Mountain Men!

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This is a training thread between Raygin and Shade. They will most likely be catching up, as Raygin has been gone for a few months training as well as killing wild Hollows.

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Somewhere, in a place far far away. In a place far from the Seiretei, within the deepest districts of the Rukongai was a series of mountains that not many went to. The mountains were known to be a large hunting ground for Hollows to strong for the human world and yet to weak to fight in Hueco Mundo. The mountains had no official name but rather they were given a nickname from the residents of the West District number 80. Due to the length of the mountain range, as well as the way the mountains were shaped, they came known as the Spine. The mountains formed a sort of barrier around the 80th district, keeping the citizens from wandering into the endless void of the Rukongais plains. Nobody ventured near the Spine for fear of the Hollows that dwelt within it, none wanting to get eaten.

Except one incredibly braze, or stupid, Shinigami from the Kawada family. Raygin Kawada, the infamous clown of the Kawada Royal family, had taken it upon himself to up and leave the household one day. He did leave a note though so Shade didn’t think Raygin went rogue! The note read something like ”Dear Shade-sama. I have finally recovered from my surgery and gone off to train. I realize my weakness and hope to improve myself for my own honor and the families. I heard about a mountain range into the 80th west district that is crawling in Hollows. I hope to improve my skills and myself by spending some time up in there. If I am not back in three months, could you send someone to come find me…or come yourself? Your son, Raygin.” It had been three months.

Exactly three months since the day Raygin vanished there was no returning words from him or any visible sign he was alive. Well, the Kawadas couldn’t simply say he was dead without finding proof first, right? Well, hopefully the Kawadas would send somebody. That would be awfully nice of them. Truth was, Raygin wasn’t dead. No, he was far from it. He had just forgotten it had been three months. Actually, Ray didn’t know how long he had been up there. He figured he had been up there awhile.

In a small clearing at the base of numerous stonewalls stood a small hunters shack. It was covered in moss, hiding perfectly in the brush and trees away from prying eyes. It was small, only big enough to fit one person, which was perfectly fine to be honest. Near the hut was a small babbling brook full of fresh, cold, and clean spring water. Near the brook was clearly a fire pit with some cooking utensils that looked used recently. So, where was the camper?

A distance away was what one would most definitely call a battleground. The clearing had been absolutely destroyed. Trees had been turned up, craters littered the ground, large boulders had been smashed, and if one looked carefully they would see dried blood upon the crusted earth. On a patch of non damaged earth was a lone figure, standing on his hands. The young male wore only a pair of pants, had tanned skin and brown hair. His body was ripped with muscle, clearly formed from extreme amounts of exercise. This was Raygin, the new Raygin. His appearance had altered during his time in training, becoming more sharp and older, and bigger. Ray was thicker now.

”A-aaah. Two hundred ninety eight…” the Shinigami grunted, loweing his body lower to the ground as he performed hand stand pushups. He needed to get to three hundred, and the burn in his arms was making that difficult. He brought his face closer to the ground, breathing through his teeth as he slowly pushed himself back up. ”Two hundred and ninety….ninety nine…” one more, just one more and he could take a break. Raygin bit his inner lip as he once again lowered his face into the dirt. With one last push he straightened his arms out. ”T-three….hundred…” Raygin groaned, tipping forwards and landing on his back. His arms felt dead. Even after all this time, those pushups were a pain after the other workouts Raygin did. He took in deep breaths as he gave his arms time to rest.

If one looked at the Shinigamis body they would see that aside from the newly acquired muscle were various scratches, nicks, bruises, and bandages. Raygin wasn’t much of a medic, but he had taken some medical supplies and a How-To patch yourself up kit before he left. The Spine was a dangerous place. The Shinigami groaned as he sat up, rubbing his right forearm as he cast his gaze to his left. Sticking from the ground was a wakizashi. ”Oy, Baizo, I think it’s lunch time!” Ray said to his sword, chuckling. His Zanpakuto spirit, only visible to him, appeared from the sword with crossed arms. ”You do know you’re out of food, right?” the spirit asked, taking a seat on the ground. ”What are you talking about? We still have the red fruit!” Raygin protested, giving his Zanpakuto a silly look. ”You mean the stuff that gives you the runs?” Baizo asked, raising its eyebrow at Raygin. ”Baizo, food is food. I just need to let my body get used to it!” Raygin argued. The Zanpakuto sighed, vanishing as Raygin got to his feet and walked over to it, picking it up.

Heading back to his camp Raygin walked over to the creek. He cupped some water in his hand and poured it on his arms. The cold water felt nice on his skin. He cupped some with both hands and splashed his face. All clean. He would eat later, since he would need to go scavenge later for some stuff. He let out a huff as he plopped down on his backside and placed his sword beside him. It was time to relax. Ray let out a yawn and lay down on the ground, letting the sun bask him in a blanket of warm light. Nap time.

[Shade Kawada]

It had been three months prior that Shade had read Raygin’s note. The captain had thought little of it at the time. Raygin’s absence would not be too much of a loss and Shade enjoyed a few months of peace and quiet before it was time to go collect Raygin’s body. Shade made the trek out to the barren mountainous region himself arriving at the place where Raygin was training only to find him in the midst of a ruined and wrecked clearing doing hand-stand pushups. Shade stood for a moment, watching the adopted relative of his with uncaring eyes. “A-aaah. Two hundred ninety eight... Two hundred and ninety.... ninety nine... T-three....hundred...” said the Kawada finishing out his set of three hundred and falling on his back. Shade stood for a moment, not knowing if Raygin noticed him or not.

However, the captain’s questions were answered momentarily when the other shinigami began communing with his zanpakutou about something to eat. Shade followed Raygin silently as he went to the creek nearby and washed off his arms. It wasn’t until the Kawada laid down on the ground that he approached Raygin, standing over him and blocking the sunlight. Raygin would undoubtedly take notice of his family head, and when he did Shade would hold up a basket. “I had the chefs prepare this before I left. You’re hungry, are you not?” said the shinigami callously as he dropped the food at Raygin’s feet. Inside Raygin would find a thermos of green tea, rice balls, dumplings, a few spring rolls and a hearty serving of chicken.

Shade would allow Raygin to eat. Despite the cold exterior Shade was putting on, he was somewhat proud of the adopted Kawada. Presumably Raygin had been working himself to exhaustion every day of the three months he’d been absent. This was the kind of life that Shade lived on a daily basis, and the fact Raygin was able to do it for three months was an enormous step in the right direction. Perhaps there was hope for Raygin to amount to great things. Perhaps one day Raygin would become even a greater shinigami than he was. What mattered now though, was making sure his relative was okay. “I imagine you’ve improved since we’ve last spoke?” asked the soul reaper with little care or expression, “After you’ve recovered, demonstrate to me just how much good your training has done.”

Shade sat down by the creek with his zanpakutou in its sheath, leaning on his raised knee and shoulder. The soul reaper watched Raygin eat with practically unblinking eyes. Like a lion stalking her prey, Shade did not remove his vicious eyes from Raygin. Was Shade mad at his adopted relative? Hardly, Shade merely had nothing to do, so eagerly awaiting Raygin’s recovery was all he could do. He was not one for conversation, so Shade’s words stopped with that, not really giving any indication he expected Raygin to continue the conversation. Raygin would find that the food would fill him with energy and vigor to the point that he’d be ready and rearing to go again after finishing the spread that Shade had brought him. This was the power of the Kawada family chefs’ cooking.

[Deleted]

”Is now really the best time to take a nap?”Yeah, whats the problem Baizo?””You’re running out of food, first off. You should get your priorities straight. Food before a nap.You worry to much my friend. Besides, don’t you smell the food? Food is in dreams Raygin and Baizo went back and forth mentally for a few moments when Rays nose twitched. He could smell something. Something good. He suddenly felt chilled as if the connection he had to the suns light had suddenly been cut. If Raygin could still sense energy he would tell who it was right then. Opening his eyes though he couldn’t help but blink a few times. A person stood before him who stared down the younger Kawada. It took a few moments, but Raygin realized who it was.

”S-S-S-S-SHADE-SAMA!?” the Kawada blurted out, quickly sitting up. He was surprised, and slightly frightened, at the sudden appearance of his adoptive…was it father? Was Shade Raygins new dad? Ray had never asked about it, since it never seemed to matter. But regardless, Shade was here and looking at Raygin. ”Dah dah dah, what are you doing here, Shade-sama? Wait…has it been three months already? Really? I thought it had only been a month…hasn’t felt that long. Actually when your alone in the mountains for so long you sorta loose track of the time I mean I dont have a calendar or anything but considering your here now either means somethings happened or its been three months but since its just you here I guess that means nothing too major has happened and you are just here because its been three months.” Raygin rambled. Three months away from other living beings, it should be expected Raygins social skills and communication skills would have diminished. Three months wasn’t horribly long, but Raygin was a heavily social creature.

“I had the chefs prepare this before I left. You’re hungry, are you not?” Raygin blinked. He spied the basket Shade held and blinked a few times. So that was what he smelt before. He caught the basket as Shade dropped it, looking down at it then back up to the head of his household. No wait; Shade wasn’t just his house head. Shade was his Captain, something Raygin kept forgetting. ”I-ah-you didn’t need to do this, Shade-sama.” Ray said with a slight flush of red to his cheeks and a embarrassed laugh. He appreciated the concern and the thought, but honestly Shade didn’t need to lug around food just for his Vice Captain and relative.

Looking down at the food Ray was a bit taken back by the amount there was. Raygin could most definitely eat it all, but the amount of food Shade brought him was rather surprising. ”Aha, thanks Shade-sama. I appreciate the meal.” Raygin said, pulling out a spring roll and getting to work. Perhaps the head forgot how quickly and how much Ray could eat. Within the span of a few minutes Ray had cleared through the spring rolls and and the dumplings and had gotten started on the rice balls.
Finishing off one of them, Ray took a swig of the tea. He could definitely feel his stamina and strength returning. Oh how he had missed the taste of homecooked Kawada meals. Sure, Ray received some food from the outer districts from to time for helping with the Hollow problem, but nothing could beat the Kawadas meals.

“I imagine you’ve improved since we’ve last spoke? After you’ve recovered, demonstrate to me just how much good your training has done.
” Shade suddenly said, catching Raygins attention as he was about to infest another rice ball. He blinked, closing his mouth and putting on a slightly confused face as he looked at Shade. ”Improved? Ah, I aint one hundred percent sure about all that. I mean, training out here as changed a few things. Turns out I am better at hitting things than I am with casting spells ahaha~ Ray laughed. It was true though, Raygin had traded his mediocrity at kido for more raw muscle power. ”I don’t have any sort of Hakuda trainer out here, so I might not have improved in the way you might be thinking yet, Shade-sama. Being out here was more for…uh…the word…whats the word…” Raygin stuttered, then his face lite up as he figured out a answer. He started patting his biceps on his right arm. With a big grin he spoke again ”Muscle training. When we last saw each other I wanna say I was about as strong as…I don’t know…an average non spiritual human who didn’t work out much. Now though, wow. I can hug boulders till they break and even make shockwaves by just punching the ground. So…I really haven’t been practicing too many special fighting techniques, sorry, I’ve been more training to improve my body rather.” Raygin reported to Shade.

He wasn’t lying. These three months out here had been focused, mostly, on Raygins physical development. He figured that when, or if, he came back to service then Shade could end up teaching Raygin some Hakuda or something. Speaking of learning fighting. ”Well, it hasn’t been all pushups and situps. I…ah…uhm…sorta borrowed one of Kenryoku-sans manuals on…boxing.” Ray chuckled, scratching the back of his head. ”I didn’t steal it, honest! I planned on returning it as soon as I got back, and even kept it in good condition! I just wanted to practice something besides exercise, since Baizo took on a different form I figured boxing would be the best way to go. And it actually was, Baizo and boxing work really well together! I learned a few Hakuda, nothing really special or really complicated just some basic stuff. So, I aint sure if you would find my improvement adequate, Shade-Sama.” Ray said. If there was one thing different about the two Kawada it was their personalities. Shade was quite and often came off as cold and uncaring. Raygin though, he was loud and talkative and very expressive. It didn’t matter if Shade didn’t wish to reply, Raygin was just happy to know his Captain cared and was willing to listen to him prattle on. Three months with nothing but a sword to talk to, that liked to beat him up, it was nice to get a new person to talk to.

Ray looked down at his food then smiled. ”You walked all this way, would you like some of the food you brought, Captain? I would feel bad if you didn’t get any, especially walking all this way.” Ray offered, holding out a untouched rice ball for his Captain. Another question poked into Rays mind. ”So, since it’s been three months I assume you’re wanting me to come back now? Back from my “vacation” so to speak, aye?” Raygin asked, watching Shade with those bright golden eyes of his as he awaited an answer.

SPOILER: Click to show

Please forgive any spelling or grammatical errors. I was pretty tired when I wrote this (and this) so sorry if there are any errors

[Shade Kawada]

Shade listened as Raygin responded while eating the food he’d brought. “Improved? Ah, I ain’t one hundred percent sure about all that. I mean training out here has changed a few things. Turns out I am better at hitting things than I am with casting spells ahaha~” he said, explaining to Shade something that the captain had figured out already, “I don’t have any sort of Hakuda trainer out here, so I might not have improved in the way you might be thinking yet, Shade-sama. Being out here was more for…uh…the word…whats the word… Muscle training. When we last saw each other I wanna say I was about as strong as…I don’t know…an average non spiritual human who didn’t work out much. Now though, wow. I can hug boulders till they break and even make shockwaves by just punching the ground. So…I really haven’t been practicing too many special fighting techniques, sorry, I’ve been more training to improve my body rather.” Raygin rambled between bites while Shade sat, perched upon a nearby boulder that the other Kawada had unearthed during his training. His face had a bored, impassive expression as the soul reaper continued his meaningless report. If he had gotten stronger physically, then he’d improved, had he not? Shade wasn’t asking if he’d learned any new techniques or if his skill had suddenly skyrocketed. He was asking about details for any form of improvement. However, it was not worth correcting Raygin for his misunderstanding.

“Well, it hasn’t been all pushups and situps. I…ah…uhm…sorta borrowed one of Kenryoku-sans manuals on…boxing,” admitted Raygin eventually. This grabbed the captain’s attention, however he didn’t show it, “I didn’t steal it, honest! I planned on returning it as soon as I got back, and even kept it in good condition! I just wanted to practice something besides exercise, since Baizo took on a different form I figured boxing would be the best way to go. And it actually was, Baizo and boxing work really well together! I learned a few Hakuda, nothing really special or really complicated just some basic stuff. So, I ain’t sure if you would find my improvement adequate, Shade-Sama.” Anyone else besides Shade would have found Raygin’s guilt and justification cute. However, the head of the Kawada family merely sat upon the boulder with his fingers laced in front of his face. His glare remained unchanged and his reply was rather frank. “That’s quite alright. Kenryoku has no need for such manuals anymore. The things taught between those pages are child’s play for a master of hand-to-hand combat such as him. It’s quite likely that he’s surpassed the author of that book many times over since he read it for the first time. Go ahead and keep the manuel. Perhaps it will serve you as well as it served him.”

“You walked all this way, would you like some of the food you brought, Captain? I would feel bad if you didn’t get any, especially walking all this way,” said Raygin offering a rice ball to Shade. The soul reaper looked at the ball of grain in Raygin’s hand and closed his eyes. “I have already consumed my daily allowance of carbohydrates. It is an unnecessary indulgence that I must decline. I intended for all of the food that I brought to be consumed by you and you alone,” explained Shade. So Raygin would continue eating, eventually breaking the silence to ask another question. “So, since it’s been three months I assume you’re wanting me to come back now? Back from my “vacation” so to speak, aye?” said Raygin. “Not particularly... I do not care what you choose to do. If you believe that remaining out here is the quickest route to becoming stronger, then you have my permission to stay as long as necessary. However, there is only so far you can take yourself with simple exercise,” replied Shade as Raygin finished his food.

“Raygin Kawada...” said Shade suddenly with more feeling in his voice as he stood up, “I believe that it’s about time you started taking steps to attain your bankai...” Shade would let Raygin react to this news before he continued. “This is a process I am willing to help you with. Having gone through it myself, I will aid you as best I can. Unfortunately, as I can not commune with your zanpakutou as you do, I am unaware of the relationship you two possess. However, I can say that as someone who has risen to the rank of vice-captain, bankai should be within your grasp.” The captain walked a ways away from Raygin before turning to face him. “However, before you can even think of attaining bankai, your shikai must be mastered completely and there must be mutual respect between you and your zanpakutou,” said Shade slowly unsheathing Buraindo Kira from his hilt. “Try to kill me. Use every technique and trick available to you,” said the Kawada family head as he finished unsheathing his sword, “Do not fear for my life, allow me to worry about such things. This is an order from your lord and master...”

[Deleted]

Well, it was a relief to see that Shade-sama wasn’t actually upset about Raygins pilfering of Kenryoku-sans training manual. When Shade informed him of Kenryokus skill, it had a sort of disheartening effect on the young Kawada. Kenryoku was far more powerful than the man who wrote the book, and Raygin hadn’t even finished mastering the things in the manual. The other Kawada were so far ahead of Raygin that he sort of felt left behind. Both Shade and Kenryoku were Captains, two of the strongest in fact. His new cousin, Taien, was leagues above the Vice Captain. Heic, he was even sure that Katrina would develop it something above him. The Kawada…really are strong Ray couldn’t help but ponder as he pulled his rice ball away, being rejected by Shade.

”Aye. So far it’s working out quite well for me.” he replied, taking a bite of the riceball and chewing on it as Shade began to reply to his question. “Not particularly... I do not care what you choose to do. If you believe that remaining out here is the quickest route to becoming stronger, then you have my permission to stay as long as necessary. However, there is only so far you can take yourself with simple exercise,” Well, Raygin didn’t quite expect that answer and yet at the same time he did. He knew about Shades personality, so being told “doesn’t matter, stay out here if you want” was a completely expected answer. But Raygin also felt a tad bit disappointed that Shade did not ask him to return with him. Ah well. But Shade was right. Simple exercise wasn’t going to cut it for the young Kawada anymore. Well it could, but Raygin did need some actual form of training rather than practicing what he read out of a book and working out.

“Raygin Kawada...”

Raygins attention was focused back on Shade. Uh oh. His full name was used. Did that mean the young man had done something wrong? Raygin looked at Shade with wide eyes, wondering what it was that he wanted to say. “I believe that it’s about time you started taking steps to attain your bankai...” Raygin choked on his swallowed food. He coughed a few times, leaning down and pounding on his chest a few times before he finally managed to clear his throat, which ended up letting out a nervous chuckle. ”Bankai? Me? You’re joking, right Shade-sama…?” Raygin asked, looking up at his Captain between his light laughter. His entertained face suddenly changed into disbelief as he remembered who it was who sat before him. ”No…you’re not joking. You don’t joke…” Raygin replied, scatching the back of his head and exhaling through his nose.

What was wrong with Raygin? Most Shinigami would be ecstatic to be able to achieve Bankai. So why not Raygin, who had Bankai once before? Well, it was because he had a Bankai once before. He knew its power, yes, but Raygin had lost his Bankai in a unsettling way. Stolen by that Vandenreich leader. If that was all it had been then maybe Ray wouldn’t have this attitude. No, his Bankai had not just been stolen, his entire Zanpakuto had been destroyed. Zeroshiki, Zeroakumu, gone in less than an instant. What followed after was something Raygin preferred to not reminisce about. “This is a process I am willing to help you with. Having gone through it myself, I will aid you as best I can. Unfortunately, as I can not commune with your zanpakutou as you do, I am unaware of the relationship you two possess. However, I can say that as someone who has risen to the rank of vice-captain, bankai should be within your grasp.”

Raygin looked at his Captain with a worried look, opening his mouth to speak yet all that came out as a small squeak before he closed his mouth and looked down. Meekly looking at the sword in his lap, Raygin put his hand on his new partner. It was true that Baizo and Raygin had a mutual partnership, Ray had never once questioned Baizo about Bankai. This, actually, confused the Zanpakuto spirit once who was aware that a Shinigami always sought Bankai. Raygin never answered his sword. He considered himself lucky to have a Zanpakuto again, let alone Shikai. He believed himself to be unable to obtain Bankai again after what happened last time. “However, before you can even think of attaining bankai, your shikai must be mastered completely and there must be mutual respect between you and your zanpakutou,”

Rays gaze stayed on his sword as he simply listened to Shades words. Raygins attitude was concerning the Spirit within the sword. ”Hey, youngster, pay attention to what he is saying.” the sword spoke within Raygins mind. ”I am, Baizo.”

[/i] Raygin replied. ”No, you’re moping. I know the difference by now. You wanted to get stronger, this is your chance!”[/i] the sword responded. Raygin gently bit his inner lip as he could not reply to either his sword or his Captain. The sound of metallic scrap suddenly caught Raygins attention, causing him to look up and behold his Captain unsheathing his sword. Oh come on… Raygin thought worriedly.

“Try to kill me. Use every technique and trick available to you. Do not fear for my life, allow me to worry about such things. This is an order from your lord and master...” Shade couldn’t be serious. Not even five minutes into the greeting and he wanted to fight? Seriously!? Why didn’t people realize by now Raygin didn’t like getting into fights, even if spars. Plus the fact Shade just announced-no-ordered Raygin to try and kill him put the Shinigami in a tough situation. He couldn’t do it and he couldn’t deny a order from Shade. What had Raygin gotten into? Maybe he should have said for someone to not check in on him. Raygin looked at Shade, getting to his feet and nervously holding a hand out. ”S-Shade-sama, you can’t be serious. I’m sorta out of practice for fighting against anything but Hollows…so maybe this isn’t the best time to do this?” Raygin laughed nervously, trying to make an excuse to not have to jump into a bloody fight once again.[/blockquote]

[Shade Kawada]

“S-Shade-sama, you can’t be serious. I’m sorta out of practice for fighting against anything but Hollows...so maybe this isn’t the best time to do this?” said the vice-captain nervously. Shade looked at Raygin with no mercy and little empathy. “You are incapable of harming me,” said the captain, not budging an inch, “...and I can choose not to hurt you too much. So essentially there is nothing to lose. I merely want to see the fruits of your training, or are you not grateful that I allowed you this time off from your duties in Soul Society?” Shade clenched his teeth as he stared viscously at his adopted relative. Was he going to disobey? Shade sighed and then continued to explain, “If you think for a second that I allowed you to come out here and train out of the goodness of my heart, you’ve completely misunderstood my decisions. You are an investment, Raygin. I allowed you to skip out on your duties because I believed it would effectively make you a better tool for me to use. Now that your three months are finished, I want to see how much interest my investment has accrued, how much more efficient my tool has become.”

The soul reaper waited for a response for a moment, allowing Raygin a few moments to converse with his zanpakutou if he wished. It wasn’t long though until Shade spoke up again, edging Raygin on. “Don’t hold back anything...” ordered the shinigami, “It is of the utmost importance that I know how strong you are so that I can properly use you. Are you really so selfish and self-centered that you would take advantage of my generosity and not give me a taste of what I paid for?” Shade began closing the gap between him and Raygin, grabbing him by his neck and lifting him off his feet. “You will fight me, you will show me your capacity, and then you will return to your duties as vice-captain of squad 13. Do we understand each other?” he finished, dropping Raygin back to the ground, “Pick yourself up and try to kill me, or I will kill you. I have no use for a vice-captain that cannot fight.”