Welcome to Gaia! ::

((Starting with the lowest kidou, then moving our way up. If you know the kidou already, send me a PM.))

Kiisho strode onto the training grounds with a long step, slender fingers pulling back the sleeves of his kosode and fastening the a little behind the wrist, freeing up his hands for movement, and giving the slight appearance of someone about to b***h-slap the hell out of a cheeky brat. Especially considering his eyes were on his hands, and not the ground or his three newest trainees.
"Look lively now children." His voice was sharp and commanding, a clear order to stand the f-ck up, and fast. "Line up in front of me nice and quick like, I'm not here to buddy up to any of you, and this isn't a friendly little meet-and-greet. We've got some training to do today, and I intend for you to take this seriously. If for any reason you find yourself unable to do so, kindly let me know so I can put my boot in your a** and get you out of my squad all the faster. Are we clear?" He dropped his hands, moving them behind his back and grasping the wrist of the left with the palm of the right, standing with feet shoulder width apart and tall, with his eyes twitching from gaze-to-gaze of the three squadlings, sharp and hawk-like in their nature.

Quickly moving to line up in front of the apparent Taicho, Archestra seemed to glide along the ground as he made his way there. Twiddling his thumbs and his head drooping, his soft pink eyes wandered along the ground as he chewed the inside of his cheek. He didn't want to make it seem like he wouldn't be able to handle the training, but it would be a little hard for someone of his nature. Or current nature at least.

Lifting his head ever so slightly, he peeked out at the other trainee from the corner of his eye. The attitude of his fellow trainee poked at something inside him while the chuckling made him puzzled. "What is he chuckling at?" he thought to himself. Other thoughts were also streaming through his head - Why am I here? I'm so not going to be able to do this. Who are these people? What are they thinking about me? Are they nice? Are they going to pick on me? What am I supposed to do?

((Sorry about the delay... Stuff came up.))

Kiisho's face remained stern and unmoving as the first two shinigami stepped into line. He did not respond to either of them, mostly because he had given them an order, and that order did not involve chatting. As the third shinigami responded, however, his eyes snapped to the man's face, glaring viciously.
"Silence, impudent fool. I am not your friend, and I am not your equal. I am a captain. You will address me as 'Hayashi-taichou' and nothing else, or I will have you thrown in a cell for such a time that your skin will turn as white as the clouds." His eyes snapped to the other two trainees, still glaring, although slightly lessened, as they had not done anything to directly offend him. After a moment's pause, he continued. "The three of you are here to learn kidou, not ******** around like a bunch of nincompoops without brains. If you cannot follow simple orders, get out of my squad immediately. As I assume I will not need to state this a second time, we shall get along with the training post haste." He spun on his heels, taking three long strides, before turning to face the trainees once more. "Now. The first kidou we will be learning is Bakudou number thirty, Shitotsu Sansen. It is performed by focusing reiatsu into your chosen hand, and drawing a triangle in the air in front of you. At this point, speak the name and number of the spell, and release your energy. The desired effect is to create three triangular spikes which will pin your target to a surface." He held his right hand in front of him, and focused a small chunk of energy into it, causing it to glow a bright yellow. "I will demonstrate this technique for you only once. After that point your learning is entirely up to you." With that, he twisted to the left, facing a nearby training dummy, and brought his hand to an upper right position a little over his left shoulder, quickly moving it down to a height near his bellybutton, then up to an opposite point near his right shoulder, and finally back to the beginning point, each movement leaving behind a similar yellow line, with the three corners of the triangle having more mass, and glowing a bright yellow than the lines. "Bakudou number thirty, Shitotsu Sansen!" As the final syllable of the name was spoken, he pulled his hand away from the point of origin, causing the three corners to shine outwards and form into identical fang-like protrusions, all of which shot outwards like bullets, leaving the triangular outline behind and slamming into the dummy, driving it off of the support stand and against the ground several meters away, the triangle around Kiisho's hands vanishing afterwards.

[1-2 posts each, depending on length. Posts over three paragraphs can count as two.]

((You're good. Just waiting on the other two now.))

The moment the captain started to speak, his militant-like tone sparked something inside Archestra. A nagging feeling pulling at his mind with a strong voice whispering to him.

"Enough of this, Aura, let me do this. Arc needs MY help. And this "captain's" tone of voice really irritates me."

"Hal, I don't think that's a good idea. You'll get Arc into trouble. Or worse, your smugness could make him make a fool out of himself. This is kidou training, and you weren't really good at mental concentration."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean, Aura? Are you calling me stupid?"

"Hey you two, stop it. I'm already stressed out and nervous as it is!!"

During this inner-mind conversation, Archestra was busy staring at the ground and chewing his lip. He wasn't sure if he could really do this. To make matters worse, the captain was really freaking him out. Maybe because he wasn't used to all the yelling and swearing, but most of his timidness came from Aura, the female counterpart of his twin-zanpakuto spirits.

Watching the first two shinigami, his nervousness intensified as both quickly were able to unleash the kidou upon the dummy, both swiftly, and both on the first try. Shutting his eyes, he decided it would be best if he just left. But before he could even take a step away, something in him snapped. The mind-link between him and Aura was severed, and Hal took over, the sudden shift from pink irises to blue signifying the change.

With Hal's overly-proud attitude, he quickly stepped himself up to the plate, so to speak, and focused. Bringing up his right-hand, he drew what appeared to be a perfect equilateral triangle in front of him, facing the dummy. There was just one big problem. Aura was right about Hal not being able to focus mentally, and it definitely showed when Arc attempted the kidou.

"Bakudou Number Thirty: Shitotsu Sansen!" were the words that escaped Arc's mouth, but no awesome fang-like protrusions escaped from the triangle. "Uh..." was all the he could say, his hand dropping to his side as he just stared.

"Aura...I hate you."

"Don't get mad at me...

Shaking his head, Archestra's cheeks flared a bright red as he was embarrassed beyond belief. He badly wanted to just cover up his face and run, but his mind-link with Hal prevented him from doing so. Attempting to mentally slap Hal in the face, his eyes suddenly shifted back to pink, he lifted his left-hand into the air this time, drew another perfect equilateral triangle (but more delicately), and said the words: Bakudou Number Thirty: Shitotsu Sansen.

This time, instead of an awkward silence and no amazing special effects, the three fang-like objects actually materialized this time and rocketed off towards the dummy, albeit not as explosively as the two other shinigami before him.

With three thudding sounds, Archestra looked downward and to his right, his left-arm gripping his right elbow softly like how an embarrassed person would. Biting his lip, he wondered what the other shinigami were thinking of him right now.

"Damn it Vin, I told you to shut up." Maikeru extricated his blade, sheath and all, from its harness on his back and tossed it away. It soared like a javelin for several yards before the extra blade on the end of the hilt stabbed several inches into the earth, leaving it quivering like a tuning fork just struck. The voice in his head faded even further into obscurity and he sighed lightly in relief. "Stay." He told the blade seriously, for once in his life no trace of humor on his features or flashing through his eyes. Maikeru turned away from the other Shinigami and brought his arm up. This was the first Kido like this he had ever tried to learn. Blasts of energy always seemed to unsubtle for his tastes. But you took what was handed to you. But anger? Rage? Those weren't emotions Maikeru had alot of experience with. He hoped frustration would be adequate. What would stir those emotions? Maikeru's arm faltered slightly, dropping a few millimeters in the air.

Several minutes past with more and more of his attention turning inwards, examining his memories, trying to find the one or two that could bring his emotions to the fever pitch necessary. It struck him like a lightning bolt, he'd never experienced true anger. He had been mildly peeved, he had been annoyed, but rage? By the gods even anger eluded him. What the hell was wrong with him? How could he not get angry? How could he not recognize what feeling pissed felt like? It just wasn't natural! Was he missing the integral part of being human, of being a soul, of being a Shinigami that allowed that? He stopped in his mental tracks and his mind cleared of all those damning thoughts, a look of utter surprise utterly dominating his face. A moment later he broke down into outright laughter. Now that was just plain ironic. His mental tirade about being unable to become actually and fully angry had in turn, made him angry. He may not have much to base the feeling on, but he had something to go off of, a feeling, a blueprint if you will for how anger feels. The rushing of blood, the violent thoughts, the unwillingness to properly consider consequences for a time. He slowly calmed down, and, a look of calm determination once more becoming prominent his arm raised itself into the air, the elbow crooked at an angle.

Reiatsu smoothly gathered from his gut, his shoulders, and other places in his body it had a tendency to pool. He brought the swimming pool of energy up near his heart, and then over into his left arm. All the while, slowly injecting those emotions into the swirling mass. Anger, frustration, what bits of rage he could figure out, every chaotic and destructive feeling he could muster went into the Kido. the reiatsu pooled into his palm, crashing against the confines his will had placed upon it. It was much more agitated now, with all the emotion and energy Maikeru had tossed into it. He could feel his palm growing warmer, beginning to glow slightly with the energy and heat. With a quick thought the disc of energy exited from his pores and continued its rise to torturously distructive levels. He felt it trying to fly out in every which direction and wreak death and destruction on everything. Maikeru realized why he had never been fond of Kido, he had never been able to utilize it correctly. It had never seemed useful, destructive enough, fast enough, powerful enough, to be of any real use to him. But this, oh this, could come in handy.

"Hado Number Thirty-Two Okasen." Maikeru finally let go of the small knot in his brain that held the energy contained and straightened his arm simultaneously. Almost joyously happy to be released from its bonds the yellow fire roared out from his palm, following the path of the widening arc Maikeru's moving arm described. It was as if the biggest camera in the world had gone off, its flash at full charge. The flashing yellow fire lanced forawards, filling Maikeru's vision almost absolutely. The radiating heat washed over him, crisping a few of his hairs, before continuing on to bathe the other three in its wonderful warmth. The flames devoured everything, air, dirt, pebbles, gnats, flies, everything that got into the flames path was utterly obliterated. The last of the supernatural flames finally died down, what seemed to be almost half an hour later, but in reality? Mere moments. For a few more minutes it seemed as if the air itself was smoking from the hell it had just been introduced to. Maikeru turned back towards Kiisho and raised a questioning eyebrow, somehow conveying with that small movement, "How'd I do?"

Still clutching his arm and biting his lip, Archestra stole a few glances around at his fellow shinigami from the corner of his eye, checking to find any hint or notion of what they thought about him. Not seeing much, he went back to looking at the ground. He was, however, glad that he had at least been able to perform the spell, to some minor extent, but whatever small amount of joy he had hidden under his mask of embarrassment and uncertainty was quickly dissipated as the captain began speaking.

"Not rely on my spirits' influences? How am I supposed to do that?" he thought to himself. In truth, Archestra really did not know how he could possibly do that. Theoretically, and by theoretically meaning he's never actually tried, Archestra would be physically and mentally incapable of functioning without having a mind-link set with either of his spirits. If he were to sever the link, even temporarily, to both spirits, he wasn't sure of what the outcome would be.

"Hey, kid. Relax. Don't even think about trying to break the link. We'll just hold back as much as we can, and let you do all the work, 'kay?"

"That's right, Arc. We'll still be here, just don't try to succumb to our influences. We'll hold back as much as we can, but we can't hold back everything without breaking the link. Just remember, the captain said, "Focus, clarity, and willpower." Thus far, you've been relying on our focus, our clarity, and our willpower. This time, you need to rely on yours."

"But...I don't know if I can. I've always used yours..."

"That's not true. Remember how it is when you practice your sharpshooting? That time when you were using that sniper rifle-thingamajig? The focus, patience, everything -- that was all you. Of course, we did put you on the right path, but the follow through was from your own ability. Just try."

Sighing, Archestra felt the link between himself and Aura become very faint. It became taut like fishing line, just as thin, seemingly invisible, and yet still there. With a sudden rush of what felt like being doused with icy-cold water and a feeling of deep despair, he mentally prayed that bringing the connection between his spirits to this exceedingly weak extent would not do any harm.

Slowly, he stepped up as the last to perform. Shivering, nervousness was bouncing off the walls in the recesses of his mind. As he reached what felt like the appropriate place to start, he began by closing his eyes and taking a slow, deep breath. Mentally and physically, he calmed himself and imagined being back in the firing range. In his mind, the air was still. The daily cacophony of noises became silent. The whisper in the wind fell on deaf ears. The world around him became dark, and the only light was himself. Subconsciously raising his left-hand, as it was symbolic to the mind-link he was still sharing with Aura (as she represented the left half of a whole, Hal being the right), he faced his palm outwards.

"Focus. Breathe. Don't let anything distract you. This is only a single moment in time, and for now, this point time is the only point time. This is the only point of existence. My palm is the barrel. My arm, the gun. My body is the chamber, my mind is my mount. The mount will focus the gun and keep it steady. My reiatsu will provide the ammunition, and the incantation will be my trigger. Keep the gun steady, and wait for the right moment."

Without a moment's notice, Archestra opened his eyes. Gone were the tell-tale signs of Aura: the soft and delicate pink eyes that showed compassion and a warm embrace. Instead, a passionate pink with a deep appearance of profound conviction shown through as Archestra spoke the incantation in the most commanding of voices. "Ye lord! Mask of flesh and bone, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Truth and temperance, upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws! Hadou Number 33, Soukatsui!"

Without even the smallest delay, a torrent of crystalline-blue fire flowed gracefully, but forcefully from his palm. Spreading out and engulfing a decently sized area in front of him, the flames shimmered as if it were ice. Again, it was not as powerful as the previous two shinigami, but it was impressive for someone like him, nonetheless. Still with intense focus, Archestra quickly spun around while bringing his hand to his lips before slashing out in an arc in front of him.

Being a gunslinger, Archestra thought, very modestly of course, that he was decent. Decent enough to be able to perform a flurry of motions in quick and fluid movements, and pull off subsequent attacks. Because of this, he attempted what he thought would work, and that was to immediately follow up with Oukasen.

"Hadou Number 32, Oukasen!" And with that, a similar crescent of luminescent-yellow fire, like that of the two previous shinigami, raced through the air in front of him. Traveling a short. but seemingly acceptable distance, the flame quickly fizzled out with a small puff.

With the finish of the second kidou, Archestra quickly dropped out of his focused state before falling to one knee and breathing heavily, his eyes going back to their soft and radiant pink. Not to his surprise, the stamina needed to perform kidou, and the stamina needed for focus and physical movement were two different things altogether. He did possess good portion of the focus and clarity needed to perform the kidou, but not the reserve of reiatsu. Theoretically, Archestra could hold his own when it came to rigorous exercise and intense focus. However, with all theoretics aside, when it came to utilizing his own spiritual energy, he was at a disadvantage.

((Sorry if I'm not doing this correctly.))

((Sorry about the wait guys.. I'll try to make a post for this sometime next week, but I'm currently taking a break from role-playing here due to personal issues.))