Finally getting too work (Arawn)

After a few weeks, of doing pretty much nothing, Bishamon began to feel like doing something productive, which was unusual, but he was bored. He remembered about his encounter with a shinigami, named Arawn, who showed him an unusual technique, which had a lot of advantages for a fighter like himself, and he did offer to teach it to him, but Bishamon was slightly hesitant of taking him up on his offer, not because of Arawn, but he didn't like inconveniencing anyone, and Bishamon wasn't the fastest learner, but he couldn't take the boredom of doing nothing anymore, so he headed towards Arawns lab.

He didn't really know where he was going, he presumed the squad twelve barracks, but he was told by other squad member's that he wasn't there, so he asked around, and after asking about ten people, he managed to get some information about a warehouse that he apparently spended some of his time in, this was a real pain, searching around for someone, who he didn't really know all to well, and he wasn't even sure if he was there or not. He searched around for a further ten minutes, until he found it, it wasn't too late, but it was getting dark, so he wasn't sure if he would be to happy about seeing him, but he had to go through with it now.

He slowly approached the large warehouse, hoping to see any sign of life, but couldn't see anyone. Half of him hoped that Arawn wasn't here, but he had to try, so he went up to the huge door, do i knock? He stood there for a moment and then knocked on the door three times, and nervously announced himself "hello? It's me, Bishamon" his eyes glanced around the area hoping that a reply would be fast, and not keep him waiting.

There was sounds of footsteps from the other side of the door before it swung open. A short haired brunette with eyes like a fly's stepped through the open doorway. She stood there a moment and observed Bishamon. She reached into the pocket of here white lab coat and pulled out a phone. She pressed a button
"Arawn, it's some guy named Bishamon." she spoke into the receiver. There was quiet for several seconds before a male voice spoke up.
"Bishamon?" there was a pause. "Oh, yes! Bishamon!! Yes, go ahead and show him in." Arawn's voice said through the phone.
"Come on." she spoke before turning back into the warehouse. She didn't look behind her as she navigated the small maze of boxes and shelves leading to the back of the warehouse. The area they came to had be completely cleared of the obstacles and now had a corner filled with computer equipment and a couple of desks. Otherwise it was a very wide open area. One could see all the way to the high ceiling and open skyl Sitting at one of these desks was Arawn in his own white lab coat. He spun around in his swivel chair as they approached. He gave a half smile to Bishamon and the woman.

"Thanks Simone." he said "And welcome Bishamon to my laboratory." Arawn stood and gestured to the empty space. He gave a small chuckle. It wasn't much to look at. But it was a place he could call his own to some extent. "I figured you might have forgotten about me after our first meeting." Truth was Arawn had nearly forgotten about him. "But I figure you've been busy settling into your squad." Arawn too had been quite busy. Actually he had been injured and unable to do anything for the last few weeks. Now he was getting back into the swing of things. It seemed fitting that Bishamon had sought him out now. If he had come sooner he would have been in no condition to teach.

Bishamon flinched slightly as the large door flung open, he opened his mouth to say hello, but the short haired brunette, didn't seem interested in the slightest. Bishamon watched as the woman pulled out a phone, he held his breath as they waited for a reply; he let out a small sigh of relief when Arawn confirmed that he still remembered him. Bishamon rubbed the back of his head, and opened his mouth, about to ask the woman a question, but yet again he was ignored as the woman told him to follow, and then turned her back and began walking, he let out a quiet chuckle and then followed.

His eyes wandered around the warehouse as he was guided through it. It was a bit of a mess, with all the boxes and shelves, but Bishamon wasn't one to keep his place, particularly tidy anyway, so he couldn't complain. They came to an open place at the back of the warehouse, Bishamon saw the red haired shinigami Arawn as soon as they came into sight of him, he gave him a nod, and tilted his hat forward.

In truth he settled into his squad fairly quickly, so he could of came earlier, but he lacked the motivation to come here, but that did provide him with a good excuse "yeah, your right, sorry about taking so long", he looked around the warehouse, they could of made small talk, but Bishamon wasn't a fan of that, "so, i was wondering, if i could take you up on that offer, you know that technique you shown me a while back, could you, teach me it?" he was slightly hesitant, it did sound like he was being a bit rude; being so direct like that.

A grin played across the older man's face. Eager and to the point, good.
"We might have a bit of ground to cover so might as well get straight into it." Silently he walked away from the computers and desk and stood in the empty portion of his work space. Arawn raised his hand and motioned for Bishamon to join him.
"For me to properly teach you this skill, there is a small requirement." he focused on his feet and then took a step onto the air like a invisible stool-step was placed before him. "First you need to learn to use the minute Reishi control we do have." Arawn had barely come into using the skill himself, but he felt comfortable enough to teach it to someone else. He took moment to collect his thoughts, he wanted to make it easy as possible. The better Bishamon understood it, and the easier it might be to actually do.
"The reishi I speak of is similar to the atoms of molecules the makes up items in the living world. Everything in Soul Society is made of such. So they're everywhere." As he spoke he took another step higher. "It's similar to how we can detect spiritual powers around us." Arawn laughed at himself, since his own skill at detection was less than average. "Filter out those larger signals and feel energy around you." He released his hold and dropped back to the ground
"Now shift try to shift those particles. The trick is to focus them on your feet. Don't think about where you're going to step, imagine you're standing on solid ground where ever you walk." There was more to it, but keeping it simple was the best way to get the point across.

Difficult, complex, tricky, these words and more like them, came to mind as he watched Arawn, pretty much walk on thin air, he was so infused with watching Arawn, he nearly missed what he was saying, but he snapped back into focus, and listened to what the man had to say. Bishamon understood what he was saying, but he knew that it sounded a lot easier than it was, however, he wasn't going to get anywhere if he just stood there, he needed to give it a try, but he wan't great at using his spiritual pressure like this, he was average at best at it, regardless he began, he sensed around for the spiritual pressure, now filter out the larger signals, this wasn't easy, as the people in the warehouse where giving of spiritual pressure, but after a moment, he thought he got it, now shift that energy to my feet, which also proved difficult, but due to learning kidou, he wasn't completely clueless how to do this.

After a long minute, he slowly lifted his left leg, about to take a step, imagine, i'm walking on solid ground, he left his foot float in the air, and then tried to put some pressure on it, he then tried to take a step, it was an odd sensation, both of his feet left the ground for a split second, until he fell back down to the ground, he took a few deep breathes, and whipped the sweat from his forehead, and smiled "well that didn't work"

"Don't worry it was only your first try." Arawn consoled him. "I had alot of trouble with it when I first tried it." Yes, he had failed horribly when he attempted to use it. Of course it took alot of practice before he could employ it causally. "Try to take it slow. First hold up one foot and then move to both. When you can keep yourself aloft for a minute you should be fine." He took a moment and thought about his words. "Actually when you think about it, you don't need that long. In most instances I've used it for a few seconds at best. It's an interesting way to stop yourself from falling." Arawn shook his head and tried to get back on track.
"Anyway, like I said; try to think of solid ground under your foot each time. If it helps image stepping on a stone or something firm." The point of the exercise was for him to get a feel for the reishi in the air. Even if he wasn't successful in standing on them the fact he almost did, was more than enough to continue with their lesson. Still there wasn't any harm in Bishamon learning the skill completely. The better he got at it, the easier the next step would be for him. They had time, there was no need to rush things. Trying to rush could only make things worse.

Bishamon nodded, solid ground, underneath my feet, he slowed down his breathing, and composed himself, shift the particles, like stepping stones, he once again lifted up his leg, so it was floating, in the air, he let it just stay there for a moment, and then tried to lift his second leg, but nothing happened, he just dropped down again "arghh, one second, i think i got it." He repeated the process, but tried to slow down a considerable amount, he wasn't sure if that would help any, regardless, he tried once again.

This time both of his legs, did stay afloat, for a mere two or three seconds, but it was visible that he did something, it was incredibly difficult, to stay balanced, he swayed to the right and the left, and then fell off, face first into the ground. He slowly got to his feet, rubbing his face, he wasn't sure if he succeeded at the technique somewhat, or if he just succeeded in making a fool of himself, "damn it, that's hard, you got any more tips?"

Scratching his head Arawn thought about it for awhile. More tips? There wasn't much more he could say about the matter. While he could go through the more complex explanation it was too long and the jargon alone confused Arawn himself. Why use terms he barely understood? He rubbed his chin and the idea came to him.
"I don't have any more tips, but I can do something to aid you." he smiled and then shouted over his shoulder "Simone! Can you bring me my sword?" There was silence. "Simone!?" Arawn spun in place to look. The computer and desk were empty, but he noticed a white piece of paper across the screen. He walked over to the work area until the print was visible.

Out to lunch <3

Arawn sighed. He wasn't mad she was gone, but he was agitated that she hadn't asked if he wanted anything. With a shrug he took down that note and threw it into the trashcan below. He walked over to the corner and retrieved his sheathed zanpukto propped against the wall. Tucking the weapon into the sash at his waist, and returned to Bishamon in the practice area.
"Two methods to choose from; hard or soft. Your choice of course."

Hard or soft? Bishamon stood there and stared at Arawn, thinking what could he mean, and why does he need his zanpakuto, does he plan to fight, a zanpakuto isn’t really good for much else than fighting, so why is he bringing it out, Bishamon shrugged "erm, soft i guess" he wasn't going to question what Arawn was doing, surely if he thought it could help it would, well he hoped it would. And the reason for picking soft was, well because, it sounded a lot more comforting than hard.

It was slightly worrying how the shinigami had his zanpakuto out and Bishamon didn't, also the woman had left the warehouse, so he could swiftly kill Bishamon and no one would know, Bishamon shook his head, immediately removing that thought from his mind, i must of hit my head harder than i thought.

"Fair enough." He smoothly drew the weapon from it's sheath. Holding the blade aloft he examined the shiny silver. It had been quite awhile since he held or used his weapon. Ha-Rhang had kept it for some time while he recuperated in the hospital. Mentally he bowed to the woman's expert care and then gave the zanpukto a practice swing. There was not denying how 'right' the weapon felt in his hand. Like it was made for him and him alone. But if one were to ask the spirit within the blade the opposite would be said. It denied him ownership, but still he commanded it's power. Pushing that thought aside he focused on the situation at hand. With a flick of his wrist he flipped the blade over his right hand.
"Drift, Haung Long." The spinning blade seemed to slowly turn over his hand and started to shine as it completed it's rotation. The blade curved and shifted. It finished it's circuit around his wrist and as his hand grabbed the handle. The silver zanpukto had vanished now replaced with a 2 foot kukri blade. Arawn grasped the 10 inch handle with both hands and concentrated his energy through the blade. Within seconds the air around the weapon began to shimmer much like the blade as it caught the fading sunlight through the windows high in the walls. Arawn shunpo'd and was next to Bishamon instantly, he touched the flat of the blade against the other man's chest. With his free hand he put his index finger to his lips shushing any possible sound of protest. He held the zanpukto there for several seconds. it doesn't take long for the effect of his weapon to take hold. Bishamon rised from the floor as his earthen bonds are broken. Arawn quickly pulls back the blade and pressed his left index finger against Bishamon's chest and pushes. The young man is sent floating into the air and toward the wall behind him.
"Now that you're in that state, it's hard to move as you wish. Use the reishi on your feet to stop yourself." Arawn instructed.

Bishamon's hand twitched in the direction of his sheathed blade, but he managed to stop it, a natural instinct was all it was, he looked down, and thankfully the blade wasn't penetrating his chest, it was just pressed against it. Due to Arawns fast movement, Bishamon didn't have a good look at the man's shikai, the blade was short and a peculiar shape, but why was he pressing it against his chest, his question was soon answered as he began to float in the air, what was going on, was this the power of the blade, he floated in the air, looking around, in confusion and shock, but then it made sense somewhat, as the shinigami told him to stop himself in the air, using the technique he was working on.

Which did make sense, although floating in the air, was distracting him, but he soon calmed down and started shifting the reishi in the air, to stop himself moving around the room, and it worked, it felt a lot easier, due to the fact that all the weight from his body, had diminished, after about ten seconds of staying perfectly still, the technique ended, he then started swaying in the air after it. He took a few breathes "hey...how do i get down?"

The red haired man smiled as Bishamon finally grasped the objective and halted himself in the air. Arawn had figured that would greatly help the man. Too much focus on his body and not his feet. Silently he was glad he had opted for the 'soft' way. Doing things the hard way may have been equally effective, but would definitely lose some measure of trust. He gave a mental and literal shrug. There were always maybes and it was hard to predict everyone's decisions and thoughts. Best to stick with the simple things.
"It should wear off soon." Arawn responded as he spun the blade in his hand, and then focused again. The weapon flashed once more, but this time it was now a simple silver blade once again. "Make sure you don't forget that feeling. Practice when you can." While he could let him practice longer, he had cleared the first hurtle. Such practice could be done on his own time.
"Once you come down, we'll start the technique." he said as he returned his weapon to it's sheath."

He didn't mind that the effect was still active, he rather enjoyed just floating there, something he could get use to, but his joy was short lived, as the effect ended, and he imideatily plummeted to the earth, barely managing to stay on his feet as he landed, he looked up at Arawn, that's right, the technique, learning this part of it, totally distracted him from the actual technique. He took note to Arawns advice, but didn't seem that enthusiastic about doing more training, but it couldn't be helped, if he was serious about using this technique effectively, he would have to perfect every step. "Okay i think i'm ready" he threw a smile towards the shinigami, even though it didn't seem like it, Bishamon was very thankful for the help, he would be sure to pay back the man for his helpful teaching.

Arawn rubbed his chin and thought of how to best start the next lesson. In this case he decided to take the more technical approach first. It was best the man understood fully what he was working with.
"I told you of reishi before, it's best we address the matter fully now." He paused collecting his thoughts "I compared them to atoms that make up items in the Human's world. This is an apt example as these two are similar to that extent, and to the point can be quite disagreeable. To put it simply when the two meet they tend expel a massavie amount of energy." Arawn had been lucky to witness such a discharge via a Quincy's ability. It was only a documentary, but a valid demonstration none the less. "The technique I created is a way for them to coexist without such dangers." Truth be told he had been lucky to stumble upon it. By chance he had come across the means to stabilize the energy in such a way. If he had been unlucky he wouldn't be there to tell Bishamon of such things.

"Just now you exerted control over reishi, this most we shinigami employ this ability. Our own energies are far more reliable than use of external particles. And that my friend is the secret of the technique. Our own energies!" Arawn stood still and took a deep breath, in the next instant his spiritual pressure flooded from his body. "Reiatsu is a when we issue forth our internal energies; reiryoku. Now we can't fully control reishi like the Quincy, but we have more control over our own energy." Arawn raised his arms and waved them about. "All around us there is reishi and with that reishi trace amounts of my own energy. Using that skill you just demonstrated and our ability to harness our reiryoku." Arawn waved his hand through the air and a blue glow grew around it. With a quick swipe there was a glow blue bar hanging in the air. "This is the result." he said with a grin. "Our energy and the reishi bond enough for us to gain a new level of control. A solid non-volatile material is created. "

It was clear by what the red haired shinigami was saying, he had a lot of experience about every aspect of this, he must of encountered a Quincy, or at least done a lot of research about their race, he watched as Arawn filled the room, with spiritual pressure, enough to make the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. A small grin formed on his face, as Arawn demonstrated the technique, he remembered the last time he attempted this and didn't even get close, but now he had done the necessary preparation, although, he didn't expect it to just work, as soon as he tried it, but he was more than willing to give it a go.

When Arawn finished his explanation, of the technique, Bishamon nodded and tried to let it sink in, "alright, let’s give it a go" he said quietly. He held his right hand out in front of him, and raised his spiritual pressure, and then waved his hand in the air, in the same motion as Arawn did, whilst also applying the concept of the technique he just learnt, there was a blue glow, which did follow his hands movement, however it wasn't as clear as Arawns, nor was it as good to look at, Bishamon then swiped his hand across the air, and a thin bar appeared, it couldn't really be called a bar though, it was more like a twig, which shattered in an instant, Bishamon looked quite concerned that his attempt looked pretty pathetic, "wow, well that didn't go well" he gave an apologetic smile to Arawn.

"Again it takes practice." Arawn repeated. "Instead of the whole hand try just to focus on a singe finger." It was commendable that he tried to emulate Arawn, but the difference in experience was the main factor. Mastery as a whole came from small steps. "As you progress add another finger. I suggest you work on control first, and then duration." Using the technique was taxing as the user was constantly exerting their reiatsu to keep making the shapes.
"Much like the other technique you'll want to use this ability seconds at a time. Keeping it active for long periods can wait. You want to aim for efficiency in it's use overall. Since you're a close range fighter, you'll be constantly on the move. Staying still could be the end of you, even with these defensive walls." To illustrate his point Arawn raised his index finger and made several slashes in the air. The air began to fill with 3 thin blue bars.

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In the next second he drew bars to fill in the wide gaps between them. By the eighth second there were almost no gaps between the bars. There was now a crude blue square in front of him.
"More fingers might be faster, but this is less strain."

Even though Arawn was right, it did take practise, to use such a technique, or any technique for that matter, but still, the difference in the two as they preformed the technique, was beginning to get a little embarrassing, although Bishamon knew he wasn't it seemed like the shinigami was showing off, somewhat, but Bishamon listened to the man, and then once again thought about what to do.

Right, nice and easy, Bishamon once again stuck out his hand in front of him, and then raised his spiritual pressure again, then as Arawn did, stuck his index finger out, and waved it in the air, so a blue glow followed it, he then preformed a few swipes with it, trying to once more to imitate Arawn, he created 2 thin bars, as opposed to Arawn's three, they still looked brittle, and easy breakable, but they did last longer, than the previous one he made, but it still shattered in about five seconds, this was frustration to say the least, but as the shinigami said, this technique was taxing, and Bishamon began to feel the effects, as his breathing got heavier, and sweat began to drip from his forehead, "well, this is a lot more difficult than i thought it was going to be."

To the man's statement he chuckled. It was difficult even for him, it must be even more difficult for someone new to concept of reishi control.
"Nothing worth doing is ever easy." Arawn quoted. Cliche as it sounded, it was quite true. He flashed a smile and patted Bishamon on the shoulder. "Don't worry, it's new even to me, but I have a feeling if you apply yourself I'm sure you'll be able to use it actively in battle." Arawn looked up at the windows, darkness had completely fallen. How long had they been at it? Time flies when you're having fun.
"Well we've covered the basics, I might as well explain the rest before we call it a night." he moved over to the desk in the corner. He motioned for Bishamon to take a seat and rest. No need to tax himself even harder. "Saigo no hame, a name given thanks to a departed friend, is it's official title. As I explained it similar to the Quincy ability to create weapons from thin air. For the most part anything made with this technique is only as strong as the user. So the stronger you get, the stronger it can be as well. But despite what strength you can muster the duration is alarmingly short. I guess that's the price we pay for trying something outside the realm of our expertise." Arawn chuckled, but quickly stopped. "Last, but not least these objects are not moveable. Defying gravity they only exist at the point of their creation." He pointed at the now fading blue shape. "That aside it interferes with casting ability, as I showed you last time." There wasn't much else he could tell the young man. The rest came down to practice and application. "This is as new to you as it is to me, the only thing that separates us now is experience. Feel free to come here for advice or practice. "

Still taking a few breathes; he took the seat that Arawn offered him. And as he caught his breath, he listened to Arawn's final teachings of the technique's, he was surprised that it was still a new technique to the shinigami, from what Bishamon could see, he looked like he mastered it, but all he could compare it to, was his own sloppy attempt at the technique. Just as Arawn took note of the time of day, Bishamon realised that he had overstayed his welcome, Saigo no hame, this was the technique, he was attempting to learn, he told himself to remember the name.

As soon as Arawn finished speaking Bishamon stood up from the chair, by now he was breathing easier, but he was still quite tired, "well, i'm once again in your debt. I don't know how helpful i can be, but if you need me to do anything, don't hesitate to ask." He threw a thankful smile to the man, "i better be off, i will work on Saigo no hame" he began to walk off, and gave a final wave to the man, and saw himself out of the large warehouse, taking a few wrong turns in the process, but quickly found the way out.

Alone in his lab Arawn leaned back in his chair. Bishamon didn't owe him anything, as he had said; he did enjoy teaching. If the man managed to make something of himself, that would be payment itself. He had felt the man's spiritual power. There was no doubt he had gotten stronger since they last met.
"He definitely had potential." Arawn muttered and then shrugged. With grin he stood and drew his sword from his waist. If he wasn't careful the student would definitely surpass the teacher. "I can't slack off with the kid around." He gave the blade several practice swings. He laughed. "Good thing I have plenty more tricks up my sleeves." He returned his sword to it's sheath and dug a small round crystal out of his pocket. His grin widened. "Plenty of tricks."