Training [Private]

The bright morning sun cast shadows over the looming buildings of Soul Society. Clouds were scattered around the sky leaving spaces of shade whenever the sun passed behind them and a strong breeze was blowing. Autumn leaves blew steadily throughout Soul Society originally attached to the trees throughout the place. With dimly lit eyes and his hair more spiky than usual from the wind, Daichi walked down a solid concrete road; well, it looked like concrete however, the chances of such were slim to none and he had no time to inspect the road. The Division Quarters on either side of the road were in the traditional Japanese style with the Division symbol plastered on the side. Each symbol resembled the one before it signifying that each of the Divisions was quite large, this was to be expected sense Soul Society itself was such a large place but, one would never guess just how large an area it was until you walked among it’s many streets. It took dozens of years just to find out where you were going. More than one Haimei had found himself lost amongst a see of towering structures, the only thing to guide him the large hill in the center of the entire spot. Although, part of the reason he was walking now was to further explore this vast city, the main reason was much more respectable. He knew he had to get stronger to help his fellow Shinigami better and not embarrass himself and that was exactly what he was doing.

Wind blew his outfit outwards, seemingly expanding it as the metal blade of his Zunpakuto clanked against his hip bone. Sense, he didn’t have much body fat it hit the bone directly and made a hollow metal noise as he walked. One could tell he was coming from almost a mile away which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing sense he was in the middle of the Shinigami’s home. Most enemies wouldn’t dare to invade Soul Society and those stupid or brave enough to do so were often destroyed very, very quickly. Also, he didn’t want to sneak up on any superiors in case they were training as well however, he doubted such a thing would happen. Most Captains and Vice-Captains had better to do then train. The truth was that so did Daichi but he had placed it aside for once so he could work on being a more effective fighter. After all, he could do paperwork anytime; training was a different matter. The day had to be nice but not to dry because if it was you would need more liquids then usual and possible exhaust yourself more and such a thing could be devastating in training.

Haimei looked back and forth watching his back; he didn’t wish to be found. At the moment he had become unaware of the clanking at his side and he believed that he was being quite inconspicuous. Captains may not want him here at the moment sense it was about mid-day and there was work to be done so, he would be secretive even though he was fairly bad at such. As soon as he knew there was no one watching over his back he made his way further down the concrete road. The Shinigami had found this particular spot only a few years beforehand and had been stocking it full of several necessities for training. It had been hard and long however, recently he had completed his work and everything was in place. The spot he knew to be the best training spot he had found was a clearing on the outskirts of Rukongai. A road lead almost straight to it but, few ever noticed the clearing itself. It was hidden by several layers of trees and the only way Daichi had found the spot was because he had avoided a large group of people he noticed walking in his direction one day and to avoid them he ducked into the bushes and hid. Whilst, hiding he made his way to the clearing and saw what he was looking upon again for at least the hundredth time.

There was green grass surrounding the area but unlike most other clearings in the center was a large hole. The hole had been formed sometime ago when there had been a battle here and the landscape had never quite recovered. He had recently placed several training dummies he had “confiscated” from his Division around the hole with one in the exact center. Each was equipped with a wooden blade harshly crafted from local trees. He had never been one for grafting with wood but, he couldn’t risk involving anyone else in his schemes to train in case they sold his spot out to others and they sold it out to others and so forth. He had also crafted a Katana much like his Zunpakuto except much heavier. This Katana was much more finely made, he had used it to train many years ago and now he needed it once more. It was hanging over his right shoulder held on by his free hand. Haimei had made the blade heavier because then he would be much easier to swing his own.

At the far end of the clearing was a tree at least thirty feet tall that had been stripped off all of its bark and most of its branches. Every two feet there was a sturdy branch that stuck out straight horizontally. On the top of the tree was an old bell swinging back and forth. It made no noise as if the metal piece in the center had been removed although clearly it had not been. On the left side of the clearing was a circular log about ten feet long on the ground. Atop it was a plank of wood, perfectly balancing on it. All together it looked like paradise; Diachi’s personal paradise, with no noise and interruptions, all by himself.

Haimei placed his Zunpakuto on the ground at the beginning of the training course as he held his wooden blade with both hands. He charged at the first dummy immediately knocking it over and on to the ground. The next several feel the same way. Each time he attacked a new target he tried a new position and attack. Each one seemed successful but there was a big difference in between the battle field and the training course. As he reached the last one, the Vice-Captain jumped into the air and drew back his blade with both hands so it was over his head. Before he came to the ground he brought his blade down right upon its head; the dummy’s head smashed into two. The seams broke with the force and it burst into two pieces, the stuffing flying out of the middle. Once he had attacked each of the training dummies he hastily ran back to the position where he had left his Zunpakuto. He picked up the Katana and placed the wooden one down beside it. He spoke words of comfort into the blade as he raised it to mid level. Once his Zunpakuto was safely in hand he burst into a run towards the balance contraption. He jumped upon it except not with his feet, when he jumped he rotated forwards so his blade was facing the ground. Then he positioned himself so he was completely vertical. He handed with a thud onto the middle of the plank with the tip of his blade resting upon the wood. Daichi had achieved almost perfect balance and to hone his skills even more he practiced by trying to balance on seemingly impossible things like the tip of his blade. Slowly, he moved his body so that he was sitting cross-legged and back upright again. He did this without even moving the plank which was a great feat even for the Vice-Captain.

The Shinigami lost concentrations for only a moment when the strong breeze that had happened whilst he was walking came again and his balance was interrupted. The plank tilted to one direction and Daichi was sent tumbling off of his Zunpakuto. When he had shifted his Zunpakuto had got stuck in between the grains and the board had split into two. He fell to the ground along with the two pieces of his former balance contraption. Looking up to the sky he softly swore under his breath as he watched the clouds move back and forth. The light was dimmed as the sun slid behind a cloud and disappeared. Already, this had been tiresome and he still had so much training left to do. So, he stood up and grabbed his Zunpakuto from the ground. Straightening his back he began to walk towards the skinned tree.

As he reached it, Haimei noticed just how much it towered over the Shinigami and all others. He jumped to the tree with a fierce look upon his face with his blade in both hands. Slashing at the first branch it immediately exploded into nothing more then splinters. He then jumped onto the next branch and used his blade to propel himself upwards and to destroy what he was standing on. The Shinigami repeated this process until he had reached the top of the tree. Once there he had rung the bell sending and echoing and eerie sound through the woods. He had completed his training session and now he was ready for the real training to begin.

Daichi stood still for a few moments, waiting to see if anyone had heard him and came to see what was going on. Even though this area was secret, the next area he had found was even more secret and he, for sure, didn’t want any unexpected visitors. No other eyes could gaze upon this area. Even though he considered this place peaceful, the place he would soon visit was his personal sanctuary; undisturbed for possibly hundreds of years and hidden away from all prying eyes. He waited several minutes before turning around and heading deeper into the forest.

The forest was so thick it was hard to travel through it, probably the reason no one had been to this place in so long. About a ten minute walk deeper into the forest from where the original training grounds lay was a large cave. It seemed to appear out of nowhere and tower over most people. Luckily, the trees around this area were all extremely tall so, you were unable to see it until you stumbled upon it. Right after the entrance the cave took an almost ninety degree angle downwards into a pitch black abyss. Most people would stop there but, if you continued you would find that the drop off wasn’t actually as large as it looked, only about two feet. At the bottom of the ledge was a giant circular dome. Along the outside of the dome was a pathway of ground mainly composed of solid rock. In the middle was an enormous pond about fifty feet in diameter and of which you could not see the bottom. At the top of the dome was a small hole which the sun shone brightly through, casting a small glowing circle onto the pond.

Haimei had only found this spot by chance exactly like the last. Even on the same day. Once in the clearing, he had still heard the Shinigami’s voices and so he ran further. He was blinded by embarrassment so much so that he didn’t even notice the save ahead. Accidentally, he stumbled inside the cave and the feel down the drop. Luckily, he had been running fast enough that he had landed inside the pond and not on the hard, rock ring around it.

Now, the Vice-Captain stood once again, starring at the pond which had been altered somewhat. Overtime, he had collected several planks and dummies which he had placed throughout the area. Several planks acted as bridges so one could traverse the pond and on a few of these planks where dummies. These planks did act as bridges even though they looked very little like them. They where positioned several feet apart from each other so, you would have to jump from one to the other to get across. The only point at which they connected was at the middle. They formed an outline of a square surrounding the small patch of light and hanging from the hole in the roof was a dummy hung up by a large rope. This set up took Daichi several months to complete, both because he couldn’t take all the supplies at once for fear of getting caught and because it was a time consuming job to complete such a task and time was one thing a Vice-Captain did not have a lot of.

The Vice-Captain drew his Zunpakuto and looked forward to the dummies that would soon be decapitated. Before he charged forward into his training, he looked back to the entrance of the cave. He noticed that the sun was just about to set, sending a flare of pink across the sky. This was a sign for him to retire for the night and he took it. He re-sheathed his Zunpakuto and turned back towards the ledge that was the only remaining obstacle before he could make it back to his Division Barracks. With a few failed attempts, Daichi managed to scale the rock face and make it to the beginning of the cave. A short and heavily impeded travel backwards, he made it to Seireitei. Haimei slowly snuck back into his office. He didn’t want to disturb anyone in case they became mad at him so, he snuck into his sleeping area and went to bed. Resting, until he could get another chance at training.

It wasn’t until a week later that Daichi got another chance at his training. The Third Division had been busy as of late so, he couldn’t exactly just sneak away. He made his way to the cave as he did before; making sure no one was following him at several intervals throughout his walk. Once there, standing before the pond, Daichi drew his Zunpakuto and jumped onto the first plank. It wobbled back and forth and he almost lost his balance but he kept on it by swinging his arms back and forth. Again, Haimei jumped onto the next plank which had a dummy standing at the other end. He charged towards it with his blade outstretched. The blade hit with a slashing noise and the cut immediately split into two, both following into the deep, blue pond. Over and over again, Daichi performed this action, taking him even closer to his destination each time. Each time he attacked a training dummy, he slashed a different way hoping to improve every aspect of his swordsmanship. He was a very talented Kido practitioner and a skilled Shupond expert but, his skills with a blade were lacking.

Once the Shinigami reached the inner square he looked up at the last dummy with a look of determination he only had in training. He could never seem to duplicate this look; even in battle he was always afraid. His shyness even interrupted him in battle which had caused more than one embarrassment. Haimei took his Zunpakuto and gripped it with his left hand; placing it under his dominate hand. Haimei let out one last breath and took another deeper one, before jumping into the air. He swung the blade behind his head, completely vertical, and brought it back down to the dummy’s head. It sliced the training dummy in half. Straw flew in every direction, littering the pond with bits and pieces. Daichi landed on the other side of the square on another plank. The plank rocked back and forth violently when he landed. Ripples were sent throughout the pond, moving the straw to the edges of the pond. Once he had controlled the board, he jumped to the other side of the body of water to inspect what he had done.

All the dummies were now floating inside the water, scattered throughout the area. Straw still slowly floated down to the ground as he sheathed his Zunpakuto once again. Out of breath and slightly exhausted from the training he had done, he took a moment to catch his breath. He slowly made his way to the other side of the area. Daichi took his time because of the obvious strain and because he had to think of a good excuse in case anyone asked when he arrived back. He had to make it sound reasonable and he also had to be able to say it in case it was a superior. While thinking about this, he didn’t even notice how far he had been walking and when he awoke to the real world he realized that he had actually done two laps around the body of water.

Haimei made his way up the rock face, his heart still pounding in his chest from all the exercise. Even though it had been a short training session, it had been an intense one and now he was slightly exhausted. Making his way back to the Third Division Barracks once again he paid little attention to his intentions to his surrounds which was unusual for Daichi. Normally, he would stress about every single fact but, today he was too tired to do that. Between all the paperwork and the training he was even more tired than he had realized whilst in the cave. As soon as he entered the Barracks, all his fears which he had forgotten about while training came back to him all the sudden when he saw all the eyes in the building look towards him and wait for his next move. Daichi’s hands became sweaty and the peace he had felt while walking now vanished as he made his way to the office. Hastily, he closed his door closing the rest of the world out. The Vice-Captain was finished with his training for now, and at last he could relax.