[5th]/[5th] Lessons to be Learned

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Seathan Kellar

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Nov 16, 2006
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Word Count - 10163

Wind said that it was okay for me to turn in this finished product as a field practice since me and Sophia had been working on this prior to my acceptance.
Roy - Blue
Sophia - Black

Sweat poured down the side of Roy's face as he finished nailing in the last board for the soon to be left wall of his house. The house was being made with a bit of help from his fellow lower unranked division members, but lately they took a break and left him to do the work by himself. It wasn't an easy task to construct something alone, but he was adamant about getting it done much sooner than later. There came a smile of satisfaction as he took the sleeve of his right arm and wiped the sweat from his face. "Phew. Almost done, just got the roof to do and then I can get started on the interior."

Climbing down the ladder he looked around to find everyone had wondered off to their own devices for the rest of the day. He tossed the hammer aside into the pile of tools before walking over to the bucket full of water a yard or so from his feet and dumping it over his head. The cool water felt great in the hot sunny day as it drizzled down his body and soaked into his clothes. He splashed the water about as he shook his head left and right quickly while letting out a long "Brr." sound. "That's definitely what I needed."

'Looks like it's break time. Can't blame them though, Yukiko did say I can have this house, but she didn't say anyone had to help me build it. These guys were nice enough to give me a hand so far, but I doubt doing any more work today is going to help with "work ethic". After all, we've been hard at this project for five hours straight and going back to work some more isn't something everybody would be willing to do.' A cool breeze then came by to strike against Roy's soaked clothes, chilling the body in the process. The mixture of hot, then cold, and then hot again wasn't a very pleasant feeling. Untying the upper part of his garment, he removed the top gi to expose the red sleeveless undershirt before removing that as well. He slung the two articles of clothing over his right shoulder as he began to walk around. "Looks like I'm going to have to make my way inside somewhere. The house's roof isn't complete and I don't fancy staying out here in the sun any longer than I have to."

Opening the door to the nearest place he could find, Roy found himself in what appeared to be a currently vacant study. There was a conveniently empty desk to which Roy threw his shirt and gi on while he looked about. Piles upon piles of books spanned the already cramped empty room. He noticed that the room itself had very little space that wasn't occupied by the multitude of books, only enough to probably fit a few people. In what he thought was a 'coast is clear' situation, he began to untie the ropes to the bottom section of his uniform so that he could just relax in his gray pants that lay underneath them. Of course, one who saw him trying to take the baggy pant legs covering his other pair may have gotten the wrong idea. 'I hope nobody walks in on me and sees this the wrong way.'


It was the beginning of a rather warm afternoon in the 5th Division, so warm that many of the windows of the building were open for all to view within. Rather than seem unappreciative for the cooler breeze indoors than the one that was outside, Sophia was slightly annoyed with the massive amounts of sunlight showing the inner domains of the 5th Division, but knew it couldn't be helped if she wanted to stay somewhat cool this afternoon.

There was quite a busy day lined up for the noble Shinigami, a fresh pilgrimage to the Central Library allowed Sophia to return a few of the books she had checked out, and on her way back, in tow some nearly thirty or so books for which she would hopefully read over the course of the next few days. It was unlike she'd get through them all in one day, but hopefully by the end of week she'd be capable of finishing the tomes she had collected. Her books read like who's who of books, ranging from huge dictionary like tomes, to smaller paper back novels. However, even the most gifted person would not be able to tell why these exact books were chosen in particular, and not even Sophia knew the logic behind the reason either. They were all random selections of what ever Sophia felt like for the time being.

She had only placed the books down in her study, leaving for the dinning area to collect some refreshments for the long journey of studying that would come in short time. A fresh bottle of water from the refrigerator in one hand, as well as a soda from Sophia's own private stash lay hidden behind the vegetable in the other hand, and she was off back to her study, to begin the long process that wait before her. Paper work was sure to be their as well, but at least the privacy of that which was her study could not disturb her from the joy she'd have reading.

However, that all changed when she noticed a half naked man intruding her own study, his clothing draped over the nice and clean desk she had just cleaned off the day before. Anyone, who was anyone, knew that Sophia's study was off limits to everyone except for Yukiko-taichou and Mai-Fukataichou. Inner working of her personal space was what warranted the privacy that Sophia requested for her daily readings. Thus this unwelcome visitor was more than enough to peak Sophia's anger, "Just who do you think you are?"

The harsh tone of voice from behind almost made him jump in surprise. Roy's body tensed as the years from the Academy instinctively made him stand up straight with his hands placed at each of their respective sides while leaving whatever he was doing at the moment. This only made the encounter worse as his robed "pants" fell down to his shoes; albeit he still had on his regular pair of gray pants, it was an awkward sight nonetheless. He wanted to reach down, pick them up, and get out of there, but at the same time didn't since he was trying to take them off in the first place. A sweat drop trickled down the side of his face during this nervous and strange moment. 'Great going stupid! You've just got yourself caught with your pants down, literally. Wait a second... I wasn't doing anything wrong, I can't possibly get in trouble for something I didn't do. I'll just have to explain to her that I only came in here to change my wet clothes while warming up a bit and this all was an accident. Yeah, this was all just one big mistake. I'm sure this person understand that... I hope.'

"Wait, it's not what it looks like!" Roy tried to turn around while attempting to explain himself, but only succeeded in tripping on the many folds of the already lose hakama. He fell, well more like flew, forward with enough momentum to cause a heavy thump sound as his chest and face meet with the ground first. The pile of books next to him fell over, a couple landing consecutively in the same spot on the back of his head; causing a large swollen bump to show. Spots were the only things he could see at moment while Roy was in this dizzy befuddled state. He lay there for a moment trying to get his bearing straight while somewhat pinned beneath the thick coverings and interlaced pages of books. His head throbbed as he slowly gained back enough sight to notice that there was still maybe a really angry person standing near him.

With that incentive he mustered all the strength he could before pushing himself up off the ground. The pile on top of him slid to one side or another as the foundation in which they were balanced on shifted and moved. He finally managed to sit up with his knees bent and his legs somewhat crossed beneath the folds of the hakama. An open book rested diligently just above the sore spot as he sat there looking worse for wear. The first thing he did was reach up and took that book in hand, he eyed it for bit before sighing and placing it down beside him. "No wonder I never learned to read, these things could have killed me..."

Roy's eyes looked up slowly to see a still very pissed off woman standing before him with a bottle of water in one hand and soda in the other; who was probably still cursing him out if he was paying. He didn't say anything as he rose from the pile of books and removed the hakama which had caused him so much trouble. Walking over to the desk he picked up his Gi and sleeveless shirt.'I need to just get my stuff and leave before she can figure out some kind of punishment for me. No telling what she'll do to me now.'


A slight twitch growing in her right eye was beginning to grow worse. First it was the notion of some unknown man in Sophia's study, the very one she spent quite some time organizing in to such an order to make sense to her and this rather brutish Shinigami had decided to throw his sweat soaked clothing over her desk and chair. The chair especially, since it was specially ordered just for her as a present from her Captain when she became third seat of the division.

Then in the Shinigami's more arrogant move, he had tripped over the books that she had tried greatly to keep organized for her purposes. It wasn't exactly her fault for owning so many heavy and large books, but if her budget allowed for the purchase of large book stands to accommodate her collection of books, it wouldn't be necessary to stack them up from the ground the way she did. This was inexcusable, brushing off a joke that the books might have killed him, it wasn't the book he should have worried about, but the rage and anger in Sophia's face that might have very well killed him instead.

"Get off my books!" she demanded of the half naked Shinigami layered in her books. Dropping to her knees, she made quick work of grabbing each of the treasured books she had spent months collecting. History of the Ancient Greece, The Third Edition, Do it Yourself Home Demolition, Magic and how to Sling it, Garona's Guide to Stealth and Treason, Arcanist's CookBook, Codex of Defense, Encyclopedia Britannica, Letters G through I, each of the books of she had bought with her own hard earned money, left shuffled across the ground and out of order. And then he picked up one of her favorites, one the books given to her by Merlin himself, Harnessing Shadows, and she just about lost it, "Drop it now! Don't you dare make another move or I'll make sure the 3rd Division has to spend months just putting you back together."

Each of her books covered in a light stench of sweat, how unfortunate for the greats books of mankind to be drenched in such filth. Sophia would dismantle this person, making them ever regret what they had done. A closer inspection of her desk provided the same reaction, even her chair given to her by Yukiko, covered in a light layer of a sweat, ruining the once beautiful smell of lilac and making it smell more like a rotten egg had been dropped somewhere in the room. It disgusted her to do it, but she picked up the clothing from her desk and threw them through the open door and outside before turning around to address the intruder once again. She looked at him as only an evil bringer of the apocalypse could, "What the hell are you doing in my study?"

Being yelled at wasn't a very pleasant thing and Roy tried to ignore most of what the crazy lady was saying, except for the threat. He was a very good judge of power even before he was dead and it was clear that this woman would be able to do as she said with little to no trouble whatsoever. He was so close to getting his clothes, about a foot away in the least, but he knew better than to get blasted into a bunch of pieces just for some clothes. Instead the woman made her way and picked them up herself, before throwing them out the window into the dirt. It was aggravating that she just threw them out the window with him standing right there. He would have been lucky if she had kicked him out then and there, but it seemed like she had something else planned for him as she demanded a reason as to why he was there. Roy took his right hand and rubbed the muscles in his forehead to fight back the annoyance he had for this entire thing. "Look lady, I don't know who you are, but I've been here for more than a week or two and I know for a fact that nobody has ever came in or out of this place since I've been here. I apologize for intruding like I did, but how was I supposed to know this was your place?"

He took his hands and placed them into his pocket as he now stood up before her. Roy knew this probably wasn't helping his situation out in the least bit, but that didn't bother him in the least bit. After noting her reaction to how she held the books with such a high regard, he knew the last thing she'd do is spill any of his blood while the were still in the study. "I'm new here, but I'm not foreign to making up for my mistakes. Either I can do you a favor or you can punish me. And if you want to punish me then go ahead and do it already. But I doubt you'll wanna do that in here considering these books will also be in the way."

Roy was ready for either outcome to emerge from the woman he was face to face with. Be it another scar across his chest like the one he had now or a compromise, he waited. Some would say that he was very head strong, others would call him a complete moron. But one thing was certain, he had guts and lots of it.


"This is my study, of course I never leave this place, I do almost all of the division's paper work! I'm Sophia Spora, 3rd Seat of the 5th Division, the sign on the door didn't give you a hint?" she spoke as though it were purely obvious to everyone else. It was well known who she was within the division, but it wasn't very often that she made her presence known. Even if her presence was rarely made known, there were numerous signs of her existence through out the division. The small placard usually hung outside of the small room, warning all people whose room it was, was well enough of a sign to show life.

"I'm a scholar, that's well known to the division. The reason you've likely never seen me is because I am in here all the time, studying various books, novels, scrolls, and tomes. Probably the same reason I've never seen you either." Sophia wasn't nearly as angry as she had seemed earlier, but disappointed rather. It would take her a few hours to get the smell out and to make sure all her books were in the right order, but it was not that disappointed her, but rather the disregard for personal space rather.

"Even if you've never seen anyone come in or out of this room, that doesn't mean you can just enter as you please. The door was locked; the only way to get in would have been through the window... You broke in to my study? Oh come on," just having realized his means of entrance only disappointed her more. To think that he needed to break in to her study for whatever reason, he was partially naked when she found him. Perhaps he was changing or something, the room smelt like sweat, so it wasn't as though that couldn't have been happening at all. Still, "What were you doing in here anyways?"

'The door was locked? That doesn't make any sense. What's she getting at accusing me of going through all this trouble to get into her room?' This cyclical argument had started to make Roy a little more than just agitated, but he knew that now wasn't the right time to do anything rash or stupid. He did however begin to ease and calm down now that she wasn't yelling and her tone of voice wasn't as harsh as it had been. In a way, now that he thought about it, it did kind of made sense as to why he had never seen her before. But the whole assuming that he'd get into her room by any means necessary was overrated. "Do I look like a person who'd just climb into people's rooms through the window to you? No wait, don't answer that cause you apparently do think that. Instead let me put this to you in a different way. First off, I walked in through the front door. I care what you say about it being locked, I turned the handle and it opened."

'Then again, knowing my strength I might have accidentally broken the lock while turning it without even knowing. I really hope it's not one of those situations where the door had a weak lock, that'd just make her think that I broke in here on purpose or something.' Roy thought about this for a moment before following up his dialog with this Sophia. "As for why I'm here, I just got done constructing the East wall of my house near the training grounds and I was just trying to get out of the heat for the rest of the day. Not only that, but the reason I didn't know this was your office was because I'm illiterate. So if you weren't in here, the door was unlocked, and I knew that not one person came in and out of here for the past few days, like normal people would do, then you would understand my reasoning that this supposedly unoccupied area would be a great place to take a rest. Besides that, it's a nice day and almost everyone else around here is up and about outside enjoying themselves. So at the very least try to see yourself in my position rather than thinking I'm out to cause you trouble."


"I would never be in your position, and to see it from such would be a waste of time. Even if you could not read and you did not know I was here, asking never hurt either. Not knowing is not an excuse. Just because you don't know something doesn't mean that you couldn't have asked one of the many other people in the division. Even better judgment would have told you not to enter a room you knew nothing about. And no, the door was locked, I had to unlock it when I came in," Sophia began adjusting glasses on her nose, making sure that she could easily see straight.

Being the scholarly person she was, Sophia almost never forget a single detail she had read or seen before her, and her door was one particular matter of business that she always locked when she was no in it. Not only was the text inside part of Sophia's private collection, but there were several books written by Merlin himself with in her collection. If anyone had stolen or learned the secrets from within them, then she could never forgive herself for letting that happen. Thus, it was next to impossible for Sophia to not lock the very door that held untold secrets that should only be known to her.

But for now, this man was beginning to bother and annoy Sophia, but not to the point that she might have to do something drastic to have get rid of such a person. His lies were beginning to annoy Sophia, but his excuses seemed to were bother her the most, being that all he had to do was apologize and understand that this space was Sophia's and it was never to be messed with, but it seemed as though he wasn't understanding that at all. She began polishing her glasses with a cleaning handkerchief that she kept for just such an action, staring down at them as though contemplating something, "Can you see these glasses? As a scholar, I'm marked by horrible eye sight because of my constant attention to my books and paper work, thus these glasses are a sign of my devotion to my scholarly works. I miss not being able to see with out them, but that's the only thing I miss. I see everything else perfectly fine, and I never miss a thing. I could very well understand your point of view, but it would be a waste of time to put myself in your shoes since it's a drastically different life than my own. I know that what I would have done would have been quite different from what you did, but only because I thought things out and rationalized the best course of action. It's a lesson you need to learn rather quickly as a Shinigami, and I can't teach it to you. But I can teach you many other things though."

The last statement seemed rather perverted, making Roy think about what could have happened if she was really someone who secretly waited for moments like this. Cornering young healthy males in strange moments where she could establish dominance in strange sexual ways. The very thought made him kind of nervous when he visualized Sophia in leather tying up some poor victim and whipping them mercilessly as she laughed at his misfortune. No, she couldn't be suggesting something like that. She's too book wormy... Or maybe this is just a ploy to get me to lower my guard before she whams me over the head with one of those books and places me on a rack. No, that's just me being paranoid... Am I being paranoid?

The more Roy thought about it, the more it appeared as a plausible second meaning. He didn't want to believe in this paranoid idea, but the possibility did worried him enough that he decided that it'd be for the best that he keep his back away from her just in case. For now, instead, he'd assumed that she didn't have any hidden meaning behind those words. As such, Roy decided to refrain from any more "tit-for-tat" conversation. Seeing as this was getting neither of them anywhere, he welcomed the possible change of subject she had offered him as a way out. Placing his index finger to his chin, he tapped it as he thought about what kind of questions he could ask. "Well if you're so wise then I suppose you won't mind me putting you to the test then. I'm not really big as far as current knowledge on history lessons and stuff like that.... Most of the things I do has to due with first hand experience. So I guess you could start with the basics. Like explain to me what is this bloodstone thing the walls or Seireitei are made out of. Or why are we required to wear these ridiculous samurai outfits? Even an explanation on why is it so hard not to get lost in Seireitei would be a big help.... that last one would be especially to me considering I got lost twice already and only got here by pure luck when I bumped into Yukiko."

"Hmm... To tell you the truth. I don't even remember anything they taught us history wise about the wars and other events that happened here in soul society before I got here seven years ago." He went on pondering even longer now, stroking the sides of his chin with his thumb and index finger. His right arm was being supported at the elbow by his left hand while he stood almost like a carved statue. It kind of did bother him that he was left in the dark about a lot of things. 'Probably should have paid more attention back when I was in the Academy.'


"Seireitei and much of Soul Society are built out of a composite material called Spiritrons. Once shaped and formed, Spiritrons can withstand direct attacks to them, as well, they can repair themselves over time as necessary. We, by which I mean Shinigami, wear these sacred robes not out of habit, but because this is the traditional garb of the Shinigami that has been worn since before our great grandparents were even born. As such, we wear them, but are no limit to them. Myself for example wear a kimono style Shinigami robes rather than that of the traditional haroi and hakamas. Sayari-taichou of the 3rd Division wears a much different series of clothing as well, but it is still black and white and fit the Shinigami theme. And as to why it's difficult to not get lost here, just carry a map," Sophia knew too much about the life of a Shinigami, having lived it for almost a full year now, so answering the question in the typical style of a know-it-all.

These questions were rather elementary, perhaps something you'd learn back in the Academy, but instead there was a feeling of hesitation in his voice. Like perhaps he were thinking about something else instead, like had warped her words in some way. But it wasn't as though it were the first thing she caught on about, he was quite young, no wonder he was rebellious. As of recent, it appeared that a lot of Shinigami were a lot younger in age, and still looked there actual age. Unlike Sophia, where she were almost five hundred years old, this person couldn't have been twenty five or thirty years old at least. It made sense now why they might question their uniforms as well as get impatient about getting lost. Seireitei was big, but not horribly big that you could not find you way around at some point, besides, anyone who was really lost or in a hurry would run along the roofs of the walls.

'I hate young people... you'd think that someone who becomes a Shinigami would at least act respectful and understand there role. As well as not breaking in to other people's studies. Perhaps if I teach this person early, maybe I can keep them from making more mistakes like this,' she considered this a bit, thinking that perhaps if she could use some of her influence and some blackmail in order to get this boy back on the right page. It would be useful if Sophia could have a tool like another Shinigami to do her busy work, allowing her to get all her own work and have plenty time to do all her studying as well. She wasn't that type of person at all, but she could at least try to mold him in to a less rebellious individual if she could, "Look your new to the 5th division, and perhaps I over reacted with you breaking in, but you have to realize the secrets this rooms aren't to be taken likely. This is my life work in this room, the information held in here is the secrets to untold numbers mysteries of the Soul Society and the Mortal World as well. But I guess I shouldn't be too worried since you yourself said you're illiterate. Let me offer you this, I'll help you out with what ever I can, but in particular, I'm probably the best person in the division to see about Zanpakutous and how to wield them while using your Kidou at the same time. It's not as though Mai-Fukutaichou or Yukiko-taichou couldn't teach you this as well, but I'd like to think I have a bit of an edge when it comes to that sort of specialty."

The whole explanation on how the Death God outfit was issued as a way to place emphasis in showing respect to the old traditional ways made him sick. Roy hated being forced to wear things simply because it was a manner of stupid rules made up just for the sake of honoring a bunch of dead guys with no style. The whole system seemed like it was filled with sticks in the mud that would rather do things according to the old ways rather then move on. It didn't make sense to him and probably never will. Which meant he'd wear the outfit only not to get in trouble, but still wouldn't give a rat's *** about the meaning behind it. His emotions were placed aside about the matter when Sophia just offered to train him out of the blue.

"Well I'm not big on using a sword and the whole cutting your opponent up thing; too messy for me. Though I would really appreciate having a mentor concerning kidou. It's hard enough learning them the first time somebody does it in front of me and it would seriously save me a lot of hassle. But I've got to ask you one thing. What's the catch? Since you're willing to do something for me, that usually means I need to make it up to you somehow." Roy looked around a bit before getting an idea. "Hey how about this, you help me out when I need to learn kidou every now and then. And I'll get you some bookshelves to help you keep these mountains of books from claiming any more victims. Does that sound like a good deal to you?"


"And just where would you place those bookshelves?" Sophia gestured to the room, waving her hand in order to point his attention all about the room. Every wall of the room already had bookshelves attached to them, each of them neatly organized with books and material all over them. Though the exact where abouts of anything was a mystery to anyone who wasn't Sophia. Being the logical and scholarly mind, she was also in a habit to being somewhat eccentric and unconventional. Her study was just such an example, being that all the books stacked up on the bookshelves and on to pillars on the floor of her study were all done so according to Sophia's method of organization. Anyone attempting to find anything could easily be confused and think that it was just some mess of randomly placed material, but Sophia knew differently.

"Even if you found more book shelves, there wouldn't be anywhere to put them. My organizational skills might seem in need of some work, but rest assured that before you knocked over those stacks of books, I had everything very well organized," she pointed out, addressing one of the taller stacks that to the untrained eye seemed just to be stacked with books. But for Sophia, the slight rotation of the book suggest it's time frame to be read, as well as relevance as suggested by the spine of the books. Even though thicker books usually packed in more information, it was sometimes the thinner books that had more practical and applicable information in them instead. Even if there was barely a couple of feet in either direction from the door to the desk, bookshelves in this place might as well be primitive form of organization for Sophia.

"My offer still stands though, either now or later. The 5th Division isn't just about Kidou though, it's the use of our Kidou in conjunction with our Zanpakutous. Anyone can teach you Kidou, hell, you can learn it yourself which is what a lot of us do anyway. But being proficient with your Zanpakutou is also quite important. You never know, one day you might have to use your Zanpakutou to directly fire your Kidou because you won't have you hands free for whatever reason. All I ask is that you Never enter this room unless you are my superior. While my function here in the 5th is merely paperwork, this study is still a collection of my life's work thus far, and I would appreciate it if you minded my work space in the future," this room was quite personal to Sophia, she hated anyone being in it that wasn't her, and only really let people in it when she was there. Even though the bulk of the books in the room were compiled of random information, it was information to Sophia. For her, knowledge truly was power.

"Your superior huh? Very well then, I agree to your terms considering I don't have much to bargain with. After all, it's not like I'm not a busy guy myself. If you can teach me something like utilizing kidou in a better way than I've been doing already I would consider that a great help. But I have to warn you... My skills with a sword is horrible... and the condition of my soul slayer is even worse." Roy was a bit lacking in explaining what he really meant about his soul slayer. To say the least, he was ashamed of how his blade originally manifested itself. His sword wasn't something anyone would call decent in the least. It was missing the upper half of it and was basically tarnished in both rust and cracks. If anything the brittle weapon looked like it was going to break into tiny itsy bitsy pieces at any moment. Even the core of the blade seemed to be damaged! It look so useless and ridiculous that Roy kept it sheathed with the hilt tied to the saya via a scarlet red rope to signify a seal of sorts.

"But before you actually continue any further, I need to get my stuff. Seeing as you did threw everything, even my sword out the window." Roy didn't have a single trace of spite or anger in his voice as he pointed out what he had to do before turning around and walking to the door. He eyed the knob and noticed that the lock was indeed broken, but he didn't say anything about. Fueling an already dying fire would be plain stupid; obviously he knew better than to point out that he accidentally over powered the lock with his brawn. And he sure as hell didn't want the psycho version of this otherwise polite, calm, and complacent woman to rage up to give him another tongue lashing. 'One yelling is enough for me for one day. I'd rather not have this woman's wrath down on me yet again after she just forgave me for the misunderstanding from before.'

Roy wiped the entire notion out of his mind as he turned the knob and walked out the door and around the area to get his gear. He found them just outside the open window, resting in a puddle of mud with his soul slayer standing up with a good portion of it stuck deep in the murky dirt and water mixture.

"Great." He said sarcastically as he retrieved his belongings. Gathering them up into his arms, he turned around and began to walk back towards a nearby window that had been left open. Peering in, he looked over to Sophia. "Hey, since you're really picky about dirt being in your place. Mind if you come out here? My gear is rather muddy and I doubt you'd be willing to clean that kind of mess up."


"Very well, there's practice field just around the corner to your left, I'll meet you over there," she pointed around the corner once Roy jumped out the window, directing him accordingly toward a small dirt field where members of the 5th division generally practiced anything other than their Kidou. It was a smaller field in comparison to that of the Kidou field, but then again, the 5th Division Kidou Practice Field was only comparable to that of the Academy's, but only by a bit. This smaller field was just as good if any other practice field, if not just the same as any other division, but for the purposes of the 5th Division, rarely used except for a few members of the 5th.

Sophia though, was a different Shinigami all together, as she lifted her massive gold Scabbard up from under her desk. It was huge, appearing almost the size of a large backpack, smooth, and round around all the edges, but most importantly, two hilts popping out of it. One of them a Japanese style and another European, both looked as though they were connected to swords or Zanpakutous. She had to hoist it up and over her shoulder, using the straps attached to the scabbard to anchor it over her shoulder accordingly. With it over her shoulder like child would carry their backpack with one shoulder, she proceeded to head out toward the practice field she had just instructed Roy, bringing a pair of towels with her as well for when she was done.

When she finally met Roy on the field, there was a gentle shake of the earth when her Scabbard met with dirt ground behind her. Even if the scabbard was narrow and had a round bottom, Sophia had to hold it up by latching on the ends of each hilt with her hands in order to just keep it from falling forward. It wasn't difficult to see what appeared to be a bit of a puzzled look on Roy's face, everyone who saw Avalon, her scabbard, and the two hilts popping out of it were usually easily confused by it, "Unlike other Shinigami you might have met up until now, when it comes to Zanpakutous, I'm a different creature all together. So how do you want to go about this?"

"Like I said before, this is all new to me. So do me a favor and let's start from the beginning with the basics. Maybe if you could give me a little show and tell to help start things off." Puzzled, intrigued, and eager were some of the words that could total up "the look" he gave Sophia. He lifted his head up to get a view of what the weather was like. It was surprisingly warm and sunny for a day in the cold season. Since it was the late afternoon, there were many clouds overhead that had a variety of colors due to the sun settling over the horizon. There was something nostalgic about the way the sunset appeared to him, but for some reason he couldn't put his finger on it. As he searched his memory again and again, he still could not remember what made this particular sunset seem so special to him. In the end he simply gave up on the matter and claimed it to be one of the many lost causes he stumbled upon in day to day "living" .

Instead he averted his attention once more to his other surroundings. The practice field looked very familiar; almost like the kidou minefield that Hallidad had tricked him into the first day he arrived at the fifth division. Roy, however, doubted that Sophia would have dragged him into such a dangerous place to commence basic training. If so then she was way crazier than he had thought her to be. Yet this possibility didn't even make Roy flinch one bit. After all, he did get out of that field once without so much as a scratch. And there was nothing that made it any more difficult to keep him from doing the same thing again to escape the dangers of stepping on a landmine modified with kidou. Even if she did try to drag me into yet another kidou minefield, I doubt the pattern the mines were hidden are any different than the other one. And if that's the case it shouldn't be hard to tell where they are, since I did help Hallidad bury the new ones and fill in the holes on the other field.

Roy took his zanpakutou out from the bundle he held under his left arm. Dropping the rest of the mud covered equipment to the floor, he slung the rope over his shoulder and across his shirtless body. With that done he allowed his sword to hang against his back as he placed his hands into the pockets of his gray pants and stood there watching Sophia. "So explain to me how does this firing kidou out of your weapon thing work."


"The basics first. Firing Kidou out of your Zanpakutou isn't necessary if you can use it with one hand, but for someone like me who doesn't have their hands free when they are fighting it's much more necessary for me. Not to mention, learning to use such a technique like that takes quite a bit of time studying the arts of Kidou and having sufficient skill with your Zanpakutou," Sophia didn't want to overwhelm the young "child" with a skill that might not even be necessary. Such an ability was only warranted if someone had to handle a huge or cumbersome Zanpakutou that needed two hands to use it, Sophia's two Zanpakutou was such an example that needed such an ability.

"I digress," Sophia began tinkering with the various straps connected to the huge golden scabbard, attaching it around her Obi-sash which circled around her waist. Once done, such reached out with her right arm and grasped the Japanese style hilt, pulling it from its home within the scabbard. At first glance it was an ordinary Samurai sword, much in the same way any Zanpakutou generally looked, but upon closer inspection, one would notice that it had been missing its hilt guard and instead was placed with a smooth gold stand to connected the blade to the hilt. Sophia began shining it in the sun, admiring her own Zanpakutous as though it had been the first time she had seen it, "Zanpakutous are the tools we Shinigami use, designed with the wielder in mind whenever they are summoned. They are amazing tools: they can send spirits onward to Soul Society or to hell, they can cut through hollows with ease, they can repair themselves if they break, and they hide a much more powerful form under the form we see them in now."

"With in each Zanpakutou hides a spirit, a soul that your Zanpakutou calls to you even now, whispering in your ear. If you can not hear it, then it means you are not ready to know its name, as many Shinigami are not always ready. But for a great deal of Shinigami they can hear the name of their Zanpakutous, calling out to them. When you learn the name of your Zanpakutou, you can call for it and it will reveal to you, its true power. Let me show you: Prophetize..." Sophia announced forcing her Zanpakutou out of its sealed form and in to its released form. Her blade began to flow a deep blue glow, encasing the blade and hiding it under the light as it began to expand and grow. Soon the blade was grown another two or so feet and expanded out into something that was more fitting of a large two handed blade in Medieval times.

When the blade had stopped expanding, the glow that surrounded it began to float off as though wind were blowing off sand from the beach. The finished product was this massive steel beast, a double edge sword that was as wide as her hand if she spread out all her fingers. The hilt that she held on hadn't changed, nor did the gold stand at which the blade held on to. There was a pause for a moment as Sophia reflected the blade into the light again, watching the steel catch the glimmering light as she rotated it in the air, "Rutsokishi... that's the name of this Zanpakutou. This is its true form, the form we call its Shikai. It's a powerful weapon, but it's only useful in my hands, since only I can control the powers that lie within it. That's another thing you'll find, that your Zanpakutou in its true form will have a special ability or even multiple ones. You may be able to blow up buildings just by looking at them, command the elements, or do far more interesting."

"Rutsokishi's ability is that it can not cut anything with out a soul. Because it does not cut things like the ground for instance, it can go through it instead..." Sophia pulled the tip of Rutsokishi toward the ground and aimed it so that the tip would enter the ground. In doing so, the blade seemed to meld with the ground, leaving no marks on the ground at all, as if it were a ghost or something. Instead of disappearing though, the portion of the blade that was inserted in to the ground seemed to reappear elsewhere, directly in front of Sophia no further than a foot so away from her, "and come out of the ground at any distance I want. So far I've been able to make it travel nearly 70 feet, and with myself being the center, I can attack some a circle nearly 140 feet in diameter, and I have an attack area of over 15000 square feet. Rutsokishi can also be used on walls and any other inanimate object I choose. I only need to take a swipe or stab with Rutsokishi, and it will reappear where ever I want."

"Any questions thus far?"


"Yes, but will it blend? That is the question." Roy sarcastically joked a reference about the old minute shows that Blendtec did to advertise their blenders; where they said that it could blend through almost anything and typically did. He was impressed by what Sophia had just done before his very own eyes. Until just now he didn't even realize that a Zanpakutou was something more than just a sword created and used in the name of Seireitei's idea of justice. The fact that such a thing as Shikai existed made it much more worth keeping his broken piece of scrap metal he called a soul slayer. "No, seriously though. How does one go about establishing this shikai since it's a matter of being ready? And since you said shikai; does that mean there are other kinds of releases to be gained as well?"

Roy was soaking up all the information like a sponge. Although he wasn't able to read to learn things like most people he, Roy had a good head on his shoulders; which compensated for such a hindrance a great deal. The only problem was for him to find something that intrigued him enough to sit through and pay attention to. He did show a different kind of appreciation towards things that most people wouldn't waste their time on; such as allowing himself to be hit with kidou simply to know who it would feel. This was one of the moments where he displayed a great deal of curiosity about the matter concerning soul slayers. The true importance behind the weapon was finally beginning to be revealed to him without having to dig around and find it out for himself the hard way. "Also, if your blade can only cut things with a spirit, then how would you defend yourself against random objects that are thrown at you?"


'Such a child. If given the chance, I could kill him and no one would ever notice. 'Will it blend?'.... what kind of infantile question is that? Children these days have no sense of respect at all. Fair enough, lets see how much I can scare him,' Sophia thought to herself, breaking back and reaching with her left arm to her side, clinching a strong and firm grip on to the western, European style hilt. Once she was latched on securely, a simple tug was all that was needed in order to pull the blade from the scabbard and reveal the second Zanpakutou that Sophia wielded, "Unlike all other Shinigami, to my knowledge at least, I am in control of two Zanpakutous, each with their own forms and spirits. Wielding both Zanpakutous at any time is a strain on my mind, but in doing so, I am capable of quite a bit of strength and power. In Azuregos, I Trust..."

The Zanpakutou in her left hand began to change as well, a similar bright golden aura appearing around the blade of the Zanpakutou. The blade's shape began to expand, all though keeping its original form it seemed, in a sense changing and just getting longer and slightly wider. Once the blade reached its new length, the top of the blade fanned out a tiny bit and changed in to the shape of a diamond. Finally, through golden glow, a pair of blue lines, one darker and one lighter, began shooting down the length of the blade and shining through the aura, ziz-zaging back and forth and over one another until the reached the tip of the blade. The aura gently began to give way, revealing the new form of the blade and revealing the released form of this Zanpakutou. Sophia would finish this incantation release by uttering her Zanpakutou's name, "Excalibur..."

"This is that sword, the fabled Excalibur, held by my father, King Arthur, oh so long ago. I wouldn't say he passed it on to me so much as I inherited it with out his consent several months ago. But as you can see, two massive Zanpakutous means twice the power and abilities, but as much as it seems beneficial, it's difficult to keep two spirits in your mind at once, as well as becomes difficult gain enough control with both of them to the point where you might be able to do something like this," Sophia paused for a second, taking in a deep breathe and filling her lungs with air and closing her eyes as though concentrating on something. The air around Sophia began to become heavy, as though the sky was being compressed downward and compacting the air in to something far more dense. It was to the point now where the air was just so staging that felt as though it could crush a person entirely, as Sophia's own body began to glow a bit, black aura on the right side, strongest toward her hand and lesser up toward her body, and the same with the golden aura in her left hand. And then she said something that not even Yukiko-taichou had heard just yet, something no other Shinigami had ever heard or would ever say:

"Bankais"

Her entire body exploded almost, as a sphere of golden Reiatsu and swirling black dust and particles incased her whole body and shielded it from the rest of the world. It continued for several seconds, the ball of gold energy and black dust swirling around her, until something launched out of the swirling sphere and fired directly up in to the air. One could only catch a glimpse of it before the ball began to shrink inward, and revealed an armor clad Sophia, decked out in unusual shoulder pieces, an elaborate scaled piece of armor from his neck down and in to her Obi-sash around her waist along with another piece of armor squarely on her chest, around her hips a unique piece of armor that wrapped around her entire back sides and fanned out around to her knee with a skirt coming out of it the extended all around her except for her sides, and a pair of new sleeves down each of her arms. But that wasn't all, in each hand was a much longer and bigger Zanpakutou in each hand. The one in the left was medieval in nature, with a crystal center and dragon like wings sprouting from the golden ring that the massive seven foot long blade was attached to. In the right was a slightly longer, but much wider blade that wasn't nearly as beautiful looking as the one in the left, but seemed more brutal and sadistic in looks than the other. The object which seemed to have launched out from the golden sphere moments ago suddenly landed behind Sophia, and presented itself, not as some unusual bolder or object, but rather as a massive 30 foot dragon instead.

"This is what happens, when have two Zanpakutous, and when you reach this stage with them, it's quite unlike anything else. This is referred to as Bankai, the stage at which a Zanpakutou no longer shows its true self and instead show's its true form of the spirit with in, becoming attune with you and presenting itself self to you. This form is unlike Shikai, since it is not only massively stronger but its effects and abilities are quite limited and should only be used in the highest of emergencies and only when no other course of action is available to you. But to reach Bankai, your need to be quite strong not only with your Zanpakutou but you have to be quite strong as well. All Captains have obtained Bankai, as well as a large collection of the Vice-Captains and some seated officers. Some Shinigami never reach this point, but perhaps some day you will," Sophia would have continued if she had more to say, and if her pet hadn't started to nudge her left arm with its head, "Oh, before I forget, this is Azuregos, the spirit of Excalibur."

Awe struck and bewildered. Roy couldn't say a single word as he continued to remain flat down on the floor. The insane amount of pressure Sophia had released recently almost squashed him like a pancake. Fortunately for him, she wasn't trying to flaunt her powers or he'd probably have his insides crushed into liquid by the shear force. He couldn't even keep his head lifted up for a long time to see much of anything else since what he was experiencing was almost the equivalent of being under a higher gravity. 'My ribs feel like they're going to break. This is madness! Is this really the difference between a recent Academy graduate and a person who's a seated officer?

Beads of sweat began to form on his face as he gritted his teeth almost like a wild animal would do when presented in a dangerous situation. He hated giving up, conceding that there existed other people in which he could never be a match for in ages. If anything, Roy was willing to do what it took to show that he could sit up from this pressure. His muscles argued against this irrational decision as he slowly but surely moved his arms to about shoulder level. They bulged and tensed horrible while he pushed while dragging his knees in the dirt almost in a crawling fashion. Ever part of his body was trembling from the horrible power that reigned down on him, even sections of his skin started to tear and leak out trails of blood in his masochistic pursuit to defy admitting that he was too weak handle such pressure. 'You think I'll just give in and consign my fate as a weakling. That I'll never grow as strong as you. Telling me that I'm not made of the stuff that you are. I'll show you, I'll prove that I have the gull and capability to possess what it takes.'

This was of course not what Sophia had said, but Roy had taken her actions to mean just that. He was more than determined to prove that he had what it took. And he showed it as he threw himself back to sit on his rump, both of his arms just about ready to dislocate from the unnecessary effort he was putting in. Sitting there he gazed at the beauty of those two unique creations. In a way, Sophia looked more like a golden angel in all of her splendor. The trance was short lived due to the droplet of blood trickling down the middle of the face and along the center of the nose before falling to the ground to mix with the dirt. It's cool sensation brought him back to his wits as he continued to peer at the magnificent sight before him. And still, he could think of nothing to say. So he just sat there, staring in awe.

'What on earth is he thinking? I can see some fire in his eyes, but that could also very well be fear for what I am showering outward. It must be the first time he's been witness to such power and strength all at once, perhaps releasing both Bankais at once was a bit much. But at least he'll either dedicate himself to his training and perhaps leave me alone in the process,' those were the thoughts that ran across her brain in only the briefest of seconds. Such power she was unknowingly displaying probably would have crushed or killed him in an instant if she had been well versed in her Bankais.

Releasing their power, the armor, the dragon, and the swords began to turn to dust and floated off her body and in to the air as though they were never there at all. As it blew in to the wind, it slowly revealed Sophia underneath, just the same with her Zanpakutous, as their huge forms vanished and flew in to the air, all that remained was the sealed forms of either sword. In the end, only Sophia remained, her two Zanpakutous sliding back in to their respective homes inside of the golden scabbard to her side. She took a few steps forward toward Roy, looking down unto him as though he were a lost child, but still standing some distance away, just enough for her shadow to appear over his eyes, "That is the strength of a powerful Shinigami. My two Zanpakutous in Bankai are still quite unrefined, there is still quite a bit of power I can reach if I work toward it. That dull and broken Zanpakutou isn't as weak as you probably think it is. I would try listening to it, perhaps you'll hear what I hear every day in stereo."

His head was lowered down for a bit as he sat there and reflected about the lesson just taught. The soul slayer was more than just a tool to fight with, it was a higher power. One that needed to be attained in order to reach the next level. In order for him to even dream of fighting on even ground with the others. Roy slowly got up to his feet before flinging his right arm out. All the bones on that side of his body just popped back into place. Tilting his head to the left he popped a few more bones before bringing his right hand to pull his hair back as he straighted himself up a bit. Those brown almost ebony eyes of his gazed at his teacher, "Sophia; I thank you for teaching me about releases. I won't let you down, with every fiber of my being, I promise that I'll reach bankai. Until I'm worthy of at least that much honor, you won't see my face to you again."

"Farewell for now, expect me back here in a few months." Roy walked over to his stuff and with one clean motion, flung it over his shoulder. He didn't bother waiting to hear Sophia say anything in reply or to attempt to teach him that other lesson they originally came here for. The goal was made and set for Roy's journeys in the future. His awkward encounter had left him with intentions to reach bankai with every fiber of his body.

'But first, this house needs to be finished.' And so, Roy returned to work on his first project with a new born vigor. Not stopping even when the sun was starting to go down, leaving from it's perch in the sky.
 

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