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| - After almost a month of wandering aimlessly with no real destination in mind, Kenji and his group passed through a village so small and remote, that it barely deserved the right to be called a village. The houses were spaced apart, with each person having a small patch of greenery out front with plenty of room for trade to flow. The tracks indented in the ground showed that carts passed through often. Looking around with a slight interest in where the closest tavern would be, Kusaka rolled his eyes when he looked back and glimpsed Kenji and Ino whispering sweet nothings in each others ear. They'd been like that since they left to try and lose that damned Arrancar Screamer. "We should've went back and fought him, but whatever." Kazuma basically slithered up, still a little sore over the beating he'd gotten the other day. Ever since Anna Rosenkrantz helped him acquire his Shikai, he'd been driving everyone half mad with those vines he could control. "How come it's always little villages like this we end up coming to? It's pretty boring. I wanna see a city!" The thought of Anna, though, made Kusaka think of Van Satonaka. He was strong. Strong enough to make Kenji fight all out. I'd like to fight him...". Kusaka thought with a grin before turning to face Kazuma. "Well, you'll see one eventually, Kazuma. Believe me, kid. Okay, tavern, tavern..." Kusaka replied enthusiastically. "Ah there we go! Yo, lovebirds! Found the tavern! Stop declarin' your undyin' love for one another and get your butts over here!" "Well aren't you subtle." Kazuma whispered, but made himself look innocent when Kusaka turned to glare at him. "What's wrong? C'mon, you still owe me a drink!" Running to the door, Kazuma edged it open and vanished inside. Muttering a string of curses, Kusaka walked after him, vanishing through the door. Sighing, Kenji turned to face Ino. "You go on ahead. I've still gotta find that hollow we took the contract out on." He kissed her briefly before his human body vanished in a flash of sparks. "I gotta admit, that's handy." With that he was gone, flash stepping over the small villagers oblivious to his presence. His appearance while in Shinigami form had changed in the last month. Instead of the long hair he once sported, Ino had given him a much needed haircut and he'd changed his kimono from black to blue. The back area of his kimono now sported a large symbol of the Ying and Yang. Ino said she liked it, and that was reason enough for him to wear it. The Human World was a marvelous place. No matter how many places he seen, they always seemed different. The people, their individual cultures and believes, their religion and even their food. No one place was identical to the last. It was breath taking. Kenji could still recall the waterfall gushing over the cliff that had taken his breathe away just looking at it. It was pretty amazing how these humans lived in complete and utter ignorance to the unseen world. Hollows walked their streets at night, spirits slipped from alley to alley without them being so much as aware of them and Shinigami walked among them in Gigai's. When a hollow was struck down and a small gust of wind accompanied the killing blow, the humans walked on as though it were a freak increase in the wind speed! It was truly laughable. Landing atop a small telegraph pole, Kenji took a look out across the horizon. Clouds filled the skyline as long as his eye could see and each fluffy shape that resembled a sheep promised rain. "Great, more rain. I'd better wrap this up quickly then. It's only a small hive of hollow, so it shouldn't be a problem." He stopped mid-flash step though, when an energy he recognized appeared silently beside him. "Kazuma?" Kenji asked quietly. "I said I'd handle this one." The kid was too eager for his own good. "Sensed me?" He floated in the air using Shunpo, pushing his index fingers against one another, eyes downcast and posture slouched. He now wore a yellow kimono instead of his traveling clothes which now, because of a slight growth spurt, no longer fitted him. The kimono had been hand sown by Ino, and given to Kazuma as a present. His hair was also styled differently, with spikes at the front fringe and a short ponytail at the black; again Ino's influence. Sensing a question, Kenji asked him what was on his mind. "Well, it's been about a month since I learned my Shikai...but I haven't gotten much stronger." Disappointment was evident in his tone. Kenji suppressed a laugh, but allowed his fool grin to show. He placed his hand on Kazuma's shoulder and shook his head. "Kazuma, someone doesn't just gain strength overnight, you know. It takes hard work, patience and willpower." He looked around for an example and nodded when he spotted a cocoon hanging not two feet from him. "See that cocoon? It needs to spend time in its protective cocoon before it can grow into a butterfly. Gaining strength is the same way. Sometimes, you just gotta sit back and your time will come...but we've never believed in that, have we?" His entire face lit up, his blue eyes shining. "Nope! You've always said that I should try my hardest, even when the strong guys show up!" And he did just that. After-all, the little Shinigami almost lost his life when Kenji lost control and his Inner Hollow wrestled control from him. Anyone else of the same level would've run for the hills instead. Kenji arched an eyebrow though. "That wasn't what you came here for, was it? If you wanna come with me, Kazuma, all you hafta do is ask." Both vanished, their footfalls echoing slightly on solid Reishi. The hollow they were supposed to eliminate was a large crystal-like creature of the avian family. And it was supposed to have a small number of other hollow following it around. Kazuma scanned the area intently, eyes moving quickly before stopping at a particular area and then moving on. Even at this pace, he was keeping up without so much as a sign of exhaustion or a word of complaint. He may have moaned about how weak he was physically, but his speed and KidÅ prowess more than made up for it. The youngster drew his zanpakuto which had also changed in the last month. Instead of the short, straight-edged sword it was previously whilst sealed, he now instead kept it sealed in the form of a nodachi with a long blade and handle. The two ground themselves to a halt, eyes looking for a large, crystalline bird. "Kenji? I was wondering If you'd train me harder?" Ignoring the scanning completely, Kenji turned to Kazuma with an unsure look. "I'll train you harder, but I need to know what your aiming for. What brought all this on, Kazuma? 'Cause we push you in training as it is." The youngster clenched his fists tightly, knuckles going white. His forehead was furrowed as though thinking a response and his arms were quivering in anger. "...I want to be a help to you and Kusaka! I'm fed up being the one who sits on the sidelines as you two save me." Kenji nodded before firing a Byakurai from his fingertip to down a flying hollow. "Listen to me, Kazuma. We all have strengths and we all have weaknesses. Out of the people I know, there's only one who thinks things through more than you do, and that's Sojiro Kori. You've got a brain that you use, exploiting weaknesses and capitalizing on your own strengths. What a warrior needs isn't strength. If they can out think their enemies, then that's half the battle won. Well talk about this later, eh? We've got a hollow to kill." Kazuma followed Kenji eagerly as they landed lightly on the ground, Kenji kicking up a light amount of dust as his feet skidded on the ground. Directing his senses outward, Kazuma could sense the hollow closely, feel there movements and discern their locations. "There's a pretty powerful one heading our way now, Kenji. A few others to." He said calmly, his heart steady despite his anticipation. The youngster set his sealed zanpakuto on his shoulder and grinned. "Grow Wildly, Chiikioi." He uttered, his sword remaining the same nodachi shape, but an aura of nature energy surrounded him. Kenji nodded, but elected to keep his own sword sealed, instead calling on Kyo's energy and entering the initial form of the release. His eyes turned crimson and his spiritual power gained strength. "Show me what you've got Kazuma. You can sense them, right? Show 'em hell!" Kazuma took a deep breathe as he crouched down, hand touching the ground briefly. Since learning more about Chiikio himself, Kazuma was able to feel whatever anything related to nature felt. Trees, plants, the water in the river or the very earth itself. He could feel them all, been those feelings to his will and manipulate them as he seen fit. A large, crystaline bird appeared in the skies, a flock of smaller birds behind it. At Kazuma command, a multitude of vines shot from the ground, ensnaring the smaller hollows and constricting them so tightly, that they were crushed and simply vanished. With his hand still placed on the ground, the young Shinigami slowly brought it up, a large clod of the earth rising with it. In seconds, the earth was sharpened under his spiritual energy, until it resembled a large, earthen sword roughly twice the size of Kazuma himself. The first time he'd used this attack was when he fought Anna and then it had been used on pure instinct and spur of the moment. It was as though he'd been born innately with the ability, but hadn't grasped the basics until that one moment of awareness that came when he first released. The images flowed through his mind and did so on occasion... Kazuma saw everything in a slow blur. Anna's word reached his ears slowly, her sword rose slowly and his heart pounded slowly in his chest. "She's right...what did that voice say? Put your mind together with mine and look forward? How do I do that? I don't know?" Kazauma though. "I can't even move my arm. My sword...where's my zanpakuto?" "So now you call for me. It is naught but pointless fear and doubt that hold you back. Discard that which you do not need and find that which is necessary! Nothing can be born from fear and doubt! Look forward, Kazuma! Shout it out. My name is...!" Kazuma slowly rose to his knees. When he raised his head, his eyes glowed a fantastic light blue hue as spiritual energy surrounded him. "Grow Wildly, Chiikioi!" His sword remained the same, but vines began to sprout from the ground around him, forcing Anna to leap back. Being lifted and somewhat rejuvenated, Kazuma grinned. "My zanpakuto? Ha. Anna, I owe you thanks. Without you, I wouldn't have gained this. So please dodge this...because I don't think i can hold back!!" A large blade of sharpened stone flew forward at a glaring speed. During that battle, everything seemed to happen as though he himself was an outsider looking in. He had been aware to a degree of what his body was doing, but it was as though his zanpakuto had taken control momentarily to show him the way. With his mind still focused on the past, Kazuma recalled the very first time he'd initiated Jinzen with the stalwart presence of his mentor Kenji overlooking his progress... Kazuma stood alone in a large, overgrown forest. His Inner World, a place where the trees pierced the heavens and rivers flowed loudly through the trees. Birds chirped happily as they flew, one landing briefly on Kazuma's hand before flying off to join its mate. And there, dressed in nothing but the forests vines, stood the spirit form of Chiikioi. Kazuma once thought of his zanpakuto as "he" but it wasn't a "she" either. Chiikioi was whatever form it wished, whether that be male or female. Now, she stood in her female form. "Young Master?" Her voice boomed throughout the trees, kicking up leaves and providing a descent wind. "You have come. Why?" "I want to learn more about you, about my abilities...and about myself." He said the last with a slight hint of hesitation. Chiikioi smiled warmly and walked down towards Kazuma. "So it is knowledge you seek...Knowledge is power, Young Master. With it, one can shape not only their own future, but those of others. Knowledge can also be dangerous to those who would misuse it. Tell me, why do you seek knowledge?" Kazuma looked her straight in the eye. "I want to be able to help my friends. When Kenji was overcome by his Inner Hollow I was almost killed because I wasn't ready. Because i wasn't strong enough. Every-time a major event occurs, I stand aside like a frightened child! Only by learning from you and about my power, can I be a help to anyone." Seemingly pleased, Chiikioi turned her back and vanished into the form of a bird before re-appearing atop a tree. "Then engrave my image in your mind and look forward. Only then, will the understanding of your powers come to you. Go Kazuma, never look back. Look to the future and never stop. Heed my words, and grow strong!" His eyes sprang open, revealing Kenji's smiling face and welcoming hand as he pulled the youngster to his feet. "You did well, Kazuma. Come on, time to put what you learned into practice." Kazuma opened his eyes and slashed his zanpakuto down vertically, the earthen sword flying towards the crystalline hollow and striking it clean in two with a single strike! The others who weren't killed by his vines, were sliced to ribbons as the sword suddenly crumbled, the individual shards piercing them together. With a single wave of his sword, Kazuma sheathed it and looked towards Kenji who nodded his head at a job well done. "Let's head back. We'll get our payment later." And with that, both vanished back towards the village...
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