What Makes a Shinigami [Closed]

Who knew that life after death had so much in it for the willing participant? Only a few years ago, Haseo had died as a human... and now he was standing in the Seireitei, the headquarters of the Gotei 13, as a Shinigami. Sure, he knew of Shinigami BEFORE dying... but it was still entirely different to actually be one now. Not that he could be considered much more than cannon fodder, but he had also just finished basic training anyway. So, what was the first thing on his mind the moment he got assigned to the third division, besides being happy to be an official 'god of death' now?

Well, he mostly wanted to know what the training facility was like, really. Being a Shinigami didn't mean much when he'd probably still get killed the moment a Hollow just looked at him - he wasn't at the level needed to go out on patrol anytime soon, at least not alone. So now, early in the morning, the white haired, young looking man walked right over to the training grounds. A few other Shinigami were already here and training - Haseo watched them for a few moments. Kidō, swordplay and hand-to-hand, all vastly superior to his own - he felt as if he was learning just by watching alone, but of course, one could only learn so much by watching. Walking over to one of the free training dummies, Haseo took a few deep breaths before raising his right hand, pointing a finger at the dummy, and concentrating on his spiritual power.

"Alright, I think I got it... Now, deep breaths, and... Hadō #1. Shō!" Mumbling to himself first before reciting the class, number and name clearly, Haseo felt the energy swell up, collect into his finger...
And then it punched him squarely in the jaw, and the young Shinigami was flung a few feet backwards, landing on his back with a resounding 'thud'. He would be embarrassed, if not for the ringing pain in his lower jaw and back. How had he even done that?! The energy had been in his finger, yet still he managed to punch HIMSELF instead of the dummy. All he could say to his own failure, was a groan of frustration.

"Hey, feel free to laugh. It just hurts too much for me to join in right now." said Haseo, still flat on his back, as he saw someone standing over him, which looked upside-down to him. Despite his incredible failure and the rudeness of this person, he didn't feel to bad about it - she was right, after all. This was a spectacular failure - the easiest Hadō, possibly the easiest Kidō of them all, and he had managed to hit himself instead of his target. Who DID that? If he had tried an actually complex spell, such as the red shot of fire, he'd have probably blown his own arm off. Now THAT would've been embarrassing to a dual-wielder. In fact, he was also happy that the wild energy had not simply rebounded into his finger - it would've probably broken under the strain. A sore jaw wasn't as bad.

Tensing up, the young Shinigami jumped forward to his feet, first crouching down a bit, stretching, and standing up straight again, while also turning around to face this strangely rude female Shinigami who had confronted him over his actions. Still, he was smiling and friendly. People could be abrasive at times, he knew that one from personal experience - no reason to dislike them.

"Personally, I'm just as shocked as you are. I was sure that I felt the power going the right way, but apparently it turned around in mid-air and found my face to be a better target. Considering I actually did it right during the exam... Well, I've simply got no clue. Oh well." Shrugging with his shoulders, Haseo rubbed over the slightly red part of his lower jaw where his own shockwave had hit him. "I'm training, obviously. I got out of basic training only a few days ago, and I know that my Kidō is especially terrible... So I'm doing the only logical thing. Training it." Turning sideways to be able to raise a hand towards the dummy again, Haseo's expression changed from smiling to suddenly serious again, as he made extra sure to lead the energy in the right way this time.
"Hadō #1. Shō!"

This time, Haseo felt the energy fly out of his finger... and strike the ground right next to the dummy he aimed at, throwing up dust. Well, an improvement, but not a huge one. With a disappointed sigh, the young Shinigami shrugged again and turned the head towards the woman he was talking to. "I'll get it right by the end of the hour, I suppose. You're here for training too, I take it? Don't let my lacking talent get in your way."

"Well, some people feel bad about laughing at times. Don't quite understand why, myself." With a shrug, Haseo just accepted his role as a complete clown right now - oh well, in ten or twenty years, he'd be a seated officer, at the least. Another fifty or one hundred, and he'd reach the level of captain - because he'd spend every single day training that he could. He had a goal, one that he couldn't easily admit to without being more of a joke... at least, right now. The white-haired young man concentrated again on the Reiatsu he was so unfamiliar with, trying to both collect it correctly and aim it right. For some reason, aiming with just his finger was quite difficult here... If only he had learned how to operate firearms, some knowledge of aiming would've helped here.

"I don't know if I was just lucky or something. I mean, probably a bit... but I don't think they'd let me become an actual Shinigami without at least having the basics down. This is getting confusing." Letting loose another Kidō, it impacted right in front of the dummy instead of on it, kicking up some dust. Stretching his arms a bit with a sigh, the young Shinigami then rotated his shoulders - just keeping his arm up constantly when it was filled with such a strange energy was already straining him a bit. "I'm pretty new, yeah. And you must be quite amazing if you're not in need of training - can't say that I'm not a bit jealous of that.... Already having to worry about reaching the levels of Lieutenants or Captains, you're incredible!" Giving her a small smile, the young man tried to focus on his Reiatsu again. Why did it have to feel so... different?!

"Well for me, there's a few reasons, actually. Firstly, before I died, I promised one of my friends to get a lot stronger than we ever were as Fallen - considering I'm a lot weaker than I was as a human right now, I feel obligated to actually do good on the promise. I won't ever see that friend again, I'm sure of that - but well, I'm stubborn and like to keep my word, even if it means nothing to anyone else. I know, I'm kind of weird like that." Raising his arm again, the young Shinigami squinted a bit, trying to aim his spell... only to miss to the other side this time. But then, his expression actually lit up - now he had it! Constraining the flow of his Reiatsu in the way he currently did had caused it to veer off course. A pure soul-body had different channels for Reiatsu compared to his human one, after all.
"The other thing, I want to surpass someone... someone amazing. You'd just laugh at me if I told you who, though. Really, its stupid to even attempt... and the timescale I'd have to train for, insane. Five years ago, living to three hundred years would've probably been my maximum. Now, I'm looking at what? Over a thousand years? That's... hard to wrap my head around, really. Impossible to imagine, really. I heard that some people forget their human lives... probably easier to exist for that long without the human timescale interfering, I suppose. But... I still want to do it. Get as strong as he is, I mean."

With another deep breath, Haseo lowered his right arm, and in one fluid motion, raised his left one and spoke with a clear, strong voice: "Hadō #1. Shō!"

With a dull 'thump', the spell impacted right in the center of mass of the dummy, making it swerve back and forth a bit. Nothing impressive, of course - Haseo didn't have the Reiatsu or experience for 'impressive'. Adequate, that might've been the right word for it. "Shō! Shō! Shō!!" Sending another three shockwaves, two impacted into the shoulders of the dummy, with the last one hitting it right between the eyes - and already, Haseo felt the drain on his Reiatsu, with some beads of sweat running down the side of his face.

"Well, exercise number one of a few thousand complete, I suppose?"

Surprised by the sudden directions, Haseo followed them in full, not wanting to disappoint a person that tried investing some time into getting him to be better. Turning as she described and raising his arm, he nodded a few times during her explanation. Sure, he knew a bit about fighting stance, but mostly when it came to his swords... actually fighting with magic? Not his strength, not by a long shot. Like this, he was a smaller target. Making energy flow through his arm, his eyes widened at how much easier it was all of the sudden! Together with his eyes widening, the red tattoo-like signs on his face glowed for a brief moment and gave off a soft humming sound for a bit. So strange, yet so... familiar.

"Yes... this makes it easier. Sho!" Firing out another blast, Haseo now hit the dummy right between the eyes - or he would have, if a dummy had eyes, and it even made the thing shake a bit harder than before. Not only had he only expended a part of the energy he required before, but the bit he used was more effective and thus dealt more damage. If he had not been so excited about that, he might've even been a bit embarrassed about having someone quite beautiful direct his movements. "That makes it so much easier! Thanks a lot. Though now, I wonder..." turning away from her with a glowing smile on his face, his expression got serious again, but kept the smile. This felt just like discovering his Fallen abilities, just even better! "Hadō #4. Byakurai!"

Trying his luck with a higher spell for the first time, Haseo condensed his spirit particles into crackling energy, and small bolts of electricity ran down his arm. He felt a sudden rush of feedback, as if the spell tried to unload itself into his arm instead, but with a sudden push of his spiritual power he caused the spell to erupt from his finger after all, impacting right into the center of the dummy with a loud 'crack!' sound. Well, that had felt... odd. Pulling his hand back, the young Shinigami saw energy flicker between his fingers, closing and opening his hand a few times to dissipate it. "That... wasn't supposed to happen, I think. But it still worked." With a shrug, Haseo gave Suzume another glowing smile and he bowed his head in a proper way.

"Thanks a lot for your help. I'm Haseo from the third Division." introducing himself fully now. "I can definitely see how you could be a Lieutenant if you wanted. Your... confidence, it's inspiring! Are there any other tips for a beginner like me that you can share? Perhaps... well, a way to make a Zanpakutō spirit talk? Mine refuses to tell me his name." Always the dutiful student, Haseo really hoped this woman felt like giving him a few more pointers! Otherwise, he might be stuck on this level for years. Sometimes, all it took was someone to point the right way. Of course, he had no idea that simply having seen his spirit already put him ahead of quite a few other beginners. Or that having his true sealed form of dual swords was already an advancement.

Thread Closed