Sheep in Wolf's Clothing (Closed/JT/Hotaru and Mizu)

[Hotaru Kuchiki-Masurao]

OOC: Training for CTP

IC:
Hotaru was looking through her paperwork again, evaluating some of the new recruits that she had noticed in the latest group sparring. Looking through all the files, her eyes landed on Mizu's record. She took some time to look through it more carefully and it seemed that the hospital visit had left her weak. How weak, Hotaru didn't completely know, but she was curious as to why she was in the hospital in the first place. Looking closer, she couldn't seem to find any reason in the file.

Was it some sort of genetic disease? Did she contract something contagious and was quarantined in Squad Four before she was released? Did she fight off something horrible that maimed her and that's why she was in the hospital? Her mind started to wander about all the possibilities of why she could be there. It seemed that her stay was kind of long, she was just guessing since she didn't know long an actual 'long' stay at a hospital actually is. The one time she was hurt that bad, she went to Squad Twelve and the rest is pretty much history.

Comparing her to the other new recruits, she hated to say this, but she was lacking compared to them. Her skills needed to be honed so she could stand a fighting chance against what was out there in the wilderness and what would come here to try to infiltrate/destroy the Seireitei. Looking through her file again and being set on what she planned on doing, she put the files back in order, locking them up in her lower desk drawer. After doing that, she grabbed a piece of paper and started to write.

She wrote a quick little note, before she grabbed all the stuff she needed out of her office. She would lock the door behind her and walked into the barracks. Not seeing who she was looking for, she put the note on her pillow, with her name, Mizu, written neatly on the front of the note. It was about six o'clock and since it was dinnertime, she assumed she was eating. After leaving the note, she walked towards Squad Thirteen, going to spend the night in the Human World with her husband.

When Mizu got the note, it would read, "Hello Mizu! I hope that you are feeling better! From what I've read in your file, it seems that you could still be weakened from your time in the hospital. Because of that, I would like to meet you on the training field after lunch tomorrow so we can have some one-on-one training. If you feel up to it, please meet me at the appointed time. Hope to see your there! - Captain Hotaru Kuchiki-Masuaro."

The next day, she would returned to the Seireitei fairly early, Shunpo-ing back to the Manor to deposit her dirty clothes, since she kept changes of clothes in the Human World, and grab some breakfast before she Shunpo-ed back to her division. Making it back to her office, she unlocked it and saw all the paperwork waiting for her. Checking the clock, she knew she needed to quickly get all this done. She would set Rivu~aiasan on his stand while she got to work. She kept her nose to the grindstone, barely looking up to try to get the work done.

Looking up after her work is done, she was able to finish the bulk of it by lunchtime, which was surprising. She usually had to work late into the lunch break, but today she guessed she got lucky. She went to the mess hall, grabbing a quick lunch. After eating, she went back into the barracks to find her officer and Vice Captain. She would tell them what was going to happen after lunch and to try to do as much work as they could and leave the rest with Tima and he'll get it to her.

Once talking to them and setting things up, she walked to the training ground and wrote a note on the little whiteboards that were there (she had set up whiteboards here so people would know it the field was taken for something important or if specific members had requested to take over half or all the field. There were time brackets there to reserve), reserving at least two hours and the entire field for her training. She didn't know if Mizu would show up, so she would start training herself. Once Mizu got close, she would see Hotaru working through her own drills, waiting for her.

[“Mizu Tsuraiko" Orina]

Mizu hissed and gritted her teeth as she felt the reiatsu she had been building up crackle and burn her hand. She winced, shaking her head and taking several moments to try and calm herself back down. It had come to her attention that certainly while she was perfectly capable of using Cero Bestia to emulate Kido, she needed something with more oomf. Especially as she grew stronger and stronger. No doubt if she stayed as weak as she was, then she might not ever be promoted in the squad. And that was an absolute must.

The cero was something that she had heard about during her talks with some of the squadmembers. About how certain arrancar had the ability to use it. But...alas. She found that it wasn't working so well for her. She had thought that it could emulate things like Byakurai or even very powerful versions of Kido with electricity. But it seemed to not be within her ability to learn. She hated it. The way some shinigami got their facts wrong. they were under the impression that all hollows could learn it. But as it turned out, it didn't seem it was one for hollows, but solely for arancar. She sighed, slumping to the floor and shaking her head at the incompetence of the shinigami at times.

As she made her way back to the barracks, she was a little surprised when she saw... a note? She paused, looking it over for several seconds before her entire face turned pink. WHAT?! She almost felt her eyes go yellow as she tried to calm herself. Shhhhhit, the Captain wanted to train her?! Okookok. Calm down Mizu. You can handle this. She took a slow, deep breath. The Captain to wsay the least was a very attractive woman according to her squadmates, and even Orina had to admit that despite being a hollow, she looked quite delicious, and not in the normal sense. Shit. It took her several moments, but ultimately...the reality was that she couldn't refuse her Captain.

Her Captain, such a strange notion. Even as she looked down at the slightly burned hand (One she would have to take to squad four to get fixed no doubt), she let out a slow, steady sigh. She took a bit to brush her teeth, get a new uniform on, and then head out. She eventually made her way to the designated area and gave a....shy look around. Where was she? She tried to think back, frowning and rubbing her cheek. Wait....OHHHHH Fuck! IT was tomorrow! She let out a sigh and shook her head. She let herself get so psyched out that she friggin showed up a day early! Then again... she paused.

Perhaps she SHOULD be early? She looked around and did note, it would look good to the captain. And that's what she wanted after all wasn't it? She wanted to be indispensible to the squad. To gain a high position, and hopefully she would be able to exact her revenge. That was the dream was it not? She puffed out her cheeks, narrowing her eyes and hopping in place as she let out a HUFF! YES! She would do this! Promptly, she made her way off to the side and decided to practice. even if she k new she wouldn't be able to do it, she still began training through the motions of the cero. The best part was that the technique didn't charge up like normal cero, so it was really just a crackle of electricity.

It didn't matter if she would never be able to actually properly USE the technique, studying the various adjustments of reiatsu would still allow her to try and apply it to other abilities. Perhaps she would even find a way to apply it to other actual techniques. Then again, perhaps she should try to find a way to learn Kido? It would....be ridiculously hard. She would need to make another modification of her Gigai in order to accomplish it. Not only that but it would probably be very sterenuous. How would she even do something like that.

But if she succeeded? She might actually be able to use just about any technique of another race. It was.... it was definitely a strange idea. But well....certainly it could work right? She wasn't sure. But it would certainly be worth a shot wouldn't it? She found herself swallowing audibly, biting her lower lip at the very notion. But even so... if she pulled it off? That would open a LOT of doors for her. She began getting a little overexcited!~ and before she knew it, she was passed out, fast asleep against one of the training dummies. One of her squad members put a blanket over her and allowed her to sleep there.

The next day, Orina was still exhausted, winding up sleeping in. She had been training until about eight in the morning, so she wound up being way out of wack in her sleep schedule, it wasn't until the noises of Hotaru's training began that she suddenly startled herself awake, letting out an eep as she fell over, the training dummy falling on her with a WHUP as she managed to stand up, grunting and rubbing her sore shoulder before she noticed her captain. "C-captain! I-I'm ready!" She sputtered out, internally screaming. HAD SHE SLEPT ALL THE WAY TO LUNCH?!

[Hotaru Kuchiki-Masurao]

Hotaru was slowly started to warm up when she heard the weirdest sound, especially since she believed that she was the only one out here. She glanced around and saw one of the training dummies fell over. Immediately getting on the defensive, she watched as Mizu immediately stood up, saying that she was ready for her training. Interesting that the newest member of her squad was out here already. But why would they be out here already? She didn't seem strong enough to train on her own but still.....

She slowly and cautiously made her way to the woman, looking around to see what was around her. There was the dummy that she knocked over and a random blanket was laying on the ground. Did one of her squad just leave her out her to sleep?! It didn't make any sense to her that they left her here. But, it could've been the fact that she was sleeping so soundly that they didn't feel the need to move her. What time did she even go to sleep? She still looked around, rather warily, before she backed up and looked at the woman.

"Wow, you look horrible! No offense of course. You must've slept out here... So, do you actually need to rest before we train or are you really good to go? I don't want to train you if you're so tired you can't make it back to your bedroom." She just stared at her, wondering why the hell she was out here in the first place. She did know that her note was pretty explicit about what time she needed to be here and her falling asleep outside was pretty weird. So, she did the most sensible thing she could think of.

"I think with you sleeping outside, it's obviously that you more than likely didn't get enough sleep. Who could on the hard earth out here? Go back into the barracks and take a nap on your bed. I'll give you an hour. Then, come back out here and we'll see how much better you're feeling. Or, if you really think you're up to training with me, show me what you got. Right. Now." She would walk towards the middle of the grounds, keeping her eyes on the woman and waiting to see what she would do.

[“Mizu Tsuraiko" Orina]

Mizu blinked softly. Was....it weird to sleep outside? She just sorta stared at the Captain for a moment and looked at where she had been sleeping. "Oh....I mean, I spent a lot of time in the outter rukongai before I joined. I guess I'm kinda used to sleeping on the hard ground." Wow she thought of that pretty fast, the truth being that as a hollow she slept on the ground almost exclusively, but of course she wasn't going to say that. The comfort of this lure really was rarely an issue. However, soon she had other things to worry about.

She swallowed audibly as the Captain gave her ultimatum. Take a nap, or come at her. She felt... anxiety in her throat. Of course unlike out in the rukongai, she couldn't go using Bala or anything like that. She was restricted.....for now just...well... hand to hand. She was able to fake a shikai. But she knew that that was something that was gradually earned. She felt that something as mundane as a training wouldn't be a suitable place for it to suddenly wake up. So she nervously took a look around. "I....you....do you....want me to ..attack you?" She asked softly, her hands slowly forming fists. Honestly she paused. "Won't my arm like....explode if I hit you?" She was VERY familiar with cutback after all.

[Hotaru Kuchiki-Masurao]

Get used to sleeping on the hard ground? Who does that?! Mizu would see the mix of emotions that would cross her face, confusion and oddness being the main ones that she would see. She had slept on the ground as well, but it was always on something that lessened the hardness of the ground, like a bedroll or something. But to be sleeping next to, or was she on, a training dummy was a little extreme. Once she spoke, she rolled her shoulders and looked at her newest recruit, getting ready for training.

Mizu seemed a little afraid as she put her hands up. This was one of the only times, if not the only time, that she had trained with someone that was afraid to try to fight her. Hotaru was slightly confused until she spoke up. Oh shit.....I completely forgot about that! She felt like a complete idiot when she brought up something Hotaru should've known already. This was the first time that she was training someone this much weaker than her but she shook her head slightly to try to center herself again.

How could she forget that this person just came out of the hospital and still had to be slightly weak from the visit?! She would face palm if she was by herself, but since she was with one of her squad members, she just did it internally instead. She would look around and find a training sword in one of the many racks on the grounds. Looking at them and picking one that she thought would work for her. She would come back towards the woman and face her with a smile. "Well, how about we do this. You can either use your own Zanpaktou or this training sword, but I want you to attack this training dummy with the weapon so I know what I'm working with."

[“Mizu Tsuraiko" Orina]

Training for Shunpo Karin

Mizu gave a nervous smile and nodded her head at the woman as they seemed to take their meaning well enough. However she paused, looking at the offered weapon, as well as the actual training dummy. "Oh um..." She paused. She really wasn't much of a physical fighter. That was putting it lightly. Truth of it was that she was awful at physically engaging others. She hesitated. She was more of a kido kinda girl. "Kido" of course.

She cleared her throat, and then paused. Surely something would help her? After all, she DID want to try and impress the woman. She swallowed audibly and focused. She was familiar with Shunpo by now, she had even been considering Senka, but for now, she would need to focus on something...simpler. It was a step technique that shinigami had devised for offensive purposes. It was simple enough, she just needed to make sure she didn't destroy her arm in the process. Her mind worked, toiling away as she focused on her muscles.

The biggest issue would be control. Keeping her fluid motion, and making sure that she didn't go destroying her arm in the process. That zanpaku'to was able to cut through a considerable ammount of things, as she had been growing, she had seen that herself. But if she hit the dummy with, say, her hand, then she was just going to bust herself up. she mentally went through the motions, and kept her arm still, following it in her mind, so that the Captain would not think she was weird. Then again just staring at the dummy was it's own level of strange.

But with that, she let in a slow, deep breath. She let her shoulders relax, and let her other hand fall to her side. She stepped toward the Dummy, a good arms'length away. And with one fluid motion, she initiated, the energy of the shunpo coursing through her arm as she suddenly blitzed upward, her hand SLICING clean through, in a sudden blur of speed, inferior to most shunpo karin, but still worlds faster than it would have otherwise been able to do. In one fell SLASH, the blade would seek to separate the upper portion of the dummy from the lower.

Training for SP

She let out a sheepish smile, pleased with her progress and rubbing her arm anxiously, a little sheepish as she turned her attention to her Captain and put on a smile, one that had none of the vile hatred in her heart, but that simple, warm, beaming mirth. "Like that Captain?" She ventured, hoping that it would be to the woman's liking. She certainly hoped so!

[Hotaru Kuchiki-Masurao]

Hotaru watched as the woman seemed a little nervous. Why was there anything to be nervous about? It was just training after all. It didn't even cross her mind to think that maybe it was because the leader of the division sent her a personalized note wanting to train her one-on-one. Hotaru just wanted to make sure the squad stayed strong and honestly didn't even think about it in that way. But, she watched and saw that it seemed like she had decided on how she was going to approach the problem.

She carefully tried to watch every slight movement she made, ready to tell her areas to improve. Mizu seemed the stare at the dummy for a little longer than necessary. Was she sizing the dummy up? Was she trying to put the face of an enemy on the dummy and that is what was taking so long? Or, was she going through a list of sword techniques, trying to pick the one that work work the best? What she saw was something rather impressive. She watched as she moved quickly, slicing through the dummy with her sword.

The movement was good, but the power she had behind it was interesting. Even though Hotaru herself couldn't read energy that well, she thought she could tell what she had done. The spike she felt had reminded her of Shunpo, something that she had been able to master through her training. She had never seen someone use Shunpo through their arms like that before. She had a similar technique, but she thought only the Kuchiki had that. But, she knew a regular Shunpo more than likely couldn't expend that much energy to help her slice through a dummy.

Thinking through all the movement steps that she knew, there was only one that she could think of that it could possibly be. Shunpo Karin. It was the only one that she knew well that was that explosive. She had used it on a number of occasions, but to channel that kind of destructive power through her arms when it's meant for a step movement, it was rather impressive. She raised an eyebrow at how the dummy was separated and watched Mizu turn around, rubbing her arm.

So...the technique still harmed her somewhat. But, her control was well done. This woman is definitely surprising... When she asked if she like it and Hotaru smiled back to match her smile with one of equal warmth. "The strike was very good! I also liked the technique that you used to bolster the strength of your strike. Mastering movement techniques, I have an idea of what you used and I have to say that the control that you would need to channel it through your arms is rather impressive!"

"But, I have to tell you, I can't use Kido. Using a technique to help your strength is a sign that you focus mostly on Kido than swordplay. So, if you were hoping for Kido training, sadly I am not the person to help you with that. If you want to continue, it will be swordplay only. The only Kido like thing I do is when I release, but I'm pretty sure that you wouldn't want to try against the release of a Captain. So! I'm leaving the option up to you! If you wish to continue, we'll start to practice on your swing."

[“Mizu Tsuraiko" Orina]

Mizu let out a soft little noise as she shook her arm out, pausing for a moment to glance at the woman and smiling. "I understand Captain! I honestly am alright. I've been doing really well for myself, and I think that I will have a good enough beat on this whole thing. I've had a good ammount of progress in my zanpaku'to. I even think that I might have learned it's name! I'm just sorta....anxious about calling it out." She noted sheepishly, looking down at the blade and rubbing the back of her neck. Truth be told she had simply been anxious about when to release it. How fast was too fast after all?

"Captain, I've heard that one's zanpaku'to is linked to one's soul. Their deepest workings. That it is a reflection of one's self. And I confess. I'm a little afraid to find out what Mine is. If it might be...dangerous or something.Or harmful to me. I've heard of some shinigami's Zanpakuto even driving them insane and cursing them." All technically true. She rubbed lightly at the back of her neck and let out a slow, steady sigh. "I'm wondering if maybe it would be better not to ever call on it. If that makes any sense."

She sat down and leaned back against the training dummy and looked over that zanpaku'to. Or rather, her perfect replication of it. So very unique in it's ability to emulate the shinigami's release. She ran her fingers along it's edge and thought quietly to herself. She wondered what sort of power she would have and grow into in the future. As she no doubt went about and emulated a shinigami's strength, what about other races? She had never even thought that she might get to do something like that. But...it may very well be something to consider. But for now she let her gaze drift back to the Captain herself. After all, she was ...intrigued. After all, this woman was doing so much to help her, perhaps it wouldn't be so bad to get close to them.

She got up and made her way over to the captain and gave a bit of a sheepish smile as she looked down at her blade, and let out a slow sigh. "Were you ever afraid of your own Zanpaku'to?" She asked, curious. She was still learning about shinigami. It would be very interesting to find out what they thought about their strange powers. Many hollows did seem to have trouble with their own abilities from time to time, and even she had a bit of an odd time with her own powers. So then why would shinigami also not fall victim to this? It seemed an adequate question to ask.

[Hotaru Kuchiki-Masurao]

Hotaru quirked an eyebrow at what she said. So, she was fine with sword training and she knew her Zanpaktou's name? Fairly impressive for someone that came off weaker than other shinigami. It just goes to show that you can't judge a book by their cover. The only issue is, was she truly strong enough to handle the power that her Zanpaktou was going to give her when she released? She had already seen first hand with Miranda Frost that even if the name of the Zanpaktou was known, they might not be ready for it. Now, Arantima had a way to fix it with his 'Soulbind' technique, but if she tried to do that now, and the same result happened, the only thing Hotaru could think of was the knock the girl out.

She listened intently to what she said next. Hotaru could understand why it would be scary to find out what would happen when your Zanpaktou is first released. She too had heard the horror stories about the spirit of a Zanpaktou driving the wielder insane. The Zanpaktou could be harmful or hurtful but, Hotaru had her own theory about it. She had always believed that if someone was truly good, it is reflected in their souls and the power that comes from their own Zanpaktous wouldn't harm them. But, if someone thought they were good, but had extremely evil tendencies, that also reflected and that's when Zanpaktous turned out harmful for the wielder.

Then, she sat down and started to look over her zanpaktou thoughtfully. Obviously the woman was thinking about it and Hotaru waited for her to be done. Once she was, she got up walked over to her, asking if she was afraid of her own Zanpaktou. Hotaru thought about that for a minute, trying to think back to when she first released her Zanpaktou. She touched the hilt of her blade and felt Rivu~aiasan's warmth come through it, comforting her with heat. Thinking back on the first time, she honestly didn't remember too much about it. But, there was one thing that she had never felt with her Zanpaktou.

"If I'm being completely honest, from what I remember, I have never truly been afraid of my Zanpaktou. When I first released him, I remember I felt wonder and awe with the change of my Zanpaktou. I was just so happy that I was finally able to hear him that there was no fear. The more I fought with him, the more I understood my power better and it evolved to what it is now. When I first released my Bankai, I was more happy than afraid. Happy that I could finally see my Zanpaktou spirit outside of my inner world. We are close, he tries to give me some good advice and training tips."

"Do you have any other questions for me, or are you ready to return to training?"

[“Mizu Tsuraiko" Orina]

Mizu nodded slowly at that. And she did have to wonder. This woman was a Captain. Surely she had to have some conflicts with her Zanpaku'to. Bankai was built on overcoming those obstacles. So she had t o pause, musing over the notion and closing her eyes as she came to meander across the notion of these sorts of issues. She took a seat directly across from he woman and looked at her. Really looked at her in the eyes. It was so very odd how the authority sortof glazed the view. One looked at them as a whole, but the individual characteristics sort of blended. It was Captain, not Hotaru. She was more a coat than a person. At least until then.

"When you fought with you zanpaku'to in order to gain control of it. What was it that he tried to fight with you? If he's a part of your soul I imagine he would have been simply criticizing some aspect of your life. I've heard some are not respected because of how they choose to fight. Some on how they choose to live. Some on how honest they are with themselves." She was prying just a little. But this was the perfect opportunity. She had every reason to ask about this while discussing zanpaku'to. to see what the zan would pick at. And thus, Hotaru's own personal experience was relevent to the situation. As such it was just coincience that it would also lead her to learn more about how the captain worked, on the level of her soul. What did her inner self not like about her outter self?

In a way she even wondered that about her own inner self? She had no internal Zan. But her ability allowed her to emulate it. Slowly but surely, she had manufactured what was, essentially, her own Asauchi. in every functional way, it was her zanpaku'to. She supposed that meant that once she completed it, there would be some version of herself in there. It was the....drawback of copying the ability so exactly. She wondered what other races would be like? She had a strong drive. She didn't imagine it would be hard to conquer in the slightest. But.....uncertainty did rear it's head. No, don't be stupid Orina. She allowed herself to look back up to Hotaru.

" It it's at all possible. I.....I want to try and see if I can learn my zan's name. I just....well...I was absent for the jinzen lessons in the academy." Thank GOD those were actually at the end of the curriculum when she'd had her 'injury'. So she had the alibi for that. She knew it was some sort of meditation thing, but she still wanted to know the specifics of it. Admittedly Hotaru did not strike her as a woman who was very knowledgable about that. Regardless of the girl's bankai, she seemed like a woman who had stuff just sorta....happen as opposed to the actual pursuit. But all the same, even a rudimentary guideline would suffice.

[Hotaru Kuchiki-Masurao]

Hotaru was slightly surprised that her squad member wanted to talk more than train, especially since Hotaru specifically called her out here to do just that. She was impressed that she knew some techniques that could be extremely helpful in a fight. But, the topic of her conversation was starting to revolve around zanpaktous and the ability to call their name to access that other power that was locked inside all shinigami. She didn't really think how interested others would be at the process when they didn't hear their zanpaktou. She remembered slightly feeling something in her blade, but was so happy when she heard him.

Was she this curious about the release of the power in her blade? Thinking back on it, she couldn't remember if she was extremely curious about it like it seemed like most of her squad was. But, then again, she had grown up training and fought in a war before she died. She had trained for several years before death and maybe that assurance that her training would help her here made it so she didn't think too much about the blade itself. Well, she thought that way until she heard him and then her entire way of thinking changed. She realized that a zanpaktou was more than just a blade, it was an extension of her. It was for this reason she talked to him often, always keeping that side of herself close and in the know about what went on around them.

While she sat there, she waited until the woman spoke again, asking for details about her Bankai fight. It was true that Zanpaktou spirit and shinigami fought so the shinigami gained the right for Bankai. It seemed that she had assumed that the zanpaktou in question would nitpick at you for something during the fight. It was an interesting assumption to put on all Bankai fights, but even then, her fight wasn't nearly like that. But, it was definitely an eye opening experience for her. "The fight for Bankai is different with each shinigami. I have heard those stories as well, but every fight is different. My fight was somewhat different from those that you've mentioned. When I met him on the field of battle in my inner world, I had my Shikai and he had no weapons. He talked to me, telling me that he thought I was ready and how the fight would go.

"He told me that he wouldn't hold back like he did before and his own weapons appeared. We fought then. I didn't realize how much he held back against me until I felt him go full out against me. I had fought in battles and a war when I was alive and thought that I had enough battle experience to defend and counterattack. I was wrong. I fought as best I could and after hours....I was able to win. Once I won, he acknowledged that I was ready and released the power he had held back, leading me to release Bankai for the first time. I won't give too many detail about the fight itself, since it's a rather personal matter. But, I think I gave you enough." She took a breath and touched her Zanpaktou, feeling his warm and approval for leaving out the most important part of the fight. She didn't need to know about that part.

Looking back at her, it seemed that she was intent on learning her zanpaktou's name, which was definitely an admirable feat. She nodded to her, but then she said that she missed the lessons on it in the Academy. They taught that stuff at the academy? She didn't remember that at the Academy, but the Academy was a long time ago and so much had happened to her since then. "From what I remember to learning my zanpaktou's name, I got strong. When I was strong enough, I heard his name. I don't remember the lessons you speak of from the Academy, but then again, the Academy has been many years ago and much has happened to me in that time. Sorry I can't be of much help in that regard, but hopefully what I said helped!"

[“Mizu Tsuraiko" Orina]

Mizu nodded slowly as the Captain went through their own explanation of the entire process and she heard the whispers from her sword. It had been a little...creepy honestly. She had tried a number of times to emulate the shinigam i Zanpaku'to. However, it never seemed to quite...come out right? But then she had tried actually severing a bit of her soul and pouring it into the Hook itself. And well.... the cackling she could hear in her head was evidence enough. She began to wonder if she was going a bit too far. But even so, she ran her fingers along the weapon itself. She knew how to make it work. She had even gotten it to manifest in the real world. But well...she had never actually released it.

"I think I know it's name. But I'm a little afraid to call it out. Especially with how weak I am." She murmured softly, closing her eyes and shaking her head as she took a slow, deep breath. She was still not entirely sure about what differences there were between her own ability and an actual Zanpaku'to. Would she have to fight it? She didn't know. "If you didn't mind, Captain. I was hoping that I would be able to test myself against you. At least to try and get the hang of it." She murmured, looking down, and then back up at the woman as she tilted her head to the side. It was a longshot, but it was worth it right?

Truth be told, she should be doing this in private. But this was an opportunity to bond with the Captain. She gulped nervously, swallowing a mouthful of saliva. Being around Captain-strength shinigami always made her so damn hungry. Looking down at her Zanpaku'to she ran her fingers along it's edge, making note of that keen edge and considering her own experiences with it so far. She trusted her own abilities, the path her soul had decided to take. If nothing else, this would be proof that she would be fully capable of fooling the shinigami, even as she came to be more and more powerful.

[Hotaru Kuchiki-Masurao]

Hotaru finished her talk and watched the woman before her. She always had hoped with her division that she could take in anyone and with enough training, she could turn them into the best defenders of the Seireitei. It was her dream and so far, she was happy to say that the division was coming along quite well towards that goal. Most members were coming along quite well with training and learning new skills. Of course, not everyone was up that high yet, but she knew which ones it was and made sure that they patrolled with veterans of her division, so they could learn a few tricks from them to make them stronger.

Mizu, however was a different case. She came from a hospital bed to her division. The woman did know some skills from what she had exhibited, but she was curious as to how much stronger she has gotten since she joined her division. She refocused on the woman's face when she mentioned knowing her Zanpaktou's name. She had every right to worry about releasing with how weak she was. But, then again, it seemed that her Zanpaktou didn't think of her to be that weak, if it thought she was ready to hear its name. Her mind went back to what happened with Frost at the division wide training and then rethought what she said.

Maybe the Zanpaktou was testing her? She hadn't seen what had happened to Frost before, but she was trying to figure out why that happened. Maybe the soul was strong, but the body was still too weak? It definitely could be one of the reasons that it happened. When she suggested testing herself against her, Hotaru smiled. She liked sparring more than actually training someone, it was what she was better at. She always thought sparring with someone would give them a better learning experience than actually trying to slowly show them moves. But then again, she figured that she only thought that way because it was the way she learned.

"Of course, Mizu-san. I will help you in what you think is necessary for your own personal growth. Now, I have to ask you one question, since the only other people I've actually sparred with I have done while released without holding back. I assume that you would want me to hold back my strength, but do you want to try your best against a Shikai or not? We can work it whichever way your are comfortable with." While she was talking, she walked towards the center of the training grounds, motioning Mizu to stand several feet across from her. She would unsheathe her blade and start to roll her shoulders out to warm up. "First move to you."

[“Mizu Tsuraiko" Orina]

Mizu rose up to her feet, brushing her uniform off and taking a slow, deep breath. It was strange how comfortable she was these days in a shihakusho. Turning her attention back to her Captain, she couldn't help but hesitate just a little. She certainly had a bit of a point. "I would appreciate you using a good ammount of force. Um... I'm not sure if your shikai is suitable for sparring, but if it is then I suppose that would work, Ma'am." She responded. After all, she didn't want to be burned to a crisp just on a spar. That definitely wasn't something she wanted going down.

Holding out her zanpaku'to, she swallowed and looked around at the rest of the training area. She ahd to admit, pointing her blade at the captain made her heart race. Not in excitement, but in fear. She was... a coward. she knew that well enough and she bit her lip, her body shaking just a little, knowing just how damn easy it'd be for the woman to just end her. For the woman to just obliterate her without the need to exert any sort of effort. Little beads of sweat formed on that perfect skin and she made a nervous little chuckle. "Just drawing my blade at you I'm kinda terrified.... I'm a bit surprised my Zanpaku'to told a coward like me its name.." She stammered.

It was definitely weird, vocalizing her insecurities, but for some reason it made the shinigami around her bleed their hearts like nobody's business. Honestly it was embarassing, and it only made her tremble all the more to talk about being weak to a woman she wanted nothing more than to tear into. One day.... onde day she would. She promised herself THAT much. The grip on her zanpaku'to tightened as she began to take slow, calming breaths to settle herself down, and that shaking began to quell. She could do this. It was just a test, a stepping stone. If she could do this? she could trick anyone. Anything. Untying the knot in her throat, she let her voice ring out, as the pure, clean spiritual energy of a shinigami would ripple around her, her eyes glowing a bright blue flame.

"Open your mouth. Shinkai."

That blade suddenly rippled, water bursting from it as it lengthened, turning into a long trident with serrated prongs, Mizu's shinigami reiatsu RUSHING out as her own reiatsu strength, which frankly was quite impressive, surged out and licked along the air around her, the trident forcing the air around it to ripple, as if it weremoving through water. Mizu felt a slight RUSH course through her body as she focused on her Captain and tensed her shoulders, taking up an offensive stance with the weapon before stabbing it into the ground with a loud KLINK. There was a sudden gushing explosion of water outward, as suddenly a film formed, a bubble reaching forty meters in every direction, and once it finished forming, in that next instant, the air exploded with water, and suddenly everything would be dark, that massive amoun of water suddenly cutting everything off. The Captain would suddenly find herself alone in a huge abyss of water, only able to see 4 meters in any direction, and nothing but darkness beyond that.

Of course she would feel an INCREDIBLE pressure of the water pushing down on her, all but trying to crush her against the ground, but of course, being a Captain, she had plenty of strength, and while it was a burden, it wouldn't slow her down like it was designed to. Not only that but she would find that she was able to breathe in the water created by the shell. She would be able to move about as well as she would nbormally if she were in water, no doubt shunpo would be incredibly tiring to do through the water, not to mention the woman wouldn't be able to see. But of course, that wasn't a problem for Mizu. Those glowing blue eyes were able to see perfectly through the entire dome, she could even sense anything inside of it.

She prepared her first attack, tensing her weapon, and then RIPPING it upward! With that attack, a lance of reiatsu surged toward the capt ain at 600 speed, and it completely melded in with the water of the actual dome, so it wouldn't be until it was already within 2 meters of Hotaru that the Captain would be able to see the ripping blade of water surging at her, intent on slicing her from shoulder to hip. But of course... as much as Mizu would have loved to cut her Captain in half...she held back, so that even if the attack blindsided the Captain like it was supposed to, it would only create a shallow slash from her shoulder to her hip, a purely superficial wound that would bloody the water, but not actually be of any concern to the woman.

[Hotaru Kuchiki-Masurao]

Hotaru nodded along while Mizu spoke. It seemed like she wanted something of great force, but of course nothing that would actually kill the poor girl. Thinking on her Shikai, she could make it so that the woman isn't burned to a crisp. Her Shikai would be much better to train her with than her Bankai. Her Bankai is too destructive and even if she did know the name of her Zanpaktou, a Captain's Bankai is extremely powerful. Her power is aimed to hit a huge area of people in that release, but in Shikai, she can focus the power towards one specific person. She was still new at trying to train people, but at least she thought she was getting better!

Once she drew her blade and pointed it at her, she saw the slight tremble in her arm and hand while it was pointed at her. It seemed like she was nervous about drawing her blade towards her Captain. She could definitely understand that, if Hotaru was in her shoes, she would feel the same way. But, the path to strength is fighting those stronger than you to improve. She had done it and now one of her division members was doing it as well. Arantima did it as well, but he pushed himself far more than she thought was healthy. But, she made sure that he didn't go too crazy. Well, at least she tried to make sure of that.

She stood resolute, watching her to see what she would do. She didn't feel like coddling the woman, since she had already been coddled in the hospital and Hotaru assumed that most of the division members already thought her weak. But, if she already knew the name of her Zanpaktou, she was stronger than a lot of members of her division. Once she spoke about being surprised about knowing its name, she took off the sheath of her sword and held both out in front of her. Taking a quick deep breath, she yelled out the name of her beloved Zanpaktou, the one thing that has been the most constant thing in her life since she came here.

"Burn, Rivu~aiasan."

Her sheath disappeared and scales take its place. The scales start to slowly form the cannon on her left arm. The katana in her right hand starts to grow, the blade growing thicker and slightly starts to bend towards the tip, while the head of a dragon emerges where the hilt was. A tail starts to wrap around her right arm as the blade starts to get engulfed in flame. She looks at the woman as she then starts to say the name of her own Zanapaktou. Hotaru watches as a trident forms from the blade she used to carry and she smiles slightly. When she notices the ripple around the prongs, she had a good idea of what her power was.

Hotaru got into her normal stance while Mizu rolled her shoulders. The next move she did was something she wasn't expecting. Her trident hits the ground and water starts to form a bubble around her rather quickly. Hotaru had fought against Himitsu, who had also used water against her. It was a Kido though, not a Zanpaktou release, but her power should work the same. This water power, she was sure, was unique like all shinigami powers, so she was rather excited to test her powers against another water power. Once the bubble was fully formed, Hotaru put both of her arms in front of her before water just appeared around her.

She immediately did what she did last time against the water Kido, she shot fire at it. Her fire was not the normal fire that you see in fireplaces or bonfires. Her fire was not weakened by water at all, but by something else entirely. The assumption that her fire wouldn't work against water was something she would let people believe until it was too late. So, once she was wrapped in the water, she immediately pointed her cannon up and started to shoot her fire out of it. She kept her fire blade in front of her face to see if she could see better. She took a tentative breath and found that she would actually breathe.

Well, at least she could actually breathe underwater, so this wasn't like an insta-kill thing. She was noticing that the actual water was more floating than falling, which was rather interesting. But then again, this water came from her Shikai, so it would make sense that it wasn't normal water, like her fire wasn't normal. But, the fact that it was floating made her want to get out of it faster. With her cannon up, firing into the water, she could see that her fire was starting to destroy the water, since even though Mizu had a good deal of reiatsu strength based on the water, hers was higher.

It also helped that the fire itself was cutting down the strength of the actual water. She was making her cannon shoot out fire as quickly as she could, keeping her eyes open and her blade near her face to see if she could see. Taking a few seconds to actually try to cut through this water, she kept her eyes open and pivoted around the same spot to make sure that her fire was still aiming at the same spot. Before she could move, she saw something move towards her. Since her blade was near her face, she moved the blade the few centimeters towards her mouth, took a deep breath and then blew out.

Blowing out, even though it probably wasn't as powerful as it could be on land, fire would shoot out from the entire length of the blade. It would look like she was breathing fire, her thought would be to try to displace some of the water in front of her and possibly hit either the weapon or her, which she assumed was doing the attack. She would keep blowing along the blade for as long she she could before she would use Shunpo to try to Shunpo up towards the small opening she made in the water and then stood on air ground. She then aimed her cannon upwards and aimed to carve her way out of this water.