Time to soar

Himawari sighed as she looked around at the open sky once more. This may be her “inner world” but every time she came here, this place only seemed to cause her great stress and emotional upheaval. Especially when-

“Hello again!” –she showed up. Surely there hadn’t been anyone in the whole of Soul Society who found her Zanpakutō spirit so frustrating, to the point that throttling the thing was looking more and more tempting by the second.

“Hello Hagane. You know you shouldn’t sneak up on-” Himawari turned to face her bird spirit, only to leap back at the sudden surprise. Hagane had gone over a strange and extremely surprising appearance change. What used to be a to be a rather medium size bird, comparable to perhaps a pigeon, had now shot up to the size of what Himawari considered to be the size of a reasonably medium sized dog.

“Hagane! What happened?” Himawari exclaimed. The bird chuckled at her.

“You happened, idiot,” the bird twittered at her, “I wasn’t kidding when I said your potential was limitless. I’m just demonstrating how much you’ve grown since we last saw one another, and now you’re ready for the last step before the big leap.” The bird fluttered around her, hyper on her own excitement. Himawari could not help but roll her eyes.
“Ok, last stage: Primary Feathers,” Hagane exclaimed, “The strongest attacks we can muster. At least before Bankai that is. Are you ready to learn?” Himawari looked around herself, before staring straight back at Hagane.

“What test is it this time?” she asked.

“Do you always need to be tested?” Hagane cheeped, her head cocked to one side. Himawari folded her arms across her chest.

“I thought the idea was that I earned your abilities,” she spoke carefully; “You’ve never just wanted to give me one before.”

“What, so I have to make you work for it?” Hagane exclaimed, “Making you do stuff can be so exhausting sometimes.”
“You don’t make me do anything!” Himawari retorted, her temper rising.

“Then why do you think I should test you then?” Hagane shot back.

“Because shouldn’t I earn it?” Himawari exclaimed, “What’s the point of something like this if I don’t work for it?” Hagane seemed to chuckle.

“I don’t know,” she replied, “But I’m beginning to like you more and more by the day. Your integrity is good. You’re honest and you like to work for the things you feel you deserve. But there’s nothing wrong with gifts. It’s ok to sometimes receive something without you having to really do anything. More often than not, the person giving you a gift will think you’ve deserved it anyway. The best thing you should say is “Thank you.” Now come on.”

Himawari stood still for a moment, a little confused. But there was something about Hagane’s tone, which drew Himawari’s curiosity.

“Were you testing me now?” Himawari asked tentatively. She couldn’t help but feel there was something behind the tone of Hagane. The bird hovered before her and Himawari was convinced that, if it were possible, Hagane would be grinning at her.

“Ok, Primary Feathers,” Hagane started, “Bigger blades, stronger steel, a lot more fun to use.” She flew forward to tap the gauntlets upon Himawari’s arm, “Same principles as Secondary feathers. Just gives a much better result.”

Ok, Himawari thought, I can do this, I know I can. “Primary Feathers!” she shouted. Two great blades erupted from her gauntlets, each almost as long as her entire body. She could not help stop to admire them, only to collapse to the ground from exhaustion. She tried to push herself back up onto her feet, but could not find the strength.

“Well what did you expect?” Hagane twittered, seating herself within Himawari’s line of vision, “I told you Secondary Feathers would tire you if used straight off the bat. Primary feathers have only done the same.”

“I don’t remember collapsing last time,” Himawari retorted.

“Not this much power last time,” Hagane replied preening her wings.

Ability 3: Primary Feathers: This ability produces blades as long as Himawari’s entire body, and increases the strength of the steel even further. This ability can be called out without calling for Primary and Secondary feathers before it, however this would greatly tire Himawari, sometimes to the point of collapse.

Same deal as before, i need more from you Hima. The post is great but this is a much higher level ability and as such more work. Also "This ability can be called out without calling for Primary and Secondary feathers before it" I can only assume thats a mistake and you meant Tetriary(sp) Feathers?

((Yeah, and I had a feeling after I posted it that it wouldn't be enough. Ok I'll do better on the next one I promise ))

“Ok, so let’s test them out,” Hagane chirped. Himawari looked down at the now much longer blades attached to her arms. They were much heavier than the previous pair of blades, not that that was a physical problem, but it did make maneuverability a whole lot trickier. With blades this length, she would have to alter her entire combat methods, as to not slice off one of her own limbs during a battle.

Himawari sighed. Why did this bird always insist on making things harder for her? Himawari had always believed that Shikai were meant to make things simpler in battle. But her own was clearly going to make things more difficult for her.

Hagane flew before her, morphing into the figure of a relatively standard hollow; regular size, mask, nothing that would suggest it was any more powerful than the next random hollow Himawari might come across. Her new massive blades now raised, she raced forward, swinging one up to cleave the mask in two.

The hollow managed to dodge the attack, speeding away from her. Himawari was shocked; she knew the weight of the blades was far greater than those that preceded it, but the added weight should not have affected her speed in such an obvious manner. She span around, just in time to avoid a cero from behind.

“You’re not working hard enough,” Hagane’s voice sounded so strange coming from the mouth of a Hollow, “You have to concentrate more.”

“Could you be any vaguer on that?” Himawari shot back sarcastically, “This is like trying to fight with two oversized butcher’s knives on my arms.”

“Stop thinking of them as separate to you!” Hagane shouted, her Hollow body rearing up in a conjoined anger, “I am your Zanpakutō, I am a part of you! These blades are a part of you! If you keep thinking of them as seperate, then you will continue to accidently hurt yourself upon them!”

Hagane dived down at her, and Himawari was forced to back flip away. The bird was right, as much as Himawari didn’t want to admit it; she had to stop acting like her Zanpakutō was separate to herself. She landed upon her feet, pushing herself off, digging her left blade into Hagane.

She was so surprised how easily she cleaved through the Hollow’s armor, as easily as she would use a knife in butter. She flipped herself upwards, bringing the right blade down through the mask. The Hollow dissolved before her eyes, leaving only the silvery form of Hagane before her, a pleased look upon her face.