Discovery, Friendship, and Haggery(Ibiki/Invite)

Sleep was overrated. He was shaking with anticipation. His effort came to fruition. And also, for the first time ever, he found a kindred soul that wasn't his Zanpakutō. Many years he spent, pretending to be friends, and manipulating others to his needs. This however....was different. She saw through it and yet, still chose to share this with him. For once, he understood what his 'mother' told him all those years ago about friends, before that bastard Zanma stripped it from him. Perhaps, if Shin was to say he had any regrets, it was that. He let that bastard imprint a distrust in his soul that he held for centuries. How pathetic was he, not a single real friend for over seven hundred years. Shin simply shook it off.

Perhaps I've been going at it all wrong. Tunneling my vision to my goal so intently, that I failed to realize that fucking Zanma made me into someone just like him.

Shin-kun, you're nothing like him. Well, that isn't really true but, the important things you and him differ is that he killed just for power. And you got power just to be better than that. Have you been tunneling? A lot. Too much. You need to stop it baka!

This is some motivational spee-

BAKA I'M NOT DONE! Just because you tunneled doesn't mean you were wrong for doing so or that you are an evil bastard like him. Remember, he did so many things for his own goal. But you never had a one true goal. You've been tunneling into nothing because you never let people in. Because you showed what happens when you let the wrong person in when you killed that low life scum. But make no mistake, you are not perfect. But unlike him, you are still doing the right thing. Even if the means is wrong and the method is wrong and you annoy everyone around you. You are doing it for valuable reasons, not because you needed to bully others cause you couldn't exact your anger on the ones you were angry with like Zanma. He was weak and kicked out of the Soul Society and when he couldn't deal with that, he turned to those weaker than him. You got stronger and used to it raise yourself and now, others around you. He ran away from his problems, you ran headfirst into them. Often with many falls. But you never ran away.

Shin stopped and listened to Shibo Aijin speak. It was the first time she heard him defend him. And stand up for him. She always cared but never voiced this type of emotion for him. It sounded like, she was proud of him. And for once, Shin didn't say anything back. She could feel it after all. His sense of Gratitude as he stared up towards the horizon, observing as the night sky bloomed outwards and captured this feeling of peace. This breakthrough in his own self and his own heightening of his own learning. He was learning how to be alive. To not bury his nose into a pure goal without looking around him, even though his goal seemed to warrant looking around. And yet, he never saw what was truly in front of him. Perhaps it was the way the Second Division was handled by Soi and Yoruichi. The family never had a bond after she left. It became ice cold and stagnant. And Shin would remedy that, piece by piece if he had to. Shin gripped his fists together as he thought about those two. How they left everything behind for their petty goals. Discarding everything and letting their family rot. It made Shin's blood boiled. And one day, he knew he'd be ready to unleash that anger upon them. But he knew better than to carelessly charge at them now. There would come a time, when he'd know he'd be ready. And when that time came, they would pay for the damage they had done. Shin vowed that to himself the moment he became Captain of this division. No, this family. As he stood in thought, staring at the horizon, the sun soon began to rise, basking the region in a warm, faint glow. The air's cool chill and the rising warmth of the dawn sun created a wonderful feeling upon his skin as he breathed in the warm feeling it present, before smiling to himself.

"Bankai. Zettai Shibo Aijin."

Shin's state changed to his standard Bankai formation as the morning started, unsure of when exactly Ibiki would arrive. He stared into the sun as it rose slowly over the cracked horizon, and glimmered upon the ground with a faint yellow and orange hue. The bathing slowly expanded as the sun continued to rise more and more. The wondrous feeling it gave Shin made his body tingle as he grinned widely to himself. He was excited again. Any moment now she would be here and Shin would get to see what would truly come and this made Shin get the jitters. His own excitement made standing still less than likely though, with his controlled movements, he simply looked like he was standing still somehow. Though it wouldn't be this way to a trained eye. He couldn't wait, he was pumped!

There was no rest for the weary and the same could be said of those who attained the rank of captain. Under a moonlit sky, the gathering of two powerful shinigami was going to come to pass and each of their bankai's would be unveiled under the full sun's gaze. With winds easing through the valley of grass and plants, the crunching sounds of feet against earth would echo and the presence of The Menacing Devil Girl eased on to the land around them. As the illumination of the solar body shined brighter, one could tell that this girl was dressed for combat.

A raven hued kimono was the only clothing to otherwise be seen on the Oni Shinigami. Leaving her bare feet exposed to the elements and body as loose as possible. At least -- if it weren't for the shackles constrained around her waist. A metal-like belt was fastened around The Captain's mid-section. And on this belt was a series of chains that were scattered about in every which direction. Some of them connected to a pair of cuffs across the girl's wrist, while others were conjoined with a white sphere, a gold cube and a red square. This was the girls Zanpukto and she often did not fight without it.

As the waves of warmth overflowed on her body, The Ginger Eyed Shinigami would stare down her emerald haired companion. In this fixated gaze would The Devil Girl's glance seem stern, but not filled with vicious intent. Rather, it was the kind of look given prior to an intense fight of some kind or another. And, to unleash her bankai was rather serious business for the little Suika girl. So, she hoped he would be satisfied by this show; even though Ibiki considered her release somewhat less flashy when compared to other Captains bankai's.

"I won't waste much of your time as we never know what could occur in the Seireitei while we are away. I'd like to make this quick, but I'd also like to say....don't get your hopes up. My Bankai isn't something that is special from the outside. So don't expect anything remarkable."

With a pop of her neck, a crack of her fist and a deep breath; Ibiki started the process of tapping into her rich well of spiritual energy. First, an eruption of purple like lit like a flame around her body. Following that, an explosion of plum and silver colored, bio-electricity scattered around her body. Once that shift took place, muscles started to become enraged and her height increased from 5'2 to 5'4 in the process. Then, with one last exhaling of air, her eyes became devoured in a purple light and her Shikai was unveiled.

"Since I won't be in this state long, I will not bother using my release incantation. If I wanted to become stronger, I would use that. Instead, I'm going straight into Bankai for you. I hope you are ready, Oni-Kyosei. Sorry to awaken you like this."

Then, like a nuclear bomb exploding, the energy of The Devil Girl's sky-rocketed and took off to new levels. First, horns started to take shape out of the spiritual aura that engulfed The Oni Shinigami's body. This was the first shift towards her bankai. Which meant that in no time at all came a pair of razor sharp fangs and skin tearing claws across her hands and feet. Furthermore, the whites within her eyes soon lost their color and it was as if they were consumed entirely in a alabaster void. Then, the final thing to come after that point would be a second outer layer of flames that were golden in color. This represented the power that Oni-Kyosei possessed and made it feel as if there were two Captain-Level Shinigami within one body.

The most important thing to remember of this girl's bankai was this: she was never alone. Whenever this ascension of power was reached, each portion of her soul came to the surface to fight to the bitter end. Both Ibiki representing the material world, and Oni-Kyosei representing the immaterial and the metaphysical. Which is why Ibiki's external metamorphosis was not as profound as her internal transformation. As, in this state, she could more than give someone like Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto trouble as she was a candidate for the zero division itself. That is -- if she cared enough about the king to serve him.

Digressing from pointless sentiment, the muscles contracted and extended once more before her near-peak physical endurance had awoken. The Menacing Devil now stood at 5'5 and he figure seemed much more toned than ever before. Twitching veins emerged all throughout her body and the girl couldn't stop laughing as more of Oni-Kyosei's blood curdling traits started to slither their way into her persona. The adrenaline, just from ascending, was enough to make The Captain as elated as she was in their endless booze drinking the night before.

But, as the laughter died down, she'd gain control of herself and look at Shinryu with a slight smirk. It looked downright mischievous in nature and it was obvious enough that she had something planned. So, as Ibiki placed her right hand on her hip, The Oni Girl would motion for Shinryu to get close with her left index finger and wink at the same time.

"Last chance for request, do you just want to see a Bankai, or do you want to see the next level beyond that?"

And with that, Ibiki would let those words sink in and gauge Shinryu's reaction to it. It would be a decent enough excuse to at least train in maintaining her shikokai form. As, with all the new threats being thrown at the Seireitei, she may have to just unveil it to an enemy soon enough. So, with that thought in mind, The Oni Girl would chuckle to herself and just wait.