As dinner continued on, the friends were all conversing and Byakuya was fairly quiet, just observing the interactions. Erisia tried to keep the conversations going, tried to keep engaging all her friends and maintaining some kind of balance between them all. She'd gotten quite used to wrangling Yasuo and Haru if her skill at handling the two boys was anything to go by.
"Hey, Eri, you want to meet up and spar before we gotta go back to the academy?" Haru asks. The nature of the boy's question has Byakuya raising a curious brow though he says nothing.
"We are on break and you want to practice?" Yasuo chides.
"I do not know Haru... I mean I could use the practice but shouldn't we just be enjoying our break?"
"Bah, you're no fun Eri. I think sparring is fun. Besides you're the only one that can make me work for my wins... Unlike Yasuo and Akane." He laughs, earning him a glare from both.
"I am going to have to tell Yachiru to expect you to be in line for the 11th after we graduate. I'll have to make sure she makes your test harder than the others." Eri teases. "I don't know if I can do what happened in our test again Haru. That was just one time during the progress test and you remember how drained I was after."
"All the more reason to practice by sparring. It'll give ya a chance to get more used to it..." He pauses. "Will you agree if I promise to go easy on ya?" He laughs, teasing her right back.
"Most certainly not Haru. If we are doing this to test me as you say, then you should not hold back." Erisia says in a firm tone.
"So, you gonna spar or not?" Haru asks. While Erisia pondered this, Byakuya pondered her reactions. The more he heard Haru speak the more convinced he was that Erisia was correct in surmising that Haru was destined for the 11th. What surprised him more, was that Erisia did not seem daunted by the idea of sparring with the boy. Of course one could reason that knowing Renji, Yumi and Yachiru might have something to do with that.
"We would have to find a safe place to spar." Erisia muses.
"You could get someone to bring you to the 7th district in the Rukongai." Haru suggests.
"That will not be necessary. You may use the training ground to the back of the 6th squad grounds, it is not being used at the moment and if something were to happen, help is quite near by. I am also certain that Lieutenant Abarai would like to see the progress that Erisia-san has made." Byakuya offers. He was not about to let Erisia wander around the Rukongai - though the 7th district was not terrible it was far from the sort of place a young woman should be wandering around alone in. Yasuo, Akane, Haru and even Erisia all seemed caught off guard by the offer.
"We would not want to impose." Erisia begins.
"It is no imposition. You are all students at the academy and even among seasoned soldiers accidents can happen in practice. I seek only to ensure that all of you can safely return to the Academy when the new semester starts." Byakuya explains. It made sense, but it was still kind of impressive to be invited to the barracks of the 6th squad.
"What time would be most convenient, Byakuya-sama?" Eri inquires.
"After lunch. I will have Lieutenant Abarai meet your friends at the door between the Rukongai and Seireitei proper and then he can oversee your sparring." Byakuya replies, nodding to the three friends.
"I will go with Renji to meet you guys." Eri says with a smile.
"I can ask Captain Unohana if I can join you, just in case something happens so that you have a healer on hand." Hanataro suggests. It made Eri smile to see him offering his help like that, where once he would have just stayed quiet.
"A good idea 7th seat Yamada." Byakuya affirms.
"Captain, can I join them too? I did help Lieutenant Abarai teach Eri-chan after all... and I'd still be keeping up with going through some training." Rikichi asks.
"I do not see why not, Rikichi. It will be part of your duty to make sure they all get a small lesson in how a squad goes through its sparring. You and Lieutenant Abarai have not practiced with one another for a month or so now if I am not mistaken. It might be good for the two of you to demonstrate the expectations of the 6th for Erisia-san and her friends." Byakuya says with a nod.
"Thank you Captain." Rikichi says with a smile. He was proud of his squad and the Captain was right, he and Renji hadn't sparred for a while. Of course that was because Renji'd gotten sent on that mission and then been hurt and the squad had been playing catch up ever since but that was finally mostly accomplished now so it was all good.
Rikichi wanted to show Erisia and her friends what it was like being a member of the 6th, he loved his squad. Sometimes it was hard, but Captain Kuchiki was a fair man, even if he held his squad to a very high standard, he just wanted them to be the best that they could be... They had a long line of tradition to uphold and it was important to every member from the Captain to the lowest unseated member to live up to those expectations.
Things concluded and the friends departed. Of course they were given the same guarded escort back to their respective homes that had met them at the gates to the Seireitei proper. Erisia walked with them. "I'll meet you guys back at the gates tomorrow… and then we'll go to the 6th squad. Okay?" She asks.
"Can't wait Eri-chan." Haru chuckled. The friends said their goodnights and the guard led Erisia back home. Byakuya seemed to have been waiting for her, in a sense. He was still at the now cleared table, reading over some reports - which he could have done in his office.
"Earlier you mentioned something happened during your Zanjutsu proficiency test. What was it that happened, if I might ask?" He inquires.
Erisia takes a seat across from him. "As you know, I was most worried about that test. Renji and Rikichi worked so hard to get me the basics and it is the Shinigami art I feel I have connected the least with, which is strange since I can already speak with my zanpakuto's spirit… Perhaps it is that I put more pressure on myself because of that… But anyway… for our proficiency test, I was paired up with Haru. He's the best in our class… And as I am certain you have noticed his rather 11th squad mentality…" She begins.
Byakuya nods, and gestures for her to continue. "I was worried about sparring with him. Of course we've all lightly sparred together before, but nothing serious. I've watched him in class enough to know that he's really good… At one point, he got past my guard and had we been using real swords instead of the wooden practice ones, he would have drawn blood. As it was, it still stung pretty bad. Something just clicked inside me then… I don't know what, I'm not really even aware of what happened. But I just zoned then. My focus narrowed to him… and I felt this energy… I just went with it. And I actually made him lose ground… I got in a few good strikes of my own. It went back and forth for a while… But I'm still no where near the fighter Haru is and eventually he beat me. But for the first time, I made him earn that win… I was so exhausted at the end of it though. I felt almost dizzy." She explains.
Byakuya takes in the information she was giving. It was certainly not unheard of for a Shinigami in training especially, to just find that spark and zone in a moment. How many times on the battlefield with a Hollow did things just seem to click and flow until the battle was over? He himself had experienced it enough to know what she spoke of despite her inability to fully explain it. Of course she still did not have enough experience in anything Shinigami related to truly understand what was happening so she could not truly explain it.
"You do have a fighter's spirit within you, Erisia. You may not have fully connected with it yet, but it is within you. I would not worry that it is something that the 11th would want to claim you for. However, every Shinigami has that spirit within them. It is what drives us to become what we are, to protect people. Numerous times you have stressed that you wish to be able to protect you. What you connected with in that fight, is your truest desire to be able to do that. For you to protect people, you will need to learn and connect with zanjutsu as much as the other Shinigami arts. You will need to find the strength and will to use your sword to dispatch Hollow so they can harm no one else. You have not had to experience this before. You were not brought up here in Soul Society… and so you are more distantly removed from these ideas. But your zanpakuto knows the instinct within you… it is part of that instinct. Perhaps if you stop being fearful of what you might do, you will learn what you will do." He suggests.
She felt a little bit ashamed to admit that she was afraid. However she couldn't really help it. She was fearful. She had never been in a fight in her entire life. She'd never had to do any of this and at times she felt so overwhelmed. She takes in everything Byakuya says… absorbing it, processing it and feels a slight shiver go up her spine as Kumori echoes the final sentiment at least. "I must admit that at times it still seems very surreal to me. That at any moment, I am going to wake up and find this has all been some strange but incredible dream. I am trying to flow with everything, but it is not always easy." She admits.
He nods. "This is only your first year at the academy. Though you were placed in advanced classes for shunpo, kido, and healing kido, you are still just a first year student, Erisia. You must allow yourself to grow and adapt. You have extraordinary potential… Every one of us who has met you and helped to teach you has sensed this within you and we have tried to give you the tools you will need in order to come in to that potential.. But it is up to you to walk through those doors and embrace all of what you are. It is alright to be fearful… But you will in time need to learn to take those steps, no matter how fearful you are. One day, an innocent life may depend upon it." He explains.
She was a little shocked to hear him speak in such a way. Did she really have this great potential?
~Yes, you do. I think he speaks the words because he knows you need to hear them and perhaps hearing them from him will actually reach you. It is no different than what the others have been trying to tell you… what I have been trying to tell you… Listen to him, Erisia.~ Kumori coaxes.
Byakuya noticed the momentary distant look that came over her, and figured that her zanpakuto was speaking with her. He felt those shadowy eyes upon him yet again… Erisia had never really thought about it like that. She was still just trying to process everything, to keep up with all the things that were going on in her life. It was an ongoing process of adaptation and sometimes she couldn't help but feel like she was slipping behind.
"Thank you, for your insight, Byakuya. I will try to do better at adapting to all of this. I suppose it is a good thing then that Haru wants to spar. I only hope that if that clicking happens this time, I can be more aware of it, to better understand it. I do want to make everyone who has helped me proud to have done so." She says softly.
"Just remember to trust in yourself and in your zanpakuto, Erisia. Kumori has not led you astray yet and I do not think he will. If you are fearful, accept the fear but do not let it render you immobile. Take it, and use that fear to fuel your action. Make it work for you instead of against you. Learn to overcome it now, while you are safely sparring and if it touches you on the battlefield you will never have to worry that it will leave you or your comrades vulnerable."
"I will most certainly try. Thank you again, Byakuya… for everything. I should probably try to get some sleep. Without the confines of the testing, I'm certain Haru will want to spar for as long as I can keep up with him." She chuckles. Byakuya nods and watches her retreat.
~You were certainly being more open with her… What has inspired this change?~ Came the zephyr gentle voice of Senbonzakura.
"She needs to hear these things, and has not yet heard them despite all of the other people who have spoken them in different ways. Perhaps she will hear them now."
~She does seem to regard you much more highly than the others. Perhaps you are correct. Will you be watching tomorrow?~
"I may. I have not yet decided."
~You are curious though… as to what she can do fighting.. More so now that you have heard how her proficiency test went.~
"She is usually more timid, yet there is a desire to protect within her that is as fierce as Renji's… I am curious to know what happens when she allows herself to be what she is behind the human fear."
~She is still new to our world… She will come into it, the more she experiences it, the more comfortable with it she will become. Kumori is a patient guide, he will keep nudging her down the correct path until she walks it freely on her own.~
Byakuya nods to his zanpakuto's insights… It would certainly be interesting to see… If he did watch however, he would keep back enough that she would not know that he was there. He was accustomed to doing so for the new members of the 6th squad. He gave them time to become comfortable in the 6th before he let them be intimidated by their Captain. But he was always watching his squad. It was his honor and his duty to do so.