Pyromania (solo)

As per every lesson on self taught Kido, one has to study first. Today was a day completely dedicated to that very idea. To train himself to improve enough so that he wasn't still in this Academy forever. How long has it been? Forever probably. It probably wouldn't be so bad if he didn't have an anchor. Though, that wasn't important. Even if he remained in the Academy forever, he would be sure to improve. To improve and improve until he was the God of Academy Students. What better art was there to be a God of the Academy other than the right sorts of spells? The mighty were governed by their might, but the truly powerful were feared for just what they could do without their sword. It was all about the technique and it was thanks to his affinity that he in such agreement with this ideology.

Sitting down, the boy still looked a mess. He had a black eye-patch over his left eye that was black and sleek and he had a bandage over his forehead down to his temple. Despite his injured look, he was actually in excellent shape considering the level of his injuries. 8 skull fractures and a concussion wasn't something most people would mostly recovered from so soon. Then again, he had the Kido of the staff to thank for his recovery...As if he would ever thank them for doing what they were supposed to be doing.

Lately, the amount of squabbles were about the same...But the level of his opponents was different. He'd broken a personal record when a Vice Captain became an opponent. Maybe next time he'd get lucky and wrestle a Captain in Kido. But, before he went about challenging more foes stronger than himself, he would need to fine tune some things. That was the reason he was here at the Kido training area.

There wasn't anyone around, because he'd chosen a place where he was sure no one would be around. He was sitting, legs crissed-crossed, with his hands together as he was focusing. The sky was pretty clear, without even a lofty cloud overhead, and the area he had to train in was very empty. He did need some place where he wouldn't accidentally damage the property around him. He was playing with a very volatile element today. Fire was the dish of the day.

Tataki had managed to completely control his breathing. Breathing was of the most important. With a calm heart there was a focused mind. Whenever he went about practice or learning, this was always the beginning. Next, was the refining. Tataki closed his eyes as he held out his right hand with his left clasped around his right wrist. Focusing on his inner energy, he dived right down into his Spiritual Energy letting it engulf his entire body. The light of his released energy was cool and calm. It was a faint crimson orange at the moment and was slowly spiraling it's way down his arm to his palm. The point of this exercise was to bring about a "shift" in his power. Only when he could nature his spirit could he ever hope to cast a strong, elemental power. You couldn't shoot an arrow with a hammer. You needed an arrow and a bow. Only the right properties warranted the wanted effect.

It was a bit demanding. He could feel a bit of pressure against his intentions. He was more used to using Lightning, that was for sure. The using one element when you are used to another is like trying to write with your left hand. Tataki could hear his breathing pick up and feel his heart quicken slightly. There was warmth. Warmth spreading throughout his entire body as he was attuning his energy to the desired element. At this rate, Tataki would set himself on fire. With an exasperated sigh he dropped his arm and cut the process there. Slipping a hand through his hair he had to think of another way to go about this. "Fire. What is so special about fire?" He pondered, trying to figure another way to look at this scenario. What was another way to look at fire? Thinking, he fell back on his back and his legs were freed. Extending his arms out he looked up at the clear, clean sky.

"Fire. Flame. Blaze. Inferno. Combustion. Ignition...Ignition?" The last word had a strange familiarity about it. "Starting. The beginning. A kick-push..." Where was this going? He didn't know, but he felt on a roll for some reason. Slowly sitting up he looked at his hands, clenched a fist, then opened them again. He repeated the process over and over, closing and opening faster at a steady consistent pace. "Bursts." For some reason, the word came to mind. Tied with the very first word Fire, the word burst stood out in his mind. Fire was different. There were only so many similarities between Lightning and Fire and there were so many more differences. He was doing this spell as he would the White Lightning. It wasn't the White Lightning. There wasn't the need for a necessary build up, was there? When one thinks of them as weapons what is the differences from the fictional Plasma Canon when compared to a Flamethrower? Does a Flamethrower have to charge up? Is a Plasma Canon a set stream like a Flamethrower? Thinking of it that way-

"Let's try it again," Tataki thought, closing both hands to create a fist. He opened them up and realized that there was no need for so much focus, was there? He quickly wrapped his spiritual energy around his hand, imagined "burn" and hoped that his hand wasn't going to be set on fire. With a quick, demanding call for the flame in Tataki's right hand he couldn't help but grin when a small, tiny ember formed. "Well, look at that," He said, moving the tiny flare closer to his face. It looked smaller than a marble. "Like a Flamethrower," Thinking that the initial click-start for the blaze was there all he needed was the fuel. Fire thrived on fuel, no matter the kind or nature, and he had plenty of that. Tataki surged his spiritual energy, just giving it a quick thought as he poured it into his hand to create a short tower of fire.

"All about intention and power, huh?" There wasn't much thought to a Fire Natured spell, now was there? Just blow it all up and burn the rest to ash...It was so simple that he almost laughed at himself for having all that difficulty before. "Well then," Tataki started, closing his hand and the flame died away, "Lets apply this-" He was about to have a little fun. He knew the spell and now knew how to match his spirit to it's flow. All he had to do was apply. "Lets see...How did it go? Oh yeah. So simple: The fires of Hell, a scrap of your power-" As the incantation was recited he was quickly streaming that power down his arm and to his palm, just allowing it to flow. There wasn't any need to focus it or try and chain it down to his will. The fires were growing and he pointed an opened palm before him, while still sitting on the ground, and the flames were swarming wildly. At first it looked like a wild blaze wishing for nothing more than something to burn, but the words were causing the wild blaze to become a sphere. "Another damned soul Or something like that," He said, with a pleased smile as a nice sized ball of fire was formed infront of him. They were a warm orange with red at the base nearest to his flat palm. The orb was just bigger than his fist, but it was very hot.

"Easy," He said swinging his arm and the fireball dissipated. "Let's try a more difficult one," He thought, mulling over the possibilities. For his level, there wasn't exactly a long list of Kido that he could research. The Gotei's Kido was the Gotei's Kido, after all. But, it was only a matter of time before he tapped into those. "1-10," He reminded himself, thinking about the next spell. "There's that one," He said, remembering the name, incantation and even the number. There was an easier way to go about this spell though. He could make a ladder of sorts.

"Fireball," He said, closing his eyes as the experience of only a few moments ago came back to mind. The hot flame and the rush of the energy all in the palm of his hand. It would take a normal person a few tries to be able to summon a spell they just learned on it's name alone, but he could do it. When it came to Kido he was not a slug. The Fireball appeared in his opened palm again and he stood up, keeping it a short distance from his body. "Jeez, is it supposed to be this hot to me as top of every freaking thing?" He said, using his left hand to wipe the perspiration from his forehead.

"Damn it all to hell!" He exclaimed, snatching his hand back as he could feel the hot burn on each and every finger including his thumb. Shaking his hand he walked back a few feet, head held up. Disgruntled wasn't even half of it. Enraged, frustrated, disappointed, annoyed, confused and a little bit of happiness were all melding together to create the most complicated cocktail of emotions that he'd ever had to deal with. It's not like it was easy to take the shortcut he was trying. In fact, it would actually be easier to take the direct approach and do each of them step by step. But...Well, he was too stubborn for that.

"Why is this now working," He asked the sky. He kicked some dirt and clenched his teeth. Well, 6th times the charm, right? "The fires of Hell, a scrap of your power; another damned soul," The incantation was rushed and spoken quickly. He opened his palm and the familiar fireball appeared. It wasn't so appealing now that he'd seen it for the 7th time in a row. It actually was a bit larger this time, being a few inches broader than it was the first, but he still had a long road to trek from there.

"Force the power in, shifting the name-" He thought outloud, as if talking to himself was ever a problem, "Better fucking work. I'm tired of this crap!" He exclaimed, getting tired of the same fail after fail. The fireball started to gain a ring of fire around it that rotated to create a small, growing twister around it. The tip of the sphere became pointed, forming a cone, and the waist slimmed slightly as it was growing slowly. "Focus...Focus," Concentrating on the expansion, he couldn't help but gain that all familiar speck of hope. Just like before each and every fail he had the thoughts It'll work this time. I know what I did wrong. But, just like those 5 previous failures, the ball sparked up and became a nice, uncontrolled ember in his hand to which almost touched his palm and fingers again.

Cutting the power, the flame died. Even though it didn't touch his fingers, it had been close enough to give him an immature 1st degree burn. "Grrrrrr," He growled through clenched teeth as his hand was on fire. The pain wasn't the problem. It was hardly even registering really...It was the fail! He felt his anger reaching a new height.

Swinging his stinging hand he had to think. "Alright, what are we doing wrong..?" Rhetorical, though he honestly had a small want for some bastard to walk up and give him the answer. I'm concentrating too much. Way too much. But, to get from a ball to a abstract I have to change the form. The spell's name changes. That can't just flow out! So what the hell! He'd kick himself if he thought it'd help. His head started to ache, remnants of that wonderful day, and he was soaked in sweat by this point.

Putting his hands on his hips he tried to think of this in a different way. Cursing the skies and the Earth wouldn't give him the answers he was looking for. "Fire. Fire likes to flow, right? What...If I tried this backwards?" He thought, getting a nice idea. Forming the dense fire of the fireball into a shape was more work and more strain on the element than if he were to just try shaping the fire if it were freed from that shape. "I'll rupture it," He thought, his fist closed as he clapped that fist into his opened left palm. He had a nice idea now.

"The fires of Hell, a scrap of your power; another damned soul," The incantation was spoken once more and he allowed the blaze to come to life above an opened right palm. He was getting really good with that kido. He looked at the fireball, thinking about what he was going to try next. Thinking about it, the fire was trapped. Trapped inside that small sphere. It wasn't free and widespread like fire liked to be. It had a form and he was trying to turn this controlled fire into another form. If turning fire into a form was easier than turning fire with a shape into another form, then why not skip a few steps?

"Hado Number 5 • Fireball," Formal name and the propulsion ignition as if he were going to fire the Kido, but he kept it anchored down to his palm. The fireball erupted, right there point blank. Tataki was going to be bathed in those relentless flames as the fireball spanned out and gave away all of it's pent up stress. "Grrrrrrrrrr!" A beastly growl as he focused on those flames. All he had in his mind was "Go". Flow forward in the path that he set and not without direction and crash all over his face.

The flame shot up, becoming a teardrop shape infront of him, and it was just a constant blaze. "Burn of the blades that have been lost," He said aloud, and the blaze started to merge with itself as it started to take on yet another form. From a raw tower of fire to something slimmer and just as dense as the fireball was forming. The flames were hotter now, which only added to Tataki's sweat, and it started to form what looked like a pipe. Eventually, the flames started moving and they crafted a long blade made of red energy with an occasional burst of fire that ran along the edge. The weapon he created matched his Zanpakuto: it was slim, a little over a foot in length, and an ordinary guard. Tataki released the kido and decided to take that same concept, but faster.

"Fireball," He said, creating yet another orb of heat and flame in his hand, "Burn of the blades that have been lost," From the fireball there was an eruption and, faster and without the dangerous and berserk rage of flame, the fireball released it's blaze to have a sword form immediately out of it. It was like it exploded upwards and all the fire braided together to form that slim, glowing blade of flames.

"Hado Number 8 • Blade of Flames," Tataki said, swinging his hand and the blade shot off like an arrow where it stabbed into the ground. It burned there a moment before it ran out of energy and died out. "Heh," He was proud. That characteristic confidence was glowing. Kido was all a matter of skill, talent and understanding. He had it all. "I need a break," He said aloud, blowing out a quick exhale. He still had things to do here.

Tataki extended his hand and, just like with the Fireball, envisioned the Blade of Flames, "Blade of Flames," He said, watching the fire quickly form that elemental weapon. He fired it off in the opposite direction of the last. Similar to the first, it died out only a few moments after being fired.

Tataki had managed to learn the Fireball and the Blade of Flames, but now was time for the advance course. It was now time for him to learn how to use this skills above the average spellcaster. He was going to put his own name on these spells, that was for sure, and make them unique. Wiping his brow again, he decided a fair 25 wouldn't hurt.

His 25 minute break turned into something more like a 3 and a half hour break. He took some time to get some water, a moment of meditation to relax his breathing, and just laid around for a bit as he procrastinated his training. When he was finally tired of laying around, he positioned himself in the same spot and thought over what he was going to do next.

"Amplification. Simple," He said it, as if explaining his next demonstration to some onlooker somewhere. Take a typical Kido and focus on, not simply casting it, making it stronger. In combination of the incantation and manipulating my Spiritual Energy it won't be all that difficult to boost the spell power of those two Kido. That was the theory anyway. Though, amplification wasn't his best subject. Sure, he could cast Kido and he could analyze Kido very well, but he only had so much raw spiritual power to toy with. That meant that there was a limit to just how much he could amplify a spell.

Tataki opened that same palm and, with the palm face down this time, wrapped his left hand around his right wrist. He positioned himself with his legs spread apart and his body leaning forward a bit as he put a lot of effort on his legs. Tataki started to let his energy rush to his hand and, with only the thought to "Spark" he could feel the warmth in only his palm. The flames would come. "The fires of Hell, a scrap of your power; another damned soul" Though his intention was not simply to create the spell. This time, his entire intention was to enhance the spell. As the flames erupted and started to swirl into the all familiar sphere, he let that spiritual energy of his flew out faster and faster. The light orange energy could be seen all around him as he was aiming to bring out the full potential of the spell. The ball of fire grew to become a little more than twice the size of his fist. It was as big as a melon by the time it stopped growing.

"That's it, huh? Even with the incantation?" He was impressed. It was a little bigger than he had hoped. Barely under twice the size was what he guessed would have happened, but it was a nice cantaloupe sized spell. Tataki looked over the sphere of fire and brought his hand up so that it was pointed straight out in front of his body. "Hado Number 5 • Fireball" He said, bracing his legs as he fired off the ball of fire. It exploded, creating a small little eruption of flames, and dug into the dirt to create a long cut in the ground. The earth was scarred dark brown and black where the flames ate at it and the fires vanished shortly after their cast. The explosion was enough to engulf maybe an entire body, with his level of enhancement, but no more. Whether it was the limits of the low-leveled spell or his spiritual energy, there wasn't any way to create a bigger bang than that for Tataki.

Tataki put his hands on his hips, calculating the destruction. "I should try it on someone..." A sinister grin spread across his face as he contemplated throwing such a spell on another student. How would they deal with all that fire? Probably a Bakudo. That was where the next spell came in. Tataki released a warm exhale as he started to rub his hands together as if they were cold.

Tataki put both hands up this time, like he were barring something from passing, and braced himself for the next spell. His energy started to surge as he prepared to cast the next spell. Quickly moving up his body and to his arms he was about to release the exit for the spell. Enhancement. He was going to have to put considerable attention in this next spell. Though he was casting it independently, and not from out of the fireball, it would be easier and more difficult. He wasn't going to try to make form from form, but he was going to have to summon up the necessary fire now.

"Burn of the blades that have been lost," He said, the flames started to immediately manifest in front of his hands. It started off as a small little wisp of flame and started to broaden becoming a long, edged sword of fire. Thinking on it, he concentrated on the form of the fire, something he had been telling himself not to do, but this time it didn't cause the fire to go wild. His focus was properly directed as the sword started to grow longer and broader. From that thin little katana shape came an enormous blazing behemoth. The sword was over 3 feet in length and 5 inches in length making it something that resembled a Claymore blade.

The enormous weapon was hotter than the ball of fire and endlessly burned at the top. The flames rode up from the bottom to the top to create a constantly burning effect on the huge weapon, which was opposite the unfocused spell where the flames were more docile and controlled. As the sword grew, Tataki's heart started to pick up and his breathing was becoming a little quicker. He was sweating more and he could feel the strain this spell played on his body. This one wasn't as easy to amplify as the fireball. It was probably the nature of the spell that led to this reason. It was more adaptable and interchangeable; this was not a spell that was as restricted as many others.

Pushing his hands forward the large weapon bolted forward and became a arrow of complete flame. In that manner the spell was cast incomplete. It couldn't maintain the form. The resulting explosion was due to the release of concentrated fire and it spanned out about the same distance as the Fireball. It just became a flame-like arrow when thrown.

He struggled to regain his breathing and wiped his brow. He looked like he had been running laps after casting that spell. "Jeez," He complained, "Looks like I focused too much. Just have to let it flow out. To take it's form naturally while guided by my energy. Easier said than done when trying to enhance the spell..." He explained to himself. He found out that he could make both the spells larger, but the sword was a little difficult to manage for him. He would have to practice with that some more.

"Whew," He exhaled, "For the finale," He said, realizing that his last spell was going to be put to the test. The combination spell. Using both these skills together, as one, to create a more dangerous attack. "A Fire spell and a Fire spell of my own design won't be all that hard to intensify. I just need to make sure I align them right," He brought his hands together slowly and closed his eyes as he started to gather his energy once more. This was really getting tiring, wasn't it?

Build the power and unify them together, but still keep them separate. If he couldn't combine them while maintaining their separate identities he would wind up with one or the other and not both. "Fireball," He said, pushing his right hand from the prayer like stance that he had only a few seconds before, and the fireball was there, summoned by his word. Shooting it he let it fly, but not at the ground this time.

"Blade of Flame," He said, eyes opening, as quick as he could after firing the spell and, just like that, the ball of fire became a erupting blaze that molded into the sword-like energy and flew twice as fast. His distance spanned almost double the normal limit after performing the changed spell. Tataki swung his firing arm downwards and the sword arc'd and slammed straight into the ground in the direction he swung his arm. The sword could be controlled from that distance. Changing the fireball to the sword of flames midflight allowed for a number of advantages. It applied a stronger penetrating power, speed, and it gave him control and mobility. While created from the fireball it would have that exploding "omph" that the fireball would have. It was a transition from Fireball to Fire Sword and took quite a bit of skill to accomplish. It was all thanks to that practice he had turning fireball into fire sword at the start of his training.

"Damn, that was easy. " He mused, loving the result. The fireball and the fire sword were both their weaker levels, but that combo was perfect. One day, he'd figure out how to do it with their enhanced forms and further still he'd find a way to enhance even their enhanced forms to create a dangerous combination. Interlacing his hands behind his head he leaned back with a cocky laugh.

"Time for a shower!"
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Hado Number 5 • Fireball
-Hado Number 5 • Fireball Enhanced
Hado Number 8 • Blade of Flames
-Hado Number 8 • Blade of Flames Enhanced
Hado Number 5 • Fireball and Hado Number 8 • Blade of Flames Combination

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