A Parting Gift From a Brief Visit (Solo)

Time seemed to fly by throughout that first day. Hibiki was able to skip all his classes except for Jinzen, which he would rather not skip anyway. The dark haired boy was making his way down the hallway, peeking into the occasional classroom to see what lessons were going on. His uncovered eye was absorbing it all, and it was giving him a slight headache, though the piercing pain was originating behind his covered right eye. He tried to push the pain from his mind as he found the classroom he was to report to. he removed his shoes at the door and opened it gently, knowing silence was key, especially for Jinzen.

The classroom wasn't even able to be considered a classroom. At best, it could be chocked up to several different habitats in every season, scattered about the expansive space, despite the deceptively small room. People sat at random intervals throughout the area, though each favored a certain place. As his eye examined everything hungrily, it turned half a degree to the right and came face to face with the shining silver eye of the instructor. Hibiki almost yelped, but the old, insane looking man, with a bald spot down the middle and hair that stuck out at an angle only on the sides, was faster his appearance gave on. He had raised a finger to Hibiki's lips, turned him around, and shoved him face first into a pile of powdery snow before, effectively silencing the yelp, and all in a mere second.

The old man leaned forward, putting his lips close to Hibiki's ear, and in a voice so low only Hibiki could hear, and he even had to strain, he said,

"Well, nice of you to join us, Hibiki-san. I am your Jinzen Guidance Counselor, Fo-Kasu. Now, let's get started. When I release you, look around, and find the area that draws you most. The one that calls out to you as the most comfortable. And remove that headband before you do. You don't need unnecessary distractions."

Hibiki was puzzled, but relieved when he was released by the instructor. He sat up, breathing deeply. He did as he was told, and began looking around. When he spotted an area in the far right corner, it immediately drew his attention. He could see black, craggy rocks, as well as spires. He grinned as he made his way over, carefully avoiding even breathing on someone. When he arrived, he smiled to himself, and unconsciously put his hand over his right eye, silently reminiscing. He sat down against one of the cold stones. He shuddered, not expecting them to have been real.

"I said, remove that headband." The elderly voice of Fo-Kasu whispered in his ear. Hibiki twitched slightly, and then looked at the old man, this time actually looking. Then he realized that the right eye of the man was unfocused, as if it were not focusing on something Hibiki could see. He then realized that this eye was the exact same shade of silver as his own. With a start, Hibiki mumbled a quick, low question.

"How do you see or even balance when you see two different things like that...?" He asked. The instructor's eyes widened and he gingerly lifted up the eye-patch that covered Hibiki's right eye. He gasped as Hibiki slowly opened up the eye to reveal the bright silver iris beneath, then he smiled eagerly.

"I've waited a long time to teach someone like you... like us." he began. "First thing's first, this eye-patch just won't do. With it dampening your gift, you cannot properly draw on your full strength, nor the full capability of this uniqueness. It will be tough, but I'll guide you through it. Now, close your left eye." he ordered. Hibiki looked at him skeptically, but did as he was told, sliding the patch over to the right eye to be more beneficial. As soon as he did, the entire other world came into focus.

He was standing in the middle of a grey-sanded desert. There was no wind, and black spires rose everywhere from the ground. An electric blue mist whirled around the upper and lower levels of everything. Set against an indigo sky with smoky black clouds and an eclipsed sun, it was a Gothic beauty. Hibiki jumped slightly when Fo-Kasu's voice seemed to come from nowhere.

"Now, find the figure in the distance. I know you know the one I'm talking of. That's a special friend of yours. It's your Zanpakutou. Though it's most likely different than mine, I'll bet it's the same concept. Now, call it forward, with every ounce of heart and spirit you have, as well as with every bit of will. You can do so aloud. No one here will hear you." Hibiki was instructed.

Truth be told, this was a lot to process. His Zanpakutou spirit...? He had always been able to see into this world. Did that mean he was different? Defective, perhaps? His brow furrowed as he looked around the alien landscape. A rogue wind blew his dark hair to the right slightly, as he looked into the far off horizon. Standing on a dune was the tiny pinprick of the figure. He felt himself drawn to it, as if it were a part of him missing. He longed for it. Without realizing it, he was yelling, calling for it, with every fiber, every cell in his body, willing it to answer his desperate cries. A larger gust of wind blew by, carrying with it some of the sand. It obscured his view and he lost sight of the figure. With an aching heart at the seeming loss, he turned around, and came face to face with something otherworldly.

Piercing eyes of a misty black. Thin lips that accented a seemingly perfect nose. Ashen grey skin with ornate black designs from foot to head, on top of which sat beautiful white hair, adorned with two identical horns with intricate patterns displayed upon them. Two sets of wings, of leathery membrane, jutted out from each side. A large shoulder-piece made entirely of white feathers with black specks was what covered the uppermost part of its body, from the base of its neck, to the solarplex. A number of belts effectively covered its waist and a few circled its upper thighs. Knee high leather boots covered the lower portion of it's legs. All in all, the creature that stood before him, leaning forward at eye level, was beautiful beyond all comparison, though it had a cold aura that he couldn't quite place. His mind took a permanent picture of what it saw, though he'd see it again quite often.

Spoiler:

As if the wind blew her apart, she disappeared without a sound. Hibiki didn't even get a chance to blink when he felt something collide with the backs of his knees. He went down with a grunt, hands splayed in the soft sand. From nowhere, boots appeared where his eyes were looking. The boot on the left lifted up, under his chin, raising his head to look directly at the imposing figure. It drew him up further still, until he was on his knees. Without warning, The boot transferred position, planting itself firmly in his chest, effectively knocking the wind from his lungs. He bent over once more, retching from the sudden pressure on the general stomach area.

"You are weak..." the woman stated bluntly. Hibiki looked up, his eyes narrowing. However, his eyebrows arched as he saw the woman's outstretched hand. He took hold of it as he noted that instead of the thin line that had been her lips before, there was the minutest of curvature at the extreme edges. He couldn't help but feel a slight protective feeling of him emanating from her. He was proven right by her next statement.

"Since you are weak... allow me to start helping you... Though I can only give you the tools.... You must learn to use them..." she said. Her voice was like the ebb and flow of a waterfall, soothing and rhythmic, but strong. Hibiki almost fell back as she held her hand forward, palm down and slightly clenched, as if she were holding something, and from nowhere appeared a sheathed blade.

The sheath was intricately designed. The outside was black velvet, with silver designs, seemingly similar, or identical to the ones that decorated the skin of the woman before him. On the end, just before the guard, there was a metal plating with another design stamped into it, which wrapped all the way around the opening. The hilt of the blade was wrapped in tightly woven, black silk ito, with a metal cap that had an identical design as the first stamped into it. The blade was beautiful, and he hadn't even seen the actual thing in full yet.

"Sit, as you were before arriving, and hold out your hands, palms up..." she instructed. Hibiki didn't disobey, not wanting to have to deal with another boot to the chest. When he was seated, she set the blade in his hands, and stayed knelt down. He didn't know it, but on the outside world, Fo-Kasu was still watching, eyes wide, as Hibiki's arms lifted, palms waiting to receive, and then a blade materialized. He could have no inkling of what was going on, though if Hibiki listened, and wasn't completely absorbed in what was going on, he would have realized he could hear everyone and everything on the outside clearly as what he was hearing now.

"Use it to protect yourself... every part of you... internal, external, physical, and emotional... And soon, I will teach you to control this eye of yours to your benefit, and be able to live with it... It is a gift... Not a curse... and you should not have to bear it as one... Until next time, young one..." she said, as she gently took hold of Hibiki's eye patch and slid it back over his right eye.

Natural light flooded Hibiki's vision behind the closed lid. He closed his eye tighter and then cracked it open slowly, letting it adjust to the light. He felt the presence of the instructor to his left in front of him, and looked up. A smile was planted on the crazed man's face, as well as a look of awe. His eyes were switching between Hibiki and his lap. Hibiki was confused and looked down, and his eyes widened. In his hands, he held the same blade the woman had given him a few moments earlier. He gaped as he stood up, looking at it closely.

"Well, unsheathe it, then!" Fo-Kasu whispered louder than Hibiki had heard him as of yet.

Hibiki couldn't help but listen. He gripped the hilt in his right hand and pulled the blade out swiftly. The weight of it felt amazing in his hand. The balance was precise and perfect. The silver sheen of the metal caught the light, and reflected it in a slightly darker shade. The blade was even more spectacular than he had imagined. It suited him perfectly, with a length of approximately thirty-six and a half inches, from the bottom of the hilt to the tip of the blade. The hilt made up the six and a half inches, while the rest was the biting steel. Hibiki let rise a smile of awe and pride as he realized he was holding his Zanpakutou. He looked back to Fo-Kasu, who was now beside him, beaming down at him.

"I believe you're done for the day..." he said as he walked him slowly to the door. "You, child... may very well be a prodigy..." he confided in Hibiki. Hibiki smiled as his eyes fixed on his blade, as the instructor's eyes were fixed on him in wonder. "Never in all my years... First day at the Academy and he managed to materialize his Zanpakutou... And at thirteen...! The Fates have big plans for you... Just wait 'til your other instructors see this..." Fo was muttering to himself.

Hibiki was walking automatically, still gazing at the beautiful piece of himself he never expected to receive as of yet. As he was walking away, he heard Fo-Kasu whispering to himself, laughing a giddy sort of chuckle as he did so. He paid him no mind as he made his way back to his dorm. No one else was there yet, and he was glad of the quiet. He shut the door and sat at the edge of his bed, looking at the blade he had sheathed as he walked back. After a few more moments of familiarizing himself with it, he stood up and tied the sheath around himself, letting the sheath hang at his left hip. He then turned to the mirror in the corner, and looked at himself. He couldn't help but feel the pride that swelled in his chest, like a pressure trying to escape. It was here that he remembered the words of the woman he had met.

"You are weak... I can only give you the tools... You must learn to use them... Protect yourself..." she had said. Hibiki looked into his eye, and in it, he saw resolve. Just this one experience had hardened him just a bit more. He grinned to his reflection and turned around, walking to the door. He opened it, and left, without looking back once. She had said he must be the one to learn to use the tools.

If that be the case... Hibiki thought, Then it's time for some field exercise... He felt ready to take on the world as he looked out the window to the training grounds and the Dojos, his goal to hit every one of them that day. He stepped through the double doors of the dorm building and into the light of the sun. These were no longer the first steps of Hibiki. These were the first steps of Hibiki, Shinigami.