Episode 2: A moment's respite... peaceful, beautiful days.

Asashi stopped and looked at Serenity "Yeah, I suppose, but you don't know her personality. She's been insulting me and taunting me. Putting me down and telling me I'll never compare to her previous master. Six fucking years of this! I'm sick of it! Not to mention, she's also constantly fighting with her..." he said, holding up his katana "And it's really annoying". He finished, sheating both his katana and Suzumegami.

Her arms remained folded. "That is still a poor reason. You have to learn to cope, co-operate, and work with your zanpaku-to. Not beat it."

Asashi sighed. "Yeah, I suppose you're right" "DAMN STRAIGHT SHE'S RIGHT!!! THAT'S HOW YOU TREAT A GODDESS LIKE ME?!! FUCK YOU!! WHAT WOULD REIKA SAY?!" Suzu screamed in his mind. Now he felt really guilty. "I'm sorry, Suzumegami. I'm sorry, Serenity. Um, can I start over?" he asked holding out his hand, smile on his face "Hi! My name is Asashi Ryu Habasaki Suijin. I'm trying learn shikai and don't really know how. Would you like to help me?"...

Serenity couldn't help but smile. She took a firm grip on his hand, shook it, and let out a small laugh. "I would indeed like to help. Aren't we all trying to achieve shikai? What better way than to train with new friends? Pheonix, Higgins, would you like to continue training as well?" Serenity turned to face the other two who had previously trained with her. "They are better at teaching than me, I would guess."

"Why not?" Higgins said. "We could always use more practice."

Phoenix nodded as well. "I'm willing to train some more," she said. "I could use some training with kido, though, if anyone wants to help."

"Kido sounds good." Serenity looked at Anix and gently set the limber cat on the ground. She stretched out her muscles and smiled at the people around her.

Asashi smiled at his new training partners "Okay, let's get started!" he said stretching out, and doing a few basic exercises. "By the way, you guys can call me Zero. It's cooler than Asashi. So, how are we gonna do this?"...

At Kohaku's question, Jin's expression darkened slightly as she thought of how to describe it without giving away details that might be classified or that might give Kohaku reason to be wary of her. "Let's just say it didn't go as smoothly as any of us had hoped, so you're definitely on the right track by practicing." She paused thoughtfully before going on, "Just remember that there are things you can never really prepare for and you should expect the worst."

In retrospect, Jin thought it was stupid to give such a warning. What was Kohaku supposed to do with that kind of information if the point was that she couldn't prepare anyway? "Ah, but I'm just being overly paranoid, I guess. I don't mean to scare you. Just... maybe prime yourself to expect the unexpected. Whatever you need to know about the exam, your handlers will tell you, so I'll leave that to them."

To be honest, Kohaku was fairly puzzled by Jin's almost sagely answer. That certainly wasn't what she was expecting—ah, but wasn't that also expecting the unexpected? Still, the basics of it were good advice, and the student made mental note of it.

"Sorry to hear it didn't go well." Kohaku commented with a shrug, hanging one hand on the back of her neck. "You passed though, eh?" She liked this Jin. Jin was easy to talk with.

And so she talked casually as they walked on, Jin more or less guiding the student entirely. As they reached the edges of the Seireitei, Kohaku nodded with a thankful smile and raised her hand in a simple, motionless wave.

"Thanks for everything, Jin-san. Don't get your self killed tomorrow! I'm not aiming to be accepted into the Fourth, you know," She added with another teasing grin. "I'll remember what you said about the exam."

Jin gave a tiny smile and a restrained wave as she walked away, responding to her new friend’s teasing in like tone, “I can handle myself. It’s you who should take care with your exam.”

She headed deep into the woods where she picked the most hidden clearing she could find, sat down leaning on the largest tree, and closed her eyes as if to take a nap. Her hair was in mild disarray, having been released from the bun it was haphazardly arranged into after the fight with the Third Seat, making it seem like she had been sleeping restlessly there for a while. Of course, this was quite far from the truth; it was simply because she had her kansashi in her hands and on her lap, as she had gotten used to while meditating.

The entry into her mindscape took much quicker than it used to. Just like before, she saw the light gray clouds rapidly rolling by, prodded by harsh winds she couldn’t feel from where she was. She saw the blue and purple rods of lightning that flashed in quick intervals in different areas of the sky, vibrating with raw energy but inexplicably silent, providing constant illumination for their seats in the heavens as well as the rest of the mindscape. Out of habit, Jin brushed her hands through the raindrops suspended as strings in the air around her. They behaved as water would, splashing and dripping, but ultimately they vanished into vapor within seconds of contact; and she watched as the beads on the string reformed from nothingness immediately after they were flicked out of place.

Jin felt that there was something different about the mindscape—the energy felt a little more suffocating and maybe, just maybe darker. For sure, she didn’t remember ever seeing the barren bone-white trees that rose from the impenetrable white fog covering the ground and struck the cloudy heavens with their sharp talons, creating a sort of symmetry with the sky. Together with the branches of lightning, it seemed like fingers from heaven and the underworld each trying to dominate the mindscape. Or were they reaching for each other? She couldn’t tell. But for the time being, Jin chalked the changes up to her having achieved shikai.

The neo-shinigami had been preoccupied with taking in the new features of her mindscape when a jagged blade shot towards her face from her right side. Only with the help of the adrenaline still running through her veins and the extensive dodging she had done not long ago was she able to bend her torso and move out of harm’s way. The oddest thing, though, was that a sharp pain momentarily gripped the left side of her chest where the blade was now pointing even though she knew she had successfully moved beyond reach. She clutched at her robes, gasping for breath as she crumpled into a heap, almost invisible beneath the surface of the fog.

In all honesty, Kohaku had thought it would take longer to find what she needed. A few different salves for different situations, a couple of emergency painkillers, and smelling salt. That covered most things, didn't it? Still, her detour today ate quite a bit of time. The rest of this perfect day had to be used accordingly.

Deciding to hurry, the Neo-Shinigami dashed off with the use of a little Hoho. Her favorite place was a (mostly) abandoned section of the Rukongai not too far from her location; there had a been a fire some time ago, and the previous residents didn't seemed interested in rebuilding.

It was a perfect place to practice kido. Kohaku could practice to her hearts content without fear of burning, destorying, or hurting anyone or anything. Settling in the middle of a dirt street, with a burnt house west of her and two more respectively north-east and south-east, she spun immediately, pointing her fingers west. "Hado 4, Byakurai!" Kohaku pivoted as soon as the kido activated, palm south-east. "Bakudo 4, Hainawa!" Ropes of energy shot out, wrapping tightly around a post. She kept this up, working her way through various lists (primarily Hado), trying to cast as quickly and accurately as possible. This was her favorite exercise; it may be considerably weakened, but Kido was useless if one couldn't get it off in the middle of a fight.

She had to become a full shinigami, and she had to survive if she ever wanted to see Nori and the other kids again. After a brief breather, Kohaku stood straight, eyes closed. Her mental image of the charred surroundings dissolved. "Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings..." Focus, control the reiatsu, force it tighter... "...ye who bears the name of Man!" But not too tight, or it couldn't be manipulated. Her surroundings had to be forgotten; floating in a void absent of light and dark. "Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south!"

She let her reiatsu surge, guiding it to and from her palm. Opening her eyes, Kohaku locked her vision on her target; a small grey outcropping of stone. "Hado 31, Shakkaho!" Red flames pooled in front of her palm, casting the surroundings in pale crimson light before the fireball launched, striking the outcropping dead-on.

Kohaku frowned in slight irritation. That Hado was still too painfully slow to be of practical use. It was much easier for her to cast than most Kido that level; in fact, she struggled with most Kido 30 and above. Still, it took an immense about of focus to get going. It would be little while before she could cast that Kido in combat, even with incatation.

The Neo-Reaper sighed. Perhaps it was best not to expect too much before she even graduated. Her only option was to do it again, and get better.

With a deep breath, Kohaku closed her eyes, raising her palm. "Ye lord! Mask..."

“Get up,” a female voice ordered imperiously. “Though I agree that the fight with the Third Seat has been quite beneficial and I commend you on that dodge, what reached you was nothing more than a low-level charge, meant to stun, not kill.”

Jin sucked the air through her teeth greedily, feeling the incapacitating pain fade to uncomfortable tingling sensations that spread and dissipated through her flesh. “Habagat,” she choked painfully, “What was that?!” As she spoke, she turned to her side, then to her knees, finally heaving the largest of breaths to slowly get on her feet.

“It depends. If you’re asking about the attack, that, young woman, was training or at least the beginning of it.” Habagat continued with a hint of disappointment to her voice, “I’m beginning to think we won’t get very far if you’re going to be such a sissy every time you’re hit by lightning-”

“Lightning?” the neo-shinigami interrupted.

“Yes, and that brings me to the other possible answer to your question. What you felt was the lowest and shortest-range charge you can feel from the lightning that comes from the tip of your naginata,” Habagat elaborated as Jin recalled the Third Seat mentioning kido in the context of her fight. “My zanpakutou can eject… lightning?” the shinigami confirmed hesitantly. “Among other things. Is that really such a huge surprise?” the spirit nodded as she gestured to the expanse of the landscape and pointed to the sky that was illuminated solely by lightning bolts.

“I suppose not,” Jin said. Shaking off the slight embarrassment from getting incapacitated by a low-level charge and not immediately comprehending what it was, she took the kansashi which, in her mindscape, was back in her hair. Without much ceremony, she whispered the release command and stood with the tall weapon standing blade-up beside her, one arm still placed protectively across her torso. “You said that was the lowest level and the shortest range, and that my zanpakutou can do other things, besides. How strong and how far can it reach once mastered, and what else can my zanpakutou do?”

Habagat shook her head at the uncharacteristic impatience and dulled perceptiveness, knowing full well what was influencing her mistress’ behavior. She took a quick look at the horizon behind her, where the fog from the ground and the clouds from the sky seemed to meet, obscuring whatever hovered in the middle. Then, she trained her eyes back at the woman before here. “There are dangers and threats from within and without that need to be dealt with now, Jin. Rather than asking what WE can do together at our best, you should concentrate on finding out what we can do at the current level, and steadily work our way up.” Habagat lowered herself to a nuanced stance, different from the basic one the Third Seat held, and continued, “If you are in tune with me, it will come to you how to use your kido powers… Now, be on your guard, Jin. From now on, I aim to kill, not stun.”

Phoenix looked a little hesitant. "We should probably find a rock or stationary object to practice hado and bakudo on so that we don't hurt each other."

Serenity thought about it and nodded. "That could be a wise decision." She started to scope things out, looking for a rock big enough, that had the right shape, and that was accessable.

"That's good for kido practice, but I'm comfortable with my current level. Besides I only use lightning type kido and their aren't many of those that I have to work on. What I need is a sparring partner to practice my zanjustsu. Any volunteers?" Zero asked, looking at his comrades, spinnig his zanpaku-to...

Serenity stepped forward. "A little bit of practice never hurt." She smiled and took a basic stance, her upper body balanced over her lower body.

Asashi grinned "Sweetness" he said, flinging off his trenchcoat, not wanting it to get damaged. He took up his standard stance, crouched low like a tiger about to strike. Sword behind him, parallel to the ground. "Let's go" he said, dashing straight for her legs, ready to strike...

Phoenix watched as Asashi and Serenity paired off to train in zanjutsu. She was a little relieved to be able to practice kido by herself. Not only would it be less dangerous, but she would also avoid some of the embarrassment of other people seeing her fail epically at casting kido. If no one joins me, that is, she thought.

Moving away from the group and somewhat closer to the rock, she prepared a kido spell, starting with the easiest hado, Sho. Then she realized she was firing a kido meant to push things away at a rock, an object she couldn't push away. She decided to step up to using hado #4, Byakurai. That, at least, would leave scorch marks so she would have some idea of how effective her kido was.

Serenity launched herself into the air, flipping over Asashi's attack. She landed lightly behind him, and lunged her zanpaku-to at his open back.

Zero turned and blocked with his Zanpaku-to. He then slammed his palm into Serenity's stomach, dazing her slightly. He charged her again, only this time he slipped between her legs and turned, grabbing her around the stomach and performed a suplex.

When her back and shoulders hit the ground, she tucked into a roll and tossed herself away fromhim. Serenity was slightly winded, but used shunpo to flash-step to him, and using an over-head arc, nic his shoulder enough to cut through his shirt and make him bleed.

Zero saw the attack coming but couldn't react in time. Her blade cut through his shirt and into his shoulder, making him bleed. Zero shunpoed a few feet away, clutching his shoulder. 'It's not bad, but the situation is not looking good. Her shunpo is superior to mine. I can't win this with speed, but I can't use my own talents in Hakuda. That would defeat the purpose of this exercise. Maybe...' Zero closed his eyes, placing his hand on the brim of his hat. He sighed, trying to think of a way to get a good attack in, when suddenly he tossed his hat straight at Serenity's face, but adding enough upward curve so it didn't take her head off. In the meantime he shunpoed above her, caught his hat, and brought his blade straight down her back...

The hat flew into her face, and she immediately saw it as a distraction. She went to shunpo away, but felt the bite of his blade knick her back. It cut through her shirt almost from top to bottom, and almost cut it away entirely. She flipped herself up, into the air, and when she landed, kicked Asashi's legs out from under him. Serenity held her blade to his face, his back on the ground.

Zero fell to the ground, his back smashing hard against a rock, knocking the wind out of him. Before he could catch his breath, Serenity's blade was at his face. He knew it was over. He had lost. 'NO! Dammit! I can't believe I lost.' he thought to himself, hanging his head, ready to surrender.

"NO! You will NOT surrender!" A familiar voice shouted in his head.

[???]

Suddenly Zero found himself in the middle of the woods during a violent thunderstorm, yet there was merely a spring breeze. And even though the rain fell hard, it didn't touch him, nor cloud his vision. He instantly recognized it as his inner world. And standing before him was a young woman with long, spiky ice blue hair with orange tips, baby blue eyes with slitted pupils, ice blue cat ears (also with orange tips), and a blue tiger tail (you guessed it, orange-tipped). She was wearing black shorts and a purple halter top that exposed her midriff. Zero was stunned.

"R-R-Reika?!" He asked, not believing his eyes. "Nice guess, but no. I'm the spirit of your Zanpaku-to. I'm _______-__________. Your feelings for you wife caused me to take on a similar appearance to her".

"Oh" was all Zero had to say, looking extremely sad and disappointed. The spirit walked over to him and placed her hand on his cheek. "Look, I know you miss her, but it's been six years now. You have to learn to let go. Even if it's a little at a time. Besides, didn't you promise on her grave that you would get stronger so no one else you cared about would have to die?" she asked him, looking him straight in the eye. "Well, yes, but... I can't seem to get stronger, I..." "No buts! You can't just lay around, feeling sorry for yourself. Hoping for magic strength to fall into your lap. You have to make it happen. You say you want to be strong enough to protect your friends, yet you can't even beat one of them in a sparing match! Something about that seems a little backwards. Now, are you gonna let it be backwards forever, or are you gonna get stronger?" "I-I'm gonna get stronger" "I'm sorry, what was that?" she asked, putting a hand to her ear "I said, I'm gonna get stronger" "One more time" "I said..."

[Back in Soul Society]

"I'M GONNA GET STRONGER!!!" Zero suddenly shouted, releasing a large burst of freezing cold reiatsu, pushing Serenity backwards. Zero stood up, and looked her straight in the eyes. She instantly noticed both a change in his eyes (they were now slitted) as well as his demeanor. "It's time..." he whispered, mist rolling out his mouth as he exhaled. He held his Zanpaku-to at chest level, nearly perpendicular to the ground. "Freeze," Instantly the blade began to ice over from tip to hande "Toketsu-Toramegami! (Frozen Tiger Goddess)" The entire sword shattered, handle included. Then the particles began collecting on Zero's right arm, transforming it from fingertips to mid-bicep into organic ice. Zero stared at his arm, awestruck. "Wow. So this is what shikai feels like" he turned towards Serenity "Are you up for Round Two?"...