TTGLX: So this is the Heavens.
Chapter 6: This'll be an absolute cake wal-
Kamina slept fitfully despite the comfy bedroll. His dreams were plagued with ghostly images of Yoko and Simon and a wave of sorrow washed over him like an ocean. Everything was dark and felt heavy, moved sluggishly.
He awoke just before dawn. It was still dark outside but he could see perfectly due to his prolong exposure to the underground gloom. Deciding that trying to get back to sleep would be fruitless he left his room. Loud snores came from the other two rooms, the more disturbing of the two coming from the door labelled: Myu.
Slipping out of the dorm, Kamina made his way outside. The moon and stars were out, creating a glorious picture above him. He wandered through the grounds, not paying attention to where his feet took him.
His mind also wandered. This was a new start for him but he didn't want a new start, he wanted his old life back. He missed Yoko more than he was willing to show and he worried about how Simon would go on without him. It was a dangerous world and as he was when Kamina left, he just wouldn't make it. Kamina had thought that with him gone then the kid would start to push himself forward but now a fear gripped him that his bro would simply come to an abrupt stop.
With these thoughts in his mind he found himself facing a squad of straw dummies. He paid them little heed until they all suddenly fell to the ground in two pieces. Looking past the destroyed dummies, he saw a hooded figure with a sword held loosely in its hand.
"You couldn't sleep either, eh?" said the man without looking up. "I don't recognise your reiatsu so I'm guessing you're the new guy that the captains sent."
The man stepped forward and removed his hood. He had a scare running vertically down the right side of his face which covered his eye. His hair was short across his head except for his fringe which covered most of his left eye. He had a pattern of scars across his mouth that looked as though his lips were sown together.
"Yeah. The name's Kamina. That was a pretty sweet move you just did. Did you learn it here?"
"Learn it? I teach it here." chuckled the man with a small smile. "I am Mizuzaki Honda, Squad Three's Third Seat. It's my job to train the Academy students to wield their zanpakuto to best utilise both weapon and master's ability. In simpleton, I'm here to make sure that you can all fight."
"You look like you could use some lessons yourself, like how to defend yourself." pointed out Kamina.
"Some of them are from my youth, others from powerful opponents that I should never have had to fight while the rest are from being tied to a chair and cut open for the hell of it. Either way, if you think you could teach me some defence, I'd be open to some tips." the man laughed. He showed no sign of being offended yet some of the old wounds spoke of a dark past full of pain.
"I'm not the defensive type." smirked Kamina. "I go with the idea that the best defence is a good offence."
"Oh really. Shall we test your theory then?"
"Is this a remedial lesson?"
"You tell me." grinned Mizuzaki.
Kamina laughed then darted forward, his sword held ready to deliver a strike backed by all of his strength. Mizuzaki didn't move. As the teen came closer he raised his own blade, but not into a defensive strategy. When Kamina struck, he sliced his sword with a precise movement.
The two blades connected but without any struggle, Kamina was fired backwards into a wall.
"Lesson number one: Trusting solely in strength only works if you are stronger than your opponent." Mizuzaki said in his best teacher voice while watching Kamina struggle to his feet. "If you know that your foe is stronger than you then try and dodge, and prey to the gods that they aren't faster as well."
"Where does fighting spirit and the will to succeed come into the equation?" asked Kamina as he readied himself for a second attack.
"They simply help to prolong the fight. If you can wear down your opponent in that manner then go for it but overall it is an inefficient way to fight. You shouldn't need to keep having to drag yourself back onto your sorry feet if you could just fight better than them." the shinigami answered before sheathing his sword. "Come, lessons will begin shortly and you need the student uniform."
Kamina followed, mumbling the entire time. When they arrived at the stock room he eyed the clothes critically. With a reluctant sigh he pulled the cloths on, leaving his trousers and cape in a small locker that he had been provided with.
"Your first lesson starts soon." stated Mizuzaki from his side. "And guess what, I'm your first teacher. You'd better run or you'll be late."
"But you're here too."
The teacher didn't respond. Kamina shook his head and began to head toward the Academy's dojo. It was a two minute walk. He slid the door open and entered.
"You're late." growled Mizuzaki sternly from his position at the front of the assembled students. He didn't look dishevelled nor was he out of breath.
"What the… how did you…? You tricky bastard."
"It's sensei to you." grunted the man. "Now take your place." he snapped.
There was an open space beside Myu and Kenpi which Kamina slid into. There were only eighteen students and none of them looked particularly tough. They were all completely green it seemed, no one stood with a warrior's bearing like Viral, Kittan or Kamina himself.
"Right." shouted Mizuzaki. "You've all learnt some of the basics of sword combat so now its time to put them into practice. Pair off, standard duel rules. Miamori, demonstrate to Kamina here what he has missed."
"Gladly." responded Kenpi. "Time to learn how a shinigami fights, eh, war hero."
The crowd dispersed throughout the giant dojo and began to fight. The moves were often clumsy but Kamina could see that they were trying, using the moves that they had been taught rather than attacking blindly.
"You ready?" asked Kenpi.
"Hell yeah." He drew his blade. Kenpi was instantly upon him. He slashed and Kamina dodged but mid swing Kenpi reversed the direction of the attack and sliced open Kamina's side.
Kamina ignored the wound and attacked. Kenpi easily blocked the sword but wasn't expecting Kamina's fist to his face. He staggered back, clutching at his stinging nose.
"What the hell you playing at!" hissed Kenpi. "This is a duel, not a bar brawl!"
"Look, there are only three ways that a fight can end. You either win, lose or run. Real men don't ever run, that leaves only victory or defeat. How you get those results isn't important, as long as it's a fair fight. This is a fair fight, isn't it?" mocked Kamina.
"Ha, I suppose that you're right. You won't get to sucker punch me again though." laughed Kenpi. His grip changed and all of his movements became more relaxed, flowing from one into another. When he attacked again it was like every one of his muscles moved in perfect unison and that the very air flowed with him.
Kamina tried to dodge but the blade followed him like it was some kind of heat seeking weapon. It struck; ripping at Kamina's other side.
"Damn."
Kamina dropped back a few steps, his mind racing. This guy fought with the speed and precision of Viral but packed nowhere near as much strength or ferocity into the attacks. There was one major difference though and that was the fact that Kenpi still fought like a duel was a straight forward crossing of swords.
Kamina's blade lashed out but Kenpi easily blocked it. Instantly Kamina's left hand shot forward, aimed at his opponent's face. Kenpi caught him by the wrist before it connected.
"I told you, cheap tricks like that won't work twic-"
With a sudden movement, Kamina kicked at Kenpi's knee, making the entire leg buckle. He fell to the ground. As he made to rise, Kamina placed his blade upon the teen's throat.
"Looks like you can fight." announced Mizuzaki. Kamina looked around to see the other students crowded around, evidently having finished their own fights had gathered to watch his. "Just remember, Skill wise you would have lost miserably. Your experience at real life combat will only keep you ahead for so long."
Offering Kenpi a hand, Kamina helped him to his feet.
"You are strong." said Kenpi, no trace of anger or resentment in his voice. "I hope to learn a lot from you."
"Hey!" roared Mizuzaki. "Who said that you could all stop fighting? Swap partners and fight 'til you can't stand!"
Kamina fought with every student one by one. Their skills were varied but Kenpi was by far one of the strongest. Many were holding back though, feeling that in training wasn't a time to go all out. Kamina won every fight but by the end his muscles stung and his lungs were struggling to keep up with his body's demand for oxygen.
"Okay everyone. Good session. Move on to Kido now with Sensei Nabashin." ordered Mizuzaki. "Oh, and Kamina. I hope that you realise that this is the beginners group. These are currently the weakest in the Academy so don't get cocky about being able to win them."
The students trekked across the Academy's grounds until they arrived at a firing range.
"What now?" groaned Kamina. "I can hardly stand but now we're heading to some more training. I'm already exhausted."
"Yeah. The rest of us have learned to conserve our energy, hence why no one fought with the same amount of vigour as you." pointed out Kenpi.
"The next lesson is easy though." added Myu.
"Speak for yourself." muttered Kenpi.
As they entered the range the students were greeted by an elderly man with a white haired comb-over and a wrinkled face that suggested many years of wear.
"Welcome!" he croaked in a high-pitched, eccentric tone. As you've all come to know, we'll be learning the wondrous art of Kido. With a focused mind and a knowledge of kido then anything is possible."
To demonstrate his point the held out a single finger toward the far off targets. A crimson beam of fiery red light shot from the digit and obliterated several of the targets.
Kamina stepped forward. "So what you're saying is that with enough determination, I can shoot lasers from my fingers?"
"In essence, yes."
"Wicked." he stepped up to the firing position. "If me and Simon can make drills appear from sheer force of will then lasers should be easy." He held up his hands. "This is gonna be an absolute cake wal-"
BANG!
An explosion engulfed Kamina. As the dust cleared it revealed a blackened Kamina, smouldering where he stood.
"Impressive." cackled the man. "You had no training whatsoever yet were still able to summon up enough Reiatsu to use Kido. Your willpower is simply amazing."
Sensei Nabashin turned to the class as a whole. "Today class, we will be learning Hado number thirty one, Shakkaho, or Red Flame Cannon as it is sometimes referred as. Myu, you can try this first. Step up to the firing line."
Myu walked over to Kamina and stood directly in front of him. He was still dazed after the explosion.
"Right. Hold out your hand and read this." said Nabashin, passing her a scroll.
She opened the scroll and began to read. "Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south! Hado thirty one, Red Flame Cannon!"
A red beam shot from her hand and destroyed the cut-out that she had aimed at.
"Right! So it needs random epic speeches to make the magic work. What was it, er? Bloody mask…something about wings…inferno and pandemonium…the barrier down south…Hado thirty one, Red flame cannon!" Kamina exploded again.
One by one everyone tried out the kido with varying levels of success. Some couldn't create any reaction; some fired weak blasts that didn't reach the target while a few misfired like Kamina.
"How is Kamina doing?" asked Mizuzaki as he entered the range toward the end of the lesson. An explosion nearby answered his question. "That good, eh."
"Hmmm." responded Nabashin. "His willpower is stunning but his skill… You always seem to find that sword aces can't use kido and master kido users can't take a punch. There are exceptions of course but this is definitely not his thing."
"I suppose we have to leave it to Nohime to see if he can make it as a shinigami." sighed Mizuzaki. There was another explosion from Kamina's direction. "One thing can be said though, he certainly doesn't give up."
"Righty-o everybody." called Nabashin. "That's it for blowing up the grounds today. Time to move on to your Zanpakuto communication session. Has anyone managed a connection yet?" Everyone shook their head.
"Okay, moving on." ordered Mizuzaki.
The students lurched off back inside the main Academy building. Kamina looked like hell but was still somehow standing. His clothes were still giving off smoke. It was only a short walk to the classroom where the communication lesson was to take place.
As they entered the classroom, everyone's eyes were drawn to the woman that was laid out upon the teacher's desk. She wore a half open robe of thin purple material that framed a large amount of cleavage. Nearly the entire length of her legs was visible. Her lips were a dazzling red.
"Hell-o." she purred at the class. "You all look hot and sweaty, how wonderful. I do hope that you all work that hard with me too." She passed a suggestive look over the class in general as the students seated themselves upon the mats that had been laid out upon the ground.
Her eyes rested upon Kamina. "Ah, we have fresh blood. How very delightful. And such a big, strong young man."
She stood up then made an over exaggerated stretch that drew mass attention to certain areas of her well formed body.
"I'm liking this lesson already." grinned Kamina, a number of the male students mirroring him.
"As of yet, none of you have managed to speak with you're Zanpakuto. It would make me o-so happy if one of you could."
Kamina held out his sword. "Hey, Gurren! Answer me! Let's make this lady happy! Come on, say hello, Gurren!"
The woman smiled a beautiful smile. "As enthusiastic as you are, I'm afraid it doesn't work like that. Meditation is the only way to commune with the spirit of a zanpakuto. That or imminent death. Sit in silent contemplation, with your zanpakuto touching you. Reach out with your mind and grasp for the little light that is the soul of your weapon."
The class became silent as every student began to meditate. The women, Nohime, paced the room, moving between the students in an alluring manner. She would slide past someone and brush her fingers across their shoulders. Occasionally she would lean in, breathing gently into their ears.
Kamina's focus was broken by just such an event. He opened his eyes to see her leaning in towards him, his eyes directly opposite her large breasts. She moved slightly, causing them to jiggle. After a moment she moved away but Kamina's eyes just wouldn't close again. A similar effect seemed apparent on the other students. Kamina noted that she acted the same way to both the male and female students.
An hour passed and no one showed any signs of connecting to their zanpakuto. Every time someone mustered up sufficient concentration, Nohime would glide toward them and throw it off with a well place hand or sound.
"God damn it!" Myu eventually snapped. "How the hell are we supposed to concentrate with you prancing around in a suggestive manner wearing revealing clothes?"
"If you cannot talk with your zanpakuto in a quite room due to a beautiful women, then how do you expect to in a fight, when you really need that link." she sighed. "Oh well, that's it for today. Go on home. I expect you to practice though 'cause if you don't, I'll have to punish you." she purred with a wink.
"Man, it's finally over." groaned Kamina as they exited the building. "With this kind of training, I'll strengthen up in no time."
"There's still no time to rest though." yawned Kenpi. "Squad Eleven are hosting a fight night tournament for academy students. First prize is a fast track to becoming a full fledged shinigami within the Eleventh. Its gonna be tough though as it's open to all students. Some in the upper years have got some real potential. You in?"
"Who the hell do you think I am! Of course I'm in. Starting tomorrow I'll train 'til I drop." boasted the brawler confidently.
"Why tomorrow?" asked Myu. "We've got loads of free time now. Me and Kenpi were just of to the dojo. You can come too, Kamina."
"Nah. I'd love to fight some more but I'm due at someplace called Research and Development."
"Squad Twelve?" gasped Myu and Kenpi simultaneously.
"Yeah, that's the one!"
"Don't let that creep touch you." roared Myu. "If he doesn't kill or mutilate you with his weird ass experiments then he'll be doing something inappropriate. He's like the Boogieman if it had a surgery fetish and dressed like a nightmare clown."
"Is this guy really that bad?" Kamina asked to Kenpi, the more rational of the two.
"Let's just say that I knew a guy once who went to him with stomach pains. The captain gave him a pill, which he took. Five minutes later his belly was ripped open from the inside and his stomach climbed out and ran away."
"Ah…" Kamina turned slowly away. "I'll keep that in mind. No pills no matter what. If he tries anything I'll just punch him a few times until he rethinks that idea. Right, so it's settled. Time to go see how Simon is doing."
Kamina strode off without a backward glance. Myu and Kenpi looked at each other.
"Does he honestly believe that he could beat a captain into submission? How stupid is he?"
"I don't know. I would quite like to see him do it though. That freak scares me."
"Agreed."
"Even so, if he actually tried…"
"He'd be well and truly screwed."
Kamina, oblivious to this conversation, strode through the streets without a care in the world, marching towards the most twisted man in the afterlife with a happy whistle."
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A bit slow and maybe pointless I realise but I thought that it worked will to ease him into Academy life. Next chapter links back into the Gurren Lagann story but I won't be dwelling on that too heavily. I've not got a lot to say this week so that pretty much covers it. Hope you all enjoyed it. Please Review.
-FWF