Kajitora stood still in the grassy plains, with his zanpakutou drawn and his sleeves already tied back. He heard a voice through his temporary hell butterfly, "Remember, take out as many Hollow robots as you can. Once we deem that you are unable to continue, we will stop the simulation. Good Luck." Kajitora nodded, more of a reassurance to himself. His black ponytail flopped over his shoulder and hand down his chest, Kajitora ignored the annoying feeling of the hairs brushing against his new weighted gi (from now on referred to as a Special Shunpo Gi or SSG). The SSG was uncomfortable enough, but Kajitora needed to focus-he couldn't ruin this rare chance to participate in shunpo training research because of some hair.

His eyes gathered and reflected the light around him in an intense way as he felt the footsteps of a hundred robot hollows shake the very earth he was planted on. All the hollows were set to stun and not kill, but there was still reason to fear. It would take several electric filled minutes for any of the Squad 12 Researchers to reach him. If the Hollow machines targeted the wrong spots on his fatigued body, it could cause irreversible damage. After he had finished his thought, the hundreds of Hollow robots were already upon him. He performed a quick draw and smashed the head of one of the Hollow robots instantly. Kajitora wasted no time and raised his sword above another approaching Hollow robot. He brung his sword down with all his might and technique, crushing the Hollow's spine. Kajitora backed away, swinging to try and create space between him and his multiple enemies. In that one moment of hesitation-even from a machine: Kajitora saw an opening. He would use the technique known as shunpo to make it the perfect opening.

He raised his reiatsu and focused it all into his feet, increasing his feet's ability to use energy and move faster due to the abundant energy supply. He could feel the burning sensation of enormous energy pulsing through his legs, urging him to use the excess energy. He thought about moving toward one of the Hollows and his feet brought him there without warning. Some of the energy in his legs was used and his legs hurt a little less. The only thing the Hollow was able to compute was that a sword was being rammed into its stomach. With the 'dead' Hollow on his sword, Kajitora decided to use it as a shield. He was sure the other Hollows didn't give a rat's behind about their 'deceased' comrade but he knew the metal it was made of was more dense than the fabric of the SSG...It wasn't about emotions; it was about cold, calculated advantage. That’s what Kajitora hated about fighting against machines.

+1.5 Kajitora better watch out for them researchers. From what I've seen their the most dangerous creatures on Bleach. They're scarier than anything Aizen sends out! lol

(OOC: Thanks, lol. I have a 12th Squad character I use to play. I haven't played him on this forum though- so I can think like a Squad 12er. )

With the Hollow robot on his sword Kajitora moved backwards, slowly retreating so that the approaching mass could not consume him with its numbers and surround him. Three Hollows clawed at the Hollow shield that Kajitora had created and cut it in half. Kajitora threw the hollow off his sword and took his stance against the continually charging hollows. Kajitora knew he could still use shunpo two more times without the SSG weighting him down, after his stamina wore out it would be all downhill from there. And his quick thinking would only allow him so much time before he was lying on the ground being tazed.

Kajitora waited until one Hollow robot was ahead of the others, forming the enemy into a triangle formation pointing at him. Kajitora released the energy in his legs again, moving down the right side of the triangle slicing through as many hollows as he could. As those Hollows fell, Kajitora used the pent up energy in his legs to move across the Hollow again this time towards his right and managing to cut through a few more Hollows. With so many Hollows defeated in two rapid swings, the rest of the Hollows began to recalculate their assault. Kajitora could feel his legs starting to burn a tinge, and he could feel the weight of SSG starting to slump his shoulders. As the Hollow robots took a mental break, Kajitora readied himself in his stance. As soon as one of the Hollows moved, Kajitora would use his favorite technique-shouldering the sword.

+ 1 to speed.

Kajitora gripped his sword as hard as he could; his legs were spread in a wide stance. He waited defensively for his enemy to make a move. Like the Knight in Shoji (Japanese chess), he was ready to take a few pieces before he was taken down. One of the Hollow robots to the right was the first one to move. Kajitora released some of the energy in legs, and he moved like a blur towards the Hollow. He pretended to attack but moved his sword back at the last second to rest on his shoulder-a feint. As the Hollow realized what was happening, it took a defensive position blocking the left side of it's body. And that’s when Kajitora saw the opening on the machine's right side! He willed his legs to move forward again, against the energy flowing within them and the weights throughout the SSG. He was upon the Hollow instantly. Once in range, with the flick on his wrist he launched his sword of his sword from his shoulder like a catapult. Up, around, and then down with maximum force-the sword cut through the Hollow completely. The metallic body, with no right side, fell to the ground sparking.

Kajitora had made a fatal mistake; he had been caught up in his favorite technique and did not pay close enough attention to his surroundings...for now he was in the middle of the Hollows. All the hollows faced inwards toward Kajitora with their jerky movement. Their claws gleaming in the afternoon sun, and their eyes were as dull as sheet metal. Suddenly their eyes began to glow red and all the Hollows in the front lunged forward, their claws thirsting for human blood as if somehow that would make them alive.

Kajitora could have taken the multiple hits and still had been able to move but he couldn't help remembering something he had learned in the real world. When studying the Art of War by Sun Tzu, he remembered learning that if you could see the whites of your enemy’s eyes: it was a very good time to attack. Plus, his pride wouldn't let him be so heavily damaged by the tinkering little toys with red eyes. As the Hollows were in mid-air from the lunge, He used his new favorite Kidou. "Harken, thee of the North wind. Zephyr of Death, sever the cord between the enemy and I; we are no longer made of same cord. Hakudou no jyuuroku: Mattaku Seki!" (Way of Binding #16: Complete Repulsion). Just as the claws were about to pierced the SSG that Kajitora was wearing, the claws were sucked into the weights within the gi but then immediately repelled away with explosively force.

As the Hollows were falling away in the air, Kajitora felt as if they were falling a little slower than they should. I can see it much clearer , he thought, their movement. And I've finally able to control my speed with his SSG on. He knew exactly what he had to do. He used his shunpo again, this time forcing his legs to use the dried up energy to hasten his speed. He appeared in the air and cut down a few Hollows. He commanded his legs to speed up again and appeared before more Hollows that he cut down. And the last bit of energy he could muster from his shunpo worn legs he used to go to the last of the airborne Hollows and slice them until they could no longer function. In the air now, Kajitora tried to use his shunpo again but after using three back to back shunpo with his already slightly fatigued legs-they refused to obey Kajitora. His legs would need a rest and maybe he could use shunpo once more at best, but no telling how long of a rest they would need.

He began falling into the pit of Hollows, their eyes hungry with violence.

Approved + 2 to Speed.

(After I finish up in Hohou, can I start my Shikai training? I have 10RPs and 50 ZE. I didn't want to post in there too soon.)

Kajitora remembered falling into the crowd of Hollow robots, it had seemed like they were a dark chasm-or maybe that was his subconscious that he had fallen into.

Kajitora was standing in the desert again, his hair and clothes windswept. He looked around and sure enough, to his right was the mammoth phoenix with its lightless eyes piercing him. He turned to face the fiery bird. He looked up into its eyes, the red light from the bird's flames lighting his eyes. He knew what was next, some kind of sick test or some kind of torture, he didn't know which. "Use it!"

Kajitora's body was set ablaze instantaneously; he didn't fear the flames any longer. How many times had he felt these flames? He knew exactly what they were capable of, he didn't fear them anymore. He focused his reiatsu, even while on fire, and sent the energy down into his legs. He used his shunpo in two quick successions forward to put out the fire. He was closer to the phoenix now, who just looked down at him expressionless. He mustered the courage to speak to his tormentor, "I think I understand what you were talking about the first time. I have a lot of fear when I go into battle: I fear I am too small, too young, I don't have fast enough shunpo, etc. Every time I clinch this sword roughly, I shouldn't let that fear get the best of me. Like you said, I should use it. A warrior uses everything as weapon. That fear is just another tool I can use, am I right?"

The Phoenix shook its feathers and then spread its wings out, flapping them ever so lightly. The Phoenix hovered in the air, almost as vast as the limitless sky. Everytime its wings beat, flames would erupt on the ground underneath it. Kajitora held his ground as the sand in front of him burned again and again with each flap of the wing, it was the first time he had seen the phoenix move let alone fly. Kajitora heard that familiar voice in his head again, " I already told you that you've grown, little chick. But do you know what the difference between a bird and a phoenix is?" Kajitora shook his head. "Death in Fire! There must be death in order for there to be rebirth. That is the purpose of a phoenix, to be reborn again and again, growing stronger! I will give you a taste of what will happen to your inner world when you are finally able to tap into my power."

The phoenix began to burn brightly, flames leapt off its body like a solar flare. The phoenix let out a screeching sound that sounded like an eagle's voice with the crackling on fire mixed with it. The sound of the shout blew through the desert like the flames that were emanating from the phoenix. Kajitora was on flame again, but this time there was nowhere to shunpo that was safe from the horrendous fire. He started to feel the sting of the fire consuming him as a door opened a hundred feet away. The door was solid gold and had ornate pictures of phoenixes on it.

Kajitora saw the door out of the corner of his eye, but he couldn't bring himself to move. The fire was draining his reiatsu-it felt like it was slowly killing him. He focused on his reiatsu and tried to stabilize it as much as possible before sending it down into his legs. The flames licked at his face and he flinched, but managed to keep the energy stored in this legs. He then fell forward using his hands and legs to push forward into a sprinting start, giving his legs time to warm up...as if they needed that. It only took him two powerful and lightning fast shunpo to cross the distance and end up right in front of the door. He could now accurately gauge distance with his shunpo, but he didn't have time to think about it. He flung the door open and turned around as he fell into the door backwards. The last glimpse he saw in the desert was a slim, probably female human form wearing golden armor.

She pointed her sword at him, through the flames.

OOC: of course you can. Approved +2 to speed.

Kajitora was back in his body. The sudden rush of energy that was surging through his body temporarily blocked the electrical currents being sent by the Hollow robots that stood over him. Kajitora stood up so quickly that the Hollows could barely make out his movements. They still had their electric claws out when Kajitora turned to get a good look at the Hollows behind him. His eyes were gleaming with an unnatural red light-and his last of his energy was spiraling through his body. He didn't know how long it would last but he decided to take full advantage of it. He focused his reiatsu and sent it to his legs all in one swift motion. As the Hollows lifted their tazing claws, Kajitora was gone. The Hollows looked around for their target and found him just outside of the group circle. It was the fastest shunpo that Kajitora had managed to perform due to his sudden burst of energy.

Kajitora dropped to his hands and knees, shouted the name of a special kidou, "Furuero" (Shake, Tremble). When his hands came into contact with the ground, the earth herself shook violently. With the miniature earthquake, the clumsy Hollow robots easily fell upon each other. Kajitora lunged forward and scrambled to grab one of the Hollows. Kajitora grabbed the legs of one of the Hollows lying on top. With the energy fluxing through his body, he yelled the commands for his next kidou, "Hadou no jyuuichi: Tsuzuri Raiden!" (Way of Destruction #11: Bound Lighting!) The electric kidou ran through the Hollows, which were connected, and damaged each one. Upon contact the kidou energy, the Hollows exploded. The first one exploded in Kajitora's face, but the rest of the Hollow's exploding bodies did not harm him for he willed his legs to move like the wind. He was instantly yards away, his legs battered internally by the forcing of energy through them even after they were fatigued.

Kajitora fell down, butt first and just sat there. He knew if he were to command his legs to move again, they would refuse him entirely. He tugged at the SSG and smiled, he had done his shunpo training with a weighted gi on purpose-now he knew the simple mechanics of shunpo. He had even managed to use that really fast shunpo to escape the middle of the Hollows. He could feel the oppressive weight of the SSG as he sat their exhausted, and he began to remove it. As a shinigami with a 10 year old's mind, he didn't really care if the squad 12 researchers saw him in his shitagi (under gi). If anything, he would glad if it repelled him. He would never sign up for a 12 experiment again.

Approved + .5 to Speed. ( Locked)