Lesson from the Legend[Joint Training Thread, NDE]

[Kyomei Kuchiki]

This is a closed Joint Training Thread between Taien Hadohou and Kyomei Mitsukaru.

The setting is NDE and the training is for TP as well as tutoring for Kyomei in one of Taien's reserved techniques.

It is early evening and Kyomei has gone searching for an Academy Legend, Taien Hadohou. It is rumored that the master Kidou specialist is so powerful as to have learned Kidou beyond some low Seated Officers. Kyomei looks for him where he is rumored to be at this time, in a seemingly abandoned courtyard riddled with the results of his training. The weather is clear and the air is warm and humid. A comfortable day for training.

[Kyomei Kuchiki]

Classes were done for the day and Kyomei had enjoyed a relaxing meal in his room. Mashed potatoes, corn, and ramen, his absolute favorites. Kyomei made sure that his uniform was in perfect condition before heading out for the evening. Food stains would be unacceptable, for he had a mission tonight that would require him looking in proper Order. He had to be impressive if he was going to pull off what he wanted to do. It had all started yesterday in his Kidou class.

Kyomei had overheard some students talking in hushed whispers in the back of the room. They talked about a Legendary Student, one whose Kidou was unmatched. Taien Hadohou, the Master of Spirit. He had mastered Kidou that was beyond some Academy Graduates. It was even rumored that he was powerful enough to master Hado 88, one of the most destructive forces in existence. Kyomei desperately wanted to learn from him, especially since he had also heard that he too had never heard his Zanpakutou Spirit call to him.

Kyomei had only a small clue of where to go to find Taien. There was apparently an abandoned courtyard where he trained. It would be easily found through the massive spiritual pressure emanating from it as well as the broken cobblestone and charred walls surrounding it for quite a distance. Armed with this knowledge, Kyomei set forth to learn from a legend. After twenty minutes of searching and numerous wrong turns and dead ends, Kyomei caught a glimpse of some of the broken cobblestones leading down a path.

When he opened his mind to try and sense something, he faintly detected a presence a good deal away. He decided to go for it and walk in that direction. When he finally came upon the correct courtyard he called out to whoever was there. "He.. Hello? My name is Kyomei Mitsukaru, and I was wondering if someone by the name of Taien Hadohou was here? This seems like the place of the rumors." Kyomei was nervous, and rightfully so. This place felt of true power.

SPOILER: Click to show

Strength – [50 ] Points

Speed - [125] Points

Spiritual Pressure - [120 (x2)] 240 Points

Reiatsu Strength - [130 (x2)] 260 Points

Light Aura - 75 Points

Dark Aura - 25 Points

Instinct - [50] Points

Senses [50] Points

Energy sensory - [75] Points

Healing Expertise - 0 Points

[Taien Hadohou]

Taien, as it happened, was indeed at the courtyard today. He was basicly there every day, but at different times usually. Sometimes this was simply due to when he got up and when he went to train during the day. Another factor was what kind of spars and challanges he had going on at the time. Taien had a list that he kept of people who wished to do battle with him, and wrote down their names, times of appointments, and sometimes the estimated battle time as well, depending on the other persons abilities. Frankly writing down on the list was the easiest way to find Taien.

But, Kyomei had not done that, instead, he braved the the twisitng turns of the Academy. The same twisting turns that had been rumored to house dead (?) spirits of the ones who were lost in it before. The Academy was quite expansive after all, and if you didn't have a map or it was your first time coming here, you could get lost pretty easily. However, Kyomei had not! Which was a good thing of course. Seriously, they would have had to send out the search parties to find him if he didn't turn up after a day. And by then it might have been to late. . . But lets not dwell on what could have happened, lets see what happens now that hes gotten here!

As Kyomei walked into the courtyard, he was greeted to the sight of a youngish man punching a wall. Said wall promptly split open and broke down, or at least the part he was punching. Now, this person had green hair as well, which was one of the traits Taien Hadohou had as well. Now assuming this WAS- ohh screw it, of course it was Taien! Who else would be here? Exept for maybe Ren-San, a long time training partner of Taien. And a few various other notable people as well, Akeru Kurohi, Kubi Tsuru, and others of varying power. Truly it was an arena of the strong.

Before Kyomei had a chance to speak, Taien whipped around and thrust out his hand, Reiatsu already built up around it. Of course, it wasn't aimed at Kyomei, and he could probably already see that. Taien didn't usually do sneaky stuff, prefering to simply go at it instead of hiding. Kyomei was going to see something that truly showed Taien's mastery over Kidou. Or maybe not, depending on what he thought of "Mastery of Kidou" would look like. Sometimes it was something completely different than what one thought.

"Hadou #4: Byakurai."

Taien called out as the bolt of lightning left his fingertip. Except, it didn't look like the normal Byakurai Kyomei would have known. No, instead of a straight, solid beam of Reiatsu, it was more. . eratic, jumpy. It looked more akin to an actual lightning bolt than Byakurai. The bolt slammed into the ground, and, instead of simply piercing a hole through it, it blew apart the ground! There was a loud explosion as the ground was blown away by the lightning bolt Taien had called forth.

This was what made Taien the master of Kidou he was. Not sheer power, not simple "mastery", but unmatched versitility and adaptability. Taien had an innate understanding of Reiatsu and how it worked, much more so than practicly anything else. That was his power, that was the power that was regarded as a legend. But, enough about Taien for now. Taien heard Kyomei speaking after that and turned to look at him. Kyomei would get his first look at the legend right now.

Taien had mismatched colored eyes. A condition commonly known as heterochromia iridis, Taien had the complete version of it, both eyes being completely seperate colors. His left eye was a startling, deep crimson color, and his right eye was sky blue, a stark contrast to the other color. Taien had green hair, but Kyomei already knew that. Last but not least, Taien had an Academy uniform on, like everyone else. It was odd, however, that the uniform had no damage in the slightest, and looked like it had never been repaired since Taien owned it. Of course, that was due to Taien not really ever getting hurt during his fights.

"One moment please Mitsukaru-San!"

Taien called before whiping back around, arm coming to the front once again.

"Hadou #33: Sokkatsui!"

Taien called out. A ball of blazing blue fire soared out of Taien's outstretched and open palm, moving at an incredable pace, slamming into the wall and then detonating! The blast blew apart what was left of the wall (by now Kyomei would realize it wasn't a wall per say, but a target). Chunks of rock and mortar were falling all around, and what was left was a blackened area. Taien really was strong, the rumors had been right. Would Kyomei get what he came for? Or would he end up like the rest?

"Now. . ."

Taien said as he turned to Kyomei.

"What can I do for you, Mitsukaru-San?"

SPOILER: Click to show

Strength - [30] Points

Speed - [145] Points

Spiritual Pressure - [150] (300) Points

Reiatsu Strength - [200] (400) Points

Light Aura - [100] Points

Dark Aura - [0] Points

Instinct - [50] Points

Senses [50] Points

Energy sensory - [30] Points

Healing Expertise - [0] Points


Total SP: [655] Points

• [Advanced Reiatsu Control] {3}
  
  
• [Spellweaving (Kidou Fusion)] {3}
  
  
• [Learning] {3}
  
  
• [Analyzing] {3}
  
  
• [Charisma] {3}
  
  

[Kyomei Kuchiki]

Kyomei had barely even walked into the courtyard before the sole inhabitant had spun around and called out at him. Hado #4: Byakurai There was a flash, and pretty colors bloomed everywhere. The Byakurai was unusual in form, arcing in branches before slamming into the ground explosively. Everywhere that the Kidou touched shone a brilliant emerald green. Kyomei was almost too lost in the beauty of the display to be too startled by the danger of the situation. Once he came to, and realized that he had been in a slightly precarious place, he steeled his mind to try and avoid being lost in the colors again. To admire them was one thing, to fawn over them and put himself in danger was another.

The figure, whom Kyomei assumed to be Taien, was impressively powerful in his control over reiatsu. To be able to change the form of Kidou so effortlessly, and make it immensely more powerful was beyond even some of the rumors he had heard about Taien. None of the rumors had prepared him for the sight that was the Legendary Taien Hadohou. He was quite a bit taller than Kyomei, seeing as he was fairly short, yet he appeared very young, much younger than Kyomei. Taien didn't even look like he could drink in the land of the living. His hair was an odd shade of green, but it suited him quite well. But what stood out most to Kyomei was his eyes. Two completely different colors, a deep crimson and a bright blue. Those different eyes were fascinating, yet they didn't look right. They looked out of place, out of Order.

"One moment please, Mitsukaru-San!" He was quite formal, that was a redeeming quality. If he had been physically disordered as well as rude, then learning from him could get very tedious. However, this was not the case, so Kyomei was fine in letting a little genetic malfunction slide. It wasn't like it was his fault he was like that. Taien spun around and called out again. "Hado #33 Sokkatsui!" Even before the Kidou had left his hand Kyomei could tell that this was different from before. The crimson light shone brighter and richer in hue than the simple Byakurai. There was obviously a much more powerful Aura to the more powerful Kidou.

The destruction of the object was absolute. Pieces of rock had been sent scattered across the entire courtyard. There were quite a few large chunks that could have easily broken bones if they were to collide with you at the speed in which they were travelling. The blast was strong enough to prevent any chunks from being sent up and out back at Taien, that's just how powerful it was. Kyomei was going to be honored to even make his acquaintance, much less learn from the legend himself. He turned back towards Kyomei. "Now... What can I do for you, Mitsukaru-San?"

"Hadohou-senpai, I have heard of you in whispered rumor and late night tale. The stories do not do you justice. I am honored to have met you and seen just a glimpse of your Kidou strength. The colors are magnificent. If I may, could I beseech you for a bit of tutoring, or the like? To learn from you would be a great honor indeed." Kyomei stood there stoic, not daring to show the awe or the apprehension he felt at being so close to someone so vastly above him in strength. He delivered his plea with practiced ease and enunciation, to show himself a man of integrity and respect for others. He even bowed when he addressed the senior student. If his carefully Ordered attempt did not work, then he did not know what would.

[Taien Hadohou]

"Hadohou-senpai, I have heard of you in whispered rumor and late night tale. The stories do not do you justice. I am honored to have met you and seen just a glimpse of your Kidou strength. The colors are magnificent. If I may, could I beseech you for a bit of tutoring, or the like? To learn from you would be a great honor indeed."

At those words Taien's mind instantly went into analisis mode, his eyes darting from every aspect of Kyomei, both physically and spiritually. He noted Kyomei's posture, his stance, his eyes, his Reiatsu, and anything else of note he could find. All of that information was processed in Taien's mind, working out a clear picture for him to use. In all of about three seconds silence, Taien had assessed Kyomei in his entirety. Barring the mind of course, but Taien could discern a lot from how he held himself.

It was this aspect of Taien that had been honed over many battles, his analitical skills allowing him to asses and determine the proper course of action. It served him well in situations like these. From what Taien deduced, Kyomei was a strong Kidou user, very strong for a Student, but still below his own strength. On a hunch, Taien quickly realized that Kyomei was much like himself, a Shinigami lacking a Zanpakuto, but blessed with absurd spiritual power.

"Hmm! You are not the first request ive had for training, and you probably will not be the last either! Before we begin teaching of any kind, would you be so kind as to demonstrate your strongest Kidou, be it Bakudo or Hadou. Actually, both would be better, it would allow me to further gather information. Lets see what you can do!"

Taien simply declared. It was a reasonable request, Taien wished to see the quality of what he would be working with. It would give him a solid ground on where to start first, and gradually work his way up. This could end up being a very good day if things continued to go like this. . . So, without further ado, lets see what the rookie can do eh? This should be a welcome diversion from the fights. .. For a while at least.

[Kyomei Kuchiki]

"Hmm! You are not the first request ive had for training, and you probably will not be the last either! Before we begin teaching of any kind, would you be so kind as to demonstrate your strongest Kidou, be it Bakudo or Hadou. Actually, both would be better, it would allow me to further gather information. Lets see what you can do!" Taien was going to give him a chance to show what he could do in order to see in he was worthy of being tutored. Kyomei could work with this. Kyomei didn't know too many very strong Kidous, his arsenal was more built on versatility rather than power at the moment. Kyomei pondered for a second before speaking.

"Well, Hadohou-senpai, the Hado that is technically the strongest is not very useful in a variety of situations. Tsuzuri Raiden is not too useful for a demonstration, seeing as I would need to actually attack you directly for you to see its effects. Thus, I'll show you the Hado that I can demonstrate the best, Byakurai." Kyomei pointed at one of the larger chunks of rubble lying on the ground. "Hado #4: Byakurai" In the instant that the reiatsu formed, Kyomei pulled the innate Aura to the surface, reinforcing itself. The result was a Byakurai of 390 reiatsu strength as opposed to 260, and a Byakurai that could travel longer without dissipating, as it sustained itself. The rock would not only be shattered, but would be pierced through as the Byakurai impacted into the courtyard behind it before dispersing too much energy and ending.

For his choice in Bakudo, Kyomei decided upon a highly defensive Kidou. "Bakudo #39: Enkosen" The same process, the same result. A shield of energy formed with a reistsu strength of 390, as well as being self sustaining. Kyomei took a leap backwards and fired three mental Byakurai into it. Using the Aura kept these Byakurai at full strength as if they had been called out beforehand. The three Byakurai of 260 reiatsu strength impacted the Enkosen shield and were broken to pieces. The shield stood firm until Kyomei actively released it. "What do you say, Hadohou-senpai? Am I good enough for the honor of your tutelage?"

[Taien Hadohou]

Interesting, very interesting! I can tell these Kidou are much stronger than they normally would be, it seems he can tap into the true power of Kidou to make his own much more powerful! And yet, they still are not at their fullest potential. Ohh well, thats why im here right? This will be exciting!

Taien thought as he observed Kyomei form and fire the two Kidou. It would have been nice to see if he could have done something with Hadou #11: Tzuri Raiden though, but Kyomei didn't seem to exactly have the experiance Taien did in that field of expertise. Still, based on the Byakurai, he had to have at least mastered both of the spells. That was Taien's assumption, it could be wrong, it could be right. If he did, he probably would be able to fuse them, though he probably hadn't learned about Kidou Fusion yet. Perhaps they could discuss that in their session. Or Taien could demonstrait in a moment.

Taien inspected his Bakudou as well. Again, he seemed to draw something from within the Kidou, reinforcing it and enhancing its power to greater levels. The spell held true as the three Hadou broke against it. Interesting, he could do this with both kinds of Kidou. It was probable then, that he could do it with every Kidou he used, and perhaps any other techniques he made himself. More to the point, he could possibly do more with it than Taien was witnessing.

"What do you say, Hadohou-senpai? Am I good enough for the honor of your tutelage?"

Right to the point eh? Taien studied Kyomei one last time, a quick glance over if you will. Taien now had sufficient information to make his decison. He would start the lesson here, though Kyomei would not know it. Taien's arm, and by consequence his hand, was lifted up infront and to the right of him. Instantly, lightning crackled around his gloved hand, and indeed there was a glove there! Lightning crackled and popped and roared into existance. Kyomei would know this spell well, Hadou #11: Tzuri Raiden. However, there was something. . . different about it.

From the tip of his middle finger, a beam extended! It widened and grew, until it had spread across all his fingers! It extended for about three feet and stopped. It was. . . a blade! Taien created a blade made of pure lightning! It was an english broadsword in style, thick and heavy looking. Well, it would have been, if it wasn't made of glowing, crackling electric energy. Taien's arm whipped back, passing through a large boulder behind him. There was no resistance, the blade passed clean through! It was a quick, fluid motion, and Taien's arm was back at its original position.

That was, before pointng at Kyomei! However, Kyomei would realize this was not going to hurt him. As quickly as it had appeared, it vanished, the energy fading in a flash, and all that was left was Taien's extended open hand.

"Interesting indeed, I would be happy to help you, Kyomei Mitsukaru-San!"

Taien declared as the half of the boulder slid off and hit the ground with a resounding THUD! This would be one interesting day...

"Now, tell me, what exactly did I just do?"

Taien questioned, all with a smile on his face. You could swear Taien's eyes were glowing right now! Whether that was from the electiricity, Reiatsu, or something else, it looked sort of weird, but also somehow entrancing. It was odd.

Remaining Reiatsu: 2950/3000

[Kyomei Kuchiki]

Taien started to course electricity through his gloved hand with Tsuzuri Raiden, which was an impressive display in itself, but then he started to do something completely different, something that Kyomei had to look very closely in his analysis to determine. The Aura of the Tsuzuri Raiden wasn't too impressive, it was simple. However, as the blade started to form, the Aura was being supplemented with another, the process of merging empowering them both. The Auras were obviously of the same electrical based element, as they shone a brilliant emerald green. He checked over all the simple electrical Kidous that he knew and came to one conclusion. Taien was merging Byakurai and Tsuzuri Raiden. The main power came from Tsuzuri Raiden, whereas the form came from Byakurai.

Taien finished his demonstration of such an intriguing concept and his eyes shone like stars. "I would be happy to help you, Kyomei Mitsukaru-San! Now, tell me, what exactly did I just do?" The rock had been cleanly sliced through as if it were pudding, there must be massive potential in the combination of Kidou. "I'm fairly certain that I know what you did, the colors give it away. You must have combined two Kidou, one being Tsuzuri Raiden, and I assume the other to be Byakurai. That sounds like a lot of fun!" Kyomei put one foot back behind him in a solid stance and put his hands by his side, fingers curved to form a spherical shape in between his hands. He started to form Sho and added in Tsuzuri Raiden. He hadn't known this before, but it turned out that merging Kidou felt like breathing for him, that's how much of a natural he was at it.

With the merged Kidou complete, Kyomei yelled "Kame... hame... haaaa!" He didn't know where the words came from, but they seemed to fit the circumstance. He flung his hands forward and the Sho shell was cast forward, with the electrical maelstrom contained inside it. The Kidou hit a wall and burst in a glorious display of lightning that would blast a large hole in the wall. "Heh, lightning grenade. I could probably use that as a festive firework if I let it detonate in the air... Maybe for that human thing, the Fourth of July? Isn't that somewhat soonish?"

Remaining Reiatsu: 2350/2400

[Taien Hadohou]

Taien observed as Kyomei formed the crackling ball of force and lightning, condensing into a single orb. Kyomei called something out, something that Taien would not get, as he was not from the World of the Living, and thus, had absolutely no idea what he was saying. As he did so, the ball rocketed forwards, slamming into a wall, and exploded. It left a nice little impact mark, a blackened hole in the wall that was visible from all around! Ahh property damage, there truely is nothing like it. Anyways, thoughts drifting, back to the training!

"Heh, lightning grenade. I could probably use that as a festive firework if I let it detonate in the air... Maybe for that human thing, the Fourth of July? Isn't that somewhat soonish?"

"Oya oya? The fourth of july? Whats that?"

Taien asked as he turned his head to the side. It was worth mentioning that Taien did not die like a normal person. He was born in the Soul Society, and thus never was in the World of the Living long enough to explore outside of Japan, most of the time. Thus, even though he had heard of America, he knew nothing of its cultures and traditions. This would most likely confuse Kyomei, and he might even attempt to explain it to Taien. It was in this instant that Taien decided to take advantage of the momentary distraction. In the blink of an eye, Taien had woven his Kidou. It was a fusion spell, just like before, except this time Taien fused Hadou #1: Sho, and Hadou #11: Tzuri Raiden. The result, however, was entirely different than Kyomei's.

What could be concidered a veil of force enveloped Kyomei, faster than he would be able to react to due to how close to Taien he was. It jumped the gap in less than the span of a second. To Kyomei, it would feel as if he was suddenly emersed in water, or stuck in a drape. The force flowed over him seemlessly, rippling a bit even. With that done, Taien's right hand moved. His index finger gestured inwards, towards Taien's body, while his middle finger pointed downwards.

Kyomei would suddenly feel a sharp, swift force on the back of each knee, which would suddenly cause him to topple backwards. Well, he would have, had not another sharp application of force smash him on the chest, forcing him to the ground with a thud. It would be painful yes, but not by that much. Taien's last gesture made sure of that, an upwards gesture with his thumb caused a force from below to soften the impact Kyomei would have had by quite a lot.

This to was a lesson. Taien reached out with his right hand and helped Kyomei up to his feet.

"Now. . . Im confident you know what I did. It was a fusion spell, yes, and it was made with the exact same spells as your lightning orb. However, the application was different. Instead of creating a ball of lightning, I created a wave of force. I trust that you know the possibilities of fusion now eh?"

Taien said with a grin, eyes flashing crimson and blue. Taien turned around and looked up at the sky.

"The possibilities are endless, all you need is the right amount of imagination, a little bit of ingenuity, and you can do almost anything with Kidou."

Turning back to Kyomei, Taien glanced him over once more and was confident in what he was about to say.

"From my assesment, I can honestly say that you are like me, Takakazu-San, and Hinnshi-San, a master of kidou. Though Hinnshi-San used the term Reiatsu-Bender, I believe."

Taien said with a chuckle. Taien had met with both the Kidou Corps Vice Commander and Kidou Corps Commander before. He had even trained with Takakazu-San, and had gained two new techniques out of that.

"You may or may not have heard this before. If not, I suppose I should tell you the drawback to the massive power we have been granted. We do not manifest Zanpakuto like other Shinigami. Instead, we gain a massive boost of spiritual power and pressure. As well, of course, of a nearly unparalleled mastery over our techniques."

Taien let this soak in for a moment, waiting for Kyomei to respond before doing anything else. How would he react hnn?

Remaining Reiatsu: 2900/3000

[Kyomei Kuchiki]

"Oya Oya? The Fourth of July? What's that?" Kyomei turned to answer "Well it's the..." As he went to explain he was hit by a Kidou that arced against him, enveloped him in force. He felt the Aura of the wind based Kidou caressing his skin softly, doing nothing to harm him yet. Taien twitched his finger and Kyomei's legs pulled out from under him, then he felt a force on his chest push him less than gently towards the ground. As he started towards the ground, Kyomei absorbed the Aura that was pressing against him, causing Wind to extend two inches off of his body in every direction. Taien's last flick would ensure that Kyomei would feel absolutely no impact against the ground.

Taien helped Kyomei up, and began to explain all sorts of things. He explained who Kyomei was, who he would be, and who he was like. He had great reiatsu potential, but would never have a Zanpakutou to call his own. He'd always be alone in his head, without another voice to share the silence. However, he'd be so powerful. So powerful on his own, with the infinity of Kidou at his finger tips. His unique powers over Kidou would also increase his power even further. If he could manage to discover powerful Kidou that he could absorb safely, all would recognize him as being cool. "If I never get a Zanpakutou, then it makes sense to train near exclusively in the ways of Kidou and hand to hand combat." Kyomei bowed, before pushing his palm at Taien's gut.

If the blow were to connect, Taien would be thrown back quite a bit farther than a push would normally. Kyomei spoke as he looked at his outstretched hands. "This is my power. I see the colors floating through the air on the breeze, I see the inner quality of Kidou. I see it's full potential and coax it gently out of the depths of its being. I know of the True Aura of Kidou. I command it and let it flow through me. The Aura grows in strength as the Kidou does. It grows bigger, brighter, more beautiful. I wish others could see the beauty as I see it, but I've found not one who has the strength to do so. I'm sorry that I had to lash out at you without warning, but it was the easiest way to show you what I was capable of. The effects of the Wind Aura fueled by your Kidou flow over me right now."

[Taien Hadohou]

"If I never get a Zanpakutou, then it makes sense to train near exclusively in the ways of Kidou and hand to hand combat."

"Mhm! Thats why I don't have things like Spirit Communications in my schedual. It doesn't hurt to have additional weaponry training though, hence why I still have Kendo. Still though, you nailed it on the head. People like us generally train our bodies and spirits to their maximum limits, to draw out the power within."

Taien responded. He was about to say something else though, when Kyomei shoved his palm at his stomach. Now, normally Taien would just avoid the blow entirely, but he had a suspicion that this would help him understand Kyomei's power a lot more if he took it like a man. So he did, and for his trouble, he was knocked back a few feet. In fact, it was even more powerful than a regular push! Taien quickly realized this, and then realized what had happened.

He was pushed by wind. He had previously used a Wind based spell on Kyomei. There was currently an anomoly of Reiatsu around him, and it was so faint he hadn't noticed it before. Well, that was more the fault of his poor energy sensory, but you get the idea. Finally, Kyomei seemed to be able to draw out the power of Kidou in an elemental fashon. Quickly, Taien's mind connected the dots. He would have spent more time doing so, but due to a bit of bad luck and placement, he toppled over a large chunck of rock that was left from the blast wave of the previous training session.

This wasn't really bad for Taien though, a quick application of Elemental Reiatsu had completely softened the fall. As it were though, he decided to lay there as Kyomei explained his power, filling in what little gaps remained within Taien's mind and completing the image that lay before him. Ho ho ho, this was excellent! And, if Taien was right, he had a special gift for his new student/friend.

Taien's right arm quickly shot up, as if he was pointing out something, or he was going to declare something. Instead, Taien vanished on the spot. Really. He was just there, the next he wasn't. With Kyomei's current Senses and Speed, there was no way he could track Taien's movement. You see, Taien had just used Shunpo, the Shinigami Speed Stepping Technique. While Kyomei could learn this, yes, this wasn't the surprise Taien had for him. He had something far more powerful and versitile in mind.

As it were, Taien was now in front of Kyomei, finger pointed at his head, and left arm aimed at Kyomei's midsection. It happened so fast that Kyomei really wouldn't have any time to react to it, it was just to fast! As with before however, there was no intent to harm behind the motion. Taien's hand quickly dropped back to his side, and his other arm came with it. He again had his massive grin on.

"Interesting now does not do you justice, Kyomei-San. However, if you must explain your power to a potential enemy, the least you should do is make sure he/she's a good and well done corpse. Information is just another form of strength on the battle field, and a clever opponent can turn the tides of battle in an instant with the right knowledge."

If this was a real fight, in a real war, Kyomei would have been dead the moment Taien rematerialized. This was a fact he was going to have to learn someday, and Taien figured it would be a good a time as any to get it out of the way early.

"As I said before, I don't particularly favor stealth and deception. However, what was Kidou founded on? The element of surprise. If having nearly a constant fight every day has taught me anything, its that you use every advantage you can get a hold of. Honor is well and good and all, but it doesn't exactly do much good if you die, does it? There are times when we must put aside such notions, times when our actions do not just affect us, but those around us as well. You're a smart guy, I know you understand!"

Taien said, turning around and walking a few feet away, as to let Kyomei's personal bubble come back. He was six feet away, and now was a good time to show Kyomei what he was planning. Something even Taien hadn't mastered fully, but something he was willing to pass on to this man in front of him. It was a sign of trust, in a way. One master of techniques to another. Perhaps it would become a legacy technique, of sorts.

"Now, for putting up with what could have been two attempts on your life, and a bit of rambling, I suppose I can do something to compensate you for your time. Aside from actual lessons of course, those we formally get into tommarow!"

Taien said with a happy tone.

"The first thing is this: Since you were polite enough to tell me your power and its intricacies, I'll tell you mine as well! Its actually quite simple really."

Taien tapped the right side of his head, on his temple, twice with his right finger.

"My skill isn't so much about Kidou, its far simpler than that! Within my mind, I possess a greater than normal understanding of the workings of Reiatsu. How it flows, how it moves, how strong it is, all that basic stuff. You'd think that would be it, but its not. What this translates into is this. I possess the ability to look into Reiatsu and see its fullest potential. As you are aware, I possess higher than normal spiritual capabilities. Coupled with this knowledge, I can draw upon the fullest potential of every spell I cast, causing them to be at their fullest power every time, even without the incantation or speaking aloud. Not only that, I can manipulate the flow of my Kidou extremely easily, as you saw before with the Byakurai.

Basicly, all of my power comes from that one simple fact. Thats all there is to it really, just simple knowledge, the ability to use it, and a few other skills that I picked up through combat. Thats how I made my legend, as you said before."

As Taien finished with his explanation, he beckoned Kyomei to come in closer.

"Now for part the second. This is a gift, so to speak. A technique I learned very recently, in a spar with the Vice-Captain of the Kidou Corps himself. Concider it an act of trust and goodwill between us! Now, watch closely."

Taien's right index finger was once again pointed at the sky. However, Kyomei would immediately notice something. Reaitsu was forming into a ball at the tip of Taien's finger. It was about an inch in diameter, and was extremely soild in design. Thats not what would draw his attention though. The dot of Reiatsu was red. And moving. It seemed to mimic the movement of a flame. It started to move, and another dot took its place, this one a deep aqual blue, similarly moving like water. The process repeated until there were five dots in a circle hovering above Taien's finger, one of red, blue, green, yellow, and brown. Taien opened his palm and they gentally floated down and started lazily spining in a circle.

"You of all people should know this. Try touching one, it won't hurt."

Taien instructed lightly. This was going to be fun!

Remaining Reiatsu: 2850/3000

[Kyomei Kuchiki]

Taien let himself be hit by Kyomei's punch, sending him back a little bit and causing him to trip over a rock. He didn't seem to be hurt though, probably from that same technique that Taien had used to knock Kyomei over, though Kyomei couldn't be certain about it. Kyomei spoke to Taien of his abilities, so that Taien could better teach him how to use them to the fullest. It was incredibly naive and dangerous for Kyomei to do so, as giving up the soul of your powers only gave the other person ammunition against you. Kyomei didn't know why he was just giving all of this information away, but he did it anyways.

Still lying down on the ground, Taien just seemed to soak in the information that Kyomei was saying. Then, in a strange gesture, he thrust out his right arm and then dissappeared. He was just, all of a sudden, gone. There was only one explanation for it that Kyomei could see, and that was that Taien had used a Shunpo. That hypothesis was soon confirmed as Taien appeared in front of Kyomei, having two attacks seemingly pointed for his vitals.

However, Taien wasn't attacking Kyomei. He had a huge smile on his face as he lowered his arms away from an attacking position and spoke to Kyomei. "Interesting now does not do you justice, Kyomei-San. However, if you must explain your power to a potential enemy, the least you should do is make sure he/she's a good and well done corpse. Information is just another form of strength on the battle field, and a clever opponent can turn the tides of battle in an instant with the right knowledge." This all made perfect sense, so Kyomei didn't have anything to add to the words he said.

Then, Taien began to speak of honor, however in a different light than Kyomei had ever heard spoke of before. "As I said before, I don't particularly favor stealth and deception. However, what was Kidou founded on? The element of surprise. If having nearly a constant fight every day has taught me anything, its that you use every advantage you can get a hold of. Honor is well and good and all, but it doesn't exactly do much good if you die, does it? There are times when we must put aside such notions, times when our actions do not just affect us, but those around us as well. You're a smart guy, I know you understand!" This was a fascinating concept, that Kidou was the epitome of dishonor in battle, getting the edge over your opponent with trickery. Kyomei had never thought of it like that...

Taien walked away a little from Kyomei and then began to speak of his own powers over Kidou, no, over Reiatsu itself. Whereas Kyomei's power came from inside the Kidou, Taien's power came from the base substance of it. That gave Taien a greater control over Kidou than Kyomei, though Kyomei's own manipulation of a Kidou's Aura was fairly strong as well, just in a different way. Taien then spoke of a gift. Kyomei liked presents, so he wondered what this one was going to be. Taien lifted his finger to the sky and a splash of color seemed to flow from it, coalescing into a large orb.

Five times he did this and five different orbs of color came out of his finger, before circling around him. Taien gestured to them and said that they were harmless to touch. Kyomei was entranced by the colors. They were so pure in form, being made of basic reiatsu. This was not the color of a Kidou, it was the color of the innate nature of the Kidou in massive quantities. Kyomei drew close to the orbs. They were just quivering with power waiting for Kyomei to absorb them and release their true power.

Every step closer became faster and faster before Kyomei reached the orbs and, somewhat rudely, grabbed at the green one before thanking Taien. The rush of energy was beyond anything that Kyomei had ever felt before. Suddenly the little two inch Aura of wind had exploded in a three yard Aura of wind. Debris went flying, with Taien going with it a little ways. All of a sudden, Kyomei was hurtling through the air. The force of the wind coming off of him was more than enough to lift him up in the air and keep him up there. It was fun, and Kyomei quickly worked out how to adjust his body to point the Aura in just the right way in order to fly about the courtyard. It was a truly exhilarating experience.

"Thank you, Taien-san!" Kyomei screamed at the top of his lungs before letting himself down to the ground by releasing the Aura. It had been a massive surprise and an amazing gift, being able to fly in the Soul Society, but there was a time and a place for everything, and this was not it. If Taien had saved himself from the inital blast of wind, Kyomei would run up to him and thank him again. If not, Kyomei would run up and help him to his feet. Either way, Kyomei would be more than willing to listen to Taien, hoping to learn how to accomplish that feat, if it was possible.

[Taien Hadohou]

Ahh! He's going for the wind elemental Reiatsu first. Wait a second. Wind. Element. Aura. Ohh boy, better act fast Taien!

Taien grinned as he realized what was about to happen.

As Kyomei-San grabbed at the orb, Taien coated himself in the veil of force from before, and used it to steady himself against the wind, putting an equal amount of force pushing forwards as to not be blown back. What he didn't expect though was the fact that Kyomei-San seemed to be flying now. That alone spoke volumes of the possibilities that Kyomei could use this power. Taien mearly looked on at the now airborn student, grinning all the while. As expected of a fellow master of Reiatsu.

"Thank you, Taien-san!"

Shouted Kyomei-San as he lowered himself to run over and thank Taien again. Taien only smiled and nodded in response, waiting for a moment to let Kyomei-San collect himself and let the euphoria wear off a bit. A few seconds went by in silence as Kyomei-San calmed himself, and Taien rapid fired thoughts and analisis after analisis through his mind. If this was what the wind element did to Kyomei's aura, what would have happened had he grabbed any of the others. Pictures of a clap of thunder, a tempest of flames, a torrent of water, and a wall of earth came to mind.

"Well! That certainly was an unexpected development! You'll be able to use this technique to a far greater degree than I thought beforehand. Though, given the reaction you're aura just had, I'm fairly glad you didn't grab any of the other orbs. I can imagine the results quite vividly."

Taien said. He said so without any malice or ill will however, just stating facts that he had drawn up. It really was a good thing he hadn't grabbed the other four by mistake. One or both of them could have been injured. When Kyomei-San had better control of this new power though, what would he be able to do with it? The possibilites were as exciting to Taien as they were to Kyomei-San.

"Right, as I said before, I came up with this technique while sparring with Taka-San. He is just like us, posessing no Zanpakuto and a massive amount of spiritual might. His power is what this technique does. He possesses five elemental totems, one for each element, that he uses to infuse and enhance his Kidou and other techniques."

Taien paused for a moment to let the information sink in before continuing.

"As I fought him, I learned from him. From his power, I devised this technique, to allow me to create, form, and infuse elemental Reiatsu into my own techniques without the aid of a medium. It took all of five minutes and a bit of meditiation to bring it all together into this technique. Soshi Senjigusuri."

Taien then thought of something breifly and cocked his head to the side with a look of thought.

"Come to think of it, now that I know how your power works, I could probably create a technique to mimic it as well. Something for the future though, anyways, on to learning this technique!"

Taien gestured for Kyomei to sit, as Taien was doing the same.

"Due to the circumstances I was in, I managed to learn all five elements at once. For now, we'll start with wind, and work our way up once you've managed to get some control over the technique."

Taien explained briefly.

"Now. . . close your eyes, and open up the eyes of your mind, the eyes of the soul."

Taien paused briefly to allow Kyomei to start meditating.

"Feel the wind blowing across your skin, feel it blowing through your hair. What does it feel like? What is its quality? Hear the wind as it blows past you, hear it as it moves through you. What does it whisper to you? What does it say? See the wind as it passes you by, see it as it blows through your mind. What shapes do you see? What visions do you have? Taste the wind as it moves, taste the nature of the wind. What is its flavor? What is its texture? Smell the wind as it moves across the plains, smell what the wind brings with it. What does its scent? What does it bring with it? Learn from the wind, let it into your soul. Let the lessons of the wind reside within you. Put it aside, place it into your soul, let your being become one with the wind, as the wind becomes one with you."

Taien seemingly half instructed and half chanted. It was like a sort of zen state or something. Taien had done something remarkably similar to this before, however, Taka-San wasn't quite the best teacher. Taien had actually learned from him in that regard as well. Taien observed the teachers of the academy, and learned how to teach from them. This was the result of that learning. From here, the winds of change were stiring, and a new legend was being born.

They sat in silence for what seemed like eons before Kyomei slowly opened his eyes.

"Now. . . what have you learned from the wind?"

Taien asked with a gradualy widening smile.

Remaining Reiatsu: 2800/3000

[Kyomei Kuchiki]

Taien was perfectly fine despite the blast of wind coming from Kyomei. This was to be expected from the Master of Spirit. As Kyomei rushed up, Taien seemed amused by the sheer luck of his that Kyomei had gone for the green orb and not any of the other four. "Well! That certainly was an unexpected development! You'll be able to use this technique to a far greater degree than I thought beforehand. Though, given the reaction you're aura just had, I'm fairly glad you didn't grab any of the other orbs. I can imagine the results quite vividly." Kyomei was starting to feel really comfortable around Taien. They were both of the same mind and were both fascinated by the developments surrounding them.

Taien began to explain how he developed the technique working alongside the Vice-Captain of the Kidou Corps. It was fascinating information, especially finding out that Taien had achieved this with just five minutes of meditation. That was seriously impressive. Taien even hinted that he could learn how to tap into Kyomei's innate power and replicate it for himself. Taien seemed to be a collector of powers which Kyomei had no problem with, seeing as Taien was willing to share. Taien sat down on the ground and motioned for Kyomei to do the same.

Though Taien had achieved all five elements incredibly quick, Kyomei wasn't as skilled at learning quickly. Taien decided that they'd start with just the element of wind. Kyomei had no objection to this, seeing as the Wind Aura was the most familiar and favorite of his Auras. Taien gave him a single piece of instruction in order to start the training. "Now. . . close your eyes, and open up the eyes of your mind, the eyes of the soul." This came easy to Kyomei. Meditation and staying calm was almost as natural to him as breathhing. Kyomei relaxed his shoulders, twisted his neck to relieve air pressure from inside the joints, then lowered himself into a state where he could hear and respond to Taien.

"Feel the wind blowing across your skin, feel it blowing through your hair. What does it feel like? What is its quality?"

Kyomei chanted in response to Taien's almost rhythmic voice. "It is the kiss of the sky and the caress of the breeze. It is the gentle touch of peace and the uplifting force of power. It is like the petal of the rose against the skin, and is softer than the smoothest silks." In his mind's eye, Kyomei could feel what Wind should feel like against his skin. This was only part one of the process of creating Wind reiatsu.

"Hear the wind as it blows past you, hear it as it moves through you. What does it whisper to you? What does it say?"

"It whispers my name, calls out for life through my hands. It doesn't speak to me in words, but in song. It sings to me of times gone and times to come. It sings of change and sings of birth and rebirth. Above all, it sings of me. Nothing escapes the wind, and it sings to me of this." Step two was imbued into the orb of the mind, the call.

"See the wind as it passes you bye, see it as it blows through your mind. What shapes do you see? What visions do you have?"

One of the most important parts was to follow, the physical sight. "I see all shapes, yet none. I see the shifting of the wind never settling, always being new. I see visions of life and change, the wind watching over all, providing life and peace. Above all, I see visions of an order in the midst of chaos, updrafts of peace among maelstroms. I see destruction and healing in one object." The shine of the orb, the call of the orb, and the caress of the orb was complete.

"Taste the wind as it moves, taste the nature of the wind. What is its flavor? What is its texture?"

"It tastes of emptiness and sorrow, of tragedy and pain. It tastes of bitterness and need, to which there is no end. It tastes of the fall of man and the eternal motion of the sky. However, it also tastes of hope, of new leaves turning and seasons changing. It tastes of peace." To describe the taste of the wind accompanied by all its memories was difficult to put into words, but Kyomei could feel the taste inside himself enough to fill the orb with the sensation.

The orb in Kyomei's mind was already quivering with power. Only one step remained to make it complete. "Smell the wind as it moves across the plains, smell what the wind brings with it. What does its scent? What does it bring with it?"

"It smells of rose petals and the fruit of the trees. It smells of a new day dawning and new seasons coming with the breeze. It carries the weary and brings the weak to the source of strength. It smells of change and of growth. Above all else, it brings with it a source of energy and of strength. It brings the power to rise above." The orb inside was complete. It embodied all of the perfect nature of the Wind. It was Wind Incarnate, with all it's faults and strengths made clear. Only the deep meditation and guidance of Taien could have produced this.

"Learn from the wind, let it into your soul. Let the lessons of the wind reside within you. Put it aside, place it into your soul, let your being become one with the wind, as the wind becomes one with you." Inside himself, Kyomei took the orb that he had formed inside his mind and he let reiatsu pool, shaping it so that it embodied everything that had been made known of the Wind. He let it flit through his body, forming through his mind and, more importantly, his heart. He let it flow and guide itself through his body and through his soul. When he was satisfied, he slowly opened his eyes.

"Now. . . what have you learned from the wind?" It took no time at all for Kyomei to know the exact word for what he had learned. "I have learned... of CHANGE!" All that he had developed inside himself he poured through his hands into the space in between them as he held them upright, elbows pointed outwards. A large orb appeared between his hands, shining with an internal green light and singing with an almost holy hum.

Due to the outpouring of Wind Reiatsu, Kyomei's hair shot straight up and his pupils turned an emerald green that even sent cracks of color into his normally brown irises. Kyomei eventually let go of the orb and it dissipated with a sweet, but bitter gust of wind. Kyomei's hair fell at a reasonable pace, but the change to his eyes left slowly. Kyomei gasped for breath, as it took a fair amount of energy to pour that much effort into one thing for so long. "That was amazing. And that was only the first of five..."

Remaining Reiatsu: 2250/2400

[Taien Hadohou]

"I have learned... of CHANGE!"

Was Kyomei-San's response to Taien. As he said this, an orb of Reiatsu formed inbetween the space in his hands. It was a larger version of the miniature sphere of Reiatsu Taien was able to call forth and dispell at will. A large amount of wind was generated by the orb, causing Kyomei's hair to flit about in the breeze. Taien's own green hair would have flapped a bit as well, but he still had the force veil up. In all the time that Taien had been alive, he knew it paid to be prepared.

The largest change, however, was to Kyomei-San's eyes. The pupils turned a brilliant emerald green, shining within the depth of his eyes. The light even spilled over a bit into his brown iris', peppering them with cracks of green light. It lasted for around twenty seconds, before Kyomei-San was forced to let go of the swirling orb of power. Without some source of Reaitsu to connect to, the orb died out, producing one final breeze before winking out of existance. As expected of Kyomei-San.

Kyomei-San's hair fell back into place, but while it was still up, Taien was able to catch a glimpse of something on Kyomei-San's forehead. He only saw it because of the stark contrast of the color around it. It looked to be a small, very pale patch of skin. Huh. What was that? Ohh well, questions for later. The color in his eyes also faded, albiet at a much slower pace. When the light was fully disapated, Kyomei-San was gasping for breath. It seemed that making that orb took a bit out of him.

"That was amazing. And that was only the first of five..."

"Hahaha! Yep, just the first of the five. Now that we have one of them done, lets practice with it to get you used to the feeling and sensation! Come on, up an attem!"

Taien declared as he got up, offering a hand to help Kyomei-San up as well. As they both rose, Taien did a sudden one-eighty degree turn, and started to walk away from the spot. Taien had a bit of a demonstration in mind for Kyomei-San. This would help solidify just how powerful this new technique was, aside from the intriguing signs that were already present. After ten feet or so, Taien turned to face Kyomei once more.

"Right then! Aside from the personal and emotional revelations one can gain from this technique, it does have a practical application! I know you saw what a Sokkatsui explosion looks like from earlier, but heres a quick refresher course-"

Taien said, turning his head suddenly and snaping his right arm out at a target. The Sokkatsui materialized instantly, a burning ball of blue fire, striking a target some fifty feet away. The explosion was large, and consumed the small boulder completely. As with before, smoking pieces of wreckage could be seen flying away from the detonation zone. It was the same power as if he had spoken it, but then, this was sort of Taien's specialty.

"-, now with that out of the way, what does it look like when we add a bit of elemental wind Reiatsu to the mix?"

Taien cocked an eyebrow and smirked slightly at Kyomei-San. He was going to be a bit theatric with his next move. Arm still outstreched, Taien's Reiatsu flared into existance. A burning blue spark ignited at the center of his palm, steadily growing in size. At half its normal size, it suddenly exploded into action, rapidly gaining power, strength, size, and force. It was at this point that the elemental Reiatsu was woven into the spell. The Sokkatsui seemed to grow to twice its size before Taien let it loose, burning wildly and brightly. It streaked by even faster than the first, aiming for a moderately large boulder some fourty feet away this time.

The moment the orb impacted the stone, there was for a brief moment, a blinding light. And then came the explosion. The orb seemed to explode into a torrent of fire, almost like water. It blasted into the air and into the ground, incinerating everything in its path. Unlike before, there were no fragments. They had all been obliterated by the force of the blast. Also unlike before, there was a massive gale of wind from the impact, it could be felt even from where they were standing quite clearly. All that was left of the boulder was a smoking crater and scorch marks.

Taien turned to Kyomei again, his smirk evolving into his trademarked grin.

"Thats what you'll be able to do soon enough! Not only does this add a new element to your techniques, it also enhances the power already behind them by quite a bit, as you can see!"

Taien's arm swept out, encompasing the totality of the destruction.

"Now then, Wind is a tricky element to control, being an element of change and freedom, it won't submit to those who can't understand it or can't handle it. You've gained knowledge of the wind with meditation, nows the time to prove you can handle the power of the wind with your spirit!"

Taien clapped his hands together, grinning.

"Now, lets start with something simple, Sho! The first of the Path of Destruction, one of the easiest Kidou to use and manipulate. Lets start the practice with that. Imagine the Sho, imagine the wind. Try weaving the wind within the Sho, contain the power, and then aim. More likely than not, you won't get it the first few tries, but we have more than enough time! When you think you have it, release the power."

Taien went about and set up a target for Kyomei for when he was ready.

"All right. . . begin . . . NOW!"

Taien declared. Despite the seeming simplicity of the task, it wasn't. Far from it, it would be rather difficult for Kyomei. Wind alone was hard to control, it wasn't something that was willing to be manipulated that easily. Add to that the attempt to fuse it into Reiatsu and you had a difficult task. It was so easy for Taien because manipulation and understanding of Reiatsu was easy and as natural as breathing to him. To Kyomei, it would prove to be a tough challenge, even with his affinity for wind.

Taien knew this however. In fact, he anticipated. He had something set up to help motivate Kyomei-San. At around the five minute mark, Taien began to speak, starting out softly.

"Never give up, never surrender."

Yep! That was his plan. Inspirational speaking. Taien happened to be quite charismatic when he wanted to be, and now was the time it was starting to show through. Helping his student along was the least he could do. Taien's voice rose as he spoke further.

"Always push forwards, never back down!"

It was at this point that his Reiatsu started to form a shimmering cloud around him. It was almost like an aura. Fire danced in Taien's eyes as he looked into Kyomei's, his grin widdening as his voice gained even more volume, more force, more conviction, more fire. More. . . inspiration.

"Strive, forever onwards!"

At this point in the speech, the aura seemed to explode into a torrent of power around Taien.

"Onwards. . . Towards a brighter future!"

Remaining Reiatsu: 2550/3000