A meeting of Shikai [closed]

Yui was going to try to practice her new and improved Shikai today, and it was already proving difficult at best to get any time in which to do it. She had started the day, naturally, with Shunpo Suicides until she was on the verge of passing out, which she was happy to say took a fair amount of time. Her endurance was certainly getting better, and ever since the fight with Mako that had drawn her to reveal the truth of her Zanpakutou’s Shikai, she could feel the strength starting to emerge into her. At long last, after 400 years of struggling to gain that power, she was starting to feel it. Shiva had explained that she would give it to Yui slowly, as she earned it, because the sudden change would be both damaging physically and mentally. After she had eaten breakfast, she then moved on to performing a bit of meditation, where within her Inner World she sparred with her spirit with nothing more than hand to hand combat, and conversing with the spirit about the importance of a balance between the two skills.

So caught up in her thoughts, the tiny shinigami had almost missed something along the edges of her senses, and with a quick Shunpo, she was crouched some distance away on the wall of the training area. Her spiritual pressure was repressed to an infinitesimal speck on the cosmic plane of reiatsu, and she had gained considerable skill with all her training in the art. For now, she was hidden, downwind, behind a tree, peering through the leaves as a young girl cried out the call for her own Shikai. Curious, Yui slipped into the tree from the wall, sliding silently through the tree until she had a better view, taking in the ability with both her eyes and her senses. It was interesting, to say the absolute least, to witness though, because it was similar to something she had in her own arsenal; an edged chain that she rotated rapidly to tear through enemies or armor. But her senses told a different story, and it was very interesting to see, but she honestly couldn’t say it was an solid appraisal just from what she sensed and saw… she wanted to know more.

But after a single kick, she was obviously drained and sealed her weapon again… and then fell over entirely. She wasn’t unconscious, but the sensation that Yui was able to feel through her Reiatsu was something so similar… because she had felt it for hundreds of years before. Hopelessness. Despair. It had taken Mako, Captain Kasumi and several others to push her past that boundary… perhaps she could be the same for this young woman. Yui’s flash step was extremely fast and completely and utterly silent, so likely, the only indication that the young girl had of her approach was simply the flutter of her long, purple hair floating in the breeze that dangled into her field of view, seeming to appear like a ghost. The goal was to surprised the young woman, but she was also holding a large canteen and kneeled next to her, extending it towards her. “You look like you need a drink of water,” she said kindly with a gentle smile.

---

PWC: 550
TWC: 550

Hana groaned softly, letting herself settle into that flattened out laying stance as if she'd just been knocked flat by a particularly hard punch. She considered getting up a few times, but failing that she let her mind start to wander into what she might be doing wrong, and what she'd have to do to improve. Clearly she didn't have enough stamina or spiritual energy reserves to maintain her Shikai properly on her own. She couldn't rely on stealing the energy from others. If she failed to land more than a few hits, having used her Shikai in the first place would be the death of her. It wasn't practical for combat, not in this form. She considered whether it ever would be, but the idea that her Shikai would be useless was frustrating. She was just about to express this anger when someone appeared nearby.

"Among other things." came Hana's intentionally flat reply, labored breathing having calmed to a slow steady pace now. She hadn't heard anything, hadn't seen the approach, but there someone stood over her. Upside down to Hana from this angle, the stranger didn't seem threatening. Hana wasn't prepared to invest any amount of trust into them, but at the very least she was going to try to be civil. Sitting up, carefully making sure to keep her front facing Yui, she stretched her body and adjusted her limbs with a few cracks and pops. "I thought I was alone out here, today. I didn't sense your approach at all. May I ask who you are?" she hadn't made any attempt to accept the water, instead locking eyes with Yui.

(274/685)

She was very formal, and less than relatively friendly. It was like looking into a mirror of literally a few months ago, and the resemblance to her own reactions to other people was downright striking. Ensuring you were facing the possible threat. Not accepting something that was offered with no cause or reason. Steps, procedures, safe-guards. Yui still did that with people she didn’t know, but she was a lot more subtle about it, and generally had gained at least a semblance of trust with a few people she knew in the Gotei. It was shaky with some, but solid as stone with others, and it all began with a simple act of kindness and an opportunity to make a difference. She mentioned that she hadn’t heard the little Shinigami approach, and that made her smile, wide and friendly.

“That was kind of the point. I’m Yui, unseated from the Second… and I am a Ninja, so stealth is kind of what I do.” It was a good enough introduction, and she gently set the canteen of water down halfway between them, allowing her to come to terms and take a drink, or wait and see if she was more trustworthy before committing. Regardless, it was time to continue her conversation, and see if she couldn’t spark some interest into the fellow Shinigami. “I was watching for a second, and noticed your Shikai… pretty awesome, if I say so myself, but looks like the kind that is exhausting to use. You want some help with it?” The offer was lighthearted and genuine, but she put herself in the other girl’s shoes for a moment. Why would you want to help me? would be her first thought in the reverse situation. “I spent 400 years trying to master mine… still am not quite there, but I only was able to improve at all when I took a chance and someone gave me a hand. Sometimes that’s all it takes.”

But that was over and done with for the moment… and Yui stood up, offering her a hand to stand herself and get to her feet.

---

PWC: 358
TWC: 908

There's the slightest hint of Hana's muscles relaxing when Yui says that they're from the 2nd division. She listens quietly to everything Yui has to say before replying, "Hana Mushoku, also unseated second." She accepted the offer to be helped up with one hand, and the water on the ground with the other. Once she was on her feet, she tried to pass the canteen back, "And thank you for your kind offer. I didn't mean any offense in not taking it. I simply tend to avoid food or drink while training. Since it is not technically necessary for me to function, I feel it becomes more of a distraction than an aid."

Now standing, Hana looks over to the tree, and the lack of damage it had taken from her blow. A few different things run through her mind, not least of all the possibility that this is some sort of trick. But for someone to reach this part of the Seireitei they would at least need to be a member of one of the divisions, or here on official business. That gave Hana less reason to distrust Yui than the average stranger. The way she spoke was convincingly genuine as well. She didn't seem to be making fun of Hana in any way, in fact she had complimented Hana's failed attempt. She chose her next words carefully, "I've had mine for two. It is a... problematic power. The longer I use it, the more powerful it becomes... but the more energy it requires. I've spent two years endurance training with it, but the results as you might see here... aren't satisfactory." she motions to the tree with a hand. "What would you suggest?"

(285/970w)

Yui had caught that she seemed to relax a little bit as she had introduced herself, and wondered idly if maybe she had some… less than friendly, run ins with the other squads. Fifth came to mind almost immediately, as she knew that they would fight just about anyone for just about any reason, but that was half the reason she picked on them. They were easy to goad into confrontation and made skilled opponents most of the time, and an adequate and predictable test of her skill and power. The name given as a reply, and she gave a nod. “Nice to meet you.” She listened to the explanation and shook her head. “You say you don’t need it… but unless you are different from everyone else, food and water is how we replenish ourselves after using our reiatsu. It’s really important! Are you sure?” she said, holding the canteen but not quite drawing it away, still offering the sustenance.

She considered the question of what she would suggest, and thought about it for a moment. “Can you produce only the hand ones? The first thing that comes to mind, if you don’t have enough energy to run all four, try just one at a time. Even if you have to make all of them, just focus your energy into one and see how it goes.” It was common sense to Yui, but she had said it with kindness and merely as a suggestion, as she knew she had a lot of experience in her long history that she might be able to use to help out. Yui stepped back and allowed her to test it out, if she so chose to, but also would engage further in conversation if that was what was needed. Either way, she had a gentle smile on her face and would wait to see what Hana did next.

---

PWC: 319
TWC: 1227

The faintest look of desire crosses over Hana's face as she looks at the water again before shaking her head, "No no, this is endurance training. If I replenish my energy, then I won't know if I've truly drained my reserves yet." she looked back to the tree, recounting her full attempt against it. She was able to hold the weapons on their own for nearly three minutes. The moment she tried to use them for combat intensive purposes, though, it was like it somehow broke her concentration. She brought one hand up to her face, studying it for a few seconds. It took a while for her to focus enough to make out the reiatsu that rolled steadily off of her skin, but it was definitely still there. Realizing Yui had begun to speak again, she tore her eyes away from her own aura to look at the other person again, waiting to reply.

"Focus the energy into a single weapon? That's... I'm.." words failed Hana. Two years, and she had never before considered not giving it her all. "That's so simple that it's strangely brilliant. If I focus my energy into a single weapon, then theoretically I should be able to maintain it for four times longer." she nodded affirmatively, taking a few steps back. It was quickly becoming evident that she intended to attempt this idea rather immediately, as she drew her zanpakuto and held it straight up into the air. "Devour, Warudosame." she said simply, letting the sword melt down like molten metal across her skin. The hilt was the only thing that remained in place as metal itself reshaped into the form of a long blade. The almost square frame, tipped with a sharp edge and a space for her arm to fit. Then came the part where the weapon would normally form out into a chain that connected the four separate weapons into a single entity. But when the weapon would have formed three more blades, Hana instead willed it to stop, at which point the weapon's chain began to wrap around her other limbs. As normal it left enough slack for her to move entirely freely, but now she held just one blade instead of her usual four.

Hana was gripping this single weapon with white knuckled intensity, though. "Feels.." she paused, letting her grip soften, "I suppose it isn't entirely unpleasant but it is very different. It feels... unbalanced. But if I can make a single blade, then theoretically I can make two. This is.. this could be incredibly useful but.." her eyes were still focused on the spread and movement of her spiritual energy, and she could see it getting sucked in by the blade. It was shaking from the amount of exhaustion she felt in her body. Before she could say any more the entire blade fell to the ground with a clattering, chains melting away and blade returning to its sealed state. Beads of sweat were forming along her face, but she certainly looked more determined than she had laying on her back. "That was... incredible. And also the limit of my Reiatsu. Any more consumption and I risk deprivation symptoms." she picks her zanpakuto from the ground, sheathing it smoothly before looking to Yui again for a reaction, and to ask a question. "Sorry," she reached her hand out for the water, "may I?"

(566/1536w)

Yui saw the look cross the young girls face, but listening to what she said, it made perfect sense why she didn’t want to accept it just yet. She would give an understanding nod and retract the canteen back and set it on the ground. Her reaction to the suggestion gave Yui a gentle smile as she responded simply “Don’t try to overthink it… easier said than done, I know. I’m living proof. Give it a shot!” She then watched, her mismatched eyes never leaving the woman’s form as she summoned her Shikai yet again, noticing that she was able to keep it from completely manifesting if she wanted to. She must have had a decent connection with her sword’s spirit… or she was commanding it instead of trying to understand it. That was something else Yui had a lot of experience with.

Yui simply nodded at the woman’s assessment of how it felt, and decided to bite back her comments regarding the spiritual connection for now. If she was right and her senses were accurate, she wasn’t going to last a ton longer, even with only using a single blade. True to theory she soon collapsed, and almost instinctively she grabbed her canteen up and handed it to her, knowing that she had reached her limit. “No one knows your body better than you. And deprivation symptoms are no joke… deal with them all the time when I’m just too damn stubborn to quit.” Now that she was resting, however, she could go ahead and start tossing out some questions.

“Bear with me here, because I am legitimately trying to help, but I got a few things that need saying if I’m going do it properly.” Her tone was even and pleseant, not critical, and she made sure that her words were being properly thought out before committing to them out loud. “Your Shikai still has edged blades, even without your draining rotation part that I could sense. Considering how much it drains you, I would say until you get your stamina up, I would limit it to just two sets, and only use the draining bit as a last resort in a real fight, or when you are absolutely certain you are going to hit. Otherwise it won’t be much good to be so tired. But you could use them without the draining part of it to attack and wait for the opening you need.”

She stood up and reached her hands upwards, interlacing her fingers and standing on her toes to stretch out a little bit. “I’m gonna do a bit of practice too. You rest up a bit and think about what I said, okay?” she added with a smile, left eye a blood ruby red while the other a light purple. Without waiting for permission, she would move towards the middle of the training field, and her spiritual pressure would finally show it’s true colors, feeling like a distinct lack of emotion, very unlike what she was expressing before. She held out her hand straight, palm out, and focused on what she wanted, which for the moment, was a sword; a black bladed No-Dachi that was probably an inch or two longer than Yui herself was tall. The blade slowly rippled out of the skin on her palm, extending blade first outwards slowly until the handle finished, and she snatched it from the air as it began to try to fall, swinging the large blade downwards once with one hand. She looked to the side where there were some straw training dummies planted, and with a flash step, was upon them, slicing and slashing them in a show of speed and tearing three of them to ribbons in seconds.

When she walked back towards Hana, she seemed disappointed, looking towards her sword.

---

PWC: 637
TWC: 1864

Hana was a bit surprised at how much help this stranger was offering her. It would have been strange if they weren't both in the same division, but because of that fact Hana wrote it off as this person being some sort of mentor for newer members of the Seireitei. At the very least, the aid was welcome. Being able to maintain only part of her Shikai would likely be of insurmountable use in the future. But as she continued to listen to the advice, something struck Hana as odd. 'If I could maintain Shikai and not have that power activate, then I'm certain things would be easier,' she thought to herself, a slight frown gracing her otherwise neutral features, 'but it doesn't seem Same would be willing to do something like that.' she huffed quietly at her own thoughts, eyes re-focusing when she heard Yui mention doing some training of their own. Taking a seat against the tree she previously attacked, she watched Yui's every movement.

The display was spectacular, seeing Yui form a blade from inside herself and then use it to destroy three targets in quick succession. Hana didn't applaud, or cheer, but when Yui did look back at the resting girl she would offer a nod, "That's an interesting weapon. I don't know many that store their blade inside of themselves. But you don't look happy with your own performance, did I miss something? It seemed to me that you did very well." Hana tilted her head to one side before taking a swig of water and then offering the canteen back. Her words carried a bit more kind sentiment than her previous monotone facade that she kept up to avoid others getting close to herself, "Also, for what you mentioned earlier... I just don't think it's possible to maintain my Shikai without that power manifesting. That, actually, is something I've tried before. It's like the blades themselves have a hunger. That part I don't seem to be in direct control of. Perhaps learning to temper it would help reduce my exhaustion, though. Find a way to reduce how much it drains. Either way, you should drink up."

(362/1898)

Yui swung the blade a couple of times in the air, seeming to be in control and everything, but her expression was somewhere between displeased and frustrated. She looked up, and in a motion that was almost automatic, she absorbed the blade back into herself, the weapon sliding smoothly into her skin with a slight ripple of her skin on her hand. She mentioned that she seemed to have done very well, and she couldn’t help but shake her head, waving a hand at the offer for water, as she hadn’t really done anything spectacular just yet. “I’m not used to this style of weapon. My Shikai has undergone a change recently, and I’m still getting used to what it can do, and it all feels really weird still.” Her mismatched eyes looked towards Hana and a thought crossed her mind, but before she could throw out the offer, the young girl spoke again, and the little ninja listened intently.

If she couldn’t enable the Shikai without the power manifesting, that meant that there was some kind of degree of conflict between the Spirit and the Shinigami. But asking about someone else’s inner spirit was akin to asking personal details about their life, and while Yui certainly felt that she could help, she didn’t know if she was that bold. Yui had a connection with Shiva, particularly recently, that was something beyond anything she had previously known, and it was all due to finding that balance with her spirit she had never experienced before. The spirit was a direct reflection of the Death God’s soul, and while they were always sharing in some traits, they could be completely opposite in others, or even manifest primarily in a way that represented suppressed or hidden parts of the soul. But that understanding wasn’t much good without understand who Hana was, at her core… and there was one way she could certainly figure that out.

“Wanna fight?” she asked, almost happily and with a big smile on her face. “I figure if we fight a bit, I might be able to understand you a bit better,” she added, before mentally stating and perhaps I can get a grasp on what your Spirit is like… One way to find out.

---

(P) 376
(T) 2240

Hearing that Yui's Shikai had changed recently wasn't too surprising for Hana. She had just a moment ago found that she could manipulate her own Shikai to an extent, and it would take her a while to adjust to that knowledge even now. She just nodded quietly at the sentiment. It did feel weird, but the knowledge that she could adapt to new situations was exhilarating. She figured that, perhaps, Yui felt the same way about their own new Shikai form.

Standing from her resting point against the tree, Hana stretched her arms and then her legs. She had felt the shift in the air before Yui had even asked those two small words. It wasn't malice she saw in Yui's eyes, but Hana was certain she could see the workings of thought behind them. Something deep and insightful grown from curiosity. 'A fight.' she mused silently, considering her position. It wasn't uncommon for peers to spar, but given her traits Hana had shied away from the practice. She didn't really care how strong others were, and besides that, she doubted she could win in a straight fight. All things considered, it would have seemed a waste of time. If not for the fact that Hana felt she'd hit a hard wall in her training. Yui already seemed to be chipping away at that wall steadily, bringing insight that Hana hadn't found in books or studies yet.

"Alright then..." she started, trailing off her statement to draw her sealed Zanpakuto, "If I'm going to fight you, and even if you insist against it, I will have to give you the first strike. All things equal, I cannot strike out against another Shinigami without orders unless in self defense. I hope these terms are acceptable to you. After the first blow is dealt, I will unseal my weapon and we can spar at whatever pace you feel comfortable with." Everything she says is monotone and utilitarian again, but the way she holds her sword is loose and relaxed right now. She hasn't even taken a proper stance yet, as if she's not taking this seriously. But inside her head she's already calculating everything from the distance between herself and Yui to the way Yui would move for their first strike if they took the chance.

(384/2282w)

Yui waited for the fellow Shinigami to bring herself up, but grew concerned about the terms that she was being given as an exchange. It simply didn’t make sense, because either she was a lot stronger than Yui was and toying with her, able to take on the first strike without problems or fear, or she was seriously lacking in a few departments when it came to combat. Her mismatched eyes considered the stance and everything, and while she did feel a certain calculation in Hana’s eyes, there was no fire, no hunger… that might have been a problem in and of itself.

“Hold on… time out. First off, if you don’t take this seriously, I could wind up hurting you pretty badly, so saying to an assassin that they should ‘strike first’ is insulting.” The tiny ninja paused, letting that first bit of information sink in. It was true too, because if Yui took this spar seriously, and there was usually an air of competitiveness that made her push the envelope more often than not, she could kill Hana on accident, and that would be a tragedy.

“Second, and more importantly, where is your drive? Your sense of competitiveness? Do you not like fighting at all? I mean, I know a lot of people who don’t go around looking for fights like the idiots in Fifth, but still, we all strive to get stronger. Our division is the ones who get called to handle other Shinigami too… you have to be ready. Maybe one of the reasons you can’t get stronger is the lack of desire.” She paused again for a moment, and hit Hana with the ultimate question that would determine where they went from here. “Why do you want to be strong?” It was a pretty fundamental question, but one that was extremely important in understanding the fellow Death God. Captain Kasumi would weed her out quickly if she couldn’t muster the strength to raise her blade against someone else if she was called to do so.

And considering how much, aside the motivation, Hana reminded Yui of herself when she was less experienced, shoving Hana into a squad that was less important in combat roles seemed like a bit of a waste in Yui’s eyes. She would much rather try to figure things out and help her to get stronger, use the teachings she had gotten from everyone around her life to help another, who in turn could help someone else.

---

(P) 415
(T) 2655

Hana could tell even before Yui started to speak that Hana had done something wrong. Yui told her that she wasn't taking the fight seriously, and that it was insulting. At first Hana looked confused, but internally she could feel herself digging through her motives, her reason, her resolve. In her mind's eye she could see the world of chains inside her own mind, her Inner World representative of all the things she couldn't or wouldn't do. Was this one of them? If she did spar with Yui, a stranger in her own division, could she honestly strike a blow against them? Or would she spend the entire time defending against a probably far superior opponent. Is that why she was insulted? The questions were quickly eating away at Hana's mind, leaving her in a sea of doubt while Yui continued to speak.

Then came a new wash of confusion and uncertainty. What was Hana's drive? It seemed simple, any other time. She would be a tool of justice for the Gotei and her division. She knew that second were the special forces sent to detain or even kill rogue Shinigami. That's why she had been chosen for it. Her power, though not strong at the time, was specially suited for wearing down even stronger Shinigami if given time. But if she couldn't even spar on even terms with a fellow member of her own division, how could she hope to work with them. How would she become stronger if she didn't face real combat? The shadow of doubt began to loom heavily overhead.

Then came the all important question. 'Why do I want to become strong?'

She was staring at Yui, but she didn't see the other Shinigami now. Instead, she was looking at the mirage of a massive shark, far beyond the clouds and sky. Grinning hungrily at Hana in an almost comical manner. Warudosame, staring her down only just a moment before vanishing. In her mind, his words arrived shortly after he had, a harsh whisper that she felt would shake the ground around her if it had been real, 'You don't even remember, do you? That driving force from so long ago, that started you on this path. You suffered for what seemed to you like an eternity in that bed, dying. And when you stood, looking down upon your corpse, you had one thought in your head. What was that thought?'

Hana breathed deeply, relaxing her stance and looking now at Yui. In her mind she responded to Warudosame, though she wasn't sure the apparition could hear her. She hardly believed it had actually existed in the first place, but the words in her mind were re-affirming, 'That with my death she would kill no more. That evil witch from so many years ago, dead by the hands of justice, and I was her last victim. But... if someone had been smarter or stronger, then maybe she would have been caught sooner.'

"I'm sorry, both for insulting you and for taking so long to come up with an answer to your questions. I-" she paused again, forming her thoughts into a series of words that would make sense to someone else, "My drive is complicated. I am a tool of the ideal of justice. I serve the Gotei, the second division, and by association the Rukongai and Earth. If I am weak, then I am of no use. If there is potential for me to become stronger, then I'm not strong enough yet. That is the reason I continue to train, and have continued to train for hundreds of years despite stagnating progress. Because there is no excuse for my own weakness when others rely on me for support and protection. Because the sooner I can bring to justice those who would do harm, the less harm they can do." her grip on her Zanpakuto tightened, and her face wass taught with her focused expression bordering on anger. Even her chest was rising and falling with a visibly quickened pace. In her mind she could hear a different voice now, one very similar to her own. Like a heavy weight on her soul, she could feel it fighting to be heard, 'But you're not strong enough. You're not smart enough. Look at you, trying to explain away your inadequacies to a stranger. If you fight them, you'll lose. So why bother fighting at all?'

She pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind and carried on with the final sentiment to her brief speech, "It's not a lack of desire. I do want to become strong. Even when it feels hopeless and the voices in my head tell me I can't do it. Sometimes even because of that. That's why I offered you the first blow. It wasn't to insult you, I just wanted to know if the voice in my head was right. If I could withstand a strike from you, even just one, then the voice would be wrong. But that was selfish of me. It offers you nothing in return if I were to fail, and I see that now. What are your terms for the spar?" she finally stopped talking, letting Yui respond while in her head Hana was already going over possible battle strategies and analyzing what little she knew of Yui's weapon and style.

(896/3178w)

The confused expression that cross Hana’s face was all that Yui needed to understand just a little more about the young woman, realizing that perhaps she wasn’t certain why it was that sparring was so serious. But she also seemed to be processing that at the moment, so for the time being, the tiny ninja remained quiet, waiting for her to roll through her own mind and come to a conclusion. She knew that this was a deeply personal question, and while she had half expected that the woman would recoil, maybe even react negatively at the idea. It was nice to see that this wasn’t the case; she was seriously considering the question and was looking beyond the surface of what she would utter to others. The entire time as well, she was using her senses to identify and work through the woman’s spiritual pressure, feeling its subtle fluctuations and trying to interpret them for the unspoken words.

She seemed to be confused for a moment, and then again as she seemed to come to some sort of realization, but the change when Yui had asked the question about ‘why she wanted to be strong’ was the most profound. Based on the look in her eyes and the way her spiritual pressure flared ever so slightly, she guessed that she had traveled to her inner world for a moment, and Yui smiled. Shiva had been instrumental in guiding the little shinigami down her chosen path, keeping her on track, and helping her when she stumbled over herself. After a moment, she felt t he spiritual pressure harden, like she had found her resolve and the look in her eyes seemed to change.

Well done… Shiva’s cold whisper echoed through her mind, and it didn’t need explanation; the Spirit had many times had to do the same thing for Yui, steeling herself when she was wavering, and she had applied that teaching upon someone else, helping them. It was the ultimate expression of an understood lesson, when you were able to teach it to someone else, and her own mismatched eyes locked onto Hana’s own, waiting a few moments more as she drew in a breath and relaxed. First came an apology, to which Yui simply shook her head, a silent way of expressing that there was no need to feel sorry for trying to figure out one-self.

Yui listened carefully as she explained her drive and motivation to become stronger, and while she felt like some of it was a little too much and she seemed a bit too apologetic, it all made sense. Justice, huh? That was a pretty good reason, if she had to say so herself. Yui’s own desire came from her sense of powerlessness, weakness and inadequacy. She felt like she was never good enough, and only through proving just how powerful she really could be, would she make all those bastards that kicked her into the dirt over the years, beat her senseless countless time, recognize her strength. She had a new drive along with it to; to become such a rank where she could effect change, and develop policies so that people like her weren’t oppressed and had a fighting chance to grow. To weed out the corruption within the division and make it to where everyone had a fighting chance, just like Hana.

Yui nodded, smiling, acknowledging her resolve, but before she could respond, she felt some sort of fluctuation in her pressure again that brought the words to a halt. Something had made her doubt again for a moment… a test maybe from the inner spirit? She couldn’t say for certain, but Hana was overpowering that doubt quickly. The comment about continuing to train even though she had been standing still for hundreds of years made the smile on her face fade… the little Ninja knew exactly how that felt, and how painful it could be. It resolved her on how to handle this perfectly… it was time to show Hana that resolve.

“My terms…”

Suddenly, her spiritual pressure flared, a ghostly pink flame surrounding her and showing the fellow Shinigami exactly what she was made of. She would feel an absolute lack of emotion, like every feeling had been snuffed out in an instant. Normally, she would have raised her blade at this point, showing that Shiva was eager, ready for the fight to begin, but in this moment, she was in Shikai… she was her blade, in the most literal sense. A living weapon, she let that pressure build, and the feeling of the desire to attack, to strike, and above all else, to grow stronger, would wash over Hana like a wave in the most cold, calculated way possible. There was no rage, no sadness, no fear… just simple desire and hunger to grow, to fight, to win.

Still not holding a blade, Yui lowered herself into a fighting stance, one hand in front of her and open palmed towards Hana, the other near her waist in a clenched fist. Turned slightly sideways, crouched a bit, ready to move in any direction at a moment’s notice… and she would patiently wait for Hana to find her resolve. The will to fight was present and in force… and once Hana was ready, they would begin.

“My terms are to fight me with everything you have and more. Hold back, and I might kill you. Shiva is not as kind as I. Prove you can stop the injustice… the same corruption that kept me down for four hundred years… beaten, bloodied and tormented…”

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(P) 933
(T) 3588