Having finally escaped her family, Karin headed into the Squad Ten training grounds. She was surprised to find Kadin there, the current Squad Ten Captain after Toshiro 'left'. The blonde was talking to his own dragon partner, a sleek black Dark-type dragon called Shadow, legs silver in color, same as the spade on his tail, the spikes down his back and his long horns. Sky blue eyes were focused on his partner but turned as they noticed Karin. Curious, the Dark dragon shuffled his silvery wings and waited patiently for the Substitute to join them, as did Kadin.
"Sorry, didn't think anyone was out here," Karin said as she joined them.
"Training for Bankai again?" The tall man smirked. Karin found that, while he looked rather similar to Toshiro from a distance, they acted so different it was impossible to see a resemblance.
"Yeah." She rolled her eyes. Then they lit up, an idea forming. "What if I trained against your Bankai? Maybe that would help me get mine."
"Eh?" Kadin was shocked by this request. Shadow snickered at his partner's surprise. "Are you sure? You don't even know what my Bankai does…"
"It has to do with shadows, right? Considering your Shikai is a blade that shifts into any form made of darkness."
"Well, yeah, but…the Bankai is a lot more intense…and kind of dangerous. I don't really like using it."
"You sound like Shuhei," Karin teased. "He doesn't like his zanpaktou either."
"Can't really blame him." Kadin shrugged. "How about I start with just Shikai? As a warm-up, of sorts."
"Well…" Karin thought about it. In truth, she supposed fighting someone else in Bankai wouldn't really get her to learn Bankai either…but, she would try just about anything now. 'From what Toshiro told me, I have to learn to protect my friends using my power and not just for myself…I thought maybe fighting against a shadow-type would help, since shadows are usually used to portray someone's worst fear.'
'His zanpaktou doesn't form into your fears, it forms into any weapon he can imagine.' Homuratei argued. 'Besides, you know Captain Thane well enough now to know he wouldn't do that to someone, not even his enemies. He's strong-willed and stubborn, but we all know he's a big softie.'
'True. Oh well, I came here to train, and it's always good to train with someone.'
"Alright, we'll just spar."
The blonde seemed to feel better upon hearing that, letting out a sigh of relief. Karin wondered just what kind of Bankai he had to make him so unwilling to use it.
"I suppose I'll move then." Shadow pretended to give a defeated sigh, making a show of standing up and walking away. Kadin simply laughed at his silly partner before heading a little ways away. They needed a little space to release their Shikai, after all.
"Rage through the Land, Homuratei!" Karin didn't hesitate to release hers, the fiery red rapier forming in place of the katana, its golden hilt gleaming. Flames trailed across the blade, wind swirling around it almost soothingly.
Interested, Kadin held his own zanpaktou before him, holding it backwards in his left hand.
"Take Form, Aneinohyou." The blade turned black and lost its shape, the guard and hilt turning pitch black with swirling silver accents. After a moment it copied the form of Homuratei, only it was black and silver instead of red and gold.
"Hey!" Karin shouted, a little upset that he was copying her blade. Her zanpaktou also gave an angry rumble.
"Aneinohyou can't copy your powers, only your form." Kadin explained. "The abilities I use with it are entirely my own. I'm not a complete copycat."
"Close enough…" This she muttered under her breath.
"Clash of Claws." This time it was Kadin who moved first, his hand passing over the blade before he sliced through the air, multiple shards of darkness racing forward in the shape of claws. They got bigger as they closed in, gathering the darkness in the air to become stronger. Considering it was night, there was plenty of darkness to consume and they grew at a frightening pace.
"Blazing Twister!" The tornado of intense flames negated most of the darkness, the fire consuming the rest and stopping the attack with a burst of fire and wind.
Karin launched another flurry of flames seconds after, not wanting to give the Captain a chance to regenerate the shadows. Its intense light scattered the shadows, making Kadin frown. A zanpaktou that gave off so much light made it hard for him to use his darkness. Still, he did not flinch at the approaching flames. Just as light could get rid of darkness, shadows could consume the light. The blade in his hand shifted into that of a pitch-black lance, which he spun above his head before thrusting down, sending out a wave of what looked like black fire that clashed head on with Karin's attack and suffocated the more natural fire, snuffing out the crimson glow.
'I'll give you something to consider in this fight,' Homuratei rumbled quietly, her master barely taking notice as she darted forward for an actual sword fight with the shadow Captain. 'Your family is in danger. Thane is one of the Demon Lords, a traitor. He's planned it all out, everything, even getting Hitsugaya here and capturing him.' Just thinking about that scenario set Karin on edge, and she attacked a little more forcefully than she'd intended. Kadin raised a brow at the sudden ferocity in his sparring opponent's movements but simply continued fighting.
'Stop that, Homuratei.' Karin growled, trying not to skewer the blonde before her.
'They're moments away from forcing your beloved king to give up his power and then killing him.' The wyvern continued, ignoring her. 'After that, your family is next, then your friends, then the entire Soul Society. Everything depends on you learning Bankai. Can you do it?'
'Stop it!' Karin nearly shouted it out loud, her frustration with her zanpaktou's words causing her fire to flare dangerously, searing the ground with its intensity.
Kadin scowled and Flash Stepped around the flames, shifting his zanpaktou into a set of clawed gauntlets on his arms and using hand-to-hand together with those weapons to confuse Karin. Distracted by Homuratei's imagery, of which she found to be scarily possible, considering Kadin may or may not be from the Greenleaf Family and a possible assistant to Kamai, Karin could only go into a defensive position, trying to keep those claws from hurting her. Having never sparred with the Squad Ten Captain she wasn't sure what he could do, but she'd heard from Rangiku it was a bad idea to let his black blades even graze the skin.
'Without Bankai you will lose everything, Master, so can you control it?' Homuratei continued, further distracting Karin.
A claw cut her left arm as she tried to dodge, moving too late due to her spirit's pestering.
'Damn right I can!' Karin snarled back, checking the wound to make sure it was superficial. Thankfully it was, but she still worried about what that could mean. Were Kadin's shadows poisonous? 'If any of those Solar Five Sisters or Demon Lords or whatever EVER touches my family I'll skin them alive!'
"Drowning Shadow Moon." Kadin's words brought her back to the fight once more, the claws on his arms gleaming with his Spiritual Pressure, a hollow black that could only be seen due to the warping of light around its edges.
Expecting another long-range attack, Karin tensed and held up her blade, fire spinning along the edge.
Then she noticed that the fire was black.
"Wh-What?" Karin's eyes widened as the fire spread down the blade and onto her body. It didn't hurt…not at first. As it continued to spread it started feeding off of her Spirit Energy, draining her of it and using that power to give off a fierce, stinging pain like thousands of ants biting her at once.
"A panther stalks its prey, shepherding it to be alone, a place it can't escape," Kadin spoke, his voice hauntingly emotionless, a side she'd never seen before. "Aneinohyou uses your own Spirit Energy to wear you out and make you vulnerable, just as a panther makes use of its prey's flight instinct to weaken and corner it for the kill. That's why he shifts forms; a panther adapts quickly, using whatever it can to get its kill."
'It is like poison!' Karin mentally growled, as her physical voice no longer worked. 'Dammit! He's got me completely under his power!'
'Then fight back.' Homuratei let off a near-deafening roar. 'Show him you won't give in to darkness. Let Wyvern fire put your enemies in their place! Protect what belongs to you!'
'Belongs to me…' Karin smirked. 'Right. A Wyvern never lets her guard down and loyally protects her comrades.'
'Exactly.' Homuratei was clearly pleased as she purred.
The black fire sputtered a bit, crimson streaking through it. Kadin, having been slowly approaching Karin, widened his eyes in surprise. It had been a while since anyone was able to overpower his shadows. If this was a battle of life or death, he would have moved to kill quickly, before his opponent could break the bind. But, since this was a spar, he stayed put and instead put more of his Spiritual Pressure into the attack to see how much she could handle.
The more he put in the more he became astounded as she raised her power to match. Her training in the Five Trials had truly done her good if she was matching against a Captain so well.
Then, without warning, a burst of scarlet flames snuffed out the suffocating shadows and rose up, forming into the blazing outline of a two-legged dragon; a Wyvern. The outline twirled itself around Karin, its main body behind her with wings outstretched, giving the appearance that she was the one with flaming wings, the Wyvern's head resting above hers with a golden-eyed stare
"My turn!" Karin shouted as she stood, the blazing spirit moving with her. "Tenrairyuu Homuratei!"
Calling out the name, she slashed across the air. The air she cut burst into white-hot flames and a gust of wind came from behind to launch them forwards towards Kadin.
'Ah, crap.' Kadin thought quickly of how to stop this almost supernova attack. His blade changed into a broadsword and he stabbed it into the ground, ducking behind it and initiating a defensive ability, a black shield wrapping around him that refused to let any light through, even that of the superhot flames. Some of the cutting wind still got through and he winced as it stung him, but for the most part he was well protected by his shadows.
The roar of the raging flames died down, but he waited another few moments before releasing the shield and peaking around his sword at Karin.
The teen was looking at her sword in awe, as it had changed form. The fiery phantom of her inner spirit still hovered around her, as if watching her reaction to the new powers. Where once was a rapier was now a set of claws latched onto her hand, long enough to cut deep but short enough to not be unbalanced, and deep red with golden edged blades at the end. Where they attached to her hands, bright red flames gently touched her skin, snaking up her arms.
Following the fire she found they connected at her back, flaring into large wings, not feathery ice like Toshiro's but leathery fire. Armor of ashy black like hardened lava covered her shoulders, but was as light as a feather.
"Wow." Karin looked over her Bankai with barely contained glee. Finally, after two years, she'd figured it out. She'd gotten Bankai. "I did it…I did it!"
Sealing his zanpaktou, Kadin watched as Karin did a sort of celebratory dance in amusement.
"Impressive!" He called out, deciding he'd been forgotten long enough.
Indeed having forgotten he was there, Karin turned a bit red in embarrassment and grinned at him. He had helped her get this power after all, in a sort of indirect way. She looked at the fiery phantom hovering nearby, wings tucked in since its master wasn't battling. In a way only her bearer could know, Karin knew that this phantom was a projection of Homuratei herself and smiled at it.
"Told you I'd get it."
The Wyvern snorted before shriveling up into a single blaze of flame, burning out and dispersing into the air as embers. Along with the phantom, Karin's Bankai burned away and returned to the standard sealed katana.
"Most don't learn Bankai in the middle of a battle," Kadin said as he approached her, a grin back on his face and his strange attitude he reserved for battle gone. "I suppose I'm honored to be the first to see it."
"Well, you did help me get it…kind of." Karin scratched her head as she sheathed her zanpaktou, Homuratei rumbling happily in her mind. "Now I've just gotta train with it to make it stronger. If you blocked that last attack with your Shikai then I've got a lot of work to do!"
Laughing at her enthusiasm, the Squad Ten Captain just nodded and turned away, starting to head back to his barracks.
"You better get some rest, too." He called back as he met up with Shadow. "Talk to your zanpaktou some but definitely get a good's night sleep."
"Yeah, okay!" She called back.
A flurry of wind and Dyrilæn landed beside her, purring her congratulations to her partner.
"Now the demons won't stand a chance." The crimson dragoness grinned toothily. "They'll be running scared!"
"Not yet." Karin shook her head, looking a little more serious. "I've gotta figure out more about this Bankai and start training with it a lot so I can get the hang of it." A wistful expression crossed her face as she looked up to the sky. "I just wish I could show Toshiro."
"We'll see him soon enough," Dyrilæn promised. "I would take Captain Thane's advice and get some sleep."
The Substitute shrugged and the two Fire beings started making their own way back to the Squad Ten barracks. They'd be excited to hear about her getting Bankai. Maybe Ichigo would train her now, she could use someone as strong as him to really practice and strengthen quickly.
Thinking of her brother reminded her of something.
"We still haven't decided if we want to become a Royal Family." She frowned as she said this aloud, her dragon looking at her curiously. "Dad's been dodging the issue, Yuzu doesn't care as long as she's with all of us, and Ichi is a Royal Guard now technically but stays with us."
"What are your thoughts?" Dyrilæn asked.
"Er, well…" She sighed. "If I'm honest, I'd like to be so I could stay in the Soul King's Realm. Then I wouldn't have to wait so long to see Toshiro again. But that's kind of selfish, so I haven't said anything about it yet."
"I'm sure most know that anyway." Karin punched her dragon but the beast simply laughed, hardly feeling it even though the punch could knock out any weaker Soul Reapers. A fist was no match for the scales of a dragon.
"Anyway," the teen grumbled, frustrated with her dragon now, "I haven't really made a decision yet. I'm happy the way things are now, and I still have friends in the World of the Living who I would miss."
"But you know in your heart your place is beside him." This time the dragoness spoke with sincerity, not needing to clarify who she spoke of.
Blushing, Karin didn't feel the need to answer that.
"You've been leaning more towards the Soul Reapers ever since you heard your zanpaktou," Dyrilæn continued. "And I saw it myself that time you went to the Soul King's Realm after the attack and you two confessed your feelings; the human world just holds no interest for you anymore."
"It might even be before that." Karin smiled softly at the memories that came forth as she spoke. "He might have been a total brat at first, but the more he came by the more I wanted to see him. The more my brother went out and then came home hurt, the more I wanted to fight too so I could help protect him. All those little things just…built up, and now here I am, a Substitute Soul Reaper. And I knew my choice was right." She turned her smile to her partner. "Even though it's hard, being a Soul Reaper is way better than trying to stay human. It just feels right."
"Perhaps it's just the destiny of Kurosakis to become Soul Reapers." The Fire dragon purred.
"Whatever it is, we're all here now. But while I like being a Soul Reaper," her smile turned back into a frown, "I'm not sure I want to become royalty. I have lots of friends here, too, that I'd be leaving behind."
"The choice is hard, but you know your answer."
Startled by the voice, Karin whipped around to see Ruala appearing from the shadows.
"What do you mean?" Recognizing the silent figure, Karin relaxed again.
"Upon becoming Soul King, did Hitsugaya ever abandon any you?" Ruala responded instead with her own question.
"No."
"There are rules meant to keep him in his realm, yet he comes anyway." The tiniest of smiles crossed Ruala's face. "Who says a stubborn Kurosaki can't do the same?"
"Is that an insult or a compliment?" Karin deadpanned and the guardian smiled bigger. "So…your point being, even as a Royal Family member, I could still come visit?"
"Or pull a few strings to bring guests to the Soul King's Realm." Ruala looked away as though she wasn't talking to Karin, simply saying things aloud. That gave the older twin a feeling she'd get in trouble for saying all of this. "You have captured the heart of the Soul King, after all."
"Don't think I'm shallow or anything." Karin immediately scowled, getting defensive.
"I don't," Ruala quickly corrected. Some of her shyness came back as she worried about upsetting the black-haired girl. "I apologize…"
Dyrilæn gave an amused snort as she continued to watch the two girls talk, catching their attention.
"Not to be rude but you do need sleep." She said to her partner. "All this can wait for tomorrow, no?"
"Alright, alright!" Karin threw her hands up in defeat and continued walking towards the barracks, which was in sight and not very far now. She waved goodbye to Ruala, who quietly gave a small wave back, before Flash Stepping the last bit of distance and heading inside.
Most of her family was already asleep, so she instead headed to her own assigned room to join them. She'd tell them about her new Bankai tomorrow, along with a good talk with her father about the Royal Family issue.
Just before stepping into bed she glanced out her window up into the sky. It was a peaceful darkness, the full moon bright and soothing, the stars alight in the sky with barely any clouds covering them. The sight helped her to relax and the exhaustion of the day finally caught up with her, turning her away from the window to drop onto the bed. Such a peaceful night was asking for her to go into a deep sleep and not wake until the sun rose high in the sky.
"I wish this peace could last forever." She sighed wistfully into her pillow, knowing that soon, this world would be anything BUT peaceful.
Sorry for the delay ^^' Got sick. Okay, so Kadin's zanpaktou name means Panther of Shadow and Karin's Bankai is Heavenly Dragon's Blazing Wind. Enjoy!
Beta'd by Writer of Craziness