Spiritual Introspection [JT/Closed]

[Celes Castellanos]

Paperwork. Lots and lots of paperwork. This was not an uncommon site for Celes as she closed the door to her office. She began to sigh as she looked at the stacks of neatly folded and printed paper that detailed a myriad of different delegations, menial tasks and general duties of the Tenth Division. Upon becoming a Captain Celes knew that it was going to be bad, but this was ridiculous. Thankfully she had gotten used to it during her time as acting Captain for her Squad. As Vice Captain she used to enjoy more freedoms though. Nowadays her time was dedicated to mentoring, paperwork, training the new generation. After all the Tenth Division was in an interesting position during times of peace and prosperity.

As the primary bastion of defense for the Seireitei and the greater Soul Society as a while, the Tenth Division found themselves rather bored when no invasions or other threats were occurring. Sure. Celes was not one to strive for war just to get more interesting work, but it had certainly grown dull. For now the Division would find itself helping other Squads. Reparations to various damages and finally defense of the perimeter. Celes had that covered too usually. She had sent about two dozen or so low-ranking Shinigami to the perimeter of the Seireitei to be on the lookout for threats. Normally she would join them, but being Captain came with other responsibilities that stopped her from doing so. 

Sighing and moving over to her chair, the Captain would simply shift her haori off of her Shihakusho as she sank peacefully into it. She began to ponder about various things. How long had it been since she personally trained with Kimiko? How long since she hunted down that vicious Hollow with Camila? How long since she took up the mantle of Captain. The answer to all of the above? Too long. In truth it had only been a range of a week or so to perhaps close to a month for these separate occurrences. As she rubbed her temples with a slow yet graceful cadence, her mind immediately thought of Kimiko. She had finally made it. She graduated and became a member of the Eleventh Division.

In truth Celes was beyond ecstatic. Sure she was a little bummed out that Kimiko had settled with the Eleventh Division, but Celes used to one of them. She knew that it would be a great fit for her disciple. Perhaps it wax time for another lesson between her and her disciple. Celes mulled it over in her head as she chuckled. As she rose to her feet and put her haori back on, she made her way to one of the many rooms in the Tenth Division barracks. She firmly knocked on the door and waited a few moments. Within mere moments it would slide open and before her would stand a rather sleepy looking member of her Division. The Captain could not help, but chuckle as he rubbed his eyes.

He was rather well built. Tall and clearly physically fit yet his voice betrayed his lethargy. He would speak in a groggy tone. "O..Oh. Good after- *yawn* -noon Captain Celes." As he finished and stood there, it would take him a few moments to realize who was before him. As most who did not know her well did or perhaps even out of shock, he quickly stood straight to salute. Celes just chuckled and decided to let it go. She typically clarified not needing to stand on ceremomy, but this time she would hop straight to the point. "You know Kimiko don't you? Member of the Eleventh Divison." The subordinate simply nodded as he once again looked half asleep. Celes simply continued speaking. "I need you to deliver the following message. Listen carefully." 

---

The Shinigami would be running. He would search far and wide for Kimiko no matter where she was. Training in the halls. Sparring on the training ground. Even heading to her personal quarters in the Eleventh Division barracks if he needed to. It did not matter. Once the unseated Shinigami likely came across Kimiko, recognizing her for both her reputation and graduating from the Academy around the same time, he would bend over trying to catch his breath. He was exasperated. It was almost as though he had ran halfway across the Seireitei while being half asleep. Then again, one of these conditions were certainly true. Regardless, he'd finally find both his voice and breath. 

He would greet Kimiko rather normally before relaying said message. "H..hey there Kimiko. I am here to relay a message from Captain Celes. She wishes you to report to the Tenth Division Barracks immediately. Something about..." He paused as he tried to recollect. For a moment he had forgotten. The appearance of worry was prominent on his face until he continued. E..excuse me. She mentioned something about wanting to show you something. She was not more specific than that unfortunately." He smiled both because he had now finished the task for his Captain and now finally gets to return to bed. The Shinigami would run off back to the sanctity of his bed. The job had been completed.

---

Celes would find herself standing in the middle of the Tenth Division training grounds as her eyes scanned the area. Nobody was in sight. The sparring tools including wooden bokken, dummies and other equipment was all untouched. Celes sighed in disappointment. Even more so because with the type of training that she had planned today it would not be used. At least not in the conventional sense. With graceful movement she would leap unto the rock sittin on the edge of the training grounds just before the nearby thick forest obscured all further vision. She would wait there patiently for Kimiko with both excitement and worry. 

[Nakajima Kimiko]

"Last round before we, like, change the loser!"

A voice resonated throughout the massive coliseum that was the Eleventh Division's training grounds, most specifically from a teenage-looking Shinigami which currently had her fierce eyes set onto the sparring arena. She was as small as a young woman of her physical age would be, enough so for the other Shinigami standing near her position to tower above her, but possessed enough presence for mostly everyone in this small crowd of spectators to listen to her. The only ones who seemed to possess more presence than her were, well, the two officers who were currently standing in the arena. One was a large man with shoulder-length hair who looked tired, yet focused onto the battle as he panted quietly to himself, while the other was an energetic female with a wide-eyed gaze. As to be expected by this point, that particular female was none other than the rapidly-rising star of the Eleventh Division herself: Nakajima Kimiko, one of the new rookies to have joined Gotei 13.

It had now been roughly a month since Kimiko officially graduated from the most-esteemed Shin'ō Academy and was stationed here to these barracks, and to say that her time here has been a bit eventful since then has been a bit of an overstatement. For the most part, things have been surprisingly quiet; after all, there wasn't a whole great deal of tasks a rookie of her rank could do. Despite her performance in the Academy, there were many things that she needed to do so that she could slowly get the grip of everything an officer should do to act accordingly. This ranged from rather boring paperwork, small-scaled reports and basic chores such as cleaning. At times, she would be sent to patrol the Seireitei and sometimes Rukongai, though she for the most part remained in the barracks where she would simply follow the directives given to her by her superior officer. In a way, this place had practically become her new permanent home. Literally. It was a good thing that she tended to work fast enough to get rid of paperwork as efficiently as possible.

Fortunately, if there was one thing that she could not describe as being boring, it was her comrades. Although she could definitely not deny that the grand lot of them were mainly past bandits and hooligans from Rukongai, interacting with them was somewhat of an interesting challenge for someone like her, especially since the last joint training they have had with the Tenth Division. Everyday almost once per hour, an Unseated Officer or a rookie would demand that she spar with them, and if it was impossible for that demand to be fulfilled at that point in time, they would ask her if they could spar later always with as much motivation as they can possibly muster. It was not rare for one or two of those people to try to intimidate, threaten or bother her into sparring them, with a few lowering themselves into shouting sexist remarks at her in an attempt to piss her off. In any case, she would always reply with a comment that would only immediately make them go prepare for their eventual spar. If they were not talking about sparring with her, then they would instead talk about their past accomplishments and how there was no way she could ever reach their status.

Needless to say, it was incredibly easy to consider all that composed the previous paragraph to be absolutely woeful for a squad's reputation. No wonder so many people outside of it often thought of this kind of behavior as being impolite, irrational and downright unprofessional for what is pretty much a branch of a military organization. If anything, if she only referred herself to the talks and rumors around the division, Kimiko really should not be liking any of this and instead wish for a transfer into, say, the Tenth Division so as to join Celes' side... and yet she found absolutely nothing wrong with it all. In fact, ever since she got here, she has been somewhat happier, almost as if she had found a place where she belonged. Yes, a few of these people were awful in their manners, but she could not deny that she now resided among warriors. The talk was talk, nothing more, as although it was certainly emotional, it was also not necessarily disrespectful towards one another. They may conduct themselves as per the law of the fittest, but ideally, they all respected one another quite a fair bit. That, and they also hated Kidō as much as she did, so she was pretty much already on their side to begin with.

With all of that in mind, it was thus unsurprising that she was presently standing in this arena in front of an opponent. It was not the first spar she had done today, nor would it be the last. Shockingly enough, however, this particular adversary had not requested to spar with her at all; rather, he had sort of been coerced into doing so by the announcer. He was not a bad fighter at all, no; after all, Kimiko had seen him train here and knew very well that he was a capable swordsman. However, his motivation wasn't there and she could tell. It was just like back when she first met him in that joint training session and during all those patrols they've done together where he looked like he wanted to do anything else. Even so, Kimiko did not mind that at all. A lack of motivation does not necessarily lead to a worse battle; in a way, this allows her to properly understand and fight against an unmotivated opponent. A tad bit more respect from him would have been nice to see, but them knowing each other was enough in her eyes.

In any case, as the last round was called, the female Shinigami would turn her head towards her before giving her a light nod while she reached for her starting spot. "Alright. I'll get off after this. I want to see the others fight too," she'd tell her before slowly settling into a fighting stance. Her opponent, her, gave a tired stare to her stance before sighing.

"Yeah... I think I'm going to do the same thing after this, Binita," he admittedly groggily as he adopted his own fighting stance. "This has been going on for too long already."

"Come on, Charles, it's only been, like, five minutes since we started! You can do this!" The announcer quickly ranted with a brief pout before she coughed and raised her arm up. "Alright, here goes! Three... two... one... G-"

As she was about to finish her sentence, Binita suddenly stopped and turned alongside the rest of the crowd to see a tall man suddenly step into the training grounds. He was well-built and physically fit, which almost made a few of the people in the training grounds believe that he was an officer of their squad, though soon enough, they'd notice that his arm band was not displaying the emblem of the Eleventh Division, but rather the Tenth. This prompted many to stare at him in confusion before he eventually addressed Kimiko, which caused her to stare at him with a lifted eyebrow for a moment before he mentioned Celes. Once he did and she heard that she needed to meet her immediately, her expression would turn into a deadpan as she saw rage suddenly start appearing onto her comrades' faces while the messenger smiled. Oh boy, this was not good.

"Uh-oh."

---

She was out. She was finally out of there with the poor messenger.

This was the first time Kimiko had seen so many people of the Eleventh Division becoming furious at once. The very moment the man had delivered his message, much of the officers who were there started throwing threats and insults at the guy for what they considered to be a spar. The Shinigami swordswoman wasn't particularly about the fact that her spar with Charles had been interrupted in such a way, but she couldn't say that she really shared the vicious anger everyone had back there. "They don't need her right now!" They all said in unison back then. "What could be so damn important for her to look at instead of what she is doing now?!" Just remembering the words they said to him was making her adopt a comically-disappointed expression. If they had stood there for any longer, the messenger would have most likely gotten his butt kicked straight into whatever stratosphere resides in the skies of Soul Society.

"Alright, next time, just... please wait for the spar to end," she'd tell the messenger as they moved towards the Tenth Division's barracks. "They're not all like that, I swear, they're just... You came at a bad time, yeah."

Fortunately, moving towards the barracks of the Eleventh's sister squad was definitely not as eventful compared to what just happened back at her own barracks. Eventually, they would finally reach for the barracks, and once they did, Kimiko would eventually leave the messenger to join Celes in the training grounds. Although it has been a while since she last visited the place, she could still remember some of its details. Not much had changed just yet from the switch of Captaincy, from the looks of it. That was nice. If there was one thing Kimiko could admit that she liked from this place, it was the abundance of trees lying about here and there. It gave the barracks a sort of natural feeling that the Eleventh's barracks unfortunately does not quite achieve in comparison. By the time she got to the training grounds, she'd be able to see Celes on top of a rock nearing a nearby forest. Seeing her standing there wearing her Captain garbs made her smile a bit.

"Hey, Celes. It's... going to take a while for me to get used to you being a Captain," she admitted openly as she approached her mentor with a friendly demeanor. "You wanted to see me...?"

[Celes Castellanos]

As the Captain waited on the rock, sitting as she normally would when preparing to converse with Yunorashi, her Zanpakutou spirit, Celes had some time to ponder about todays lesson. Well it would be less of a lesson and more a gift. A gift that showed immense trust and care towards her disciple. At least that is what Celes believed. She would breath in and out calmly as she waited. Almost as though she was preparing to enter a trance. She needed to practice a little. After all today would be a first for Celes and likely Kimiko. Before she really had a chance to make an attempt, Celes picked up on the nearby scampering of feet. A rather quick cadence too.

Opening her eyes the Captain would look upon both Kimiko and one of her subordinates that she had sent to retrieve her disciple. Continuing to sit on the boulder, Celes would nod to her subordinate in thanks as she spoke calmly. "Thank you very much for bringing her here. That will be all." As he stood and saluted Celes, the Captain could tell that something was amiss. He was visibly sweating and seemingly nervous. Was it that hard to track down Kimiko? Or did he run into trouble along the way? His clothes weren't torn and his Zanpakutou was nestled comfortably in its sheath. Celes looked at him with cautious eyes before giving him a wave that he was dismissed. 

As she ran back to his quarters Celes would take the time to get a good view at Kimiko. She could see it in her eyes. She was no longer the timid Shinigami that she had once met in the Academy. She had advanced through adversity and many challenges. Celes could not help, but smile as Kimiko greeted her. "Hey, Celes. It's... going to take a while for me to get used to you being a Captain," Celes chuckled as she leapt off of the rock and landed a few feet before it. She would move up to Kimiko in a friendly and familiar manner. Her voice would be gentle and welcoming. "I presume it will take me a while getting used to you in your Shihakusho. It fits you well." Celes smiled a little more as sentiments got the better of her.

She placed a hand on Kimiko's shoulder despite the difference in height as Celes peered deeply into Kimiko's eyes. There would be a sense of mutual respect about them. "I am proud of you, you know. I don't know if I ever told you that Kimiko. To have come so far. You truly will be a gifted Shinigami once you ease into your role. I am honored to be your mentor." She would chuckle for a moment as she tried to avoid any excessive show of sentimentality. This was not the time for tears. It was a time of achievement. For both of them. Celes had become the Captain of the Tenth Division while Kimiko had graduated and became a member of the Eleventh Division.

It was Kimiko's next comment that allowed Celes to refocus. "You wanted to see me...?" The Captain would simply nod in acknowledgement at first. She wanted to address something first before getting into the why. "Yes I did. Though before that. I hope I did not pry you away from any obligations. I certainly know that the Eleventh Division can be rather...pushy with trainings and such. Speaking of which. How are you liking the Eleventh Division? I hope you are being treated well. If not do let me know at any point and I can talk to Vice Captain Kawada about it." It was not unlike Celes to display an almost maternal care for Kimiko. 

After all these little diversions, Celes was finally ready to discuss the reason for her summons. "Now then as to why I have called you here." Celes took a step back as she began to pace back and forth. She was trying to find the words. Suddenly she would stop as she peered at Kimiko once more. "I once told you that when you pass your exams with flying colors as you I know you would and graduate officially from the Academy that I shall show you my Bankai. I still intend to honor that promise. Though there is another reason as to my summons." Celes smiled for a moment as she relaxed her stance and breathed out calmly. Her voice would continue to be a little soft-spoken. 

"I intend to share a gift with you today, Kimiko. One that I view as a great honor. You are my disciple, but more than that. You are a valued friend and I trust you. I'd trust you with my very life." She smiled as sentimentality was taking over again before Celes refocused the conversation once more. "I'm sure you are familiar with the concepts of Jinzen. Of the ability to enter one's own Inner World? To explore it and converse with your Zanpakutou spirit." Celes waited for any form of confirmation from Kimiko. If she explained her understanding of it then Celes would simply listen. She did not want to interrupt her after all. If not then Celes would continue. 

"Normally this process is very personal. One that only the user can perform on themselves. Recently, however, I have discovered a way of breaking that barrier of entry. To allow one or even multiple parties if willing to accompany into the Inner World. But more importantly this will allow conversation with our Zanpakutou spirit." Celes smiled once more as she moved up to Kimiko and placed her hand on the Shinigami's shoulder once more. "If you are interested, I can allow you access to my Inner World. By that token, I'd love for you to meet my partner. My Zanpakutou spirit. The Inner World that we possess is something that I protect very openly. I would never allow anyone in. Anyone except for you Kimiko. By that very notion I can also teach you the proper technique behind Jinzen and using this skill we could enter your Inner World as well. Only if you permit of course." 

[Nakajima Kimiko]

Seeing Celes again, and most importantly in a proper conversation between the both of them rather than an event, was something that Kimiko greatly appreciated. As mentioned before, it had been a while since the both of them had met now, and it had also been an even longer while since they had trained together. In fact, the last time they properly trained together was back during her Academical exams where the then-Vice Captain had decided to bring her to Karakura Town to battle Dummy Hollows. That was an interesting time, to say the least, but it was also the last time they officially trained with one another before Captaincy then came in and prevented Celes from interacting with Kimiko for a while, or at least that's what Kimiko believed to have happened. She could still remember them heading off to the Fourth Division's barracks after the fact due to the wounds Celia garnered that day. It was a rather-long story that the Shinigami wasn't really particularly focused in mentally retelling to herself at this point in time.

After the swordswoman spoke up about her still needing time to become adjusted to seeing Celes as a Captain, her mentor responded in kind about her outfit. She wasn't wrong in saying something like that: even Kimiko herself was sometimes surprised to see herself wearing the robes of the Shinigami. It just felt so different compared to the uniform supplied by the Academy, like a milestone which had somehow taken shape into spiritual silk and tissue. In a way, it represented on its very own her true first step into this alien world that is the ranks of Gotei 13, a sentiment which she felt was shared throughout many rookie officers. The same could be said about Celes gaining so much more importance within the Gotei 13 by acquiring Captaincy. It is so strange how certain pieces of clothing can make such a difference to someone for a while. They may appear so little in hindsight, yet they will always be emotionally powerful in one way or another.

Speaking of emotions, Kimiko could feel that this moment between the both of them was particularly poignant for Celes, at the very least. Blinking, she watched as her mentor voiced the pride that she held in regards to her student. It was not the first time the rookie Shinigami had heard this nor will it be the last, but she had to admit that it felt just as soothing as all of the times she told those words to her. In hard times, they were often just the right words to keep her from sinking too deep into stress, uncertainty, and self-doubt. "... Thank you, Celes..." she said quietly with a soft smile in response to the compliments. It was the usual response that she gave to her every time she complimented her, yet it was just as powerful as usual. The more she hanged out with her mentor, the more she realized that she perhaps needed that kind of softness in her life right now. Dealing with all of the new information she has had to deal with ever since she became a Soul has been incredibly overwhelming, and to have someone guide her in such a caring way was just really nice and comforting.

The emotional moment, however, eventually had to pass; after all, as comforting these moments may be, they are not meant to last forever. Upon hearing the answer to her question, Kimiko would hum quietly as Celes started asking her questions in return shortly after. Looks like she wanted to learn more about how things were going at the Eleventh so far. Celes' usual motherly tones aside, that wasn't surprising: they haven't seen each other in a while and, although the Eleventh is indeed the sister squad of the Tenth, their cultures differed from one another. "So far, it's been very... Well, I honestly think a lot of the people might seem rude to you or Kawada-fukutaicho. A lot of people always want to spar with me while I'm working or training..." she explained with a light hum as she thought about it before she smiled nostalgically, "... but I don't mind it at all. It kind of reminds me of the times I spent at the arcades... It's just maybe a bit more, uh, loud in comparison." Loud was perhaps an understatement, but hey, it was better to be honest than lying about it and then getting slapped on the wrist later for doing so. Celes has been in the Eleventh Division before having been switched to the Tenth, so she probably already knew about the general antics and culture of the members of the squad anyway.

After they talked about her squad, the Captain then went on to reveal the true meaning behind her request to see Kimiko here. Her words were enough to make the disciple grow quiet with her eyes slowly widening from everything that was just told to her. To summarize, Celes wanted to show her not only her Bankai of which she had already promised she would do after her Academical graduation, but also her own Inner World. The Bankai was one thing, and the Inner World was certainly another. The concept of Inner Worlds was still something that Kimiko had a hard time grasping. She had read them about them plenty of times, and although rare, she almost felt as though she was sometimes accessing places in her dreams that were too unique to be randomly conceptualized by her brain. Because of this, she has always been very interested in learning more about them. Being offered such wondrous sights by her mentor was... well, it was more than just a simple honor at this point, something which left her stunned and briefly unable to speak properly.

"I-I... Yeah, I'm familiar with Jinzen," the Shinigami would fortunately reply after she realized she was being a bit too awkward, trying her best to remain standing against the sheer amount of respect that was being shown to her here. Jinzen was a meditation technique used by Shinigami to attune their Souls with the spirits located within their Zanpakuto. Unsurprisingly, due to the sheer importance of this technique, both the teachers of Shin'ō Academy  and the officers of the Eleventh Division have specifically instructed it as being a required exercise to conduct during every training session, with the former especially suggesting it to be mandatory the moment one's Asauchi evolves into a proper Zanpakuto. Naturally, this has led Kimiko to conduct more than a few times already, seeing as she really wanted to meet with this spirit. She very much liked her blade and wanted to know if the spirit could perhaps give her answers about her sudden growth. However, so far, she could not say that any great progress has been made in communicating with her Zanpakuto spirit for now. It was like the only thing that awaited her during Jinzen was nothing more was the darkness beneath the pupil of her eyes, and nothing more.

Fortunately, it seemed that Celes has somehow found a way to conduct a Jinzen that would tie them together with enough strength to grant Kimiko access to her Inner World, which was how she was even going to show it to her in the first place. If she can somehow learn this technique, she will be potentially be able to learn more about Jinzen and perhaps be able to meet the spirit within her Zanpakuto sooner rather than later, especially if Celes would teach her that very same technique as well. "That... would be great, yes," she could only respond in her astonishment to it all, chuckling a bit to herself. "Sorry, this is... a lot to take in."

[Celes Castellanos]

It seemed that some things never changed. Celes could not help, but chuckle when Kimiko slowly began to stumble over herself as it resulted in a rather adorable stutter. "I-I... Yeah, I'm familiar with Jinzen," Celes was certainly not mocking her. She was rather used to the Shinigami's sometimes bubbly nature when placed into a position of praise or respect. Despite her timid nature it still seemed that she was a little socially awkward. That did not matter to Celes though. She was her disciple and the Captain generally enjoyed Kimiko's company. This was even more true now since they had not seen each other in a while. She would then pause for a moment to allow Kimiko to absorb all of this. 

Soon Celes would be met with a few words that made her smile warmly. "That... would be great, yes. Sorry, this is... a lot to take in." Celes laughed boisterously. She could not blame Kimiko. After all this would be a sign of great trust. Treading upon an Inner World was a deeply personal venture as it was a sanctuary to the Shinigami who possessed it. Celes laughter would soon die down to a chuckle as she sighed happily for a brief moment. They were going to take this slowly. Hopefully this would give her time to adjust. Of course Celes had little idea of Kimiko's experience with shifting to an Inner World, much less her own. Celes would be here to guide her. To help her through it. 

"Don't worry Kimiko. I know it can seem overwhelming. In truth it is. I assume that you have little to no experience in accessing your Inner World?" Just as before, Celes would give Kimiko time to respond and explain if she felt that she needed to. Celes would nod with a smile either way. It certainly was not a requirement, but Kimiko having experience would make this process a little easier. Due to the inexperience of the Shinigami, Celes ventured to guess that Kimiko had no experience in accessing that inner sanctum. Celes would likely have her suspicion confirmed by Kimiko soon after that. Celes would chuckle once more as she placed a finger onto her cheek, thinking for a moment.

There was of course one truth that Celes would reveal to Kimiko when they started. This was not without risk. While Celes gave permission for Kimiko to tread upon her own sanctum, she was only half of the equation. Normally the only other party involved would be the Zanpakutou spirit. Different spirits reacted in different ways to the intrusion of another soul besides the Shinigami. Thankfully even Yunorashi would be a non-issue. After all the Zanpakutou spirit had expressed great interest in meeting Celes' student. Yunorashi was inquisitive and overly curious like that. Unfortunately Celes had little idea of how to stem the other soul that lived within her. She just had to bite the bullet and hoped that nothing would occur. Worst case scenario she'd have to forcibly eject herself and Kimiko. 

As Celes left the swirling chaos that were her thoughts, she simply smiled at Kimiko. After all, she had expressed interest in joining Celes on a trip to her Inner World. With that Celes would chuckle and begin to explain the process. "The process of what we will be doing is simple." Celes looked over to the rock which was thankfully large enough to hold two Shinigami. This was her favorite spot to perform Jinzen and commune with Yunorashi. With an agile hop, Celes would find herself upon the rock as she sat down to make space for Kimiko. "Join me Kimiko. We will begin up here. This is my personally favorite spot for Jinzen. Very peaceful." 

Celes would watch Kimiko as her disciple would hopefully find her way onto the rock, finding it rather easy to accommodate the space for two Shinigami to sit upon it comfortably. If Kimiko found her balance lacking, Celes would chuckle for a moment and skooch to create more room. By the time that they were close enough to each other, Celes would hum softly. "Now then. I'm sure you are familiar with the typical stance associated with Jinzen?" Instead of explaining, Celes would simply demonstrate in a follow-the-leader type of format where she unsheathed her twin Zanpakutou. She would then gracefully set her blades upon her lap as she expected Kimiko to do the same.

"Now. Here comes the hard part. You and I will have the match the resonance of our reiatsu. This will likely prove a little difficult, but we will try as many times as we need to." Celes smiled and tried to be warm in her explanations. She wanted to be encouraging to try and put Kimiko at ease. To try and erase any doubts. With that, Celes began to modulate her reiatsu. It was rough and untamed much like herself. Decades a honing physical prowess over her spirit meant that she was much less advanced with it. She began shifting her reiatsu back and forth. Trying to raise it every now and then to match Kimiko's likely greater reiatsu. Despite her weakened spirit due to negligence, it still felt like she was attempting to wrestle a bear. 

Several minutes of constant attempts at harmonization would likely occur before Celes effectively stablished a link with her disciple. Upon doing so it even felt weird to Celes. She could feel Kimiko's indomitable spirit. Her eagerness and excitement. If Kimiko focused on Celes' spirit she would likely feel her sense of pride. Her honed mind and sense of will. As well as decades worth of experience to draw upon. It was a unique situation that Celes cherished. With that she would slowly close her eyes. "Now. Clear your mind. Focus only on me and my spirit. You will feel yourself drift. As if your phasing out of your body and ascending into the heavens. Simply...relax.." Celes would go utterly silent as she tried to focus. To transfer herself and her melded spirit with Kimiko to her Inner World.

Soon after what felt like mere moments, but in truth would likely be a few minutes, Celes would feel herself descend into the depth of her Inner World. Kimiko would likely feel a similar sensation as well. Finally a cessation of feeling for what must have been the briefest of moments. An infinitesimal pause as Celes opened her eyes. She would find herself gazing upon what would be a forest of trees. Each beautifully adorned with leaves in the crown and rich with a variety of fruit. The forest would seemingly reach into the distance for an undisclosed distance. Yet in the midst of this grand forest stood a staircase that led to a building that was very reminiscent of the Acropolis in Athens.

To contrast the beauty and wonder of the Inner World, Celes turned around to gaze upon the desolate wasteland composed the other half of her Inner World. A blood-stained battlefield with countless weapons dug into the scorched earth. Truly it looked as though some great battle had taken place with no survivors. Each one had given their life and had been forgotten in the unnamed wasteland. Assuming that Kimiko was with her and likely getting adjusted to being in the Inner World, Celes would simply smile. She had hoped that she would not ask too many questions about the other half of her inner world. In due time, but she felt that she would need time. Time to sit down and have an earnest discussion with her disciple. For now she just wanted Kimiko to get used to it. To explore. 

[Nakajima Kimiko]

It wasn't unusual for Celes to most often treat Kimiko's reactions with a laugh of understanding. The Shinigami has grown used to it by now, hearing her laughter and the words that followed them. Normally, she would consider such a reaction to be a bit hurtful, especially given that this tended to happen quite frequently with Celes. However, for some reason, she found this particular reaction to be anything but upsetting. The Captain's laughter allowed her misunderstanding and lack of knowledge of this new world she was now apart of to be less aggravating or annoying, something which she did not see very often as most of the other people she has met so far tend to see some of her reactions as strange or abnormal. There were a few key exceptions, but they were just that: few. She couldn't really recall the amount of times she felt as though she had said something wrong back at the Academy or at the barracks while conversing with her squadmates... like that time she conversed with that pathetic Yozora one or two years ago.

The Captain was right in assuming that her disciple's knowledge of how to access her Inner World - or, well, any Inner World for that matter - was very limited. She was aware that Jinzen was required to do so, like it was some sort of ritual that she needed to complete before entering it, though again, she was never able to succeed in her endeavors to even so much as communicate with her Zanpakuto's spirit. "I... haven't been able to enter mine yet, if that's what you're asking," she replied to her mentor with a honest tone, if not one that somehow hinted at her disappointment. Given her insane growth lately, she had honestly thought she would have been communicated with her blade's spirit by now. Why has she not been able to reach it yet? Is she doing something wrong? Is there something wrong with her? Is it related to the unnatural rapidity of her growth in one way or another? All these questions piling up again... Ugh, this habit needs to stop. All it does is just make her more worried by the day.

Thankfully, from the looks of it, she wouldn't really have to do anything special today on her own to enter Celes' Inner World, or at least she won't have to do anything without her guidance. With an eager step, Kimiko would step forward to join Celes onto the rock which the Captain was previously standing on. Hopping onto it wasn't difficult due to the agility she has acquired in training, and situating herself onto it was somehow even less difficult. What a surprisingly-comfortable rock. You'd think something so large would be really difficult to sit on, but no, not at all. Better yet, it was somehow also one of the quieter spots around. It really was no wonder Celes seemed to like it so much. Compared to this rock, most of the barracks of the Eleventh Division were too noisy to allow for efficient Jinzen, and so she often has to deal with the noise. If it would not have been for her having already gotten used to reading books in noisy environments, she would have probably gone crazy after the first few weeks of attempting the technique.

Once she got used to standing on the rock, the disciple eventually settled down and followed Celes' directives by positioning herself in a similar fashion to her. Conducting Jinzen was not necessarily difficult, especially not after having learned how to do it for the first time. All she needed was to sit down, cross her legs and set her blade onto her lap. So far, so good. "This should be okay," she assured her mentor before she then went on to listen to her second directive. Without much surprise, the young woman looked a bit confused for a moment. Match... the resonance of their reiatsu? How does that even work, exactly? Although questions arose yet again within her mind, she couldn't bear to voice them to Celes while she's trying her damnedest to encourage her and soothe her thoughts. Well... alright. This is supposedly the hard part of this dual meditation, so something strange was to be expected. She'll have to learn on the go.

Attempting to "match the resonance of their reiatsu", as Celes said, was indeed difficult. Kimiko wasn't quite sure of how to describe it, but it felt as though she was attempting to control a part of herself that she has never really focused on before outside of combat, which led it to become raw and unrefined. Fortunately, the trouble did not last for very long, for after some time, they were both able to link their spiritual energy to one another. The sensation Kimiko felt once the connection was made was rather alien. Somehow, she could feel Celes. Not physically, no, just... spiritually. She could discern her mentor's self, her prideful core, her experience, her veterancy. No, she could sense her soul beyond that. To feel this enlightenment made Kimiko quickly understand why the Captain believed this to be a rather-intimate experience; after all, it was as if their essences had suddenly become one. If she ever learns this technique on her own, it is doubtful she would share it with many others.

The step that came after the connection was more straight-forward. All she needed to do was relax and focus onto Celes, as though they haven't already focused onto each other enough as is. "Right..." she said then as she attempted to follow her mentor's directives the best she could. Well, if that is all there is to do before entering Celes' Inner World, then there is really nothing difficult awaiting her beyond that point. If anything, she was quite good on focusing on something. And so, with that mindset adopted, the student began her further focus onto her mentor. From an outsider's point of view, nothing at all would happen for the next few minutes. All they would see are two women sitting on a rock all the while they mediated together. However, for Kimiko specifically, sitting onto a rock would not be what she would feel any longer mere moments after her focus was seemingly complete. Slowly, as though the rock and the world around her disappeared, her body seemed to physically descend into the earth, as though it was pushed into another reality.

The feeling was once more alien and new, but it proved to be temporary, for it eventually disappeared, leaving Kimiko with an absence of feeling reminiscent of simply standing still. The disciple remained still for a moment, as though unsure whether she should open her eyes or not, though eventually, she felt herself beckoned to do so. Her surprise was instant. With widened eyes, she gazed at the reality that now formed her surroundings. What was once the training grounds of the Tenth Division had now become a beautiful forest of green filled to the brim with exotic flora. There was a building in the middle of the forest, one of Ancient Greek architecture, and towards the opposite side of the lushness stood a battlefield. The amount of information gained from this sight left the student almost frozen in disbelief, unable to form a word.

This was an Inner World. This was what awaited her beyond her Jinzen. She could feel that this place was tailor-made for Celes. The forest, the building... the battlefield, the fallen weaponry scattered about it. There were a lot of things that she wanted to ask, mainly about the battlefield specifically, though again, the words did not come. Instead, she simply quietly walked around for a bit, allowing her eyes to stare at everything. It was about a few minutes after she finally realized that she was being too quiet that she turned her look of astonishment towards Celes. "This is... This is insane..." she tried to formulate in a position fashion through the shock, visibly completely taken aback by it all. No amount of words on a piece of paper could have possibly prepared her to see experience something like this. "I... I wasn't expecting this... The Academy kept talking about this, but... I never expected it to look so..."

[Celes Castellanos]

They had done it. Kimiko had finally come into Celes' inner world. The Captain could not be happier. In fact, she had a large grin on her face as she mentally prepared herself for the journey ahead of them. This was not a physical one. No, instead they would delve deep into Celes' inner workings. The world that inhabited her very being. Celes simply waited for Kimiko to express herself in any way. Admittedly her immediate respond elicited a bit of a chuckle from Celes. "This is... This is insane..." In truth, her disbelief did not surprise her. After all the disciple had revealed that this would be her first time entering an Inner World. Much less her own. 

"I... I wasn't expecting this... The Academy kept talking about this, but... I never expected it to look so..." Celes chuckled once more as she moved forward while speaking as to complete Kimiko's sentence. "So wonderous? Different? Bizarre? If so then these are all appropriate words to describe this scenario. Each one of our Inner Worlds is an entirely different realm. One to cherish. Our own to explore. Though I suppose I have the honor of sharing it with you. I would trust nobody else as much as you to see this. You may not be of my Division, but you are one of my own. You've been one of my own ever since I took you on as a disciple from the Academy. I hope to cherish this experience with you Kimiko." 

Behind Celes' smile was a hint of worry. The last time someone had entered her Inner World...he came out. The other soul that resided within in. She sighed briefly as she waited. She waited. She needed a sign. A sign that nothing would happen. That he would lie dormant. It seems that for now this would the case. There would be no sounds emanating from the battlefield straight across from them. Only the ominous sounds of crows and the dripping sound of blood from the many different weapons that were scattered across it, fitting for a barren wasteland such as this. This was fine, albeit a little disturbing. Just as long as he did not reveal himself. 

Celes simply chuckled a nervous smile as she refocused on Kimiko. "Well then. Follow me. There is someone I'd like for you to meet. In truth I'm sure she is eager to meet you too." Celes would not be more specific than that. After all, she knew who it was. If Kimiko was at all confused, she would certainly find out soon. As she pivoted on her heel to face the forest before them, Celes chuckled a little. "Do try to keep up Kimiko. Becoming lost in the depths of a foreign Inner World may prove dangerous." She paused for a moment as she turned around. Her stoic and serious look became a warm smile as she grinned widely. She giggled as she finished her comment. 

"I'm sure you will do great." With that, Celes would begin moving through the forest. She kept up a speed of 200. Mildly slow for the two of them, but this was not without reason. Traveling at fast speeds through a forest with obstacles around the corner was far different from flat ground. Celes had experienced this countless times and as such was used to traversal through the forestry. She was not sure if Kimiko was and the Captain liked to think that she knew the upper limits of her disciples capabilities. It was for this reason that she decided to start out slow. Despite their slower speed, Celes would show great skill at traversing the many branches and trees. A testament to her familiarity with the lay of the land. 

If Kimiko was keeping up just fine then Celes decided to kick it up a notch. She would increase her speed to 250, slowing down for mere moments every now and then to dodge the occasional set of branches and other obstacles. If Kimiko slowed down a bit, Celes would make sure to match her disciples speed. The comment about becoming lost in the Inner World was mainly said to keep her on her toes after all. Celes would never simply abandon her, but she knew the psychological effects of a suggestion well. She knew that it was likely at the end of her disciples' desires to become lost and forgotten among the tress within Celes' own inner sanctum. 

After what would likely feel like ten minutes, Celes emerged from the thick and lush brushes to come upon an open clearing. With her supervision she was undoubtedly sure that Kimiko would follow seconds after her. Assuming that she emerged from the brush she would see quite a different sight. The normally dense shrubbery was now wide open. A large circular area with flowers grazing the area. Numerous rocks not unlike the ones they were sitting atop in the material world were dotted within this clearing. The location of the sun and the shade provided by the trees would provide a rather beautiful display and an excellent atmosphere.

Celes chuckled as she breathed in deep. With a loud bellow she roared. "YUNORASHI! I brought someone for you to meet!!" The words would echo effortlessly throughout what seemed like the immediate proximity. That's when it could be heard. Rustling within the nearby leaves. Celes of course knew exactly what or who it was. The question was if Kimiko knew. The rustling would move across the various tree branches deftly. The form within the trees would leap from branch to branch at speeds that not even Celes could effectively track. Her instincts were honed. This was yet another game to her Zanpakutou spirit. Not that Celes minded. It could certainly be fun. 

With little more than a split second of warning it would strike. Moving at a speed of nearly 600 and darting directly at Celes, the Captain responded quickly. She would quickly leap up in the air, just above the darting form. Celes of course had the speed to notice that it was Yunorashi. A grin on her face as she quickly darted past her and directly at Kimiko. The Zanpakutou Spirit would likely be moving at speeds that seemed to be a blur to Kimiko. If she did not move or couldn't move, Yunorashi would lightly tap her hand against the Unseated Officers leg. A giggle would erupt from Yunorashi as she darted back into the trees. The tap upon Kimiko, if it occured, would not be too forceful. Nor would it be entirely light either. 

The crowns of the trees were rustling once more. A few moments here. Then there. Finally Yunorashi would dart out once more and come racing against Celes. This time her arms would be outstretched as she rammed against Celes and laughed loudly. Celes squeaked as she fell over with Yunorashi on top of her. The Zanpakutou Spirit laughed quite childlishly as she rose to her feet while Celes was recovering from her daze. Her voice would be childlike yet it sounded as though there something more ancient hiding behind the voice. "Oh Celes. You call yourself Captain of the Defensive Division yet you could not even defend her from my attack after you evaded it. Getting sloppy Celes." She chuckled as she would look at Kimiko.

The Zanpakutou spirit would likely be entirely different from what Kimiko expected. At least Celes thought so. Whether or not that was true was yet to be seen. As Kimiko likely looked down upon Yunorashi she would see a short girl. Appearing no older than perhaps 16. Beautiful white hair contrasted her darkened and tanned brown skin. Cloth-like robes with a scarf covered her upper body while white leggins covered her legs. A satchel remained at her side as a set of twin Zanpakutou resides upon her other hip. A necklace with a unique emblem dangled as she moved to look at Kimiko. She would smile a little childishly as she moved forward.

As the Zanpakutou spirit made her move towards the disciple, she continued smiling. "Hello there. You must be Kimiko! Celes has told me all about you! Well..then again I am part of her so everything she knows, I know! I'm sure you could guess, but I am Celes' Zanpakutou Spirit. The lovely Yunorashi. Pleasure to finally meet you. I've been dying to do so, but Celes insisted that she wished to wait until you graduated first." She smiled an even grander grin as she chuckled. "Sorry about the hit by the way. I always like to see if Celes can anticipate my intentions. Regardless, I apologize if it hurt at all." This was all presuming that her original attack upon Kimiko, albeit held back, hit. She would look up at the, comparatively, giant woman. 

[Nakajima Kimiko]

As mentioned previously, Inner Worlds have always been a strange concept to Kimiko. Due to the uniqueness behind the concept of a Shinigami's Inner World, most of the authors and spiritual scholars which have wrote the many novels she has read throughout her time within the Academy tended to describe the Inner World as something which could not be explained through words, but rather solely through experience. In other words, they thought of it as a place so alien and so unusual that it could not even be physically described, for it was simply that unique to whoever owned this Inner World. It was as if the owner of the Inner World, in one way or another, was its own deity, and it was through that deity that it could be shaped and formed. Now that Kimiko stood within Celes' own Inner World to finally have her own say on the matter, she doubted that their opinion would have been swayed even if they would have somehow been introduced to Celes' technique in one way or another.

Everywhere she looked, everything she stood near and touched, everything that existed within this realm exhumed Celes' being in one way or another. The forest was warm and soothing, friendly even, with the leaves of the trees above shining a smile of light down onto the ground below, which directly referenced the woman that Kimiko has had the honor of referring to as her mentor over the last few years. Beyond it stood Celes' spirit of battle personified, a foundation of marble reminiscent of Ancient Greece, and a monument to her pride and accomplishments. As for the battlefield... Kimiko could only guess that it represented the woman's experience, the pain that she suffered, the pain that she inflicted... or perhaps something else entirely that she could not yet fathom. There were just so many details that could not have been constructed within the real world, so many things that Kimiko could not seen taken physically taken shape outside of it. She doubted that even her Captain's Bankai would have personified her as much as this.

Analyzing the area in such detail prevented Kimiko from replying to Celes right away. She was simply too taken aback by this experience, too impressed by the sheer concept presented to her. However, fortunately enough, she eventually took notice of her mentor's words. "I... T-Thank you, Celes..." she replied awkwardly with a hint of wonder still firmly present in her voice. It was clear that she was still trying understand the significance of this Inner World's existence, which made for quite the reaction from the once-student coupled with the fact that she was even allowed to see it in the first place. Although it certainly was a bit of an exaggeration for her to react like this, she preferred to imagine no one could blame her - not even Celes - for being so surprised and downright astonished by all of this. Well, at least it was better to think that way than to instead believe someone would mock her for it. Someone from the Eleventh probably would have done so by now.

The wonder was however interrupted once Kimiko heard Celes beckon her to follow her into the forest. Comically, this visibly broke through the rookie Shinigami's little bubble of astonishment as she blinked and looked back towards her mentor. "Eh...? Wait, who are we...?" She tried to ask as she fully turned towards the Captain, though by the time she tried to ask her second question, she received no answer by Celes' warning. By the time the warning was delivered, she was off rushing through the trees, causing Kimiko's eyes to widen. Yeah, okay, maybe that's enough wonder for now. Celes did tell her that the technique that allowed her to even enter this world was a bit finicky, so it is definitely possible that something may happen if she remains alone for too long, and that "something" is at the moment unknown perhaps even to her mentor herself. With that in mind, the rookie Shinigami gave one last look to the battlefield in an attempt to understand it further one last time, then turned and brought herself forward into the trees.

As to be expected, the amount of trees present within the forest made navigation a bit more complicated than usual. Although Kimiko first used 325 of her speed to quickly diminish the gap between their positions which had been created by the disciple's first pause, she eventually lowered her speed to match her mentor's so as to not accidentally run into a tree or trip over a branch. Traversing an area with so much flora was not something that she was accustomed to in the slightest seeing as she was instead more used to the plain courtyards and training grounds of Seireitei, so she had to admit that this was definitely different. Her inexperience with this kind of traversal showed in the fact that she preferred on the ground passing by the trees rather than moving onto the branches above. She was fast, sure, but she couldn't really describe herself as being acrobatic enough to do something like that without potentially making a fool of herself.

This trek lasted for a small while, at least a few minutes if Kimiko guessed correctly. It allowed her to enjoy the trees and the sensation that came with running underneath them. However, by the time she was starting to truly enjoy the feeling, they would suddenly open onto a field. The apparition of the field was surprising enough for the rookie Shinigami to stop a meters away from Celes via sliding onto the ground. "A clearing...?" She hummed quietly in curiosity as she looked around, thinking of the area as being a little odd. You would think that a forest that seems so endless from an outsider's point of view wouldn't suddenly open in such a way on a field like this, especially once that was mostly circular in nature. There were even rocks and flowers too. She wasn't quite sure of how forests work overall, but she was at least aware of how clearings in lush forests are typically the result of deforestation, something which didn't seem to happen here... which means...

Celes' call for Yunorashi brought Kimiko's thoughts to a a grinding halt as she hadn't expected the call to be this loud. Wincing a bit, she'd shake her head to shake away the loudness still ringing in her ears, then frown in confusion. "Yunorashi...? Isn't that the name of your Zan-?" She would first question before she was interrupted by the rustling of the nearby leaves. The noise immediately made her stop and start analyzing the area. If the noise would have been all that was she's noticed, she would have perhaps only thought of it as whatever kind of wind was produced in this Inner World, but the figure that she saw blitzing through the branches of the trees surrounding the clearing soon started to make her worry a little bit. What the hell was that? Was that Yunorashi? As in, the spirit that resides within Celes' sword of the same name? If so, what are they doing? Why are they doing this? Well, whatever this was about, it was enough to make her feel a bit worried.

Eventually, the movement through the trees ceased to instead be replaced by a solid burst of speed towards Celes. Kimiko was not capable of identifying the figure right away, only instead a blur that surrounded its being. It was so fast that she couldn't even perceive its movement appropriately. "W-What the hell-?" She let out before clenching her teeth as she believed the both of them to be under attack by the spirit, especially since Celes had to dodge the figure coming at her. Soon enough, right after the figure was unable to confirm a hit on Celes, it then darted for Kimiko. The sight of this hasty blur rushing right towards her was enough to jolt the rookie Shinigami into quickly kicking her feet back to gain some distance between herself and the figure as her hand neared the hilt of her blade. She still had no idea of what this was about, but she was not going to allow whatever this thing is supposed to be to hit her without a fight.

Well, not like her opinion mattered anyway, for despite her movement, Yunorashi was able to hit her. No, "hit" was an overstatement; rather, it simply tapped her leg. Although Kimiko did feel slight pain from it, the lack of force behind the attack was noticed almost immediately. She could only watch in confusion as the figure retreated towards the trees again with laughter in its wake. Is... Is that a kid? Her thoughts could only conjure then with a puzzled look. Eventually, she would get a definitive answer to her question once the figure would appear from the trees again to hit Celes directly who was unable to evade what seemed to be some sort of violent tackle or hug. Indeed, it was a child, or at least someone that looked young enough to appear as one. She was small, much smaller than her in comparison, and her build was lite. From the way she spoke, her personality seemed childish enough, but something about the way she spoke made Kimiko hesitate to completely refer to her as immature.

Before Kimiko could say anything or even go forward to help Celes up, the spirit had already approached her and started introducing herself to her. The words that came from her crashed down onto the poor officer like an violent avalanche, enough so to leave her comically standing there in pure confusion. This was starting to be quite the embarrassing adventure. "I, uh, hello...? Nice to meet you?" She tried pathetically to speak to the spirit, completely taken aback by the fact that she was literally talking to a sword ghost, yet definitely trying her best to not appear too awkward as she tried to reply to the child's shockingly-polite apology. "I-It's fine... It didn't hurt too much." Her eyes would analyze the spirit a bit further as she spoke. Two swords, a necklace... So spirits can wield themselves? Huh. After she spoke, the rookie Shinigami would tense down and look towards Celes with a shy smile. "Are you okay?"

[Celes Castellanos]

As Yunorashi stood before Kimiko, the Zanpakutou spirit could not help, but giggle at Kimiko's rather bubbly response. Was it just her being timid? Nervous? Just amazed at the prospect of being able to meet her? Yunorashi partly believed that it was a part of all of the above. "I, uh, hello...? Nice to meet you?" The spirit giggled a tad bit more as Kimiko expressed herself further. "I-It's fine... It didn't hurt too much." Being rather perceptive and hyperfixated, Yunorashi picked up easily on her hesitancy. "Y'know, you sound as if you've seen a ghost!" She chuckled at her own cheeky comment as she grinned. Meanwhile Celes was not surprised that Kimiko was taking this slowly. 

Her own attention fell upon Kimiko as the disciple decided to check on her. "Are you okay?" A smile formed on her lips as she chuckled. "Of course Kimiko. I've certainly taking rougher hits although.." Her attention drifted to Yunorashi as she smiled a little at her Zanpakutou spirit. "You likely could have knocked me through a few trees if you wanted to bump into me with full strength, Yunorashi." The Zanpakutou spirit grinned as she rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Of course I could have Celes. Though lets be honest. I likely would have scared off your star pupil here had I done that! I stand nothing to gain out of scaring her y'know. Silly Celes." 

Yunorashi would cross her arms as she pouted dramatically much like a child would. For as wise or grown up she was, the Zanpakutou spirit still could not escape her unusual appearance. Celes sighed as she rose to her feet and walked over. With one hand she would pat Yunorashi's head. The Zanpakutou spirit would blush for a moment as she pulled away and rubbed her hand over her hair. "Stopppp. Celes you are embarrassing me! In front of a guest no less! Celes chuckled as she leaned forward. "Stop being such a drama queen Yunorashi. It's not like you have to interact with her every day." The bickering between the two of them would likely seem almost comical.

It almost seemed like a continuous back and forth squabble as Celes acted very teasing while Yunorashi was flushed with embarrassment. Soon the two of them would stop as Celes placed her finger before her lips. "Now now. I didn't bring Kimiko here to watch us argue." Celes began treading towards a rock as she positioned herself to sit. Meanwhile Yunorashi would nod as she looked back at Kimiko. "So then. Congratulations on your graduation from the Academy. I remember Celes' days fondly." She giggled as she then scratched her head. "Actually...I think she had already been well established in the Eleventh Division when I manifested. Forgive me. Sixty years worth of time can be a lot to remember." 

The Zanpakutou spirit simply chuckled as she gave a nervous smile, once again a little embarrassed at her own silliness. Celes certainly couldn't help, but chuckle herself. This meeting had certainly not been what she expected. To see Yunorashi so bubbly and childlike herself. It was like a completely different person. The Shinigami could not help, but feel her heart warm. Plus there was no sign of the other soul within her Inner World. Good. Celes would find herself at a severe disadvantage if he did show up as she would feel obligated to protect Kimiko. Thankfully it did not seem that it would come to that. Celes' focus was then drawn away from her thoughts as Yunorashi piped up. 

"So then. What do we do now?" Yunorashi began to ponder on it as she mulled it over in her little head, thinking of all the different activities they could do. Suddenly a figurative lightbulb blinked. "Oh! I know. How about a game. Kimiko. Celes tells me that you are pretty good for only a few years of experience. We could play a game! Maybe like tag? Oh! Or a spar even! I've been eager to see what you are capable of myself. Not that I don't trust Celes' interactions with you, but this is the first opportunity I've ever had to meet someone besides Celes! After all the only other time I came out was when Celes wanted to learn how to use her Bankai." The Zanpakutou spirit seemed certainly eager about seeing what the disciple was capable of.

[Nakajima Kimiko]

There was not much more that Kimiko could say to Yunorashi in the moment that followed her rather-brief introduction to her. She could tell that the spirit was obviously amused by her reaction to her presence, and needless to say, the Shinigami would have preferred her to not comment about any of that. Being awkward during a conversation is one thing, but for someone to point out her awkwardness was another thing entirely. Another, obviously worse thing, of course. "What? No, I... don't..." she looked away from the spirit with an embarrassed expression on her face as she tried to deny her words. Unsurprisingly, it was an excessively-poor attempt to get rid of this emotional problem that probably only made things a little bit worse than they were before. Justifying why she was so awkward in front of the spirit could have made things go smoother, but in the Shinigami's mind, it would have been more embarrassing to do so for some reason.

She was at the very least able to change the subject relatively quickly by turning her attention towards Celes. As it turns out, she was just fine, which was a testament as to how powerful she was compared to the other officers that Kimiko has met thus far. "Alright then," she hummed with a smile her worry was swiftly pushed away. Still, even after having seen her do battle with that mighty Dummy Hollow, the Captain's sturdiness never failed to surprise her. Aside from Tsukuyomi whose strength was very notable, the rookie Shinigami could honestly not think of anyone who was as powerful as Celes aside from maybe the Captain-Commander themselves, a person which she has yet to meet and who she only considered to be stronger solely due to their rank more than anything else. At this point, if Yunorashi would have indeed sent a stronger hit to Celes, Kimiko found it doubtful that she would have ended up injured. She was just that strong.

As much as Yunorashi's insistence on not scaring Kimiko away bothered the rookie officer a tad bit, she couldn't help but feel warm at the sight of Celes interacting with her Zanpakuto spirit. It didn't take a genius to figure out that the two had a close relationship, a bond that has been refined over the course of many years. In hindsight, their bond was such that you could mistake the both of them for sisters or close family members. Was this how every Shinigami interacted with the spirit of their weapon? Was every officer this close to their weapon's spirit? It was hard to tell and confirm as she did hear a various amount of talk and complaints within the Eleventh Division's barracks about these spirits, but she hoped that the relationship she will construct with her blade will somewhat resemble this one. Considering that she believes herself to be very close to her blade, she feels that having a hateful spirit residing within it would be a detriment.

Before she could ponder about this matter any further, Yunorashi went on to congratulate her for her graduation. This made her blink in surprise as she hadn't expected the spirit to say something like that. Then again, perhaps she should have been expecting it: Celes did tell her that she had been wanting to speak to her for a long time. "Oh, thank you," she piped up with a smile. As much as she tried to appear as humble as possible in that instance, the pride visibly seeped in her person just a little bit. The brightness in her eyes, the smile itself, the raised eyebrows. It was just obvious. "Those final exams were difficult, but... I got good-enough grades from them to pass." Good-enough was obviously an understatement, as the only grades that could be considered "good-enough" were only the ones related to the theoretical exams, and that was because the poor girl's brain was practically shutting down during most of those exams due to exhaustion. The Captain - and perhaps even Yunorashi herself - was probably aware of how ridiculous the rookie Shinigami's grades were when it came to Zanjutsu and Hohō. Even her Hakuda grades were better than most. Sure, her Kidō grades were horrible beyond belief, but aside from those, she was an excellent student.

Her exploits of the Academy aside, Kimiko tried her damnedest not to comically overreact upon hearing that Yunorashi was sixty-years old. "It's alright, it does sound like a long time. I'd be forgetting things too by then," she said almost robotically, completely hiding the outrage underneath her calm smile. Sixty-years old?! How can someone so childish and seemingly-immature be sixty-years old? Although it is true that she has been more or less completely ignoring people's appearances when it came to their age and prowess ever since she arrived in Soul Society, hearing such things still at times surprises her any now and then, even if this one happens to be a Zanpakuto spirit who probably can't really physically age. What now? Will the next spiritual person she meets be a thousand-year old little dragon girl with pink hair who looks like she's physically five-years old? Add another element to the "What I miss from the Living World" list: age consistency.

The filling of imaginary lists aside, Yunorashi was somewhat raising a point here. Meeting one another was fun, but they now did not have much to do. So, now what? The question would cause the rookie Shinigami to look around in an attempt to find something interesting, though it was admittedly a bit difficult to come up with anything that was particularly noteworthy. Maybe they could continue this conversation through the forest? Maybe they could go back to the battlefield so that Kimiko can get a better picture as to why it is even there to begin with? Oh, maybe they could spar, see if they could get a good fight out of it? After all, she did seem strong enough to knock Celes down. Ultimately, it seemed that the little spirit had an idea which resonated closely to Kimiko's latter mental suggestion. Her awkwardness slightly faded away at the thought of sparring with Yunorashi to be instead replaced with the sort of excitement Celes would be very familiar with by now.

"I can't say I'm as strong as Celes... but I know my fair share of techniques," she said then as an eager flame burned bright in the both of eyes. Her posture seemed more relaxed and her smile a bit sharper. "I'd be down for a spar."

[Celes Castellanos]

As the two of them were discussing plans, Celes sat on the few rocks that dotted this little clearing. She was glad that Kimiko was getting exposure to all of this. This would likely help her to one day commune with her own Zanpakutou spirit. As Kimiko spoke of her exams in response to Yunorashi's congratulations, the Captain could not help, but chuckle a little. "Those final exams were difficult, but... I got good-enough grades from them to pass." Even Yunorashi joined with a giggle for a moment before she continued peering at Kimiko. Her voice rose a little as she looked up at the other Shinigami given the incredible differential in height. Sometimes Yunorashi cursed being this short.

"I'm sure they were difficult, but Celes and I had little doubts of your abilities. You carry yourself well despite being shrouded by modesty. You know how many times Celes has visited that Academy only to watch? Many times. You were one of the first students that she connected with. You understood her. And you her. It's why she took you under her wing. And now look at you. The star pupil of a Captain!" Celes was blushing a little as she cleared her throat nervously to try and derail that little conversation. Though it would segway perfectly once Yunorashi had informally challenged Kimiko to a little test of ability. The fire that burned within Kimiko was instantly noted by both of them. 

"I can't say I'm as strong as Celes... but I know my fair share of techniques. I'd be down for a spar." Yunorashi clapped her hands together excitedly. Her experience with sparring others was entirely restricted to Celes. While she resided in the blade that had clashed the fledgling's many times, it lacked the proper authenticity of a true spar. The Zanpakutou spirit turned to Celes eagerly as she began to ask the Captain a question. "What do you say Celes? Do you wish to join your disciple against me?" The Spirit's eyes flashed with an almost predatory gleam as she peered at Celes. If Kimiko paid attention, she would likely see Celes go pale. As if her own spirit had just gone cold.

For a moment Celes hesitated. "I..think I will pass for now Yunorashi. You do have fun with Kimiko. I may tag in at...some point.." Celes knew Yunorashi well. Sparring with Kimiko alone was one thing. Adding herself into the mix would likely make it more precarious for both of them. After all, the ferocity with which she would attack her partner with would likely be inflicted upon Kimiko as well if they were not careful. Yunorashi smirked for a moment. She may have appeared as a child, but she was a warrior. One who loved combat. Perhaps even more than Celes. Celes laughed a little nervously as Yunorashi turned back to peer at Kimiko with wide, child-like eyes.

"Well. I suppose it shall be just you and me. Perhaps I will have Celes tag in later to spread the fun!" She giggled a little wildly for a moment before returning to her original train of thought. "There are a few ways that we can go about this. We can leave it up to a standard sword fight? I could begin mixing in some other abilities. I could even use Shikai if you wanted to test yourself against that!" The Shinigami certainly chuckled at this since Yunorashi was seemingly becoming more and more eager. Though Celes wondered. Would she dare propose the fourth option? In this setting, Yunorashi was quite capable of using it after all. Wouldn't it be a little too much though?

Yunorashi would give Kimiko a little to decide the rules of the engagement. She was the guest after all. As such Yunorashi afforded her the honor of choice. Furthermore due to her being so close to Celes. Meanwhile Celes would be kicking her feet a little back and forth as she eagerly waited to see how this would pan out. Yunorashi was a reflection of Celes. Her attitude. Her abilities. All similar. Yunorashi was of course lightning quick though Kimiko was no slouch in speed either. The only thing that Celes knew Kimiko would definitely have in her favor is the potential for cutback. Celes had experienced cutback many times, but how would Yunorashi respond to it potentially. Only time would tell.

[Nakajima Kimiko]

A sort of quietness loomed around Kimiko as it seemed as though she was being showered in praise yet again. Just like she had expected of this all since the Zanpakuto spirit mentioned the Academy, she clearly shared the same opinion as her master in regards to the rookie Shinigami's abilities, which was enough to make the Shinigami in question to feel a bit lost in thought for a brief moment as the brightness of pride left her gaze. The once-student didn't feel bad about the praise; no, in fact, she was completely fine with it. Really, recognition of any form is something that she greatly appreciates despite her humility. It allows her to feel happier within this strange afterlife, enough so to make her forget the insanity of this new life of hers. What she was a bit more bothered by was the fact that such praise reminded her of the suddenness of her growth and how, in the matter of almost less than two years, she was able to gain the attention of a Captain, a Vice-Captain and several other officers who she was able to impress solely with her sword skills.

All of it was just abnormal. Well, at least it looked abnormal in her mind. Even in the Human world, it is not normal for someone to be introduced to something in particular, a totally new style that they have never even heard of before, and then master it to a supernatural degree in the matter of a few years. Sure, Kimiko was once a practitioner of Kendo and an avid fighting game player, but there is a stark difference between applying Living World logic and techniques to the Spiritual World. The body does not work the same way, the laws of physics do not work the same way, and logic does not work the same way too, for magic is allowed to exist... and yet, somehow, the rookie Shinigami was able to understand and power through all of those things with her supernatural growth. Was it because of Celes' training? Possibly, yes; after all, her influence on her daily life could not be denied by now. However, there seemed to be more at play than just Celes' touch here.

Well, the only thing that she could do now is just accept Yunorashi's praise and move on. Whatever can explain this growth must be somewhere in this Spiritual World, right? She'll find it eventually. "Yeah... Being a Captain's disciple is pretty cool," she as such acquiesced awkwardly before smiling softly. "It's still hard for me to take that in..." Something about the way Kimiko said that made her feel a bit embarrassed for some reason. Star pupil of a Captain... Like the spirit said, there was more to those words than a feeling of pride emanating from the recognition given by someone of such high authority. Beyond the position of Captain was, well, Celes herself, the one person that the rookie Shinigami could truly call her best friend in this afterlife. She was her mentor, that was true, but also someone that she could trust with her life, and so was she in the Celes' eyes as well. If it was not for her, who knows what would have happened at the Academy. Hell, perhaps she wouldn't have passed it and just gone back to Rukongai. She was just that important to her now, that important to her life in general.

The subject of sparring with the Zanpakuto spirit brought the swordswoman out of her opinionated thoughts. The idea of just fighting the child-like being was enough to slowly push away any negative or powerful emotions out of her system. As playful as she may be, Kimiko was aware of her strength, seeing as she did show how powerful she could be against Celes a moment ago. She was small, fast and her strength most likely resided in her physical capabilities rather than her spiritual abilities, which would allow for an interesting battle. She is probably going to lose this spar, all things considered, but she really did not mind at all. If she can learn something out of this, anything, then she'd have won, for training against outright superior beings - especially on her own when she can truly experience her own strengths and weaknesses in a duel - allows her to learn and improve her form. The more "matchup knowledge" she learns, as her Human self would say back in those arcades, the better.

"I wanna spar one-v-one before we go any further," Kimiko would say in a manner to specifically reassure Celes. "Standard sword fight first, then Shikai sounds good... I wanna see how far I can go." She did not want her to feel bad about not being included, even if she found it strange that she did not want to participate in this battle. It was unlike her master to react this way; usually, she would have been totally down to team up with her disciple. Then again... considering the fact that Yunorashi had practically knocked Celes down just earlier, the Captain could decide to fight very seriously against her. Friendly fire might be a problem, in that instance. Still, even if it was possible, they would need to tackle that problem eventually, right? It's doubtful that they will now find themselves fighting a common enemy one day; after all, there are a lot of powerful Hollows out there. Oh well, if she really does not want to participate now, then that's fine. She'll just have to hop in later.

The further they discussed the conditions of the spar, the more excited the swordswoman would become as her eyes gazed into Yunorashi's. Her breathing would grow slower and her spiritual energy would flare exponentially, a sign that she was preparing for battle. If it was not for the fact that her physical skills are inferior to the spirit's, she would have almost seemed overwhelming here. For all sense and purposes, the shy and awkward girl before was gone, replaced by the warrior that Yunorashi was used to fight against as a sword. Even for the people of the Eleventh Division, this change in demeanor was always a rather interesting one to observe. Of course, it wasn't that intense back in the day, but with all of the training she went through and the spars she's had with Celes, it was ironed out rather significantly. She couldn't look any more like a warrior now even if she purposefully tried to make herself look more intimidating.

Eventually, the conditions would truly be set in stone and the rookie Shinigami would be allowed to move onto a safer position to begin the spar. Thanks to the circumference of the area, Kimiko was easily able to think of it as a similar arena to the training grounds of her squad's barracks, allowing her to take a similar position than the one she's used to occupy back in the physical realm. Upon doing so, the warrior would then straighten herself, and what has pretty much become her classic introduction at this point would then be shouted out of her lungs. "I am Nakajima Kimiko, Unseated Officer of the Eleventh Division! Let's have a great fight, Yunorashi!" She declared loud and bold, enough so for her voice to resonate throughout the area. Shortly after, she slouched forward and grabbed hold of her scabbard with her left hand, and the handle of her blade with her right hand. One could almost feel the sheer excitement that emanated from Kimiko then, as though it was taking form in an aura of sheer eagerness and intensity.

She'd patiently await for the beginning of the spar with her eyes dead set onto the spirit's smaller frame, remaining there quietly. Her mind was focused now, dead set onto her target. The sound of the leaves rustling from the tree branches nearby was not too distracting, and Celes' presence did not bother her at all so far. In fact, she wanted her to see this, to see what she can do when faced against a different opponent. Eventually, the time would finally come for them to begin their spar, and once that time would come, she would then rush forward at maximum speed towards Yunorashi. Her speed was such that the grass below her feet flew around her as she reached for the spirit. Once she'd be close enough, she'd unsheathe her blade and attempt to directly strike the being with an horizontal slash to the chest.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats & Skills}

Statistics

Physical	Spiritual		Sensory	Miscellaneous
Strength: 87 (115-28) Speed: 378 (280+98)	Reiatsu Strength: 30 (40-10) Spiritual Pressure: 405 (300+105)		Instincts: 190 Senses: 150 Energy Sensory: 25	Light Aura: 60 Dark Aura: 40 Healing Expertise: 0

Skills

Mental	Battle		Body	Utility
Analyzing: 2 Strength of Will: 2 Learning: 1	Iaijutsu: 2 Martial Art - Hohō: 2 Battle Analysis: 2 Martial Art - Hakuda: 1 Battle Focus: 1		N/A	N/A

[Celes Castellanos]

"Standard sword fight first, then Shikai sounds good... I wanna see how far I can go." This was all the Zanpakutou spirit needed to hear. Her expression would soon house a large grin as she seemed to squeal happily. This would be heightened once the Kimiko began flaring her spiritual pressure. Yunorashi raised an eyebrow as she mused to herself. was this purposeful? A part of her battle stategy? Or was it simply for elegance? For flare. Whatever it was Yunorashi would not complain. There were a myriad of ways for warriors to prepare themselves for battle. This would likely be Kimiko's. Yunorashi could not help, but smile a little. 

One thing was for sure. The pressure she was feeling. It was far greater than Celes' or even her own. Her eyes darted over to Celes just in time to notice the look of pride on the Shinigami's expression. The strength of her spirit seemed difficult to overcome. If the spirit did not have Celes' understanding of her student to fall back on then Yunorashi would likely feel evenly matched. This, however, would not be the case. The traits that Yunorashi possessed. Her domineering strength, incredible speed, keen battle instincts she built together with Celes. Naturally she would use all of these traits in the coming battle. One of the traits that Yunorashi certainly inherited from the Shinigami is desire to see others improve.

The shift in her opponent would be clear. A distinct alteration in Kimiko's mindset. Yunorashi smirked as she decided to draw her Zanpakutou. Sliding one of the twin blades from their sheath, it looked practically identical to Celes' own blades. After all, she was the spirit that inhabited these blades. To add a little flair herself, Yunorashi allowed her spiritual pressure to flow from her. It would not be nearly as potent as Kimiko's, but it was more a display of respect. Both Yunorashi and Celes would chuckle softly as they heard Kimiko. "I am Nakajima Kimiko, Unseated Officer of the Eleventh Division! Let's have a great fight, Yunorashi!" Yunorashi would continue peering at her opponent. 

Celes' mind began to wander as this certainly took her back. She knew well how her disciple regarded others in combat. This is how she was once regarded by Kimiko when they first met. Of course at the time Kimiko addressed herself as a student. Now she had come so far. An Unseated Officer of the Eleventh Division. As Celes thought about it more it slowly became amusing. After all, they had practically been promoted around the same time. Kimiko to an unseated officer and Celes to Captaincy of the Tenth Division. Now here they were. Within her Inner World with Kimiko about to face off against Yunorashi. The Captain bit her lip in anticipation. 

Suddenly Kimiko would make the first move. Yunorashi and Celes both watched in anticipation as the disciple moved towards the Spirit. Yunorashi could already commend Kimiko if she was not so focused on her movements. After all, Kimiko likely already had an agility that was unnatural among her peers. Furthermore was her Spiritual Pressure. It was quite potent not that Celes or Yunorashi had a potent spiritual ability Her agility carried her to Yunorashi quickly although to both Celes and the Spirit she moved at a far slower speed than what she was accustomed to. Yunorashi smiled as she simple brought her blade to her side as Kimiko's blade would presumably continue with a cut at her chest.   

Yunorashi's movements would be occur at a speed of 500. They would still be noticeable to Kimiko albeit likely much faster than she was used to. This would give Yunorashi almost no difficulty parrying her strike if Kimiko continued with the horizontal strike. If this was the case, Yunorashi would smile as their blades collided, her Zanpakutou unmoving due to her supreme strength. In an effort to throw out an attack of her own, she leapt into the air with a twist. Her foot would come out with a strength of about 400 at her opponent. If it collided it would certainly hurt more than the original tap when they first met. It would likely also knock Kimiko back a little. If it did connect, Yunorashi would not be without damage either, however. Cutback was a cruel opponent as if her hit was successful, Yunorashi would feel bruising manifest on her leg albeit very light bruising. She would land with catlike agility as she winced for a moment. She would chuckle as she would speak out towards Kimiko. "Well I am Yunorashi. I have no title to honor you with. May we find honor in glorious battle instead."

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats & Skills}Strength- 400 x 2.5 = 1000
Speed - 250 x 2.5 = 625
Spiritual Pressure - 400 x 0.5 = 200
Reiatsu Strength - 50 x 0.5 = 25
Light Aura- 50
Dark Aura - 50
Instinct - 200
Senses - 100
Energy Sensory - 0
Healing Expertise - 0

Total SP: [1400]
Pain Tolerance: 2
Martial Arts: Baguazang: 2
Martial Arts: Hakuda: 3
Battle Analysis: 2
Lack of Fear: 2
Weapons: Spear & Shield: 3
Weapons: Katana: 3

[Nakajima Kimiko]

Yunorashi. Wielder of two blades. Zanpakuto spirit. Although her proportions definitely differed from Celes', it was unsurprising that Kimiko could see the sheer amount of similarities between the both of them. They both shared the same swords and thus most likely the same abilities that come with them, such as the heightened speed and agility dual weaponry tend to allow for. It was doubtful that the spirit fought exactly the same way as the Captain, but it was also just as doubtful that they did not have similar quirks that the rookie Shinigami would be unable to recognize. After all, even if they are technically two different people, Yunorashi is a part of Celes and, therefore, it is reasonable to assume that they share a few personality traits. What those traits may be are currently unknown to Kimiko for now; however, over the course of this battle, she will most likely be capable of figuring them out one by one. At the very least, what was clear about the child so far was that she was just as eager for this spar as Kimiko was. Eagerness leads to excitement, and excitement often tends to make someone take fighting seriously. Taking a fight seriously is good, but that does not quite mean anything; in fact, if that was all a warrior needed to know in order to understand everything about a person's fighting style, it would make for very brief battles. As such, Kimiko took a moment to assert the situation a bit further.

Since she seems to be quite the playful individual in hindsight, it is possible that the spirit may use a few tricks here and there like back when she first introduced herself. She is agile - as proven by her introduction from earlier - and most likely shares Celes' resourcefulness, so she may be able to adapt quickly to whatever Kimiko may throw at her, especially if they transcend the boundaries of this makeshift arena and continue their spar in the forest. For now, however, the amount of things Yunorashi can use in order to make herself more dangerous aside from the obvious use of Shikai is a bit scarce so long as they remain in the clearing. The use of grass and small rocks lying about as throwing material is potentially something that the Shinigami would need to worry about during the fight, though it is fair to assume for now that she isn't enough of a trickster to rely on such crude tools. If anything, she may use the larger rocks to get a sort of higher ground advantage, but that was it.

Before long, the scarlet-eyed rookie's initial analysis would end and she would prepare herself for combat. Initial analysis of the enemy and the environment is only good if one does not spend too much time pondering about it, for there is still a lot of information to be confirmed. A good M. Buffalo player can appear underwhelming whenever one watches them go at it against another player, yet if one plays well against them in a proper match, they can instead appear become incredibly overwhelming in an instant. The same could perhaps happen here with Yunorashi. Still, so long as she remains true to the path she has decided to follow as a warrior, Kimiko believes she has a chance to beat the spirit. If she can slowly start rivaling Celes in combat, surely, she can most likely rival the ghost in her sword, right? Or the soul... or the... apparition... or is it simply a manifestation? Whatever a Zanpakuto spirit is, really. She should probably read about them again before she somehow offends her own blade's spirit by accident.

The spar began a moment after both her analysis and her introduction concluded. In a flash, the rookie Shinigami had rushed towards the spirit with amazing speeds before delivering a swift horizontal strike in the direction of her chest. It was done quickly and efficiently, the signature of Kimiko's fighting style, though it unfortunately proved unsuccessful as it was blocked by the spirit's sword. Well, "unsuccessful" was perhaps a strong word here. Yes, she did block it, but for someone like Kimiko who wanted to know about her opponent a bit better, this was good, if not great news. It meant that she was indeed just as fast as Celes after all, and also just as strong, for her blade could not move at all against hers. Therefore, the "most likely" she associated to the similarity of their physical abilities had now turned into a "certainly". This new information made the Shinigami grin back in excitement at Yunorashi. Another worthy opponent for her to fight, another way for her to get good fights!

Sparks flashed against their blades as Kimiko remained still for a moment, trying to see what the spirit would do next as one question danced in her thoughts: what was she going to do? Since they were both locked in a struggle that was admittedly one-sided, her options were limited due to the lack of range offered to the both of them. She was an acrobatic little girl, so she would most likely do something that would use her size to her advantage. Jumping seems like the most reasonable thing for her to do here; after all, it is something many opponents Kimiko fought in arcades tended to do as well when stuck like this against an opponent. With that in mind, the Shinigami tried to anticipate an incoming jump by maintaining her focused gaze onto her opponent.

As expected, a jump did come out. It wasn't quite a normal jump per say, but rather a sort of twisting kick that did not look very threatening in hindsight to Yunorashi's frame. The reach of this attack seemed small enough to Kimiko too. However, despite those two pieces of information, something about it caused her brain to scream at her to move immediately. She could sense the strength from it as though it was a kick coming directly from Celes herself. As such, the very moment the Shinigami saw the kick coming, she would immediately return her blade to its scabbard and crouch low in order to dodge the incoming kick. As the sheer momentum of Yunorashi's leg passed right above her head, she would wince as she felt the wind that followed the kick blow against her face, though she would nevertheless try her best to focus not on that, but rather a counter-attacking maneuver. This was the perfect time to use it, the perfect time to deliver this technique she has been practicing for a while.

"Then honor we shall find!" The rookie Shinigami cried in response to Yunorashi's late introduction before she then delivered a strike that was much faster than the one she just previously delivered. It was sent at a ridiculous speed of 810 directed right towards the spirit's back as she finished her kick, a speed which roughly equaled double her maximum speed. From Celes' point of view, it really only looked like a typical Iaijutsu strike, though it was delivered with such speed that it transcended the disciple's usual strikes. It was was prepared for the right occasion and executed beautifully. This was the culmination of training a singular move for more than two years now, the result of Kimiko's drive to achieve greatness as a Shinigami, and yet it still possessed much more potential. Even a distant voice in the back of Kimiko's mind, a mutter that she did not catch in the moment, could be heard commending the rookie for her prowess.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Technique Used (Reiatsu: 4050/4050)}
Technique Name: Iaijutsu (居合術, Sudden Strike Technique)

Class: 4

Technique Type: General Physical Technique

Technique Element: None

Usable by: Any

Technique Description and Effects

The user of this technique draws their sword and strikes with one fluid, lightning-fast motion. This technique can easily catch an unprepared opponent off-guard. This attack is made at 2x the user's Speed, or at a speed of 600 (whichever is faster). Due to the sudden nature of this attack, characters with less than 200 Instinct are caught completely flat-footed and unable to react to this attack, unless they meet one of the alternative requirements (see drawbacks below).

Except where noted, this is otherwise an ordinary melee strike and has no reiatsu cost. Proficiency with this technique allows the user to immediately sheathe their weapon after making their attack.

Mastery of this technique allows for it to be combined with Shunpo to draw, strike, and sheathe the weapon in the blink of an eye. This variant costs 50 reiatsu to perform, and gains the benefits of a 3x Speed Boost (instead of the usual 2x). This variant is imperceptible to characters with less than 200 Senses. Characters with 200+ Senses detect a blur of movement from the user but may not be able to react to the attack unless they have 200+ Instinct and/or one of the benefits listed in drawbacks below.

How to use technique

Simply draw your weapon and strike in a single fluid motion.

Drawback

This technique rarely works more than once per thread, as any opponent who witnesses this technique being used can react to it normally (regardless of Instinct). Even against aware opponents, this attack retains its speed however and should not be underestimated.

In addition, characters who know this technique or have Battle Analysis of 2 (or above) can easily identify the ready stances used in this technique and predict the user's intent. Such characters are never caught off-guard by this attack but will still need to react to its incredible speed.

This technique can only be used with a sheathed sword. In order to use this technique more than once during a single thread, the user must sheathe their weapon prior to using this technique again. This technique requires 2 SkP in Weapons (Sword) in order to be used, and 3 SkP to be mastered.

Made by: Kerrigan

Reserved? : No

[Celes Castellanos]

As Yunorashi leapt into the air, prepared to deal a vicious blow to Kimiko even if it was held back, Celes leaned forward with anticipation. Her and Yunorashi were twin souls. Alike in many ways. Among these similarities was their fighting style. Despite being a master of arms, Yunorashi was far more advanced than Celes. While Celes made her Zanpakutou a part of herself, no amount of training could compare to Yunorashi's inherent understanding of their fighting style. Despite this lack of true mastery, Celes could predict what Yunorashi was about to execute. If it hit, it would be devastating. Even Celes had trouble determining whether the Zanpakutou spirit was holding back. 

Once the strike was unleashed, Celes half expected Kimiko to suffer here and now. It would be to her surprise that Kimiko forced herself to dodge rather than take the strike head-on. It would be an excellent display of agility. Even the sheathing of Kimiko's blade was stellar. She continued watching. Eager to see where this would lead. That's when her stance appeared familiar. To both the Shinigami and Yunorashi. Both their eyes narrowed as they quickly recognized Kimiko's stance. The Captain continued to watch eagerly, pleased to see its effectiveness for both Yunorashi and her knew Kimiko's expertise with the quick-draw style of the blade. 

As Yunorashi was suspended in mid-air by her own action, she would look down at Kimiko as she heard the disciple bellow. "Then honor we shall find!" If Kimiko paid attention she would likely see a smirk forming on Yunorashi's lips before the Iaijutsu strike was executed. Yunorashi had already decided what to do as a trait commonly displayed by Celes would begin to shine. She firmly believed in rewarding Kimiko. She would quickly flex her entire body. This tension would normally allow her to be unarmed by Kimiko's blade, but this is where her reward came into play. As Kimiko's blade came into contact with Yunorashi it would cut her. Though something would seem off likely. 

As it was swung at an impressive speed, the blade would make merely a shallow cut rather than the deep one wound that would normally be caused by a slash of this caliber. As Yunorashi bit her lip to suppress the sensation of pain, she would land on her feet and leap backward to create a dozen or so feet of distance. Meanwhile Celes leapt up from the rock she was sitting upon. Her voice would radiate throughout the clearing as she cheered. "Excellent Kimiko! That's exactly right!" She would laugh for a moment before composing herself. She would then return to sitting upon the rock, ever the stoic warrior. The Shinigami could hear a little chuckle come from Yunorashi.

The Zanpakutou spirit would look down upon her wound. The small drops of blood that seeped from the wound, falling upon the grass beneath her, staining it with blotches of red. Most would likely be shocked. Yunorashi, however, began to laugh. The laugh would soon become a bellow of joy as she beat her free hand against her chest. Yunorashi would act almost like a barbarian. Invigorated by her wounds. A reminder of the blood of a warrior. "Yes Kimiko. You are a fine warrior. Worthy of your title. It seems that we can have more fun!" She giggled wildly as she hopped up and down for a moment, peering at Kimiko. It was time to step it up.

Yunorashi's next maneuver would likely be unfamiliar to Kimiko. The Spirit would likely disappear from sight as her child-like form moved to try and appear before Kimiko at a speed of 1875. This supernatural movement would likely be easily mistaken for Hoho. This, however, was a feat of Hakuda. Shukuchi-Ho. As a master of the technique, Yunorashi could use to likely move into Kimiko's personal space with ease without much of a noise. If she was successful, Yunorashi would for a moment be face to face with Kimiko. Her free hand already in position with the use of Shukuchi-Ho. The Spirit would simply flick her finger with a nearly dominating strength of 800. 

It was this flick that would not come into contact with Kimiko. Instead it would create a powerful shockwave that would ripple forward, threatening to encompass Kimiko. The shockwave was not intended to severely harm Kimiko. Instead, if it collided at almost point-blank range, it would likely launch Kimiko backward at an impressive speed. Even Celes would be impressed by the display of Yunorashi though partly concerned for her disciple. The use of a shockwave at this close range would still be quite the experience for Kimiko if it collided with her. Celes stood, prepared to intervene if she needed to, but she knew better than to step in now.

Meanwhile if her plan worked, Yunorashi would giggle wildly as she would jump for joy. Her voice would resonate throughout the open clearing. "I'm sure Celes has shown you shockwaves before, hasn't she, Kimiko? Quite the nifty tool produced by fighters of great physical strength." The Zanpakutou Spirit wouldn't make another move on the disciple. After all if she took a shockwave at point-blank range, she would likely need time to recover. Hell, even Celes would likely need a moment to take a breather. She would only smile as her free hand would come over the hilt of her twin blade. With eagerness and strangely a tiny degree of malice, Yunorashi released the blade from her sheath. Her eagerness for battle would translate into a foreboding aura which would likely be felt by both Kimiko and Celes. The Spirit was getting more and more into the fight.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Shukuchi-Ho}Technique Name: Shukuchi-Ho (Reduced Earth Steps)

Class: 3

Technique Type: Hakuda

Technique Element: None.

Description: The user makes use of his innate speed to move flawlessly. From a standing stance, or from any resting position, the first step that the user does becomes an illusion, moving quickly than the eye can see. This technique gives the user a short burst of speed to move and invade an opponent's personal space, and engage in hand to hand combat, or to weave in and out of an opponent's attack. This move triples normal speed for each step, and uses no reiatsu.

How to use: The user simply channels reiatsu around his feet instead of gathering spirit particles as what Shunpo or Sonido does.

Drawback(s): Shukuchi-Ho requires its user to have at least a base SPEED of 400 points, and is versed in Hakuda (meaning the character must be very knowledgeable in the shinigami art of hand-to-hand fighting). Also, the technique can only be used if the opponent is within 10 meters of the user. If the opponent is too far, the technique cannot be used. A maximum of 2 steps per post can only be done using Shukuchi-Ho, nothing more, nothing less. Note that Shukuchi-Ho is by no means superior to Shunpo or Sonido.

Made By: Kousaru Mugenryu

Reserved: [Captains and Zero Division Shinigami Only]