Unorthodox Methods

BREAK FREE OF THE CHAINS

That Hold You Down

"Oof!"

It was the only sound she made as her fathers fist planted itself firmly into her midsection, knocking the wind out of her before she went flying across the white sands of Hueco Mundo. Or more specifically the former home of the arrancar, Las Noches. She went skidding and bouncing across the hard grains, her skin bruising and breaking as she tried to regain control of her own body. Soon enough the momentum died down and she laid there for a moment trying to catch her breath, though it wasn't too long after her own stoppage that her sister Amaya found herself planted in the sand beside Hikari. Luckily the younger of the two didn't get added cuts and bruises of being sent flying across the harsh sands.

She was already attempting to stand when Seran had begun to spit his insults, or would one call them motivational phrases? Or were the provocative ones? It didn't matter, he said and did what he wanted and he clearly had expectations of them that they weren't meeting currently. Standing to full height Hikari wiped the blood from her bleeding lip and walked over towards her father. Her eyes weren't filled with fear or pain, but a fiery passion. The need to show Seran that she wasn't the lowly being he was currently making her out to be. Still the object of his current lesson was to teach them to let go of those outside thoughts and allow nothing but a calm and ready mind to persevere, at least that's how she saw it.

As she came face to face with him she inhaled deeply and then exhaled slowly, calming herself and allowing the fire to leave her eyes though it still burnt brightly inside her. She would show him before days end, that she was much more than what he had hoped for. 

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Seran watched the two of them intently as the seconds turned into minutes. He stood, motionless and silent, building their tension through lack of sensory stimulation. It intrigued him, the difference in their behavior now they had been agitated. At the start they had simply followed directions, but as it became clear that the task was a far greater challenge than they had realized they had split. Hikari channeled her discomfort into an angry focus, shutting out everything with willpower as she searched for an answer to latch onto. Amaya, on the other hand, was like a raw nerve: she shared her sister’s focus, but she had abandoned the original concept of the exercise in favor of pure survival instinct. He allowed his lip to twitch in a narrow smile. It was amusing that they had both arrived on the edge of the goal, albeit on different sides.

Twenty minutes passed before he stepped forward. He did not move quickly as before, but at the first crunch of sand beneath his feet he saw Amaya twitch. Hikari remained impassive, it was likely she was so inwardly focused that she didn’t even notice him. It only took him threes steps to stand before the two of them. His black haired daughter was truly fidgeting now, her muscles preparing for the blow they expected. It was certainly to her credit that her eyes remained closed.

Seran’s arms reached out towards the two of them, and in one quick motion tapped them both roughly on the forehead. Their difference in response gave clear indication of what each had been focusing on. Tense as she was from anticipation, Amaya reacted instantly to the blow: leaning in hard and attempting to set her feet to mitigate a blow like that she had previously received. Only, this blow was nothing like the previous one. Her over compensation and surprise stole her balance, and she tumbled forward past her father.

Hikari’s shock was similar; but magnified not by anticipation but by confusion. She fell backward, only coming out of her trance-like state at the last moment. It was rather comical to watch, like someone being duped by a “fall and I’ll catch you” trust exercise. Seran gave them a moment to get their bearings, before speaking.

“This is certainly progress, the two of you skirt around the boundary of success on either side, dipping in a moment here and there without understanding what to hold onto.”

The older mod soul shuffled his feet a moment, flattening out a small patch in the uneven sand to sit on. He slump down roughly and motioned for the girls to join him. As they did he motioned at the younger of the two.

“Amaya, you now have a feel for what I call ‘the flooding’. It is one half of what you need to properly establish a void within yourself.”

His gaze shifted to her sister.

“Hikari you managed a taste of the other half. It is called ‘the separation’. It is rather fortunate that you each ended up with one of the halves, it will be much faster for both of you this way.”

Seran reached out and began drawing in the sand with his finger. He started with a large circle.

“This represents you, the line is your body and the space within is your soul.”

From the center of the circle he began drawing several jagged lines, like lightning bolt traveling outward.

“Flooding comes from the natural response to danger, but it is more advanced than the simple fight or flight of a normal human. True flooding is intense awareness of your body and environment. I’m sure you felt it Amaya, that twenty minutes probably felt like a lifetime to you. But there is a problem.”

The bolt lines reached the edge of the circle, breaking out and spreading away.

“On its own the sensation is difficult to hold onto. You burn out quickly with whatever emotion fueled the flood. This can make you sloppy, or you can lose yourself to the emotion rather than the void. You felt this when that light poke caused you to shoot forward like you’d been fired from a canon.”

Seran wiped away the image and traced another circle. Starting at the edge this time, he drew a spiral that moved in towards the center of the circle.

“The separation is can best be described as losing yourself within yourself. Like when reading or otherwise focusing on a task so completely. While for Amaya that twenty minutes took forever to pass, I’d imagine for you it was over in a heartbeat Hikari.”

The spiral reached the center of the circle and Seran stopped.

“But it has it’s own issues. Focus without purpose leaves you lost within yourself, unknowing of what is happening around you. Even after I knocked you backwards, you didn’t come out of that separate state until you’d nearly hit the ground.”

He looked at both of them, they were certainly smart enough to seen where this is going.

“If you use both of these together, the flooding gives you a constant dose of emotional fuel and heightened awareness, while the separation keeps the feeling cycling within and stops you from burning out. Humans have had many names and strategies for this over time, usually focused on one aspect or the other. Shinigami have often been capable of using both through their link with the zanpakuto, with one flooding while the other separates.”

Seran crossed his arms, eyes switching back and forth between the two of them.

“Humans and their offshoots, can usually get by and succeed with perfected understanding of one of the two halves, but for us it is essential to know both. Why do you think that is?”

The longer time went on without any form of sensory noise... The more anxious and nervous Amaya got. She wanted so desperately to open her eyes, let that light flood her retna's and see what was happening... But that would be directly disobeying her Father. Five minutes... Nothing, it felt like a life time... then 10 minutes, 15 minutes passed and nothing came. Amaya was visibly shaking with anticipation, Just as she was about to open her eyes she heard a faint movement. A soft gasp escaped her as she readied herself for anything that got near her, She could hear Seran slowly moving towards them and knew she had to brace herself. Her breathing was heavy but slow, controlled but undisciplined. She waited for just a few moments before she felt something touch her, immediately her feet moved into place as she felt herself flicked but... She overcompensated? Her eyes bolted open as she felt her center of gravity begin to shift uncontrollably and it wasn't long before she slammed into the sand beneath her. A bit of the sand got into her mouth as she coughed and spit it back out, then she heard another thud against the sand and looked over behind herself.

She saw Hikari slam into the ground as though she hadn't even realized what happened, How could that be possible though? Hikari was far more experienced in combat than she was, yet she was able to catch every movement that Seran did. Amaya didn't think herself better than Hikari at all, She knew Hikari was both stronger and a better fighter in every respect... But still, why was it her Sister, who was far superior, couldn't catch what Seran had done? She looked back up at her Father, who motioned for her to come. Slowly Amaya got up, dusting off the sand that was on her. Moving over to where Seran now sat, she brushed out a flat spot and sat down with her legs underneath her. Amaya normally sported a somewhat short black leather dress, but more often than naught she was standing so the length wasn't too much of an issue. But then her Father began to explain what had just happened thankfully, because Amaya was extremely confused.

Her hands fidgeted in her lap as he explained their flaws and what they were doing before, She... didn't have enough emotion? She burnt out too fast? Amaya, in truth, hated that response... She felt he was completely wrong, she did have emotion! And a lot of it! And she definitely wasn't burnt out on it! But she knew better than to do or say anything, instead letting that thought and feeling fester and boil internally. She bit her lip rather hard as he continued, watching as his hand formed the circle and pulled the lightning strikes outwards. The more she listened the worse that feeling in her gut felt, that.... she was useless... That she wouldn't ever make a good fighter. It upset her quite a bit really, Hikari was an amazing fighter and someone she looked up too. And her father was someone far greater than even Hikari. So to be surrounded by them and only feel like she was useless to them, it was something she didn't want to listen too. She kept silent however, listening to Hikari speak after the question was asked. Amaya wasn't sure in truth, her mind was still too focused on that one comment. One thing that was always true about Amaya... She had a short temper. Despite that she was wholly loyal to her Father, Seran, her temper could often times get the better of her if she wasn't careful.

"I... Burn out too fast..." She muttered as she stood with Seran "You...You're wrong... I have drive, I have emotion..." She said, her hands clenching into fists as she looked up at Seran almost on the verge of tears "And I'll prove it!" She said, her Reiatsu erupting from her "Discharge, Ohm's Law!" She said, those words that she so rarely ever spoke. "And I'll show you the Father's Call!" As she said that, electricity erupted from her body, crackling around her and striking towards Seran as she lunged forward. Amaya brought her fist backwards before thrusting it forward as hard as she could towards Seran's head, As she did an, admittedly very brief, but very large Reiatsu erupted from her, the electricity that encircled her lashed out violently around her. "I'll prove it to you! That I'm not useless!"

Well it should go without saying that she didn't expect her Sister to jump in front of her, Within a mere second she felt her Sister's arm wrap under hers, pulling her back down against the sand. She let out a grunt of pain as she felt her back slam down, pulling against Hikari's grip for just a few more seconds before she stopped squirming. Her breathing had both hastened and gotten quite a bit heavier in that short amount of time, she stared at her Sister for just a moment longer before her eyes went to her Father. She let out a slow but heavy sigh as she resealed her powers, giving Hikari a gentle pat on her back with her free arm as to signal that she had settled down. She closed her eyes, she had... jumped the gun quite a bit. She had lashed out and attacked Seran as if he were the enemy, instead of reacting as she should've.

If Hikari let her go, Amaya would slowly stand and dust herself off before giving Seran a deep bow "S-Sorry Father..." She said, tilting her head downwards and closing her eyes once more. After a few moments however Amaya would stand back up, and she hoped that she didn't ruin her chances.

BREAK FREE OF THE CHAINS

That Hold You Down

Hikari let her sister up and got to her own feet her own release being sealed once again as her hair lost it's eerie beautiful glow. Her red optics were now hidden behind her eyelids as her arms crossed at her chest. She was about to nod when her father spoke up towards Amaya, though he wasn't sure why he was so lenient with her. This was why she acted up so often, "You spoil her too much Father."

It wasn't like she expected him to beat her silly but no disciplinary action tended to breed the thoughts that one could carry on doing it over and over again because they wouldn't be losing a thing at all. No that she thought Amaya would dare make a habit of attacking Seran. Her right eye opened and glanced in the elder mod souls direction. "I don't have drive?" Perhaps it was true, she had no real goal or anything spurring her on at the moment. She was simply doing her best to outdo Amaya and eventually Seran one day, but that was really anything that would really fill her with real joy or much of a sense of accomplishment should she succeed. Her dreams weren't that shallow, were they?

Before she could think on it anymore Seran had already begun giving out his instructions again as he got to his feet. She turned her back to Amaya as he instructed and linked her arms with her sisters, stepping back closer and closer until she was told to stop. She listened to him as he spoke and then proceeded to follow his words. Her reiatsu exuding from her being at a steady and level pace. She breathed deeply and slowly, not rushing the process. She'd always been good with controlling her reiatsu so right now this wasn't too difficult for her.

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“I spoil both of you. When I learned these things I was fighting for my life on a daily basis. Now focus, or I’ll whip something up that’ll keep you stuck together like that for a week.”

It was no idle threat. Seran didn’t expect this, or any other, training he would put these two through to be easy. It would be brutal and confusing, just as he wished it had been for him. The Gotei 13 had never understood what a modified soul could do when pushed and challenged. They had been trained to be shinigami, and shinigami they were not. But these two would be different, they had begun their lives at a level it had taken him years to achieve, and he would drive them to be as good as him if not better. Seran closed his eyes, cutting out the visual noise so he could focus on their progress.

“Amaya, you’re letting too much of your own energy get mixed in with your sister’s. Focus on creating a separate channel for her reiatsu, letting it through you as though you were a gateway. The sensation might be odd, but you should feel as though her reiatsu has replaced yours entirely. Hikari, you are too focused on the give and take, it’s like you’re trying to force your own reiatsu out and yank in Amaya’s. This should feel passive, not so much that you’re forcing your energy one way, but that you're blocking off its natural exit so it only flows into her.”

He returned to his silent vigil, giving them a chance to adjust to his instruction. As he waited, feeling their reiatsu as it flowed around him, his mind drifted. He remembered his own time learning to control his reiatsu, forming paper thin interlocking shapes with his black iron and levitating them on the flowing steam of his reiatsu. He recalled a method he had used to focus, making poems in his head and repeating them like a mantra related to his training. Seran grinned, he had always liked poetry. His voice drifted over to his children.

Amaya, admittedly rather new to this, wasn't very good at controlling her own Reiatsu let alone accepting someone else's entirely. So when Seran spoke towards her it was something that Amaya expected to hear, Of course creating that channel was easier said than actually done. It was almost like Seran was trying to teach them some special technique for healing or something, Amaya honestly was having trouble even grasping the idea let alone carrying it out. If she understood what her Father was trying to say, then that meant that Amaya wasn't focused enough to properly synchronize her Reiatsu with her Sister. But Amaya wasn't really sure how she could accomplish this anyway, But she knew she had to vent less and accept more. So she began to think of something like a water treatment facility, one part accepting... The other releasing. She focused her Reiatsu venting to the left side of her body, Accepting her Sister's Reiatsu in on her right side. It did feel strange, Her body didn't feel like hers anymore... It felt like someone else's. It made her shudder as for the first time ever... Amaya felt uncomfortable in her own body. It wasn't a feeling she liked at all, and it wasn't one she wanted to keep feeling. But as much as she didn't wish to feel it anymore, Seran hadn't told them to stop so despite her minor squirming she tried to bear through it as best she could.

It was then that he began to talk to Hikari about her own fuckups, She was yet again the complete opposite of Amaya. She was forcing her own out and sucking in Amaya's, While this certainly wasn't the sole cause... This was probably what was messing Amaya up, or that's what she thought anyway.



Two rivers? Yeah she could kinda see that... Especially with how she was trying to filter the Reiatsu now. Two different streams, both of them going the opposite way... Practically touching, and yet, never becoming one. Still, this felt weird... and really made Amaya uncomfortable. "C-Can we stop now Father? It's making me feel weird..." She said as she squirmed on her feet a bit more, She wasn't used to not having complete control over her body... And this foreign Reiatsu that was being taken into her body made it feel like she didn't have any control anymore.

BREAK FREE OF THE CHAINS

That Hold You Down

She wanted to groan as Amaya started to complain about his discomfort, but Hikari did her best to hold it in and focus on the task at hand. She continued on imagining the flow of reiatsu as water passing through two separate gates side by side. She almost chuckled when her father agreed with her in the fact he was too soft on the younger Mod Soul. This time she didn't miss it, the sound of sand crunching beneath his feet as he stepped forward in their direction. Still even then she didn't open her eyes and attempt to see what it was that he was doing, much too busy with her current task.

Not too long after she noticed a subtle change, though she wasn't quite sure what it was. That's when she felt her arms moving upward until they untangled from Amaya's, now what were they doing? She looked down at her wrist to see the black chain around it.

“For this next exercise, the object is simple. As I said before, each of you has one half of what is needed. Training ends when you learn to use them together to my satisfaction….. Or when I destroy your bodies to a point where you cannot continue.”

She looked up from her hand as he spoke, wait what did he want them to do? Before she could attempt to ask she felt her body thrown aside and into the ground sliding several meters. Almost immediately after she felt Seran's reiatsu spark to life and again he was in front of them. Were they supposed to fight him? She didn't have time to think about that. She clicked her tongue, her hair glowing and electricity crackling around her body. She knew trying to bind him was useless so her best option was a straight offence, though it would still be better to have a plan. She placed her right hand out in front of her aimed at his midsection where he stood and it crackled once with energy then fired a plasma beam at half bala speed at Seran. He was strong enough that there was no need for her to hold back.

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