Post by Celes Castellanos on Apr 9, 2020 0:42:36 GMT -5
It was during a dark night that Celes would be found awake in her room within the Squad 11 Barracks. In fact, she was lost in deep thought. She was thinking about her Zanpakutou. She had not learned its name yet, much less communed with it. She's tried before, but the spirit never does seem to answer back. It was an interesting dilemma. Almost like a romantic partner that never wanted to talk to you. Was she unworthy? Celes was unsure. She laid herself to rest, the stress of overthinking it beginning to get to her. She would almost immediately fall into a deep slumber.
As she woke up, she looked into a pair of green eyes as she shriked. The person in her room smiled and chuckled. "It seems that every time we meet Celes, you always scream or shriek. What is that about?" Celes recognized the Shinigami almost immediately. It was one of her best friends, Venus. She was an elder Shinigami to Celes almost acting like a mentor. Celes covered herself, modesty taking control of her action. She shouted, "Venus! What are you doing in my room?! Especially so early?!?"
To this question, the elder Shinigami only shrugged with a smile. "Is it that bad to try to check up on a friend of mine?" Celes shook her head in disbelief. This was certainly one hell of a thing to wake up to. She sighed and just shook her head, getting up and dressing herself. Celes turned to her friend. "So. What's on your mind Venus? Normally we run into each other out in the Seireitei yet here you are, in my bedroom without my permission and most likely without the knoweldge of any of my squad mates."
Venus could not help, but chuckle and smiled. "Guilty as charged. Admittedly, there was something I wanted to do with you today." Celes ears perked up. Normally they would train together extensively. Venus was not only a naturally born Shinigami, but she was one for much longer than Celes. This in Celes eyes made her the teacher and herself the student. She loved Venus like a sister and truly did enjoy learning from her. Venus smiled even more. "One of the biggest steps to becoming a Shinigami is becoming one with the spirit inside you."
Admittedly Celes was at a little bit of a loss. She was not sure what the other Shinigami meant. She gave Venus an obviously confused look. In response, Venus could only chuckle. "Celes. I swear you are such a clutz sometime. The spirit within your Zanpakutou silly!" Celes eyes lit up in response to this. It was almost as if Venus had read her mind as to what she wanted to do. She tried for several nights, but could never seem to do it. Celes was beginning to wonder if she even had a spirit.
Celes just sighed and lowered her head in a defeated manner. "I appreciate the offer Venus, but...I've already tried countless times and my Zanpakutou spirit has never reered itself. I don't know if the spirit is male or female, their interests and wants or even the name.." Celes knew that each Shinigami had to learn the name of their Zanpakutou to not only become stronger, but to actually unlocked a release known as Shikai. Celes had seen it in action before. A release that physcially twists the blade itself.
Venus could not help, but chuckle more. She found Celes persistence actually kind cute as well as her half-baked attempt at turning down the older Shinigami's offer. Venus would, howeveer, not relent. She placed her hand on Celes' shoulder. "Look Celes. I will even teach you how you need to approach this. It is in essence pretty simple to get to the point where you can have a conversation with your spirit. Just understand that it will take time and practice, but I know you are talented. You will be able to do it!"
Celes eyes lit up again warmly. She trusted Venus and knew that the older Shinigami had faith in her abilities. In fact, she knew that Celes was such a quick study. She understood more complex material far quicker than her peers. The younger Shinigami got herself ready and stood up, looking at Venus. "If you are sure that you can help me in this Venus, I would be forever grateful to you if you taught me how to talk to my Zanpakutou spirit." Venus smiled in response and began to walk out, waving for Celes to follow her.
As they continued to walk out of the Squad barracks, Celes adored Venus for all that she had done for her. In fact it seemed as though she really wanted to aid Celes' confidence in this. Celes seemed defeated because she could never be in touch with her Zanpakutou spirit. She was always alone. All things considered, she just wanted to help. Venus led them to an open area in the forest with rocks, trees and overall just an open plain that was surrounded by all kinds of forestry and other natural phenomena found in a forest.
Venus turned to Celes and smiled. "Now then to begin with. Celes. What can you tell me about your Zanpakutou spirit?" Celes was admittedly a little confused. How was she supposed to know anything about the spirit. She had never talked to it or even seen it. She shrugged and spoke simply. "Venus..I've never communed with it. How would I know...?" Venus chuckled and looked up in the sky, thinking. "Because no matter what, the two of you will always be connected Celes. That is the simple fact of the matter."
Celes blinked and chuckled. It was a simple way of putting it, but overall effective. Either way, Celes nodded in response and continued listening to Venus. "Your Zanpakutou can be communed with in something called Jinzen. Shinigami have been using it for a long time to commune with their Zanpakutou spirit." To cite example, Venus took her own Zanpakutou and assumed a meditative stance. She then placed her Zanpakutou straight across her lap. She was just demonstrating how to perform it. Venus chuckled. "Now. Follow my example and just concentrate on the task at hand Celes."
Celes nodded and hopped onto a boulder and smiled. Was this really it? Would she really be able to talk to her Zanpakutou spirit after this. The prospect seemed so attractive. She just sat down as Venus had instructed, assuming the stance and laying her Zanpakutou over her lap. Celes would then begin to try and clear her mind. She would concentrate and focus solely on the task at hand. She tried, albeit with difficulty, to become removed from all distraction. She began to quiver and breathe in desperately as she was actually holding her breath.
Venus could not help, but break out into a fit of laughter. "Oh Celes. Did you really think that you couldn't breath before attempting Jinzen. That's funny. Try again and just relax. Fall into it naturally." Celes nodded and tried again. Her eyes would close, her breathing would quicken, but normalize after a short amount of time. Overall she seemed a lot more resolute than she just was. As she began to fall into this trance, a slumber of sorts, the world flickered and darkened as she felt like she was falling.
As she "woke up", Celes looked around. Her environment was completely unlike where she started. The ground was brown and cheerful, thick trees surrounded her. They were odd though as they had no leaves, but reached up far into the sky. It was unlike anything that she had ever seen before. The closest thing she could think of were the rumors she heard about in Hueco Mundo or whatever it was called. She could not remember exactly what the rumor was, but that didn't matter at the current.
Celes would began to walk forward, passing all of the trees and looking ahead. As she did, she began to hear the rustling of movement and..childlike laughter. It reminded her quite a bit of a bount she had met some time ago. She decided to follow the noise although it was overhead so she was trailing the young girl on the ground. She could hear the laugher becoming closer intermittently, but also echoing over the distance. Who was this girl she wondered. As she ran there, she noticed something interesting.
The Shinigami was standing at what seemed to be an edge of the world. Not to say that it was a drop, but it looked...different. Whereas where she currently was, Celes looked upon a desolate wasteland. The trees were small, almost appearing insignificant. At the same time, it just looked lifeless. What could this be? Before she had more time to think about it, she heard something drop behind her. Celes quickly spun around in case she needed to fight something, but all that she saw was a girl.
When Celes looked upon her, she blinked. It was a young girl with bleached-white hair and hazel eyes. She wore garbs, amulets and gauntlets unlike anything you would imagine a child to wear. She looked at Celes with a big smile as Celes also noted a sword on the belt of the girl, somewhat like how she had her Zanpakutou on her hip. They would continue this staring contest until Celes decided to make the first move. "H..hello. Who are you? My name is Cel-" She was cut off as the much younger girl pipped up.
The young girls eyes lit up with a chuckle as she spoke clearly. "Silly. I know who you are. Celes Shindazu, Squad 11 Unseated Shinigami." Celes blinked. This girl seemed to know a lot about her even before she needed to say anything. Celes retorted. "How do you know me so well..? I've never met you before..?" Celes clearly was so dense as the young girl pouted and pointed at her with puffed out cheeks. "Of course you know me!!! You always try to talk to me silly. I just never responded back until now!" She didn't seem angry, just hurt that Celes couldn't put two and two together.
Celes blinked and shook her head. "I..I'm sorry. I should've known better. So...I assume you are my Zanpakutou spirit?" The young girl smiled with a cheekily and giggled, nodding her head. "Bingo! Although I'm not just your Zanpakutou spirit. I have a name you know!!!" She puffed out her cheeks teasingly again with admittedly made Celes smile a little. This spirit seemed very playful and just wanted to have a good time. Her appearance matched her attitude although she was for the most part, pretty well spoken.
Celes blinked as she noted that she had a name. Celes never made the connection that they all had names, but she tilted her head. "Oh well...what is your name then, little one?" The younger girl chuckled at this silly question. She huffed teasingly again. "Little one?? I'm much older than you, you know...Besides. I'm not just going to telllll you my name. You will have to figure that out one day Celes. But...you are a quick learner. I'm sure you can figure it out." Celes smiled a little. This was the first step to her actually making connection with her Zanpakutou spirit and it was going pretty well. She was a little immature, but certainly did not appear to act as childish as she appeared.
In response to this, Celes chuckled. "Fair enough. Well then...my spirit. Why is this so lush and vibrant, but over there..." She pointed at the barren wasteland she described earlier. "Why is it like that?" The spirit tilted her head. "Earnestly I don't know. I would explore it, but I never felt the need to. All I could ever need is over here." The Zanpakutou spirit smiled as Celes giggled a little in response. Celes then again spoke. "Well..what do you do over here?" The younger girl smiled. "Well...I play around although I'm often lonely. But I do train much like you Celes. We are much alike naturally. You are a part of me as I am a part of you."
That sounded nice to Celes. Essentially the spirit explained to her that she would always have a partner. The spirit quickly rose and chuckled. "Well. Let me show you something Celes. I think you will like this." Celes nodded as the spirit ascended into the treetops and Celes could see her quickly jump from one tree to another as the young Shinigami maintained pursuit. Admittedly this is not what she expected her spirit to be like. She wasn't complaining though, she was as sweet as Celes if not a little more childish.
After a few minutes of this chasing, Celes reached the point where the spirit was standing. Celes had a little shortness of breath from all the running, but overall composed herself. The spirit smiled. "Does this look familiar Celes? Look around and closely." The spirit teased as Celes really did look around. It almost appeared like the training area that she admittedly spent way too much time in. She would always train all of her skills here, looking to become better. To become more than what she was the day before.
Celes nodded and didn't even have to say anything. The spirit smiled and quickly walked up to Celes. She waved her down almost as if to tell her to bend over and lean down. As Celes did so, she quickly heard the unsheathing of one...no two blades. With a quick reaction, Celes had just enough time to grab her own Zanpakutou as she held it up, blocking an overhead strike from the Zanpakutou spirit. She was completely at a loss. Was her Zanpakutou spirit looking to harm her all of a sudden.
Celes gritted her teeth as the spirit could not help it. She smiled briefly and chuckled. "Tsk tsk tsk. Oh Celes. Did you forget? You never let your guard down..." As Celes listened to this, she noticed something. She should be in a position where she can resist the force of the blades as they are even against the base of her Zanpakutou. But she was being pushed down. So hard in fact that she was beginning to dent the ground. In a flash, Celes in panic Shunpo'd away. As she looked back at the spirit, she also saw her disappear.
Celes looked behind her and saw the same spirit who had also used a Shunpo to slam her blades against Celes again. Celes this time actually did dodge it. The blades crashed into her side, digging in albeit not too deep. Blood was certainly pooling down her side now. It was not deep enough to cause any internal damage, but damn it if it didn't hurt. While all this was going on, Venus in the "real world" looked at Celes as she noticed the motionless body gashes. Venus sighed, "So it has begun I see.."
Meanwhile in the inner world, Celes was on one knee with a little labored breathing. This spirit was much stronger than her. Without a shred of a doubt. Celes tried to stand up, but failed. The spirit smiled. "Celesssss. You should make sure to stand soon. I don't know if I can hold myself back. The thrill of battle is exquisite isn't it? Although..I bet you are wondering why I have two blades. Well...you shall find out soon." Celes sighed and gritted her teeth. She stood albeit shakily and maintained a stance.
Celes noted her spirit dash at her. It wasn't a Shunpo, but it was fast as well. Celes tried to counteract this by striking first. She tried to bring her blade across the spirit's hand, but the spirit simply threw the second blade up in the air and suddenly held her blade in a Zatoichi style. She quickly blocked the attacked, using her other blade to slash at Celes again. Celes was at a loss as she felt herself being overwhelmed by her spirit. Celes quickly tilted her side and lifted her foot, kicking the other hand of the spirit. She smiled briefly. "It seems that you've been improving your Hakuda."
As the spirit smiled, she quickly spun in the opposite direction with the blade that she was holding in reverse grip. Suddenly it broke through Celes defenses and she quickly grinned. This was a little a fun to her. The pain admittedly from the cuts was something she had to get used to, but this was quality training from someone who knew her better than anyone else. In fact, Celes stood her ground and exclaimed. "You really are something...you know that my spirit?" The spirit only grinned in response and quickly leapt back.
The spirit with her grin, moved the two blades together and began muttering something. She looked up at Celes and smirked. "Let's kick things up a notch, my Shinigami." With a sudden burst of flame, Celes noted as the two blades began to change. One became elongated, a staff with a long red ribbon hanging off of it and a beautifully crafted spearhead adorning it. The other turned into a round shield with a strange symbol on it and little padding. They looked deadly and resilient to boot. Celes had an idea what this was as the spirit could read her expression.
The spirit spoke calmly and giggled. "Well then Celes. Let's see what you can do." Celes only saw her foot as the ground behind the spirit tore up and got kicked up into the air, debris falling. Celes could barely react as the saw the spirit barreling towards her, spear aimed straight at her. Celes couldn't do much, but she was not ready to take this head on. She quickly jumped to the side, but the spirit saw this coming. Stopping her momentum almost immediately, the spirit this something akin to a spartan kick, kicking Celes in the gut and launching her against a tree.
The Shinigami coughed up a bit of blood from the pain of being kicked in the gut. Her real world counterpart would do the same, eliciting a bit of concern from Venus who was watching over her. With a quick gasp, Celes tried to stand up, but her nerves were in turmoil. Despite all her effort, she could not move. The spirit chuckled and began walking towards her at a comfortable pace, spear at the ready. "I hate to hit people while they are down, but Celes. You really need to do this. You really need to face me."
With that being said, Celes tried to stand again, willing herself as much as she could. She began to stand shakily as she noticed the spear closing in. She ran forward and was prepared to give herself up to strike down her opponent. The spirit smiled and dashed herself. In a moment, they were in such a close distance to one another that they could feel the others breath. Celes had a spear wound on her side, the spear piercing and scraping her flesh albeit, a nasty wound developed. Meanwhile Celes' blade as right at the spirit's neck.
The spirit could only smile in response to this. She dismissed the Shikai that she was using as Celes smiled. Was this it? Was this a test to see if she was willing to give up her own body if it meant she could win against her opponent. It was true that combat could make anyone desperate, but this was rather new to Celes. A sensation unlike any other. Even moreso, why did the spirit have two Zanpakutou. It was all so bizzare to Celes, but she couldn't think about it anymore as her world faded to black suddenly, slumping against the ground.
Celes suddenly awoke, bandages covering her sides as she noticed, she was atop a giant tree. Her senses had come to her as she clamored for some form of safety. The young spirit would exclaim to her. "Celes! Get ahold of yourself. You are my Shinigami after all. You should be fierce!" She teasingly made little tiger claws as she smiled at Celes warmly. The Shinigami would relax and chuckle, looking at her spirit. "Why did you stop fighting? You could have killed me if you wanted to." The spirit simply tilted her head.
She looked up into the sky and softly spoke. "What fun would that be. I may lose my own life as a result and a friend. I don't wanna lose those things. Even moreso, that was not the point of this exercise Celes." She smiled and chuckled. "I wanted to see if against all odds, against an opponent you had no hope of defeating, you would try and put yourself into the field of battle. Into the front lines. And you did. You made me proud to call you my Shinigami." Celes smiled as a result. There was a certain sweetness to this spirit.
She looked down at the two Zanpakutou and smiled. "So...why did you have two Zanpakutou and what you used against me...was that a Shikai?" The spirit grinned. "Very perceptive of you. Then again. I was kicking your butt with them wasn't I?" The both laughed as a result. The spirit just sighed and gave in. "This is a part of me Celes. The blades you Shinigami carry. We are those blades. Your companions and friends." Celes looked at the spirit with interest. She really did seem to want a cooperative partnership. She wishes to see Celes get stronger.
The spirit chuckled and shrugged. "You proved to me that you had a fighting spirit. Something that I feel is essential in the field of battle. As such, I can feel comfortable offering you greater power." The female spirit grabbed the twin Zanpakutou and gave it to Celes. "These are yours to do wish as you will. I trust I will serve you well Celes. Just promise me...you will use me to your fullest capacity." Celes smiled and nodded. "It would be an honor my dear spirit." Celes grabbed the two Zanpakutou and was surprised. They were the same make as her regular one. Just there were two of them. As she looked up at the spirit, the latter smiled more.
The spirit spoke calmly, yet frankly. "Well..my job here is done for now. Remember what happened here Celes." With a tap to her forehead, Celes felt her body pass out again. Meanwhile, as Venus continued watching Celes, she noticed something. The Shinigami's Zanpakutou was glowing and was beginning to diffuse. The Zanpakutou split into a replica of the other. They looked identical. Venus was surprised and a little perplexed. She's never seen something like this before. It was certainly new.
Celes woke up, a little groggily all things considered. With a stretch, she noticed something. Her lap was different. She noticed the two Zanpakutou and smiled. She stood up, holding both in her hand as Venus walked up to her. "I assume you had an enlightening experience. Seems you even got something out of it. Two Zanpakutou. I can't saw that I ever saw anything like this. I'm admittedly a little intrigued as to how this happened..." Venus sighed and began to think, not sure of what this could mean.
Celes began to play around with the blades. They seemed to be the same weight. Even more so they were matching in appearance as Celes smiled. This was a gift to her from the Spirit of her Zanpakutou. The spirit within her that would guide her to new heights. She would finally become a better Shinigami because of it. She sheathed the two blades in two matching scabbards. Before she did so, she noticed something different. The spirit's soul almost appeared to be in both blades. As though she inhabited the two of them.
Celes looked up at Venus and couldn't help, but smile. Venus chuckled. "You seem very pleased Celes. I will warn you of your wound, however. We can treat it later. For the future just know that wounds sustained while communing with you Zanpakutou are treated as real here. So don't go too crazy in there please. I don't want to lose a friend." Celes giggled and nodded. Although she did make a retort to Venus. "To your comment..about getting two Zanpakutou out of it. I didn't get that. I gained a friend." Venus smiled and nodded, proud of her student.
As she woke up, she looked into a pair of green eyes as she shriked. The person in her room smiled and chuckled. "It seems that every time we meet Celes, you always scream or shriek. What is that about?" Celes recognized the Shinigami almost immediately. It was one of her best friends, Venus. She was an elder Shinigami to Celes almost acting like a mentor. Celes covered herself, modesty taking control of her action. She shouted, "Venus! What are you doing in my room?! Especially so early?!?"
To this question, the elder Shinigami only shrugged with a smile. "Is it that bad to try to check up on a friend of mine?" Celes shook her head in disbelief. This was certainly one hell of a thing to wake up to. She sighed and just shook her head, getting up and dressing herself. Celes turned to her friend. "So. What's on your mind Venus? Normally we run into each other out in the Seireitei yet here you are, in my bedroom without my permission and most likely without the knoweldge of any of my squad mates."
Venus could not help, but chuckle and smiled. "Guilty as charged. Admittedly, there was something I wanted to do with you today." Celes ears perked up. Normally they would train together extensively. Venus was not only a naturally born Shinigami, but she was one for much longer than Celes. This in Celes eyes made her the teacher and herself the student. She loved Venus like a sister and truly did enjoy learning from her. Venus smiled even more. "One of the biggest steps to becoming a Shinigami is becoming one with the spirit inside you."
Admittedly Celes was at a little bit of a loss. She was not sure what the other Shinigami meant. She gave Venus an obviously confused look. In response, Venus could only chuckle. "Celes. I swear you are such a clutz sometime. The spirit within your Zanpakutou silly!" Celes eyes lit up in response to this. It was almost as if Venus had read her mind as to what she wanted to do. She tried for several nights, but could never seem to do it. Celes was beginning to wonder if she even had a spirit.
Celes just sighed and lowered her head in a defeated manner. "I appreciate the offer Venus, but...I've already tried countless times and my Zanpakutou spirit has never reered itself. I don't know if the spirit is male or female, their interests and wants or even the name.." Celes knew that each Shinigami had to learn the name of their Zanpakutou to not only become stronger, but to actually unlocked a release known as Shikai. Celes had seen it in action before. A release that physcially twists the blade itself.
Venus could not help, but chuckle more. She found Celes persistence actually kind cute as well as her half-baked attempt at turning down the older Shinigami's offer. Venus would, howeveer, not relent. She placed her hand on Celes' shoulder. "Look Celes. I will even teach you how you need to approach this. It is in essence pretty simple to get to the point where you can have a conversation with your spirit. Just understand that it will take time and practice, but I know you are talented. You will be able to do it!"
Celes eyes lit up again warmly. She trusted Venus and knew that the older Shinigami had faith in her abilities. In fact, she knew that Celes was such a quick study. She understood more complex material far quicker than her peers. The younger Shinigami got herself ready and stood up, looking at Venus. "If you are sure that you can help me in this Venus, I would be forever grateful to you if you taught me how to talk to my Zanpakutou spirit." Venus smiled in response and began to walk out, waving for Celes to follow her.
As they continued to walk out of the Squad barracks, Celes adored Venus for all that she had done for her. In fact it seemed as though she really wanted to aid Celes' confidence in this. Celes seemed defeated because she could never be in touch with her Zanpakutou spirit. She was always alone. All things considered, she just wanted to help. Venus led them to an open area in the forest with rocks, trees and overall just an open plain that was surrounded by all kinds of forestry and other natural phenomena found in a forest.
Venus turned to Celes and smiled. "Now then to begin with. Celes. What can you tell me about your Zanpakutou spirit?" Celes was admittedly a little confused. How was she supposed to know anything about the spirit. She had never talked to it or even seen it. She shrugged and spoke simply. "Venus..I've never communed with it. How would I know...?" Venus chuckled and looked up in the sky, thinking. "Because no matter what, the two of you will always be connected Celes. That is the simple fact of the matter."
Celes blinked and chuckled. It was a simple way of putting it, but overall effective. Either way, Celes nodded in response and continued listening to Venus. "Your Zanpakutou can be communed with in something called Jinzen. Shinigami have been using it for a long time to commune with their Zanpakutou spirit." To cite example, Venus took her own Zanpakutou and assumed a meditative stance. She then placed her Zanpakutou straight across her lap. She was just demonstrating how to perform it. Venus chuckled. "Now. Follow my example and just concentrate on the task at hand Celes."
Celes nodded and hopped onto a boulder and smiled. Was this really it? Would she really be able to talk to her Zanpakutou spirit after this. The prospect seemed so attractive. She just sat down as Venus had instructed, assuming the stance and laying her Zanpakutou over her lap. Celes would then begin to try and clear her mind. She would concentrate and focus solely on the task at hand. She tried, albeit with difficulty, to become removed from all distraction. She began to quiver and breathe in desperately as she was actually holding her breath.
Venus could not help, but break out into a fit of laughter. "Oh Celes. Did you really think that you couldn't breath before attempting Jinzen. That's funny. Try again and just relax. Fall into it naturally." Celes nodded and tried again. Her eyes would close, her breathing would quicken, but normalize after a short amount of time. Overall she seemed a lot more resolute than she just was. As she began to fall into this trance, a slumber of sorts, the world flickered and darkened as she felt like she was falling.
As she "woke up", Celes looked around. Her environment was completely unlike where she started. The ground was brown and cheerful, thick trees surrounded her. They were odd though as they had no leaves, but reached up far into the sky. It was unlike anything that she had ever seen before. The closest thing she could think of were the rumors she heard about in Hueco Mundo or whatever it was called. She could not remember exactly what the rumor was, but that didn't matter at the current.
Celes would began to walk forward, passing all of the trees and looking ahead. As she did, she began to hear the rustling of movement and..childlike laughter. It reminded her quite a bit of a bount she had met some time ago. She decided to follow the noise although it was overhead so she was trailing the young girl on the ground. She could hear the laugher becoming closer intermittently, but also echoing over the distance. Who was this girl she wondered. As she ran there, she noticed something interesting.
The Shinigami was standing at what seemed to be an edge of the world. Not to say that it was a drop, but it looked...different. Whereas where she currently was, Celes looked upon a desolate wasteland. The trees were small, almost appearing insignificant. At the same time, it just looked lifeless. What could this be? Before she had more time to think about it, she heard something drop behind her. Celes quickly spun around in case she needed to fight something, but all that she saw was a girl.
When Celes looked upon her, she blinked. It was a young girl with bleached-white hair and hazel eyes. She wore garbs, amulets and gauntlets unlike anything you would imagine a child to wear. She looked at Celes with a big smile as Celes also noted a sword on the belt of the girl, somewhat like how she had her Zanpakutou on her hip. They would continue this staring contest until Celes decided to make the first move. "H..hello. Who are you? My name is Cel-" She was cut off as the much younger girl pipped up.
The young girls eyes lit up with a chuckle as she spoke clearly. "Silly. I know who you are. Celes Shindazu, Squad 11 Unseated Shinigami." Celes blinked. This girl seemed to know a lot about her even before she needed to say anything. Celes retorted. "How do you know me so well..? I've never met you before..?" Celes clearly was so dense as the young girl pouted and pointed at her with puffed out cheeks. "Of course you know me!!! You always try to talk to me silly. I just never responded back until now!" She didn't seem angry, just hurt that Celes couldn't put two and two together.
Celes blinked and shook her head. "I..I'm sorry. I should've known better. So...I assume you are my Zanpakutou spirit?" The young girl smiled with a cheekily and giggled, nodding her head. "Bingo! Although I'm not just your Zanpakutou spirit. I have a name you know!!!" She puffed out her cheeks teasingly again with admittedly made Celes smile a little. This spirit seemed very playful and just wanted to have a good time. Her appearance matched her attitude although she was for the most part, pretty well spoken.
Celes blinked as she noted that she had a name. Celes never made the connection that they all had names, but she tilted her head. "Oh well...what is your name then, little one?" The younger girl chuckled at this silly question. She huffed teasingly again. "Little one?? I'm much older than you, you know...Besides. I'm not just going to telllll you my name. You will have to figure that out one day Celes. But...you are a quick learner. I'm sure you can figure it out." Celes smiled a little. This was the first step to her actually making connection with her Zanpakutou spirit and it was going pretty well. She was a little immature, but certainly did not appear to act as childish as she appeared.
In response to this, Celes chuckled. "Fair enough. Well then...my spirit. Why is this so lush and vibrant, but over there..." She pointed at the barren wasteland she described earlier. "Why is it like that?" The spirit tilted her head. "Earnestly I don't know. I would explore it, but I never felt the need to. All I could ever need is over here." The Zanpakutou spirit smiled as Celes giggled a little in response. Celes then again spoke. "Well..what do you do over here?" The younger girl smiled. "Well...I play around although I'm often lonely. But I do train much like you Celes. We are much alike naturally. You are a part of me as I am a part of you."
That sounded nice to Celes. Essentially the spirit explained to her that she would always have a partner. The spirit quickly rose and chuckled. "Well. Let me show you something Celes. I think you will like this." Celes nodded as the spirit ascended into the treetops and Celes could see her quickly jump from one tree to another as the young Shinigami maintained pursuit. Admittedly this is not what she expected her spirit to be like. She wasn't complaining though, she was as sweet as Celes if not a little more childish.
After a few minutes of this chasing, Celes reached the point where the spirit was standing. Celes had a little shortness of breath from all the running, but overall composed herself. The spirit smiled. "Does this look familiar Celes? Look around and closely." The spirit teased as Celes really did look around. It almost appeared like the training area that she admittedly spent way too much time in. She would always train all of her skills here, looking to become better. To become more than what she was the day before.
Celes nodded and didn't even have to say anything. The spirit smiled and quickly walked up to Celes. She waved her down almost as if to tell her to bend over and lean down. As Celes did so, she quickly heard the unsheathing of one...no two blades. With a quick reaction, Celes had just enough time to grab her own Zanpakutou as she held it up, blocking an overhead strike from the Zanpakutou spirit. She was completely at a loss. Was her Zanpakutou spirit looking to harm her all of a sudden.
Celes gritted her teeth as the spirit could not help it. She smiled briefly and chuckled. "Tsk tsk tsk. Oh Celes. Did you forget? You never let your guard down..." As Celes listened to this, she noticed something. She should be in a position where she can resist the force of the blades as they are even against the base of her Zanpakutou. But she was being pushed down. So hard in fact that she was beginning to dent the ground. In a flash, Celes in panic Shunpo'd away. As she looked back at the spirit, she also saw her disappear.
Celes looked behind her and saw the same spirit who had also used a Shunpo to slam her blades against Celes again. Celes this time actually did dodge it. The blades crashed into her side, digging in albeit not too deep. Blood was certainly pooling down her side now. It was not deep enough to cause any internal damage, but damn it if it didn't hurt. While all this was going on, Venus in the "real world" looked at Celes as she noticed the motionless body gashes. Venus sighed, "So it has begun I see.."
Meanwhile in the inner world, Celes was on one knee with a little labored breathing. This spirit was much stronger than her. Without a shred of a doubt. Celes tried to stand up, but failed. The spirit smiled. "Celesssss. You should make sure to stand soon. I don't know if I can hold myself back. The thrill of battle is exquisite isn't it? Although..I bet you are wondering why I have two blades. Well...you shall find out soon." Celes sighed and gritted her teeth. She stood albeit shakily and maintained a stance.
Celes noted her spirit dash at her. It wasn't a Shunpo, but it was fast as well. Celes tried to counteract this by striking first. She tried to bring her blade across the spirit's hand, but the spirit simply threw the second blade up in the air and suddenly held her blade in a Zatoichi style. She quickly blocked the attacked, using her other blade to slash at Celes again. Celes was at a loss as she felt herself being overwhelmed by her spirit. Celes quickly tilted her side and lifted her foot, kicking the other hand of the spirit. She smiled briefly. "It seems that you've been improving your Hakuda."
As the spirit smiled, she quickly spun in the opposite direction with the blade that she was holding in reverse grip. Suddenly it broke through Celes defenses and she quickly grinned. This was a little a fun to her. The pain admittedly from the cuts was something she had to get used to, but this was quality training from someone who knew her better than anyone else. In fact, Celes stood her ground and exclaimed. "You really are something...you know that my spirit?" The spirit only grinned in response and quickly leapt back.
The spirit with her grin, moved the two blades together and began muttering something. She looked up at Celes and smirked. "Let's kick things up a notch, my Shinigami." With a sudden burst of flame, Celes noted as the two blades began to change. One became elongated, a staff with a long red ribbon hanging off of it and a beautifully crafted spearhead adorning it. The other turned into a round shield with a strange symbol on it and little padding. They looked deadly and resilient to boot. Celes had an idea what this was as the spirit could read her expression.
The spirit spoke calmly and giggled. "Well then Celes. Let's see what you can do." Celes only saw her foot as the ground behind the spirit tore up and got kicked up into the air, debris falling. Celes could barely react as the saw the spirit barreling towards her, spear aimed straight at her. Celes couldn't do much, but she was not ready to take this head on. She quickly jumped to the side, but the spirit saw this coming. Stopping her momentum almost immediately, the spirit this something akin to a spartan kick, kicking Celes in the gut and launching her against a tree.
The Shinigami coughed up a bit of blood from the pain of being kicked in the gut. Her real world counterpart would do the same, eliciting a bit of concern from Venus who was watching over her. With a quick gasp, Celes tried to stand up, but her nerves were in turmoil. Despite all her effort, she could not move. The spirit chuckled and began walking towards her at a comfortable pace, spear at the ready. "I hate to hit people while they are down, but Celes. You really need to do this. You really need to face me."
With that being said, Celes tried to stand again, willing herself as much as she could. She began to stand shakily as she noticed the spear closing in. She ran forward and was prepared to give herself up to strike down her opponent. The spirit smiled and dashed herself. In a moment, they were in such a close distance to one another that they could feel the others breath. Celes had a spear wound on her side, the spear piercing and scraping her flesh albeit, a nasty wound developed. Meanwhile Celes' blade as right at the spirit's neck.
The spirit could only smile in response to this. She dismissed the Shikai that she was using as Celes smiled. Was this it? Was this a test to see if she was willing to give up her own body if it meant she could win against her opponent. It was true that combat could make anyone desperate, but this was rather new to Celes. A sensation unlike any other. Even moreso, why did the spirit have two Zanpakutou. It was all so bizzare to Celes, but she couldn't think about it anymore as her world faded to black suddenly, slumping against the ground.
Celes suddenly awoke, bandages covering her sides as she noticed, she was atop a giant tree. Her senses had come to her as she clamored for some form of safety. The young spirit would exclaim to her. "Celes! Get ahold of yourself. You are my Shinigami after all. You should be fierce!" She teasingly made little tiger claws as she smiled at Celes warmly. The Shinigami would relax and chuckle, looking at her spirit. "Why did you stop fighting? You could have killed me if you wanted to." The spirit simply tilted her head.
She looked up into the sky and softly spoke. "What fun would that be. I may lose my own life as a result and a friend. I don't wanna lose those things. Even moreso, that was not the point of this exercise Celes." She smiled and chuckled. "I wanted to see if against all odds, against an opponent you had no hope of defeating, you would try and put yourself into the field of battle. Into the front lines. And you did. You made me proud to call you my Shinigami." Celes smiled as a result. There was a certain sweetness to this spirit.
She looked down at the two Zanpakutou and smiled. "So...why did you have two Zanpakutou and what you used against me...was that a Shikai?" The spirit grinned. "Very perceptive of you. Then again. I was kicking your butt with them wasn't I?" The both laughed as a result. The spirit just sighed and gave in. "This is a part of me Celes. The blades you Shinigami carry. We are those blades. Your companions and friends." Celes looked at the spirit with interest. She really did seem to want a cooperative partnership. She wishes to see Celes get stronger.
The spirit chuckled and shrugged. "You proved to me that you had a fighting spirit. Something that I feel is essential in the field of battle. As such, I can feel comfortable offering you greater power." The female spirit grabbed the twin Zanpakutou and gave it to Celes. "These are yours to do wish as you will. I trust I will serve you well Celes. Just promise me...you will use me to your fullest capacity." Celes smiled and nodded. "It would be an honor my dear spirit." Celes grabbed the two Zanpakutou and was surprised. They were the same make as her regular one. Just there were two of them. As she looked up at the spirit, the latter smiled more.
The spirit spoke calmly, yet frankly. "Well..my job here is done for now. Remember what happened here Celes." With a tap to her forehead, Celes felt her body pass out again. Meanwhile, as Venus continued watching Celes, she noticed something. The Shinigami's Zanpakutou was glowing and was beginning to diffuse. The Zanpakutou split into a replica of the other. They looked identical. Venus was surprised and a little perplexed. She's never seen something like this before. It was certainly new.
Celes woke up, a little groggily all things considered. With a stretch, she noticed something. Her lap was different. She noticed the two Zanpakutou and smiled. She stood up, holding both in her hand as Venus walked up to her. "I assume you had an enlightening experience. Seems you even got something out of it. Two Zanpakutou. I can't saw that I ever saw anything like this. I'm admittedly a little intrigued as to how this happened..." Venus sighed and began to think, not sure of what this could mean.
Celes began to play around with the blades. They seemed to be the same weight. Even more so they were matching in appearance as Celes smiled. This was a gift to her from the Spirit of her Zanpakutou. The spirit within her that would guide her to new heights. She would finally become a better Shinigami because of it. She sheathed the two blades in two matching scabbards. Before she did so, she noticed something different. The spirit's soul almost appeared to be in both blades. As though she inhabited the two of them.
Celes looked up at Venus and couldn't help, but smile. Venus chuckled. "You seem very pleased Celes. I will warn you of your wound, however. We can treat it later. For the future just know that wounds sustained while communing with you Zanpakutou are treated as real here. So don't go too crazy in there please. I don't want to lose a friend." Celes giggled and nodded. Although she did make a retort to Venus. "To your comment..about getting two Zanpakutou out of it. I didn't get that. I gained a friend." Venus smiled and nodded, proud of her student.
