Post by Munemasa Iroka on May 30, 2024 23:35:36 GMT -5
Die? No. Now was not the time. Iroka turned and began running. But she had no idea where she was running to, no idea where she was going. After running for what seemed like forever, she realized she was not going anywhere. And then her doppelganger reappeared again. "Don't fight this. It's only delaying the inevitable." Iroka shook her head vigorously. "I can't accept this. Why now? Why am I supposed to now give up and die? All my life I have struggled. Struggled to get stronger. To gain acceptance. It isn't when I'm on the cusp of a great achievement that I would just roll over and die."
"But do you enjoy suffering?" the doppelganger asked sadly. "As you rightly said, all your life, you have suffered. All your life, you have struggled, reaching for what is too far for you to obtain. And all the things you think you accomplished, they were the result of someone else accomplishing them, or illusions of success, when in reality, they were failures. Even your zanpakutō is proof of this. You are not really a Shinigami. You are just a facsimile of such, struggling to be accepted by those who never will. Realize your condition, give up, and die."
For a moment, Iroka was silent. The copy of herself was not wrong. She had been some artificial construction, not a real Shinigami, and her weapon was a subtle reminder of this. The story of the carp jumping the waterfall of the Dragon Gate was great and inspirational, but what if a cod or mackerel jumped the Dragon gate? Would it become a dragon? It seemed only carp were capable of such a feat, and Shugyoku Hirenaga was a butterfly koi, a fish which was not considered to be a proper carp by a good number of people. If the butterfly koi was not considered to be a true koi fish, who was to say that one jumping the Dragon Gate would make it a dragon?
"There's only one way to find out," Iroka suddenly said. Her doppelganger looked quizzically at her. "Yes, I may not be a real Shinigami, and the butterfly koi might not become a dragon upon jumping the waterfall. But that's all conjecture. Who's to say that the butterfly koi won't become a dragon? Who's to say that I'm not a real Shinigami? After all, Shinigami are the ones who obtain Shikai and Bankai. If I wasn't a real one, I wouldn't be here trying to get Bankai. Wait just a little. If I jump the Dragon Gate and I don't become a dragon, then I can give up and die."
Iroka paused for a moment. "Wait, scratch that! Even if I jumped the Dragon Gate and didn't become a dragon, why on earth would I give up and die? If indeed our zanpakutō are reflections of who we really are, then I'm sure you know why my zanpakutō release is none other than 'ganbare'. At first, I thought it was a childish release, and wanted something cooler. But now I realize that all my life, I've been struggling because I can overcome. If I couldn't, I would have been dead by now. My release is not just a release command, it's an encouragement to me to keep striving. So get me back to that waterfall. I'm not dying here, no ma'am!"
The doppelganger tilted her head to one side. "But what's the point of struggling, when, even if you think you succeed, nobody will really accept you, seeing as you are not a real Shinigami?" Iroka huffed. "I'll make them accept me, or I won't bother with them!" came the reply. "Not everyone will be my friend or ally, but those who matter, I'll keep and protect them how I can, or at least do them proud. Oni-chan, Kimyou-sama, all of Seireitei, and many others I might not be able to remember. Oh, and Mu-mu-chan."
The doppelganger smiled, nodded, and was gone. And the roar of the waterfall returned. Iroka pushed herself to the surface of the water and took a deep breath, then began the climb. She was tired, the rocks were slippery, her reiatsu was spent, and the water hit hard. But every time she slipped, every time she fell, she would yell, "ganbare, Munemasa Iroka!" and keep climbing. In what seemed to be a vision, she could see her zanpakutō spirit, swimming up the waterfall in her inner world. It fell every time she did, and rose every time she did. This vision inspired her all the more and she climbed and climbed...
...until she reached and found herself at the top! With a final leap, in the vision of her inner world, the butterfly koi exerted itself one last time, jumping clean over the huge torii gate that stood at the top of the hill in her inner world. And there was silence. Then with an explosion of water, a glorious dragon burst forth from the river, and ascended into the sky. No longer the frail-looking butterfly koi, but a majestic, many-coiled dragon. And then she heard the spirit's voice once more, even as droplets of water created a beautiful rainbow around her.
"On this day, you have done much more than just attain Bankai. Your greatest challenge has been acceptance of whom you are, including me, which is why your Shikai was a weapon you found difficult to use, a meteor hammer, which you could never learn to use. Because you disadvantaged yourself by seeing yourself as worthless, unworthy, weak. But you have grown. Today was a test to see how far you'd come. And now that you accept who you are, you will find that Shugyoku Hirenaga was a name given to reflect your lack of acceptance of who you are. My real name you shall have presently. And now, revel in your victory, and call on your final power."
"Bankai! Nyoihoju Kōryu!!"
"But do you enjoy suffering?" the doppelganger asked sadly. "As you rightly said, all your life, you have suffered. All your life, you have struggled, reaching for what is too far for you to obtain. And all the things you think you accomplished, they were the result of someone else accomplishing them, or illusions of success, when in reality, they were failures. Even your zanpakutō is proof of this. You are not really a Shinigami. You are just a facsimile of such, struggling to be accepted by those who never will. Realize your condition, give up, and die."
For a moment, Iroka was silent. The copy of herself was not wrong. She had been some artificial construction, not a real Shinigami, and her weapon was a subtle reminder of this. The story of the carp jumping the waterfall of the Dragon Gate was great and inspirational, but what if a cod or mackerel jumped the Dragon gate? Would it become a dragon? It seemed only carp were capable of such a feat, and Shugyoku Hirenaga was a butterfly koi, a fish which was not considered to be a proper carp by a good number of people. If the butterfly koi was not considered to be a true koi fish, who was to say that one jumping the Dragon Gate would make it a dragon?
"There's only one way to find out," Iroka suddenly said. Her doppelganger looked quizzically at her. "Yes, I may not be a real Shinigami, and the butterfly koi might not become a dragon upon jumping the waterfall. But that's all conjecture. Who's to say that the butterfly koi won't become a dragon? Who's to say that I'm not a real Shinigami? After all, Shinigami are the ones who obtain Shikai and Bankai. If I wasn't a real one, I wouldn't be here trying to get Bankai. Wait just a little. If I jump the Dragon Gate and I don't become a dragon, then I can give up and die."
Iroka paused for a moment. "Wait, scratch that! Even if I jumped the Dragon Gate and didn't become a dragon, why on earth would I give up and die? If indeed our zanpakutō are reflections of who we really are, then I'm sure you know why my zanpakutō release is none other than 'ganbare'. At first, I thought it was a childish release, and wanted something cooler. But now I realize that all my life, I've been struggling because I can overcome. If I couldn't, I would have been dead by now. My release is not just a release command, it's an encouragement to me to keep striving. So get me back to that waterfall. I'm not dying here, no ma'am!"
The doppelganger tilted her head to one side. "But what's the point of struggling, when, even if you think you succeed, nobody will really accept you, seeing as you are not a real Shinigami?" Iroka huffed. "I'll make them accept me, or I won't bother with them!" came the reply. "Not everyone will be my friend or ally, but those who matter, I'll keep and protect them how I can, or at least do them proud. Oni-chan, Kimyou-sama, all of Seireitei, and many others I might not be able to remember. Oh, and Mu-mu-chan."
The doppelganger smiled, nodded, and was gone. And the roar of the waterfall returned. Iroka pushed herself to the surface of the water and took a deep breath, then began the climb. She was tired, the rocks were slippery, her reiatsu was spent, and the water hit hard. But every time she slipped, every time she fell, she would yell, "ganbare, Munemasa Iroka!" and keep climbing. In what seemed to be a vision, she could see her zanpakutō spirit, swimming up the waterfall in her inner world. It fell every time she did, and rose every time she did. This vision inspired her all the more and she climbed and climbed...
...until she reached and found herself at the top! With a final leap, in the vision of her inner world, the butterfly koi exerted itself one last time, jumping clean over the huge torii gate that stood at the top of the hill in her inner world. And there was silence. Then with an explosion of water, a glorious dragon burst forth from the river, and ascended into the sky. No longer the frail-looking butterfly koi, but a majestic, many-coiled dragon. And then she heard the spirit's voice once more, even as droplets of water created a beautiful rainbow around her.
"On this day, you have done much more than just attain Bankai. Your greatest challenge has been acceptance of whom you are, including me, which is why your Shikai was a weapon you found difficult to use, a meteor hammer, which you could never learn to use. Because you disadvantaged yourself by seeing yourself as worthless, unworthy, weak. But you have grown. Today was a test to see how far you'd come. And now that you accept who you are, you will find that Shugyoku Hirenaga was a name given to reflect your lack of acceptance of who you are. My real name you shall have presently. And now, revel in your victory, and call on your final power."
"Bankai! Nyoihoju Kōryu!!"
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FINISHED
FINISHED
