Bleach: Quincy's Unlimited Blade Works

Ryuken watched him closely as the sword materialized. His eyes widened when Shirou finished making the sword, and the cold blade gleamed under the sun.

"What a strange way of weapon creation." He muttered, "But it doesn't matter. The construct feels similar to most of our Quincy weapons."

Shirou nodded. It might be similar but the nature was different.

He knew that.

But he couldn't really say it aloud because it was a dangerous topic. He didn't want anyone to know his real power. It would bring him unwanted attention, and he couldn't let that happen.

And it's not like anyone could learn about it from his creation anyway. They would just think that it was just the normal Quincy technique.

Save for a few individuals, like Urahara Kisuke for example. Shirou was sure that man secretly analyzed his power a few years ago.

Anyway, he should just go along with whatever the man told him. Shirou would be the one to decide which advice was useful for him or not.

"So what should I do?" He asked, his voice was calm. He let go of his weapon and made it disappear from sight.

Ryuken pushed his glasses upward, turned around, and said.

"Follow me. We will go to my private shooting range. I need to see your proficiency at shooting first. Then, I will proceed to teach you how to control your reishi to use Blut."

"I will be in your care." Shirou smiled and followed the man.

***

At the edge of Karakura Town, a small mountain stood in the distance, and a vast forest covered its surroundings. People seldom entered this area due to dangerous animals roaming around, like a bear and a pack of wolves.

And this place was the private shooting ground of the Quincy Director.

"Is it okay for us to be here?"

"It's fine. We own this area. I will teach you something and you can use this place to train. Unfortunately, I am a busy person so I can only see you on weekends."

"I see." Shirou said and glanced at the vast space in front of him, "It's enough, thank you for giving me this chance."

"Masaki was the one who begged me, so just repay her." Ryuken answered while taking a stance and materializing a small crossbow in his hand.

Ryuken's reiatsu was weak compared to Shirou. The amount of his spiritual power was also quite low, even for a Quincy.

It was a sign that he had given up his power for some reason. He couldn't fully utilize Quincy's ability, even when he's a pure-blooded one. A strange phenomenon.

"Let me show you how we use the bow."

The older man pointed at a tree that was 100 meters away from him. He took a stance and fired a shot of reishi at it, creating a hole through the tree.

"This is how we do it." He said, "Did you notice me form the arrow with the surrounding Reishi? Unlike how you form your weapon with Reiryoku."

"Yeah. It's not really that hard, to be honest. I know the principle of our power." Shirou said, his eyes staring at the tree, "It's about gathering energy around us to use. Not much different from how I gather my Reiryoku."

"Is that so?" Ryuken asked, raising his eyebrow in question, "Then do the same for Blut. Make the Reishi flow into your blood vessel, don't reject it. It's hard to do for a hybrid, so take your time to practice."

He didn't even ask about the boy's understanding, because it would just make his life complicated if he asked more than necessary.

Even teaching Shirou was just a favor he gave Masaki. This should be enough to repay her, as long as the boy has a brain and motivation, he would get stronger.

"I see. I will try then."

With a deep breath, Shirou calmed down and tried to gather reishi into his blood vessels, imagining the flow of reishi inside his blood. However, it was a hard thing to do. He failed, feeling like he's being pushed back.

"This is hard."

"That's how Blut is. I will leave now, meet me again next week."

With that, Ryuken turned around and left. His spirit weapon dispersed and he walked down the mountain with a stoic face.

Shirou looked at his hand.

"Okay. Let's try it again..."

This time, Shirou took a different approach. Instead of absorbing the reishi into his body, he would make it flow inside him. It's like using a different pipe to transport the energy into himself, rather than mixing two water inside a bowl.

In his previous life, his magical circuits were too low, and so he had to compensate by using his blood vessels as magical circuits. But in this new world, the concept was changed.

He's not a Magus anymore, and so the amount of reiryoku was far greater than the amount of magical energy from the past. And he could control the Reishi in the air, making him able to maintain his projection almost permanently if he wanted to.

Of course it would take a toll on his body if he used too much, but at least it was far better than what he had in the past.

So, this time, he would make his blood vessel into a path for his Reishi. He also had this idea before but the pain he felt every time he used too much forced him to abandon it.

But if that's what's needed to learn this technique then he would do it.

"Trace... on."

Muttering his aria, he used the reishi around him to form a path that would connect to his heart. Particles of reishi flowed inside his blood vessel, and his hand glowed blue as the energy flowed inside him.

Circuit-like glow ran across his right hand, blinking like an electric lamp. Shirou gritted his teeth, enduring the pain as he kept the energy from flowing to other parts of his body.

"It's painful... but it works."

He could use more power, but not that much.

Still, this was just a small progress, an important one. The next step was to spread this flow across his whole body, to enhance his physical prowess.

"Then I have to do that. But not now." He sighed, "It will take some time."

Shirou stopped the flow and the circuits disappeared. He couldn't maintain it for a long time yet, it was too painful and useless. He felt like it would break with just one attack.

It was not strong enough. Shirou still had to learn to control the Reishi better and create more powerful veins, but at least it was a good start.

He would train more when he was free. There was still a lot of things he had to learn.

'That was Blut Vene for defense. As for Blut Arterie... I can use Reinforcement just fine.'

Clenching and opening his fist, Shirou marveled at the sensation from earlier. At last, he gained a defensive technique other than his Rho Aias.

All he needed was just someone who knew how to use it. His mother's explanation was... not exactly the best. He was glad Ryuken was such a good teacher despite being cold and aloof. Not that he had anything to complain about.

His gaze shifted toward the sky.

Training under such a clear sky felt different from Urahara's underground area.

While the Reishi in that place was higher than this mountain, mainly due to Urahara's tools, he still liked the feeling of being out in the open.

'Let's train a bit more, I guess.'

Thinking so, he looked at the tree with the hole on it. The same spot that Ryuken destroyed with his arrow.

Spirit Weapon was fascinating but the power was way less than Noble Phantasm. However, it could be an alternative that uses lower reiryoku.

Or not.

Tracing Kanshou and Bakuya was way better because of his fighting style. Not to mention, his usual bow had enough strength to kill hollow in one shot.

Every weapon in his reality marble, ready to be called, was better than Ryuken's spirit weapon.

So he should focus on what he couldn't do before. Which was training Blut Vene to the point he could at least defend against one attack from Zanpakutou's ability.

And he spent no time starting his practice.