Silent Prayer
The next three weeks had gone by fairly quickly.
Rukia's entire motive revolved around training Silas. As a Soul Reaper, her entire purpose was to slay Hollows and help Souls. Him asking her to train him in spells, known as kidō, was in her jurisdiction.
Kidō was a form of combat that Soul Reapers could use. They fell into two categories: offense and defense. Offense kidō was known as "hadō", while defensive kidō was known as "bakudō". There was also "kaidō", but its only purpose was for healing. When used in tandem, they could severely throw off opponents in battle. And of all the kidō users, hardly any surpassed the likes of Aizen, Tessai, or Ichibē Hyōsube—a Soul Reaper from Squad Zero.
Silas and Rukia had only spent a few hours in the day until he was capable of casting his first spell. The concept was simple: utter an incantation while controlling the spiritual pressure released. Once a connection was made, it was all about aiming the power at a target. Spells were graded on a scale from one to ninety-nine, of which Rukia only knew about ten.
The two she had taught him were bakudō number one, Sai, and hadō thirty-one, shakkahō. The former was the same one she had used on him. It allowed the practitioner to bind a target's arms behind their back. The latter was a standard attack spell that fired high-temperature flames condensed into a crimson orb made out of one's spiritual pressure.
"Impressive display, but hardly worthy of a Soul Reaper," Rukia commended. Silas was unbothered by the comment, considering it was Aizen he needed to fool. He had intentionally fumbled both spells in the case that the latter was monitoring him. If Silas truly wanted to paint a Hollow in a mess of destruction with basic spells alone, he would be able.
There were more events that followed during those three weeks.
While at school, Rukia was always looming around Silas. Rumours had immediately spread that the two were already a couple. Even Uryū had almost believed it. To prevent himself from being associated with her too much, Silas had her try to befriend others in the classroom.
Chad had become the most curious about Silas's business. The two, Ichigo and him, had a mutual friendship at one point in the past. After Silas became distant, he gave him his space yet still became weary of why only Rukia was allowed by his side. "Ichigo, I'm worried about you."
"Don't be. Just leave me alone…"
Being a quiet and loyal individual, he respected Silas's wishes. Although, that didn't mean he would give up on their friendship. The only thing Silas took note of were Chad's sudden injuries at the time. Much like in the story, Chad was going to be involved with a Hollow named Shrieker. By no means did Silas intervene in that battle. Instead, he had Uryū locate and defeat Shrieker without any casualties.
At home, things began to get disturbing when Isshin started forcing him to help out in their family's clinic. Uninterested in drudgery, he had Rukia alter their memories again. Now Silas was able to use his free time on more practical things, like balancing out the different powers inside him.
Rukia, who had become fascinated by this new era's advancement, would occasionally ask him how certain things worked. Such things as how to put a straw in a juice carton. When the two weren't training, they would go to Kisuke's shop to help Rukia stock up on supplies. Silas disliked going there more than he disliked attending school.
The one time he went with Rukia per her request, he was consistently bothered by Kisuke over the soul candy he'd purchased. Silas feigned ignorance, claiming that it was only effective after he had become a Soul Reaper. Since that time with Rukia, he had never stepped foot in the shop again.
People like Yoruichi, in her cat form, would sometimes stop by just to watch them practice. It was rare sensing her around, but it was enough for Silas to understand Kisuke's skepticism.
Without the existence of Kon, certain things hadn't unfolded. Kon was meant to play a significant role in this part of the story. But now that he was gone, the Hollow that appeared this time around was easily handled by Uryū.
Every event and every disaster that took place during Rukia's time in Karakura Town were all managed by Silas. He knew exactly which Hollow would attack, where, and when the attack would most likely occur. This was without needing to use his spiritual pressure perception ability. Just the minor details, like Chad being covered in injuries and Rukia running out of supplies, were enough to give him the upper edge.
It was trivial to consider how the story would unfold since many of Ichigo's classmates weren't experiencing any spiritual phenomena. Things like that may impact whether or not they awaken their powers.
And if it was truly the Hōgyoku that helped them awaken those powers wouldn't have mattered since the day for when that would be determined hadn't passed yet. Today was, in fact, June 17th, the anniversary of Masaki Kurosaki's death.
With the sun high in the sky, the Kurosaki household was seen climbing a hill to visit the grave. Karin and Yuzu were shocked to see that Silas had invited Rukia, but Isshin found it acceptable, believing the two were dating. Rukia acted maturely about the comment, having already heard similar things at school.
By the time the group burned their incense at Masakai's grave, Isshin asked Silas to say a prayer. For the first time in a long time, he was hesitant. Silas had been trapped in this world for so long that he had almost forgotten about his family on earth. So he closed his eyes and brought his hands together, believing that God would deliver him out of this predicament.
"God, I know that you exist; I know that you put me here for a reason. Deliver me and forgive me for my sins, for I am not worthy to stand in your Almighty presence. Whatever my purpose is in this world, I pray in Jesus's name that you never leave my side."
It was a beautiful prayer. Silas hadn't mentioned anything about Masaki, but his words were truly felt by those around him. It was like he was crying out for help and that only God could hear him. But at the same time, he was delivering an important message to everyone.