All four survivors from the attack on the Spiritual Arts Academy had been, at the order of Lieutenant Watanabe, confined to the Sixth Division to have the protection of the very heart of Seireitei’s law enforcement arm. The Ninth Division, through Third Seat Nakamura, made request to have them instead, that they would be better equipped to defend against Hollows—but the Captain of the Sixth refused and stood by his Lieutenant’s order.
They had, however, no specific duties. They were not formal members, yet, of any Division, even if they had been granted graduate status on an honorary basis. The four, then, decided to proceed to join the Sixth in their training, participating in everything from Kidō classes to Zanjutsu.
That day, before the large gate opened in the heart of the Sixth’s headquarters, at that hour, they trained in Zanjutsu. Ayane held a wooden, practice blade before her, modified such to allow her spiritual energy to flow more naturally through it and ensure that it didn’t break under her first swing. She sparred with members of Sixth and the students alike that day.
While Suzume, who did not quite possess Ayane’s physical power yet far surpassed her in knowledge of and skill with a blade, taught the class. Although her teaching style was from formal, and she struggled with the teaching aspect, but simply seeing her proved an enlightening experience for even the more veteran members of the Sixth who joined the students and watched.
Suzume guided them through forms, though she insisted that that _improvisation_ needed to be the core of how they fought, she also reminded them that one could only improvise if one already mastered the standard forms. Deviation from something they had yet to learn and master was not deviation at all, it was simply a mistake.
As she told them that she would soon be joining Ayane in offering direct, one-on-one instruction, they felt it: the wave of immense power that sent their aides without spiritual power to the floor of the dojo. Other Shinigami collapsed, or at the very least their legs started to shake, as the weight of it bore down on them. Some simply grimaced from the strange sensation it brought with it, that of rusty nails scraped along bone.
Their dojo was farther away than many, from the rough-center of the Sixth where the gate opened. Suzume and Ayane stepped outside one of its sliding doors, off the tatami mats in the center of the dojo and onto the wooden path that surrounded it and stared across the sky and to the toothy top-half of the gate in the far distance.
Neither of them saw this back at the Academy, yet they heard of it from the reports afterwards. Gillian emerged through these and, at one point, the scorpiod Hollow they just barely caught glimpse of was seen moving back through it.
Except, now, there was no scorpiod Hollow. No Huge Hollows, either. Instead, as they stared, as seconds ticked by, they encountered something else.
In the distance, at the gate, towering Gillian spread out throughout the Sixth after they destroyed the Shakonmaku. Some walked, surprisingly slow, and crushed buildings and Shinigami beneath their white boots. Others, however, moved with the speed of Flash Step—though theirs sounded like static in an ear full of water as it struggled to drain.
One appeared on one of the streets throughout the sixth, just before the dojo the two women of the Eleventh trained within. It crushed a building with a stomp as it looked around, steam spewing out of the teeth of its mask, until it looked down and saw them.
Red light flashed over its socketed, red eyes, and then a Cero whined as the energy swirled in front of its jaw.
They had, however, no specific duties. They were not formal members, yet, of any Division, even if they had been granted graduate status on an honorary basis. The four, then, decided to proceed to join the Sixth in their training, participating in everything from Kidō classes to Zanjutsu.
That day, before the large gate opened in the heart of the Sixth’s headquarters, at that hour, they trained in Zanjutsu. Ayane held a wooden, practice blade before her, modified such to allow her spiritual energy to flow more naturally through it and ensure that it didn’t break under her first swing. She sparred with members of Sixth and the students alike that day.
While Suzume, who did not quite possess Ayane’s physical power yet far surpassed her in knowledge of and skill with a blade, taught the class. Although her teaching style was from formal, and she struggled with the teaching aspect, but simply seeing her proved an enlightening experience for even the more veteran members of the Sixth who joined the students and watched.
Suzume guided them through forms, though she insisted that that _improvisation_ needed to be the core of how they fought, she also reminded them that one could only improvise if one already mastered the standard forms. Deviation from something they had yet to learn and master was not deviation at all, it was simply a mistake.
As she told them that she would soon be joining Ayane in offering direct, one-on-one instruction, they felt it: the wave of immense power that sent their aides without spiritual power to the floor of the dojo. Other Shinigami collapsed, or at the very least their legs started to shake, as the weight of it bore down on them. Some simply grimaced from the strange sensation it brought with it, that of rusty nails scraped along bone.
Their dojo was farther away than many, from the rough-center of the Sixth where the gate opened. Suzume and Ayane stepped outside one of its sliding doors, off the tatami mats in the center of the dojo and onto the wooden path that surrounded it and stared across the sky and to the toothy top-half of the gate in the far distance.
Neither of them saw this back at the Academy, yet they heard of it from the reports afterwards. Gillian emerged through these and, at one point, the scorpiod Hollow they just barely caught glimpse of was seen moving back through it.
Except, now, there was no scorpiod Hollow. No Huge Hollows, either. Instead, as they stared, as seconds ticked by, they encountered something else.
In the distance, at the gate, towering Gillian spread out throughout the Sixth after they destroyed the Shakonmaku. Some walked, surprisingly slow, and crushed buildings and Shinigami beneath their white boots. Others, however, moved with the speed of Flash Step—though theirs sounded like static in an ear full of water as it struggled to drain.
One appeared on one of the streets throughout the sixth, just before the dojo the two women of the Eleventh trained within. It crushed a building with a stomp as it looked around, steam spewing out of the teeth of its mask, until it looked down and saw them.
Red light flashed over its socketed, red eyes, and then a Cero whined as the energy swirled in front of its jaw.
