[Invite] Bankai Training Act III: Reiryoku

Mitsuoki had prepared himself both physically and mentally for the incoming attack. He didn't channel any of his energy since he knew that he wouldn't be so lucky as to fully expect an attack like this in actual combat. His reishi was evenly distributed throughout his body, meaning that when Shiro fired, he would have to rapidly move enough of his energy into his defending limb to counter her attack. No one said it would be easy, but Mitsuoki knew that failing would have dire consequences. "Fire!" he shouted and waited till he could feel Shiro's attack being released before he moved the energy. He was able to fire reiryoku techniques fairly quickly, just not in the same way that this one was being done. Still, he was able to move a mass of it to his hand and stop the incoming attack just as well as the last one, if not better. Mitsuoki looked through the still dissipating crystal shards at Shiro with an expression that contained a little bit of surprise at his success. He then returned to a normal position and began walking towards Shiro.

"It would seem that I am able to use my technique quite well, now. I owe you a debt of gratitude, Shiro. While I am able to use the technique for slow firing attacks, I am at a disadvantage against faster firing ones." Mitsuoki had paused a few seconds while he thought of something. "Shiro, that attack that you used. The one that caused the wound on my arm... After analyzing it, I can surmise that you are able to control the direction that it fires from. I wish to stand in the middle of the attack zone with a ten meter gap between myself and the farthest limit. I would then have you use that attack to fire from a random direction, so that I may learn to repeatedly use my technique. In terms of frequency, the moment you notice me successfully stop one attack, I would like you to fire the next. If I fail to stop it, then I would like to pause the training so I may confirm that I am capable of continuing. Furthermore..." Mitsuoki had taken one of the ripped parts of his kimono and tore it off before wrapping it around his eyes "I will do this blindfolded."

If Shiro protested the idea, Mitsuoki would say "Do not fear for my ability to see the attack coming. The first time, I knew where it was coming from the moment you fired it. This was not a coincidence or a sudden sharpening of my instincts. I am always aware of my surroundings, even when I am unable to see, smell, hear, or feel it. As I said, if I am hit, we shall stop to prevent any critical damage."

Mitsuoki had readied himself for the incoming attack, showering the area in his spiritual pressure that reflected a state of apathy. Shiro had been taking it slowly, forming the attack at an incredibly reduced speed from the first one she had shot. As soon as the attack had been fired, Mitsuoki hit it with the back of his hand, sending a wave of energy through it that made the attack turn into crystals that quickly faded away. "Shiro, when training with Theoclese, does his attacks reflect fear of hurting you, or does he attack as though he is confident in your ability to adapt?" he asked while looking directly at her, through the blindfolds. "Again!" he exclaimed and got ready to block the next attack.

Shiro would notice that while attacking, Mitsuoki was stopping them without fail. He was able to tell where the next burst of energy was coming from before she fired it, and was able to move his body to react accordingly, with each bolt of energy being turned into crystal. After five minutes of that, Mitsuoki would say "That's enough." to let her know it was time to stop. He would remain vigilant until the barrier came down, just in case Shiro needed a couple of seconds to process the command. Once it was down, he would say "Thank you, Shiro. I believe I have come up with a name for this technique... Petrify."

Shiro had asked if the training was complete, to which he said "Yes, so I supposed I should return you to Las Noches, now..." in a fairly calm tone. Mitsuoki had held up his hand and rested it on Shiro, saying "Teleport Gatestone, Las-" he paused and quickly grabbed Shiro's shoulders to spin her around. Mitsuoki rested his hands on Shiro's eyes while pulling her back, resting the back of her head against his torso. He quickly changed the destination by saying "-District Sixty Eight!" and the two of them would erupt into light blue particles before reforming near Mitsuoki's old home.

Mitsuoki would gently lift his hands from Shiro's eyes. If Shiro had looked around, she would see herself standing at a type of monument. In the middle would be a large, stone pillar with the name "Haruka Hikken" written in large letters, perfectly centered, on all of its four sides. Below that was a circular stone slab that extended out four meters in all directions. Like number on a clock, twelve other stone pillars rose up with twelve different names on them. The pillar with Haruka's name was eight feet tall, and two and a half feet at the base before tapering off to a one foot width at the top. The twelve pillars on the edge of the circular floor were only three feet tall, with similar proportions.

Looking beyond the monument that was sitting atop a hill, in the short distance, Shiro would see a village that looked somewhat run down, but not exactly in ruins. It was seated next to a river with shimmering water that reflected the midday sun's light. Mitsuoki would say "This is one of the villages in the Rukongai, District Sixty Eight... in the Soul Society. It is where I lived before I became a Soul Reaper." in a gentle tone. Mitsuoki would keep Shiro pressed against his body while pointed towards a large, floating circle in the distance with a very nice, pure white city under it. "That ring in the sky is the Sekki Sekki wall. Whenever an intruder tries to enter, it drops from the sky. Under it is where the soul reapers live, the Seireitei." Mitsuoki would then release Shiro and take a couple of steps back. If she looked around, she would notice vast forests in the distance, mountains, other hills, plains, and even the smoke coming from other villages is the very far off reaches. It was definitely a different place from Hueco Mundo. "I cannot let you go too far; but, if you wish, we may visit my village? Consider this my way of thanking you for helping me, today."

While walking down the hill to the village, Shiro had asked about why the wall needed to keep people out. Mitsuoki had said "The Soul Society is divided into three sections. The first is where we are, the Rukongai. It is divided into eighty districts. The closer you get to eighty, the less civil things get. For example, when I arrived in the Soul Society, I was in district seventy. I was given two options, surrender my robes or be severely beaten and/or, possibly, killed. The closer you get to one, the nicer things get. The first four districts are purely nobles, and things degrade after that point."

Mitsuoki had paused for a couple seconds before continuing. "The second area is the Seireitei. That area is where you will find the Soul Reaper Academy, the homes of three of the four great noble clans, as well as the Thirteen Court Guard Squads and Kido Corps headquarters. It is reserved for Soul Reapers and the most elite nobles, essentially. The third area is the Soul King's Palace, which is literally a world of its own. The only ones allowed in are members of the Soul King's personal guard, known as Squad Zero, and those that the king deems worthy."

Upon entering the village, a young boy was running away from an angry merchant who was shouting for him to be stop running. Mitsuoki had stepped in the young boy's path, causing the child to hit his leg and rebound to a sitting position with a large, clay jar with a cloth cap, sitting in his arms. The merchant ran over with a wooden pole raised, preparing to hit the youth, but Mitsuoki had grabbed the man's wrist and, using his other hand, thrusted his palm into the old timer's sternum to force him back. The old man complained that the "brat" had stolen one of his water jugs, to which Mitsuoki said "You get those jugs by stealing them from passing traders, and fill them with boiled river water. The loss of one or two of those is of no consequence to you." in a harsh tone, which the old man had only grumbled. Mitsuoki reached in his sleeve and pulled out a copper coin that he threw in the old man's direction. "Send four more to where the others are, and do not attempt to swindle me." he added in an equally harsh tone.

The young boy looked up and shouted Mitsuoki's name, immediately cheering up. Mitsuoki looked down with a glare that made the boy cheer down and look at the floor. "Stealing is wrong and you know it. Just because you did not feel like boiling your own water does not justify taking from someone else. Now, go wait with the others and I shall visit shortly." Mitsuoki's tone had become much less harsh for the last bit and the young boy nodded and did as told.

Mitsuoki let out a sigh and glanced at Shiro. "It was a Soul Reaper who told me to leave district seventy and come here, where the theft is normally small and inconsequential items. No one threatens to kill you for the clothes on your back, but they may 'borrow' some of the items in your pockets. Well, when I am not around, at least. Come, this way." Mitsuoki would begin walking down the street, stopping at a stall where a man had a butcher's knife at his hip and several cloth bags that were tied off. Mitsuoki had put two silver coins and a copper one on the wooden surface and the man passed Mitsuoki a large cloth bag. "May I also get a small bag, please?" he asked, and the man said 'Sure thing.' in a fairly cheerful tone, immediately providing the requested item at no extra charge. Mitsuoki had held the bag out in front Shiro for her to take. "Here, this one's for you." he said calmly, giving her the small bag of hard candy. She would find them to be very sweet, but also have varying flavors. If she had asked what the large bag was for, he would say "The souls of children stay near the river. This is for them."

Responding to Shiro's inquiry about why there was a candy seller at all, or rather, why the souls needed this sort of thing in the first place, Mitsuoki had said "Just because they do not require nutrition to stay alive, does not mean that they would not want it. Food is a precious commodity, even in this world. It tastes good and can even improve your mood. I personally learned to cook simply because I enjoy eating." It was a little more information than he intended to give, but it wasn't a dire secret that he was guarding with his life, so he didn't point out that he shouldn't have told Shiro about his hobby.

A short ways away, they had come to a shack of sorts with a torn up cloth covering the entry way. Mitsuoki had pulled back the cloth and inside was seven children, all looking in his direction. The room had five small, wooden boxes that were filled with hay and had thick blankets thrown over them to keep the hay from sticking the kids in their sleep. Two sets of siblings were easily recognizable among the children by their similar features and matching hair and eyes. The young boy from earlier said "See! I told you he was coming!" with a happy tone. Mitsuoki had scanned the room and his eyes settled on a very young girl with long, scarlet hair and light blue eyes who was trying to hide behind the other kids. "I see there is a new member, present." Mitsuoki said in his usual cold tone, making the girl clam up and begin backing away, towards one of the beds in the back. Mitsuoki entered the room and walked towards her, the girl backing away until she hit the bed, at which point she began holding her own hands while shutting her eyes as tight as possible.

Mitsuoki kneeled down, reaching into the bag and holding one of the small candies for her. "You need not fear me." he said in a much softer tone. The girl opened her eyes and nervously reached for the candy. She put it in her mouth and softly, shyly, said "I- It's good..." in a very sweet sounding voice. Mitsuoki had lifted his hand and gently rested it on her head to begin rubbing it gently. "I had not known there would be a new face here, less I would have brought more. That is alright, you may have my share." he said with a light smile. Mitsuoki stood up and sat on the bed behind the girl, setting the candy bag next to him.

He then lifted the child and set her on his leg and said "Very well, who is first?" which caused the children to all line up with empty bags in need of filling. After the other children had their bags filled, Mitsuoki handed the new member, who couldn't have been older than four when she died, the rest of the candy, which was enough for just one more bag. "Thank you." she said with a guilty expression. Mitsuoki had reached around to hug her from behind, causing the girl's cheeks to turn a gentle shade of pink. "You are most welcome. What is your name?" he asked, and the girl said "N-Nina..." Mitsuoki nodded before releasing her partially, moving his hands to her armpits and lifting her up to set her on the ground. "I am Mitsuoki. I used to live here, so I return from time to time to visit." one of the kids then pointed to Shiro and shouted "Hey, Mitters brought his girlfriend!"

"You're not?" the little boy asked, saying "But the last time Mittens brought a girl here, she was." Mitsuoki had immediately shot a glare at the little boy, which was thousands of times nicer than what the soul reaper would do to any adult aged soul who dared bring up his past. One of the girls in the room walked up and tugged at the boy's sleeve before saying "You're not supposed to talk about her..." in a slightly afraid tone. She had seen what Mitsuoki did to someone who brought Haruka up while Mitsuoki was around, and she didn't want to test the limits of Mitsuoki's kindness towards children. The boy looked at Mitsuoki and said "S-sorry, Mittens." while looking at the ground. Mitsuoki let out a frustrated sigh and said "Just do not repeat your actions, all is forgiven." The new member of the group was left confused about what had happened, and stayed quiet.

Mitsuoki had stood up and began leaving the room. The young girl, Nina, had walked behind him and grabbed him by the sleeve. He looked back and saw that she was looking up at him with a disheartened look. "I am going to show this human around the village. Do you wish to accompany us?" he asked, to which Nina nodded. Mitsuoki had extended the hand of the sleeve that Nina was grabbing and said "Very well, you may come." The girl had quickly tied the string on the candy back and tucked it under her robe's belt before taking his hand.

If Shiro had asked about the other girl he had brought here, Mitsuoki would say "The fact that I exist at all is owed to that woman. It was my greatest joy to bring her here." If Shiro had pointed out that she must have been someone extremely special, or important, to Mitsuoki to bring them, he would say "She was." in a very blunt tone. The operative word being 'was' since Haruka's dead, now. Mitsuoki would be leading Shiro to a stone bridge that went across the river that the village was next to.

Shiro had apologized for asking about Haruka, to which Mitsuoki said "It is a small matter." though, he didn't say that Shiro was forgiven, like with the little girl. Things went quiet while they walked the rest of the way to the bridge, and, when they got there, Mitsuoki had lead her to the underside of the bridge where she would notice tally marks on the walls that, instead of being four straight lines with a diagonal, were eleven lines with a straight one across them. "The soul society is treated as a whole item, but is divided into each district outside of the Seireitei. Districts can either be an entire village, or they can be multiple villages. I was told to come to this district since it was nicer, but stayed in this village since there was a very easy source of food." Mitsuoki had turned and pointed to the water where some fish were moving around. "I stayed right here, under this bridge, most of the time. Even though I was a plus, I was always hungry for reasons I couldn't explain. Later on, I found out that I was leaking extreme amounts of spirit pressure. A friend taught me to control my reiatsu, which reduced my eating to normal levels." If Shiro had counted the tally marks, there would be more than fifty sets of them, with a few lines that weren't crossed out at all, equalling fifty years and four months of being the troll under a bridge.

"So, what does it mean if we get hungry?" the child asked with a small bit of fear in her tone. "Have no worries, Nina. Feeling hungry means that you have a degree of power. You have the ability to become a soul reaper, if you so choose. The main benefits are having easy access to food, water, shelter, and respect if you are deserving of it. If you prefer living out here, then you have no need to become a soul reaper." Mitsuoki informed her. Nina nodded just before a dragonfly flew by and landed right in the middle of her forehead, just above her eyes. She looked up at it, tilting her head back while trying to cross her eyes. Mitsuoki held out his finger and the dragonfly flew off of Nina and to his index finger. "If a normal soul is interested, they can train rigorously to become a soul reaper."

The sound of a wagon moving over the bridge was heard and Mitsuoki had quickly moved from under it to see who it was. "Excuse me!" Mitsuoki had shouted from down below, causing the wagon to slow to a stop. "Are you a trader?" he asked and the wagon driver said that he was, also throwing in that he was moving a variety of items. "Shiro, you should see his wares. If there is something you fancy, I am more than happy to pay for it." he said to the human. No matter how expensive an item was, even if it required silver or gold, Mitsuoki would have a coin to pay it with. The merchant would even give them a discount since Mitsuoki was a soul reaper.

A question had come about from Shiro about what happens if a soul doesn't eat. Mitsuoki thought it was a somewhat silly question since no species could survive without food, if they felt hunger or a need to eat. He didn't show any signs of this thought, however. Mitsuoki had said "Normally, you do not notice that you are hungry at first. Eventually, you begin feeling weak as your spirit energy reserves begin dwindling. If you ignore that, this weakness will progress to a sensation of dizziness and lightheadedness. If still ignored, you will collapse. I did this several times, and it was to my fortune that the villagers here are not cruel people. After this happens enough times, you begin associating the initial signs of weakness as being hungry, making it much easier to avoid the latter issues."

At the trader's wagon, Shiro had asked if Mitsuoki was sure it was okay for her to pick something out. He said "It is quite alright. I would be a dishonorable host if I were to send you back with nothing but the memory of this place." to let her know that it was perfectly fine for her to get something. Shiro had chosen a small locket that was silver-ish-white-ish, and circular in shape. "An excellent choice! That was made by a man in the eight rukon district. I normally would ask for three gold pieces for it, buuuut on account of your boyfriend, here, I'm willing to go down to two." Mitsuoki had pulled two gold coins from his sleeve and set it in the merchant's hand, deciding not to correct him since it was unlikely that they'd ever meet again. The soul society was a big place and this guy seemed to travel a lot, meaning there were seventy nine other districts... seventy one... sixty eight, if he avoided the trashy ones where he'd be killed and/or mugged.

Mitsuoki would look at Shiro after she put the locket on, if she did, and say "It looks very nice on you." as a compliment. If she didn't immediately put it on, Mitsuoki would say nothing about it at all. Either way, Mitsuoki's next course of action would be turning back to the village and saying "Come, I shall introduce you both to this village's elder."

Mitsuoki walked through the town, passing a single, short street, lined with merchants that were selling their wares. He said "Here, you'll find that there's more than one form of currency." while walking past it. "All merchants accept money; but, not everyone has money. Those who have skills- crafting, farming, etcetera..., can trade their products to other merchants. Many times, they would receive a generous discount for it. For example, if that man was in need of a new wheel for his wagon, he would have willingly given that locket and several other goods for that new wheel, assuming a carpenter had one on hand or could make it. That carpenter would have likely sold the wheel for much less, otherwise. At the same time, if the carpenter needed a gift for his mistress, he would have traded two or four wheels for the same locket, assuming the trader wasn't feeling generous, that is."

Walking some more, Mitsuoki had stopped at a house that was slightly less down than the others, and had a wooden door. He knocked on the door and an extremely old looking man with a mustache opened it, looking down at Mitsuoki for a moment. He then turned his gaze towards the girl and said "It's been a while since you brought someone with you to the village, Mitsuoki." to which the soul reaper replied "This is Shiro. She is a human who has aided me in my training. I brought her here as a display of gratitude since she had expressed interest previously." The old man opened the door all the way and gestured for them to come inside.

Mitsuoki entered and went straight to the kitchen to begin making tea, the old man called for Shiro to sit in his living room. She would notice that even though the outside looked somewhat old, the inside was well maintained, and the furniture was all in good condition. "My name is Kouta, and I'm the elder of this village. While it's extremely rare to find your biological family in the soul society, I managed to stumble across my great grandfather after my passing, and together, we built this small village. It started with just this house, and eventually expanded to two homes when I fell in love. Then, more people began showing up, seeking refuge. So, we built more homes until this village was born. My lover's name was Kana, and she became a soul reaper. I joined her, and we both served for only two hundred years before she was killed by a hollow." Kouta pointed to the wall where two zanpakuto were in a wooden case with a glass panel, each in their katana forms. One had a bloodwood sheath, and the other had a pure white sheath. "After that, I returned here and my grandfather had been put back into the cycle of life and death, leaving me to guide the people in his stead. But, you do not care for an old man's tale. You wish to know details of his grandson, the one who brought you here."

If Shiro asked if Mitsuoki was actually his grandson, or given a response that implied she thought he was biologically related, Kouta would give a light chuckle and say "In this world, since we almost never find our actual family members, it's not uncommon for souls to form new families. Everyone who belongs to this village are considered my grandchildren. Though, he was originally very cold towards us and kept his distance..." Kouta paused and began getting up, moving to a nearby drawer to pull out a framed picture. "After his first visit to the soul reaper's academy, he came back with a very beautiful young lady. She was good at using kido, but quite fragile physically." Kouta walked over and gave Shiro the image of a red haired girl with bright green eyes, wearing black stockings. The girl was a solid ten, which is roughly six points higher than anyone would expect Mitsuoki to be able to score. "The two of them trained rigorously in the day and stayed awake till late at night, talking about anything that they could think of. She was the one who gave him the nickname 'mittens' but I never was told the story behind it, no one was. The children are allowed to call him by it, but anyone else... well, let's just say the air in this world gets thinner the higher you go." It was then that Mitsuoki walked out of the kitchen and set down a tray with three tea cups and some tea. "Did I miss anything?" he asked.