Post by Beast on Aug 2, 2016 18:03:13 GMT -5
Training for CTP
Grodd woke up early in his Barrack bunk and rubbed his eyes. He had yet another strange dream the night before. That made the third one this week. In his dreams, there was a monkey that knew his sign language and conversed with him. She wouldn't tell him her name, only that she was female and he shouldn't forget it. Also a lot of other things that he didn't quite understand. Something about hearts and souls. He stopped paying attention after awhile and eventually woke up. It had gone the same way every night, only the monkey's signing grew more and more hurried each time. Odd.
He stumbled out of bed, naked of course, and was promptly struck with his loincloth by one of the other Squad 3 Shinigami. It was a routine that he had gotten used to, and he was starting to think that they didn't care as much any more, they just threw it at him out of habit and amusement rather than disgust. But that couldn't be. He was an outcast, a pariah in the squad. No one seemed to care about him. After all, he was only fairly okay at his scouting job and didn't even have a Zanpakutou of his own. He had to use the Asauchi provided to him to even perform his daily duties. He wasn't deaf, so he could hear their snickers and their comments behind his back. That he didn't belong here and should go back to the Rukongai. He ignored them, as always.
On his way out of the barracks, he was stopped by one of the seated officers. "You're being summoned back to the Academy. Tutor duty. It'll just be for one day. It's a random drawing, and you got picked, much to my horror. Try not to mess up a kid for life, okay?" With a shrug, Grodd made his way towards the Academy with his orders in hand. Normally he would try to just run into the woods, but that seemed boring today. After all, the Academy had nice food. He'd get a meal, do whatever this "tutor" stuff was, and then go home and take a nap hopefully without any dreams of signing monkeys. The walk to the Academy was uneventful. Nothing interesting to see, nothing interesting to do. So he actually made it on time.
He walked into the familiar halls to the registration desk to hand over his orders. "Ah, Grodd... Nice to see you again... Next time, please wear more... appropriate clothing." Grodd looked down, didn't see anything wrong with his outfit, and shrugged. The lady at the desk sighed, shook her head, and gave him another piece of paper. "Your room assignment is 3001. You'll be tutoring Mathias today. He's having some trouble communicating with his Zanpakutou Spirit so the school requested a Shinigami help him. You do know how to perform Jinzen, correct?" Not wanting to appear inadequate, Grodd nodded and moved to room 3001.
Inside the room, he found a young boy appearing to be no more than 10 years old sitting cross legged on the floor, with his hands on his knees. He was muttering to himself, sounding very frustrated. If Grodd could have spoken, he would have cleared his throat or something to get the boy's attention. But, seeing as he couldn't do that, he decided to just sit opposite of the boy and rest in the same position. Maybe it was relaxing or something. He settled down and observed the young boy. Mathias had his eyes shut firmly and his face was scrunched up as if he was trying to concentrate really hard on something.
Frustrated, the boy opened his eyes and was startled to see the towering Shinigami just a few feet from him. "Oh. Hi there. Are you my tutor?" Grodd nodded. "I keep trying this Jinzen thing that they taught us in class, but I can't hear or see anything. It's like... there's nothing in my soul to hear. What do you think I should do?" Feeling a little silly, Grodd touched his throat with his left hand and shook his right hand left and right a few times. Mathias' face sunk slightly. "I needed help with something very complicated and I got a mute for a tutor... No offense, big Shinigami man."
Grodd would have growled at anyone else, assuming he could growl, but the kid was trying his best to grow and the Shinigami respected that. He got up, went over to the other side of the classroom, and picked up a few pens and a stack of paper. Settling back down in the cross legged position, he began to write on the first paper. Almost immediately, Mathias blushed and turned his head. "Please cover yourself, Sir. It's a little distracting. Grodd's loincloth had settled poorly, leading to his junk being fully on display to this young looking kid. Covering up immediately, Grodd continued writing. When he was finished, he held up the paper for the boy to see.
Jinzen
Mathias cleared his throat and recited a speech from memory. "Jinzen. Jinzen is the honored traditional art of communicating with one's Zanpakutou Spirit in the world of one's soul. It is an imperative and crucial skill for a Shinigami as the Zanpakutou Spirits contain untold wisdom passed down from Generation to Generation of Shinigami. It is also how one's unique Shikai is unlocked, by learning the name of one's Zanpakutou Spirit. The steps for Jinzen are as follows. 1) A calm heart and spirit: It is important to be undisturbed and not distracted while communicating with one's Spirit. Jinzen opens up the Shinigami to ambush and should not be done in an unsafe environment. 2) The proper Jinzen form should be perfected: Crossed legs, with the back of one's hands resting on the knees, while eyes are closed is indicative of perfect form. 3) Time is of the essence: Harmonizing oneself to the true soul inside you can take time and practice."
Mathias sighed. He knew all the facts, he knew how to best sit, he just couldn't manage to communicate with his Inner World and his Zanpakutou Spirit. He looked defeated and heartbroken. He had no spark. Thinking for a moment, Grodd thought of a way to draw the emotions and the spirit out of the boy. True, he had never completed Jinzen himself, but what Spirit could sit idly by while the boy's life was in danger? Grodd stood up, walked back to the door, and retrieved a sparring kendo stick from the wall next to the exit. The man tossed it to Mathias and gave him exactly three seconds before he charged, fists ready.
The kid was not ready for the assault. He seemed more of the book type than the physical combat type and was knocked on his rear in a matter of one palm strike. "Ow... Go easy on me, I got a C in Kendo..." Grodd picked Mathias up by the shoulder, then spun around and shot his palm out again to knock the boy down. Not to be surprised twice, Mathias managed to get his bamboo stick in the way of the attack, but Grodd's strength sent the boy flying back anyways. "Let's just stick to hand to hand combat. I don't like swords at all." For the first time in a... long time, Grodd genuinely smiled. This kid was very similar to him. Getting into a Hakuda stance, Grodd flexed his fingers in a "come and get me" stance.
Mathias strained himself, using Shunpo to get behind Grodd and attack his back. His punch hit, which shocked the boy and he started to cheer, only to have Grodd spin around and clock him in the side of the head with his fist. Grodd started to wag his finger, which made Mathias chuckle. "I know, I know, don't forget to pay attention to the entirety of battle. Let's try this again." Mathias charged one more time, but Grodd was faster. The man moved on the offensive quickly, grabbing onto Mathias' neck and lifting him up into the air. The boy kicked at Grodd's exposed ribs and hit his arm but he wasn't strong enough to do enough to Grodd to drop him.
Almost running out of breath, Grodd loosened his grip and set Mathias down. The boy sucked in air with his hands on his knees, only to jump up suddenly. "I haven't thought so clearly... ever! It's like... I knew that I was safe, but thought I was going to die for a moment. In that instance, I could see everything so clearly... Let me try Jinzen one more time! I can focus this time, I'm sure of it!" Mathias calmed down and sat down in the cross legged position. Grodd joined him on the floor, sitting next to him this time, and entered the same form. Grodd calmed his breathing and tried to focus himself on listening and communicating with his inner spirit. Who knows, maybe he'd learn something.
As he calmed himself and concentrated, a forest sprang up into his mind. It grew up all around him and he found himself standing upright inside of it. Surprised, he spun around and looked every which way. Trees as far as he could see. He felt comfort by these trees. As he wandered through them, a small golden monkey dropped down out of the canopy. He pointed at her and began to sign. You! You've been in my dreams... The monkey nodded as if she understood, then began to start to sign to Grodd in his own language. I know. I've been trying to contact you for days now. I won't tell you my name, but I am your Zanpakutou Spirit. I am your guide. And I am threatened here, even in the safety of your Forest. Please, follow me.
Shocked that someone could communicate with him, Grodd sprinted after the monkey who dashed off into the trees. They didn't have to go far before the beautiful healthy trees gave way to something terrible and twisted. The healthy forest gave way to a burnt and devastated land. The bark of the trees had been stripped clean and the flesh had been scorched. Not too much farther, not a single tree was present, just a slope giving way to a giant crater. The golden monkey stood at the edge of the burnt lands, staying just inside the healthy growth. She turned to Grodd with a tear in her eye. The Beast Within is destroying your forest, burning it and corrupting it. I can hear him screaming Blood and Hate and Rage all night long. You must grow strong and defeat him. Save this forest. Please, I beg you!
Grodd thought for a moment, then nodded. He signed back to her. I will do it. What do I have to do to get stronger? The monkey held her hand up to her face and shook with mirth. She signed back to him. Grow strong by fighting and learning, then come to me and fight me until you can best me and take my name from me. Then, and only then, will you gain the power to stand as a true Shinigami and learn to gain the power to take down The Beast Within. Take my hand... Grodd moved towards the monkey who could fit on his shoulder and grabbed her tiny paw in his hand. The forest melted away, and he opened his eyes to see a knife in his hand. The small bamboo hilt barely fit his hand, and the tiny blade would just barely be able to pierce through a Hollow's mask. However, the Shinigami smiled. The weapon was perfect for him.
Meanwhile, he looked over to Mathias to see him standing up with a giant grin on his face, holding a highly decorated Zanpakutou. The black blade was made of polished onyx and had a glistening ruby set into the hilt. "Yours looks fine, but my Zanpakutou is deserving of the Kawada lineage. My grandfather and his grandfather before him and his grandfather before him all wielded blades as keen and noble as this. And now I wield one too. Thank you, Sir, for helping me to not become a disgrace to my family. I'll see you in two years when I graduate! Or maybe even one." With a wink, Mathias hurried out of room 3001 to go brag to his friends about his Zanpakutou. Grodd just smiled and walked back to the barracks after securing his Zanpakutou to his leg with some leather from a Seireitei shop he found on the way. It had been a good day. But he was confused, a little.
What was a lineage, and a grandfather?
Grodd woke up early in his Barrack bunk and rubbed his eyes. He had yet another strange dream the night before. That made the third one this week. In his dreams, there was a monkey that knew his sign language and conversed with him. She wouldn't tell him her name, only that she was female and he shouldn't forget it. Also a lot of other things that he didn't quite understand. Something about hearts and souls. He stopped paying attention after awhile and eventually woke up. It had gone the same way every night, only the monkey's signing grew more and more hurried each time. Odd.
He stumbled out of bed, naked of course, and was promptly struck with his loincloth by one of the other Squad 3 Shinigami. It was a routine that he had gotten used to, and he was starting to think that they didn't care as much any more, they just threw it at him out of habit and amusement rather than disgust. But that couldn't be. He was an outcast, a pariah in the squad. No one seemed to care about him. After all, he was only fairly okay at his scouting job and didn't even have a Zanpakutou of his own. He had to use the Asauchi provided to him to even perform his daily duties. He wasn't deaf, so he could hear their snickers and their comments behind his back. That he didn't belong here and should go back to the Rukongai. He ignored them, as always.
On his way out of the barracks, he was stopped by one of the seated officers. "You're being summoned back to the Academy. Tutor duty. It'll just be for one day. It's a random drawing, and you got picked, much to my horror. Try not to mess up a kid for life, okay?" With a shrug, Grodd made his way towards the Academy with his orders in hand. Normally he would try to just run into the woods, but that seemed boring today. After all, the Academy had nice food. He'd get a meal, do whatever this "tutor" stuff was, and then go home and take a nap hopefully without any dreams of signing monkeys. The walk to the Academy was uneventful. Nothing interesting to see, nothing interesting to do. So he actually made it on time.
He walked into the familiar halls to the registration desk to hand over his orders. "Ah, Grodd... Nice to see you again... Next time, please wear more... appropriate clothing." Grodd looked down, didn't see anything wrong with his outfit, and shrugged. The lady at the desk sighed, shook her head, and gave him another piece of paper. "Your room assignment is 3001. You'll be tutoring Mathias today. He's having some trouble communicating with his Zanpakutou Spirit so the school requested a Shinigami help him. You do know how to perform Jinzen, correct?" Not wanting to appear inadequate, Grodd nodded and moved to room 3001.
Inside the room, he found a young boy appearing to be no more than 10 years old sitting cross legged on the floor, with his hands on his knees. He was muttering to himself, sounding very frustrated. If Grodd could have spoken, he would have cleared his throat or something to get the boy's attention. But, seeing as he couldn't do that, he decided to just sit opposite of the boy and rest in the same position. Maybe it was relaxing or something. He settled down and observed the young boy. Mathias had his eyes shut firmly and his face was scrunched up as if he was trying to concentrate really hard on something.
Frustrated, the boy opened his eyes and was startled to see the towering Shinigami just a few feet from him. "Oh. Hi there. Are you my tutor?" Grodd nodded. "I keep trying this Jinzen thing that they taught us in class, but I can't hear or see anything. It's like... there's nothing in my soul to hear. What do you think I should do?" Feeling a little silly, Grodd touched his throat with his left hand and shook his right hand left and right a few times. Mathias' face sunk slightly. "I needed help with something very complicated and I got a mute for a tutor... No offense, big Shinigami man."
Grodd would have growled at anyone else, assuming he could growl, but the kid was trying his best to grow and the Shinigami respected that. He got up, went over to the other side of the classroom, and picked up a few pens and a stack of paper. Settling back down in the cross legged position, he began to write on the first paper. Almost immediately, Mathias blushed and turned his head. "Please cover yourself, Sir. It's a little distracting. Grodd's loincloth had settled poorly, leading to his junk being fully on display to this young looking kid. Covering up immediately, Grodd continued writing. When he was finished, he held up the paper for the boy to see.
Jinzen
Mathias cleared his throat and recited a speech from memory. "Jinzen. Jinzen is the honored traditional art of communicating with one's Zanpakutou Spirit in the world of one's soul. It is an imperative and crucial skill for a Shinigami as the Zanpakutou Spirits contain untold wisdom passed down from Generation to Generation of Shinigami. It is also how one's unique Shikai is unlocked, by learning the name of one's Zanpakutou Spirit. The steps for Jinzen are as follows. 1) A calm heart and spirit: It is important to be undisturbed and not distracted while communicating with one's Spirit. Jinzen opens up the Shinigami to ambush and should not be done in an unsafe environment. 2) The proper Jinzen form should be perfected: Crossed legs, with the back of one's hands resting on the knees, while eyes are closed is indicative of perfect form. 3) Time is of the essence: Harmonizing oneself to the true soul inside you can take time and practice."
Mathias sighed. He knew all the facts, he knew how to best sit, he just couldn't manage to communicate with his Inner World and his Zanpakutou Spirit. He looked defeated and heartbroken. He had no spark. Thinking for a moment, Grodd thought of a way to draw the emotions and the spirit out of the boy. True, he had never completed Jinzen himself, but what Spirit could sit idly by while the boy's life was in danger? Grodd stood up, walked back to the door, and retrieved a sparring kendo stick from the wall next to the exit. The man tossed it to Mathias and gave him exactly three seconds before he charged, fists ready.
The kid was not ready for the assault. He seemed more of the book type than the physical combat type and was knocked on his rear in a matter of one palm strike. "Ow... Go easy on me, I got a C in Kendo..." Grodd picked Mathias up by the shoulder, then spun around and shot his palm out again to knock the boy down. Not to be surprised twice, Mathias managed to get his bamboo stick in the way of the attack, but Grodd's strength sent the boy flying back anyways. "Let's just stick to hand to hand combat. I don't like swords at all." For the first time in a... long time, Grodd genuinely smiled. This kid was very similar to him. Getting into a Hakuda stance, Grodd flexed his fingers in a "come and get me" stance.
Mathias strained himself, using Shunpo to get behind Grodd and attack his back. His punch hit, which shocked the boy and he started to cheer, only to have Grodd spin around and clock him in the side of the head with his fist. Grodd started to wag his finger, which made Mathias chuckle. "I know, I know, don't forget to pay attention to the entirety of battle. Let's try this again." Mathias charged one more time, but Grodd was faster. The man moved on the offensive quickly, grabbing onto Mathias' neck and lifting him up into the air. The boy kicked at Grodd's exposed ribs and hit his arm but he wasn't strong enough to do enough to Grodd to drop him.
Almost running out of breath, Grodd loosened his grip and set Mathias down. The boy sucked in air with his hands on his knees, only to jump up suddenly. "I haven't thought so clearly... ever! It's like... I knew that I was safe, but thought I was going to die for a moment. In that instance, I could see everything so clearly... Let me try Jinzen one more time! I can focus this time, I'm sure of it!" Mathias calmed down and sat down in the cross legged position. Grodd joined him on the floor, sitting next to him this time, and entered the same form. Grodd calmed his breathing and tried to focus himself on listening and communicating with his inner spirit. Who knows, maybe he'd learn something.
As he calmed himself and concentrated, a forest sprang up into his mind. It grew up all around him and he found himself standing upright inside of it. Surprised, he spun around and looked every which way. Trees as far as he could see. He felt comfort by these trees. As he wandered through them, a small golden monkey dropped down out of the canopy. He pointed at her and began to sign. You! You've been in my dreams... The monkey nodded as if she understood, then began to start to sign to Grodd in his own language. I know. I've been trying to contact you for days now. I won't tell you my name, but I am your Zanpakutou Spirit. I am your guide. And I am threatened here, even in the safety of your Forest. Please, follow me.
Shocked that someone could communicate with him, Grodd sprinted after the monkey who dashed off into the trees. They didn't have to go far before the beautiful healthy trees gave way to something terrible and twisted. The healthy forest gave way to a burnt and devastated land. The bark of the trees had been stripped clean and the flesh had been scorched. Not too much farther, not a single tree was present, just a slope giving way to a giant crater. The golden monkey stood at the edge of the burnt lands, staying just inside the healthy growth. She turned to Grodd with a tear in her eye. The Beast Within is destroying your forest, burning it and corrupting it. I can hear him screaming Blood and Hate and Rage all night long. You must grow strong and defeat him. Save this forest. Please, I beg you!
Grodd thought for a moment, then nodded. He signed back to her. I will do it. What do I have to do to get stronger? The monkey held her hand up to her face and shook with mirth. She signed back to him. Grow strong by fighting and learning, then come to me and fight me until you can best me and take my name from me. Then, and only then, will you gain the power to stand as a true Shinigami and learn to gain the power to take down The Beast Within. Take my hand... Grodd moved towards the monkey who could fit on his shoulder and grabbed her tiny paw in his hand. The forest melted away, and he opened his eyes to see a knife in his hand. The small bamboo hilt barely fit his hand, and the tiny blade would just barely be able to pierce through a Hollow's mask. However, the Shinigami smiled. The weapon was perfect for him.
Meanwhile, he looked over to Mathias to see him standing up with a giant grin on his face, holding a highly decorated Zanpakutou. The black blade was made of polished onyx and had a glistening ruby set into the hilt. "Yours looks fine, but my Zanpakutou is deserving of the Kawada lineage. My grandfather and his grandfather before him and his grandfather before him all wielded blades as keen and noble as this. And now I wield one too. Thank you, Sir, for helping me to not become a disgrace to my family. I'll see you in two years when I graduate! Or maybe even one." With a wink, Mathias hurried out of room 3001 to go brag to his friends about his Zanpakutou. Grodd just smiled and walked back to the barracks after securing his Zanpakutou to his leg with some leather from a Seireitei shop he found on the way. It had been a good day. But he was confused, a little.
What was a lineage, and a grandfather?
