A Noble Endeavor (Closed Joint Training)

[Deleted]

((Traning is for SP))

The air is pleasantly warm on this summer day. Arashi is standing at the enterance of his Squad Baracks, waiting for a certain individual to arrive. You see, with the retirement of the former Head of the Kawada Clan, the new head, Kenryoku Kawada, wished to improve relations with some of the other Great Noble Houses. Namely, the Kuchiki. To this end, both houses sent one of their High ranking seated officers to attend a training session together. The kuchiki have sent Hotaru Kuchik, 3rd seat of Squad 11, whilst the Kawada have sent the Vice-Captain of Squad 5, Arashi Kawada. That is how we see the aforementioned man waiting for the designated meeting to take place.

Arashi had a fair respect for the Kuchiki's, his own captain was one after all. He was actually looking forward to a pleasant training session to improve the clans relations. The day was perfect weather wise, one could not imagine a better day for training. The sky was bright blue, without a single cloud, and there was a pleasant breeze going around. Arashi had just had breakfast, and his customary cup of tea. He was ready for anything the world could throw at him. As he was thinking these thoughts, a figure made its way towards him. "Ah, there she is, right on time."

Walking up to him, Hotaru Kuchiki had a small smile on her face, and walked with a gentile grace. Arashi walked to meet her and gave a small bow of greeting, "Ah, Kuchiki-san, it is a pleasure to finally meet you. Are you ready for training? My squad has prepared a small clearing near here for the purpose." he let a small smile appear, "I must say I am glad our two clans are finally mending their bonds, hopefully this will be a great new start."  Hopefully this would be a pleasant dat of training with a comrade in arms.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats}
Strength: 50



Speed: 150



Reiatsu Strength: 150 (225)



Spiritual Pressure: 150 (225)



Light Aura: 85



Dark Aura: 15



Instinct: 150 (97.5)



Senses: 150 (97.5)



Energy Sensory: 100 (65)



Healing Expertise: 0



Total SP: 900

[Hotaru Kuchiki-Masurao]

Hotaru Kuchiki woke up that morning a little bit later than she usually did. By a little bit later, it was only one minute over the usual. Still, she hated being out of her normal routine. It made her clean her sword a little quicker than she usually did. Also, now that she has Shikai and can easily talk to her zanpaktou spirit, she took this time in the morning to talk with him and to see how he was doing.

Well Rivu~aiasan, how are you doing today? I am doing well today young one, but I know that you have been going through a lot lately. How are you? And, how do you feel about what you've been asked to do today? I am fine, Rivu~aiasan. Even though I go through a great deal of pain, it is making me stronger and hopefully make it so I never have to deal with it again. As for today, I don't know too much about the Kawadas, but I am excited to try to mend what has happened between the families.

After she was done cleaning her sword and talking to Rivu~aiasan, she got up and made sure that her uniform was in order. She didn't want to look less than her best when meeting up with another noble. Once she looked at herself and was sure that she looked perfect, she walked out of her barracks and headed up to the meeting place. By what time it was right now, at her pace, she would make it on time, which was ideal.

During the walk, she took a few deep breaths, hoping that she didn't do anything stupid in front of the Kawada. She also looked at the perfect day. Thankfully, the weather helped them and it was the perfect day for a training session. She passed by all the barracks and when she saw the barracks for the Fifth Squad come into view, she could see a man standing outside of the barracks. He must be the one that she was going to meet with.

While walking up, she noticed that he was wearing a badge on his arm, meaning that he must be the Vice-Captain of this squad. She was told that they would be meeting in the Kawada's Squad. She hoped that she wouldn't make a horrible impression. He looked her way and started to walk towards her to meet her halfway. When they did meet, he bowed in greeting, saying it was a pleasure to meet her and if she was ready for the training. His squad prepared an area for them and he was glad that the clans were trying to mend the bonds.

She returned the greeting bow. "The pleasure is mine to meet you, Kawada-san. Also, you can call me by my first name, Hotaru. I am always up for training. I am also glad to see that the clans are starting to mend the bonds. I think all of Soul Society should be untied, noble families included. I will follow you to the clearing." She then smiled and followed him to where the training would start. She was always up to hone her skills.

[Deleted]

"She seems pleasant enough" Arashi thought to himself as he led the way to the training grounds. As they walked, Arashi excahnged small talk with Hotaru. Things like "How is your clan doing?" and  "This weather is quite pleasant, is it not?". This kind of conversation is the bread and butter of nobility. Mind numbing though it was, it was meant to gain a minor rapport between the speakers, somewhat like exchanging pleasantries. Most of the questions and aswers were mundane enough. As they walked, Arashi couldn't help but analyze the girl.

Her purple hair was quite unique, and it's length was definitely appealing. Her face was unblemished, and she carried herself with a slight edge of grace, that you could only get from nobility. All in all, she was a very beautiful young woman. Aesthetics aside, she carried herself with confidence, and simply by watchning how she walked, Arashi could tell she could hold her own in a battle. Overall? She seemed a worthy member of the Kuchiki Clan, and Arashi found himself looking forward to the training session. He didn't really realize it, but he began whistling a small tune of Yaskyoku's. 

The forst trail they were walking through was quite peaceful, lined with stones on either side, and surrounded on either side and overhead by oak trees, the shade provided a nice respite from the day, which was steadily growing warmer. As they walked, Arashi began to wonder at what her skills might be. If Arashi had to wager a bet, he'd say she was close ranged. Although he wouldn't put any money on it. This he derived simply from her unconcious placement of her hand on her zanpakuto, her toned musculature, little things like that.

Finally, they arrived at the training grounds. The clearing was approximately 50 yards in diameter. Almost perfectly circular, it sported a moderate sized pond on its north side, with a small stream leading into it. near it's eastern edge, there was a single, beautiful sakura tree, funnily enough, it was in bloom, even though it was out of season. The clearinng itself was a favorite of Arashi's, and one he used to train often. The seren atmosphere allowed him to focus intensely. When he heard about the joint training session, he immediately thought of this place.

[Hotaru Kuchiki-Masurao]

Hotaru followed the Vice-Captain as he led the way to their training ground. While they were walking, they started a little bit of small talk, with things like how the weather was and how her clan was doing. She would answer with the weather is beautiful and the clan is doing well. As far as she knew, her clan was doing well. She hadn't heard anything from the other Kuchikis for her to believe otherwise. But, she knew that most nobility did things like this, so she went along.

While they were walking, but she couldn't help but look the man over to see what kind of fight she might be getting from one of the Kawadas. She of course, didn't directly stare at him, but would use her peripherals to see him. They were of about the same height and weight, so no advantage there. The length of his hair was nice, but it hid blue eyes the color of a glacier. His eyes alone were piercing and very interesting.

She also noticed by the way he walked that he was very confident in his skills and he had an air about him that just screamed noble. At least it did to her. His body as a whole seemed to be well-built and ready for combat. She tried to see if he gave away anything that would give her any hint to how he fought. She thought that he might be left handed, due to his zanpaktou was on his right, but couldn't tell too much from that.

After a few minutes, it seemed that they arrived at the training grounds specified for them. The clearing was large and a pretty much perfect circle. The pond was beautiful with the stream going into it and the tree was beautiful as well. It was a beautiful place for training. She could just spend all of her time here just enjoying nature. She gazed around and took in the beauty. "Wow, Kawada-san, this place is beautiful. It is definitely the ideal place for our training." She walked towards the middle of the circle and faced him with a smile on her face. "So, Kawada-san, how would you like to start the training?"

[Deleted]

Hearing Hotaru speak, Arashi replied "Please, Hotaru-san, if I may call you by your given name, you may certainly call me by mine." truning to look over the clearing, Arashi walked over to the area near the pond. "I understand you have recently achieved Shikai? Congratulations on that by the way." Arashi let a small smile fill his face, "I myself have recently learned some higher level kidou. Unfortunately, I have been unable to test them against a released opponent as of yet. Would you like to start with that? You would be able to work on your mastery of your shikai, and I could work on my kidou. Of course we would water down the techniques to prevent any injury."

Arashi took the opportunity to focus his mind. Then he spoke again, "The first technique I'd like to try is Bakudo #81: Danku. I'd like to see how it holds up to a released opponents attacks. We could start by my use of the Kidou without the incantation, and you using your lower leveled techniques against it, and then gradually work our way into higher, and more powerful techniques. You get a chance to test your Shikai's offensive power, and I can test my kidou's defensive power. Does that sound sufficient?"

Taking her response as agiven, Arashi walked to a larger part of the clearing a focused for a moment before uttering "Bakudo #81: Danku" Very suddenly, a large translucent barrier appeared in front of him. Due to his talent for kidou, the technique was fairly large, but not the size that those who had mastery over the technique had. "Hotaru-san, go ahead and use what you consider one of your weaker techniques on the barrier, I will attempt to hold it as you gradually work your way to more powerful techniques."

[Hotaru Kuchiki-Masurao]

Once Arashi said that she could call him by his given name, there was a huge wave of relief. She didn't like to keep calling him that way. She still considered herself new to her nobility and all of this seemed a little too uptight for her. She was glad that she could use his name. She nodded towards him. "Thank you Arashi-san. Yes I have achieved my Shikai, thank you." He then continued to say that he has yet to try a high level kido against a released opponent.

She assumed from that statement alone, she was going to be the released opponent to try against his techniques. He then continued by saying that he wanted to try Bakudo #81: Danku. She didn't know about that one, so she was eager to see it in action. Then, he wanted her to use her lower level techniques against it, going up to higher techniques, testing her shikai's offensive power and his kido's defensive power.

When he asked if it was sufficient, she answered quickly. "Yes Arashi-san, that sounds perfect." He then walked over to a large part of the clearing and called out the name of the Bakudo. It seemed that this one was a barrier, and a fairly large one at that. It was impressive. He then gave her the go ahead to use a weaker technique against the barrier. She nodded her head and took her sheath off of her belt.

Holding the sheath in her left hand and holding that and her sword out in front of her, she called out "Burn, Rivu~aiasan!" The now familiar feeling started, making her cannon appear on her left arm and her sword turned into her fire sword. She held herself a little looser, to give herself more ways to attack. The only weak technique she could think of was her grenade. She shot out liquid from her cannon and then used the scales to encase it, making her grenade. She then threw it on his barrier, exploding on impact.

[Deleted]

As the grenade near Arashi, he braced himself for the impact, which he was pleasantly surprised was not needed. He had actually not been expecting his shield to hold so well, but well, it WAS a level 89 kidou, and this was supposed to be one of her weakest attack. "Alright Hotaru-san, that was a great attack. I'm sure if my shield wasn't already up, it would have decimated me!" He encouraged his training partner, "Why don't we kick it up a notch?".

'That attack was actually very nice. It had a great amount of strength, and it's speed wasn't shabby at all. It would definitly be deadly to most opponents.' Arashi thought to himself. 'My Danku held up quite nicely, I need to find the limit of its power however. The sooner I can find the limits of my own techniques, the sooner I can surpass them. I WILL restore the Kawada to their previous glory.' Arashi thought with a quiet determination. There could be no doubt in his mind if he was to succeed in his endeavor. Restoring his kidou to it's previous strength, Arashi prepared himself once more.

He called out to Hotaru "Whenever you ready, try throwing out your strongest shikai ability, I will produce another Danku behind this one, to make sure" With that, Arashi proceeded to do as he said he would, producing a second Danku behind the first. He probably wouldn't be ably to do something like this in battle, but in a situation such as this? Where he had all the time in the world? He could do it with ease. Sure it was somewhat draining on his reserves, but what worthwhile training wasn't? Finally, Arashi signalled to Hotaru that he was ready.

[Hotaru Kuchiki-Masurao]

She watched her grenade fly through the air and hit the barrier that Arashi had put up. She hoped that it would actually make some kind of dent in his barrier. But, the shield held. She did think back that it was a high-tiered Kido, so she couldn't really expect her grenade to do too much damage. She always considered that attack her weakest, but she was sure he was happy at how it held up. He then told her it was a great attack and if it wasn't for the shield, it would've decimated him and then he wanted to kick it up a notch.

She thought about it and she would like to think so. She was curious about this kicking it up a notch thing though. Especially since she didn't know her bankai yet. She felt Rivu~aiasan move through his release, easing some of her tension with a little heat. It was a nice relief when he did that. She was just glad that this training was actually going rather well.

He then told her that whenever she was ready, to throw her strongest shikai ability at his Danku shield. He was going to double shield it, having the previous one still up and throwing a new one behind it. She thought quickly. Her strongest wouldn't really work against a shield, so she went to the next strongest one. When he signalled that he was ready, she moved her sword in a cone shape, shooting liquid from her cannon into it as well. She shouted, "Doragonburesu!" She then set it on fire and sent it towards his shield.

[Deleted]

((Technically, I don't think this would work, as shikai techniques are placed at Class 4 and Danku is a Class 2, plus my RS is higher than yours, but let's do it anyway xD))

Arashi watched through the transclucent barriers as Hotaru whirled her sword around, creating a sort of cyclone, which she then prceeded to light on fire 'Wow', Arashi thought 'That actually looks really scary', he was glad he had thought to put up that second shield, as judging from the look of it, this attack definitely had the potential to break it. Arashi braced himself for impact as the airborne missile flew towards him before slamming into his barrier. BOOOOOM. The sound it made was quite large, and a large smoke cloud kicked up from it.

'Amazing' Arashi thought, 'Even with both shields up, I can still feel the intense heat that attack generated!' Arashi eyes glimmered in admiration. Arashi broke down her attack in his mind as he waited for the dust cloud to clear. 'It seemed like she used the motion of her sword spinning in that cone shape to create a cyclone of that liquid she uses, then released it right at me... Powerful...' Arashi was doubly glad he had put up that second barrier of his. The dust cloud finally appeared to be parting, Arashi peered into the area, squinting his eyes in an attempt to see the result of Hotaru's attack.

With a gust of breeze, the dust cleared away, leaving the conclusion of the attack for all to see. There it was, Arashis sheild, with Hotaru's fiery liquid still on it. Arashi was surprised, he had thought her attack would break it for sure. Suddenly however, a crack could be heard through the clearing. Slowly, the transclucent field had a sort of hiver, and cracks appeared, moving up and down its length until the technique finally shattered. Arashi let the second Danku fall before he made his way to Hotaru.

"Hotaru-san! That was quite the powerful attack! Even with my second barrier up, I could still feel the heat emanating from it." He exclaimed, "I am very thankful I pulled up that second Danku, otherwise, I'm sure your technique would have given me bruns from the sheer heat it generates in its execution, even with my shield in place." He looked over to the aftermath of her technique, which had left a scorched area "I must say though, I am very satisfied with my techniques prowess... For now at least." Arashi turned back to Hotaru, "How do you feel about your own techniques? From what I can see, your shikai is very versatile. Did you wish to train some more on that? Or go for something else?"

[Hotaru Kuchiki-Masurao]

When she sent her technique towards his shields. She had a good idea that even her strongest attacks couldn't break the barriers because of his high level Kido in place. She just hoped that it looked as impressive from the point of view from the attackee like it did from her point of view, as the attacker. It traveled at her speed and she was almost holding her breath while she watched it go towards the barrier.

Once it hit, she heard an insanely loud boom, kicking up a large smoke cloud. It made her excited. She knew her attacks were powerful, but somehow they just never seemed to hit their mark because most of the people she had fought against were faster than her. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself. She really hoped that it would at least crack his barrier, or dent it somehow.

Once the dust cleared with a nice gust of wind, she got to see what her attack had actually done. She saw her burning liquid on his barrier. It seemed to her that attack wasn't strong enough to break his barrier. She was a little sad until she saw something happen. She heard a crack, and saw it in the first barrier. She then watched as the entire barrier started to crack and shatter his barrier. He let the second barrier down while she was grinning ear to ear.

He called out to her, complimenting her on such a strong attack. He could feel the heat from her fire through both of his barriers. She hoped her fire burned that hot. If she ever hit herself with her own fire, she turned it off immediately. He then said that if he didn't have the second barrier he would've gotten burns from the heat. He was satisfied with his technique prowess and then asked her if she wanted to train more with her shikai or go for something else. "I would actually like to work on my technique more, Arashi-san. From seeing my techniques first hand, how do you think I could train them?"

[Deleted]

Arashi smiled internally at the bright smile on Hotaru's face as she rejoiced in the success of her attack. She had reason to, that was his strongest barrier, a level 89 bakudo of tremendous strength. Arashi didn't know if HE could break it. Perhaps if he used Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō.... WITH the incantation. 'Yes that might work...' Arashi thought to himself. He was suddenly broken out of his introspective reverie by Hotsru's question. He quickly formulated and answer.

"Well, that can be arranged I suppose. In truth, I wanted to test the capabilities of some of my offensive techniques. I'm thinking we can do one of three things. We could have our techniques clash, I could put up a Danku in front of each of us to shield us from the blast. We could also pick some figure, like that large rock over there, to see which of our techniques are more destructive. Or if you have any defensive techniques, that could definitely be a viable option, testing the strength up to different levels of kidou. Much like we just did with mine."

[Hotaru Kuchiki-Masurao]

While Hotaru asked her question, she was also thinking of ways that she could train her shikai techniques. It was still active and she didn't want to power it down yet, just in case they were going to work with it again. She didn't really know what good techniques would be good to train her shikai, but she really hoped that Arashi might have a few good ideas. She will always admit, her mind isn't really suited for thinking things through too much. She's more action than anything else.

Then, Arashi talked, saying he wants to test his offensive techniques. He then said that they could do this one of three ways. Their techniques could clash, having barriers put up in front of them to shield them from harm. They could see which technique is more destructive, sending them out on a figure like a rock. Or, she could try using her defensive techniques up to different levels of kido.

She had to think about that for a minute. The last one wouldn't really work, since none of her techniques were truly defensive like that kido he used. The other two were the only viable options. The more she thought about it, the more a technique clash sounded interesting. She would actively get to test her skills against a vice captain. "I think the technique clash would work best Arashi-san. Where do I need to stand for your Danku technique?"

[Deleted]

"hmm," Arashi thought aloud in response to Hotaru's question, "Why don't you go stand over there on the other side of the clearing. Then, when you're ready, give me a thumbs up. I'll summon the barriers. What we will then do is step just to the side of our barriers and charge up our attacks. Immediately after thay are released, we will then proceed to jump directly behind our barriers... I must warn you, I will be starting with the most powerful technique in my arsenal... WITH the incantation. I must test the limits of my ability." That serious moment over, Arashi gave Hotaru a small smile, "But don't worry, my shield will protect you, so just do your best okay?"

Arashi went over to his side of the clearing and raised the barrier up. He really hoped his technique would work correctly. While he had some proficiency with it, he had yet to fully master it, and as such, had less control over it thn he felt comfortable with. 'Well,' he thought as Hotaru got into position behind her own barrier 'Here goes nothing..." Before he began his attack, Arashi took a moment to calm his mind a let his thoughts cease. Finally ready, he began his incantation.


Shouting the incantation aloud, Arashi began charging his kidou, "Oh raging god of disaster and storms, incarnation of destruction and herald of lightning! Arise before this one who has summoned you, come forth and wreak devastation upon our enemies! Cracked sky, scorched air, calamitous noise! Let these things become your image! Burn them into the immortal souls all beings who witness your power! Bring forth your fury and anger, the power of the lord of the skies! Strike down all who oppose us, deliver them unto their heathen gods!" by this point the intensity of the reitsu generated could be felt throughout the clearing, and a bright pulsing light appeared over Arashi's arm. Finally, Arashi released the technique, "Hado #88: Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō!" With that final shout, his technique flew towards Hotaru's own technique.

[Hotaru Kuchiki-Masurao]

Hotaru watched as the Vice Captain was thinking. He then spoke aloud, telling her to stand on the other side of the clearing. She started to walk over to his designated spot. She continued to listen as he talked. He said that when she was ready, give a thumbs up and he would summon the barriers. Then, to attack, just step to the side of her barrier then jump directly behind the barrier again.

He then warned her that he would be starting with his strongest kido with incantation. She knew that the incantation made the attack stronger, so it would be interesting to see. He wanted to test of his abilities. Then, he smiled at her, saying not to worry, because his shield would protect her so to just do her best. She nodded in agreement and took a breath to steady herself. She needed to concentrate.

When she saw him raise his barrier, she gave the thumbs up, and her barrier appeared in front of her. She watched as he started to speak his incantation. Since he was starting with his strongest, she would start with hers. She moved her sword in a cone shape, adding liquid from her cannon. When she got it as big as she could, and right when Arashi released his technique, she shouted "Doragonburesu", lit it on fire and sent it towards his technique. She was curious how this was going to end.

[Deleted]

Immediately after Arashi launched his technique, he began feeling self doubt. This was -without a doubt- the most powerful technique Arashi was capable of, and he really wasn't even sure if this was a spar friendly technique. Arashi could only sit back and hope his doubts were unfounded as his massive technique sped through the air, meeting Hotaru's own in the center of the clearing. Within moments, the two powerful attacks met in a clash of light and sound so intense, Arashi had to bring u his hand to shade his eyes.

For a brief moment, the techniques were head to head, but almost immediately, Arashi's technique overpowered Hotaru's ruthlessly. There was literally no contest in power. Not only was Arashi's technique massive in size, it literally crackled with intesity. Hotaru's technique did seem to weaken Arashi's marginally, and he was thankful for that at the very least. Quickly, the blast reached Hotaru's barrier, slamming into it with a huge amount of force. Arashi rushed over to the area to get a glimpse of the site. What he found gave him a sigh of relief.

Hotaru stood behind his barrier relatively fine. Her hair had blown around quite a bit from the intense wins generated by the two attacks, and she had a sort of wide eyed look on her face, probably of the closeness Arashi's attack had come to her. His barrier was literally 3 feet in front of her, so she must have seen the attack come within that distance of her, only to be stopped. Even as Arashi finished thinking these thoughts, his barrier cracked and shattered away, leaving the two og them there, staring at each other.

Arashi attempted to break the tension, "To be honest, I hadn't expecting the technique to be that powerful, I haven't had the need to cast it in some time, and I suppose my skill in kidou has grown since then." He said somewhat sheepishly, "But I suppose everything worked ou fine in the end." He turned and looked at her, waiting upon Hotaru's response. He hoped he hadn't ruined that uniform, there was dirt all over it that the attack must have kicked up.