A Love Like War [Solo Training]

[Camila Adaronde]

Throwing her hands behind her head with bags hanging from her elbows, and simply taking in the afternoon sun, Camila found herself gently humming a soft tune as time went on. It wasn't often that she had the opportunity to simply exist on her own, given Albin had taken the opportunity to stay back at the house for the time being. Today was a rather interesting day, all things considered. It had been her turn to head into town in order to get some shopping done.

Thankfully, most of it was relatively easy. Albin didn't need to eat all that much given he could simply just take in reishi from the area, and Cami only ate because she enjoyed to eat. Sylvanas was the worry-point there in regard to food, so with only one person actively increasing the food bill? Things got pretty easy to maintain with a less-than-wealthy income.

As she made her way home, continuing to whistle that familiar tune, she eventually swung the door open, and set down the groceries on the countertop. "Al, I'm home," she called out, quickly changing out of her heavy jacket. The winters still found themselves to be a bit cold all things considered, so it wasn't exactly something that she wanted to deal with if she could avoid it. Keeping her tank top and shorts as they were however, she took a moment to wander around the apartment.

After a few precursory glances, it seemed that Albin wasn't really anywhere to be found. While certainly catching the girl off-guard, it wasn't anything she was relatively surprised about. After all, there was a lot she still had to re-figure out regarding the hollow spirit, and there was enough that was going to take some time for her to readjust to. Years spent down in Hell certainly took a toll on her psyche and memory in that regard. Shrugging it off, she eventually made her way into their room.

While she did, Camila immediately noticed something rather... odd. Her Zanpakutō had rested plainly on her bed, unsheathed. Someone had been messing with the weapon but why? She couldn't particularly tell. Though, one thing stuck out. The blade had been glowing an uncharacteristic crimson. It was almost like someone had taken the opportunity to tap into it. Just what had been going on with that? Reaching her hand out, Camila took the opportunity to touch the weapon, before her vision immediately went black.

[Camila Adaronde]

When she came to, Camila found herself in what would've been a rather elegant place; one she'd grown very accustomed to over the years. Given her lack of ability to perform Jinzen or anything of the like, the times where she found herself in her Inner World were certainly few and far between. More often than not, she'd been dragged in here by Albin through rather ambiguous and relatively concerning means; this was certainly no exception to that rule.

Though, one thing struck her as off. As she got a closer look to the room around her, everything seemed almost... dilapidated. The ballroom that she stood in had been almost wearing down. Looking around, she managed to find the same "crater" that she'd left the last time she was here; when she achieved Bankai. She couldn't help but smile. "Certainly brings back memories," she called out into the room, "ain't that right, Albin?" Standing up from her place on the ground, Camila found herself intricately familiar with the same dress she'd always worn while here. A rather regal number, though not the most well-suited for a fight.

After she was fully stood-up, Camila found herself immediately rushing to the defensive after a blade whirred past her head, not inches away from taking her life if she hadn't been careful. As the blade struck a wall and quickly melted into the blood that made it up, she turned around to face her assailant. And, to nobody's surprise, there stood Albin, clad in the same suit that he'd always worn in their inner world, holding an array of knives forged from the same liquid crimson that nearly took the vizard's life once more.

"The fuck do you think you're doing!?" she stared, squinting her eyes toward the hollow, "did you bring me back just to fucking kill me or something!?" With a chuckle, Albin maintained a rather concerning grin. "Something like that," he spoke, drawing ever closer, "your third death won't be so soon, however; rest assured. Until you're fully-ready for me to take over completely, I've one last thing I'd like to teach you." Raising an eyebrow, Camila spoke up.

"Why the fuck're you trying to teach me something if you're just going to try to wrestle for power anyway? Isn't there a better way to spend your time?" With a sigh, Albin stopped his movements. "You just don't get it, do you?" He asked. "The reason you're back is to suit my needs. You're alive again so I can fulfill my own goals, utilizing the power that you provide me. As much as I don't like to admit it, we're stronger together. That'd be why I'm not quite done with you yet; no, quite the opposite. You're going to be what gets me my revenge."

Camila raised an eyebrow. "Your... revenge? The fuck are you on about?" Crossing her arms, she simply awaited a response from the hollow. "Do you really think I've been dormant all these years? While you've been slaving away down in Hell? I've been up to quite a bit; most notably, I spent those years within the Gotei 13." Camila watched on in shock. He did what?? "What? How the hell does that make any sense? You mean to tell me that nobody picked up on just what the fuck you are?"

Another laugh sounded from the hollow. "Not only that, but I've made a few friends along the way. Some good, some great. One of those friends in particular, however, I plan on avenging. And I'm going to use your power to do so, Camila." Taking a breath, Albin began to surge reiatsu; his own spiritual prowess quickly began to encapsulate the area. "Before I do that, however, you're going to learn how Soulbind works."

[Camila Adaronde]

"Soulbind?" she asked quizzically, leaving Albin to nod his head. "Yes, Soulbind. It's a trick I picked up while back in Gotei. By bringing your Zanpakutō Spirit into physical form - subjugating them as you see fit - you can bind their capabilities to your physical form. Think of it as a sort of... Shikai lite, if you would." As the weapons he created dissolved into nothing, Albin crossed his arms.

"I'm currently in that state as we speak. And, seeing as Miss Gouge de Sang is no longer with us, it shouldn't be something that comes all too hard for you." 'Miss' Gouge de Sang? That was the first bit of real insight that Camila had gotten on her real Zanpakutō spirit. She'd always assumed that Albin just consumed her years ago, but that all but confirmed it at this point. She'd had one at one point. Just the thought of his interference made her livid. Livid enough that she was going to deal with whatever she needed to in order to put this man in the ground.

"Let me know what the fuck I've gotta do in order to pull this off," she said, very clearly upset by what was going on, "and I'll pick it up just as fast as I got Bankai from you. I'm sick and fucking tired of your meddling around in this, Albin; I promise you that soon enough, you'll fucking pay for all of this." Albin couldn't help but laugh at her comments. "You'll get your chance, Camila," he smiled, "sooner that you'd think, I promise you that. Regardless; it's time you learned."

Closing the distance between the two with a single stepping technique, Albin placed himself right in front of the girl with relative ease. Startled quite a bit, Cami took a few steps back. "Firstly," he spoke, his arms remaining crossed, "run reiatsu through your Zanpakutō; violently. The goal here is to ignite the weapon." She looked back toward the hollow, rather quizzically. "Wh.. what?" She asked.

If nothing else, there really wasn't anything she had to lose, here. Taking a deep breath, and releasing her full spiritual prowess on the weapon, Camila allowed her reiatsu to charge through the sword, causing an almost immediate explosion within the weapon. Before long, it caught fire in a beautiful, cerulean flame, before burning away almost completely. She'd achieved the state of Soulbind.

"Excellent," Albin spoke, smiling, "you've got the hang of it. Now... let's see if you can handle what it's capable of doing to your body." Raising an eyebrow, Camila found herself not quite sure what he'd meant by that. At least, that was before she'd felt it. Almost as though a living, breathing individual found themselves underneath the girl's skin, she'd felt something trying to burst from her. And lord, was it agonizing. Letting out a scream as she almost doubled over, Camila did everything in her power in order to try to keep herself somewhat calm; somewhat okay.

It didn't work.

Within a few mere moments after the fact, explosions of the girl's own blood began to fly from her body, sharpening like needles as they flew across the room and lodged in the walls. A large pool quickly began to take hold beneath her feet. Within a few moments, the screaming, now-crying girl had quickly become a pin-cushion in her own crimson prison. With little idea on how to control it, she allowed her spiritual pressure to tame itself in the meantime, and the solidified liquid quickly splashed to the ground around her.

[Camila Adaronde]

Taking a deep breath, and forcing herself to her feet in the process, Camila focused herself. She knew full well that this was something that she'd need to learn; to master. It would've been invariably useful in her arsenal. Starting off small, the girl flared her reiatsu around her hand, resulting in a jet of blood to fly from her palm. Hardening once it reached a near-apex of height, the liquid in her hand formed into that of a sharpened spike; close to those black rods from that one popular anime.

"What on earth..?" She forced out in her weakened state, simply enamored by what was going on. "Welcome to your Soulbind, Camila," Albin spoke, "yours serves as a mastery over oneself. An example of peak physical condition, in a sense. Alongside this, you've become quite a bit more durable; enjoy it while you've the opportunity to fully make use of it. It's not something you'll need in every encounter, but it'll help a good deal."

Nodding her head, the girl quickly began to feel light-headed. It had to have been all of the blood-loss that she was dealing with. She'd get to perfecting this technique at a later date. "Gods," she spoke, her consciousness slowly beginning to fade, "It's not often that I feel this tired..."

[Zeich Yajuu]

22 Paragraphs = 110 TTP. Make sure you spend the appropriate amount for your Soulbind, and the rest is free for you to use as you like.