Welcome to Gaia! ::

Zarud walked onto the training grounds. He let out a deep breath as he drew his zanpakuto. "Alright, now lets see if I can learn your name." He began to practise the usual steps and form all the acadmey students learnt to begin with. His movements weren't faster or stronger than any other shinigami but they were more fluid. Each strike flowed into the next with calm grace. Zarud never tensed or fought hard aginst his body, he just let the movements flow into one and another. It was a simple art but with it he could last much longer in a fight without tiring himself. The style he had adapted allowed him to weave past and counter strikes, it was after all the way he had passed his examination without striking with full force.

In mid-sequence his wrist twinged and he lost the flow. He sighed, he always found connecting the uppercut and mid-section cut difficult. "Don't give up Zarud....." Zarud dropped his zanpakuto, he had heard it. At least he thought he had, maybe he was getting tired but he swore he had. Carefully he picked up the katana and looked at it, it was silent once again.

Sheathing his zanpakuto he left the training grounds. Zarud knew he wouldn't be able to unlock his katana till it felt that he needed it. He headed towards the squad bar for a drink.

Ichiran walked into the training grounds, un-sheathing his zanpaku-to as he approached one of the practice dummys. He took his sheath off his belt and began to time his breathing, making sure that he was giving the situation the appropriate grace and calmness. After he had calmed his breathing, Ichiran feigned to the right with his sheath while he launched a kick at the dummys midsection and sliced down on its right shoulder with his zanpaku-to, ripping it open. After he had done this, he stabbed into it's stomach and whapped it in the side of it's head with it's sheath. He then bent low and chopped the legs off of the dummy, making it fall lifelessly to the ground. Before it touched the cool earth, however, Ichiran put his foot under it and kicked it back up into his zanpaku-to, skewering it. Panting, he walked over and sat underneath a shady tree, catching his breath and waiting for someone to spar with, now that he was warmed up.

Ichiran stood up and walked towards reikai, seeing her talking to her sword. He walked up from behind her and tapped her on the shoulder. "excuse me, miss, but what are you doing?" he said respectfully, not knowing her rank in the squad. As a force of habit, Ichiran pulled a ciggarete from his pocket, and lit it, waiting for her to reply.

Ichiran smiled good naturedly at her child-like innocence and said "Oh, not at all. I had just always thought that you had to learn shikai before you could learn the name of your zanpaku-to, so I was confused as to why you were talking to it. My name is Ichiran, what's yours?" Ichiran said, taking the cigarette out of his mouth and putting it out on his leg. Seeing her clutching her zanpaku-to to her chest Ichiran laughed and said "You don't have to worry about me stealing your zanpaku-to! As i'm sure you noticed, I already have one."

"Oh don't worry about it, Reikai. I take no offense that a warrior would want to protect their weapon from a stranger." Ichiran said with a laugh while fiddling with the chains on his jacket, the way he always does when he's nervous. "Maybe I should try the same thing." He said holding his zanpaku-to out in front of him and jokingly saying "Hello???? Anybody home?"

"Huh?" Ichiran said, zoned out as he was trying to communicate with his zanpaku-to. "Why, currently i'm unseated, as I've just joined this squad, but i've applied for 7th seat, since it's open." He said, trying to converse with his zanpaku-to in his mind the whole while. Hello???He said, doubtful that at this stage in his shinigami training he would be able to contact his spirit. He felt something there but it seemed.......fuzzy, he decided. Almost as if a brick wall were hiding the presence from him.