An art of seeing what you cannot and catching it.

[yuushou]

It was a breezy day. The wind would whip up without warning, only to calm immediately to be a pleasant zephyr in the same moment. It was temperamental, and in the worst moments the gusts were so great that the trees creaked with the pressure, snapping the weaker boughs from their places to send them crashing to the ground. When you looked to the sky, you could see the scattered clumps of cloud trudging steadily across the expanse of blue, wispy and strewn about like brush strokes on a canvas.

Ázuvala Assantri was striding to the outskirts of the Soul Society, her shihakusho fluttering in the wind as she briskly wound her way out of the Sereitei. She took a deep, contented breath as she walked. She smiled at the fresh air and unusual weather conditions that reminded her of her earlier shinigami days. While there were training grounds in various places scattered closer to the heart of the Soul Society, Azuvala had always been fond of practicing her techniques outside of the ‘safe’ range of the barrier and ryukongai. It had been a preference of hers that she had always carried with her from her rogue shinigami days before she had become a part of the Soul Society. She was currently traveling to a particular clearing she practiced her techniques in, one that she knew for a fact had been used before her though she knew not by whom.

I notice that you don’t think of how it is better that no one else see you practicing your techniques. A surprisingly gentle voice emanated from her mind. It bore a light and peaceful quality that didn’t match the hard edge affecting the words.

“Oh, don’t be so unpleasant.” Ázuvala murmured back with a smile on her lips. “You’ll have plenty of time to beat your lessons into me when we get to the clearing.”

The only response was disconcerted sniff that sounded more like a rustle of fabric than a ‘humph’.

Don’t think I don’t know what you were just thinking. The soft voice became adamant. You were making fun of me again. Just you wait. I’m going to grind you into the ground so hard that you won’t be able to walk for a week.

“No need to be so defensive,” Ázuvala frowned slightly, “I’m not trying to make fun of you, I was simply thinking about the comparison. And don’t do that, I have to train again tomorrow, too.”

This time the response was unintelligible, but Ázuvala would’ve sworn she heard “even better” and “torture you” before she was left with a brooding silence.

“It’s not good to dwell on unpleasant thoughts, they fester and turn into grudges.” She remarked cheerily as she walked through the Sereitei gate. The brooding silence grew darker and she could feel daggers hitting the side of the inside of her head at her words. Azuvala grinned with amusement.

[yuushou]

The clearing was simple, decorated with leaves blown in a prejudiced manner opposite the direction the wind, leaving them caught against the trees at the edges of the clearing. The bright sprigs of green grass that the leaves had covered were exposed to the sun and pressed in the same direction as the wind. It was almost like a carpet of green reaching to the tree line, the sight of which was strange in comparison to the brown floor of the forest that had been shielded by the canopy of trees she had walked under up until that point.

The black garbed figure that arrived at the clearing greatly contrasted the forest scene, standing out from her surroundings as she walked leisurely toward the center of the area. Now that she had left the company of any other shinigami, Ázuvala was in no rush to get to work. It would take time to get into the normal, faster pace of her training, and slowly working up to that pace would be easier on her body in the end. She slipped her sheathed sword off of her back and drew it slowly and lovingly from its place. She dropped the empty sheath respectfully on the ground and took a step away from it, positioning her sword from its handle in her left hand to diagonally across to her lower right side.

Azuvala moved it smoothly in a few motions with her left hand, hearing the slight whish of the air as it moved. She then switched it to her right, following the same routine but inversely before pausing to hold it in front of her with both hands. She relaxed for a moment, letting her entire body ease up.

“Shimmer.” She paused, then continued in flawless Latin. “Crystallinus Compēnsatiōnem.”

Before the last syllable left her lips, the sword began to glow a whitish blue. In a deft movement, she made a few weaving gestures with her hands as she touched the glowing sword substance before finally gripping the white on her upper right and lower left. The white hardened into a clear crystal, starting from where she held the sword to harden down into the swooping arc of her two zanpakuto. Once it completely hardened, a large layer of dust scattered from the outside hardened sword into a cloud that disappeared into the air around her.

Ázuvala held her two crystalline swords in either hand, letting them drop to her sides comfortably. Why must you do that every time, especially when you can easily do it without the motions? Her sword sniffed irritably.

“Because it looks more graceful, and you deserve a more stunning appearance than simply splitting in two.” She answered truthfully with an easy smile. Her crystalline foxie-dragon settled into a more peaceful silence with a few half-hearted grumbles, but she could sense its pleasure because of her honest response. Azuvala then held both together at the base of their handles vertically in front of her, her smile falling as she began watching in a subdued manner. The crystal guards moved as if melted to twist and twine together into a single handle of crystal. She gave the double-edged sword that she held a cursory examination.

You’ve gotten better at using the joined form. Her spirit remarked. Your grip on the handle is one of confidence rather then tension. Or is that just because you trust me more than your surroundings, and you’re holding on to the less foreign object tighter?

“Neither. I don’t want to drop you with the wind blowing as hard as it is.” She answered simply, her grip unchanging. Ázuvala dropped to one knee, gathering the crystal dust slowly in her free hand to form a thin but heavy and compressed crystal weight that appeared around her ankle. Her shihakusho sleeves flapped in the wind as she did so, reminding her of the difficulty there would be in fighting the wind during her training. She shifted to her other knee to add another crystal weighted anklet to make it even. Even as she stood, she could only feel their weight slightly, but she knew from experience that she would begin to feel after a short period of time, and that she would be adding layers to the guard over time as well.

Don’t think so pessimistically. It doesn’t suit you. The soft voice spoke in mild reproach. You know its for an important purpose, so stop thinking about the here and now and start thinking about what you’re doing this for.

Ázuvala sighed in answer as she touched the crystal in center of the guard. “Well, if I’m going to do this, I’m going to need you out to help me.” Her crystal foxie-dragon spirit wound its way from around her sword as it appeared little by little, unraveling itself to hover in front of her. It stared at her unblinkingly from its see-through eyes through the holes in its small eye masks.

“As always. Do I detect a hint of resentment from your tone?"

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” She grinned. In fact, she was thankful for her spirit’s presence. A passionate taskmaster to the extreme and so strict it would criticize a fly for flapping its wing a half beat off, it was actually a more pleasant and more lenient companion than one would expect, despite its cynical words. It had taken Azuvala most of her spiritual life up until the present to realize that her zanpakuto was strict out of concern, and that it actually only pointed out the mistakes that would harm her in training or the long run, bypassing the small and unnecessary problems that would do nothing to fix. Ázuvala prized the help her spirit lent her, though she still didn’t understand how it seemed to know so much more than her when they were technically the same age and spirit.

[yuushou]

“Are we going to begin, or are you going to stand there all day?” Her zanpakuto spirit taunted. Ázuvala tightened her lips, knowing that she would be the first one to begin. “Oh, come now. You know I don’t change until after the first half-hour. You have until then to warm up. Clock’s ti-cking~” Her spirit continued, a clear smirk in its soft ripple of a voice as it spoke in a manner that was a facsimile of Ázuvala’s own method of speaking.

In another second Ázuvala narrowed her blue eyes, mouth twisted down in a small snarl as she took off in a sudden sprint in the opposite direction, muscles bunching before releasing her energy like a spring. The light tinkle of laughter that she heard soaring behind her informed her that her zanpakuto spirit wasn’t wasting any time in trying to catch her. She clenched the sword deftly in her left hand at her side, head pushed forward as she ran, her teeth clenched. She thought about gaining the advantage by diving into the trees that she could navigate more easily, for it would only work for now, before her spirit changed to be able to go through things. As she abruptly turned to change direction, sending her foxie-dragon whooshing past her just barely, Azuvala caught a glint of crystal in the sun at the edge of the tree line. As she lengthened her small lead, she carefully scrutinized the edge of the clearing, finding herself dismayed to catch sight of the light reflecting off of the thin, clear crystal shield blocking her access to the trees.

Her spirit immediately felt her dismay, and proceeded to laugh lightly. “You didn’t honestly think I would let you cheat like that. We’re training your movement without obstructions for a reason, you know, or else you’ll never learn shunpo.” Ázuvala felt her eye twitch in irritation as she proceeded to double fake as her foxie-dragon began to gain on her, pretending to change direction before taking off again in the same line. The fake worked, as she had known that her spirit would have well catch her slight movement change in preparation to change direction. Knowing this, it had anticipated the movement, swooping to cut her off, only to find her keep moving straight.

“You are getting better. But that was predictable, especially for you.” Her spirit appeared in front of her, stopping Ázuvala short, only for her to feel a nip at the back of her neck as it disappeared from in front of her. She turned to see her crystalline spirit.

“Tag, you lose.” The spirit’s voice grew icy and sharp. “You should never be caught off guard by a simple illusion like that. Trust your instincts, never give in to the temptation to doubt your judgment. Your mind and body can gather signals that will lead to the conclusion you cannot consciously make of notice for yourself.”

It paused, its voice becoming devious. “I believe you’ve beaten the record for time it takes to lose. Looks like you’re already going to get added resistance.” At the spirit’s words, Ázuvala could feel the weights at her ankles grow ever-so-slightly heavier.

This time, Ázuvala paused to take some air into her lungs before moving, but quite suddenly sprinted off in the other direction again before she finished taking the full breath. She could feel her spirit behind her quite a ways with her in the lead. Something in the pit of her stomach made her uneasy about her lead. She continued, ignoring the feeling, instead attempting to lengthen her lead with longer strides. A moment later and she felt herself fall painfully to the ground, ankle caught in a thin crystal wire around her ankle. “How many traps have you placed around here?!” She cried in amazement. A moment later and Azuvala felt a nip on her right arm as her serpentine spirit hovered above her triumphantly as it began to speak again in a critical manner.

“Did I not just say to trust your instincts?” The disapproval was evident in the spirit’s voice. “What you know for fact may not actually be fact. When you have a gut feeling, it is not like second guessing, it is your sixth sense giving you a warning that you don’t otherwise know. Listen to your instincts, make decisions appropriately that will satisfy-” It broke off, watching as the girl was up and off in the other direction.

“It’s good to see you haven’t forgotten the first lesson I ever taught you.” Her spirit spoke dryly as it followed in pursuit, its crystal wings beating smoothly as it glided in the wind.

“Never trust your enemy. Or your friends. Yes, yes, that applies well to you. Especially the lesson about being the first to move usually gives the advantage.” Ázuvala called back to her spirit. The space between them was about the same, neither gaining nor losing more than an inch.

[Tagz]

... what exactly are you training for?

[yuushou]

Shunpo. ^^