Creeping, Quieting, Escapist...

The day before, Mitsuoki had decided that Akane had gotten to a point where she would be more than able to begin her combat training. It was the requirement for her being allowed to stay with him in the Soul Society. He had talked to Kira about her, telling him what she originally was, as well as showing him the memory amulet's recording as proof. The lieutenant was a good man, dutiful, but not so bound by the rules of seireitei that he would damn someone to their inevitable death- especially a child. It was a firm belief of squad three that death was something they only caused if they couldn't avoid it, and that if they killed someone, they should never be forgiven. Kira didn't want that kind of blood on his hands so he talked with one of the other captains and made an official appeal to allow Akane to be considered an ally to the Seireitei. The requirement for Mitsuoki being allowed to keep her, as well as for them to be losing resources on the child in the form of food, she would have to be made capable of fighting on par with at least a mid-level Quincy, or a High-Level hollow.

To this end, Mitsuoki knew that he would need to teach her how to speak and understand those speaking to her. When she first entered, he had tried teaching her the conventional way and found that she didn't like learning. She constantly began hiding as random objects and forced Mitsuoki to make creative ways of finding her, and then forcing her to do her lessons. This time, Mitsuoki had a new way of teaching her. He had one of his old roommates from the kid corps get in touch with one of his old friends and acquire some books from the human world. Children learned considerably better when they weren't aware that they were learning. The best way to do that was by having them play games. Things like a game called 'tetris' taught children how to think on the fly by making them connect interlocking shapes that fell at an increasingly faster rate depending on the level. Mitsuoki would eventually have to find this game when he got around to teaching Akane more advanced combat; but for today, he was more focused on teaching Akane the most useful of all combat skills- mobility.

Just after Akane had crept out the room, Mitsuoki opened one eye and gave a gentle smirk. He knew she would try running away again. He waited another ten minutes to let Akane get some distance before getting out of bed and putting on his robes. He then walked outside and found that Kouta was already awake, sitting on his couch while reading a book. "I was wondering when you would wake up. Giving the girl a good chase, are we?" he asked, to which Mitsuoki said "Indeed." before walking out the door with his zanpakuto. He immediately entered his bankai, which didn't affect his spiritual pressure at all. In fact, Mitsuoki's bankai was by far, the most low-key bankai of all in existence. There was no bright flash, no increase in spiritual pressure, no change to his clothing, and nothing at all that could be used to tell he had entered bankai at all. The only way to know he was in his bankai state was the fact that he consciously avoided drawing the zanpakuto from its sheath. It was actually something he didn't need to do, even if he wasn't in bankai.

Akane would feel Mitsuoki's spirit pressure crashing down over the entire area of the village, including the docks where she was. The amount of spiritual energy he was putting out wouldn't be nearly enough to hinder Akane's movements, but just enough to let Akane know the direction Mitsuoki was in, and know that he was walking towards her. If Akane had moved into the village or under the bridge, she would feel his spiritual pressure increasing. The only time she would feel Mitsuoki's spiritual pressure vanish entirely, making it seem as though she'd lost him, would be if she headed to the thirteen pillar memorial, at the top of the hill.

Mitsuoki had felts Akane running up the side of the monument's hill and shut off his spiritual pressure, hiding it as best he could before constructing his Shallow Grave barrier around him. Using his mastery of Kido, he was able to make the barrier move with him while avoiding any objects that would potentially hit the barrier and be pushed around by it. He made his way up the monument slowly, letting Akane do whatever mischief she was up to in some attempt to escape being hidden. He had figured that Akane wouldn't go much farther than the monument since it was vastly more dangerous outside of the village, where hollows could pop up, or bandits would try and steal her away like the last time. Mitsuoki still didn't explain what a sex slave was since that type of content was for people far older than she was.

Akane had turned into a stone a few minutes before Mitsuoki had arrived at the top of the monument and approached the pile of rocks that was facing the front of it. He didn't even look down, just placed his hand on Haruka's pillar. It was something that Akane had seen him do many times before, almost ritualistically. Every time he visited the monument, in fact. However, this time, instead of him talking to the pillar like some sort of old friend, he gave a smirk. First he would look down at where the pile of rocks was. "Hello, Akane." he would say just before the third ring of the monument lifted up to form a wall. At the same time, a barrier was formed over the top of the wall and in between the gaps of the large, twelve foot slabs of marble. "First rule of using stealth. Think about the things that you're most likely to do, and don't do them." he said before taking his hand off the pillar.

If Akane hadn't already changed back, Mitsuoki would tap his foot on the ground with his arms crossed over his chest, waiting for her to turn back. She was already caught, and from previous encounters, should know that Mitsuoki would stand there for as long as it took for her to switch. He also knew that Akane was a child and a fox, and would not be able to stay in one place for long before getting bored.

Once Akane had changed back, Mitsuoki would kneel down and look her in the eyes. Normally, this was the part where he flicked her on the forehead for running away again. However, this time, he would reach out and gently put his hand on her back before pulling her into his chest. He would hold her in this way for a few seconds before letting her go and gently rubbing her head. "It was a good first try." he would say before standing up again and facing the pillar.

A few feet away would be a large gap in the floor that was eight feet wide, and the walls were glowing a gentle, light blue color. The hole would seem to go down endlessly, but actually be sixty five and a half feet straight down. "Akane." Mitsuoki would say calmly to get her attention. "Where we are going, I want you to understand that you are not allowed to bring anyone- no matter who they are. Not Kouta, not the other children, not Shiro, not Kira- no one." his tone would imply it was a very serious matter to him, and the fact that even his squad's lieutenant, who was currently acting in place of the captain, wasn't allowed to see it would add weight to that. He would then place his hand on the pillar and Akane would see the first step expand from the wall and slowly move across. When the step was halfway across, the second step would begin moving across. This would continue for each and every step, each making a soft 'thud' when they hit the wall on the other side.

Mitsuoki would take his hand off the wall and begin walking down the glowing, light blue steps with Akane until they came to a black doorway that was filled with a liquid-like material. He would place his hand on the wall next to it, causing the liquid to solidify before vanishing a few seconds later. "It is very important that you do not enter while this door is dark. You will be lost and I will never find you." he said in a tone that was just as heavy as him telling her to never bring anyone there. Mitsuoki walked through the now open door, into a room that had a light brown floor and walls, with a light blue ceiling. The floor was completely flat and would allow Akane to see all the way, five hundred meters to the other wall.

He placed his hand on the ground and said "Come forth, Gol." to summon the massive golem that he used to create the room. Gol had appeared from a bunch of spirit particles that assembled into the rocky formation and looked around to examine his surroundings. The golem then moved to the side of the wall before entering a relaxed state, placing his hands flat on the ground and his five eyes turning yellow. "Alright, Gol. Give me a forest." Mitsuoki said and the ground and walls glowed brightly for a moment. From the ground, the floor rose up and began forming the trunks of trees that turned into branches and leaves, changing color to match that of an actual forest. Warm, golden light filtered through the leaves. A five hundred by five hundred meter forest now surrounded them and was complete with a section with large rocks, a place with flowers, different kinds of trees, and very natural light. "Akane, we're going to play a game called 'tag' that the humans invented. I'm going to turn around and count to ten, after which, I am going to chase you. If I touch you, then you have to count to ten before chasing me. Whenever the person who is chasing catches the one who is running, they are to say 'tag.' Okay?" he would explain before turning around and beginning the count down. "One... two... three..."

"... Four ... Five... Six... Seven... Eight... Nine... Ten! Ready or not, here I come!" Mitsuoki announced and vanished from his current position, following the direction that he heard Akane bolt off in. It didn't take long for him to find her, there wasn't much ground that could be gained in ten seconds, and he had cleared that almost instantly with his first step. Akane would feel Mitsuoki's hand grab her shoulder and hear him say the harrowing, damning words... "Tag." in a calm tone.

Mitsuoki had jumped back several steps and said "You're turn. Start counting." with a smirk on his face. Mitsuoki would wait for Akane to turn around and begin counting down. Lucky for him that she's played this game with the other kids, so she at least could count to ten and backwards. Even then, when Akane had finished and turned around, she would find that Mitsuoki had actually not moved at all. If she asked why Mitsuoki hadn't hidden, he would say "You found me, now you have to tag me." with a light hearted tone. Mitsuoki would let Akane get within mere inches of him before flash stepping backwards and saying "Catch me if you caaaan!" in a teasing tone.

Every time Akane got near, Mitsuoki would flash step away, letting her just barely taste victory before having it completely vanish from her sight. Each time he flash stepped, he would make sure to keep himself in her line of sight, so she would be forced to move towards him. When Akane slowed down her attempts, Mitsuoki would say "You got a little closer that time. Try again." in a more encouraging tone.

More and more attempts came, and Mitsuoki continuously used his flash step to get just a few feet out of Akane's range. Each and every failed attempt, he could see that Akane was getting more and more frustrated, and at this point, she was only trying because she had already invested so much energy into the act; and, she didn't want that energy to be wasted. "You need to slow yourself down." Mitsuoki said while dodging yet another attempt with his flash step. "You have failed the last ten times, and if you do not change the way to attack, you will fail the next ten times." his tone was calm, no longer teasing. He was using this frustration to teach Akane an important lesson for combat. "During times like this, where your opponent is vastly superior to you, you need to change focus. When you come at me, focus on what I am doing. Examine how I move, where I move, and when I move. Use that to make a new strategy." he said. If Akane was still trying to tag Mitsuoki, he would be saying that while flash stepping away.

Mitsuoki would continue using his flash step, which would keep him out of Akane's reach no matter what new trick she tried using. He would then say "Good, you've begun trying new tactics. These are still inferior. What do you do when your last trick fails?" Mitsuoki's question had a very simple answer. If Akane had said anything along the lines of trying something new, Mitsuoki would say "Yes. Now, do it." and if Akane had given anything else, he would say "No, you try something different."

After several more attempts, Mitsuoki would say "You are not utilizing all of your available tools, Akane. You would have a much easier time keeping your balance if you had a tail." recommending that Akane tried coming at him in her release form.

Akane had said that she wasn't allowed to use abilities when it's a game, to which Mitsuoki said "For now, it's alright to use your powers. The village children do not have powers of their own, so it's unfair to use it against them." After which, Akane switched to her fox form and tried another charge towards Mitsuoki that resulted in another failed attempt. "Good, you did not fall, this time." he said. He could tell that Akane had already figured she would need another tactic and she tried one where she put Mitsuoki in some form of fire based illusion, making it seem as though the only way he could move was in Akane's direction. Mitsuoki quickly glanced up and noted that her attack wa a horse shoe, covering his sides but not the air above him. He would vanish once more and appear standing atop a tree branch before vanishing again to appear a little further away, on the ground.

"You are beginning to get better at using your abilities; however, you are using the wrong one. This technique that I am using is called Flash Step. It allows me to cover great deals of ground in very little amounts of time. For the Arrancar and Hollows, they have Sonido. The Quincy have Hirenkyaku. Even Shiro has a version of Flash Step that she can use. You will need to find yours in order to catch me." he would say before stepping again and appearing elsewhere, just out of reach of Akane.

While dodging Akane, if the fox girl asked Mitsuoki how to use her stepping technique, Mitsuoki would say "I cannot teach you that. Stepping is much like walking and swimming. You are born knowing how to do it, but you must find that ability within yourself. By being in a situation where you actually need the skill, it gets easier to unlock it."

Akane had tried using another of her existing abilities, one that Mitsuoki did not actually know of as of yet. The fox girl had fired an attack that turned into a smiling and waving creature that he quickly realized would be a distraction. From the moment that it stopped rather than attack him, Mitsuoki had used flash step and moved himself even further away to avoid Akane's incoming attempt at tagging the soul reaper. "You are not listening to me." Mitsuoki said calmly, knowing that Akane would only frustrate herself more by continuing her attempts. "You must adapt to your opponent." he said in a very calm tone while seeming to look through the apparition.

Upon her next failed attempt, Mitsuoki would let out a sigh and pull out a small bag of sphere shaped, rock candies that were in varying colors and flavors. It was something that he had given Akane before, along with all of the other children in his village. "If you manage to catch me, I shall share with you." he would say and begin the process of popping three in his mouth. Naturally, while Akane was trying to get close to him, he would be stepping away and putting another candy in his mouth every time the last one disappeared after a couple minutes.

She was still doing the same thing that they had been doing for the past hour and had not made a single shred of progress towards their goal. Akane had begun to move faster, but the problem remained that every time she got within a short distance of the soul reaper, he used flash step to vanish yet again. After another hour of Akane failing to touch him, Mitsuoki had put another candy in his mouth and looked in the bag. "Oh my... Akane..." he said and turned the bag upside down. "It appears they are gone." he said in an innocent tone. Mitsuoki had heard the human girl's stomach complaining earlier and decided to say "I would go back to the village and make lunch; but, you have yet to catch me."

It was a slightly mean thing to do to someone who was hungry, but that hunger would have to be what it took to spur the girl on towards victory... or... at least... using her stepping technique, in this case. If Akane had failed to start even trying to use her stepping technique, Mitsuoki would tease her more, saying "I wonder how long it will be before that stew is finished... If it burns then I suppose I would have no choice but to make salad for lunch." knowing that Akane liked vegetables about as much as she licked being flicked on the head.

Mitsuoki had found it funny how much Akane hated vegetables, but he was glad that it was a viable form of encouragement to use against her. The shock of having to eat nothing but green leafy things had perturbed Akane so greatly that she inadvertently shot herself forward, moving right past where Mitsuoki stood, and a little beyond that. She had ended up stepping herself straight into a bush, which was comical enough to warrant a small chuckle from him. "Well, that was interesting." he said while walking towards Akane. He would then lift her from the bush and set her down on the ground before brushing the leaves off of her. He would then rub her head and say "Okay, you win." with a gentle smile, even though she hadn't actually tagged him.

Mitsuoki would loudly say "Collapse Field!" causing everything in the room to glow a gently blue before vanishing, leaving only a flat, light tan floor to look at. He would then turn to Akane and say "Come. It is lunch time." while walking towards the entrance, which was almost a hundred meters away. The room's lighting had made it fairly easy to lose track of time, and it was so massive that distance became somewhat eskew as well.

Once back at Kouta's place, Akane would find herself being served a place of green stuff, orange stuff, red stuff, with raisins and sunflower seeds mixed in(Lettuce, Carrots, Tomatoes w/ Raisins & Sunflower Seeds). If she complained about not having stew, Mitsuoki would say "We will have stew... after we have our salad." in a very calm tone. If she looked to Kouta for help, the old man would already be eating his salad and show no more sympathy than the soul reaper. If Akane still hadn't finished her salad by the time Mitsuoki had finished his, she would have the wonderful pleasure of watching Mitsuoki show up with a steaming hot bowl of stew. Mitsuoki would say "You would be eating stew, had you finished your salad already." in a teasing manner. Once her salad was finished, Mitsuoki would reward her with stew AND a chocolate chip cookie. The cookie was a reward for having used her stepping technique.

Mitsuoki had let Shiro enjoy her cookie and stew for the moment. She had learned to use her stepping technique when she needed to, but now she needed to learn to use it when she wanted. Tag would be fine for learning that, he could still get her to feel a greater sense of urgency with dinner; but, he also didn't want to pull that card too many times. Not that he was ever bluffing. Whenever Mitsuoki had told Akane that she would or wouldn't eat something, he always pulled through. One thing that she could never say is that he was a bad sport with that kind of punishment. He ate what Akane ate, whether that was something delicious or something that was pure foliage. Once Shiro had, had her fill of Stew, Mitsuoki would let her spend a couple more hours playing with the village children. He would tell her that she's allowed to play with them, but she wasn't allowed to use the technique she learned earlier since it was cheating. He didn't let her know when he was going to pull her away from them for more training, nor did he tell her that there was more training at all.

A little over two hours later, Akane would find that Mitsuoki was interrupting her play time and had used flash step to quickly grab her by the shoulder. "We have some more training to do. You do not mind me taking her away, do you?" Mitsuoki asked, to which all of the children allowed. Once inside the training room again, Akane would notice that Gol was not instructed to alter the terrain. Mitsuoki would tell Akane "We are going to be training in a much more dangerous method this time. I will be firing my Energy Bullet at you at a much slower speed than normal. Your objective will be to dodge them using that technique you learned earlier. If you manage to dodge a total of twenty five of them while using your technique, then tomorrow you will be allowed to skip your academic lessons." The lessons Mitsuoki spoke up were basic reading, writing, and math- things that Akane was forced to endure every other day.