A silent teacher [JT | Yui]

[Deleted]

It was almost ironic. Due to Caballero's efforts to patrol around Karakura Town, the number of Hollows that prowled the streets at night had decreased by a lot... and yet the remaining part was still far too large to deal with just by themselves. This particular human settlement had something that inequivocally and irrevocably drew their masked kin towards it; a spiritual hub full of nutritious beings for a Hollow to consume, be it Pluses, Shinigami, Fullbringers and all other sorts of powerful beings. Not only that, but while the nights had become safer, Caballero's actions had forced some Strays and the occasional Menos to consider moving their hunting schedule to the middle of the day, regardless of whether they could be spotted with ease or not. This meant that while it was less dangerous at night, it was becoming more dangerous by day.

The Adjuchas had thus redoubled their efforts and constantly moved around the city via air ground, running at a leisurely pace of 200 that they could easily hold without getting too winded. From the non-existent perch above, the tiny Adjuchas was difficult to spot given their reduced size, but they themselves kept close watch on the streets below to ensure that both humans and Pluses would not be under threat of a Hollow attack. Today had been a particularly good day in that regard. Caballero had had no need to descend and save anyone. There were absolutely no-

Oh, crap. Just as they were thinking that, Caballero spotted a group of four Hollows trying to slip by unnoticed. Just by their looks, it was clear these would not be the regular Strays that Hueco Mundo. Their differing appearances, however, also meant that they were not Gillian, which only meant one thing. Adjuchas. It was strange seeing so many of them banded together, as they tended to control lesser Hollows, but perhaps these had formed a pack to easily consume others and continue their evolution. The route that the monsters led Caballero's gaze to an area of the city that seemed familiar; it took them a few seconds to figure out why.

They were dangerously close to Regina.

Now, Caballero knew very well that Ailene, the owner of the teashop, as well as Melusine, could probably handle the four creatures without issue. However, they simply might not be there at the time, and some other bystanders could get hurt by them. As much as there may have been other lines of defense, the tiny Adjuchas would never allow those monsters to run rampant without at least making an effort to slay the creatures. Should Melusine jump in right after and complain to them that this was her hunt and her battle, then yeah, they would probably argue--since Caballero did not appreciate loud noises, Melusine's tendency to... yell, let's say, didn't exactly make them look forward to meeting her again--, but alas, they'd have to take that risk. In case that they were not there, Caballero would ensure that the Regina would be kept safe. Ailene had been the one to teach them how to read and write, giving them a way to finally communicate with all their friends. For that, Caballero would be eternally grateful, so it was only natural that they would return the favor as best as they could.

Without sparing another second, the tiny Adjuchas began their descent via air ground, making just the tiniest effort to conceal their spiritual pressure. They didn't want the four beasts to scatter; they wanted them to grow confident due to their numbers so they would not run away. Unfortunately for them, they fell for the stratagem hook, line and sinker. By the time they were reaching the ground, the monsters were already trying to attack.

Caballero summoned their usual weapon, their 'Zanpakuto', if you will: Filo. A thin blade that was as long as about 80% of their height, it was as pitch black as the body hidden underneath the battered rags that Caballero had adopted as clothing all the way back on their first days as a Hollow. The blade, however, had gained an engraving of sorts after Ailene's lessons on reading and writing. The symbols etched along the flat of the blade were undeniably human letters, and were a glowing white in contrast to the rest of the weapon. It read 'Destruir Huecos'--destroy Hollows. And that was precisely what Caballero was going to do. However, in order to not let any of them escape, they would need to kill them four in one opportunity: they had to draw them closer.

As such, the tiny knight didn't go on the offensive at first. No, with Filo, they dedicated themselves to block, parry, dodge and counter the multiple attacks coming from the monsters. Not only was Caballero faster than all four Adjuchas; they also had plenty more experience. The more they grew and the more they fought, the more Caballero's sword style developed. There were currently no Pluses who could watch, but were anyone to arrive to the scene, they would see a small swordsman gracefully moving around the enemy's attacks, always keeping their stance with fluid motions that made them look almost as if they were dancing. The way they split Filo in two and reforged it on some of their movements only cemented this further.

Sure, they still had a long way to go before they could call themselves a master like Kimiko, but it was undeniable that this creature was quite the expert with a blade. Slowly, but surely, Caballero continued to redirect the Hollows' movements using only Filo, trying to get the perfect angle so that they could kill them all in one quick advance. Those beasts were keeping up well for the time being, but they would grow impatient soon enough due to their rampant hunger.

It was just a matter of waiting.

OOC:
Reiatsu: 4000 - 150[Class 5 Filo] = 3850

SPOILER: Click to show

{Filo}Technique Name: Filo [Edge]

Technique Class: 7-1, maximum class is equal to Caballero's, but they can use it at lower classes at will. Paid up to class 5.

Technique Type: Hollow [Custom]

Technique Cost: 50 +50 per class above 7

Description: This technique is affected by Focalizar. A realization of Caballero's intention to become a Shinigami. Caballero uses part of the Reiatsu that forms their body to create a long, sword-like spiritual weapon (85% of their height, so about 2.5ft as a Hollow, massive as a Gillian, 5.1ft as Vasto Lorde...). Since Caballero's 'body' is nothing but their condensed black Reiatsu given form, Filo uses Reiatsu Strength as its offensive stat when cutting something or clashing against other techniques.Caballero's ability using Filo can be upgraded and refined via their Saber Filo skill. Filo can be split into two separate swords and recombined at will, but nothing else besides those two forms. It can't stretch, it can't change shapes, it can't curve, nothing.

Enhanced effect after Focalizar: the created Filo gains the 50% OS Clash property as if they were a "Focus" technique.

Drawbacks: Filo cannot be reassimilated to refresh Caballero's Reiatsu. Cannot be used without at least one skill point in Saber Filo.

Stats and skills

Stat	SP	Type
Strength	75	45
Speed	400	400
Reiatsu Strength	400	700
Spiritual Pressure	400	400
Senses	100	100
Instinct	125	125
Energy Sensory	0	0
Healing Expertise	0	0
Light Aura	100
Dark Aura	0

• Saber Filo: 2
• Strength of Will: 2
• Learning: 1
• Lack of fear: 1
• Battle Focus: 1

Saber Filo [Edge Lore]: Being created from their very being, Caballero has an affinity toward Filo that they just can't achieve for any other weapons, and they have incorporated aspects of the Shinigami they've so far trained with into their technique. This skill dictates Caballero's level of weapon mastery when wielding Filo, how refined their style is. 1 point means they can use Filo adequately, as if trained for a year. 2 means 5 years of experience. 3 means their mastery is unheard of, with the equivalent of decades under their belt. 4 means they go far beyond, and can reliably implement almost impossible maneuvers into their combat style with great success. Being incredibly specialized in this particular weapon, Saber Filo would give them a superior level of mastery than someone with a general Weapons: Sword skill would have, even if both are at 4 SkP. In the event Caballero becomes an Arrancar, Saber Filo applies to their sealed Zanpakuto as well.

[Yuki & Yui Tsumugi]

Humming softly to herself as she continued down the streets of Karakura Town, Yui found herself almost entirely lost in the music played through her headphones. It had been quite some time since she had an opportunity to listen to music while on a walk like this. The last few weeks of her time had been dedicated to finals; thankfully, they were finally finished! She could finally get back to work, and continue to make payments for her classes. It was a bit of a vicious cycle, but it was one she'd not only gotten used to, but one that she'd eventually grown to enjoy. After all, working at Regina was one of her favorite activities at this point!

Which, was exactly where she was headed. Ailene had given her the 'okay' to start working again, and Yui was more than ready to take that opportunity and run with it. How couldn't she? There were so many customers that she was looking forward to seeing again, so many faces that she'd hoped were going to show up on her first shift since she'd begun once more, she could hardly contain any of the excitement! Putting a bit of a bounce in her step as she continued along the street, Yui took the opportunity to turn her music up just a bit and keep walking with a smile. It was great to be back.

Though, something felt... off. She couldn't quite shake the feeling that today wasn't exactly going to be a normal one. Like some sort of warning going off in the back of her mind, she felt an ominous, almost foreboding presence that grew ever stronger with each step she took. Turning her head behind her, she let out a soft huff. Didn't seem like she was being followed or anything, so what was going on? Surely nothing bad was happening at Regina, right? She did what she could to keep telling herself that, until that didn't become an option anymore.

As her pace picked up, and she eventually turned off her music, she made sure to have a good grip on the wrapped up weapon on her back. Last thing she wanted was to drop her Zanpakuto if something rather serious really was happening at Regina. In fact, she made sure that she had a rather solid grip on the linen that would've appropriately unraveled the weapon at a moment's notice. One of the unfortunate things of living in the Human World again was abiding by those laws. Keeping a weapon out of clear view, as much as she detested it, went along with those laws.

By the time she got there, Yui couldn't believe her eyes. Not one, but five total hollows had been engaged in combat. Each of them not more than fifty feet away from her workplace. The girl's heart began to pound. She couldn't believe her eyes; had the showing up of these individuals been due to that hollow that her and Ailene took down? It was hard to say, but she was quite shaken up at the thought. Though, one thing caught her attention rather quickly. It seemed the smallest of the bunch was actively fighting against the others. While certainly not out of the ordinary for hollows to fight other hollows, this felt... different. Like it was something she felt she couldn't stand aside and just watch.

Taking a deep breath, and widening her stance in order to help quell her trembling just a tad, Yui pointed a hand to the sky. "A-Arise, god of thunder!" Pausing for a moment, she lowered the upstretched hand and began to trace a symbol in the air with her index and middle finger. "Awake, mother of storms! Unleash the lighting on the sinners!" Closing her eyes, and tilting her head ever so slightly away from the conflict, she finished her incantation.

"Hadō #4: Byakurai!"

With the finishing of her words, a bolt of lightning exploded from her fingertips, aimed directly toward the closest of the Adjuchas to her. If all went well, she would've blasted through the beast! Though, the chances of that happening were incredibly slim, all things considered. The girl didn't exactly have the most noteworthy spiritual prowess, but she couldn't just sit by while this smaller Hollow fought on their lonesome! She wanted to help out where she could, and certainly wanted to make sure that this fight didn't end up too close to the shop. Even if that meant making herself into a target for the time being.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Yui's Stats & Skills}
Type: Soldier, Version 2

Stats & Skills:

Strength: 40 [28]
Speed: 50 [50]
Reiatsu Strength: 100 [125]
Spiritual Pressure: 200 [200]
Instinct: 50 [50]
Senses: 40 [40]
Energy Sensory: 40 [40]
Healing Expertise: 0 [0]

Light Aura: 100
Dark Aura: 0

----------

Weapons - Swords: 1
Kido: 1
Mental Incantations: 1
Cold Tolerance: 1
Battle Analysis: 1
Crafting: 1
Pain Tolerance: 1

SPOILER: Click to show

{Reiatsu Pool}
Reiatsu: 1,975/2,000
-25 for Byakurai - 137 RS [+10%]

SPOILER: Click to show

{Hadō #4: Byakurai}
Technique Name: Hado #4: Byakurai (Pale Lightning)

Technique Class: 7 - 10 TTP.

Technique Type: Kidō - Hadō.

Technique Element: Lightning.

Technique Cost: 25 Reiatsu.

Description: The user fires a concentrated, powerful lightning bolt from their finger that pierces a target.

How to Use: Speak the spell and point hand at the target.

Incantation: "Arise god of thunder! Awake mother of storms! Unleash the lighting on the sinners!" When the incantation is spoken, the Reiatsu Strength used to determine the power of Byakurai is increased by 10%. (i.e. 100 Reiatsu Strength is treated as 110.)

[Deleted]

The tiny knight's dismal Energy Sensory made them unaware of the fact that they would not be the only one doing the fighting that day. They didn't feel Yui approach, and only caught her presence by the corner of a non-existent eye while bobbing and weaving between the other four Adjuchas' attacks. With that quick a glance, they first feared it would be a human that had unwillingly walked over, or a Plus drawn in by the commotion. However, that perception would soon change.

Caballero had never listened to the incantation before, so they had no way of knowing why the newcomer was speaking in such funny sentences. What they did recognize, of course, was Byakurai, a spell favored by Akira that they had been in the receiving end of a few times before. That could only mean one thing: this woman was a Shinigami, even if she was not in uniform. Was she there to help them fend off the Hollows that were about to attack Regina? In any case, all help was appreciated, but it seemed Yui was a bit too out of her depth! The Adjuchas's skin was far too tough to be pierced just by Hado number 4. While it had caused damage to the beast--enough to make it scream in pain--, it would take extra firepower to cut down monsters like those. However, the two of them combined had more than enough to kill those Hollows.

While Yui's Byakurai didn't succeed in killing the Hollows, it did accomplish one thing: distract them all momentarily, wondering who this woman was. Of course, they quickly began evaluating whether shifting targets and eating her first would be simpler... and it was that moment of distraction that spelt their doom. Caballero saw the perfect zigzag route to weave through all four, and that's exactly what they did. The three feet tall Adjuchas plunged into battle once again, the world around them becoming a blur as they moved at 400 Speed. The only thing they saw was their target, the monsters that needed to be destroyed. The little warrior brandished Filo, which pulsed with their 700 Reiatsu Strength, and stepped forward, adjusting the blade at their side.

The first Adjuchas was cut down with a horizontal slash that tore through the entire right half of its body, giving way to a sea of ichor and whatever fluids circulated inside those monsters when Caballero brought the blade forward with their both stubby little hands. That monster hadn't even touched the floor when the tiny bean split Filo in two separate swords, then stepped forward with their trademark cross slash that tore apart the plating on its chest and allowed them to deliver a critical blow to the second creature. Using that body as a stepping stone, Caballero then jumped forward towards the next one, lopping off its head with one clean slash after recombining Filo again.

The last one had enough time between those three kills to realize the grievous mistake they had done, and attempted to flatten the small Adjuchas with all the strength it could muster. Caballero used the opening that said panicked maneuver created to dash under the final enemy, using the recombined Filo to deliver an upwards, jumping slash that cleanly bisected the creature's body. The small Hollow landed and swiped down with its blade, as if to clean it of any blood. Their stance was dignified, although the contrast with their chibi-like appearance was undeniably cute. At that moment, the final Adjuchas plopped down to its knees before the two halves fell out of equilibrium and split apart, already gaining a faint, blueish glow--all four were beginning to break down into Reishi.

Caballero used Tendón to tear off a small chunk of each one of them. Those little chunks were immediately incorporated into the black Reiatsu that formed their body, sating what little hunger they were feeling. While they never got full, hunting and eating their kin allowed the tiny knight to continue protecting humans and Pluses without any risk of attacking them. So far, they had never experienced any drive or desire to eat them, save perhaps when they were a mindless Gillian--and even then, they forcefully cut their own hand to regain control of their body than hurt them in any way. With the new strength incorporated to the myriad souls that already formed the Adjuchas, Caballero would be able to protect Karakura better than before.

What Yui had witnessed so far, however, was perhaps Caballero at their most aggressive, only seen when attacking their kin. The moment the threat was gone, their stance and demeanor quickly changed. First, they gave a look toward the Regina, happy that the establishment had taken no damage. Bobbing their oversized mask up and down in a nod, they then turned toward Yui, provided she was still there. At that moment, Caballero waved hello with one of their short, stubby little arms, and then used Filo to write something on the ground. Caballero might protect Karakura, but their knowledge about civics was too limited to know they should not go around making any carvings. A simple word read on the ground now, plain for Yui to see.

Even knowing that a Shinigami might see them as a threat, they then walked over with tiny little steps, looking at Yui all the while, not unlike a small puppy looks up toward anyone. Could she be a new friend? Her clothing didn't really resemble that of a Shinigami. Where was the Shihakusho? The tiny bean brought a stubby arm toward the bottom of their helmet-like mask, which would be tilted slightly to the side now, as if rubbing their chin in thought.

OOC:

Caballero has consumed 4 Tier 2 Hollows (4x100TP)

[Yuki & Yui Tsumugi]

As she watched her own little display fire off into the upper portions of one of the Hollows, Yui let a smile rise to her face as they recoiled in pain. It seemed that, even if it hadn't been enough to deal substantial damage to the monster, it had been enough to, at the very least, draw their attention for a moment. Though, this is when the realization began to visibly hit the girl. Was that the greatest of ideas? That was perhaps the strongest attack she could've launched at the moment, and it did little against the Hollow. Her smile quickly faded.

Though, as the lot took a short moment to recalculate their course of action, it seemed that the smallest of the bunch was ready to take that opportunity to move. Maneuvering around the larger monsters with tremendous speed (at least, in the girl's eyes), she watched as each and every one of the beasts were quickly, and rather elegantly dealt with. To say it was an astounding display would've been a tremendous understatement. Even though she could only make out key moments of their strikes, due to the speed at which they were moving, they seemed to know their way around a blade quite well. If her eyes could light up with stars, they'd certainly be doing so by that point.

As they went in for the last decisive strike against the single lingering hollow, Yui found herself tightly gripping her own wrapped-up sword as she continued to watch on in awe. Lord, how she wished she could learn to fight like that! Maybe in time; now was certainly not the time to be fantasizing about the future like that! Not while there was still the threat of another Hollow attack at some point in the near future! Where there was one, it seemed that more always followed at some point. And, while this particularly adorable one didn't seem to mean any harm, she wanted to make sure that the area was fully secure before doing anything else.

As Caballero was taking the opportunity to grab what they could from the now-slain hollows, Yui took the time herself to quickly trot around the area, unfurling her weapon and making sure that no more Hollows would find themselves in the immediate vicinity. Especially after that display, she felt strongly about wanting to keep the area around them safe! Even despite the fear that she felt over having to fight a hollow head-on - especially after that chameleon one - she couldn't just lie down and let something like that happen.

Though, in time, it seemed that nothing else was going to show up. Letting out a soft sigh of relief, Yui did what she could to quickly wrap up her weapon, and let another smile rise to her face. She was glad to see everything had worked itself out, and slowly started to calm down. Surely Ailene won't be upset if I'm a bit late to my shift after that, she thought to herself, chuckling aloud. Though, being pulled from her thoughts, she saw the hollow from before wave at her, before approaching.

Keeping the same smile on her face, she excitedly waved back, and lowered herself to match the hollow's own height. "H-Hello there~!" She exclaimed. As she did, watching Caba write their word into the sidewalk, she chuckled softly to herself. "Thank you for taking care of those Hollows," she continued, "I'm r-really quite grateful!" Hastily bowing her head in graciousness, she returned to her previous posture a moment later.

Though, something did provoke an amount of curiosity from the girl. Tapping her finger to her chin, she asked the hollow two questions. "I-If you don't mind my asking, what might your name be? What brings you here?" It hadn't been often - or ever, really - that she had the opportunity to get along with a Hollow. Truthfully, she had no idea what to expect! They seemed quite nice so far, though she wasn't going to let her guard down. Especially after what had just happened. She was fairly certain she would've been light work for such a fighter! As her thoughts raced, she subconsciously began to snap her fingers. It wasn't anything loud, but enough to keep her hands moving.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Reiatsu Pool}
Reiatsu: 1,975/2,000

[Deleted]

Caballero was happy when the Shinigami greeted them back by matching their wave, complete with a smile. So, she was a new friend to meet, after all! She immediately gained extra points in the tiny Hollow's mind because she had crouched to their 'eye' level, which kept them from having to look up all the time. The tiny bean jumped a few times, unable to contain their excitement, before they realized that they should show some decorum if the young woman did belong to the Gotei 13. Still, ever since arriving in Karakura, Caballero had met so many interesting people that they could never envision living anywhere else!

The moment Yui bowed her head, Caballero rose their stubby little arms in conciliation, and maybe a little alarm. There was no need to bow to them! For starters, they were just doing what was right. For enders, if she was affiliated with the Gotei 13, then any superior watching that might cause her trouble! Caballero didn't want a repeat of their unscheduled little visit to the Soul Society, which could've jeopardized Celes's and Kimiko's positions in the Thirteen Court Guard Squadrons. Still, nobody else seemed to be around, so perhaps that was fine. In any case, Caballero would return the courtesy as they always tended to do; they bowed their oversized helmet-like mask, with the jagged horns being the only thing that separated their Adjuchas form from their old Stray appearance. It seemed like yesterday when they almost always fell face-first when bowing, due to the mismatch between the dimensions of both head and body.

It was clear she was a bit nervous, which was to be expected. Much to their dismay, Caballero had come to the realization that being a Hollow made them inherently scary for many people. However, those they met usually ended up understanding their good intentions, perhaps due to the sheer positivity emanating from their spirit. It was understandable that Yui could think that they may be trying to deceive her in some way--the fact that Caballero was an utter sucky liar notwithstanding--, so it fell upon the Hollow to try to put her at ease. Which, of course, involved answering her questions.

The first one, of course, was the most difficult. Caballero tilted their head to the side in confusion and folded their stubby little arms in front of their 'chest', or where their chest would've been had they not had an uniform, black Reiatsu body. A name, huh? They knew they had been called plenty of things by their friends: 'little warrior', 'Kishi', 'squirt'... For Caballero, names were just something that the people they were close to gave them. Those were nicknames, but given those sorts of concepts were a bit muddy for them, Caballero understood them as real, actual names. After all, weren't all babies named after their parents? Names were not intrinsic to someone or something, were they? Not even to certain swords that all Shinigami carried with them, and that got real cranky if you didn't call them as such.

Thus, to Yui's first question, Caballero ended up shrugging in the end, as they had no real answer. Instead, to welcome their new friendship, they would be more than content to let Yui call them whatever she wanted. They pointed at her with one of their hand-less arms, trying to tell her to give them a name of her own; that gesture could easily be misinterpreted as them asking for her name, of course.

The second one, however, they could easily answer. Once the name issue got sorted out, they would go on to tell her. Or rather, write it for her. Unfortunately, the tiny Adjuchas didn't have any more paper sheets on which to show their lackluster penmanship, and the markers they had were all dried up--nobody had told them they could not leave the caps off! Thus, they would need to write on the ground again, albeit at a smaller size: Yui was now closer, and should be able to read it with ease. Using Filo with certain mastery, Caballero quickly scribbled on the concrete, again lamenting the lack of a more proper means to write. Strange, how elegance with the blade didn't translate to proper calligraphy.

Throughout the interaction, however, the tiny being quickly noticed that Yui still seemed a little anxious, perhaps because of the way they had made short work of all the Adjuchas in the scene. They didn't really know what to do, so they did the only thing that they could think of. Since she was crouching right next to them, Caballero slowly moved one of their short little arms and put the end--their 'hand', if you will--on Yui's knee, giving a few soft pats as if to indicate that everything was alright. Their aura, as usual, was extremely warm, and conveyed the sincere feelings of a being that, simply put, didn't have an iota of malice within them. Caballero's two brain-cells were already far too occupied allowing them to function, so crafting any sort of evil plan was pretty much out of the window.

It didn't took more than another look for Caballero to notice the wrapped weapon on the Shinigami's back. Thinking that it might be her Zanpakuto, the tiny being also showed the weapon they carried on their back. That was not Filo, but a toy-like Purification Blade, shaped like a blunt, plastic-like katana. It had no discernible edge to speak of, as its only real function was to allow Caballero to send souls to Soul Society. With that gesture, they hoped to show that they were working hard to keep the peace in Karakura.

But then again, it might just look like the tiny being was showing off their swords, thus displaying an interest in the path of the blade.

[Yuki & Yui Tsumugi]

Watching as the little hollow shrugged to her question, Yui was a little taken aback. That response seemed to make sense, given they hadn't been speaking, and resorting to writing with that sword of theirs. It seemed that a verbal answer just wasn't in the cards. With a soft smile as they pointed toward Yui, she couldn't help but chuckle.

"M-My name is Yui, Tsumugi Yui. It's a pleasure to meet you!" She was more than glad to introduce herself as asked, but couldn't help but feel a little bad that she had no way of addressing the hollow. She might've had to think of something if they didn't have a name; at least, in the interim. She couldn't continually refer to them as 'little hollow'; especially not around Regina! Something like that could've caused a bit of panic amongst the spiritually aware, and that would be quite concerning.

Though, that was something to worry about a little later. For now, she had another question that they were looking to answer. As they once again went back to scribbling on the concrete, Yui had a bit of an idea! She'd act on it in a bit, as an offer of "good faith", but she wanted to see what the little hollow had to say before taking any action on the matter. And, upon reading those words, Yui's eyes lit up. To think that this hollow had come to protect Ailene's establishment left her with quite a warm feeling.

Perhaps this Hollow was a friend of hers during her time in Hueco Mundo? How often did hollows tend to make friends? There were a lot of complex questions going through Yui's head at the moment. So much so, that she started to snap her fingers for a moment while her brain tried to just process it all. Though, as she began to stress about, she was quickly pulled from her own thoughts once more with the feeling of a few key pats on her knee. Looking down to see the little hollow looking toward her in what seemed to be an attempt to comfort her, she took a deep breath. She couldn't help but smile even wider.

She couldn't quite explain it, but it seemed a large portion of her worries tended to just melt away around this hollow. She had no idea what drew her to them, but something about them made it rather easy to be around. She was grateful for that, if nothing else. It would be something she would she'd remember for the future, should they meet again after this little endeavor. Yui certainly hoped that would be the case, as they seemed quite easy to get along with! Notably more than the Soul Reapers in the Gotei tended to be, that was certain.

Not a moment later, it seemed that the little hollow had something to show her. Displaying a toy-looking weapon slung across their back, Yui couldn't help but chuckle. She'd seen something incredibly similar in Ailene's possession back during their fight with Sombría; was this one of those? Was this little hollow going about and purifying souls? She couldn't help but feel quite excited at the prospect. "Woah," she started, "that's so cool~!" In truth, she was quite a bit interested in what the little hollow had to offer.

Slinging her weapon from her shoulder, Yui took the opportunity to unfurl her weapon once more, showing off the Zanpakutō to the little hollow. "This would be my Zanpakutō~!" She spoke rather excitedly, "Haven't learned its name yet unfortunately, but I'm getting there! I'm... also not exactly the most proficient with it, but I'm taking classes here in the Human World to help with that!" A nervous chuckle came from the girl. Her lack of skill definitely made itself clear when wielding the weapon, but thankfully such a display wasn't needed at the moment.

Though, before anything else, she wanted to take care of something. "Wait here for jus-t a moment~! I've got something for ya!" Getting up from her crouched position, Yui hastily entered Regina, and maneuvered behind the counter. Looking under the register, she grabbed a roll of receipt paper, and one of the spare pens by the counter. From there, she once again made her way back outside, and over to the little hollow. "Here you go," she said, handing the little hollow the two items, "these are for you! Surely Ailene won't mind. All you've got to to is press the little button on the end here..." She pointed to the top of the pen. "...And the point will come from the bottom! This paper should keep you going for a good bit, too!"

[Deleted]

Caballero bounced up and down again when Yui told them her name. They were always happy to add another person to their ever growing list of friends, and they couldn't do that without knowing their names now could they? Completely missing the irony in that train of thought, Caballero made sure to repeat it in their mind so that they would not forget it, though they were actually quite good with faces. The two of them would them geek out a little bit about each other's respective weapons. First, Yui seemed impressed by their Purification Blade. Most would've mistaken it with a toy, but she did not! She really had good eye, Caballero thought to themselves.

Then, it would be their own turn to geek out: it seemed Caballero's perception was well-calibrated, because what Yui was carrying on her back was her Zanpakuto! Had Caballero had a set of proper eyes, they would've shined brightly, mirroring the same excitement than their newest Shinigami friend also had toward the weapon. They were a bit saddened that they would not get to see its released form, however. So far, most of the Shinigami Caballero had met had been capable of releasing their weapon into their first stage, Shikai. Well, perhaps not all of them, but they couldn't count the encounter with that poor Shinigami. In their mindless Gillian state, Caballero had nearly slaughtered him, if not for the fact that they regained enough control from the other Hollows to stop themselves from committing an atrocity. Their mind wandered for a bit, wondering whether that unknown Shinigami, whom they one day might find out was named Benjiro Hiroto, would be doing alright.

Still, that didn't mean they would hold it against Yui! If anything, they hoped they would be able to help her discover her Shikai. When she did mention that she was taking classes to become a better wielder, Caballero looked at her, slightly confused. The human concept of a 'class' was something that they didn't really understand, even though they had been mentored quite a few times already. What they did know about, however, was swords. More specifically, how to wield them. They couldn't claim to be an expert by any means, but they were slowly getting there. But at their current level, it was more than enough to help Yui get closer to her dream of being able to wield her Zanpakuto properly.

Before they could say--well, say--anything, Yui asked them to stand outside on their own for a few moments, while she got into the Regina. Needless to say, Caballero did as instructed, looking around the peaceful town like a curious, lost dog, as if they had not just slaughtered four Adjuchas in one fell swoop. Once Yui returned, the tiny bean traced stubby little steps toward her, as they usually did toward the people they already considered themselves to be in good terms with. Nevermind the fact that they had just met; that type of 'nitpicking' didn't really apply for Caballero.

Then, Yui gave them two extremely important items for them: things to write with! Needless to say, they were extremely grateful that she had provided them with a better means of communication, specially this sort of marvelous, magic pen that didn't run dry provided you just clicked on the top! Caballero was marveled by the human beings' amazing intellect, and then went on to try it a couple of times, finding the clicking sound being oddly satisfying. Like a bored schoolchild, they tapped on it quite a few more times. It was clear it didn't take too much to entertain this Hollow. Only after those brief moments did they realize that some further thanks were in order! It was only natural to repay one gift with another, wasn't it? On one occasion, it had been them going 'all out' after Celes had shown them her Shikai. Now, it would be much different, of course, since they were not sparring in the first time.

Using their notebook, they wrote one single word once again--this time they did so at the top of the page, unwilling to waste the extremely valuable paper and pens they had been gifted. In their mind, no more words were needed, and they were far too excited to show her how should could improve her form.

"Look!"

After having seen her posture and stance, the tiny bean was more or less aware of what she wanted to do, so she tried to show her the proper way of doing it. They imitated her chosen form, and while it was different from their own, it was still perfectly valid. Filo could split in two weapons, and her Zanpakuto could not in that sealed state, so different stances were warranted to take for that into account. Now, considering her body shape, the preferred angle with which she held the sword, the length of the arms when trying to lunge, parry or strike... In about a few seconds, Caballero adopted a stance that felt a bit weird to them, but that should correct most of Yui's weakpoints, at least when it came to her basic form. From there, it should be simpler to launch strikes, although those would need to be drilled separately.

Yes, it turned out that when it came to swordfighting, the tiny knight was actually kind of a genius. All their brainpower had been diverted toward improving their battle knowledge, leaving them with severe shortcomings in all other areas. Was this a cruel prank played by a rather sadistic creator, or simply the way the chips fell on the table for the little creature? They, of course, couldn't know. what they did was hold their stance, then use Tendón to write on the sheet of paper with the pen they had just been given. The shadowy tendril grabbed the paper, and made sure Yui would be able to see it.

"I can show you. If you want?"

[Yuki & Yui Tsumugi]

Watching on as the two began to examine each others' weapons, Yui found herself almost in a state of peace. She was rather excited to have the opportunity to do something like this. Given that her time in Seireitei was short-lived, she hadn't the opportunity to really get to know folks' weapons. It was quite the enjoyable experience for her, all things considered.

Though, for a hollow to have such a unique form of combat! From what she'd learned during her time in Shin'ō, most hollow tended to thrive off of natural weaponry. And, so far, that had rung true for the girl. Most of the hollow she'd seen utilized their own body to strike; from massive tongues, to spikes, and claws. But, for this one to be able to make a set of swords like that? It was nothing short of impressive, and she very much wanted to learn more. Assuming they were willing to show her, that was. She wasn't going to pressure or anything like that.

As she gave the little hollow those two gifts, she watched in glee as they seemed to make almost immediate use of them. Well, "immediate use". They seemed rather enamored by the little clicking that the pen made when you pressed down on it, prompting a giggle from the girl. She very much understood that feeling; there were quite a number of times where Yui found herself completely distracted from whatever it was she was doing solely because of the clicking of a pen. Happened rather often when she decided to take the time to write, in fact!

Though, within a short amount of time after that, they seemed to get the hang of it, and began to write on the receipt paper! While they kept it relatively short all things considered, it was certainly enough to get the point across. She watched on toward the little hollow as they drew their weapon and took a stance, finding herself smiling rather prominently. As they adjusted their own stance in order to seemingly accommodate for something, Yui found herself desiring to do something similar, watching on in excitement to see what they were going to do next.

Though, something had caught her attention that she found rather exciting; watching the little hollow's little tendrils move about, and write on the paper as they held that stance, she took the time to read the paper before her eyes lit up once more. "A-Absolutely~! Please, I'd love to learn anything you're willing to teach me, that sounds amazing~!" Incredibly excited at the prospect, Yui was more than glad to learn what she could. After seeing a display like that from the hollow? How could she refuse something like that?

Slowly unsheathing her blade, Yui did what she could in order to try to mimic the stance that the little hollow took up. Truth be told, it took her a bit of time, glancing back and forth between herself and them, adjusting herself minorly to account for shifts that were necessary to fully mimic the stance the two had taken up. In time, she'd be able to do it! Sure, it wouldn't be perfect, and there'd be a lot of room for improvement, but that would come in time. For now, she wanted to do what she could to follow in suit.

From there, she simply waited patiently for the little hollow to further help instruct her, as would've likely been a bit necessary at the time for the poor girl. She knew basic movements and forms, but even she felt that it would've been nowhere near enough to confront a hollow with. Let alone something that might've been worse. Though, one thing did come to the girl's mind very quickly; they were doing this in broad daylight! "W-wait!" She exclaimed, "we... probably shouldn't be doing this outside, haha~" With a giggle, she promptly sheathed her blade. Folks might not have been able to see the little hollow, but the last thing she wanted was to be arrested for brandishing a weapon in public. "Did you want to head into Regina~? I'd be glad to get you a snack or drink~! From there, we should be able to continue!"

[Deleted]

After Caballero's amazement with the out-of-this-world pen that Yui had given them, they were finally able to try and give her some pointers. Their little writing seemed to do the trick, because the young--was she young? Shinigami had very long lifespans, after all!--quickly began to pay attention to their little display of form. Just as a purple or brown belt could teach some tricks to a white or blue belt, Caballero's expertise, though not legendary, allowed them to give her the first set of corrections to her form. Of course, seeing them was one thing; actually getting them right was something completely different. The tiny bean waited as she looked on, and without writing anything else, Yui accepted their offer to teach her the way of the sword. Ironically the chain had gone from a Shinigami to a Hollow, then back to a Shinigami, as Kimiko and Celes had been the ones to point out their own flawed technique in the past. Was this what giving back to the community meant? Caballero didn't know what a 'community' meant, but they were more than happy to be able to help Yui.

The Shinigami unsheathed her sword as well, and attempted to mimic their stance. All the while, Caballero kept a watchful eye over her posture and habits. It was better to have the example than go from memory to make corrections, of course. As she started to shift her stance to better align herself with Caballero, the small Adjuchas began to take some mental notes, although rather than detailed instructions, they were more of gibberish that made total sense in their mind. It would remain to be seen whether they would be able to properly convey the information... well, actually, that would have to be right now, as Yui would looked at them as if to take some more advice.

The tiny bean forgot about writing, and simply followed their instinct. They lowered their stance and curiously approached, taking note of the position of her limbs and her grip on the blade. She took quite a few laps around her, their stubby little feet making an oddishly cute sound as they walked. They would make one or two corrections here and there by gently nudging her legs (with their strength and build, they really couldn't do much else), but as far as a basic stance went, it looked good. Now, all she needed to do was lower her center of gravity a little more to allow for a better spread of her weight between her legs, increasing her reaction time as well as the speed with which she could execute Shunpo and then--

While Caballero's brain overclocked thinking about possible routes and actions she could take, Yui realized that she could not practice her swordsmanship right there, out in the streets. She might get in trouble if the human authorities saw her, or at least, that was her reasoning. Why she said that, Caballero had no idea. They had practiced their swordsmanship out on Karakura's streets for like what seemed forever, now! Of course, they knew they could not be seen by just about anyone, which begged the question, what was she so worried about? Of course, the tiny bean's lack of energy sensory abilities left them completely unable to tell that Yui was wearing a Gigai, and thus had an actual physical body instead of just a spiritual one. She, unlike them, could definitely be seen. And humans didn't take kindly to someone idly waving a sword around in the street--though why that was that way, Caballero had no idea. Didn't they see just how cool it was?

Still, they were not about to turn down a request from a friend, no sir. Caballero may be many things, kind of dumb and innocent being two of them, but they were not someone who could say no when asked a favor by someone that they liked. As such, the tiny Hollow nodded a couple of times, giving Yui the okay to lead them back into the Regina. It had been a while since the Hollow had been there, but understandably, the place hadn't changed at all. Maybe that was why the very first thing Caballero did was look for any signs of a very, very angry dragon.

The creature 'breathed' easily. No sight of Mélusine. Good, good. They last thing they wanted right now was to be screamed at again. It may have been because of her past as a Hollow, and the fact that she held Ailene's Hollow essence, but Caballero was not that fond of the dragon-like being. They did not appreciate loud noises, and Mélusine was... pretty much the loudest. And very aggressive, too! Truly, the weapon to end Caballero. And they could not hurt her, because doing so would hurt Ailene, and they appreciated her.

Brought back into reality by Yui, Caballero quickly remembered the beverage that Ailene had offered them once she asked if they wanted something. Truth be told, Caballero's bizarre physiology required no other substenance than feeding like a Hollow did, and they kept it mostly in check via Strength of Will. However, their body could consume food as normal, they just wouldn't feel it. Since it reminded them of the Fullbringer that had taught them to read and write, Caballero nodded, and used their stubby little arm to point at one of the menus. They could read them now, and it was just plain black tea. As for snacks, the creature was not really all that snacky, so they were content with the drink.

While waiting, Caballero remembered that they should take a table like everyone else, so they hopped onto one of the chairs--the seats of which stood about as tall as they were--and happily waited for Yui to come back, kicking their feet here and there. Both Filo and their purification blade would be left out of the table, as it was bad manners to bring one's weapons, no matter how cool those might be.

[Yuki & Yui Tsumugi]

As the two quickly made their way into the building, Yui took a glance around. All-in-all, it hadn't been all that jammed up. A woman that Yui had recognized as Amber stood behind the counter, taking care of the customers that had been inside the building at the time. Dropping her now-wrapped weapon behind the counter, she bowed her head toward her senior. "S-sorry I'm late!" She spoke, "I ended up caught up in... well, a number of things on my way here! I hope you're willing to forgive me, but I'm going to need an hour or two before I can start my shift!"

Giving Yui a smile, she responded in turn. "It's all right, just try not to let it happen again." Yui nodded. "I-it won't!" Chuckling softly, she made her way into the back, as Amber focused her attention toward the excess dishes that were in the back. Someone had to do them, and given Yui had only just arrived, it seemed that now was the most opportune time to tackle such work. Thankfully, Yui had the opportunity to focus her attention elsewhere, after throwing on an apron.

Quickly heading back out toward the little hollow, she smiled and took the time to get their order. Thankfully, it wasn't to be anything all that complex; she'd still been relatively new after all, so there was a good bit that she hadn't quite figured out. This, however, would be relatively easy! "Understood~!" She nodded, before quickly heading back behind the counter, and gathering everything that would've been necessary in order to prepare the little hollow's requested drink.

In a matter of time, she'd finish, and bring out the cup for them. Gently placing it in front of them, she took the time to sit down across from them as they hopefully enjoyed their time in the tea house. She knew she certainly did! "Once you're ready, we can head down into the basement to get started~!" She practically bounced about in the chair. Truthfully, she was quite excited on what was to come! She'd only been in the basement once before with Mister Shimada, but she had to say, it was quite the wonderful training exercise. Though, Mister Shimada tended to scare her a bit.

Either way, given that the little hollow couldn't have been seen by those around here, them getting in here was going to be a relatively easy situation to engineer. Regardless, she was more than willing to wait for them! She simply found herself lost in thought for a little bit, pondering on what was to be learned, what she'd already known, and even thoughts of what her abilities were going to be like! She knew full well that all Shinigami eventually developed powers for themselves, but it would be a matter of time before she'd learn what those powers of hers were.

Though, that was neither here nor there for the time! She actually had a bit of a question for the little hollow. "Say," she started, "if you don't mind my asking, what brings you here?" She thought on what they had previously said - er, wrote - and had certainly been curious. Though, one thing did stick out about what they had mentioned; she needed to ask on that for her own sake.

"Oh!" she started, "you mentioned that you were here to protect Regina, yeah~? Might I ask what brought you to want to do so~?" After a moment of pause, she immediately went back to speaking. "N-not that I'm not appreciative! Quite the opposite, in fact! I'm just a little curious is all, haha~" Smiling all the while, she patiently awaited what the little hollow had to say.

[Deleted]

The first thing Caballero thought when the two of them entered Regina was that the place had customers inside. It was a good thing that they had arrived when they had, or else that group of Hollows would have found a free buffet to gorge themselves on. Caballero would NOT have a repeat of what happened in Karakura's Public School, now that they were powerful enough to protect the city. It felt good to know that their endeavors hadn't been misplaced, and that they had helped their friends by stepping in to handle the situation. The second one was that, for all the people inside, nobody really paid any notice to them. Granted, being 3ft tall meant that they were pretty much under table level, so to anyone who may have been sitting it would've been rather difficult to pay attention to them. In this case, however, it meant that there simple wasn't anyone in the Regina that was spiritually aware, unlike Yui was. But if Yui was a Shinigami, since she could use Byakurai, why were they able to see her?

This dilemma quickly slipped their mind as they went on to focus on the drink that Yui placed before them. Well, not exactly before them, as their very limited height made it so that only the top half of their mask peeked over the flat surface of the table. "Once you're ready, we can head down into the basement to get started~!" The tiny bean leaned forward, stubby little arms making a futile endeavor to reach for the cup. Once they realized that they were not tall enough to do that--much to their chagrin, as their limited height had become a point of contention ever since they lost their 5ft upon going from Gillian to Adjuchas--, Caballero gave up and used Class 8 Tendón to make tendrils sprout from their arms, allowing them to take the cup. While it was piping hot, they could handle that much. The small Adjuchas then brought the cup to themselves, and brought it into the rags that covered their body. Not too long after, the sound of someone sipping through a straw would be heard, although how Caballero was able to consume the tea with no mouth to speak of, even I don't know. In any case, since Caballero had misunderstood Yui's words and thought that she was in a hurry, the tiny bean finished the drink and promptly returned the cup to the small dish that had been placed under it, perfectly clean.

Before they headed to the basement, however, Yui made a quick question to them. "If you don't mind my asking, what brings you here?" Well, that question did signify an incredible conundrum for Caballero, one that tugged at the core of their very nature, the purpose behind their creation, the sense of duty that had been imprinted to them by design. Needless to say, the tiny bean was far from aware of these facts, so they just tilted their head in confusion. When the Shinigami before them freaked out a little bit, trying to correct her own questions, Caballero noticed that she was somewhat anxious. Since they were always quiet because they couldn't speak, the tiny bean was actually pretty adept at feeling when others were uneasy, or a bit agitated. However, they would simply look at Yui without an iota of malice or ill-intent, radiating the same warmth that was so odd in a Hollow. Without thinking about it, the tiny bean did what they did best as an emotional support Hollow, and used Tendón to pat her on the head a few times, remembering that they really used to like when Celes gave headpats. Perhaps it would serve to calm her as well? A steady heart was necessary when handling the blade, after all.

But returning to the topic at hand, about Caballero's choice to defend the Regina... Ultimately, although the target were Hollows and the little knight patrolled Karakura to stop such beasts from harming the innocent, there was one prime reason Caballero had taken them on that day. The little bean took out the wondrous design piece that was the clicking pen, as well as the paper that they had been given, and quickly scribbled their answer to show Yui. They looked extremely happy as they put the lines on the paper.

In the end, Caballero was not a being of complex motivations. They were pretty innocent, rarely concerned with their own self-interest, and put their non-existent heart on whatever it was that they did. They really didn't need much to want to help those who could not fight on their own, much less those had helped them. All in all, a pretty strange Hollow; an anomaly in every sense of the word. Thus, if Yui had any more questions for them, they would be more than happy to answer, but otherwise they could get started with the training!

In this latter case, the tiny bean would jump off the chair, their limited mass and strength meaning that it didn't budge or make some noise--that would've unnerved some customers! Once they were back on their feet, Caballero would follow Yui wherever she led them, as they had already decided that Yui was a friend, so they had no reason not to trust her. Plus, the positivity she irradiated mirrored Caballero's own perfectly. All in all, they doubted there was any shade of ill-intent concealed beneath the girl.

[Yuki & Yui Tsumugi]

As she sat down and asked her questions, Yui found herself quickly caught off-guard from the head-pat from the little hollow. Thankfully she wasn't of Quincy descent, so nothing like that proved to be a problem, but it certainly did catch the girl off guard. In truth, though? She loved it quite a bit! Calming her down rather quickly, and prompting a soft giggle from the girl, Yui managed to take a deep breath. "Th-thank you for that," she spoke, taking off her glasses to clean them as an excuse to avoid eye contact. In a moment thereafter, she put them back on with a smile.

Thinking to herself while the little hollow began to write down what they did, she found herself lost in thought. In truth, it was a rather interesting thing seeing a Hollow inside of Regina like this. Though, at the same time, it almost felt like Regina attracted them, in a sense. They seemed to flock to the place rather consistently, and even Ailene was one herself in the past! Yui nearly giggled to herself, thinking about that. For all she knew, she could've been part hollow or something! The thought amused her.

Looking to see what the little hollow had wrote, Yui's eyes sparkled. "Oh, you know Miss Ailene~!" She exclaimed, "I'm so very glad to hear that! And so glad to hear that she was willing to help you out with something like that~!" She was quite excited to hear about this revelation. After all, it was Ailene that not only gave her a job, but served to be the reason that Yui was still around to this day! After that attack they'd dealt with not so long ago, she owed the Fullbringer her life.

And, it seemed that she gladly owed this little hollow her afternoon! Smiling softly as they finished their tea, Yui gently grasped the cup and saucer. "If you want to go ahead and head back behind the counter, you're more than welcome to~! No need to worry about Amber, she can't see you~" Giving them a wink, Yui herself got up from the seat and went back behind the counter as well.

Before she joined Caba though, she needed to clean off this cup! Or, at the very least, ask Amber if she was willing to tackle that for her. Heading to the dishwashing station, she turned to Amber, whom had still been hard at work! "Hey again, Amber~!" She spoke, "would you mind taking care of this for me real quick~? Like I said, I'll be ready for my shift in about an hour or so! I've jus-t a few things that I need to take care of for Miss Ailene first~!"

With a surprised look, Amber turned to Yui. "Oh! In that case, take all the time you need. I'll be here in case you need anything." Nodding her head, Yui smiled. "Awesome, thank you~!" As Yui started to walk to the back room, hopefully with the little hollow in tow, Amber called out to her once more. "Don't forget your food safety training, Yui!" Naturally, she called back. "I won't~!"

Eventually, as the two made it into the back room, Yui took the opportunity to walk over to Ailene's office, and held the door open for the little hollow to enter as well. "Give me jus-t a second~!" she spoke, moving to a loose tile near the wall of the office, "Miss Ailene doesn't know about this little room, from what I heard!" As she moved the tile out of the way, she revealed a small ladder that led downward. Along the wall, small torches of deep-red fire that gave off an almost otherworldly spiritual signature lit the way down.

"If you'd like the ladder, it's there~! Otherwise..." As her words trailed off, Yui immediately jumped downward into the 'climb-space' in the floor, plummeting downward. "Geronimo~!" As she fell, she couldn't help but shout in excitement, like how one felt on a roller-coaster. She was having the time of her life! And, after about ten or so seconds, the fall eventually came to a stop.

Landing on a cushioned ground beneath her feet, Yui couldn't help but laugh. That had been quite a bit of fun each time she's done it so far! Sure, this was only the second time, but that was semantic! Rolling off of the waterbed-like ground under the ladder, Yui simply waited for the little hollow to follow in after her. Truthfully, she was excited to see just which route down they were going to take! Eventually though, she'd hold her arms outstretched, and reveal the area.

Before them was a rather expansive underground hall! Nothing too fancy technologically, but enough to get the job done! Aside from the standard open areas around the place that would've normally been expected for a spar, there was quite an amount of equipment as well, ranging from weights, treadmills, and various other spiritually-enhanced machinery in order to truly help bring one to their peak!

"Well, this is it~!" She smiled, "Mister Shimada said the place isn't quite finished, but he's excited to show Miss Ailene once it is~!"

[Deleted]

Caballero was a bit worried when Yui mentioned that Amber would not be able to see them. In their mind, they wanted to introduce themselves to the other worker of the Regina, having long since assumed that the establishment exclusively employed spiritually aware people. Could you blame them? First the owner, Ailene, and now Yui. Speaking of which, even if Yui had given them the tea, it didn't mean Caballero was going to take it for free, no sir. They were a big Hollow now, and big Hollows were able to pay for their own things without having to forcefully eat others to get them. As such, Caballero jumped to head to the backroom as instructed by their newest friend, but they stopped by the counter and, from the vast dark Reiatsu that formed their body, somehow pulled an amount of money that was grossly over the amount for a black tea. The tiny bean used Tendón to reach for the counter, as it, too, was far too tall for them to see over. If Amber was not too distracted by the clients, she might be surprised by the sight of money being pushed her way by an invisible force.

After that was done, Caballero quickly slid toward the back, so as to reach the spot the Shinigami had told them about. They proceeded to follow her through the rooms, until they reached a particular tile that Yui removed, revealing a hole that went very deep under the teashop. The tiny knight was worried for about a second as Yui jumped into the black hole, but the glee in her voice immediately put them at ease.

Instead, wondering if it might be as fun as it looked, Caballero immediately followed suit, giving an actual example to be used alongside the patented, all-time classic phrase of every mother around the world 'if your friends jumped off a bridge, would you do it, too?'. The descent was long, longer than it had any right to be. How was a place so far underground beneath the Regina connected to the teashop? How had Ailene even... no, Ailene didn't know about the backroom, as far as Yui had told them. For them, the landing was even more cushioned by the water bed below. As per the square cube law, their incredibly low weight made them nigh unaffected by falls from tall places--let alone the fact that their body would not suffer much either way due to their bizarre physiology.

Then, Caballero looked positively amazed at the hidden basement that seemed to sprawl way beyond what a normal basement should. There was truly everything there! From machine number one that they didn't understand, to machine number two that they didn't understand, to the open areas for sparring! Needless to say, the tiny bean had never actually been to a gym or a proper training grounds, so they had no idea what most of those machines actually were for. Their more childish side would get the best of them for a moment. Of course, they inspected some of the machinery, using their tendrils to touch here and there, see what would happen. The weights were unbothered by the tiny bean's paperweight constitution, but when they touched something they probably shouldn't have, music began to come out of nowhere.

Caballero was a connosieur of fine silences and low noises. They typically did not enjoy loud things, like someone screaming at them--a certain dragon-like creature came to mind--but somehow, after a few tempos, they found the song playing through the speakers to be kind of... catchy. Invigorating, even. Perhaps it was one of this spiritually-enhanced machinery that Yui had been talking about, helping them keep their morale high throughout training? Not that Caballero themselves would need it, as unbeknownst to them, they had been born to do battle--hence why they enjoyed practicing so much. But perhaps for their newest friend, who seemed like a gentle soul and a bit of a shrinking violet, it might do wonders.

The tiny knight already had a pretty fair idea of what they would need to do with start. First, warm-ups, of course! They didn't really understand the concept, as they had no muscles that may tear or joints that might break, but they knew that nearly anyone else ought to do them if they wanted to keep a strong, healthy body. However, instead of running, they might as well practice some light drilling some basic forms with the blade, since they were there to practice swordsmanship in the first place! Using the Filo they had previously summoned, as it was the weapon they were most comfortable with, the tiny bean attempted to catch Yui's attention and fell in position. On a note, they scribbled a simple. "Look, follow."

The first warm up movements would be very, very simple. They would be a one-step lunge followed by a simple overhead strike, alternating their feet. These were to be repeated ten times. Then, the same drill, but using a two-handed upward swing. One-handed strikes could be left for later. Proper sword-lunges would follow, aiming to pierce the foe. Caballero would make Yui sidestep between sword lunges, so as to encourage mobility. Mind you, these drills were not aimed to be performed fast; they were made to engrave the technique in one's muscle memory. In fact, if Yui had formed herself in the Shinigami Academy, she would find them very, very familiar...

"LET'S GET DOWN TO BUSINESS! TO DEFEAT THE HUNS!", came out of the speakers. Once they were done with the basic warmup set and they made some corrections to Yui's movements, if any were needed, they could go on to try the rest of the equipment before they sparred!

[Yuki & Yui Tsumugi]

Watching as the little hollow followed her down into the basement area, she couldn't help but giggle as they had landed. It was certainly interesting seeing someone else enter the place like that! If nothing else, she was looking forward to seeing Miss Ailene's reaction, when that time came around! Such a thought was neither here nor there, though; they had training to get done!

Giving the little introduction to the area that she did, Yui took a moment to look around herself again, taking in what she could of the area. Surely there was still quite a bit here that she had missed the first time around, and she was more than glad to take the opportunity to explore some of that with the little hollow! Especially as they seemed to be bouncing from station to station, examining each machine like a child opening up gifts on Christmas morning. The thought certainly brought a smile to her face.

As they continued to explore about, Yui found herself doing the same, running through a number of ideas during her next time down here. She wasn't sure just what the little hollow wanted to do, but given that they were looking about the machinery down here, it seemed that they were starting to formulate an idea of sorts. Had they things like this in Hueco Mundo? That would've been something fun to learn about for sure! Perhaps she'd have to plan a trip into Hueco Mundo later? Though, she'd have to find a way in at some point.

Pulled from her thoughts rather quickly, it seemed that the little hollow had another note for her! Reading over it quickly, she nodded her head with a smile. "Understood~!" Taking the time to follow them over toward the open spaces, Yui found herself drawing her weapon, and starting to run through forms with the little hollow. Beginning with the lunge and strike, Yui did what she could to follow along, exhaling with each slashing motion. Repeating this ten times, these exhalations began rather quiet, before slowly growing a bit more noticeable over time.

The same could be said as the two made their way into the next repetitions; the upward swing. While certainly not enough to truly detriment her in this situation, she made a mental note that she needed to be doing this more often. "Ha..." she huffed, pushing herself to follow with the piercing lunges and sidesteps, "Th-this can certainly be a little... a little rigorous when it's not practiced often~!" A soft chuckle came from the girl, distracting her from one thing that she had quickly realized.

"Wait, Little Hollow, how do you know these-"

Her thoughts were immediately cut off once the first sign of lyrics began to play from the speakers. She'd been so lost in thought and in training that she hadn't realized what song had started playing! "Ah~! I love this song!!" She cheered, before immediately getting back to the motions, almost revitalized from some kind of musically-induced adrenaline rush. The thoughts of where the little hollow had gotten these skills - and the reminder that the little hollow needed some kind of nickname - would have to be put on hold for the time being.

As the two continued on, Yui's form would remain around the same, kept going by the music that had been playing in the background. Sure, she needed work, having been out of the academy for a number of years already, but if nothing else there was a noteworthy amount of room for improvement! Something that she'd hopefully gain during her time here with this hollow; time she'd been enjoying quite a bit thus far!

[Deleted]

As Yui went to the motions, Caballero folded their little arms in an attempt to look like a proper master. Their lack of experience meant that they were sorely trying to make up for it with excitement and good intentions, as well as trying to look as cool as possible before their new 'pupil' of sorts. Still, their keen eye for swordsmanship, they were able to properly take a good look at her sword forms and think about ways where she may improve. Truth be told, there were not too many points to be given for those very basic drills; better lessons would probably come later once they were actually sparring.

However, Caballero would make some quick corrections to the angle of her thrusts and the rotation of her shoulders. They used Tendón to gently modify her stance by tugging at the Zanpakuto and giving gentle shoves to forearms, shoulders, wrists and ankles. While the style was good, she was lacking some fluidity. She could actually get hurt if she forced the joint that way. How did they know, if they didn't have these joints themselves? Well, they had studied the blade, duh!

Which brought them to their next point. If one wanted to wield the sword, it was very important to have strong arms! Not necessarily bulky, but strong arms that were able to properly grip the steel and that could take the motions of swinging the sword with power and grace! Not that Caballero understood much about muscles or joints, since they literally had none of those elements in their body. How they were even able to move, it was a mystery that could perhaps be attributed to the tiny bean's boundless energy and their sheer stubbornness.

Caballero's attention then turned to the gym equipment that was perfectly ordered, save for a few dumbbells that were lying about, scattered. Needless to say, those were not extremely heavy, about ten pounds each. While thinking about the times Caballero had seen these artifacts before, the tiny bean remembered a few times they had sneaked into one of those human 'gyms', in pursuit of some slippery Strays. The humans there were lifting things like those, and they recalled one of them lifting a very long bar over his head while roaring, which had startled them at first. Then, someone had mentioned that said roaring human might need a... spotter? Sropter? Spotter? Perhaps they would need one too...

Hah! But of course not! Caballero loved humans and wanted to protect them at all costs, because they were much, much stronger than them. They were not a helpless little Hollow anymore. They were an Adjuchas! Of course they didn't need a 'stopper', no sir. Thus, the tiny little bean decided to show Yui the same exercise, even though it was clear they had little idea about what they were doing. In truth, they were far too excited to be teaching someone, and they wanted to make sure their instruction was as complete as possible. This was far from what a master should be doing, but poor Caballero still had much more to learn until the time came when he could be an effective teacher.

But back to his latest antic...

The moment the Hollow got to the dumbbell, which was the perfect size to act like a small bar for them, the little Adjuchas lifted it up with haphazard posture. They didn't have any joints that could be in any danger, but Yui should NOT imitate that technique in any way, shape or form. One second later, when it was clear the entire system was not balanced, the dumbbell fell right on top of Caballero, pinning them right below their oversized mask. The tiny bean, panicking after feeling trapped, looked at Yui and waved their stubby little arms, as if asking her for help. Their two braincells had forgotten to account for the fact that their physical body was actually pretty damn frail, regardless of how powerful their Reiatsu was. As such, weightlifting was far beyond them. Hell, they had average strength... for their size. But when their size was 3 feet, that did not amount to much.

Either way, if Yui ended up helping them with the dumbbell, they would thank her with a quick bow, trying to minimize the fact that they had committed quite the blunder. Admitting when they were wrong, however, the tiny bean took out the notepad and scribbled a quick line for Yui to see. Even when they handed it to her with Tendón, they seemed a bit embarrassed. Their head was even lowered a bit, as if they didn't want Yui to think any less of them for their failure. Caballero was not a prideful Hollow, but they did want to look cool in front of their friends. Or rather, they wanted their friends to think they were cool. Didn't everyone, really?

"Sorry. First time teacher."

Maybe it would be better to let Yui focus on what she wanted to train. It might certainly be easier than them trying to piece together a training plan out of thin air.

"What you want train? I help."