Welcome To A New Life [PG13, NDE, Training]

[Sozen Kuchiki]

OOC: This is a training thread between Hotaru the "samurai Soul Reaper" and Sozen Kuchiki, Head of the Kuchiki Family. However, flashbacks will also dictate how they met, and the twisted story behind Hotaru's entry into the Kuchiki family. Also, paragraphs of italics indicate a flashback to several months ago. I will be interchanging between present and past.

IC:

Though overhead there were birds fleeing for their lives, and gales coming for the land with rapid, powerful winds deadset on destruction, mayhem, and tearing civilization apart, that was no such worry on that day for Sozen Kuchiki, Head of the Kuchiki nobility, as well as Squad 6 Captain, and his newest family member, Hotaru Kuchiki, whom he'd plucked off the streets. But, contrary to the process he'd used to simply adopt Anastasia and Kyomei, two prominent Kuchiki members, Sozen had done something else for Hotaru, whom he now passed off as having been born a Kuchiki, and having always possessed the blood. And some would say, even, that he may have done something immoral.

"This is unethical, Sozen," the Squad 12 Captain told him as they stood in a dimly lit laboratory room, more resembling a dungeon really, with a large metal table before them, and a girl on it who was cut open and glowing with burning red reiatsu. "I like it." And yes, Azumi Kasumi'Oji the scientist Captain of Squad 12, probably did like it. She wasn't known to be ethical, and sometimes could be said to be sadistic. Much like her predecessor, Bokuga Sayuri, she did not let common morality dictate how she was going to approach science. All that mattered was curiosity. "She volunteered," Sozen said with a smile. "Is that not all it requires, in all technicality, to be moral?"

That same girl, Sozen now looked upon as they descended farther into a series of underground tunnels he kept hidden in the Soul Society, down to a dimly lit room shaped like a circle, and with a circular arena engrained directly into the stone floor in the center of the room, dipping down to be a rather large pit at about ten feet of depth. It was an easily accessible arena within a circular room, which besides the arena was lined with suits of Western styled armor, each carrying a sword and a shield, and almost all identical. In the center of the room, and by extension in the center of the arena, the insignia of the Kuchiki family could be seen, large, bold, and red like blood.

"Still, I am impressed..." Azumi confided. "That the girl is still alive proves that you were correct." Sozen wondered whether Azumi was withholding any credit due herself for keeping the girl alive, but decided not to ask. Instead, he looked at the girl, overflowing with a new reiatsu which was now hers, rather than foreign, and soon too with a new blood. The physical part came last because it was easiest. The spiritual part was far more difficult than that. The physical part could be down down to a 99.3% efficiency, but the spiritual part only down to a 22.6% efficiency. It was a technology in progress. But, Sozen was still confident that even if it wasn't perfect, this procedure would be successful, and may become the first of several.

"This, for now, will be the new central base of operations of your new life," Sozen explained to Hotaru. "However, that will change. In time you will have no one central base, and will be at home anywhere. This place exists solely because we are using it to train." In what, you might ask. In what? Well, put it this way. Hotaru was going to be learning more than just the traditional stuff with a sword or spell. The academy could teach her things like that. What Sozen wanted Hotaru to learn here was far more important. He was going to show her secrets of a group which he hoped to expand, and make even more powerful and efficient than before. She just needed a bit of work, of course.

"The procedure will soon be finished either way," Azumi told Sozen. "Soon you'll have succeeded in being the first Noble Head to so obsessively seek power ofr his family, that he turned to transforming an ordinary girl into a Kuchiki by blood." She was joking when she said that, but she wasn't wrong. Yes, Sozen was the first to tamper with genetic alteration and modification. Of all Kuchiki Heads before him, none had tried to enhance the family through these kinds of means. But, that was what made Sozen strong as a Head. He was willing to do such things, whereas others had thought it beneath their honor or something. And, Azumi happened to be perfectly able to give people the physical perfection of the Kuchiki specimen. What was difficult was giving them the soul power of a Kuchiki as well. As said, work in progress.

"What you will be learning is different from your samurai background, or what you will learn in the academy," Sozen told Hotaru. "Here, you will be educated in the art of disappearing, and of blending. Of pick pocketing, and of misdirection. Here, we will teach you how to kill without being discovered, and how to escape soon after. This is the place where I will make you a Kuchiki assassin." Yes, that was Sozen's plan. He had already established those who would be in positions of power in the present day. Now, it was time to lay the foundation of the future, not only by giving power to those who COULD one day be Captains with Kuchiki in their name, but who could do more before they became Captains. Yes, Sozen's goal now was to expand the Kuchiki Assassins.

"Now, before we begin," Sozen asked. "Do you have any questions?"

[Hotaru Kuchiki-Masurao]

She was walking with the Squad 6 Captain, Sozen Kuchiki. He also happened to be the Head of the Kuchiki family. She was still surprised that she was able to be inducted into this prestigious family. While she was walking with him, she took note of how it was like outside. It actually was a pretty bad day. The wind was howling in the trees and birds were freely flying away. She watched them and hoped that they would find their ways home. She looked back at Sozen and remembered what had happened to get her here.

It was a few months ago. She was wandering around Rukongai, having a break from her fairly regular patrols in Karakura Town. She had wandered to one of the older sections of the Rukongai. She had gone out farther than she wanted. She had heard that the Rukongai districts that were out farther from the center of Soul Society, the more dangerous it would become. Sadly for her, she hadn't realized that the older the buildings she was looking at were, the farther away from the center of Soul Society she was getting.

Once she had actually stopped and looked around, she noticed one of the oldest buildings she had seen here. She also noticed that the main part of Soul Society was much farther away. Since she was there and it was close to the forest that borders Soul Society, she decided to walk through it. She didn't know what she was getting into, but she didn't think that it would do any harm to her. She would learn later that she probably shouldn't have ever went in there.

She walked through the forest and looked at how old it was and how beautiful. She was just looking for any new animals or anything completely different from what she was used to. It was because of this that she didn't notice what was sneaking up behind her. Right when she was reaching up in a tree to look at something, it attacked. It struck her in the back. The thing was so powerful, she couldn't really get up. She looked for anything that would work as leverage. 

She was able to reach for her sword and untied it, sheath and all. She started to hit it with her sheathed sword. She was able to loosen its hold briefly. It gave her enough leeway to wriggle free. She was barely able to get up. When she did, she tried to get into her stance. Her back hurt so bad that she didn't even want to move. She quickly unsheathed her sword and prepared herself when it roared at her and started its charge. It came straight at her and she knew she didn't have the speed to outrun it. She just tried to endure.

It was the worst mistake she ever made. The thing came straight at her and hit her square in the chest. She tried to penetrate its hide, to no effect. Her sword wasn't penetrating enough to do any damage. Instead, the demon just started to mangle her. As she tried to fight it off, she was taking in what it looked like. It was a good eight feet tall, with red skin and huge talons for nails. Its teeth were at least three inches long and sharp. She tried and tried to break free and defeat it, but she was utterly no match for it.

Once the thing moved on, Hotaru was beaten pretty badly. By some miracle, she had made it back to Soul Society proper. Once she got to Soul Society, however, she didn't want to traipse around Soul Society all bloody. She definitely didn't want to go back to her squad. She was beaten in battle and didn't want to show her face there like this. She thinks back to when she fought her Vice Captain. He told her that she needed to get stronger and she wasn't going to back down on her promise.

She thought of one person that could help get her stronger. She heard about the Twelfth Squad. She heard about experimentation being done to every single degree. She knew she probably shouldn't go, but what choice did she have? She was beaten so badly, she needed some kinda help. She shunpo'ed her way to the Twelfth Squad. She walked into the squad and when they asked her what she needed, she said, "I need to see your captain. I need to get stronger. I believe your captain is the last hope I have of achieving what I need."

The next thing she knew, she ended up in one of their labs. Her wounds were bound enough to stop the bleeding but that was pretty much it. She looked over and saw the Twelfth Captain, Azumi Kasumi'Oji coming to her. She didn't know much about the captain, only that she loved her job. The captain looked at her and said, "So Hotaru, my people tell me that you came to me seeking power. What do you think that I can do for you? I am a busy captain you know."

She looked up at the captain and told her, "I know that you can make me stronger Captain. I am willing to do anything to become stronger. I volunteer for whatever you deem is necessary for me to try to achieve my goals. Just please, help me." After she had spoken her piece, it seemed like the Captain was satisfied. She walked off, talking to some of her technicians while she walked off. Then, she had technicians come up to her. They cleaned her wounds and started hooking some of the machines and weird liquid vials into her.

"Hello, Ms. Hotaru Wakashi. I will be the main technician that will handle your process. The Captain went to get the okay from the main donor for this project. But, she knows you would be the perfect candidate for it, so she wanted us to get you prepped right now. I can tell you that when this is done, you will be stronger and your station in Soul Society will be quite elevated. Now, I'm going to continue to get you prepped. This process will go smoothly, so don't worry about anything." The technician walked off, scribbling stuff down on a clipboard. He was kinda cryptic about what would happen, but she did volunteer. It was pretty much out of her hands now. She laid down on the table while they were getting everything ready.

The next thing she knew, she was slowly waking up on the table again. It seemed like a lot of the machines had been shut off and removed. She slowly got up off the table. She didn't go too fast, because she was getting a little too woozy from doing it fast. Once she was sitting up fully, she looked around again. All the machines seemed to have gone back into their appropriate place. All that was left stuck in her was an IV bag. It contained fluid so the body wouldn't dehydrate (she read about it in Soul Society).

She looked down at her body. She didn't see any of her injuries. She assumed whatever they did to her was able to heal her injuries. She didn't even see a scar. She lucked out with that. She didn't feel anything different either. She started to work out her limbs. She worked her arms out, one at a time. Her right arm, hand and fingers seemed to work fine. The same with her left. Then, she started to work out her legs. She dropped her left leg down, working her ankle, feet and toes, which all worked. The same with her right, it worked fine as well.

Very gingerly, she started to put some of her weight on her feet. It was a little bit of slow goings but she did manage to do it. Once she got full weight on her feet and stood up straight, she really didn't feel woozy. She was a little light headed, but besides that, she was fine. She started to twist her torso so she could see how everything was working together. She couldn't detect anything wrong. Once she got up to standing straight again, it's when she noticed there was someone else in the room with her. He walked up to her and said, "Hello Hotaru. My name is Sozen Kuchiki. You are now a part of my family. Grab your clothes, zanpaktou and come with me. I'll explain on the way."

It's what brought her to this moment right now, following the Head of the Kuchiki family, down underground. The tunnel that they were traveling finally led to a room that was shaped like a circle. In the room, a circular arena was engrained in the floor. The border of this arena was Western suits of armor, complete with sword and shield. In the middle of the circular arena, it dipped into a large pit that was about 10 feet deep. In the middle of the actual floor, the insignia of her new house shown brightly in the light.

She looked up to Sozen while he told her what his plan was. He told her that as of right now, this would be the central base of operations for her new life and after they were done, she wouldn't need a central base. She would be able to turn anything into a home base. He was using this place just for her training. He continued to say that she will be learning the ways of shadows and thieves, to be an assassin for the family. The Kuchiki family assassins. She had no idea that the Kuchiki family even had their own assassination squad. But, they are a very powerful family, so she guessed anything was possible.

He then asked her if she had any questions. "I really only have two questions for you Sozen-sama. Why was I chosen for this certain procedure. I went to the Twelfth Squad captain, volunteering for whatever she deemed would work to make me stronger. Even the technician told me my station in Soul Society would change after this. What is so special about me that I got chosen for something like this? Also, what exactly was done to me? I should be stronger, but I really don't feel any different than from when I started. She hoped that she wasn't out of line, but she was actually curious about it.

[Sozen Kuchiki]

SPOILER: Click to show

{This song!}

If shadows could shift, then that was as they did now. No, wait. They were definitely moving, whether it be because of the malevolent reiatsu that could emanate from the Squad 6 Captain, or because the room itself was actually alive. But when they moved, they came to cover Sozen's body, and engulfed him in blackness, turning him only into a silhouette whose finer details could not be recognized by Hotaru's eyes. However, that could only serve to make the image of him all the more intense to behold, for even cloaked in that blackness, Sozen's red eyes could be seen glowing like scarlet gems. They were bright, and had a sort of mystifying power, and a gaze which was fear and death and so much more.

"There was nothing particularly special about you," Sozen replied to Hotaru. "Your body was extremely average, as was your reiatsu. You had trained and honed yourself well, and this made you an impressive athlete by the standards of average people, but you were still simply average." That was the first thing that Sozen needed her to know. It was not that she had been so special as to be picked out. If he allowed her to believe that, she'd develop an invincibility complex, and would not register the possibility of failure. It was true that it was better to be confident, but to be foolishly unaware of the potential for failure was a fatal, almost tragic flaw which could lead her to dire situations, and must be avoided.

"However, what I noticed in you was that you sought out the Kasumi'Oji Captain, and new power. Most people would have simply trained, or looked for a master to teach them new techniques. You went directly to a scientist, whom you believed could artificially augment you." Sozen's words fell upon her as the darkness once again began to move, and his face revealed itself first, pale white, and with a devilish smile upon his lips. They had always said he was the best looking man in the Soul Society, and while this seemed to hold true here, it did nothing to dissuade how terrifying his aura was. He was truly Lucifer himself, for he was unspeakably beautiful, and yet had reiatsu which only a monster should.

"I chose you not because you were special, but because you had the desire to become special," Sozen explained. "Your desire was to surpass the ordinary, and transcend your typical, traditional limitations. You were average, but you wanted to be more than that. When I learned about you, I asked my dear friend Azumi to proceed with a revolutionary procedure, with only a 15% chance of success when we attempted it on you, to see what might happen. And, I do believe it has worked wonders..." The part he left out was how it suited everything nicely. She had helped pave the way for that revolutionary procedure to be used on select others, and this would make the Seireitei itself stronger against foreign invaders too.

"As for your strength," Sozen told her calmly. "The procedure did nothing to make you stronger. You are no more powerful than when it began. That's why we're here now. That procedure turned your body and blood into those of a Kuchiki clansman, my kin, and now yours as well, and altered the finer details of your reiatsu as well. It is well known that in both spirit and body, the Kuchiki have long possessed a genetic superiority which allows us to reach greater heights and surpass farther limits. This is why so many of the name Kuchiki have achieved fame and success in our endeavors. Because of this procedure, you now have our potential to become something unimaginable, be it a Lieutenant, or even a Captain. You are not stronger, but you will be. You have the potential to be ten thousand times stronger than you are now. You have been made special."

"Forgive my ignorance, Lord Sozen, but would it not be unwise to use this procedure carelessly?" one of the aides in the lab room said as Hotaru was being worked on and completed by Azumi. And Sozen, who recognized the concern, knew what was being talked about. What if the person were to abuse the power given to them? Sell their body? Become a traitor? Or worse? That would be no good, indeed. And there were bound to be a few who did it. Sozen had considered that perhaps his personality evaluation beforehand would be helpful, because he had an amazing, intuitive sense as a leader and more, but it was also very true that this procedure really could backfire on him.

"You're correct," Sozen replied. And he looked at Azumi, then. "Please, build in a manner of self destruction, of neutralizing their blood, and of ensuring that their genetics cannot be stolen." But it was a moot point to ask such a thing. Azumi had already done this, and Sozen knew that. And, right on cue, there it was. "Yes, of course. I had already conceived of it long before you asked, dear Sozen." Yeah, of course she would have that down. But, Sozen had known that when he asked. The asking was so that he would be clued in on it. She would always install a failsafe in her own creations, but this was someone to be a part of Sozen's family. In this case, he too needed a failsafe, just in case.

"However, as we are to begin your training, and as you will become extremely powerful, I will warn you of something," Sozen told Hotaru. "The Kuchiki Nobility is a family that has stood the test of time, and existed in the Soul Society for over thirty thousand years. We are the oldest single family and nobility in the Soul Society, and have existed since the beginning of Soul Reapers themselves. And, before I train you, I must inform you that you are free to attempt to betray us at any time, but that if you do, I will destroy you." And Sozen wasn't bluffing either. He said she could try to betray them, because she could. But if she did, her entire body would be blown apart like it was nothing.

"Now, would you like to begin your training here immediately?"

[Hotaru Kuchiki-Masurao]

When Hotaru asked that, she had not looked at Sozen-sama. When she looked back, she didn't see him. It was like he had just disappeared. She thought maybe he was just so much faster than her, he's just hiding out somewhere, but when she thought about it, that didn't seem like something he would do. She was glancing around, not wanting to show any kind of emotion. Then, after a few minutes, she saw something that looked like a silhouette of a man. She knew it had to be him. Then, she saw scarlet, blood red eyes. It was startling, but she knew she had to show no fear. She didn't want to appear weak to him.

Then, Sozen-sama started to answer her questions. He said that she was pretty much average. She had trained her body well, but she was still relatively average. He said that what really made her stand out to him was that she decided to seek out the Twelfth Captain for new power. Others would've trained to get stronger or seek a master. It was because she went to a scientist so she could be physically augmented for greater power. It was that fact that she was sought out by the head of the Kuchiki family.

It was this point in his explanation that she started to see his face. He slowly revealed his face from the shadows. It was so ghostly pale that it seemed like death coming out of the darkness. She had heard some rumors about Sozen being the most handsome man in Soul Society and she now knows why people thought that. His face, with the combination of his scarlet eyes, made him very handsome. But what she was seeing now was another side to him. The reiatsu that he has definitely made him someone not to be messed with and to be avoided completely.

He then explained that because she had the desire to become special, the desire to surpass the ordinary and transcend the typical limitaions was why he chose her. Hotaru wanted to be more than average, that was true. It seems that the Twelfth Captain, when she left her, had went to Sozen and told her about herself. He then explained that he let her go ahead and try an experimental procedure that only had a fifteen percent success rate to see what would happen and it worked wonders. 

Sozen then started to say that the procedure didn't make her stronger and that's why he is going to train her. Because since the procedure turned her body, blood and even altered the finer details of her reiatsu, she was now a Kuchiki clansman and the Kuchiki's have possessed a genetic superiority. This allows them to reach greater heights and surpass farther limits, and is why so many Kuchiki's have achieved fame and success. Hotaru now has the potential to become something unimaginable, like a Lieutenant or Captain. 

Hotaru was not stronger, but he planned on making her strong. Sozen also said that she had enough potential to be ten thousand times stronger than she was now and she had been made special. She took that all in for a moment. The man in front of her, the head of her new family Sozen, was indeed powerful. The man gave off reiatsu like an evil demon. But, he saw her potential to be made special. It was very intriguing to her how he worded it. She knew for a fact that she would not disappoint this man if she could help it.

He continued by saying that with this training, she will become extremely powerful. But, he warned her of something. Before he started the training, he told her that if she tried to betray this family, a family that has been around for around thirty thousand years, he would destroy her. She took a deep breath. She never disobeyed orders and she has never betrayed her human family. She will never betray this family as well. Family is everything to her. "Family is everything to me Sozen-sama. I will NEVER betray this family. I believe I am ready to start training now." She calmly stood there and waited to see what he would do next.
 

[Sozen Kuchiki]

OOC: Sorry I'm taking so long! I just moved to college so I've been a bit tied up and posting has been difficult and I've only been able to get one at a time haha. Also be ready. This post of mine may be mediocre, but it's set-up. My next post for you is gonna be a masterpiece. ;D

IC:

Time to start training? Yes, time to start training... But Hotaru was already a skilled swordsman from her samurai days. She was an athletic specimen with good skill and instincts. Except for with spiritual advantages, many had trouble fighting against her. She had skills that, with appropriate training, and her new Kuchiki blood, would make her stronger than most of the seated officers of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. So, her skills weren't what he needed most to sharpen. She had skills, and she had ambition. What was necessary, beyond experience, was soul.

Training was also mental, not just physical. And what Sozen was going to show Hotaru would truly test her character. He had an idea. But, Sozen would need to ask her if she felt herself ready for it. It was a brutal first step, and he didn't want her to die on him or something. Death was possible. Very possible. Sozen knew this because he knew people that had died in this training. He had once been sent off to a training "camp" where this method had been effective. Sozen of course had survived. But many of his classmates hadn't. They hadn't been able to make it, despite enormous talent.

"Then, Hotaru, I must confess something to you," Sozen told her. "It is my belief that your skill with the blade is adequate for now, and that we do not need to hone your techniques yet." Because it was true. She had skill. But she didn't have the reflexes she needed. She didn't have the speed or the strength or the senses that she needed. She didn't have the tolerance to inhuman attacks that she needed. There were a lot of things that she needed, and Sozen had several ideas of where to start with it. First, he had to ask her.

"The truth is that your body is still not strong enough. You know how to stop the attacks that come at you, but you have neither the speed nor the endurance to apply your techniques. What you need first is appropriate statistic value." That was the truth of what her problem was. Statistical values. She just needed to be faster. Stronger. More agile. A quicker thinker. That was everything Sozen would want out of his assassins. But, there was another important thing here. Sozen wasn't just training them individually.

Well, he was, but that wasn't his only intention. He altered everyone's training to be different not because it suited each individual, though this was also partially a reason, but because he didn't want anyone to be able to copy his training regimen. Because each person took their own unique path to getting stronger, it was impossible to become the match of the Kuchiki Assassins, which was what Sozen would be turning Hotaru into. A Kuchiki Assassin, who in one on one combat should be unparalleled, except by other Kuchikis or similar status.

"What I wish to begin with, however, is quite inhuman..." Sozen admitted. "In a way, one would call it torture. The first part of your training must be to strengthen your endurance and tolerance. I want you to become more resilient to powerful strikes, resistant to electricity, and able to hold your poison." He was basically telling Hotaru that if she agreed to what he had coming, he was going to torture her for a while. Indefinitely. She had no way of knowing how long Sozen was going to torment her for, only that he would do it for a while, until he was satisfied with her performance.

"So, if you aren't ready to be tortured physically and mentally and on a spiritual level, we will begin with an advanced swordsmanship exercise. But, if you feel yourself ready for the next level, we will begin the next level..." Sozen said. And from the air, or so it seemed, he drew out a small knife, which seemed to glint green around the edge and tip. That green tint could only be some kind of toxin, or poison. What else would Sozen coat a blade with after talking about torture? Gelatin? Well, okay. It's not like anyone was prepared to be injected with jell-o either. That too was possible.

[Hotaru Kuchiki-Masurao]

OOC: It's okay. I've been going through rl crap too, I understand. I can't wait for the masterpiece!

IC:
After she had agreed that it was ready for them to start training. She waited for what Sozen would say next. She also thought about herself and what she really needed to work on. The only thing that she could think that she needed to work on would be maybe some physical aspects of herself. She knew her strength and speed could be approved. She was sure there was a few of her techniques that could be sharpened as well. She had no idea what he was thinking.

She then thought back on what had happened. She knew that going to the scientist was something that most shinigami wouldn't do. But, she didn't want to be like other shinigami. She always wanted to be unique. Her father told her that she was a unique samurai warrior and it was because of that she was able to last on the battlefield with men. Her being defeated made her uniqueness lessen. She would never stand for that.

Sozen finally spoke. He told her that he doesn't think that she needs to hone her techniques or skill with a blade yet. It made her feel good. She knew she had good skills, but it made her feel so much better knowing that the head of the family thought that her skills were good enough. She was also happy to know that he planned on honing those in the future as well. It was a nice start, for sure.

He then said that her body wasn't strong enough yet. Hotaru would have to agree with him. She knew that her body wasn't strong enough to be up to par with what he expects out of his family. He then said that she needed a statistical value. It also made sense. It was just him telling her that her values in strength and speed, as well as other parts of her, needed to be stronger so she would be able to handle what he was going to put her through.

While she was thinking about what he said, I could tell he was trying to decide on something. She assumed that he was trying to figure out how to train her. She thought about the ninja, which were the assassins of her time. They kept to the shadows, dressed in all black. They would come in silently then kill their target and leave. Most of the noble families always worried about them and some samurai would be put on alert. Her father was no exception. For her to be anything like those ninja, it made her feel deadly just thinking about it.

Then, Sozen spoke of the training that he wanted to begin with her. He said that it was quite inhuman, he even said it could be torture. He wanted to strengthen her endurance and tolerance. He wanted her to become resilient to powerful strikes, electricity and poison. It made sense that she would need to be resilient with all of that to become a good assassin. She had an idea of how it would happen and took a deep breath.

Sozen continued by saying that if she wasn't ready to be tortured physically, mentally and spiritually, he would begin advanced swordsmanship exercises with her. Though, if she was ready for the next level, they would begin the next level. She thought about it. He wanted to start her in the next level and then work on the rest later, that much was obvious to her. She didn't want to take her training off track and she knew she would have to do it eventually and might as well do it now. She took a deep breath and said, "I am ready for the next level, Sozen-sama. Begin when you are ready."

[Sozen Kuchiki]

SPOILER: Click to show

{Play this first}

Centuries ago...

"Hah... Hah.... Hah.... Hah...." Panting. Out of breath. Exasperated and at the very end of his stamina. That was the only way to describe the wide-eyed academy instructor of Shino Academy, who, as a Kendo expert and extremely proficient combatant, had once been compared to a lower ranked Captain in strength, before he had retired from his role as the former Lieutenant of Squad 1, and allowed other, younger blood to take his place. It was another generational change, not uncommon. This guy was just another typical Soul Reaper, but he was supposed to be extremely powerful. But, here, he was completely out of breath. His body was laboring a great deal and he looked like he could barely continue standing, let alone fighting.

"Ahhh....Are you sure that you're really a former Lieutenant?" the instructor's opponent asked. The instructor's eyes also contained disbelief. In a fight of swordsmanship, wherein he and a Shino Academy student traded blows with no aid of step techniques, or use of reiatsu, or anything other than swords, he was losing very badly. The instructor's opponent was sweating, and a little bit winded, but wasn't even close to as exhausted as the instructor himself was. And this wasn't a difference of age or anything, though the instructor was probably physically in his 60s. This was due to a tremendous gap in their skill, which in itself was amazing considering the instructor had had many more decades of practice with swords.

"I had heard that this was the advanced level Kendo class for the fifth years, but I am most certainly disappointed..." the instructor's opponent said. "You're barely holding your own against me, here." Yeah, it was unusual, alright. "Holy shit, are you seeing this...?" a student asked. "He's only a third year student, but he's dominating our sensei..." A third year student had been such a master of swordsmanship that he had been allowed into the academy advanced class for fifth years, who were the final year of the academy. They were supposed to be far more advanced, and their sensei even moreso, but this student was just that good with swords. It wasn't necessarily just down to latent potential, though that was some of it.

"Of course he is," another student, with a sort of authoritative tone answered. "That third year is Sozen Kuchiki, Heir to the Kuchiki family name. He has been training harder than anyone since birth to be able to wear the mantle of Head one day, and ascend one day to a Captaincy. With the kind of rigor he has, and the physical and spiritual presence of the Kuchiki genetics, of course he would be fast enough to keep up with sensei. And with that training, of course he would be skilled enough. My only real surprise is that look in his eyes." After they asked what looks, the student scoffed. "Can't you see it? The way he looks at sensei? Sozen Kuchiki wants blood more than anything in this fight."

The instructor came in to slash Sozen with one blade, but Sozen, in a sweeping sidestep motion and a quick blade jab to deflect the instructor's to the side and away, came in with a very close up slash at the instructor's face. It was only by a hair that the instructor dodged, and used his other blade to stab toward Sozen quickly while Sozen was caught up in his other attack. But, with a quick redirection, Sozen adjusted what he was doing, deflected the slash, and came in again to slash this time at his opponent's feet with the tip of his sword, as if aiming to cut off the toes, despite having only a wooden blade. This hit the instructor, and though it earned Sozen no points or anything like that in Kendo terms, in a real sword fight everyone knew the instructor would have been out of the fight.

With his slightly messy black hair, and rectangular black rim glasses on his face that he had worn in those days, Sozen was holding a practice sword, and his opponent, a master of dual wielding, had two. But the instructor was still no match for him. Every attack from the instructor was met with not only a graceful deflection, but that deflection somehow always turned into a precise, accurate retaliation that missed by a hair, only due to the instructor's years of skill. By contrast, not one of his blows could get anywhere near Sozen Kuchiki. And, on the face of Sozen Kuchiki, there was a powerful, ominous smile, filled with foreboding, and perhaps, as that one student had claimed, a desire for blood.

Present day. Stop music here for now.

And now, looking at Hotaru as an instructor himself, Sozen still had that same smile on his face, and in his eyes. In his student days, he had been a very menacing person in a way. Today, as an adult and a Captain, Sozen was still quite that way, but more civilized and controlled. And therein was his problem. Simultaneous to training Hotaru to being an assassin, today he was going to train himself as well in becoming more like his younger self. Because that aggression and menace were the secret to fighting the strongest enemies of the Soul Society. The Vandenreich, the Espada, and more, needed to be taught that they were not the monsters. Sozen Kuchiki was the real monster.

"Well, we can begin, then..." Sozen said. "We don't need anything special to start. Only this sword." Sozen drew his Zanpakuto from its sheathe, and held up the blade, which glinted malevolently in the dim light. More than ever, with Sozen partially in the shadows, it looked extremely sharp. It could probably cut Hotaru's own Zanpakuto like butter with just a small movement. It had that kind of dimensional warp effect that made the edge look like the flat if someone looked at it. This optical illusion said that it was a high quality sword. But Sozen wasn't going to cut Hotaru with it. He was going to do something a lot worse than that. He held the sword in front of him, and stared Hotaru in the eyes.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Now some really ominous shit unveils}

"Omoni..." Sozen whispered. And as he did, reiatsu blew out of his body. It wasn't the same as flexing his gravitational pressure. He was just letting reiatsu ooze out of him. It was dark red like blood, with hints of black electricity inside of it, and pulsated around him. But what it did was shocking. It was different from just being intimidated by someone's reiatsu. There were recorded cases where being exposed to an extremely potent reiatsu made people unable to stand and unable to brathe. They collapsed to all fours and could barely see straight or hear a thing. That was typical and expected. That wasn't what happened to Hotaru.

Suddenly, it was like she'd stepped naked into a blizzard. All at once, her body felt uncontrollably cold, and her heart accelerated to be twice its normal maximum, but still she was extremely cold. The accelerating heart was a physical symptom, not generated by fear, but exposure. But, if she felt fear, that would be normal in this case, because of the physical symptoms overcoming her body as Sozen's reiatsu ebbed out. And there was more than cold too. She would find that as she took breaths, she couldn't breath at all. It wasn't that no air flowed into her lungs. It was that when she breathed, it was like ice rushed into her throat and her lungs. She was being hurt badly by Sozen's reiatsu.

"Omoni..." Sozen said again. And, oh shit, here it came again, worse this time. Like being naked in a blizzard that gradually got colder and harsher. Like breathing was just inhaling ice water. It would also feel like her skin was starting to rip away. Even though cold induced numbness, Hotaru would also feel pain, like a thousand needles worming their way inside of her body and piercing her veins, skin, organs, muscles, and so much more. This was indescribable pain. More than anything, weariness of evil would also creep over her. Oh god, yes. True evil. An aura so sinister even Arrancar had to be afraid of it. This was going to hurt for a lot longer.

Sozen lifted his aura and stopped. It was only about ten seconds of torture, but that alone must have felt to Hotaru like hours. To her body, unaccustomed to it, it must be so absolutely draining that even moving afterward would be close to impossible. So Sozen gave her a break. It was because that raw exposure to his reiatsu, for someone of her level and who wasn't used to it, would actually kill her. It was possible to become poisoned by that reiatsu, and die. He had to be careful with this training method. If Hotaru wasn't given these rest periods, she would die. But there was going to be a lot more of this first. After this, no reiatsu would ever be able to intimidate her again.

"Well, what do you think so far?" Sozen asked.

[Hotaru Kuchiki-Masurao]

She looked up to Sozen to see how he was going to start. She didn't see much change on his face. Then, the smile crept up on his face and his eyes started to glisten. It was fairly creepy, but she started to notice that he doesn't even have to try hard to be menacing or creepy. She silently waited to see what he was going to start her with. She knew that it was going to be torture but even she was curious as to how he would do it.

Then, he said that they didn't need anything to start but his zanpaktou. When he held up the blade, she saw the glinting from the light. Even his zanpaktou looked creepy. But, since a shinigami's zanpaktou is an extension of themselves due to practicing with it every day, it really didn't surprise her that much that his zanpaktou was a lot like himself. She had to think to hers and it was a lot like her. Well, more like her father, but that didn't bother her in the least.

Sozen held the sword in front of himself and stared at Hotaru straight in the eyes. She stared back, trying to not show fear. She had no idea what he was going to do, but she didn't want to show fear to Sozen. He was taking time out of his day, week or whatever to train her. She didn't want to disappoint him ever. She treated him with the same respect as her father, he was the head of her new family and she would never betray or disappoint him.

She then heard him say Omoni. Hotaru had no idea why he said that. But, she felt his reiatsu blow out of his body. She saw that the color of it was dark red, almost like he was bleeding. What was interesting about it was that it started to pulsate with what looked like to her black electricity. It was also pulsating like it was alive and she wondered if her reiatsu looked like that now. If it did, she assumed that it would look pretty spectacular if she could do this.

Of course, she was thinking of all of this in a few seconds. Because, right when he said that and let his reiatsu go, she immediately felt cold. It wasn't like regular cold. It was bone cold, to the point where she felt like she wasn't even wearing anything clothing. She knew that she was, but that didn't stop her from feeling that kind of cold. She tried to look down at her hands and feet, but it even hurt to try to move her neck from one way to the other. 

Her body responded to this cold by shivering, trying to warm her. But it just felt like the cold would never end. She tried to keep her fear in check, taking deep breaths. But, when she tried to breathe, she felt ice flow into her mouth and into her throat and lungs. She tried to go to her happy place next, since her deep breathing wasn't really working. She still tried it every once in awhile, but the ice that kept coming into her body was making it almost impossible.

Next, Hotaru heard him whisper again. This time, the cold hit her worse. She felt that the blizzard was getting into the triple digit negative numbers. She didn't think it was possible, but every time she breathed, she felt the ice come again and this time it hit her like needles going into her veins. She kept breathing, since she needed to breathe, but it was hard to try to stay in some semblance of sanity. She kept telling herself that the cold wasn't there, but it didn't really help.

It was then that she felt evil try to crouch on her. With all her cold shivering, she didn't know what she could do against this evil. She tried to remember what her father had always told her. Every person has light and dark in them and even if they seem pure evil, there was always a goodness in them. She always tried hard to find that in everyone. She tried hard to concentrate on this aura. She looked, trying to see the goodness that was supposed to be in everything.

But this evil, she didn't know if she could find it. The evil came onto her and she felt it try to reach into her. Before it got too far, she felt everything subside. She didn't even realize that she was on the floor, writhing in pain and agony from what she had been through. She shakily sat up from the floor. She closed her eyes and told herself that it was okay and took many deep breaths. She had to keep telling herself over and over again before it would actually sink in.

The deep breaths seemed to help. The shaking from her limbs started to go away slowly. Once she felt up to it, she started to stand. She had no idea what technique that Sozen had used, if he even used one as all. If this was just reiatsu, it was very impressive. Once she stood completely and Sozen asked her how it was, she answered "It is hard, Sozen-sama, but nothing I can't handle. I will not fail you or the family. I am ready to continue when you are."

[Sozen Kuchiki]

SPOILER: Click to show

{Play this first}

Several hours later...

And once again, Sozen let up, letting Hotaru catch her breath after about six hours of continued torture. By this point, her body would be shaking, and totally unable to stand. Her vision would be blurry, nearly black, and the release would have her gasping for breath with a voice so hoarse that not even the faintest of whispers, let alone the due screams would be able to escape. Sozen had continued this same exercise for six hours, and was not even finished yet. Each time, he continued to chant "Omoni..." and each time, Hotaru was subjected to it. Gradually, he increased the time by half a second, and then a full second, and then more. She was probably nearing her limit.

"Right now," Sozen told Hotaru. "I'm going to give you the final session for the day. After this, we need you to rest, or you will truly die." And of course she would. This was the aura of a power not even Sozen had fully mastered. It was the aura of an ability on an entirely different level from anything even the other Captains could try to use. Sozen was trying to capture the essence of Omoni, a malicious spirit in his soul who once had been the source of his power, and the Zanpakuto spirit, and who now was only a residual conscious encapsulated and ensnared, captured like a fly, inside the Zanpakuto spirit known as Aka. But, right now, even if Aka was the main source of his power, it was Omoni Sozen called on for this exercise.

"However, I will warn you," Sozen continued. "This will be unlike any of the other times. Brace yourself. There is a higher chance than before that you will die." And that was because Sozen had almost mastered it. He almost completely had this down. This made it that much more dangerous. In his mind, Sozen could near the snicker of the spirit named Omoni, and with him the menacing intent of his younger days. Sozen was a malevolent person, but normally he was very warm and charming. Today, and for a while, his malicious sub-nature could be sensed much more clearly than ever, because of the power that he was attempting to master. The power contained behind Omoni.

SPOILER: Click to show

{This song will lead us to the end of the post}

And now... he spoke again. "Omoni..." This time, the aura was different. The effect wasn't immediate. At first, there would be no change. Then, all of a sudden, holy shit, there was change. The first thing Hotaru would feel was a sword piercing through her heart from the back. That was the feeling, but when she looked down, there was no wound or blood, nor was there even a sword. Had she even been stabbed? SLASH! A sword slash on her back. But no blood. No wound. The hot feeling of being slashed and the pain only a few seconds. No sword either. SLASH! Again, this time on her face. Then her chest. A feeling like her limbs being severed after. But no wounds. No blood. No swords.

And finally, the temperature started to drop. "Omoni..." It rapidly grew colder than in any of the previous sessions. Hotaru was also about to start hearing something. Laughter. Laughter from someone, right next to her, beside her this whole time, maybe, without her noticing...Just suddenly there. White skin, colored pink hair, a star on his cheek, kind of a jester's outfit sort of a clown. A malicious spirit with a malicious smile standing next to her. Blink, and he was gone. No, blink and he was to her right. Then left. Then right again. Behind her. And every time his position seemed to change, it got colder. And her ability to breathe disappeared again.

Then suddenly all at once, fear. It wasn't just that this was making her afraid. There was an artificial effect forcing her to experience fear. It was irrational fear which could not be calmed, because it was forced. It was fear which could not be dis-spelled, for she could identify no cause and therefore create no reasoning against it in her mind. No rational thought process or logic was there. But this fear which gripped her heart oh so cold was like an iron claw clenched around the inside of her chest, and this feeling which she experienced was akin to being faced with all fears simultaneously. Death, failure, death of those she cared for, and more. Fear of these was there, but also irrational fear of the aura.

Her heart accelerated to painful amounts, stopped momentarily, and then accelerated again. Her body, probably on the ground this entire time anyway from previous sessions, was undergoing cold, pain, the needles again, and this time a new feeling of all sorts of terrible things. She would experience the fear that a teenage girl would feel being raped by a stranger in a dark alley. She would experience the fear of a mother watching as a crazed father took a knife to their child's throat. She would experience the fear of a small bird about to be killed and devoured by a much larger creature for dinner. And it was all horrible. Pain and fear that were unthinkable and unequaled.

"Pitiful, aren't you, right now, if this is all you can handle..." A soft voice whispered in Hotaru's ear. And it wasn't Sozen's voice, either. It was a softer, more breathy voice, with the same sort of tint as a feminine speaker, but with a man's vocal chords. A male voice with more feminine intonation. It was a quiet, reserved voice. But this same speaking voice would somehow make even the most trained warrior's skin crawl. Finally, as the aura began to die away, and Sozen let up again, and the voice and its speaker disappeared, one last lingering feeling would remain, as if artificially placed in Hotaru's mind. A feeling of insignificance before what had just happened to her, and the power she had faced.

[Hotaru Kuchiki-Masurao]

Hotaru was catching her breath. She had no idea how long she had been down here. For her, it felt like weeks, but she knew it couldn't have been that long. While breathing, she tried to think logically. It had to have been a few hours at least. But her body was so weak, she didn't even know if she could stand up anymore. Her body was shaking so badly, she knew she couldn't stand. Her vision was blurry and her throat was so raw, she figured that she couldn't even talk anymore. She had gotten to a semi-sitting position. She forced herself to sit up.

Sozen then told her that there was one session left before he ended for the day. If she didn't rest soon, he told her that she would truly die. She didn't doubt it at this point. He also warned her that with this last exercise, it will be unlike any of the others. This time, she had a higher chance that she could die. That one little tidbit really improved her mood....not. She was just thankful that she had sat up.

Before she got a real good break, she heard him say Omoni again. She took a deep breath and put her hands on the ground, to brace herself for the last round. She didn't feel anything. She knew that there had to be a trick to this. Sozen had been relentless to her with his pain, and there had to be some coming. She took a deep breath and before she let it out, she felt a huge sword stab her through the back and poke out the front.

She would've screamed if she could. She didn't have the ability to do that anymore. She looked down to try to help herself, but there was nothing there. It didn't make sense. While she was trying to get over that, she felt her skin open to a sword slash across her back. She felt another face then chest. She knew there weren't any injuries, but she couldn't help her jerking and pain. The pain felt so real to her. Then, it felt like someone was cutting off her limbs very slowly.

She knew what severing limbs felt like, since Takashi chopped off her feet. But this pain was much worse. It felt like they were going slowly, enjoying causing as much pain as possible. Her body started shaking even harder and it took much more effort to keep herself upright. She was going to stay upright for as long as she could through the pain. After the severing of limbs that didn't actually happen, the cold came. But this time was worse.

It got even colder than it had before. She was shaking harder than before, but this time, besides the pain, it was shivering, trying to get herself warm. Once she started to feel the cold, she heard laughter. It was by her right ear. She looked and saw something strange. It was another person. He was white skinned, with pink hair, a star on his cheek and jester's outfit. She blinked her eyes and he was gone. She turned her head and there he was again. It seemed like this man was just going to appear everywhere. It was then she started to think that this man could be Sozen's zanpaktou spirit.

With each appearance of this man, it got colder. After the last appearance, it got so cold that she could barely even breathe. With the man's appearances and the cold, her strength gave out and she fell to the floor, in the fetal position to try to get warm. Then, she felt something being pressed into her. She immediately couldn't think straight. She tried deep breathing but it wasn't helping. She started to get paranoid, thinking that she was a failure. She failed everyone she ever loved. She saw shadows of it, making her wheeze to herself.

It was then that another fear showed itself. She saw her friends being destroyed in front of her. It made her tear up but the last one was the breaking point. It was Asmoskon. She started to shake more uncontrollably, thinking she did things that caused his death, with everyone else. She blamed herself for everything and she cried to herself. It was then she felt more pain, more fear. She thought that these things didn't happen to her, but in the state she was in, she would've believe anything.

She felt her heart beating painfully in her chest. All she could do against this pain and fear is just rock herself back and forth, with tears in her eyes. She was afraid of even the shadows of the room. Then a voice started talking. She didn't even really listen, just moved her hands over her ears and willed the voice away. She would survive this training, but it had hurt her. It could've even scarred her. But, only time would tell about that.

After the voice, she felt the cold recede. But, she didn't change her stance. She kept rocking back and forth, hands over her ears. Once she completely felt the cold recede and felt that strange presence leave her alone, she uncurled herself. She felt that power was completely beyond her and she felt so small against it. She had enough energy to roll to her back. She didn't think she could manage anything else. She closed her eyes and hoped this would be worth all of the pain.

[Kyomei Kuchiki]

+440 TP

[Sozen Kuchiki]

SPOILER: Click to show

{Play this first}

Three weeks later...

After a great deal of training, one would have expected Hotaru to improve, and she had. But, to those unaccustomed to this sort of training, like Hotaru, expectation probably would have been that she was far more resilient. Unfortunately, when it came to the torture that Sozen inflicted on her, she probably didn't feel any more resilient. Sozen assured her that she was, because more and more steadily he was able to increase the time under which she was tortured, and she didn't die from it. He could also increase the intensity. He told her that if it was numerically catalogued, he had come at her with a class 2's ferocity, and she could survive about twenty five seconds.

His original attacks had been at a class 3's intensity, and she had barely lasted around ten seconds. So, there was improvement. It just didn't feel like it. However, there wouldn't be so much frustration, as during their training, Sozen had others attempt the same torture on her, only for them to find that it was not very effective. Hotaru had essentially developed a very strong resistance to reiatsu attacks. And, when she was put into shock torture and mutilation style torture, the pain was actually bearable. So, while the reiatsu torture made it seem as if there was no progress, Hotaru would find slowly that she was in fact improving at an extremely fast pace. Pain would soon be conquered completely.

But, one day, after three weeks of essentially the same training at higher intensity, Sozen told Hotaru that she was going to undergo something new. It was going to be different, he said, than anything that she had ever experienced before. The wording he used, however, was confusing. He said that she would be trained by someone else, but that he would still be training her. His exact wording was, "From here on out, you will be trained by a different version of me..." What could something so cryptic possibly mean? Really, it was part of Sozen's dramatic flare. A tragic flaw in a lot of people was that they beat around the bush for cinematic purposes. Villains were often undone in this way.

So, when the day for this "new trainer" supposedly arrived, Hotaru would find herself once again in the dungeon, and with Sozen. He had on his face an extremely cold smile, different from normal, with a lot of amusement. Whatever was happening, he was looking forward to it. Actually, wait. Take a look at his eyes... There was some kind of new twinkle in there. What was that twinkle? "Today will be the last day of your pain tolerance training," Sozen said. "Your statistical values should be a little bit higher by now, so starting tomorrow, we will begin your direct combat training. But, first, we will finish your pain training today by having you meet someone..."

SPOILER: Click to show

{This one now}

Sozen's reiatsu started to form around him, and he held his sword out before him. "Omoni..." he whispered. And a dark, sinister reiatsu started to engulf him. It seemed like he was suppressing it a little, but did that matter? The ominous presence around him was so immense that it was the same way they'd described the reiatsu of some of the Espada. It was like an ocean of pressure and reiatsu crushing down. It was like an ocean of evil was overhead. Sozen was oftentimes a very predominantly "good" individual, and while sometimes he was sinister and malevolent, this would be the first time that he truly seemed to be "evil."

When the reiatsu had disappeared, Sozen was...not there? Or, was that Sozen? He was in the same outfit, but now he was...a bit shorter? His hair was a bit longer and slightly less neat, and his eyes seemed more playful. He had on his face black rimmed rectangular shape glasses. There was a sickening smile on his face. He looked...younger? Physically, maybe he was around eighteen, perhaps nineteen? The gaunt features and expression on his face and his reiatsu left no doubt that he was Sozen Kuchiki, but he had become younger. His face looked more evil, with a malicious twinkle, and his reiatsu and aura felt much more wild and untame.

SPOILER: Click to show

{FINISH IT WITH THIS ONE}

And Hotaru didn't even get a chance to react to it. Suddenly, she was on the floor, but with so much more force than before that nothing else ever previously had compared. And it was only a few seconds, too, but it felt like centuries. For that time, it wasn't cold, but hot. Like she was being burned in magma. Like she was being filled with fear of everything. She was afraid of the stone of the floor. She was afraid of breathing (though if she tried to it would feel like her lungs caught fire anyway). She was afraid of worthlessness and defeat and failure, and she would experience the terror of being murdered, raped, defeated, outcasted, and everything else which social creatures inherently fear.

And the pressure...Like her bones were creaking. Cracking. Being splintered into dust. None of this actually happened, but she would feel it. It would feel like gravity had intensified and she couldn't even lift her head or open her mouth to scream. She would feel as if she was being pushed down so hard on that she was leaving an imprint in the floor, or maybe even sinking through it. For a moment or two, it would be like she was just one with the floor. It was like the essence that made her up was dissolved, and she was just a scattered conscious which experienced only pain and fear. There would be no greater pain than what she was currently experiencing.

This was what true torture was. But, somehow, she could still hear. And while she could hear, she would hear a voice, which must be Sozen's, speaking. It was younger, but it was doubtless still Sozen. And, unlike the warm, instructional voice of the Squad 6 Captain, this one was mocking and filled with evil intent. "You're really going to let just my regular aura get the best of you?" this younger version of Sozen asked. "I'm not even flexing it to push down on you. This is me just standing here. You're just being buried by my presence." He was saying she was being hurt just by him choosing not to suppress himself. He wasn't actively attacking her with aura. He was standing and doing nothing. It took more energy for him not to kill her than for him to kill her.

Then, Sozen suppressed it, and the aura faded, leaving Hotaru where she was, probably in shock. Actually, Sozen had had Hotaru do readings during these past three weeks too. A subject she MIGHT have encountered in contemporary history was Sozen when he was around this age, as a Lieutenant in Squad 7. He had been one of the most ruthless, aggressive, and successful Soul Reapers of his time even then. They had said that he had been known in combat situations to be extremely cunning and evil. Could it be? Had Sozen found a way to return to the form he had held back then? The version of Sozen who was most malicious, and thereby best for training, because no one could inflict pain the way he could.

[Hotaru Kuchiki-Masurao]

It had been three weeks. Three weeks of Hotaru in this training area, being 'trained' by Sozen through his personal strength and reiatsu. It didn't even seem like he had to work hard to let his reiatsu flow at that kind of magnitude. He just relaxed, chanted and she was on the floor. From what she felt, she hadn't really improved at all. She expected fairly noticeable changes that would happen to her, like some kind of lightening effect when he did that. Or at least something. But, every time they did this, it was the same.

Sozen had told her that she was doing well and she was actually approving. He was able to attack her with a class two's power and strength and last twenty-five seconds. It seemed that he had been increasing the duration and strength of the 'training' and this was a good improvement. When he said that, she wondered what he had started out at. Then, she thought better of it. She honestly didn't want to know what kind of power he started out with. One thing was for sure, she was never going to piss this man off.

She decided to try to think back onto what had really been done in the past three weeks. She of course, remembered the pain. That part was a no brainer. But, if she really thought back on the last three weeks, she did notice something different. During some of the 'training' she could tell that some of the pain was starting to get a little more bearable. She thought that maybe she had improved, but with Sozen, it didn't feel like she improved in the least. But, for having some of the pain being bearable, she thought that maybe she was improving, if just a bit.

Then, last week, Sozen had told Hotaru that the training would be a little different some time soon. He also told her that it wouldn't be like anything she's ever experienced before. But, he also told her that he would still be training her, but the training would be from someone else. She didn't show it on her face, but she was thoroughly confused. After that day of 'training,' she thought back on his words. He said from here on out, you will be trained by a different version of me. What in the heck did he mean by that? Does that mean he's not real and it's been some kind of image the whole time? She knew this person was Sozen, from what she's read and seen in books, but what he said didn't make sense to her.

Now, in the present, she was back in her training room, a.k.a. dungeon, a.k.a. her own personal hell hole. This was the day that her 'new trainer' was supposed to start training her. Though, she noticed that his demeanor was different from the other days of training. His smile was more cold than usual, but with amusement. His eyes were almost the same, but she noticed something different in them as well. A certain twinkle she hadn't noticed from any of the other sessions.

Then, he started to speak. He told her that today would be the last day of her pain tolerance training. She mentally started having a party. Of course, she didn't show this. She was ready to start something else. He said that her statistical value should be a little bit higher by now. A little bit? She thought they would be way more through the roof from what she's had to endure. They were going to start combat training tomorrow, but he wanted her to meet someone first, finishing the pain 'training'.

He started his chanting again and she mentally braced herself for the onslaught of pain. But, the pain didn't immediately come. It was very rare for him to do this, so she kept her guard up. She wasn't going to make the mistake again of letting her guard down, then getting hit full force with the insane power of his reiatsu. She felt some ominous presence now, almost like pure evil. But, she's felt it before from him. It was pretty natural for him to give it off. She felt the pressure from the reiatsu.

Before she could even really register what was going on in front of her, the mysterious reiatsu vanished. She then looked at where Sozen was standing, but she couldn't believe it. He actually looked different. Was he shorter than he was like not even a minute ago? His hair even looked different, like it was longer or something. He was even wearing glasses. What in the heck was going on?! She knew for a fact Sozen doesn't wear glasses, at least she's never seen him wearing them. But, he still felt like Sozen, but the appearance was off. Though, she had to admit he looked more evil than he did before.

She only thought about this however. Since, once this shorter version appeared, she immediately got pushed down to the floor. This was the strongest power she had ever felt from Sozen. It was way more intense than anything else she had ever done. Then, she felt the temperature change. It wasn't to cold, like she was used to, oh no. It was getting hot. So hot she felt like she was laying in an active volcano, right onto the magma. She could barely move her head. When she tried to breath, if felt like her lungs were on fire.

She was barely hanging on, trying to use what she'd already been through to help. It's then when it all hit. The fear. It was that part of this sword that she really hated. And this time, she couldn't curl up into a ball. She couldn't move at all. She was plastered in the position she was. She felt all the fear and pain. But this fear was worse than the last time. She was now deathly afraid of everything. She was afraid of her own shadow. The only place she could stare at on the ceiling, she was afraid the entire ceiling would fall on her, killing her. Tears started to run down her eyes, since she couldn't even open her mouth to scream.

While all this was going on, she tried to move. It didn't work. She kept trying to open her mouth and nothing happened. The pressure from him was so great, she felt like she was getting pushed into the floor. She figured that if this ever let up, there would be a huge impression in the floor from where she was. It almost felt like she was melting into the floor, becoming one with it. She was just so powerless at this moment, she knew she was going to die. 

Then, she heard something. It was a voice. It sounded like Sozen, but he was too cold, too much evil. He said that he was just using his regular aura. Her heart sank even deeper. If this was regular, what was he like when he was actually trying to do something. He then said that she was being pushed down by his regular presence. She was feeling this without him even trying to do anything. It made her feel worse than she already did. She was completely powerless to this man and it scared her like nothing else did.

Then, she felt it recede. Once it was completely gone, she still wasn't too sure that it was completely gone. She was still breathing a little fast. Once her lungs didn't feel like they were on fire anymore, she tried to calm down. But it was hard. What she just experience was insane. She just laid there, tears in her eyes and still some fast breathing. She tried to pull her thoughts together but it just didn't happen. She barely moved her limbs and she was already shaking badly. It was too the point where her limbs just spazed a little. She was just glad that there was nothing really broken. She would try to get up, but she was pretty sure that she couldn't. She really hoped it would be over soon.

[Sozen Kuchiki]

"You've never felt anything like that, have you?" Sozen asked Hotaru from the mouth of his younger form. "It's because you don't have it yet. It's the most important thing that I'm going to teach you, that you didn't pick up in any of our previous training." He was telling her that though he had given her a lot in their training, she was still missing a key ingredient that he believed she needed. That was necessary to her continued survival, career, and combat ability. It was something so precious that Sozen had reverted to this form to teach her. Then again, it was also Sozen training himself to maintain this form. It was, after all, an incredibly powerful form, definitely worth using.

The aura had stopped, but of course all Hotaru could do was lay there and listen. It wasn't like she could move yet. It was probably likely that she could barely think. And Sozen, from where he was standing, was feeling that same thing in himself that he needed to imprint onto Hotaru. But, that was why they had decided to end the pain training. It was to give Hotaru a stronger body, which would be necessary for what came next, but the pain training could not give her the real experience that Sozen wanted her to have for the role that he was going to give to her in future. Later, in terms of importance, she would be far more exceptional than she realized.

"No matter how much I made you hurt, you never wanted revenge," Sozen said. "What you lack, despite your battles and your trained instinct for combat, is the desire to kill. A true killer's instinct. That's what we're going to give to you." That was why the pain training was at an end. If she didn't get it from this, Sozen could only do it through field experience. At this point, Hotaru should now know what it felt like, because it had been Sozen's killing instinct which had hit her. His desire for blood had been what brought her down, and mixed into his aura had been part of why she had hurt so badly. This was the real reason that someone like Sozen could seem so malicious, even if he was inherently good. Killing instinct.

"Starting tomorrow, I'm going to give you experience in the field," Sozen said. "At first I'll follow you, and guide you, but later you will be required to go on the missions I give you by yourself. Alone. They'll get harder as you progress, until you have that killer instinct that you need." So basically Hotaru was being given missions by Sozen to carry out. But he didn't tell her yet what they were or what she was meant to do. He just said that, and then walked away and left her on the floor, to recover at her own pace. She wouldn't see him again until he collected her in the morning, either in her room or still on that dungeon floor.

The next day

Sozen again appeared in his younger form when he came for Hotaru. He seemed fresh, so it was possible that he'd left it in their time apart, and then re-entered it for the purpose of this. That was, actually, exactly what Sozen had done. The technique that he was using was Soul Release, which created the ultimate form of the user's soul. Since Sozen's most diabolical and cruel form had been this younger self, this was the ultimate form that his soul took, as it was the most powerful when combined with his current abilities. The current Sozen wasn't weaker than his younger version. He was simply less underhanded. Now, with a younger form which was so underhanded, and his current powers, Sozen was even more dangerous.

Because however it was so difficult to capture a soul's "ultimate form," the technique that Sozen devised to do so required a great deal of meditation and training. This was why he was beginning to appear in this younger guise. Summoning this part of his soul wasn't the end of it. He was summoning this guise, but the powers to be associated with it were not yet completed. It was still amazing that he could even do this much, even if the age reversal on his body was only temporary. It was enough to give Sozen this younger side of himself without doing anything to harm his memories, and to let him keep his current state of power. The age reversal part was perfect.

So, when he came for Hotaru, it was with a mission. "I've got a purpose for you," Sozen told her. "But that's never going to happen if you don't become strong enough." He did have a great plan for Hotaru. Sozen was always thinking for what was best for the Kuchiki family. What was best for them sometimes also aligned with what was best for the Seireitei. In this case, it might not align, but the benefit to the Kuchiki family was too good to pass up. The reasons it didn't line up were mostly moral and ethical. Not that the Thirteen Court Guard Squads were innocent, but it was true that the genetic manipulation performed on Hotaru hadn't been all that ethical.

Anyway, Sozen was here to give her a mission. "I want you to kill someone for me," Sozen told her. "And it will be difficult. In fact, I warn you that he is significantly more powerful than you are. You will need to use cunning, stealth, and skill to get the job done. Before I even tell you who it is or what the details are, you must tell me if you will do it. If you agree, then you will receive a file with his name and information." That was the first ultimatum which Sozen gaze her, but ultimately he knew that she would take the mission. Of course he knew. That was why he'd already come prepared with the file. The second reason he came? To test her reflexes.

Sozen only moved a little bit faster than Hotaru could, probably barely a 40 point difference. He was holding back a lot when he did it, but when he did it, it was out of nowhere, and would be surprising. "Think fast and dodge..." Sozen told Hotaru as in one swift motion he unsheathed his sword and drove it toward her stomach. If she was too slow, he would stab her in the stomach. If she was quick enough in mind, body, and reflex, she would be able to block. Dodging might be a bit difficult, but hey. If she could do that, she may as well. Blocking was risky and opened her up to further attacks. Up to her, though. It was all up to her style.

[Hotaru Kuchiki-Masurao]

Hotaru listened to Sozen while she was still plastered on the floor. She was trying to get her thoughts together but nothing was really becoming coherent. That feeling was still bothering her and still had her on edge. Sozen said that she hadn't felt anything like that before has she? And to be honest, she hadn't. She has killed people in the past, but only for self-defense. They came after her and her father, so she stood between them and her family to defend them with her life. She has never actively hunted down someone for the sole purpose of killing them.

Sozen continued to say that it was because she doesn't have it yet. It was the most important thing that he was going to teach her that she hadn't picked up in any of their other training. How could she still be missing something? She's been through hell and back and she was still missing something that she desperately needed? She had no idea what it could be, but she was still feeling the pain from what she had just been through. She tried to breathe slowly, but she couldn't just yet. She tried to calm her mind, but that aura that hit her still haunted her a bit.

He said that no matter how much he made her hurt, she had never wanted revenge. Well, now that was an understatement. She was pissed that it seemed like she went through all of this pain for nothing. For pretty much something she didn't even get out of the training. He said what she truly lacked, despite her battles and trained instinct for combat, is the desire to kill.  A true killer's instinct, is what he called it, and that's what he was going to give her. She just laid back a little dumbfounded. 

He then told her that starting tomorrow, he was going to give her experience in the field. He will, at first, follow and guide her so she can learn the basics. Later, she will be required to go on the missions alone. They will get harder and continue to get harder until she gets the killer instinct that he says she needs. He then just turned around and left. A few minutes after he left, she felt that she could actually move her limbs a bit. But, she felt that it was very late. She moved just enough to end up in the fetal position on the dungeon floor and was too exhausted to actually get up off the floor. She fell asleep there.

The next day, she felt a huge presence coming in her direction. It was what made her slowly get up. She still had about a minute before he arrived for her, so she slowly got up, trying to stretch out all the kinks she had gotten from sleeping on the floor. Thankfully, it didn't take her too long to work all the soreness and kinks out of her body. The sleep that she had gotten from last night really helped her state of mind. It also helped that Rivu~aiasan was there with her in her inner world, trying his best to help her recover from her injuries.

When he arrived, he was again in this weird different form as he was last night. She thought on it while he was finishing his walk down the stairs and coming towards her. How was he able to do this? She figured that it had to be some kind of high-level technique that he has access to that allows him to do this whenever he wants. She doesn't know how much such a technique could exhaust someone, but she figured that he couldn't sustain that kind of a technique through the night while the mind wanders. But, he was pretty much outside of most of her reason, so he could probably keep it going for weeks, for all she knew.

Once he finally got to her, she assumed that he had a mission for her. He had told her yesterday that starting today, he would be bringing missions for her to do, at first with his help. So, she was curious to see what he had in mind for her to do first. And while she was thinking on the missions, what would her targets actually be? Would he make her kill someone from one of the other noble families? Or would it be just some random stranger that she barely knows anything about? Her curiosity was definitely getting better of her.

He told her that he had a purpose for her, but that's never going to happen if she doesn't get strong enough. She assumed that there was a purpose for her, since he willfully took her into his family. She was a complete stranger to him, but he had already explained why he took her. To make her special. She had always wanted strength by pretty much any means necessary to protect that which was precious to her. This was no different. At least she didn't think so, but it was too late for her to turn back now, she would make due with what she was given.

He first told her that he wants her to kill someone for him. She had figured that much already. He continued to say that it will be difficult. Her target was actually significantly more powerful than she is right now. That little fact made her feel better. He told her that she would need to use cunning, stealth, and skill to get the job done. Before he would give her any of the details on the mission, she had to tell him if she would do it. If she agreed, then she would receive the file with his name and information. She was pretty sure that he already knew the answer she was going to give.

"Yes Sozen-sama, I accept your mission." Right after she said those words, she barely saw that he actually moved against her. His zanpaktou was out and he was going to stab her in the stomach. He said to think fast and dodge. He was definitely holding back, because she did have the time to dodge his attack. She wasn't sure if his strength was now augmented or if it was full tilt. Just in case it wasn't, she Shunpo'ed to his right, hoping that he wasn't able to sense her through the step technique. She had heard that there were a few shinigami with senses high enough to do that. She hoped that he wasn't one of them.