke up, I suddenly jumped out of bed and began to put myself in order. I took a shower, washed my face and combed my hair, and killed for about 40 minutes. Having picked up his zanpakto, fixed it on his belt and draped black haori, he went to look for his father. Today you need to go out early to avoid an hour-long lecture from your mother on how important it is to keep the grass in good shape. I would never have thought that this could be talked about for so long and selflessly. I remember I almost fell asleep for the first time, and it hit me on the head from my mother, with orders not to be distracted and listen.

Shuddering at the memories of that day, he went towards his father's office, hoping not to catch his mother's eyes.

Ignoring the servants and guards, I safely reached the treasured door. After making sure the guards had my father inside, he opened the door, ahead of the security guard who wanted to notify my father about my visit.

"What's the matter?" my father looked at me anxiously as soon as I went into his office.

-I need your letter for Chiki-san. - sat down on a small sofa that had recently appeared in the office.

"Is that the only reason you came?" apparently unable to relax, asked the father.

Although, he can be understood. This is the first time I've burst into his office like this. Usually, I try to adhere to the rules and do not allow myself such behavior even at home. The discipline instilled from my previous life in the army still could not disappear from me. Although, lately I have relaxed a little and started taking more liberties. Fortunately, the situation allowed.

"Yes" - judging by his eyes, which could burn a hole in me, he didn't believe me. Okay, I'll tell you the truth. - Yesterday I fell asleep by the lake... on the grass.

-Oh, okay. Now I'll write and you can go. Chika has been waiting for you for a year now. - and his look is so understanding, he himself probably fell under his mother's heavy hand more than once.

Chika-san, last year recalled his offer to join his detachment. But I had no intention of changing my plans and finishing my planned training ahead of time. That's what he told him. My answer suited him and we agreed that this year I would have to join his detachment.

- Hold it. - he handed me a folded envelope with a seal, in the form of a family coat of arms. - Your belongings will be delivered by the servants tonight.

"Okay." I replied.

Putting the envelope in the inner pocket of the black haori and quickly walked out. The threat of a lecture on the importance of caring for grass should not be forgotten.

- Akihiko, good luck. -

My father's words reached me already at the open door, freezing for a second and nodding his head slightly, and left the office.

The family knew that today I was going to join the covert operations squad. Just yesterday I said goodbye to everyone, and therefore now words were unnecessary.

I won't be able to see my family for the next year. These are the rules. Once a year, Shinigami was allowed to go home for a few days, see his family, and relax. For the rest of the service, the Shinigami must live at the detachment's location.

It is not yet known how long I will stay in the covert operations squad. First you need to see what he has to offer me.

My primary task is to hone the skills acquired during training and in battle. Considering the current situation in the Soul Society, I think there will be no problems with this.

It would be a pity to leave Yasuko, she is a strong girl, but I wouldn't want to distract her from training. I thought for a long time whether to take it with me or not. After watching her in training, I came to the conclusion that she was still able to improve her skills in greenhouse conditions.

Unlike her, in order to develop further, I should hone the acquired knowledge and skills. Of course, I could have trained further, but my progress in training began to slow down.

There were several reasons why it became more difficult for me to make progress:

First: you won't be able to increase the number of spells quickly. The difficulties of the 90s level kidos are simply prohibitive; you won't be able to master them quickly.

Secondly: two out of three techniques for using kidos are beyond my control at the moment. Everything again comes down to the control of the reatsu.

Thirdly: the shikaya training has stalled: too variable and I need to find out in practice which direction to move in when creating techniques.

The only workouts that have not lost their relevance are reatsu control exercises.

***

Walking along the walls separating the territory of the Shihoin clan from the rest of the city, I was surprised by the amazing desolation. I met only two passers-by when there was no crowding on an ordinary street. Is everyone really so afraid of the Shihoin clan. Perhaps later I will find out more about this phenomenon.

Approaching the guards at the gate, he showed the letter. One of them volunteered to accompany me to the head of the clan.

Following him, I noticed that nothing had changed since my last visit:

Islands of greenery with gazebos, a small stream cutting through the entire land of the clan and dividing it into two unequal parts, two two-story buildings, with black tiles, just behind them, one could see a large four-story building, on the white walls of which the Shihoin coat of arms was painted. All members of the Shihoin clan lived here - the main branch and the side branch.

Surprisingly, they coexisted peacefully with each other. There were no disputes, no struggle for power and influence. How do I know this?

My parents served for a minute, both of them served in the covert operations unit for many years.

Mom was born into the family of employee Shikhoin for more than six hundred years. And the Azashiro family, on friendly terms with Shihoin for three hundred years. So, it wasn't a secret to me.

Approaching one of the gazebos near the stream, the guard left without saying anything. Inside, Chika Shihoin was sitting on one of the four chairs.

-Ahh, ah, Akihiko, come in, sit down. - yawning, Chika-san called me over, falling apart inside the gazebo.

-Good morning.- I sat down on a chair and handed Chika-san an envelope.

"Oh, yes, yes, come here". - quickly opening and reading, he simply threw it away. - You should have come in the morning, during the day you couldn't!?

Not seeing any reaction from me to his words, Chika stopped fooling around and released his spiritual pressure on me. His icy gaze directed in my direction did not bode well for me.

If this situation had happened to me, 5-6 years ago, I would have gotten through. Now, still sitting with a calm face, I looked at him. The pressure was strong, but I was used to training kidos under my grandfather's pressure. I was good at enduring other people's effects of reatsu on me. About a minute later, he stopped putting pressure on me with his reatsu and spoke.

-Strong.- Chika-san said in an interested voice. -Are you familiar with the structure of the squad?

It would seem like an ordinary question, but this is far from the case. All former members of the detachment are prohibited from disclosing any information about the secret operations detachment. Thus, he checks on my parents to see if they have decided to help their son by talking about the squad he is going to join.

- No. -

"Okay." Chika-san said, regaining his relaxed air. "To begin with, you should decide where you go". Usually, no one has the right to choose which unit they will go to. You are quite versatile in shinigami, so I will let you choose.

Who would doubt that he has information on me. Perhaps even my father provided it, as soon as I talk to him later, he sometimes says too much. I wouldn't want to advertise all my abilities. Always some aspect of your power must remain unknown, it will be an unpleasant surprise for your enemies.

-Liquidation, security, surveillance, search, capture, choose. - another check, even if not explicit. It would seem that the names speak for themselves, but liquidation can also mean erasing traces, and search can mean working with pieces of paper. And there was no such unit as search. Instead there was an intelligence department. They were searching for hiding criminals.

Naturally, I have an idea of the units in the detachment. After the first invitation, at the banquet, I tried to learn as much as possible about the activities and internal cuisine of the detachment. Of course, from the anime I knew what they were doing, but now Gotei 13 does not exist, and therefore part of their responsibilities may fall on the covert operations squad. I had few available sources of information, one, to be precise, a family. And no, my parents didn't tell me anything. But no one forbade my grandfather. He told me about this, albeit a little.

"What are the liquidators doing?" I asked.

-Hmm, mostly killing targets. Also, they are the first to send someone to eliminate empty ones, if such a situation arises. - he told me.

-Fits me.' I said.

"Hmm, well, as you know". - clicking his fingers, a shinigami appeared next to him with a mask on his face. - This is the fourth, he will take you into your room and tell you what you need, go.

***Chika Shihoin***

Looking at my friend's son's back for the last time, I snapped my fingers, calling my lieutenant to me. Less than a couple of seconds later, Shinigami leaned in front of me, falling on one knee.

-Sit down. - waved his hand at the chair, opposite me. - How do you like him?

The question was asked for a reason: shinigami opposite me was the head of the liquidators and second in strength, after me shinigami in the entire detachment. I wanted to hear his opinion about the boy.

"Unusual". - nodding his understanding gaze, wanting to hear the continuation. - Not pampered, strong, good control of the reatsu, he is Azashiro, which means he owns the kido at a high level. Such a fighter wouldn't hurt me.

You haven't seen him shikai yet. It's as if he was created to work as a liquidator, although capture is suitable for him. Specialists in kido are usually sent there. But one should not ruin his potential as a strong fighter.

"Okay, distribute it to my niece. - they get along well, they have to work together". - And give them a new doctor. There are no concessions with the rest, select tasks yourself. Free.

Ignoring the subordinate who disappeared into the dump, I threw my hands behind my head, covered my eyes and relaxed. Things are done, you can rest for another hour.

***Akihiko Azashiro***

Continuing to follow the guide, we reached an unremarkable iron door, against the wall of the main building of the Shihoin estate. Behind the door there was a staircase leading down, the end of which was not visible.

All this love of shinigami for underground premises is incomprehensible to me.

Why is everything they need to hide underground? The mountain would be perfect for the detachment, since they are nearby. Few people are interested in the mountains; they are an excellent place for the location of secret forces. But still, they choose a place directly under the territory of Shihoin. Of course, there are advantages to this arrangement: the speed of reaction and transmission of orders will be higher, perhaps this serves as some kind of protective measure for the Shihoin clan. No one would refuse to have so many fighters ready to defend your family. I think this was the main incentive to place the detachment here.

Finally reaching the end of the stairs, we found ourselves at the beginning of a long corridor.

- Name's Henry. Welcome to the secret complex. - my guide raised his voice and took off the mask from his face. - There are several unwritten rules: in a secret complex, wearing a mask is considered bad manners, with the exception of if you are on a mission. Don't mess with others during training unless you've been asked to help. You can't just approach security posts.

Nodding, they say I understood. We moved on. There were many forks in front; at each turn there were shinigami in the standard uniform for local places, with a mask on their face.

- Each unit has ten officers, with a group of 5-7 shinigami assigned to them. The unit is commanded by Lieutenant. Here we are. - turning right at the third fork, Henry continued to talk about the arrangement of the detachment. - I am the fourth officer of the liquidators.

Having reached the end of the corridor, I saw a lonely door.

"It's a training ground", Henry said, opening it. I didn't go inside. He stepped slightly to the side and held the door so that I could see what was inside. - Privates usually train here. Officers are allocated separate ones.

And there was something to see.

The training area was equipped for all needs: there were targets for practicing kido, shumpo poles and a spacious place for practicing sword strikes. The latter had the most people. I examined the Shinigami waving swords and immediately lost interest in them.

"Where next?" I asked.

-To the dining room, let's go. -

After a minute of walking, we came to a spacious room with many tables.

- There's a kitchen and food distribution. The variety of dishes is quite large, Omaeda did a great job. - Henry pointed left. - We don't have a meal schedule, everyone can come at any time and eat.

Indeed, big. Even from here I can consider at least ten different dishes to choose from. Well, no wonder, the Omaeda were famous for their problems with food. The best chefs of the Soul Society come from their family.

"Let's go, there are only living rooms left". - after giving me a minute to inspect everything, Henry went out. The last time I walked through the hall with my eyes, I followed him.

We have already passed about five forks and I was amazed by the scale of this underground complex. It felt like it was larger than the territory of the Shihoin estate. How much effort and time did it take to build something like this underground? Henry's voice took me away from these thoughts.

"On the left along the corridor are the common rooms of privates, they live four people at a time". - stopping at a dead end that diverges into two long corridors, he pointed his hand to the left. - Officers have their own personal rooms, they are on the right. Some of the officers live on the estate, and therefore the rooms are empty.

The doors to the common rooms were no different from each other, while the officers had numbers from 1 to 10 on the door. Let's hope they don't put me in a common room. I wouldn't want to share a room with anyone.

-Life-liquidators only live here. Each department has its own residential wing. Come on, you've been given one of the empty officers' rooms. - Having escorted me to the door with the number one, he took out the key and opened the door.

-Hold it, settle in. I went. If you have questions, at first you can ask the security posts, they will send them where necessary. But, only the first couple of days. - Having given me the key to the room, he said goodbye and left.

As soon as I wanted to enter the room and look around, I was interrupted.

-Oh, forgot to say, at lunchtime, you gotta go to the lieutenant's office. If you ask the security, they will escort you, I will warn you. - and ran away. He's kind of strange.

I went into the room and closed the door. My room looked ascetic.

Bed, wardrobe, table. Except that the bed was quite large. I believe that if necessary, I will buy everything else myself.

The lighting was surprising: in every corner on the ceiling, a small lamp was shining. I still haven't been able to figure out where and most importantly, how these lamps work.

They are produced by the noble Kiyokawa family. They are a closed clan and rarely go out, but their products have spread throughout the Seireitei. It would be interesting to know on what principle they work.

There were a few hours left before lunch. Thinking about what to do with myself, I decided to go have breakfast. In the morning I was in a hurry and couldn't eat properly. So why not try Omaeda's famous cooking?

Having safely reached the dining room, I was faced with a difficult choice. Several types of fish, squid, rice, vegetables, boiled, fried, stewed. My eyes widened, I wanted to try everything, but I needed to choose.

As a result, my choice was squid and fried vegetables. Must be delicious.

"Put me a pair of squid tentacles and roasted vegetables", said I, servant.

-Sure.-

Having found an unremarkable table in the corner, he sat behind it. At times, while inspecting the hall, I enjoyed the food.

***

Three times I took supplements for myself and only when I felt that I couldn't fit in again did I go to my place.

If I had known that they feed like that here, I would have come here earlier.

No, I wouldn't come. He immediately refuted his own idea. My desire to become stronger is above delicious food.

Returning to the room, he immediately plopped down on the bed. I'll lie down a little while I have time. You need to let the body digest food. Then if there is time left, I will meditate.

***

At the appointed time, I turned to the first security guard I met so that I could be escorted to the office of the lieutenant of the liquidators unit.

Thirty seconds and behold, I stand at the iron door, with strange inscriptions in which traces of seals were recognized.

While I was looking at the intricate seal, my guide knocked on the door and quickly left. All I could do was look him in the back in bewilderment.

-Enter.- a voice was heard from behind the door.

Shooting my eyes again towards the escaped shinigami, I opened the door and entered the office.

At first glance, the common style of the room with my room was visible. Table, wardrobe, two chairs. The same lamps in the corners.

Having walked into the center of the room, he stood opposite the table of a lieutenant I knew. No, I didn't know about his position, but I often met him at banquets. My father exchanged a couple of phrases with him in front of me, so I remembered him.

I stand with a calm face opposite him and wait for him to look at me. His attempts to make an evil face openly amused me.

He looked like elves from my past world: long blond hair, thin eyebrows, sophisticated facial shapes and slightly pointed ears. With his appearance, in such situations, an aristocratic manner, calm, detached, and contempt could be added to his gaze, would be more suitable for him. And so, his attempts to put pressure on me with his presence looked downright pathetic. Although, it can and does work for someone.

We played staring for a few more minutes until he got tired of it.

-Akihiko Azashiro, you're assigned to the first officer's squad, be at your place in the evening, they'll bring you your uniform and introduce you to the squad. Free.-