The Blade: Heart of Inner Calm (Solo)

Sweat beaded his brow, and his muscles burned. His eyes stung, and his bones ached. But he didn't stop, his weapon whirring about him. He stood shirtless, the night on in full, and the Zanjutsu Courtyard deserted by all save for him. He had snuck out of room and come out here to practice with the blade. He was determined to defeat the Shinigami that had completely and utterly defeated him in combat not three days ago, an act that had completely humiliated him. With the blade in his hands, going through different combinations and flourishes, he felt truly at home, as if he knew, when he wielded a blade, that this was without a doubt what he was meant to do. His dark blue hair fell loose and scraggly into his face, so drenched in sweat that it was starting to curl up. That, though, only made him smile.

It wasn't that he liked combat, that he liked the fact that once he became a full on Shinigami that he'd be doing this against real opponents, and not in spars and in training. However, when he entered that place where it was just him and his whirring, spinning blade, he couldn't help but feel at peace. For him, the blade was the heart of inner calm. The heart of what made Shioshi who he was. That fact was what he loved about combat. With ease, he snapped his blade into the air and then snatched it with his other hand, spinning as he did to perform a spinning sweep. Then, as he finished that, he snapped it back up into the air again and caught it with his original hand, completing a flourish and then coming to a stop for a moment. He needed to rest, because otherwise, he'd over exhaust himself. As he sat, leaning against the wall, he held the blade up before his eyes, simply staring at it.

"Of the many things here at this Academy, you're the only thing that brings me any comfort, my friend," he muttered, and then he set the blade down at his side so he could stretch. If his body became too sore, as it would, eventually, if he didn't stretch enough, then he wouldn't be able to practice any longer, and that would simply not do. After completing his stretches, he got back to his feet and picked up his training blade, heading back to the center of the training area. His smile wide on his face, he began to spin the blade, a simple beginning to his return to the place he'd been before, where his weapon was a twirling blur. He closed his eyes, just letting the feel of the weapon coax him into his inner place, the world of calm he entered when in training. He had to be able to enter this place in the midst of real battle, even against attacks such as the Shinigami Draylon had used against him.

His weapon moved in spins, slices, jabs, arcs and flourishes at a blinding speed, in such a way that would've been graceful and wonderful to see if anyone were watching. So far, he had never revealed his true skills with the blade before absolutely anyone, instead cutting his skills down to about a fourth of what he could really do. At least, in the days since his humiliation in battle at the hands of Draylon. Since he'd been coming out here each night to practice until the morning, he'd slowly made it seem as if he'd lost the will to fight to those around him, while in all actuality, it was the opposite. The next time he faced that Shinigami in combat, he was determined to claim victory. His agitation was quickly drowned out by that overwhelming calm of his. He increased his speed to go as fast as he could, wanting to drill that calm permanently into himself, or at least, until the morning.

Shioshi snapped the blade back, elbow bending, and then over and under, and finally, up, then releasing it so that it flew up into the air, spinning. That move, of course, could never be used in battle, as it was meant to be for show. With only a glance upwards, the Academy Student reached up, snatched the sword from the air, and then moved through a flourish that ended with an arcing slam-strike, where, if there truly was an opponent, would've slashed down with as much force behind the attack as the Student could muster in only a second after the end of the flourish before it. He then moved into a series of spinning slashes, ending with him creating an invisible X in the air with his blade. He then brought his blade back and, with a single smile, he went through another flourish. He ended then, bringing the blade around in a series of flourishes and then sheathing his weapon on the sheath across his back.

"The Sun'll be coming up soon. I should be heading back. I'm gonna have to get cleaned up for the classes, so I'll need a good bit of time," he muttered to himself as he headed across the courtyard to stretch one last time. As he did so, he felt his calm still strengthening him, and he gave a little smile. Hopefully, if he kept this up, he would finish his Zanpakutou portion of the Academy ahead of time. That would certainly be of assistance. Of course, since courses couldn't be finished ahead of time, it was only a fleeting thought, a foolish one that he quickly forgot. "Draylon... Once I get out of this Academy, you and me are going to face each other once again, and this time, it'll be on even ground," he growled. With a satisfied grin on his face, Shioshi turned and left the Zanjutsu Grounds, hurrying, but still quietly, back towards his room, so that he could get ready for the next day, and hopefully get as much sleep as he could.