Dominance

Kaito sat before his zanpakutou once again in the meadows where no one could disturb him, "Looks so peaceful out here...I'm glad I chose this spot after all" he nodded his head reaffirming his decision. Placing his blade into the ground in front of him, the peculiar young man observed the plain physique of his unsealed zanpakutou; in a way he was aware of the symbolic connection it had with him. He could feel that the connection between his zanpakuto and himself had grown especially since he had reached his potential Kaito found it important that he unearth the blade's latent power. Heaving a small breath as he took in the crisp air around him, the shinigami sat before his blade cross-legged and opened his consciousness to the spirit's mind as he had done previous times. Closing his eyes, he felt as a wave of reiatsu that had become familiar to him envelope him and when he opened his eyes he was in the magnificent inner world where the zanpakutou spirit resided. As he walked down the stained glass path with his hand tucked away in his pockets he noticed that there were small changes around him within the world; although they were minor details that one would normally have to search for Kaito could almost feel the change.

Finally after several minutes of walking upon the path, he came to the crossroads which had appropriately been named by himself, "The Station of Beginnings" because it was here that he had first found the resolve to move forward with his own intentions. Several moments within the stifling air was enough to agitate the lazy young man into calling out into the darkness, "Oi! Cycolops! Show yourself! I don't have all day to be messing around with the likes of you" he angrily explained. The reason for his brashness towards his zanpakuto spirit was that it had always been a platonic relationship from the start between the two beings; their existence was strictly based on the need of power to accomplish their respective goals. Not that Kaito would have minded forming a relationship with his zanpakutou, but the spirit had made it impossible for such a bond to shared which suited the shinigami fine since he mostly was interested in its power. The ringing that had begun with Kaito's voice had finally quieted down and Kaito heard a cracking noise above him, "About damn time you showed your eyeball again, you idiot..." he muttered while cleaning out his ear with his pinky finger. Turning slowly towards where the noise had been emanating from, the shinigami caught sight of the spirit whose power he sought out; the ambitious blob, Á Bao A Qu.

A piercing eye stared back down at him from within the safety of the jaws that hung above and below it, the detached hands floated listlessly to its sides, the overwhelming reiatsu that emanated from the spirit's direction all felt familar to the shinigami. His hakama fluttered under the weight of the excessive amount of spiritual pressure filling the place, but Kaito remained unfazed by the impressive display of power. "You have come before me again...this is odd since you have never made it appoint to communicate with me so frequently before...what has happened? Why are you so eager to appear before now, Kaito?" the booming voice erupted from spirit despite that it had no mouth. Turning his body fully in the direction of the spirit, Kaito explained with a bit of embarrassment, "I have reached my peak...there's really no other way to get stronger than to master you...which in and of itself quite troublesome...". Silence filled the void around them as the antagonizing looking spirit seemed to be contemplating what its master had said, "By the way...don't you think you could get a more appealing image? I mean, you look like a villain's zanpakutou...you sure that's okay?" he asked in an attempt to lighten the mood. Immediately after saying it, Kaito could feel as the eye began to glower at him; anger became the dominant nature of the atmosphere around him as he awaited the booming voice to roar at him once again.

As he flinched at the voice of the spirit he realized that it was not yelling that was taking place, "Kaito...what do you believe is the greatest nature of power that one can possess?" the spirit asked him pointedly. The surprised look on the shinigami's face made it evident that he hadn't been prepared for anything close to a conversation, removing his hands from his pockets he rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "Well, I suppose a power that could change the world as the user sees fit..." he answered halfheartedly. When he looked up towards the spirit again he was met by the ominous presence of a bulging, veined eye staring only inches away from him, "What the hell?!" he shouted as he scampered a few feet away from where he was standing, "I told you that you look shady!" he pointed accusingly before taking a breath and regaining his composure. A thoughtful hum escaped Á Bao A Qu's being and although Kaito wasn't connected to his zanpakutou as most shinigami were he moved closer with a look curiosity on his face, "Why did you ask me that in the first place? Isn't that kind of answer apparent to an eye that sees everything and wants everything?" he pressed; he could sense that he had missed the point. The eye that had been watching him unwaveringly remained silent and the shinigami remained rooted to the ground as he returned the stare with equal intensity.

"Hmm...at what price would you be willing to accept a power that...as you say changes the world, Kaito?...would you be willing to accept that the availability of your power is determined by time rather than your own will?" the spirit asked. As the confused boy looked at the eye, he could see his own image reflected perfectly within its pupil; clenching his fist nervously Kaito tried to see where the zanpakuto could be taking the conversation. When some time had passed he sighed while scratching his head dejectedly, "Power is only what you make of it...the greatest power in a fledgling's hand is not as dangerous as the lamest power in the hands of a genius...conditions to that power are simply part of the deal" he rebutted the spirit's claim. Before he could react, he had become encased in a glass bubble of reiatsu and lifted several feet from the ground, "What are trying to do now? Look...all I wanted to do was to get the next level of power from you...I don't know why you are wasting our time..." he cursed. At his disrespectful outburst Á Bao A Qu's eye reddened around the edges and an angry burst of reiatsu exploded in the spirit's wake; the reiatsu created a gale that forced Kaito to cover his eyes in case anything struck him.

"Why can't you understand what I am trying to tell, you simple insignificant boy?!" the spirit yelled at him as the stained glass shattered and fell away into nothingness; Kaito felt the true ferocity of the spirit's ambition as the waves of spirit energy blew past him. In the chaos that surrounded him, the bubble that held Kaito suspended in the air protected him from any harm, but his own anger flared within him as he stood up defiantly in the bubble. "Then why don't you simply come out and say what it is that you are trying to say instead of cowering behind riddles?" he shouted from within the confines of the bubble and then to his surprise the bubble shattered. In the quick second of weightlessness, Kaito looked into the eye of his zanpakutou as he fell to what he thought was going to be his death, "So that's how it ends...my life becomes forfeited to my own zanpakutou...how fitting..." were the final words that flashed in his mind as he fell towards oblivion. As he fell he heard the voice of his zanpakutou radiating within his skull and all around him, "Instead of accepting your death, call forth your power and use your own strength to save yourself!" the spirit told him. A spasm shot through Kaito as he raised his hand towards Á Bao A Qu and whispered with a smile as his hair flicked past him during the accelerated descent, "Omoi O Terashimasu...Á Bao A Qu..".

As he finished the release command, spirit energy gathered into his extended hand in small purple strands until finally a chokuto that was all black appeared within his hands; Kaito gripped it to see if it truly was his zanpakutou. The feeling of power spread through his core as he observed the single eye shaped insignia inscribed into the blade steel of the blade, "I see...so that's what you meant...I've been short-sighted it would seem..." he cheerily smiled. By gathering reiatsu into the weapon in his hand, the chokuto began to glow with a dull indigo haze around it, "Gokuin" he whispered into the rushing current of air around him. Within an instant, the young shinigami found himself entrapped within a glass bubble of reiatsu and he felt himself rising back up the current towards the zanpakutou spirit once again; the feeling of power didn't leave him once he was level with the ominous looking creature. "What you meant...is that the greatest nature of power is one that it accessible at all times...one that can be used at a moment's notice, isn't that right, Á Bao A Qu?" he asked even though he knew the answer. "So you finally understand, shinigami. Now we can truly ascend to the ranks to which were meant to...be ready Kaito-san..." the voice faded as the inner world around Kaito dissolved away until he was back within his own consciousness.

Opening his eyes, Kaito sat before a blade that was not the same as the one that he had set into the ground before his experience; the black chokuto blade gleamed brightly as the sun's ray's reflected off the midnight colored surface. As the cheery soul stood up to sheathe it he realized that even the sheath for the blade had changed and he smiled even more as he removed the blade from the ground which had supported it. "So now I have attained the highest level of shikai possible huh..." he said to no one in particular as he folded his arms. Looking out over the horizon, he could feel as the power resonated deeply within the core of his soul; the power of ambition was at his belt and he knew that he had no reason to shirk away from his own desires when he had this power at his side.


Third Shikai Ability:

Constant Release: Due both in part to Kaito's large reserves of spiritual power and his newfound connection with his zanpakutou, the blade, Á Bao A Qu remains in shikai state constantly. This gives Kaito immediate access to all of the zanpakuto's abilities and the physical description of the blade is changed to its unsealed state. Furthermore this means that any bonuses Kaito gets in the release of shikai are immediately added on since the blade is always released.