Silence crept through like an eerie fog, lurking until broken by the trickling of water. The sound of dust scurrying from a faint draft was enough to reveal the size of the dimly lit arena, a massive training ground deep beneath the 10th Division Barracks. Few knew of its existence, its purpose..
special, able to withstand a large amount of destruction before collapsing, if it all. When put to the torch one could see that the entirety of its makeup was seemingly sculpted by
Hitsumishi himself. The walls, the floor, the roof pressed against the surface of the Tenth Division grounds above, all paved in the aquamarine crystal. Sealed—even now—the crystal remains: unbreakable. The room’s infrastructure also encourages the use of large amounts of Spiritual Power, the crystal itself able to absorb reiryoku in all forms, helping to ensure the stability of the barracks no matter what transpired beneath.
Directly in its center stood a man, this realm’s creator; stripped from his Shikashuhou, Haori, Gauntlets and the like. His additional layers folded against themselves down over his Hakama and white obi sash, trailing against the crystalline floor. His stance became solid, and in a single moment he’d reached a focus like no other. His arm extended outward, already holding his zanpakuto in-hand. Its cobalt scabbard rested firmly in his grasp, his reiryoku boiling as he molded it throughout his core. His center of balance became his center of power, his reiryoku spiraling into Reiatsu before exploding outward with a flame-like composition. Thick waves of violent green begin pulsating with Higen as their epicenter, equidistant apart. As the waves traversed the crystal floor, their power was assimilated into the room’s being, its interior being concurrently lit as the green spiritual power coursed through the veins of the crystal. The room hummed, as if it had a pulse, each beat properly paced. In a sense, Higen was
feeding the room, constantly pumping Reiatsu into which was vacuumed the moment It reached the air. This nullification was intentional—of course—allowing the Captain to hold nothing back without the fear of destroying those he held dear.
His eyes closed, no change in his pose or stature as he attempted to be come synonymous to his zanpakuto, matching his breaths with Hitsumishi’s, feeling the true essence of his spirit. Unbeknownst to most, Higen’s zanpakuto had been silent, defiant, since
that day. Every day since, he’d try to talk and plead with the stubborn spirit, yet nothing. In all actuality, he was even unsure what exactly he did. He acted abruptly.. uncouth, sure; but Higen had been angry before, out of character before, and used said anger to defeat enemies even. Still, Hitsumishi had never once denied him. How could he face an oncoming threat without his zanpakuto? The Captain was a monster himself, but he was sure there were scarier things out there; in fact,
he’d seen them. Time passes quickly, a few seconds turns into minutes, minutes into hours. Higen had been exerting his spiritual pressure for the full amount of said time, still standing, still with a massive pool to continue with. This was nothing to him, no form of punishment was deemed critical enough for the Veteran Captain. His eyes had yet to open, as he drowned out every sound, every feeling and sense.
The darkness of the back of his eyelids seemed to grow darker, before he’d feel his entire world shift around him. The silence was replaced with a howling wind—loud and violent—as it swayed his clothes back and forth. His senses came back to him, as he could feel a grass like substance nestled gently between his toes, he could smell flowers and hear the shifting of the long weeds. As he opened his eyes, he would collect that of which he hadn’t seen in months. Higen stood in the center of a massive valley, which similar to his training ground was sculpted by mountains of crystal. Down in the valley itself—however—lied massive fields of indigo flowers, dead crimson trees scattered about all over. As his gaze shifted from side to side darting about his sockets, he caught glimpse of something else famili-
“Higen the brave. . .”
The voice resounds, like crashing thunder. Its base sounds as if it comes from the clouds themselves.
“I’m no-”
“No. Higen the Fool. Higen the Clueless. Higen the Weak.”
“I.. don’t understand.”
The metal from Hitsumishi’s armor makes a plethora of noises as he paces back and forth, his size massive even compared to Higen.
“Of course you don’t. To you I’m a tool.. a mallet? It is your understanding that I’m here to break the things you don’t like; here to break everything”
“No, of course not. I mean.. well- Is this not the power you’ve leant me? Have I not only done what you allowed?”
“All this time, I thought you’d understand it yourself. Thought I wouldn’t have to force you to see. Yet, you and hatred seem to get along just fine.. Have you not noticed that nothing here is broken, or ever breaks?”
“…..”
“I figured. Til next time.. fool.”
A massive tornado begins to ravish the Valley, sweeping everything along with it while sucking Higen into a vacuum of black. When he emerges the crystal room is no longer lit, his reiatsu no longer pumping through. Down to one knee, he ponders intently on the words spoken to him by Hitsumishi. And although cryptic, at least he’d said
something.
After traveling up a long, spiral stair case Higen was led upward through a passage in a storage facility just next to his office. The division was especially quiet today, the weather calm, Shizuka had sent an LTF reconnaissance group to investigate a disturbance so they were rather short on the green-bands for now. On his way upward he had fully clothed again, his sleeveless haori dancing over a standard shikashuhou. On each hand was a silverite gauntlet, capable of defending against the fiercest of attacks. Every ounce of him was spotless, down to the pearly white socks inside his geta sandals. He took a brief pause to ensure his exit from the secret room was concealed properly, if a random member would stumble down there they could unintentionally trigger the full brunt of reiryoku that had been absorbed by the crystal and crushed instantaneously. It was dangerous for those who couldn’t withstand it, which was why it was best kept secret. The storage facility was a straight shot to the Captain’s office, a mahogany desk in its center.
He takes a seat, sorting through a group of papers he had left their prior to his delve into the training grounds. All of which prepared him for the day’s events. Both of his requests had been filed and put through, their processing complete as of yesterday.. that meant..
Quote:Gorou Nagatomo – Skilled in all Zankensoki areas, graduate in the top percentile of his class. Mild-tempered, subordinate—Achieved Shikai.
He looks at the paper intently, collecting just a fragment of the information in the young shinigami’s file. He had requested him personally straight out of the academy to fill a seated position. Higen was rather picky and seemed to have reasons for allowed any of his merry band of misfits to hold a seat as an officer.
Quote:Izanagi Kiyoshi – Spiritually strong, Noble Crop, Raw and uncut power—impressive physical strength, former 11th Division grunt. No connection to his zanpakuto.
This was different, a raw prospect, though Higen had requested him as a seated member for a different reason. Time in the Rukongai had allowed him to pick up on a story or two; a “demon” that had a thirst for slaughter, and the power to make it happen by any means. A child, who would not be a child any more. He’d employed a mass of people to do research for him, eye-witness testimony, a lot of things. He even had audience with a bandit leader in the Rukongai with a massive scar on his face. He’d said it was the product of a child with lavender hair. This was
Izanagi, Higen was sure of it. His goal was to monitor him closely, confirm his suspicions if at all. Perhaps, Higen could offer some form of help controlling whatever needed controlling within the boy. If anyone knew what it was like to have a large amount of power without the ability to control it, it was him. If he could weaponize that power, or something close, he could sculpt Izanagi into a formidable Shinigami.
“CHISEEEE!!!”
The Captain yells, his hand pounding into the desk with enough force to cause a tower of papers to come crashing down onto the floor. A red-haired Shinigami woman with bifocals barges into the room just a moment after, seemingly mimicking the urgency exuded by her captain.
“Y-Yes Taichou?!!”
“Wake Shizuka up and bring him and Ryuga to me, now.”
Without hesitation, she darts out of the room, going first to find Shizuka in his quarters, before leaving to search for Ryuga throughout the division’s grounds. Higen licks his thumb and continues to comb through the large amount of papers on his desk, not bothering to pick up the pile that fell over its side just moments ago.
