Book II, Part II: Outbreak - Convergence

Chapter I: Embracing Change

Kari Inihara had seen a great deal of things in her more than thousand years of life. Wars lasting centuries, the rise and fall of Hume dynasties, decades upon decades of battle, countless numbers of books and scrolls containing knowledge now lost to those same mortals, and even the inside of a prison cell for sixty long years. Malakh were not quite so long-lived as the Erudite she resided among, but they lived vast lives nonetheless.

It was very strange to her, she thought, that she would find herself training a student that was so much like her own former master that her heart ached at the resemblance. Even four hundred years of passing time didn't completely dull the pain of that loss, it seemed. The boy had taken to the techniques that she and Etchel taught with fervor and an iron will that she'd seen in few others, most of whom were former comrades within the Order. Liam Bayloh had been the last she'd seen to show that level of promise, his fierce loyalty to the Creator a shining example of the ideals that the Ethereal Plane prized so. For someone so inexperienced at the ways and nuances of his position as a Planeswalker, she and Etchel had been remarkably surprised at his potential. She'd spent weeks agonizing over the decision she'd eventually made, with Etchel assuring her that she was making the right choice when she handed over the blade she'd safeguarded for centuries.

Three days was decidedly not the timeframe she was expecting in which to have her worries proven unfounded.

When the young Planeswalker had returned to her stating that he could hear the voice of Chieko Murakami's Diviner in his mind, she had immediately thought it was impossible. He was still a child, barely old enough to be considered an adult in Hume terms and nothing more than a toddler when measured against the lifespan of an outer plane being. It wasn't that she did not trust her newest student, far from it, but...such things simply did not happen.

But when he handed her the Diviner, only to have the blade's spirit confirm just that very scenario, she found that she had no words.

She was still trying to come to grips with the insane reality of the situation when she heard and felt Etchel walk into the room where she was sitting, somewhat dazedly, with a glass of wine.

"So, uh...are you okay? You seemed a little out of sorts when you sent me that message," he said, eyes quickly taking in the details around him - particularly Kari's seeming and uncharacteristic nervousness. Or was that something else? It was a little hard to tell for him, even having known her for ages.

She took a sip from her glass, swirling the liquid around for a moment before looking up at Etchel, who was standing just inside the room against the doorframe. "...If you were to be faced with something which you believe impossible, but is quite clearly a reality, how would you approach the situation?"

Well, that wasn't the question he was expecting to get from her, Etchel thought to himself as he stepped over and took a seat beside Kari. He considered the question for a few seconds, staring aimlessly off into space as he pondered.

"Honestly? I'd say it was real enough for me. You think you're under some kind of...crazy illusion magic or something?"

He watched as she ran a hand through her hair, her body language far more frazzled than Etchel could remember in ages. She slowly sat the glass down on the table in front of her before turning to look at Etchel.

"...You obviously know that Sir Powell was given Chieko-taichou's Diviner."

"I do. I saw it happen," Etchel said, grinning.

"What if I were to tell you that he came to me just before I called for you, and told me that he could hear the voice of the spirit within it?"

Etchel quirked an eyebrow.

"You're serious."

"I am."

There was a brief pause...right before Etchel burst out laughing, a hearty belly laugh that left him doubled over beside his companion, almost wiping tears from his eyes as Kari watched him as stoically as ever.

"I...told you...!" he gasped out, trying to compose himself again as he finally met Kari's gaze again. "I told you that he was the same as Chieko, and you didn't believe me!"

"I did - it's just..."

"You can't have missed that, even from the first time you met him and began training him. They share the same ideals, almost perfectly so." The laughter and mirth was almost gone from his voice now, back to a more serious manner of speaking befitting his station if not his personality. Kari sighed, looking longingly into thin air.

"I know," she said, looking back over at Etchel. "I did not miss that part of his personality. He reminds me of her, enough so that it is painful. He has the same will she showed to me all those years ago, driving me to improve until I could stand as strong as she once did."

"And you think he's actually got a shot at learning to use her old blade the way she could." There was no question in his voice, merely a statement thrown out to the wind.

"In time, yes. Do I believe he could achieve Bankai? If he trains hard enough in the years to come, potentially - I do not know if a Hume could attune themselves well enough to overcome the challenges needed for that. But knowing that he can already hear the Diviner's spirit...Shikai is certainly a possibility with a much higher chance of success."

There was an odd twinkle in Etchel's eye as Kari spoke, a faint shimmer of amusement and mischief that the former Fifth Division captain knew all too well. "My, my, my...looks like I've got a few strings to pull, doesn't it."

"...What are you planning?" she asked warily, knowing her friend's penchant for trickery.

"Merely...to take the kid under my wing," Etchel said with a grandiose air. "It sure would be something if the rest of the Order got to see something impossible in their lives, wouldn't it?"

"Are you sure that's wise?" Kari asked. "There may be some who would resent such a thing."

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Etchel remarked, waving off the concern. "Fia-chan will help me, and I'm sure that she won't let things get too out of control. Besides...it'll be the perfect opportunity for him to see another plane, right? Kid needs all the experience he can get with that if he wants to live up to Freya's expectations."

It was fascinating to Etchel to watch the subtle play of emotions across his companion's face before she finally sighed, relenting. "Very well," she said, nodding slightly. "If you think it will be a learning experience, then far be it from me to deny one of Lady Freya's chosen the opportunity."

"Just try not to worry so much," Etchel said, standing from his seat. "I won't let anything happen to him - promise. I'm not going to have him meet any of the Captains, at least not yet. Fia and I will be enough for the time being, along with some...special training I've got in store."

Kari had definitely heard that tone before. It was the tone he often adopted right before his trickery and aloof nature as a teacher gave way to the cunning and skilled combatant he actually was, promising pain for the one on the receiving end. She could only hope that he wouldn't go too far too quickly. With Fia around, it should be enough to keep him in line, she reasoned.

"You have a plan?"

He nodded, gesturing for her to follow as he began to head back outside towards the courtyard. "The way I see it, neither of our fighting styles are all that great a match for him. You rely a lot on kidou, which he's got no experience with, and I'm too much of a layabout for him to ever learn much from me," Etchel said with a grin. "So, I've got a teacher in mind, someone who should be able to teach him a few things to put that speed of his to good use."

Kari went to ask who Etchel was thinking of before she was interrupted by Ben's approach, trying - and failing, mind - not to look like he was full of anxiety at what they had been discussing.

"So, uh...what's the verdict?" he asked, looking like he had settled down a bit since he first came but still fidgeting quite a bit more than Kari had ever remembered seeing him do while training.

"Well, that's a little complicated," Etchel said, putting a hand on Ben's shoulder. "You're not in any danger, obviously. This was just a little...unexpected. I've got a few things to work out first, but I think I can get you some training that'll both teach you how to use that Diviner of yours - assuming you really are compatible with it - and help out your fighting style a bit. Just need to go call in a favor or two back in Soul Society first."

Ben nodded slowly, taking a deep breath to calm himself down again now that he knew there wasn't anything wrong - though, had he thought that there would be? It was probably just the uncertainty getting to him, he realized. "I spent a few minutes talking with him while you two were talking - it's a bit like talking with Shiva or Manes. Though, it was a little weird..."

"What was?" Kari asked.

"He tried to say his name, but I couldn't make it out," Ben explained, brow furrowing a bit. "It sounded like someone talking underwater, all garbled." Kari and Etchel looked at each other, both nodding in understanding.

'So, he can tell a little about how the spirit presents itself...that is good,' Kari thought to herself. When first created, Diviners often gave no indication as to whether they were masculine or feminine in nature to their wielder, both because of the fact that they were newly-formed as well as the infancy of the bond to the one whose soul they were formed from. It typically became evident to a Malakh within days as the attunement to their new weapon strengthened past the initial forming, and it was of no real concern in almost every case. That he could tell the spirit's personality and presentation said that he was at least spiritually attuned enough to recognize such things...which, Kari realized after a further moment of thought, should have come as no real surprise. The boy had been bonded to Shiva's power as a Guardian Force for months, and to other spirits before that if his stories were any indication. Combined with his relatively new symbiosis with the Daiesthai that Destine had sealed within him, she would have been more surprised if he couldn't notice those things.

"Diviners," Kari began, "are complex creations that are formed from a fragment of the original wielder's soul. Over time, the bond between spirit and wielder strengthens, allowing for easier use of the power that the spirit possesses. Learning a spirit's name is the first step to unlocking its true potential - such as the Shikai state that you have seen me utilize with my own spirit, Kazewana."

"Or Etchel's Einherjar," Ben added, remembering the few times he'd seen Etchel release his own Diviner's power.

"Exactly. I know the name of the spirit you possess, but telling you would do you no good - the name itself means nothing if merely spoken. Only when you can hear the spirit speak its own name to you will you be able to begin mastering its potential, a signal of the strength of your bond."

"Which is why I'm going to get you a little extra help," Etchel said. "Kari and I can teach you a lot, but you need to hit the basics before a lot of what we can show you will do any good. I think Fia-chan will be better at the boring stuff than I am."

"You, easily bored? Impossible," Ben said with a laugh. "So...Fia is your Vice-Captain, right? I think that's what you told me before."

"You paid attention," Etchel replied, nodding. "If it wasn't for Fia, I'd never get anything done sometimes. You know me."

"Am I gonna get to meet the other Captains and Vice-Captains too?" Ben asked, curiosity and a bit of anticipation swiftly overtaking the anxiety he'd been feeling.

"Maaaaybe," Etchel teased, sing-songing the word. "Saori wouldn't be too bad, probably Lina and Serene too...maybe not Malice, though. She's scary."

"Scarier than Destine throwing gates at my head?" Ben said dryly.

"You'd be surprised, kid," Etchel retorted, chuckling. "But for now, I'd say you should head back to Garden. It'll take me a little while to get things ready, so I'll check in with you tomorrow and let you know."

"Okay," Ben said, relieved to know that he wasn't going to have to try and figure everything out on his own. "Thanks, Etchel, Inihara-sensei."

"How come she gets the honorific..." Etchel mock-pouted, causing Kari to laugh.

"What, should I call you 'Etchel-ojiisan,' then?" Ben remarked, causing Etchel to sigh and shake his head.

"You know, we'll just stick to not having one. That'll do."

Ben chuckled as he started to walk away, stepping into a Planeswalk with ease as he headed back to the mortal plane. As soon as he was gone, Kari turned to Etchel.

"You are serious about having the Order train him?" Kari asked, to which Etchel nodded.

"To an extent. I'll ask Fia to help, sure, but the teacher I've got in mind is someone different. Friend of mine from back then...you know." He trailed off, not offering up anything more than that, and Kari nodded lightly in response.

"So long as you know that he's safe," Kari said. "I still can't shake this feeling that something much worse is on the horizon."

"I'll keep my ears to the ground, but Soul Society's been pretty quiet. Mortal plane too, at least from outer plane stuff. It's never really quiet there, you know?"

"Given that it has been hundreds of years since I last visited the mortal plane, I will take your word on those matters," Kari remarked with a smile.

"Food's great, though," Etchel said with a jaunty wave, turning to leave. "You really should try it sometime!"

"I will. Stay safe, Beoulve-taichou."

[July 15, 2152 | Trabia Garden, First Floor, Dormitories | 11:03 AM]

Ben had, by his estimation, barely been back to his dorm room for five minutes before another knock came at his door. He reached out with his energy - which was getting more and more instinctual to do, he noticed with satisfaction - and immediately realized that he recognized the person on the other side of the door. Suppressing a groan for what he surely knew was coming, he pulled open the door to see Darius on the other side leaning with one hand on the outside of the doorframe.

"So, uh...you're late," Darius said, cocking his head slightly to look at Ben. Ben at least had the decency to look chagrined at Darius' observation, given how much he'd always prided himself on punctuality. Darius must've sensed him come back to Garden, he realized, even as he also realized that in his haste to leave he hadn't actually given Darius any explanation.

"Yeah...sorry," Ben said, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. "Had to go to the Ethereal Plane...bit of a problem I had to take care of."

"Is that so," Darius chuckled as Ben stepped aside to let him walk into the room. "And here I thought you were just cowering in fear at the thought of facing me today." Ben simply shook his head.

"Clearly," he said dryly.

Darius was obviously joking, though there was at least a hint of truth to it all. He'd been sparring with Darius for a long time now, ever since officially joining SeeD, and their attitudes towards each other had changed into something closer to rivalry than outright hatred. Darius had seen that Ben wasn't just a lowly civilian to be demeaned, and Ben had seen that Darius had hidden depths and a troubled past that gave him a bit more insight into his usual personality. Still, on the field of combat, Darius had more often than not been his better - with the long-range combat that Darius favored, he made it hard for Ben to get close enough to land a decisive blow, particularly because he himself was also a Planeswalker.

"Not letting you shirk this one," Darius said, lips twisting into a smirk. "Unless you want to admit my utter superiority."

"I think I'd rather die first," Ben replied, burying his face into one hand and sighing. "Alright, fine...you want a match, I'll give you one. Usual place?"

Darius nodded in agreement as he turned to leave, accepting that Ben was going to hold up to his word. Ben sagged a little as he watched Darius Planeswalk out and head for their usual sparring arena in the training center, reaching to the sheath that held the Diviner at his side before closing his eyes.

"Um...is it okay to use you in a training match like this?" he thought, addressing the Diviner spirit in his mind. "I try not to ask Shiva to help without a reason for it, so I thought I should ask you too, Diviner-san." He felt a little strange addressing the spirit as such, but pushed it aside as he realized that without knowing the spirit's name, he didn't really have a better idea for how to speak with him.

Besides, calling him 'sir' just seemed odd to him.

The spirit let out a low chuckle that echoed in Ben's mind as he responded. "It is fine. Training is necessary if you wish to continue growing stronger and deepen our bond."

Ben nodded to no one in particular, stepping back into the small portion of the dorm serving as his bedroom and pulling out the black garment that Kari had gifted to him as a small smile crept over his face.

"Then let's get to work."

Darius felt and saw Ben arrive in the training center at almost the same instant, the touch of energy that heralded his Planeswalk giving him the barest instant's notice before his eyes registered the arrival. He started to say something, to keep tossing out the tiny verbal barbs he'd been using before in a lighthearted attempt at goading his rival...then stopped.

"That's different," he thought to himself, noticing Ben's complete change of outfit. "You kept me waiting just to change into some fancy pajamas?"

"I can hit you with this sandal from here, you know," Ben said, folding his arms.

"You can't hit anything with a sandal from there," Darius countered, chuckling. "Your aim is atrocious."

"Oh, put a sock in it," Ben huffed, rolling his eyes as he started to bounce idly on his feet. "Same rules as usual?"

"First to give up," the gunslinger replied with a nod. "What's my win streak up to now? Eight, nine?"

"Six," Ben grumbled, conceding the point. "That won't be going any higher."

"Let's find out," Darius replied, drawing his twin pistols - loaded with non-lethal ammo, as usual for training - and twirling them idly as he waited to begin. "On three...one."

"Two."

"Three!" they both shouted, immediately breaking into movement as the fight commenced.

(Play: Veiled in Black - Yoko Shimomura, Final Fantasy XV)

Protect magic shimmered into existence around Ben as Darius began unloading rapid fire shots from his pistols, tracking the Blademaster as he started weaving around the throng of trees that lined the clearing they were in. It was a favored tactic of his, using the tree cover to break up Darius' sight line and give him a chance to find an opening to close with, but Darius had easily adapted to tracking him even through the underbrush by sound and keeping a close eye on both him and his energy signature. Bullets raced through the air around Ben as he moved, the occasional shot deflecting off the magic around him, and he began to let fly with low-powered Water magic as he ran to try and give him some breathing room. Shots tore through a few of the watery spells, with Darius easily sidestepping the few that he didn't strike with his bullets, and he watched as Ben leapt from the treeline and sliced out to send a wave of icy energy flying at him. It exploded as he met it with a rapid Fire spell, but Ben was right behind it and striking out with a blade the moment the spells dissipated in the air. Darius dodged one slice - only one blade, so Ben wasn't serious yet, he thought to himself - before parrying the next on the barrel of one pistol and jamming the other into Ben's stomach. Junctions or not, he was going to feel this through the light clothing, the alchemist thought with a smirk.

When his shot hit thin air, he blinked.

"The hell...?"

Then Ben kicked him squarely in the back, smiling pleasantly as he watched his rival go flying away from the junction-enhanced strike. Darius shoved his guns back into the holsters even as he flew, reaching out and slapping the ground to turn his flight into more of a somersault and skid to a stop, only to be forced to dodge a quick slice from Ben that caused him to blink away rapidly with his Planeswalker power.

There was a sound of rushing wind, and Darius came out of his Blink only to have Ben right there with him again, causing him to quickly bend out of the way of the oncoming strike yet again even as he wondered how in the world Ben was moving so quickly all of a sudden. It had barely been two weeks, more or less, since they trained last - there was absolutely no way he'd gotten this fast that quickly. It reminded him...

His face went pale as he realized all at once that Ben's speed reminded him of Albel, of all people, and he wasted no time in sending Haste magic cascading over his body as he frantically grabbed both pistols again and began firing Ben's way without delay. Blasts imbued with elemental magic struck out at Ben's Protect spell, shattering it musically with an explosion of magical shards, but the Blademaster simply started moving forward again. His body danced around the shots as if they were moving in slow motion, each movement accompanied by the sound of gusting wind, and he was in Darius' face again before the marksman could react. His blade sliced upward, drawing a shallow cut across Darius' body, and he smirked as he watched Darius retreat again with another burst of planar energy.

"Usually I'm the one running. What happened?" Ben said, a wide grin on his face as he held his Diviner up on his shoulder.

"...You were not that fast before," Darius said, eyes narrowing as he cocked his guns.

"Oh, goodness me, so I wasn't!" Ben laughed, clearly enjoying Darius' reaction as much as he enjoyed his present overacting. "Turns out that training with a couple of Grim Angels for a few weeks has some fun perks...if you don't die, that is. Etchel's fun like that."

"...I'm so screwed," Darius thought to himself, recognizing the name for who it was. He'd heard Ein and Andréa occasionally talk about their father, and it hadn't been until recently that he'd met Etchel for himself, but...if he had been the one training Ben, then there was no telling exactly how much stronger Ben had gotten in even that brief timeframe.

Unfortunately, Darius realized, he was probably about to find out the hard way.

Ben slung a wave of ice from his blade that sailed towards Darius, forcing the gunslinger to cancel it out with a hasty flaming shot from his pistols, but by that time Ben had vanished again into another flash step. It took him behind Darius to let him deal a thin cut to his back before he could turn around, continuing the infuriating evasive dance Ben was currently engaging in. One pistol whipped around and snapped off a shot that narrowly missed Ben as he disappeared once more, and another stayed straight ahead as his eyes flickered around the battleground for any sign of his foe. He felt a faint burst of energy off to his right, and both pistols immediately spun and rose to blast off a Kazkata attack with remarkable speed towards the reappearing Planeswalker. Ben simply smirked, bringing his Diviner up and cleaving through the attack like it was nothing as the two halves passed around him and exploded to either side of his back.

"Oh, now that's just not fair."

"You really need to step up your game a little there, Darius," Ben taunted, chuckling to himself. It really felt good to be on the other side of the one-sided fights for a change. "Let me show you one of my new tricks."

In a flash, he'd sheathed the blade in his hand and conjured a thin needle into both hands with a minute wink of alchemic light. For an instant, Ben relished the look on Darius' face as his fellow alchemist saw Haste magic flicker over his body, but he pushed his satisfaction aside as he threw himself back into flash steps at his absolute top speed. He started to circle around Darius, afterimages trailing his wake as he spun around the gunslinger at breakneck speed, and the needles in his hands rose in concert before he began to throw them at his target. From his vantage point, Darius may as well have been standing still, and he was careful not to target anything that would cause too much harm even as he focused on completing his attack. Needles pierced into arms, legs, clothing, and everything in between as Ben let loose with his flurry of projectiles, and he skidded to a stop with a spray of dirt before turning to look more clearly at the results.

"...I think I'm gonna just call it quits now," Darius said, trying not to wince at the quite frankly absurd number of thin needles now protruding from various parts of his body. He almost dropped the pistol in his left hand as he returned both guns to their holsters, fingers flexing painfully from the spikes of metal embedded in his arms.

(End: Veiled in Black - Yoko Shimomura, Final Fantasy XV)

"Told you I'd end that win streak," Ben crowed, loving the opportunity to gloat for once. "Though the needles might've been overkill..." he added, looking Darius up and down. "So, uh...sorry?"

"Just...help me get them out, and we'll call it even," Darius sighed, starting to sit down on the ground before remembering that there were needles in his legs, too. He eventually managed to crouch down into enough of a sitting position to start pulling the needles from his lower body. Ben did, he had to admit, have pretty good aim with those throwing weapons, as he was almost certain that every single one of the needles had missed anything even mildly vital in favor of striking simply tissue and muscle.

It still hurt, mind, but there wasn't any chance of any serious damage.

Ben chuckled, stepping over to Darius and starting to pluck out the senbon that he'd used before discarding them onto the ground. It only took a minute or two of careful work before they'd gotten all the projectiles removed, and Ben took the time to gather them all up before transmuting them into a neat sphere of metal that he started tossing up and down like a baseball, absently casting healing magic over Darius to seal up the multitude of tiny punctures as he did so.

"So, same time next week?" Ben asked, sounding incredibly smug about the whole thing. To Darius' credit, he managed to stifle the momentary bit of panic that threatened to cross his face, turning it into a light cough as he looked up towards the roof of the training center.

"Yes, well, my schedule's been getting pretty busy lately, so I just might have to pass on that as much as I hate to do so..."

"Of course, of course," Ben said, still grinning. "I'd hate to ask you to ruin your plans on account of me. By all means - take all the time you need."

He gave a jaunty wave and turned, starting to walk back towards the entrance to the training center before looking back over a shoulder. "I'll be looking forward to doing this again sometime!" he called, vanishing into a Planeswalk as soon as he finished speaking to leave Darius alone in the clearing of the training center. Darius looked at the spot where Ben had stood for several long seconds before letting out a long, frustrated sigh and shaking his head.

"He's going to make me do actual work, isn't he."