Senpai Knows Best - [NDE Training AI and Takashi]

[Ai Amagiri]

Ai didn't immediately reply. Her eyes widened as she realized he was aiming for her face, and she violently tilted her head to the side, letting the bokken scrape past her cheek. She had followed her swing all the way through after his counter, lowering her arms back down to her waist. She broke off of their serious conversation to glare at him and comment on his attack. "Aiming for a girl's face? That's playing dirty."

She shifted her sword into her right hand, and swung out. Ai aimed for his exposed rib cage, under his striking arm. As she attacked, she responded to his curiosity. "I'm not sure I even have an answer for your question. Not big on the whole, long-term, plan-for-the-future thing. When I was alive, my mother was an onna bugeisha, a female samurai. She only did it because of her limited options, but to me she looked like a hero. I always wanted to take after her, but..." Her brow furrowed as she inevitably ended up having to think about her death, something she usually avoided. Whenever Ai tried to think about it, her thoughts were murky and she got a terrible feeling in the pit of her stomach. "I never got the chance to. So becoming a shinigami is a chance to be like my mother. I guess if there was a goal, I've already reached it."

[Takashi Kuchiki]

Takashi blinked. It seemed the girl didn't take kindly to him swiping at her face; she obviously didn't know Takashi. In any case, he didn't speak while she would make her move. She followed his sword all the way down. While this was happening, he had been jabbing forward to her. He noticed the sound of the bokken grinding against another; the feeling of it lowering. However, the counter for him was simple. He simply shifted his right wrist slightly counter clockwise. This essentially brought his bokken down further. It was reinforced by his left hand, which rested by his left hip; bent in a near 90 degrees. The attack would be met with another halt as it hit his bokken. She had made a good dodge though, the bokken missing her. Takashi wasn't about showing off. He liked to bring himself down to the skill level of others. This way, he could enjoy fighting different opponents despite the difference in their physical or spiritual presences.

"The third seat, Hotaru Kuchiki, is one whom is my step cousin. During a simple spar when I was but your age and skill...I had cut off both her legs". He said as his eyes were rather cold; the bored expression still lingering. "This is myself holding back.." He wanted her to understand this point; it was critical. Takashi wasn't like the others, who flaunt their skills with superior abilities. He liked to fight people on an equal playing ground at all times; it aided him in testing skill. In any case, he listened to her speak. His eyes were fixated upon her. It seemed her goals revolved around simply becoming a shinigami.

"You are young. Is this truly as far as you wish to go? Your entire goal is to become a shinigami?". His eyes looked at her as he stepped back. He seemed to have lost interest. His bokken was once again lowered to his left side. He took a step back to give them some space and allowed his bokken to be lazily held in his right hand by his right hip. His eyes were as cold as ice, a certain intensity masked by his expression. He was just standing casually now as her words resonated. "You have become a shinigami and so is this all you wish for? There is no reason for you to train aside from fulfilling your duties. Most of the new batch wish for higher positions. However, I look forward to higher ambitions than this.". He seemed to look at her a bit disappointed. "I had expected more from someone such as yourself". He said in a bit of disheartened tone. He simply looked at her, wondering what she would do or say.

"Alright. Perhaps we will end this short training session here. There is something else I shall show you". He turned, walking back to the barrels which held the bokken. Placing the wooden stick in its place (yes to Takashi that was not even a twig), he paced forward. He didn't even consider looking back towards her. Instead, he slid his hands into his his sleeves; grasping his forearms like nobility and walked out. He expected her to be following behind him. They would walk in silence once more until they reached a large door. It was presented in the back of Sereitei, golden with various drawings of figures upon it. Takashi blinked, turning back towards the new apprentice. "When was the last time you had visited outside of these walls?". He questioned her.

[Ai Amagiri]

She eyed him more critically as he told her of his step-cousin. If he could cut off a girl's legs during a spar, she guessed it wasn't all that odd his first swipe at her had been at her face. A vicious style of play, but it wasn't like she had anything against him for it. He probably got far with that attitude, in the gotei 13 and in squad 11 especially. Plus, it wasn't like he had tried to cut off her legs. Ai's bokken was met in another block. She might have shifted into another position to attack, except that as they spoke Takashi stepped back, breaking them both out of their immediate combat stances. As he did so, Ai relaxed her arm, letting it fall to her side.

Ai took his next words, and his ensuing look of disappoint, with a flippant attitude. "Hmph. It's because I'm young that I'm slow on the ambitious uptake," she said, defending herself. "If I run full speed ahead without knowing where I'm going, maybe I'll run right off a cliff. There's nothing wrong with being cautious." Well, maybe in her case a healthy dose of laziness was also contributing to her hesitance. But even if she wasn't lazy, Ai was pessimistic. She'd only just entered the ranks, and didn't know anyone else, or their respective strengths. In an equation like that, there were too many negatives. No, she'd wait until she knew exactly where she stood, until it was more clear she'd be able to beat out the ones ahead of her. Then she'd make her move.

Her vice captain rapidly changed subjects, breaking her out of her own thoughts. "Something else?" She mused, watching him return his bokken to its place and then rapidly doing the same so she could follow him as he departed. If he was planning on waiting for her, he did a bad job of showing it. Instead, he was indifferent, exiting the training grounds without a single look back. Ai rushed to catch up, and then followed behind him. He didn't seem inclined to talk on the way to wherever they were going, so Ai entertained herself, mumbling about the scenery to herself as they passed various things. Finally they stopped, and Takashi turned to her to ask something. She inclined an eyebrow, a little confused by his question. "You mean Seireitei, right? I just arrived from outside this morning. I was living in Rukongai before," She explained, guessing that he hadn't meant the other option: outside the walls of soul society altogether. She'd never even tried that, and wasn't even sure what was past the distant outer walls of Rukongai.

[Takashi Kuchiki]

The two shinigami stood dwarfed by the massive doors. Golden in color, they appeared to be made from thick metal; almost like mountains. In front of the impeding door stood the snow haired man, gazing upon his young pupil. His cold blue eyes met hers as she spoke. "Aye. Sereitei is where we are now. However, I am going to take you somewhere far more...primitive. Please come with me". The shinigami raised his hands up and slowly adjusted the black metallic rings on his wrists. Grasping a small notch on the door, he leaned back; stepping back with his left foot. His muscles bulged for just a second as he gritted his teeth; his mouth still closed. With a low grunt, he pulled back. There was a silence for a moment before the sounds of the large metallic structures echoed throughout the eastern half of Seireitei. Takashi's veins were now popping from his forearm, the striations on his muscles became all too apparent. It took a moment, but finally there was a small gap opening in the large behemoth known as one of the Seireitei Gates.

Takashi let out a sigh from his nostrils as he let go of the notch. He lowered his sleeves, as to prevent any creasing that may have occurred. He lifted his left hand, palm facing towards the door. "Please, after you". He spoke kindly. Yet, his eyes bore a rather unsettling and cold look to them. As Ai would pass through the gates, Takashi would follow behind her. There was only a moment where she would hear the large doors shut once more. Takashi would simply gently glide his hands past one another before turning to face her. He stepped forward, a rather open wasteland in front of them. A bit of a walk and they'd be near the eastern half of Rugonkai. Takashi began to walk in front of the woman; indicating for her to follow. They would walk in silence for quite a bit, nearly an hour to reach Rugonkai. This was mainly because Takashi wouldn't allow any Shunpo nor would he walk at an exaggerated pace; simply in front of her. While he walked, he allowed her to speak or voice her thoughts. He would only respond with an 'oh?' or 'I see'; that or some short appropriate response.

It was only a matter of time till they reached Rugonkai. Stares began to fall upon the Shinigami. It was strange to see such a high ranking official this far into Rugonkai. Takashi paid them no need, unless they were kind to him; to which he would show it back to them. Moments later, they would be walking past vendors, gamblers, thugs, etc. This area appeared to be highly corrupted. However, this was not their destination. Takashi continued to pace forward, ignoring all snark comments. Ai would get some strange comments too. She would be asked to purchase things, or some people making sexual remarks at her. Takashi paid no need, simply walking forward as he had always done. If something were to occur, he would stop and look back at her; seeing what was going on. It was about another half an hour until they reached an area that seemed completely devoid of people nor vegetation. It seemed like an open land with simply earth all around them. Looking back, one would find it extremely difficult to even fathom where the nearest civilization was. Here was where Takashi stopped abruptly.

There was nothing around for miles, it seemed like it was just the two of them. "It is said that the cocoon state is where larva meditate to reach a new level of consciousness; self awareness. They ponder upon things and through it, they evolve into a more beautiful and versatile state.". He spoke as he turned to look over his shoulder; oddly in riddles. Finally, he turned to face her fully.
He reached into the pockets of his white robe, pulling out two additional silver rings. He would say no more until she held out her hands. Even if she refused, he would go ahead and put them on her quickly. At an alarming rate, nearing 10x her speed, he would push the cuffs on to her; not hurting her however.

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"What I have placed upon you is derivative of my Reiseigen. These limit your Spiritual Pressure and Reiatsu respectively. However, they function another purpose that I alone utilize. Do you see the bar on your wrist?". He pointed, if she looked down, she could see a green bar slowly decreasing. "This is your Reiatsu meter. It is constantly decreasing as we speak. I imagine you're feeling fatigued.". He said. "Generally, when you lose all of yours, a shinigami falls unconscious. In most cases, the spiritual pressure once more revitalizes and the shinigami is unharmed. However...". There was a pause. "I have modified these cuffs. They will allow only a maximum of a miniscule amount of Reiatsu, exactly one spirit particles worth. Your goal is to meditate and keep that spiritual pressure at that maximum. If you do not, the reiseigen will forcefully maintain your energy at 0. You will be unable to revitalize and soon enough...you will die.". He looked at her with cold eyes, unyielding. "Ask your questions quickly, you will have to meditate very soon if you wish to live."

JUST WHAT THIS TRAINING THAT TAKASHI IS PUTTING AI THROUGH!? WHAT IS ITS PURPOSE!? FIND OUT IN THE NEXT POST!

[Ai Amagiri]

Primitive? What the hell did that mean? Immediately, her mind went back to her thoughts about the outside of Rukongai. Maybe they were going somewhere like that after all. Or maybe they were just going straight into Rukongai. He had said the Kuchiki's were noble. Compared to that, she supposed the lower districts were easily more 'primitive'. Ai's attention moved on to her vice captain's current actions, as he struggled to open the door in front of them. Briefly, she opened her mouth, as if to ask 'should we be doing this?'. But Ai wasn't exactly a stickler for the rules, and she didn't know exactly what a vice captain could and couldn't do, so instead she looked on silently, although the doubt remained plain on her face. After a struggle, he seemed to get the door open, and she narrowed her eyes as he ushered her in first. She didn't know what the hell was on the other side...But she wasn't a coward, either. Reluctantly, she stepped through the doorway, immediately pausing on the other side in the hopes that he was leading her farther, and he did.

They walked for a long while, Ai making noncommittal comments the whole time to fill in the silence. After awhile they entered what looked like Rukongai, although it quickly became a darker place than where she had ever ventured. She snubbed the pushy vendors, glared at the men whose eyes lingered on her a little too long, and snapped back at the ones who dared to make a remark. Ai was young, but she had been living as a lone woman long enough to encounter these nasty types of men before. She'd quickly developed an aggressive attitude towards them in response. Most of them only aimed to unsettle her with words, but there were some who wouldn't shut their mouth even after she responded. Ai quickly got distracted whenever she encountered them, veering towards them with violent intent. But each time she did, her vice captain would stop and look back, and Ai would catch herself and move on past the men.

Thankfully, before Ai's bad attitude could boil over, they drifted away from the crowded streets of Rukongai. Actually, the buildings disappeared so fast, it seemed like she had only taken a step before suddenly everything dropped away and in front of them was...nothing. And what a dreary sight a wasteland was. Already worked up, Ai's face quickly gained a disapproving frown. And then her pessimistic nature nagged at her, and she gained suspicion before Takashi could even speak. His riddle didn't help her mood. "What?" She simply snapped, not even making an effort to get on his philosophical level. As she spoke, he pulled a couple of rings out of his robe, and combined with his weird speech and the drastic location they were in, she took to eyeing them through narrowed eyes. He held them out, as if she was going to take them. "How about you tell me-" She didn't even finish before he stepped to her faster than she could step away, and shoved the silver onto her wrists. The metal was cold, and felt heavy, seeming to gain weight even as they settled onto her.

"What?" She said again, but she didn't need to ask, as Takashi immediately launched into explanation. Unfortunately for Ai, his next words didn't clear up the suspicion. She was stunned mute long enough for him to get the first part of his explanation out. She even glanced down dumbly at the green bar as he indicated it. Then, after a few seconds of watching the green bar decrease and feeling the reality of his words and her new situation, she grew volatile. "What?!" The third time she asked, she screeched the words loudly. Before he finished she had already worked herself up into a panic and was only half listening. Her mind caught on to a few key words, spiritual pressure and reiatsu. Immediately she understood why the silver cuffs felt like they were getting heavier. In reality, she was just getting weaker. In more of an act of wild instinct more than anything else, she pushed out power to try to counter the effects. But she hesitated, unsure of herself, and the bar continued to decrease.

"Maybe I'll ask you later how you want to die," Ai snarled, angry enough to snap at Takashi even in her current state. As soon as she got the words out, she was temporarily satisfied, and switched her attention back to the cuffs. Again she used her energy to push against the drain, and she was forceful enough for a few seconds that perhaps the bar's progress slowed. It didn't last long, however, and after she wavered on her feet, more tired than before. "Meditate, he said meditate," Ai muttered, talking to herself and completely disregarding Takashi's presence. Her mind had already run through the thought of yelling at him to take the cuffs off, but if his story about cutting his cousin's legs was true, then it was a wasted effort anyway, and Ai wasn't going to waste time, so the thought was quickly shoved aside.

Instead, she dropped to the ground, meaning only to sit but instead having her knees buckle as soon as she bent them. She steadied herself sitting upright, and then immediately pushed out more power. She puffed breaths in and out quickly, almost hyperventilating, until even that grew too tiring and she was forced to slow her breathing. Pushing, pushing...Every time she found herself growing comfortable another wave of fatigue would roll over her and the bar would decrease again. Ai didn't know when she began to sweat, but she felt a bead of it roll down the side of her cheek. Her head drooped, and her hair fell over the front of her shoulders into her face. But she couldn't even drum up enough extra energy to flick her bangs out of her eyes. Through the fringe, her eyes stayed locked onto the green bar on her wrist, the rest of the world easily falling away.

Ai felt the blood rush to her ears, blocking out her hearing. The green on the bar was so minuscule...Black spots dotted the edge of her vision, and she retreated into the depths of herself. Nothing but a sliver of the green bar remained, but as soon as it hit, Ai latched onto that last speck of hope viciously. More blackness swam into her eyes until the tiny green on the bar filled her vision. In some mental game she took her last bit of energy and held on, and then, eventually, she went from desperately grasping it to leveling it off, stabilizing it. The blackness in her vision crept away slowly, and her ears cleared, but no more. She had kept herself from fainting, but her body felt like it weighed a ton. Ai didn't move. She kept all her focus on that sliver of green on her wrist.

[Takashi Kuchiki]

She was adamant, that was for sure. In her haste, it seemed she fell to the ground. Takashi showed no mercy to her, his cold gem like eyes simply started uninterested; detached from her. In this atmosphere, it was an entirely different reality, or so one could say. In the open wasteland, there was no one around aside from these two shinigami. The distractions of the outside world had become almost obsolete. However, the next layer of consciousness Ai would surface would be in herself. She would recede into the inner corridors of her mind. Her instincts would fail her and it was as though an invisible glass cube manifested itself around her. This...was the world Ai was in. The snow haired samurai simply watched as she steadied herself. He waited, his patience never faltering. He too bent his knees to sit in an Indian-Style pose. He closed his eyes, sitting nearly 10 feet in front of her; making his presence known yet keeping a distance. He watched her get comfortable, relax into a state in which she could stay dormant.

It seemed she had settled well into her own cocoon. His eyes fixated upon her strange state for a few moments before closing once more. The gentle breeze and the rather dull, sunless day would pass. There wasn't even a chirp from a bird nor sound from an animal. He allowed nearly a half an hour to pass by before his eyes opened once more."Ai, are you able to hear me?". He spoke out to her. It was time for her to face the next stage of her training; to rattle this cocoon. "There are two realities of which I will tell you. The first, is that we will be doing this for nearly twelve hours. Due to this, you must learn to output a small flowing stream of Reiatsu; a trickle. If you do not, you will quickly burn out and I won't make any exceptions for this time line.". He waited, seeing if she would respond in any way. "Nod if you understand". He waited to hear something or see any indication that she understood what was going on.

It was only a moment later that he would open his mouth to speak again. "The second truth. I want you to find a reason for becoming a shinigami past simply existing as one. If your only goal has truly been reached, then you can die here. However, seek in your heart, what does it truly desire? If you can find this, you will live. If you die here, I will simply bury you in an unmarked grave. Time begins now". Takashi closed his eyes, he had a vague estimation of time; being training in the woods alone. He frequently visited areas where he had to be punctual without a clock; he always made adjustments in time. With his Zanpakuto now resting horizontal across his lap he would make his way into his own world; it was time to speak once more...to his Zanpakuto.

[Katekarin Mekatoku]

+370 CTP to both participants

[Ai Amagiri]

He told her to nod, and Ai wanted to. Not because of his directions, but because she wanted to show him, and prove to herself, that she had made it through this trial. But when even her breaths were planned and timed in her head, it wasn't such an easy task to nod. She was scared to lose her concentration on that sliver of green. So she started off slow. She closed one eyelid, slowly, and reopened. When that didn't disturb her, she dared to blink both. No change. Ai took it a step further by concentrating on her neck. She tensed her muscles, testing. When she got away with that, she dared to lift her head a fraction, and after a few seconds, an inch more. She only raised her head enough to be noticeable before she let it drop back down again in a limp nod, and she never took her eyes off the bar on her wrist as she did so.

After she had completed the task, she inhaled deeply, letting herself slowly relax to breathe normally again. If she wanted to concentrate on her reiatsu, she couldn't be caught up with every physical function of her body. Ai kept her eyes on the green, but tuned back in to Takashi's words. His second truth worried her, until in reverberated in her mind, and then her brow furrowed. She didn't know if she could find a purpose for becoming a shinigami, but for some reason parts of his speech were sticking to the forefront of her mind. Her heart's desire? Why did that sound so...familiar? Ai was so stuck on the words that she didn't even notice that Takashi had stopped talking, but when there was nothing but silence her mind was even more forceful, and her eyes managed to drift shut in concentration. For a moment the sliver of green on her wrist burned her sight even with her eyes closed, but eventually the image faded away, and for a moment Ai almost faded with it. Until the dark emptiness of her mind was suddenly filled.

Ai was standing on a rickety wooden dock, so close to the water line that the bottom of the planks dipped into the liquid. For a minute she thought she might have lost her hold on that tiny amount of reiatsu, and was now unconscious and dreaming. But as she looked around, she couldn't shake the feeling that this was much different than a dream. There wasn't much to look at, really. In the dark of night, a heavy fog closed in on all sides of her, until she could only see a few feet in front of her, and ahead there was only the worn-down dock. Everything else was liquid, a dark, murky water she couldn't see the bottom of and wouldn't dare step in. Even behind her was empty, Ai apparently stood at the very edge of the dock, and a few steps back was nothing but lake. She faced forward again, and this time her eyes caught on a light. Many of them, actually. So many that she wondered why she hadn't noticed them before, as they were the only thing keeping this place from being a pitch black.

With nothing else to do, Ai started walking. She hoped to near the lights, and hoped if she found one it would be the end of whatever hallucination this was. Or if not the end, an explanation. But she walked on and on, and never got any closer to any of the lights, even the one directly ahead. Frustrated, she paused. That's when she saw a figure in the mist. A tiny, cloaked figure that was slowly walking away. Eager, Ai ran towards it. "Wait!"

The small figure stopped and allowed her to get closer. She guessed it was a small girl, dressed in all-black of both metal and cloth, with long, straight, blonde hair cascading down her back. The girl didn't turn around, even after a few long seconds of Ai catching up to her and then standing behind her. Ai herself shifted her weight from one foot to the other, unsure of what to do. She didn't like children, and-

"And just who are you calling a child?" The figure snapped, turning her face ever so slightly. But the sight wasn't comforting. Instead of seeing a hint of the girl's cheek, eye, or nose, Ai instead only saw smooth, gray metal. The figure was faceless, or at least one half of her face was gone. Ai backed up a few steps. "How rude. If you didn't want to talk, you didn't have to come," The figure sniffed, and then started walking again as if to leave.

"Wait!" Ai said again, although she wasn't totally sure why. All she knew was that her heart was racing in her chest, and looking at the tiny figure made her feel like she was on the verge of a great discovery. "Who are you? Where am I?" Ai figured she could ask the questions whether she was in a dream or not. As she spoke, the girl kept walking, and paced herself to keep up but stay at a slight distance.

"Shouldn't you know who I am by now? Really, I don't even know why a beautiful, strong, wonderful," the girl went on for several more seconds with quite a few more adjectives, "flawless spirit like me has to be saddled with you. First, you follow some stranger into the middle of nowhere- and you were actually surprised he tricked you?- and then, you almost get yourself killed with your terribly incompetent control of reiatsu. And let's not forget, darling, it took all of this for you to finally arrive here. Honestly I had given up on you ever developing," the "spirit" didn't seem to be coming to a stopping point. Ai opened her mouth to speak up, but it seemed the girl noticed and raised her volume to prevent interruption. "And you dare get all the way here and ask who I am!" Even yelling, the figure's voice was a beautiful lilt.

At first, Ai was taken aback. But as the girl went on, her surprise quickly faded to be replaced with a small simmer of anger as insults were piled on, and then animosity. "Oh, shutup! I don't even care who you are anymore! There's only one way out of this place, right? This dock is only going one goddamn direc-" She had to cut herself off as the spirit finally stopped walking, only to stand at a fork.

The path was still a warped wooden dock, except now instead of just going straight ahead, it branched out to the left and right as well. The girl slowly and silently turned, and Ai saw that she had been correct. The figure was faceless. Ai only saw herself reflected upon the mirror-quality metal mask. The feeling in her stomach, as if she was on the cusp of an epiphany, hit her again as she stared back at herself. The girl let her do so silently for a minute or two, but when Ai realized the epiphany wasn't going to come, the spirit spoke. "Which direction will you go?" She asked, and although her voice was as light and musical as it had been when she had been throwing insults, Ai felt the weight of the question.

[Takashi Kuchiki]

"Taka-nii!!" The two Zanpakuto spirits were in a joyous array of excitement. Standing in white robes, the white hair stood on the soft graveyard ground. Above him was the strange cosmic sky that was ever present. The two doors, golden and silver were on either side; too far for him to reach. They were gigantic in proportion and detailed as though crafted by expert hands. He let out a soft sigh as his eyes were now fully open, a tiny hand scratching his head. Takashi was wearing strange brown rags while he was here.

He was small here too, transformed once again into a small child; part of him hated it. Mostly though, he relished in the fact that he could be once more revisit his childhood; this time though, he had friends. He looked up at the beautiful woman who wore a beautiful corset with a long flowing red dress. She was rather desirable, a full chest, beautiful piercing red eyes and midnight black hair. The steel chain rattled and Takashi's small eyes followed them to its source. Hovering just over the woman was a small pixie with pig tails, a beautiful golden dress and pink hair that she had; the two women were bound by a chain.

"Ah hey...I'm back!". He said, unusually excited and perhaps a side of him he could only express internally. "Taka-nii, where have you been? We've been watching your battles but you haven't visited us in nearly a year....", the woman seemed saddened."Yeahh! Taka-nii!! You haven't come at all!". The fairy fluttered around, getting close to him. She bent over, her hand on her hip and another finger wagging near his face. The other woman yanked on the chain. "Come on Batsu, I'm sure he has his reasons...I think". The other woman said. "Zai you're right! So...whats the reason!?". The pixie turned to him and began to speak. They both looked at him eagerly awaiting a response. "Ah...you see the thing is..". He smiled, rubbing the back of his head as he spoke. They both sighed. "At least make up an excuse..." "You forgot about us!". Takashi waved his hands. "No no..its not like that..you see..". His expression became serious all of a sudden.

Time passed, a large clock forming randomly out in the distance. It began to slowly turn, its hands indicative of time passing. A moment later, it was once again focused upon Takashi speaking to his two spirits."So you see...that is what is going on". The women looked rather disheartened. "But you're going to have to hurt people...", the woman said softly. "Yeah and I don't think its worth it Taka-nii!", Batsu said stern as ever. Takashi sighed, placing his hands behind his head. "You both saw what I say right? We need to do something. I want to make a change..this is my will. Aren't our wills the same? I'm not even asking for the next stage of release. I like where we are...".

He said to them. they seemed a bit uneasy as they looked towards him. Just what were they talking about in this meditative state? Time was passing by, as indicated by the clock. Takashi knew the time and for now, he would go ahead and speak with his spirits. Personally, he hoped they could help him in his training too. What was about to come...was nothing to laugh at. Before he left, he hoped he could leave something with Ai that would resonate within her for a long while.

[Ai Amagiri]

Ai eyed the three directions. Then she looked at the girl. Then back to the paths. She threw her hands up. "I give up! I don't know! Is this a trick question?" She yelled, and then stepped far enough forward to toe the left dock, testing to make sure it was real. All three looked the same, and there was no particularly bright light in the distance or clearing of fog that indicated the correct direction. Ai wasn't a dumb girl, but she liked to avoid deeply thinking things through if she could manage to get away with being impulsive. Her foot touched solid dock, letting her know all three directions were equally good options. She crossed her arms and was silent for a moment, before her troubled face cleared and she pointed to the left. "To the left! I'm going this way," She announced.

"I'm sure I'll regret asking, but what factors went into this decision, exactly?" The small female asked. Ai turned back to her confidently. "Just a feeling. And I'm tired of thinking about it," she said. The spirit didn't speak again for several seconds. "What did I ever do to deserve you," She said dryly, taking the initiative and going left so she could walk ahead of Ai once again. Ai rolled her eyes and followed, not bothering to reply. The girl had a comeback for everything, anyway, and she was excited to see what her choice would bring.

The pair walked in silence. For how long, Ai couldn't tell. The world remained dark and quiet. Even the water was motionless, ripples running through it only when Ai placed her foot down on the dark particularly hard and the force would reverberate. The fog wafted around with her movements as well, but never lifted. Ai thought she might've found the place creepy, but for some reason the feeling was absent. Instead, she felt an utter calm, like there was no place she belonged more than here. That calm was interrupted when they arrived at the end of the dock. Abruptly the path just stopped, and there was no other direction to go. The girl stepped to the edge, and crouched, putting her elbow on her knee and resting her chin in her hand. Ai's heart sped up, but she didn't know why she was nervous.. "Did I choose the wrong way?" She asked.

"How rude of you to put me in this place anyway," The girl said, not answering her. "All of this water and darkness. This is just not my style, but I guess you wouldn't know that. You've never bothered to ask me. Or even meet me, before now," the last words were accusatory. Ai's brow furrowed in confusion, and she went back to the questions she asked when she first arrived. "Who are you? Should I know you?" But the girl avoided these questions by returning to her other inquiry. "It's not about whether you chose the wrong way or not. Do you feel like you chose the right path?" She asked mysteriously.

Ai stamped her foot with impatience. "I don't know! What's with all these riddles and mystic shit! First Takashi and now you..." Her voice started as a yell, but died down as several pieces that were jumbled in her thoughts started to click together. She felt like this mask-girl and her vice captain were trying to tell her the same thing. The spirit noticed the change in her, and turned her face towards Ai, once again revealing that reflective mask. Ai stared into it.

"Whatever your decision, because you have made it, it is the right one," the spirit said smugly, and as she spoke, the air around them seemed to grow warmer. "Do you think I'll suffer with someone indecisive? Unsure of themselves? I already tire of you. Because you don't know, you stall here." The spirit pointed at the end of the dock in emphasis. Ai got the feeling they were talking about more than just the wooden platform they were standing on. The girl's accusations felt like Takashi's disappointment. She'd become a shinigami and, not knowing what to do next, had simply settled. But it seemed that today was the day everyone was going to gripe at her for it. "What do you want me to do?! There's no more dock! Nowhere to go!" She yelled. The girl answered her calmly. "Do you want there to be?" 

The question hit Ai like a physical thing, making her take a step back involuntarily. She cast her gaze out over the water and mist. Of course she wanted, but-...Ai stopped herself, her eyes widening. Takashi's and the girl's words ran through her head. That was it, wasn't it? That was simply all there was to it. Her wants, her desires. Nothing more. It was a selfish thing, but what else did Ai have but herself? And Ai did want more, truthfully. She had been in Soul Society long enough, heard the stories of the Gotei 13. In academy she had learned the strengths and accomplishments of some of the more famous captains. And in academy, she had gone up against her peers in combat practice, and felt the thrill of victory when she won matches. In her heart, Ai wanted all of that for herself. To be famous enough that future academy students would have to learn about her, read about her. And she wanted the power to make it happen. Those were her desires.

The water at the end of the dock rippled, and then parted as another section of platform rose fluidly up from the depths, with no noise other than the splashing water. But Ai didn't watch the docks rise. Instead her gaze was back on the spirit's mask, back on her own reflection. Her face had a determined expression, and then her mouth cracked open in a toothy grin. Her eyes switched from looking at the mask, to looking at the spirit herself. "Nengan," Ai said, calling out her zanpakutou's name. The spirit huffed, but then let out a light, amused giggle. "Well, it's about time," Nengan retorted. And then she faced forward once more, and walked down the newly created dock into the mist.

[Takashi Kuchiki]

"That's no fair Taka-nii!". The fairy buzzed around him, something she usually did when she was upset. Looking forward, he could see the expression of disdain upon the other woman. "I agree Taka-nii , all three of us our a team. You're going to need us to evolve if you want to fight on par with the strong opponents you'll face". "That's right! That's right! Taka-nii, you'll have to fight with us!". The young boy let out a sigh, scratching his head as he looked up at the woman and the fairy; whom now was in front of him. He closed his eyes, as though he was thinking while scratching his head. A moment later, his eyes opened as he looked at both of them. "It seems like we'll have to start the training soon enough huh? Heh". They both seemed to cheer up at that. "I hope you guys don't mind though...the path I've taken.". They both let out a compassionate sigh. "We support you Taka-nii~". "Always Taka-nii~". The other one said.

In child form, the boy rubbed the bottom of his nose with his index finger. "You guys...". He said smiling. It was a moment later that he looked towards them. "So...can we start the preliminary steps?". They both nodded, winking and giving a thumbs up. "Awesome!". Takashi said with a smile. The screen panned up to the sky. A short while later, it descended down upon them once again. Takashi was out of breath, now in his adult form. The others were standing rather carefree. It seemed they really wanted him to pursue the next stage of training; it was true though, they were a team. They were really pushing him to his limits, more than he was able to do before. The man loved to train, internally was one of the best ways to train he thought. It is also a reason why he had Ai complete the training that he had her complete.

Suddenly, there was a loud noise that emitted throughout the entire halls. The large clock in the distance rung with a fury. The bells tolled and the sound emitted throughout this vast land. All three of the members turned to see the time that had passed. It seemed time had gone by rather quickly. But of course though, time passed here so quickly. Even a short battle could have been hours in the real world. Internally, there was no telling how quickly or slowly things would progress. It was time though, he had to depart. Takashi in his normal voice and devoid of emotion looked towards his Zanpakutou. "Zai, Batsu, I shall see you soon enough. It is time I go see how Ai is progressing". They gave him a quick salute as they turned into colored energy. A moment later, the gates on the left and right opened dramatically. The fuchsia colored and gold colored energy went into their respective corridors. The gates locked a moment later; connected by a chain.

A second later, Takashi had opened his eyes. He looked towards Ai who seemed to be still struggling; had she died? He looked towards her to see any signs of life. When he saw something, he was a bit shocked; half expecting her to be dead. His eyes narrowed, but didn't move from their normal bored gaze. "Have you found it?" He questioned her. His eyes were intense as he gazed upon her. She could feel Takashi's presence, he was watching her. The wind blew subtly as now dusk was approaching quickly. There was signs that the sun was beginning to set soon enough. Takashi's cold diamond blue eyes watched her; what would she say?[/font]

[Ai Amagiri]

Ai opened her eyes slowly, her lids feeling heavy as if she had been in a deep, comfortable sleep and had woken too soon. She groaned in pain, gingerly raising her head. While she had been 'away', she had apparently gone completely limp and slumped from her sitting position. It was hell on her neck, now that she was back in tune with reality and could feel the soreness. Ai lifted her head all the way, until she was staring back at Takashi, who was watching her. She was no longer transfixed with the sliver of green bar on her wrist. If she could handle the reiatsu while she was in LaLa land, she knew she could handle it now that she was paying attention. The feeling of control was more familiar to her now, although it still wasn't comfortable by any means. Being trapped at one spirit particle's worth of reiatsu despite her body's attempts to raise that level was a suffocating feeling, but Ai ignored that in favor of nurturing a rage, focused on the man in front of her.

She flexed her jaw, testing. Then she spoke, her voice low but still clearly angry. "Not exactly," she said slowly, and it was true. Although her desire for power had become apparent in her talk with Nengan, she didn't have one particular goal. "But I know I need to grow," She added on. Ai might have said more, but something out of the corner of her eye caught her attention, and she broke her gaze to slowly turn her head and look down at her side. Then, her mouth stayed open in surprise. Her zanpakutou had changed. Having not known her sword's name before, it had simply been a rather standard-looking katana, a black sheath, circular cross-guard, and black hilt wrapping. Now...she had to twist her head even farther to look behind her. Her zanpakutou had lengthened considerably, into a nodachi. The wrapping on the hilt had turned into a dark pink, and the cross-guard was now a heart. The sheath remained black. The development was enough for Ai to temporarily forget her anger. She stared at her zanpakutou for several long moments, before turning her head back towards Takashi and shooting him a triumphant look, as if they had been in a fight and she had just won.  

[Takashi Kuchiki]

The way she rocked back and forth, seemed she didn't have much energy left in her. He could see it, her body would be worn down. Utilizing that much reiatsu control generally strained the body heavily. It was like exerting your muscles until the lactic acid build up took place. Spiritually, it would mean she could only survive for so much longer. His eyes were as cold as ever, though he was truthfully curious to hear what she had gained. He hadn't monitored her much, but he figured this way would be best. He blinked, awaiting the response from the rather dead looking girl. His eyebrows furrowed, his eyes narrowing as she spoke; his expression unchanged. He wanted to ask her what she meant but he realized that she was exhausted and perhaps needed time to gather her words fully.

It was a shame if she came out of this with nothing but exhaustion. Her next words after that pause were rather satisfying. Needing to grow, that was certainly progress; that is what he expected out of her. He noticed her turning her head. Takashi's eyes followed hers and gazed at what she was looking at. His narrowed eyes slowly returned to normal. If he had the capacity to show emotion, he might have even smiled. Inside, she was shocked that she was able to accomplish such a feat. He thought she would have died, but it seemed she had emerged far more victorious that he had previously thought. He looked back at her as she turned towards him. She looked goofy, like a child who had bested him. For now, he would let her have this victory; he had nothing to prove.

Her gave her a very subtle nod, pleased with what had happened. For a girl to make this much progress so quickly was unheard of; he knew he saw something in her. Perhaps it was just these dangerous situation that Ai actually unlocked her potential as a fighter. His eyes trailed down towards her wrist, it seemed the meter was nearly depleted. It was flashing red now, signs indicative of extreme fatigue; if he didn't remove it quickly, she may well be in trouble. With nearly 600 speed, Ai would see the image of Takashi slowly disappearing from her view. Suddenly, he would be already bent over towards her right, his zanpakuto strapped to his belt. He was squatting, reaching down and utilizing his spiritual pressure to unlock both cuffs at once. As they were released, Ai would feel a sensation as though a weigh had been lifted.

"You are still weak. You require rest, you cannot walk like this". He turned around and offered his back to her. It wasn't optimal, but she would be in a dying state right now. They were far from Sereitei right now; he would have to take her to the forth. If she got on, things would be fine. Takashi would turn and shunpo forward at nearly 8,000 speed in the direction of Sereitei. If she refused, he would just turn around and pick her up; his forearm supporting her neck and the underneath of her knees. If she wanted to be treated like a child, he would indulge her in that. He hoped that she would just accept the help and go the easy way though. Along the way he would subtly say, "Good job" and that was all she would get from him.

[Kyomei Kuchiki]

+160 for the second part