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 Posted: Thu Jan 20, 2011 2:13 am
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
"When power becomes gracious and descends into the visible — such descent I call beauty. And there is nobody from whom I want beauty as much as from you who are powerful: let your kindness be your final self-conquest. Of all evil I deem you capable: therefore I want the good from you."
--Nietzsche, Thus Spake Zarathustra (1885)
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The day clothed itself in the soft haze of dusk and humidity, bearing with it a heaviness and a finality. The end of summer always had some sense of ending, as things passed between the vibrant colors of spring into the darkness and decay of autumn. A cool breeze caressed the face of a lone figure as he strolled silently through the streets, book in hand and eyes fixed upon the pages, and though he had no place to go, he was infinitely arriving upon a new destination, a new place to go and a new thing to see. Such was the beauty of being absorbed in the world of the book that a man could lose himself forever in the places and people, or the implications of it all, and when he raised his head from it, the whole world would be beautiful and new, a sight wondrous to behold. There was on this night no plan, merely enjoyment of the words as they drew attention to that unpleasantness which permeated the works of Nietzsche. How surprising to find that God was dead and each and every one of us held the dagger! How terrible to know that his words held true in this world of souls, and yet the world marched on, marched on, marched on to infinity. This sort of thought was something special of its own, powerful and simplistic, that lit the world on fire when people read it. So it absorbed the walking man, not only with its letter but also its strength, that when he finally pulled himself from it, he discovered he'd traveled to the First Division to see his capta- his friend, Yukimaru.
He'd begun pacing before realizing where his feet would lead him, and so had nothing on his person but his hakama and his zanpokuto, laying bare a record of passions and struggles upon his skin, a roadmap of his development, each and every scar detailing some story that seemingly always ended with his own defeat at the hands of his teacher. In that sense, every story was the same, and yet no two were identical, each a lesson taught through patience and practice to hone what had once been a scrawny, weak-willed child into a man of valor. The clay of his person had been forced into a useful shape for the use of the Gotei, and for his strength they gave him status. He knew well enough not to think highly of himself for such work; it was merely a function of his desire to become powerful not for its own sake, but to do so for the protection of everything which he found pride in. Maybe it was that which had brought him to the place he now stood, some unconscious knowledge of a deficit that he trusted only Yuki to fill. And so it goes. The book closed and was stowed in a sewed in pocket within his hakama, and he checked in on the place.
The light was on, the door ajar and windows open, and from the walkway he saw that mussed red-brown hair as she pored over some document, only to be followed moments later by a sigh he recognized as exasperation and boredom. Yet, even with such emotion, she seemed much to have the lowest of duties trusted to the Captain-Commander more than handled in the most efficient and effective way. Next to her, her companion Arthion set, simply providing some company it seemed, and in response, his brother the phoenix showed himself and lighted upon a chair with gentle grace, though his face showed silent disgust. The bird's owner knew better than to expect an invitation in, and was well aware of her dislike of paperwork, so instead he simply walked in and assumed a role all too familiar; taking the tea kettle on a nearby table, he prepared her a cup by her usual standard, containing a good helping of honey, and replaced the nearly depleted and cold cup she had setting neglected in a corner. He allowed her business to distract her, making only just enough noise to alert her that there was a glass there for her, and took a seat quietly. He would rise and salute when she had the time for him. In the meanwhile, he would enjoy a cup of tea himself.X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
Whoever writes in BLOOD,
_____Does not want to be READ
____________But LEARNED by HEART...
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Posted: Sun Jan 23, 2011 5:10 pm
Yuki's eyes where half-lidded as she leafed through paper after paper after paper. What had once been the job of 46 people was now left on the shoulders of one, and she couldn't afford to let one word slip unread or out of place, for there was no one else to check her work, to make sure that she didn't miss anything. She could not allow an unforgivable law to be passed in one of her more lax moments, a murderous criminal to be set free because she wasn't attentive enough. To think that she had once dreamed of pouring over papers just like this in life, praying for just one miss wording in order to destroy the opposition. And now she carefully picked those same words, making sure that exactly that didn't happen to her. Except now all she had to double check herself with, was herself.
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Arthion sat, his posterior lounging on the whole of her massive couch as if it where simply a small throne. The massive dragon leaned to one side of it, with his long serpentine neck craned over her shoulder, reading along with her. The physical manifestation of her own subconsciousness was just as careful in reading each word to prevent any unjust actions as her conscious mind was. For the work of 46 now rested on the shoulders of one and a half.
The great beast, being the subconscious mind, was the first to notice the presence of their brightest student, and smiled. Yuki herself, was far too buried in her work to notice the presence of Fefnir and his respective mind-representative, but Arthion looked up from the paperwork as they entered.
"Hail, Brother."
He said, curt yet polite, he addressed his proper brother, Kaji. While the bird just scowled away as always, he huffed out a little smug laugh and watched as Fefnir went about his usual business. Well trained to get exactly what Arthion's wielder needed despite never being told to do so. When the red man had finally finished his business and sat down to enjoy the fruits of his labors Arthion smiled warmly at him.
"Hello Captain Fefnir. It's been quite some time, what brings you here?"
The greeting was both professional and personal with it's formal wording yet warmth of voice. An effect the actual Yuki never had nor cared to have, yet one Arthion had since birth.
---
With the dragon engaged in things outside of the all encompassing paperwork it was only a matter of time before Yuki would be forced to address the guest as well. However determined as ever she did her damnedest to press on and ignore the inevitable conversation between her and her stude- fellow captain. After reading over the same sentence eight or nine times she reached over to sip the last dregs of honey with tea from her cup, only to find it refilled and cheerily steaming. Finally, reluctantly she put down the paper she had been reading and brought a hand to her eyes while slowly dragging the new cup of tea towards her with the other.
That Fefnir.
She sighed to herself. She could take care of herself, she knew it! But for some reason he was always there, tending to her needs when she forgot to do it. She never asked, or told him, inwardly frustrating her that he did something without instruction! Without permission! She was a woman now! She didn't need anyone looking out for her, she sipped her tea preparing to scowl and rage at Fefnir a little about it...
But damn did that kid make a good cup of tea. She sighed out her frustration and wrapped both hands around the cup for warmth; Finally looking up to silently watch the conversation between her zanpacto and the new captain. As always, the tea was too good for her to chastise him for.
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Posted: Mon May 02, 2011 3:11 am
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
The first address went to the spirit from the boy. "I'm sorry, honored dragon, but I didn't come to speak with you today." His voice was low, respectful to the working woman at the desk, but in the softness of volume there was no softness of tone on this occasion. As nice as it was to be greeted warmly, he needed to make a request, so while the red man normally would have explained, the purpose for his visit was a bit more personal, and would only be important if it was addressed at the right person. He crossed his arms over his bare, scarred chest to underline the point. I won't budge. This isn't a social call, so sit back and listen.
When she looked up, though, Fefnir was less resolute. Sure, he'd been leading up to his question for weeks, but she's YUKI, for chrissake. Very few people would or could demand something from her, but he simply saw no other way to get what he needed. She sighed, the slightest bit of frustration visible though concealed on her face as she grabbed the cup of tea he'd prepared, and he held his breath. Maybe this wasn't a good idea, maybe he should just make up and excuse and get out of the situation. She'd have given the training when she thought he was ready, right? He recalled his reading: "In a friend, one should have one's best enemy. You should be closest to him with your heart when you resist him." Yuki sipped, sighed again, and her tension released slowly as she grasped the cup with her other hand as well. Good, she enjoyed it. Now would be the best time, he considered, to get her to do what I want. I'll make the request now.
"Captain..." he began, his voice timid. The recently promoted captain realized he was clenching his fists and released them slowly. Now or never, so he said again, with more strength, "Captain, I need bankai training." That main point out of the way, he could fill in the rest with explanation, "And you should do it. I don't trust anyone else to do it because you're the best. No one can beat you, and if I'm going to be worth anything, I need to be stronger. Even though it's your decision, I know I'm ready to take on that power, and I think you know it too. It's just a matter of doing it now."
Truth was, he thought he was ready for bankai weeks and months before, even when he had been serving under her as a Lieutenant. But, she'd never actually told him so, and since it was her say so on which he was approved, he'd never challenged it. He'd simply waited and waited patiently until it got to the point that there was nothing stopping him at all, and even beyond that point. Enough was enough, though. He was a captain, after all his work, so how could he lead others he wasn't stronger than? How could he act as a proper commander if he couldn't command his own zanpokuto?
"T-that is..." he stuttered, his nerve failing him, "If you think we should..."
Oh grow a pair... the bird whispered, "Of course she will. You can't wait for handouts forever, ungrateful sod."
Fefnir gave a furtive look to the bird and then back to his captain, hoping she hadn't heard his insolence, or he'd be in for a good thrashing instead of training. No one, and that means NO one, spoke to Yuki like that, over. Her student had learned that the hard way, his first lesson. He just had to hope she didn't, now, and that she wouldn't just get angry at him for asking like he did.X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
Whoever writes in BLOOD,
_____Does not want to be READ
____________But LEARNED by HEART...
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Posted: Mon May 02, 2011 11:11 pm
Arthion was a little taken aback by the sudden strut of business about him. He had wandered in almost without a care or seemingly aimless, taking his time to get tea and sit down to await for his master to address him properly. The tone of voice and the calculated measure of the absolute perfect amount of honey told the great dragon that it was in fact a setup for something he thought to be of the utmost importance. He shrugged a little to get more comfortable on the floor where he lay sprawled, and waited with his brother and comrade for Yuki to join in the conversation. Whatever it was, he shouldn't interfere if it was this important.
He could only guess at what it was, probably something he thought he couldn't get away with asking without getting his throat cut. Perhaps something about Nagi? Her past? Her life before death? After death? It must have been personal. It was the only taboo Arthion could think was important enough to stop even polite conversation for fear of missing his chances.
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Yuki heard the resolution in her student's voice, but when she looked up it certainly wasn't in his face. She wasn't about to tear into him though. Her mind was too worn from all the reading and paperwork she had been doing, and scaring off the first sign of real company this whole day wasn't on her agenda... especially if he could make a cup of tea this good. She sipped it patently as she waited for his balls to form a steel coating.
Luckily it didn't take long.
"Captain, I need bankai training."
She tried not to laugh, hiding it behind an all knowing smirk as her eyes sparkled with the hidden mirth. It was the surprise she felt echoing from her Zanpacto spirit that made her so filled with hilarity. She had known that this request would come eventually, and so too assumed Arthion had expected it as well. Fefnir had long since earned the right to obtain his bankai, and he most certainly had the potential. But what would he learn if she simply offered all his power to him? He had to work for it, especially now, he had to want it, to fight for it, to demand it. He was a Captain now, a leader of men, he couldn't wait for things to be brought to him or offered on a tray to him any longer. He needed power, and he needed to command. No one was going to give either of those things to him anymore. She had waited on him, for this moment. Another lesson, one that he needed to ask for, and teach himself.
Even if he was timid in his asking, Fefnir had asked. So he should receive. Yuki sat there for a moment, warming her hands on her cup as she waited for him to finish explaining himself. It was also to make sure he was resolute enough in his demands not to run, she made him sit and wait for an agonizing few seconds before answering him.
"What took you so long?"
She asked, seemingly unperturbed as if he had beat around the bush for several minutes rather than getting right to the point as he had done. She looked to the phoenix spirit that had been kind enough to show itself, as if they both where eager to earn such a prize as bankai. Yuki looked back to Fefnir and pointed at her zanpacto's brother spirit.
"You need to beat it out of him."
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Posted: Tue May 03, 2011 2:34 am
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
She paused a beat, and his heart skipped one. This was the deciding moment, and at the same time his stomach decided this would be a good time to practice for its knot tying merit badge, his heart plunged into it, splashing his innards. One doesn't know what a cold sweat is unless they've been in this kind of situation, but if you haven't, it's a lot like standing in a sprinkler. In January. In Alaska. Fefnir's leg twitched nervously, probably because somewhere deep down he thought he might be able to run away and pretend this didn't happen if she got angry. In fact, he couldn't imagine her doing much of anything else, since anger was usually the default response, or in rare occasions, horrible maiming. In retrospect, this was a horrible idea, just all around terrible, and he resolved to never do it again.
Yuki's answer came. "What took you so long?"
Fefnir's reply was hot on it's heels. "Oh god don't kill me... wait, what?"
Her nonchalance was... unnerving at best. At worst it concealed another, much more sinister death plot. Experience had taught him that the second was much more likely than the first. It was about this time that Fefnir realized he had spontaneously entered the fetal position, so he quickly put his feet back on the floor before continuing.
The bird leaned its head down next to his owner and whispered into his ear the word "Classy". Fefnir ignored him. Yuki then said, in what her student imagined was the fewest words possible, how he would attain his last badge of mastery over his weapon.
"You need to beat it out of him."
This time, it was Kaji's turn to be shocked, then smug, then fake shocked. "Then if I don't choose to cooperate in this, er... endeavor, he'll just never get the thing. Oh goody! Just the kind of thing I like to hear. Well then, I'd best be off, you don't need me here, tootles." And with that he disappeared.
Fefnir looked at the spot the bird had been, then at his teacher, and shrugged, as if to say, 'What now?'X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
Whoever writes in BLOOD,
_____Does not want to be READ
____________But LEARNED by HEART...
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Posted: Tue May 03, 2011 3:14 pm
A deep rumbling basso echoed threateningly around the room as the bird spoke, soft enough to allow him to speak easily but loud enough to put anyone nearby on edge. it was a guttural growl emitted from the deep chest of the mighty lizard. "Brother...." He said, drawing out the 'o's in a menacing manner that he hoped would give him pause. Force him to reconsider what Arthion already knew to be unchangeable.
It was no use the phoenix pulled his disappearing act and fled into his homeworld. At this, Arthion could no longer hold his rage. How could his brother be so cowardly that he feared his own master? So frightened of battle that he would rather flee. This, the great dragon would not stand for.
"That cowardly crow!"
The dragon roared in Yuki's mind so loudly she thought her skull would burst. Arthion was in such a furry that rather than fade silently he imploded with a loud snap and some trailing fire that hung for a moment in thin air before burning out.
-------
The captain blinked, a little surprised at how quickly things had erupted around her from the smallest words. She hadn't expected Kaji's.... refusal. He had seemed so willing. Arthion's anger at his cowardice was... More expected. The bang that he went out on was surprising though. On the brighter side of things, her zanpacto spirit had given her an excellent idea of how to solve the evident problem.
She looked back at Fefnir, where he sat looking, rightfully, confused; She flashed him a sly smile. The idea was a little insane and no one had ever tried it before, but then again, she hadn't met the Zanpacto spirit yet that feared power to the point of avoiding Bankai. Without saying a word, she stood suddenly and went to a mostly cleared spot on the floor. It was cluttered with half finished fast food boxes and ringed with some late paperwork that she had been attempting to plow through only moments ago. She kicked it all aside roughly and as quickly as she could. It made an even bigger mess on the edges of the ring, but it was the largest bit of clear floor to be seen in the captain's legendarily messy office.
With that now accomplished she sat on the floor, legs crossed hands in her lap, and looked up at her student. There was space enough for him to join her. She watched him for several moments, rolling her shoulders and adjusting slightly so she would find the most comfortable position possible. She meant for him to join her, that much was obvious. She hoped that her plan was equally as obvious as she slowed her breathing and started to relax. Closing her eyes she asked in her student's general direction.
"I know you can summon your spirit, but have you ever gone in to go get him?"
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Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2011 5:44 am
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
The thing about familiarity is that it doesn't tend to cover everything. When one is familiar with something, he's more likely to miss the obvious. Like, for example, a small mispronunciation of the word cinnamon, or the fact that the person is a ******** DRAGON. It's easy to forget a little fact like that when he has impeccable manners at dinner and the only roaring ever heard is metaphorical. Then, suddenly, the PTSD flared up, and accross his mind's eye, Fefnir saw every instance of Yuki calling out to her zanpokuto in quick succession: "Roar, Arthion!"
For a moment there, a look of horror was frozen on Fefnir's face as he rapidly recalled the horrible maiming, beating, and other damages done by her claws in the name of teaching. His scars began to itch. "Oh- Oooohhhhhh..." He groaned a bit, then as he came to, there was realization on his face instead. "So that's what she meant!"
There was a sort of popping sound after that, and Yuki's partner disappeared, folding in on itself until nothing was left. Fefnir, was looking at the spot where he'd been a moment before, and he caught Yuki looking at where Kaji had been out of his peripheral vision. Then, as if on cue, the two looked at each other, sharing a look that said, "What the ******** just happened?" Her look quickly changed, and she gave him a small smile which did little to ease his fear of terrible carnage in the future or his traumatic visions of the past. Clearly she had an idea, which may or may not have involved dissecting him to extract the bird... vigorously. When she stood, he flinched. When she walked around the desk, he flinched more. The only thing that prevented him from fleeing was the knowledge that eventually she WOULD catch him, painfully. When she cleared a spot off the floor, he was confused, but still incredibly flinchy. Then, she plopped down and set herself to getting nice and comfortable, all the while looking at him expectantly, and asked if he'd ever entered his inner world to see the bird.
He'd never actually ever considered entering the world where someone who hated him lived, much less followed through on the idea. "Uh, well... no," he admitted sheepishly as he rose from the chair to join her on the floor. Carefully, he stepped over boxes of pizza with long decayed remains of cheese and pepperoni here and there, as well as paperwork, and what might have been bones from unidentified mammals. It wasn't hard to imagine them as a skeleton, if not because of Yuki being Yuki, then because there were so many of them. Fef made a mental note to come by some other time and clean some of the mess when she was out. He sat across from her in the circle she'd moved, and immediately regretted it when he felt a cold, slimy sensation ooze into the fabric of his pants. Thankfully, the hakama were think and there were multiple layers to his dress today. Fefnir removed the larger, floppier pants and his carefully positioned kosode to reveal a pair of shorts and a plain t-shirt, folded them, then sat down about eight inches to the left after inspecting the floor to avoid another such mystery liquid.
"So, um..." he continued, "How are we, uh, going to do this again?"X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
Whoever writes in BLOOD,
_____Does not want to be READ
____________But LEARNED by HEART...
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Posted: Sat Jun 11, 2011 6:57 pm
Yuki's breathing steadied, despite the short bark of laughter that escaped her lips from watching him flinch so much. she hadn't expected him to have a ton of experience exploring his inner world. Not many people who didn't have bankai even knew it existed, much less had been there. Fefnir was just unlucky enough to have the two events coincide. Hopefully his maiden voyage wouldn't bee too violent.
"In order to summon your Spirit, you pull their Riatsu to you. So, to go there, all you have to do is follow that same Riatsu trail to where they are."
She closed her eyes and pictured the massive dragon, and his all too familiar deep red energy. Deep in the recesses of her mind she heard him roaring. Now that she thought about it Yuki couldn't figure out how going back into her mind would help him seek revenge against Kaji. Wouldn't it make more sense to rip Fefnir apart in an attempt to liberate the bird from his container.
The idea of the dragon tearing into her student made snort out some laughter at the parallel to history. All she could imagine was a draconic-version of herself spitting fire and tearing random screaming villagers, and for some reason she found it hilarious. It made her mental image of Arthion waver for a moment. After a moment of attempting to get her relaxation back through a snorting giggle fit, she got the Dragon back solid in her mind.
"Just kind of... meditate for a moment. Picture your Zanpacto spirit and let their power guide you."
She said, concentrating hard on keeping the image of her spirit strong. The result was that she had to keep her speaking evenly spaced so she sounded like a Native American shaman from a bad western film telling him to find his "Totem" or something.... Not that what she was doing was much different.
It didn't matter now. Yuki was never one for explanations, but rather a demonstrator. So she continued with her meditation, in hopes that her student was bright enough not to need any more guidance. After all, he had done this exact thing more than once, he was just doing it backwards. How hard could it be?! It was simple enough for the seasoned captain, even now she was traveling along her Zanpacto's power line at a fast clip.
"I wonder if my body disappears when I go to my inner world...."
She pondered, as the the earth beneath her faded away and she found herself standing and the world around her slowly came into focus. She had never had someone watch her go into her inner world before. It was kind of a... personal thing.... She'd have to remember to ask Fefnir when she got back, assuming he hung back long enough to see the event.
"But how will he know if he had hung back long enough to see me disappear? What if he goes into his own inner world before I'm fully over?"
She continued to ponder over these things as she looked around at her inner world. A barren wasteland with just enough vegetation here and there to make survival possible. Not easy, but possible. Yuki wasn't here for any particular reason so she had no problem just walking in the direction she happened to be facing when she appeared. She moved from one shady spot to another, taking her time crossing the long patches of burning sand while she thought. Other than the silly question of her body pulling a Houdini in the real world, only one other question crossed her mind.
Where in the hell is Arthion?
Usually when she crossed over the damn lizard was at least in sight, but not this time. How do you lose a twenty ton dragon!? She continued on her march across the barren wasteland, turning her head from side to side occasionally in search of the mighty beast that called this wasteland home. Outside of the occasional palm tree and cactus, there wasn't anything around. What seemed like miles and miles passed, but there wasn't anything to be found. Not hide nor scale was to be found of the stupid lizard.
What is going on here?
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