How does one repay a debt? (JT Closed) Kyomei/Anthony

[Deleted]

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Whoever said that was a wise man but to glorify the painful road towards the top, they must have been a masochist. What do you think Smokey? Surely you agree with me." Anthony looked down to his 4 legged companion as they made their last trip from the school grounds out to the front gate. Anthony couldn't help but have a sad smile on his face. Say what you will but Anthony did have some genuinely good times at the academy and really he had made some good friends. Hell without them he wasn't certain he'd have made it to Squad 1 without their help.

The sad truth however in all this was that Anthony had actually lost all of them, they'd predominantly gone to squad 11 but a few made it to squad 4 and even a couple made it into squads 3, 9 and even, ironically, 6. Anthony snorted to himself at the irony of that thought before looking down at Smokey. Smokey merely walked with him, a smile on his face with his ears perked. He'd clearly listened to Anthony but ultimately wasn't going to give a response in any literal capacity. Instead his eyes gave him a look that seemed to speak more towards getting back home to the manor, especially since earlier he'd heard Anthony mention giving him treats for the special day. 

Anthony in the meantime just shook his head and laughed to himself before reaching down to pet his dog, scratching right behind his ears. "Yea yea I get it, you want treats. Heh I shoulda known your mind would on those instead." Anthony gave a quick signal to his dog to sit for a moment before turning around to the academy. Despite how much he wanted to leave, graduating and hearing he'd been accepted to Squad 1 felt more like a dream than anything. In a way he'd truly expected that he was going to wake up and be lectured again for sleeping after an exam. But that never came to be, instead he'd met the representative telling him to come visit the squad within the next couple days after he'd celebrated with the family.

"The first step of a thousand mile journey" how much more accurate could that statement be? He'd be directly in the sight of the captain commander whilst being in the sight of his family as well. If anyone was the masochist it must be him because he'd just signed his name on a paper promising him far more attention and stress than he'd ever dealt with up to this point. A quick shake of his head and he pushed the worries and negative thoughts aside and gave a small but quick wave to the academy before turning around and motioning for Smokey to follow. He quickly ran up after Anthony before getting into a comfortable pace as they made their way to the manor. 

The way was familiar and ultimately much more quick because Anthony's nerves were on edge from a mixture of excitement and nervousness. Smokey had taken notice but hadn't made any actions to counteract it, choosing instead to remain as though nothing was different on their way home. Before long they'd managed to make their way back to the front gates of the Kuchiki manor. Bold, expensive, and screaming how rich they were just from the choice of materials used to make the walls, let alone the actual manor itself inside the confined area. Anthony would be lying if he wasn't always impressed but the shock and awe died about 20 years ago, now it was just nice to see that he was back and he'd be seeing his family again, specifically his adoptive parents. As he walked through the gate and made his way to the door he flashed a bright smile at the guards and asked them about their day. Same as always and continued the same with each house attendant that he passed by. 

Once he'd reached the front entrance he spied a maid he knew well. Kisara, she'd only ever given him her first name but that was all he'd ever needed. She was a small somewhat timid maid but with a lot of passion and flare behind the unassuming exterior. She'd quickly noticed Anthony as he approached and waved, once nearby she put up a palm signaling that he didn't even need to ask. "Lady Hisano is in the manor today. She's been excitedly awaiting for your arrival along side Cyrus. If you make your way towards the inner courtyard where the garden meets the sandy expanse you'll find them both there."

Kisara looked around for a moment to make sure no other maids were in ear shot before speaking again. "Just so you know, there may or may not be a certain special surprise for you given the family got the news prior to your graduation. However be careful, while today is your day to celebrate I've seen the head all over the manor today. He doesn't seem to be in any particular mood but he has been busy, I'd be certain to steer clear of him if you can. That aside congratulations Anthony, we look forward to hearing about your time in the Captain Commander's squad when next you return to us." Kisara smiled wide before shooing off Anthony, as she had work to finish still and knew Anthony needed to see Hisano sooner than later. 

Anthony didn't say anything but just nodded before making his way back to the front entrance and slowly but surely making his way towards the courtyard. His mind was filled to the brim as it thought over the possibilities of what his parents had planned. Kyomei though he was an important figure to keep in mind under normal circumstances today was swept to the side. It was his day after all and he needed to enjoy it for what it was worth, he could only imagine he'd come to feel differently later. Anthony kept this train of though going replaying the events of the graduation, the meeting with the Squad 1 representative, the meeting to be with his family and just imagining how his time in Squad 1 would be.

To say he wasn't paying attention would be an understatement, he'd only narrowly not ran into a wall a few times because Smokey had the forethought to nudge him in the opposite direction. This worked up until he'd found the door for the edge of the courtyard and literally slammed head first into the wooden pillar. He swore he heard his dog laugh and promptly flipped him off as he sat down on the walk way's edge, Smokey came up moments later to lay down next to him. Ever keeping an eye on Anthony with one eye while the other scanned the garden around them.

Anthony in the meantime groaned quietly and glanced over the garden in the meantime deciding it better to calm himself down before walking further. Another forceful merging with a wooden pillar would not suit the day at all, let alone his mothers protective temper over being a klutz. Thoughts came and went but they began to slow time as he continued to watch the garden and take in the specific details of it. Never paying attention to those who walked by him assuming all were maids, ground keepers, or even just family members without the time to chat, only quietly acknowledging they walked by before focusing on his next thought with glazed eyes. 

Training for SP and CTP

SPOILER: Click to show

{Smokey physical reference}

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats and Skills}

Stats

Strength: 25

Speed: 50

Rieatsu Strength: (40) 28

Spiritual Pressure: (60) 90

Instinct: (55) 74

Senses: 50

Energy Sensory: 0 (0)

Healing Expertise: 0

Light Aura: 75

Dark Aura: 25


Skills

Strength of Will: 1

Damage Recovery: 1

Battle Analysis: 1

Weapons: Roman weapons 1

Pain Tolerance: 1

Mental Incantation: 1

[Kyomei Kuchiki]

*wham*

Kyomei looked up to see someone walk straight into a wooden pillar on their way to the garden courtyard. His eyes had been on some paperwork he had to work on such as building codes and budget approvals to be sent to Squad 8, but now he was very intently aware of the other Kuchiki presence in the area. Anthony Kuchiki, an Academy student -- no, a recent Academy graduate, if memory served him correctly. Graduation and squad assignment was today. Interested in how the man was doing, Kyomei got up from his seat, left his book, and followed him into the garden where Anthony just seemed to stop and stare over the area as if he was looking for someone.

Not wanting to interrupt anything, the Captain moved quickly to make sure he was first to congratulate the new graduate and find out what squad he had been assigned to. Most of the family had been moving away from Squad 6, despite it being the traditionally Kuchiki squad, due to Kyomei's decision to change the purpose of the squad away from the dark interrogation to the new Restoration squad. An unpopular opinion of late. So there was little chance that Anthony had joined Kyomei on his mission to make the Soul Society great again. But, it'd be nice to know where the man had been assigned.

"Greetings. I take it you are well today, Anthony?" Ever the formal one, the Captain simply rested his hand on the shoulder of the new graduate to announce his presence. Sure, it probably could result in him surprising Anthony too much, or alerting the hound at his side, but he was willing to risk it. It would speak volumes about the man's character to see how Anthony reacted to being surprised by the head of his Family showing up randomly and placing a hand on his shoulder. True, if Anthony had any Energy Sensory capabilities he'd be able to sense Kyomei coming a mile away due to his intense presence...

Training for CTP

[Deleted]

Anthony continued looking over the garden as Kyomei approached. His ability to sense any energy was laughable at best, enough that he had to learn a technique to actually help him actively find anything that would come in his direction. But since that technique wasn't being used currently Anthony had no idea that he was approaching. Smokey however was a different story. It's no surprised that Smokey didn't need to do anything but flick an ear to recognize that someone was approaching. The subtle creaks of the wooden walkways did that and by now he was far too used to it to actively jump. Instead he'd simply look to see who was coming by, an action Anthony also didn't focus on as Smokey had a habit of always looking around to begin with. Taking note of Kyomei and his body language as he walked gave Smokey the information necessary to determine that he wasn't a threat even if he didn't recognize Kyomei off the bat. Instead he proceeded to lay his head back down except on top of Anthony's leg.

When Kyomei finally reached over and grabbed a hold of Anthony it jarred him from his current thoughts. Though if he was honest he had lost track of what he was thinking awhile ago, it had instead been more akin to a calm river flowing over many different thoughts. Once he registered the presence of a hand his body moved to see who had a hold of him. What followed next would arguably be comical if Kyomei could see how Anthony's mind folded in upon itself. The greeting was heard and being processed as a secondary priority while the main priority was that Kyomei fucking kuchiki was talking to him. Hisano had always spoken highly of him even if she didn't always agree with his views. And from what little he'd seen of Kyomei it was both impressive and a tad intimidating. There is however a distinct difference in talk about someone and talking to someone. And Anthony had mentally crashed from the realization of said difference.

If one were to be accurate about the state of his mind prior to it effectively restarting itself. Then it would be equivalent to a chicken with its head cut off while screeching bloody murder. And his body did a very good job of displaying the shock that would be the equivalent to that by jumping more from the person rather than the action of being touched. It took a couple seconds to get Anthony's mind rebooted, then a few more before he'd finally registered the question, and one last second for him to realize that talking and responding was in fact a necessary action. He took a shaky breath before standing up, forcing Smokey to get up and sit by his leg, before bowing a bit at Kyomei. It was the only thing he could think of to show some amount of respect for the captain and head of the family. "Good afternoon Kyomei. I am.. well enough, it's been a fairly busy day. There's been a lot to take in at once because of the business. The biggest being the squad that I was allowed to join. You could say via joining that squad I've sort of put a spotlight on myself."

Anthony scratched the back of his head a bit out of nervousness as well a show of his honesty. To him being in squad 1 put him on a stage with the viewers being Kyomei, the captain commander, the entire family, and anyone else who wanted a showing at his balancing act. Anthony was certain he could manage but that didn't stop the worries from eating at his inside a bit. It was in fact the biggest step he'd taken in either his human life or his Shinigami life, it was to be expected that he'd be concerned. Pulling himself back together a bit more mentally he finally let the lines of worry and surprise on his face calm before giving a soft smile at Kyomei.  "How are you doing yourself Kyomei? Busy as ever I imagine? Hehe you always look incredibly busy when I catch the rare glances of you going to and from different parts of the manor, let alone the rare times when you leave the manor. I've got to ask, in all seriousness, how do you handle the work load and stress?"

Anthony up to this point had been slowly recovering from his nervousness and shock but that last question showed a sincere curiosity. His body had relaxed, and Smokey sensing this had even laid down in between the two Kuchiki. A show how relaxed Anthony had become. Though a sort of innocence was apparent as well if Kyomei looked in his eyes he'd very quickly notice Anthony's mind had returned to it's normal multiple geared machine. He was actively trying to understand and consider how the positions were from his little experience. It was understood he'd never get it until he made more rank in the SS but the effort at least meant something. Before he'd even given Kyomei a moment to respond Anthony shook his head and spoke up again. "Sorry I probably shouldn't ask that. However is there something I can help you Kyomei? I've more than enough time currently if you do."

[Kyomei Kuchiki]

Kyomei noticed the hound's ears perking up at his approach, but Smokey seemed to accept his getting into the personal space of his master. This was good, as the Captain didn't want to get on the bad side of any one, especially someone in his family what with tensions high quite too often. But as he placed his hand on Anthony's shoulder and greeted the new graduate, the man's mind seemed to go blank and reset after he jumped back and away from Kyo. It took a few seconds for him to get his bearings, but Kyomei understood. After all, he had looked up to Sozen like that not too long ago... Standing up and bowing respectfully, Anthony returned the warm greetings.

And then Anthony kept talking. He seemed nervous, and a little bit in awe of the man standing before him. His rambling was met with a patient smile and a nod as Kyomei took in all of the questions before answering. Anthony had a soft blue voice which was very calming. He was easy to listen to. Kyomei had met many people with varying shades of blue voices, but the soft steel blue was a personal favorite. True, it was no yellow, but it was a pleasant color to listen to. After all, if one had to have sound-to-sight synesthesia caused by an interaction with Lucifer himself, they would have to get used to seeing a great many noises. Pleasant ones were always comforting.

When Anthony was finished, Kyomei would answer all the questions and ask his own in order. "A spotlight upon yourself is good. Keeps you accountable. What squad did you end up joining? And yes, I am busy but well. It takes a lot to run a Squad, and even more to completely start a Squad from scratch it seems. As for how I cope, I exercise. Mental, spiritual, and physical stress seems to do the trick. And as for what you can and can't ask, I'm an open book. As Head, it is my job to represent the family, and I cannot effectively do that if I close myself off to its members, now, can I?" With a smile, Kyomei returned the bow and gestured to the garden.

"Will you walk with me? It will be good to walk and catch up with you. We've barely been acquainted and it'll be good for me to get the exercise. I've been neglecting myself of late after having been wounded by that Hollow attack recently." It was embarrassing, but Kyomei had recently been forced to retreat from a Hollow after having damaged it and many of its invading forces. It was a powerful Hollow, the likes of which he had never seen before, and it had taken a chunk of flesh from his side as he escaped. Thankfully it had been driven off by another Captain, but it had been a trying period of time spent in recovery. He blamed himself for not being strong enough. He needed to keep learning, keep practicing, keep focusing on growth even as a Captain...

"In your studies, how fared you at Kidou? It is my specialty, after all, and I do love to talk about it with anyone who will lend me an ear."

[Deleted]

Anthony listened quietly as Kyomei gave his response, not wanting to interrupt as he'd already stopped and started his own line of questioning a few times already. Though to his surprise the answers were much shorter and less unique than he expected. Instead his response had been fairly normal, especially when coping with stresses. Really, working out was the common answer he'd heard and though he didn't agree with it fully he at least could respect that it worked for Kyomei and leave it there. In the meantime while he had listened Anthony proceeded to place his hands in his pockets, showing off in the bit of space a simple leather arm band on each wrist, about 2 inches thick. His posture didn't slouch but his muscles finally looked about as calm as they had been prior, his only other movement in the meantime was an occasional head nod.

"Will you walk with me? It will be good to walk and catch up with you. We've barely been acquainted and it'll be good for me to get the exercise. I've been neglecting myself of late after having been wounded by that Hollow attack recently." As Kyomei gestured out towards the garden and made his offer the look of surprise was not hidden off Anthony's face. His eyebrows raised up and his face seemed to elongate a bit however this only lasted for a moment as Anthony quickly gave a nod of approval and promptly nudged Smokey. Smokey wasn't exactly thrilled at the idea, at least from the sound of a quiet groan and a look directed at Anthony that could almost be sassy. Regardless he still got up and proceeded to get onto the grass waiting for Anthony and Kyo to lead the way.

As they walked Anthony took a moment to look in at the plants around, the bushes were surprisingly lush as they had been for months prior but it was the first time in the past few months Anthony had seen them. Without looking over at Kyomei he spoke again, clear and loud enough that he'd hear him even though his eyes were drawn elsewhere. A small act he'd never admit to himself was the last bit of nervousness getting to him at the current moment. " As far as my studies were it was very apparent I couldn't really use kido effectively. Certain kido's that were more utility or even defensive in nature were where my strength's lied. That was because despite my resevoirs of reiatsu I couldn't direct them as well as I'd have needed to with more aggressive kido. Thus if I got the general idea of a kido in question I considered that a win over actually getting the full effect. Currently the only one I was able to seriously commit to memory was Sazanami since it wasn't a very difficult kido to learn to begin with.

At this Anthony couldn't help but chuckle and remember a time he was supposed to try using Byakurai. Oh he'd been able to actually fire it off but with little to no accuracy and hardly any offensive power. The poor thing was more akin to a small sparkler and had made him the butt end of many jokes for that day, even amongst his friends. It was a bit dismaying for him at the time but at the end of the day he'd come to accept that style of kido just wasn't his style. Thus he'd talked to a teacher and found a different set of kido's that while not all that impressive he could cast well enough to pass his classes. A final chuckle and he looked over at Kyomei with a large smile. His news for the squad he had joined was what he was most proud of so just getting asked made his already good mood get just that little bit higher.

"The squad I was accepted into was Squad 1. That's why when I mentioned it earlier I called it more akin to a spot light since working up the captain commander directly...well it isn't exactly the usual job for most academy recruits. At least not that I understood. It seemed more likely that one got accepted so long as they did good work in their squad prior and maybe got in with the help of a recommendation. But the spotlight aspect of it worries me, every success I have will be seen but so will all the failures. Of course I'll try to keep those to a minimum but they will happen regardless. I just don't want anything negative showing back on the family because of my choices in squad 1 if that makes any sense." There was a touch of fear in his mind but with a quick dash of his mental hand it was replaced back into it's particular bottle. No good in focusing on it, especially not in front of the family head. If anything he'd tell Hisano later and she'd slap that right out of his mind like always.

Speaking of Hisano though Anthony had to keep an eye out for her, she was supposed to be in the garden after all and if she didn't appear then he knew he must have been too late for her. Inevitably it wouldn't matter where she was if he found her at some point that day and talked with her but a part of him knew he needed to do this sooner than later. If not for her sake than his, she was not exactly the most patient of mothers and she wanted updates both good and bad with Anthony. In the meantime though he'd soak up every minute he got with the head, it wouldn't be commonplace to see him beyond a quick wave here and there so if he could learn something while they were talking that was the goal at this point.

Which brought him back to another point he'd almost forgotten. The attack. As far as Anthony could tell Kyomei was fine and the idea of kyomei not blasting a hollow into oblivion seemed a tad far fetched in his mind. But who knew? There were a good few classes of hollow so maybe there was a strong enough hollow to stand at least a few minutes of combat with him. He was certainly curious enough to ask but thought better for the time being as he'd already talked a good bit. Besides maybe the other would tell him, it wasn't exactly like he was very subtle with his glancing over and around Kyomei to find this "wound" he spoke of. Smokey in all this time would be on Anthony's right side, leaving a comfortable space between the two on Anthony's left. Smokey of course did his usual actions, glance around the garden, move some, sniff a spot and then move on. He'd always end up looking back at Anthony however before moving on to be in the same general space with him.

[Kyomei Kuchiki]

Anthony, Kyomei decided, would not be a good subject to talk shop about Kidou with, it seemed. But no matter, he could always be the recipient of a lecture (in a good way) if the man was open to it. Sazanami was a good Kiodu to know, though, especially if one lacked a lot of natural energy sensory ability. Maybe Kyomei would learn that one by heart one of these days. Though he had been stretching the limits of his memory of late. He had a natural affinity for techniques that went beyond the average Shinigami, but even he had his limits. But more of Kidou later. First, the Captain had to congratulate the new graduate for his Squad placement. "Squad 1? That's prestigious, for sure. I can see why you would think yourself in the spotlight. The Squad of leaders and command is very important."

Wistfully, Kyo thought back to his time away from the Gotei 13, in the Kidou Corps, where he was under the command of the Central 46 instead of the Captain Commander of Squad 1. It was a time where he could devote all his resources to learning, training, and teaching the arts of Kidou. Sure, the Squad had mostly fallen into disarray with him leaving, which many of the Corps would probably despise him for, but he had a duty to his Family that must be upheld. The Kuchiki always lead the Sixth Squad, and the Head of the Kuchiki was always the Captain. It had been of necessity to leave the Kidou Corps and join the Gotei 13 proper again. It had been his duty. "And yes, your successes and failures will directly reflect on you and on the Kuchiki name. Remembering that is imperative, even if it makes you nervous. Nervous can help you be cautious where you need to be instead of reckless and impulsive."

Kyomei noticed that Anthony was looking at him conspicuously when he mentioned the hollow attack and his wound. Brushing aside his long cloak, the Captain revealed some fresh bandages on his side. "It got the jump on me and took a nice sized bite out of my side. It had the ability to flood the Rukongai with blood and flesh and bone spikes. Even a platform made out of Kidou grew this substance. While dodging a sneak attack from the side of the platform, the Hollow got close enough to bite off a chunk of flesh despite the difference in our Spiritual abilities. I escaped and Captain Hotaru drove them off on their second attack of the Seireitei." While he was talking, off on the other side of the garden entrance, a woman walked in. She saw the pair walking and hurried to meet them.

"Hisano, how nice of you to join us. Anthony here has some news for you."

[Deleted]

Hisano breathed deeply as she let the rays of from the sun enter into her private room from the nearby window. Her hair made to look like it was layered with tiny little flames as the sun shone through it despite the surprisingly short cut that barely hung lower than he jaw line. Taking a second to push aside a few strands aside from her face she glanced outside seeing the sun shining despite the clouds that fought over their patches in the sky. It was a good day, made even better by the fact that her son Anthony would be coming to tell her of the news he'd hear today. Not that she would be surprised with the answer, she through a few connections of her own, already knew that Anthony had made an impression on the Squad 1 representative and had gotten accepted in part because of that. That didn't keep the smile off her face however as she could only feel pride in her son. It wasn't the 6th squad like she had hoped but it was the next best being that it was a squad for those who could learn to lead others. And if he could make it there, or even be on a good note with the people there he'd do well for himself. The family would get some credit sure but who cared about that? Her son was far more valuable to her than the name of the family, as long as he did well she'd be content.

Speaking of content she needed to leave her room as she was getting more impatient as time passed, especially after she planted the seed to the maids that she would be in the garden. She had to make sure she would be there before Anthony so that he would find her easily, not that with her hair color it'd be hard considering that she would be contrasting the various foliage the garden supported given her kimono's darker color scheme. As she continued thinking for another couple minutes the sun finally started to shine a bit brighter as the cloud that had been blocking it prior had finally moved. This brought more light into her face and reminded her that she needed to find Anthony in the garden. Without a second thought she smoothed out the edges in her kimono as she got up and quickly made her way out, being certain to lock the door behind her.

It took hardly a few minutes before she found herself on the other side of the garden, having more sand in careful and deliberate designs instead of foliage. A shame she always had to start here, she much preferred the abundance of life than the lack thereof, but in the caretakers defense, they did a wonderful job of keeping it well maintained. Before she could even start walking however she very quickly spied her child and with none other than Kyomei. Her eyes widened some in surprise before she tilted her head to the side while smiling deviously to herself. "Well well Anthony, I didn't know you had it in you to play the connections game. Hehe especially with such a highly sought after individual. This should prove...most interesting." Before she started hurrying over towards the two she shook her head some and replaced the devious smile with a more light hearted smile, one fit for a mother who hadn't seen her child in a long time.

Anthony only a few moments prior had been listening to Kyomei and nodding in response. Both the unceremonious reveal of Kyomei's wound and his comment about his position in squad 1 and how it would affect the family sunk in. Mistakes happened even to the top of the top, however the costs only got higher the more powerful someone was. Kyomei could have easily lost his life if he hadn't had the other captain there. Or perhaps to his credit more easily than Anthony had originally thought prior. Then there was how that looked to his squad. How long did it take him to recover enough to walk from that? How did his squad handle seeing him wounded while there were probably a good number who hadn't been injured at all. And what about the rest of the family? He'd been away since but perhaps there would be concerns both good and bad that would have arisen. These of course could only be scratching the surface but they alone held a lot to consider. He'd have to keep a mental note of these questions so when he had some down time he could consider them more thoroughly.

"Hisano, how nice of you to join us. Anthony here has some news for you." The mention of Anthony's mother completely redirected his train of thought reminding him of exactly who he'd comme to see. His mother. Kyomei was more of an accidental bump in just due to circumstances, his mother however had been the goal and sad to say he'd almost forgotten with his mind going a millon miles an hour in many different directions. However despite the cluttered mind Anthony still sprinted over so he could meet his mother half way, embracing her as soon as she'd gotten close. It was a funny though sweet sight given Hisano was 5'6 and he son was 5'8 so he had just enough height difference to lay his head on hers. Hisano seemed all to used to this and merely chuckled as she returned the hug. A few moments later and he pulled back from her only to see Kyomei nearby now watching them.

Where Anthony could almost radiate the slight embarrassment Hisano took it in stride, even when Smokey came up and sat next to her. Or more accurately leaned against her with his tail swishing side to side at an incredibly quick pace. Hisano merely used one hand to greet him by petting him before she leaned back up and locked chestnut eyes with Kyomei's. They were showed her tempered and cool demeanor as he position demanded though her curiosity was not completely hidden. Her expression however was a pleasant with a relaxed smile and the tone she took when speaking was on the quiet amused side, though to Anthony it sounded just like her normal everyday tone she'd take with him. Good afternoon Kyomei, I couldn't let you have all the attention from my son when he finally was allowed to come visit. Hehe you know how mothers are, always looking over our children even after they leave the nest. Ah where are my manners? Thank you for keeping my son company in the meantime, I hope I haven't missed anything important considering todays a big day for him."

Hisano looked over at her son and smiled wide before continuing, "And what's this news that our family head speaks of? I can only hope its good as I already know you've graduated, with flying colors at that." Anthony merely chuckled before smiling wide at her and nodding. "Yes actually! I've been trying to find you so I could let you know the squad I joined. Hehe as surprising as this may be I was accepted into Squad 1! I'm honestly both surprised and sort of nervous about how things will go over but even more than that I'm stunned at the opportunity to even go to that squad from the get go. Sadly I was the only one out of this class to go there but I'm certain I'll be able to mix in well enough once I get used to things."

And there again rose Anthony's nervousness however unlike prior Hisano saw it coming a mile away and while only verbal, smacked it out of the conversation. No hesitation and without a stutter. "Don't talk like that about yourself. You've done well Anthony. Better than those of your class clearly just by sheer virtue of getting to join squad 1. I can't even remember the last time we had a family member actually join that squad in particular, so take that with a hint of pride. Your the first in a long period who was able to make it. It may seem tough but knowing you, the hardest part was making it in. From here on out it's just keeping to your good habits and doing what you can. Before you know it you'll be gaining rank and become more than you currently see yourself as. Just give it some time alright? Trust your mother, I'm old and silly yes but I still know a thing or two so have a little faith both in yourself and me." With that she patted him on the back, gave him a soft smile and then turned to Kyomei again.

"My apologies if I'm overstepping my bounds but if you don't mind indulging my curiosity, what were you two doing prior? It's not often your seen with another so color me surprised when I see my son with the family head. However I understand you've a lot on your end so if I'm interrupting something I'll step aside and leave you two be. Lord knows there's always something to do in this family." Hisano proceeded to laugh to herself a bit though her eyes never left Kyomei's nor did the analyzing aspect hidden behind the layers of amusement and curiosity at the current situation. Anthony in the meantime didn't have the heart to interrupt as the conversation had flowed to Kyomei and his mother. So instead he just took the occasional deep breath and looked at the both of them as he moved to Hisano's other side. This specifically so he could pet Smokey while the two spoke.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Hisano reference picture and clothing reference}
Hisano:

Clothing:

[Kyomei Kuchiki]

As Anthony rushed to meet his mom, a tear dripped down Kyomei's face that was quickly brushed away. He had an adoptive daughter of his own, but she hadn't made contact with him in many months. He knew that she had been out in the sands of Hueco Mundo, living on a ship made out of a giant domesticated Hollow, if that makes any sense. His hand immediately moved to his pocket which carried a shard of Las Arenas. The soothing waves swept over him as he touched the crystal necklace he kept in his cloak at all times. It reminded him of his daughter who may be lost to him forever, so it was a bittersweet feeling. But sweet in part, so Kyomei kept it.

Hisano then addressed Kyo after admonishing her son for being nervous about his position. She asked what they had been doing in the garden prior to her arrival. Her emerald green voice was pleasant to hear and his own yellow voice would emerge to mix with the green. "We were simply walking and talking. A Squad 1 graduate such as your son has not been seen in the family in quite some time. Thus, I wanted to make it a priority to get to know him better. After all, I have been quite busy with the new duties of Squad 6 and I haven't had time to connect with any of you on a personal level." It was true, Kyomei had barely had time to connect with even the other Captain that was a Kuchiki.

Hotaru and her Vice Captain had been working on the defense of the Seireitei through an enhancement of the Gates. So they would be working closer together in the near future and would have a chance to connect there. But besides that, the Captain of Squad 6 had not been close to any of the Kuchiki since Sozen left. And since Ajraka was lost... Pushing that far from his mind, Kyomei turned to Anthony. "You asked me what I do to de-stress and I told you I work out. You seem quite stressed about your new position. Did you want to continue our discussion while exercising? The exertion would be good for my recovery."

He quickly added, to Hisano, "If that's alright with you, Lady Hisano. I'm sure your son will get to visit you much more once we are finished with our discussion."

[Deleted]

"We were simply walking and talking. A Squad 1 graduate such as your son has not been seen in the family in quite some time. Thus, I wanted to make it a priority to get to know him better. After all, I have been quite busy with the new duties of Squad 6 and I haven't had time to connect with any of you on a personal level." Interesting, so he has taken an avid interest in Anthony not the other way around. Well that’s not entirely true either is it? Anthony has always had a sort of one sided relationship with Kyomei though he never thought I or Cyrus noticed. The edges of Hisano’s eyes creased more in amusement as did he smile tilt up further at the side of her lips. It was a guilty pleasure but Hisano greatly enjoyed watching the interactions between others and how they blossomed. This between her son and Kyomei would be a most interesting development. Especially if Kyomei didn’t already know about Anthony’s goals, which she doubted very seriously given he wanted to get to know the family better.



Taking a breath to collect herself so she could speak calmly Hisano looked back at Anthony and then returned her gaze to Kyomei. She truly wanted to spend more time with her son but opportunities like this didn’t come often and he needed to experience them. Before speaking she nodded at Kyomei, I understand Kyomei and I agree. Anthony could certainly use the exercise hehe. Don’t let him fool you he’s a hard worker but he’s lazy if you give him any ground to be haha! My only request is that you make sure he’s still going to be awake after the exercise so that myself and Cyrus can talk to him for awhile. Lord only knows when he’ll be back again once he’s fully integrated into the squad.” Hisano’s smile was large and carefree and as she turned she saw Anthony’s horrified expression. Perhaps she said too much? It didn’t matter too much at the end of the day, her son would get put through a ringer and so long as he took the experience to heart he’d grow.



”Don’t give me that look Anthony, you’ve needed to bulk up a little. Look at you your so thin! The academy must have gone easy on you in your physical training. No need to worry though, squad 1 will help make that less of a problem. She moved over and left him with another hug which was returned despite the traces of horror left on his face. She did the same for Smokey then nodded at Kyomei. As she walked off towards her office she just chuckled to herself already looking forward to the conversation as well as Cyrus’s reaction to all this. It’d be a riot. In the meantime however just to give a small surprise to Anthony, if not both of the viewers Hisano Shunpo’d out of site. Kyomei may have known but Anthony had no idea that Hisano had been a shinigami for a time also and still retained several skills so she knew exactly how things would proceed in a general sense for Anthony. Her amusement only rose to new levels after she appeared much further down the hall but out of sight for either person in question.



Anthony was certain he was still going through some sort of shock. The “lazy” comment while completely true was not something he wanted Kyomei to know, of all people. Realistically it wouldn’t change anything he was certain but planting that seed in Kyomei’s mind was anything but what he wanted. Then as if he wasn’t in enough confusion his mother Shunpo’d away. . . . . Anthony knew he would need to ask her some questions as he’d never known that his mother was anything but a family member. Cyrus, his adoptive father was the one who was still a shinigami and from Squad 11 so if anyone were to shunpo he’d have thought it would only be him. Maybe it was also just a skill most people learned but either way Anthony was still floored.



When he finally had his mind together and all it’s marbles in one bag he looked back at Kyomei. Pushing down most of his concerns and taking a breath he spoke up to make sure he was heard, “With...all that said did you have a place in particular you’d like to go to for our work out? I know the family has a training field somewhere on the manor but I’ve not been to it myself.”



Internally Anthony nodded at himself. Short, sweet, and to the point. If was going to be worried then he may as well get to the trial at hand and get it over with. Leaving it to be and waiting wasn’t going to be the best option. Especially if Kyomei now seriously considered Anthony lazy in some regard, he’d have to prove that wrong. Which after a moment of thinking on finally made sense to him. His mother, teasing as usual, had said that knowing Anthony would show otherwise. She was always the clever one for certain but Anthony couldn’t help but feel he was roped into one of her games again. Nothing malicious but something to amuse her while she worked on whatever the family needed her to do. Anthony chuckled but put the thought to the back of his mind as he looked at Kyomei waiting for his answer. Today was going to be eventful if nothing else so he may as well embrace it from here on out. 

[Kyomei Kuchiki]

Hard worker, yet lazy if given ground? That seemed completely contradictory, to the point where Kyomei passed it off as a mother's nagging. His own adoptive mother had been like that as well, always picking at him to do better, be better. He didn't see very much of Riko these days, even though he should have seen plenty of her now that he was at the manor more often than he used to be. Was it possible that she was avoiding him? Doubtuful, but possible. Snapping back his attention to Anthony and Hisano, the latter of whom was appearing to embarrass the former, the Captain could only smile at the situation. "Yes, bulking up is always good. Though my favorite type of training involves exercising the mind, spirit, and body simultaneously."

Anthony asked where they would be training, and Kyomei simply beckoned to the man and started to walk out of the gardens towards the forest behind the manor's grounds. "I find it best to train outside of the family grounds, in nature. Yes, the ground is a bit more uneven than the fine cut grass of the training field, but the hills and trees are just too beautiful a sight to pass up." Once they got out of the manor, Kyomei would start with a light jog, hoping Anthony would start to follow suit and keep up with him. With a snap of his fingers, he summoned up a ball of flames in his hands while he ran, evoking the hado spell Shakkaho and maintaining it rather than sending it out.

"This is how I train my spirit and my body at the same time. I work on maintaining a single kidou while exercising the body, practicing staying calm despite the pain and the exertion. And as for how I train my mind, I usually practice the art of kidou fusion in unique combinations to prepare for whatever may come my way. Here, we'll practice." Still jogging forwards, Kyomei waved his hand and the Shakkaho dissipated. He hadn't exercised his spirit for very long today, especially since he had a partner to exercise his mind with. "Imagine a two headed hollow with long serpentine necks. The heads charge at you from both flanks. How would you react?"

Once Anthony had answered, the Captain would expect the new Squad 1 graduate to give him a scenario as well. This way, they could train the mind while training the body. Talking while jogging would be easy for now, but if they picked up the pace then talking could become more strenuous and more difficult. For now, though, the pace was light and effortless. They would soon pass into the forest and start running up and down small hills as well as avoiding trees while they continued to talk about anything and everything that they could use to accomplish these scenarios they were coming up with. Kyomei planned to exercise his spirit as well by showing off a little with his answers to Anthony's scenarios.

[Deleted]

"Yes, bulking up is always good. Though my favorite type of training involves exercising the mind, spirit, and body simultaneously." Oh god...he can't seriously train body, spirit, AND mind all at the same time. How does one even do that?! Anthony's expression of surprise was evident on his face as he tried to imagine how one trained on all three aspects. Though if Anthony was honest he was dreading the spiritual aspect of the training. He wasn't the smartest but he could occasionally keep up with the more mentally adept people and his physical training was simple enough that while it was exerting it wasn't too hard. Spiritual though? That was asking Anthony to do the equivalent of difficult math homework. He was going to struggle at some point during it, if not initially because he wasn't really average spiritually to begin with. Wasn't that the purpose of training though? To get better at your weak points? Anthony would inwardly nod at himself and groan mentally. This wouldn't be fun but if was going to get anywhere near as strong as Kyomei he'd need to start this sort of training regiment eventually.

He'd followed Kyomei while listening about where they'd be headed. Even he had to admit Kyomei had a point with how scenic the nature on the manor grounds was. It was part of the reason he greatly enjoyed spending his time in the gardens of the manor more than his own room. Upon seeing Kyomei begin to jog Anthony quickly started his pace, a bit faster at first to catch up only to quickly meet him and slow down to maintain the light pace. So far so easy, even Smokey was keeping up with something that could only be akin to prancing but faster than usual to keep up. Anthony could only chuckle as he spied his tongue hang out knowing Smokey was already enjoying the bit of physical exertion. His attention however got quickly taken when Kyo began talking and displaying how this method of training would go. "This is how I train my spirit and my body at the same time. I work on maintaining a single kidou while exercising the body, practicing staying calm despite the pain and the exertion. And as for how I train my mind, I usually practice the art of kidou fusion in unique combinations to prepare for whatever may come my way. Here, we'll practice. Imagine a two headed hollow with long serpentine necks. The heads charge at you from both flanks. How would you react?"


An interesting question. Anthony actually started to think on it before realizing he needed to exert himself spiritually also. However he only knew one kido. Welp...It wouldn't be flashy on his end but if anything he needed to get better so here went nothing. “Throw the pebble in the pond; ripple across the still waters, trace the boundaries, return! Bakudo #3 Sazanami!" Upon casting out the technique an incredibly thin pulse of reiatsu from the palm of Anthony's hand. Moving at 4k in speed it'd be undetectable to all except Kyomei who'd only really notice it if at all due to actually having heard Anthony speak out the incantation.

On Anthony's end though the pulse continued for more than just the initial burst, in fact for the next 100 feet in any direction Anthony pretty well knew what was around. From the tree's to the insects that he may or may not have avoided as he jogged. He even got a feel for Kyomei while he had his Shakkaho out. However what he got from him was the equivalent of a puddle wave hitting a concrete wall. The sheer amount of reiatsu Kyomei naturally exuded let alone held onto was incredible let alone the strength it held to practically reflect back every wave with more force than it initially had. In short, though Anthony could only guage mildly about Kyomei's actual abilities he could easily understand that Kyomei was nothing short of a monster in abilities compared to even the average vice captain or captain. The valley of difference Anthony quickly noticed between them was more than he could even imagine.

And yet despite the small amount of fear and doubt that spawned up there was a small ember. Almost a spark really given how small it felt. However this spark was his determination to reach him. Anthony though he might not have entirely realized it currently had only just added a great deal of more fuel to the fire of his internal rivalry with his family head. However this only showed by Anthony quickly shifting gears to answer the question Kyomei had posed while picking up the pace, just a bit more. "From both sides? I'd probably step backwards in an attempt to avoid the attack. Then cast out Sazanami to help keep my "eyes" on all sides of me for the next attack. After that? I'd probably have to...bait the heads? There may be two but if I can cut off one head I can potentially deal with the other far easier. However I've a question. I was taught that if you cut a hollows mask then it would die instantly. Would that work if only one head was cut in this scenario? And what if the heads could regrow at that, forcing you to have to hit both heads in a relatively short time of one another?"

Anthony could only hope that his answer would satisfy Kyomei. It wasn't exactly elaborate nor did it give a definite end but assuming he had the time to cast his kido he'd have a far better method of dealing with the heads of said hollow. Though how well he would actually be able to deal with them would be something he'd have to learn more in terms of experience as he hadn't faced any hollows yet. Merely dummies that hadn't moved nor reacted really when hit by Anthony. As far as he was concerned, he'd probably get overwhelmed or damaged sooner than later given he'd have two attackers to deal with whereas they only had to deal with him and his gladius, a weapon he wasn't even super proficient in currently. He was curious however for Kyomei's response. Assuming he used Kido at all on it he could only imagine the destruction that would be present on said hollow. He'd probably just throw the fireball he produced earlier at it and that would be that. But perhaps there'd be some better way than that? For now all Anthony could do was wait for Kyomei's answer patiently and with an avid curiousity.

[Kyomei Kuchiki]

Anthony cast out Sazanami while Kyomei held onto his Shakkaho. That was a Bakudo that Kyomei had not taken the time to commit to memory, but it seemed fairly useful as he could barely feel the pulse of energy ripple out past him and bounce off of him at mach speeds. It was thin, but it was there. If he had been trained a bit more in Energy Sensory it was possible that he'd be able to detect just what it was that Sazanami did to him, but since there was no noticeable change in his physique he figured that it was just a sensory technique. After all, the incantation said to trace the boundaries and return, so that made sense that it was to detect what was going on around Anthony.

The Squad 1 recent graduate's answer to the Captain's question was textbook. A perfect answer. Step back to avoid the flanking, then keep aware of one's surroundings to better keep track of what was going to happen next. This way, a second hollow wouldn't be able to sneak up on Anthony to try and pin him down while he was avoiding the first two headed one. His question in response was also very good. "Hmm... I'd imagine that it would need to have both heads purified to fully release the souls into the cycle. And if it had the ability to regrow heads... then you'd need to do something like this to make sure that it didn't have a chance to heal."

Kyomei continued the jog and made his way over to a convenient tree that happened to have a fork in it. The tree had a base that was solid, like a body, but split up higher like the two serpentine heads in the hollow that the Captain had made up. Funny how that kind of tree just happened to show up exactly when he needed it to. Almost like it was placed there by fate. Anyways, Kyo pushed his hand forwards and palmed the tree while speaking an incantation. "Honesty, guide me. Kindness, show your face. Laughter, fill everywhere with your presence. Allow generosity to sweep over yourself like a hurricane. Loyalty shall live forever. These elements fuel the fire of eternal magic. Bakudo Number 80: Gachan"

Chains burst out of the ground to wrap around the tree. It bound the base, and the "heads" in thick steel chains and weighed it down considerably so that it drooped. Clasping his hands together in concentration, Kyomei informed Anthony of the special nature of this spell. "This seal binds the reiatsu abilities of both the user and the target. They won't be able to heal while bound by Gachan. Now it would also prevent me from destroying this Hollow, as I have no Zanpakutou to purify it with, so I would need to rely on an Ally to strike it down for me. Would you do me the honors of striking down this "hollow"?"

[Deleted]

Nodding before responding to Kyomei he merely watched as he quickly noted a tree that was almost quite literally of the same variety as the hollow Kyomei described. Someone above sincerely liked them today huh? Stopping his jog Anthony just watched and listened to Kyomei as he spoke out his kido and casted it. An 80’s bakudo was pretty high, if he had the ability to cast it he imagined it had to be pretty powerful and flashy in some regard. As he’d soon find out he was correct in one regard. "This seal binds the reiatsu abilities of both the user and the target. They won't be able to heal while bound by Gachan. Now it would also prevent me from destroying this Hollow, as I have no Zanpakutou to purify it with, so I would need to rely on an Ally to strike it down for me. Would you do me the honors of striking down this "hollow"?" Anthony was honestly impressed at the thought of hindering someone’s reiatsu. Assuming they were proficient in that you’ve just crippled the person in question beyond repair. And if not well it’s still beneficial in one regard or another at least.



Anthony had to take a minute to let the kido’s potential sink in, even if he couldn’t use it himself. The idea’s for what it could be used for and how the constant focus as well as touch came into his mind. It’d be fairly difficult to utilize that way but if someone were quick enough to could pre-game it, then they’d find the execution significantly easier. With yet another pulse rebounded back like a small wave off of Kyomei Anthony quickly remembered he needed to “purify” this hollow before him. He’d nod at Kyomei and pull out his gladius. 3 feet long and weighing in at 2 and a half pounds it was as dangerous as it looked. The hilt was worn just enough to show some use from Anthony training to be somewhat used to it during his time at the academy. Taking both hands to the hilt he figured the best way to deal with this would be to use a horizontal slash from right to the left head to cleave through them properly. To achieve this he took a step back before running forward and pivoting on his left foot to the left 360 degrees. The initial swipe came down diagonally and missed both heads however this wasn’t the purpose of that swing. No he wanted to bolster the weight and force behind it so instead he swung down and brought it into a full spin so that when he again reached the “faces” he’d be able to swing his sword through each mask.



Anthony’s distance in this however wasn’t quite as accurate as he’d have liked it to be however and he was only really able to hit with 1/4th of the blade. This was still enough to catch both heads but the slash was really just a couple inches thick at its deepest. Nowhere near enough to cut deeply into the skull of any but the weakest hollows, and even they would probably just be pissed off. Still he’d managed to hit both with a surprising amount of accuracy, the line was straight and was directly across the middle. With a bit more time using his sword he’d be able to get the spacing down and cut clean through them both. Hopefully by then he’d have more force to actually cut them also but that would be a future bridge to deal with. Current Anthony needed to make certain he’d recover from his spin attack let alone not open himself up further.



To this end Anthony was a bit slow to respond but realizing his strike missed he’d change the grip so he could swing back horizontally while taking another step forward. This time around he’d managed the same clean and straight cut but significantly deeper at 5 inchest. This being just an inch over the prior slash and no able to potentially kill off the weaker hollows or at least keep them at a distance from how much was cut into. Had this been a real hollow the only thing keeping him safe would be the kido Kyomei was using currently. Speaking of Kyomei he’d look over towards him and speak up, far more relaxed in his tone than even a few moments prior to the training session. “How was that? Think it’d be enough to dish out the necessary harm to purify the hollow? Or at least harm it? The first wouldn’t be enough I know but what about the second one?”

[Kyomei Kuchiki]

Anthony ran forwards and delivered an adequate swing. Not satisfied, however, he followed up with a truly excellent swing through the tree. The scratch from before was decent for cutting through tough wood that was probably a bit harder than a weak Hollow's mask, but the second swing cut deep into the trunk of the tree, carving enough out of it that the tree seemed to groan and creak as if it might fall backwards from the strain. Releasing his hold on the Gachan Bakudo, Kyomei gave a soft clap. Not one to withhold praise where praise was do, the Captain smiled as he congratulated Anthony. "That was excellent. Much better than I would have been with a sword. Those have never been my forte. I once thought I had a Zanpakutou... Turned out to be a lead pipe and a bit of insanity on my part. Now that my mind is clearer, I know that my soul was never able to form such a weapon. But I do have my own talents in exchange, thankfully."

Sighing and shaking his head, Kyomei continued talking. "But enough about me. Let us continue our jog." As he returned to the jog, he had increased the pace slightly. He would attempt to get Anthony running fast enough to break a sweat, but not fast enough that the other Kuchiki would have to be full on sprinting. While his own speed had been trained over the years, he doubted a new academy graduate had trained his speed as intensely yet. Sure, he'd get there eventually, but he was fresh. So, while it would still probably be a slow jog for Kyomei, he pushed Anthony to increase the pace while still talking to him. That was the real test, to see if Anthony could talk while pushing himself running. It definitely took strength and willpower to do so when breath might be leaving you.

"New situation. A Hollow with the ability to grow flesh, bones, and other bodily fluids from anything surrounding it, by, say, 50 meters, walks towards the gate of the Seireitei. The rukongai is slowly drowning in its wake, and those strong enough to rise above it are being impaled by the bones and dragged down. It has the capability to hide inside of its viscera and rise up wherever it chooses. While not incredibly strong of reiatsu, its not a pushover. How would you drive it off or purify it to the best of your ability?" Kyomei was speaking from experience on this next situation. This described his fight with the Adjuchas Santa Ajora pretty accurately to the best of his ability. Whether or not Anthony would catch on that this was the hollow that took a chunk out of the Kuchiki Head's side was up to Anthony, but still, Kyo was curious as to what Anthony would say in this situation.

[Deleted]

Anthony could only chuckle some at the story Kyomei told. Granted it wasn’t one he could easily imagine but the implications of it were funny. A lead pipe that he thought was a zanpakuto. He was certain that Kyomei could still make an average lead pipe into something deadly but chose to remain silent about it as Kyomei motioned for him to continue on with the jog so that they could return to the training. Before Kyomei could mention the next scenario however he took a moment to think over the kido he’d used. If he can’t use a weapon then Kyomei must be more inclined to using kido then. He doesn’t look or seem the type to focus on the martial arts side of things considering he just used a high level kido. Especially not with the sheer reserves he’s packing. I wonder what else he can do.

Before he could think up anything else to ponder he heard Kyomei mention the next scenario, not initially realizing that this was about the hollow he had interacted with prior. "New situation. A Hollow with the ability to grow flesh, bones, and other bodily fluids from anything surrounding it, by, say, 50 meters, walks towards the gate of the Seireitei. The rukongai is slowly drowning in its wake, and those strong enough to rise above it are being impaled by the bones and dragged down. It has the capability to hide inside of its viscera and rise up wherever it chooses. While not incredibly strong of reiatsu, it's not a pushover. How would you drive it off or purify it to the best of your ability?" Oh this had Anthony smile a large wide smile. If anything it reminded him of his fondness for the undead and their peculiar abilities such as this hollow. A shame it wasn’t an undead, Anthony really felt like it would be a great encounter… assuming you weren’t being consumed alive by the spawning of flesh.

So how would one handle this hollow? Anthony really took a moment to think outside his love of the undead to see from the perspective of the fighter how one would attack it. So its not particularly powerful but the massive area it affects is its strength. Also the fact that it can easily move within its own spawn. The bones weren’t the strength of the power but seemingly secondary as an “Oh shit you survived. Nope.” So the real problem was what would this hollow do if it interacted with your own flesh? And could it too regenerate by reabsorbing some of the flesh its growing on everything? There were a couple ideas that came to mind. You can tackle the actual hollow and end the spread of its abilities if you can pinpoint it amongst the mass of flesh. A large enough attack should kill it and end the spread. However assuming you can’t find it then the easiest thing to do is destroy all the flesh. The problem with that comes with the fact that the rukongai citizens are trapped. So it may not be feasibly possible to actually save them. And instead save the remaining who aren’t around because how far this flesh can spread is the real question.

Taking the few minutes to think Anthony took a breath, albeit a shorter one than he would have liked due to the increased pace and began speaking. It wasn’t easy but honestly his love for the oddball powers and how “undead” it sounded like is really what had him push himself. Smiling he spoke as best as he could, “It depends on what your goals are. Boiling this entire situation out you’ve two options. Target the hollow or target the mass of flesh it’s spawning. Both are just different methods going after the actual spawner of the flesh because how much its hindering your abilities to find it is the key to this problem. If it’s not hindering you too much or it’s not that hard to find you can directly target the hollow and just have to be wary of the bones. But assuming you air ground yourself above it, the bones should only be able to go so far. Then with your kido target it and force it to dance to your tune. If you cannot find it then you need to tackle the mass of flesh.”

“Now the here’s the problem with that. It’s consumed citizens already. So you have to consider the idea of if you need to try and save them or cut your losses. Myself? I’d cut the losses because you’ve already mentioned it’s impaled those who can fight against it so that it consumes them. That to me tells me the others its consumed are already gone. No point in trying to help them. But I could be wrong. However to effectively deal with the mass of flesh there’s a number of methods. Rotting it away would be an effective one, I’d argue perhaps a continually spreading corrosive kido if one exists. Another is to just burn it alive. There’s nothing hindering you from that and even bone turns to ash if the flames are hot enough. You risk spreading it to the nearby houses but that’s a risk you have to take. "

"And lastly there’s lightning. Lighting or electricity is good for one reason. Flesh is conductive due to water concentration. Even spawned flesh should follow the same idea so if the hollow is hiding in it’s flesh… well imagine a puddle of water being used as a shield. It’s literally surrounded itself with a highly conductive material, not terribly smart. Especially with blood being produced also. So with any of the methods, particularly with electricity hitting one part of the mass while hit the entire thing. So it’d have to show itself if it wants to avoid the attack. By that point you can take the actions of the first idea and blast it into oblivion from there. Your choice given it’s probably coming after you for obvious reasons.”

Anthony by the end was panting but his smile though large was childish juxtaposing his last comment considering the topic was over a hollow that spawned flesh, blood, internals, and bones. Not a normal topic to get so light hearted on but Anthony seemed to enjoy this far more than the last topic and his answer was much higher quality than the previous. Though he didn’t show it he was ever so slightly concerned that Kyomei would give him a “What the fuck…” look and call him out on it. He’d have to tell him at that point about his love of necromancy and how this just felt so similar to certain kinds of undead but if he didn’t have to then he wasn’t going to. It was a sort of secret of his only because given the Soul Societies goal and purpose in life...afterlife, it went 100% against it. He was certain Kyomei would not be too keen on it either given his position as a captain but that was a bridge he’d cross when they get there. For now he just worked on trying to catch his breath while keeping an eye on Smokey. He knew the latter wouldn’t get lost but it didn’t mean he wasn’t concerned at least a little bit.