Training Begins!
"What on earth happened?!"
Hu sat bolt upright on the floor, shocked and bewildered. How had the room ended up like this while he was asleep? And why was someone at death's door?
Hu started to get up, but a sudden, searing pain shot through his abdomen. He opened his clothes and saw that his belly was bright red, as if someone had struck him with a stick. As he stared, drool dripped from his mouth. He hurried to wipe it away, only to touch his swollen, reddened face. The pain made him flinch, and that in turn made his abdomen hurt even more.
Sucking in cold breaths, he got to his feet and made his way over to Fon Shaoling. Along the way, he saw the Fon Clan's attendants cleaning up the area, while a few members of the Onmitsukidō were in a corner, grunting as they worked to save their companions.
"What..." Slurp. "...happened..." Slurp. "...here?"
Hu's face was horribly swollen from the pooling blood. He stumbled over his words and had to keep sucking in his saliva to stop it from drooling out.
Fon Shaoling was still directing the people around her as they cleaned up. Hearing his strange voice, she turned to see one side of Hu's face swollen larger than a steamed bun. He kept slurping up his saliva, and his back was hunched from the pain in his abdomen. Fon Shaoling jumped in fright, then took a closer look. Once she realized it was Hu, she had a little trouble holding back her laughter.
"It's nothing... It's just... Yexing-san... Some of your Zanpakuto's power leaked out... The Onmitsukidō stationed at the Fon Clan have already stopped it."
"Can a Zanpakuto's power leaking out really cause this much damage?"
Hu was a little surprised.
"Normally, it wouldn't cause that much damage." Fon Shaoling composed herself. "But it can happen if the Zanpakuto that comes into being possesses extremely powerful abilities or operates by extremely bizarre rules. Normally, the wielder would be sent to Shin'ō Academy before any of this harm could occur. Your situation is unusual."
Hu felt a little guilty toward the Fon Clan. They had helped him resolve his problem and given him food and lodging, only for him to wreck their home.
"I just saw that quite a few people were caught up in it, and several were badly hurt. I'm sorry for the trouble I've caused you."
"This happened because I failed to think things through, so you needn't take it so much to heart, Yexing-san," Fon Shaoling said, sensing that Hu was a little down.
"If I could control my power, perhaps this wouldn't have happened." Hu suddenly remembered what his Zanpakuto had told him in his inner world. "Right, when I was communicating with my Zanpakuto just now, he told me to come ask for an 'Asauchi' after I woke up. Would having an 'Asauchi' stop the power from leaking out like that?"
"Your Zanpakuto seems quite perceptive, Yexing-san. You're right. The 'Asauchi,' which serves as both the vessel and the prototype of a Zanpakuto, is one of Soul Society's greatest inventions. It is both a channel through which a Soul Reaper's power can be properly brought forth and a safety device that protects other souls from being harmed by a Soul Reaper for no reason, so..." A person dressed like a guard brought over a long box. Fon Shaoling took it and opened it in front of Hu. Inside was an uchigatana, its slightly curved blade gleaming coldly. It had a brass-colored hilt and guard, white cloth wrapped around the hilt, and a pitch-black scabbard beside it. "This is a Zanpakuto 'Asauchi.'"
Hu took it. "Yexing-san, please grasp the hilt of the 'Asauchi' and channel your Reiatsu into it." Hu followed her instructions, and the "Asauchi" began to grow. In the end, it became a long, slender tachi that looked like a clothes pole, with a blade nearly two and a half meters long and a hilt half a meter long. Hu held up the "clothes pole" and examined it for a while, while Fon Shaoling stared wide-eyed:
If the size of a Zanpakuto isn't controlled, it directly reflects the strength of its wielder's Reiatsu. I've never seen a Zanpakuto grow that long in a novice's hands...
As Fon Shaoling marveled, Hu spoke. "Shaoling, isn't this too long? It'll be such a hassle to carry around."
"It is. A Zanpakuto this long would be very inconvenient to use, too. Yexing-san, try lowering your Reiatsu a little. Imagine your Reiatsu circulating inside the blade, then gradually shorten the length of that circulation. The blade should shrink."
Hu followed Fon Shaoling's instructions, and gradually, the sword returned to its original size.
"You can already control the size of your sword so quickly. You truly are gifted, Yexing-san. All right, it's late, so let's leave it here for today. The Fon Clan's Zanjutsu instructor will give you detailed instruction during training tomorrow. For now, you should get some rest. Tomorrow's training won't be easy." Fon Shaoling offered him the scabbard.
Hu took it and sheathed the sword. The attendants had also finished cleaning up the area, and the Onmitsukidō were already nowhere to be seen. Hu then followed an attendant's directions to another room to rest. As soon as he closed his eyes, he found himself in his inner world once more. This time, the Zanpakutō spirit held a long sword. Its hilt was wrapped in white and decorated with an intricate golden infinity-shaped pattern. At the top of the hilt, beneath the guard, was an ornamental golden Eastern dragon menuki. The guard was shaped like a pair of hexagons, simple yet distinctive, joining the blade to the hilt. The scabbard was black, with a black sageo decorating its mouth. Three golden dots in a row adorned the metal fitting at its tip.
The Zanpakutō spirit pushed part of the blade out of its scabbard. "Hu, didn't you want to learn Judgment Cut? Come on, let me see how serious you are!"