Tell Me Your Story [Henrex, Hiroe]

To see the life begin to return to her eyes warmed his heart and filled him with hope. He knew that she was capable, and this moment was a prime example. It was a difficult road to walk, but it was one that he would help her on every step of the way. So, as she nodded and wiped her tears away, Henrex simply smiled, nodding in return.

He knew that, should she try her hardest and remember who she was, that despair would never be enough to stop her.

Her declaration that she wouldn't run away anymore, that her dream wasn't over yet, to hear her say it was music to his ears. However, he stood up silent steps carrying him to the middle of the training ground as he looked back toward her. He drew his sword, the shining silver color gleaming in the afternoon light. He held his Zanpakuto out toward her, inviting the dreamer forward. The path was clear, and her future lay in front of her.

"Show me then, Hiroe. Show me that you won't run away. Prove to me that you will take fate into your own hands! Draw your sword, and face the future! I will guide you as best I can, every step of the way."

Hiroe was still trying to make sense of the vision that momentarily clouded her mind. What did it all mean? Did it mean anything at all? After all she'd endured over the past month, she didn't dare assume it to be her zanpakuto. If it was, then the sword remained without an imprint. The blade had displayed nothing, offered nothing. Yet, she wondered. She had demanded so much of her blade, but not once did she truly sit to think of the root cause. Why did her soul remain without a spiritual imprint? Countless hours of meditation hadn't drawn her any closer, and even after so many months, she began to view the whole process as a lost cause. Yet, she still persisted. Pinpointing the source.

What was it that her sword demanded of her? Rising from the bench, Hiroe grabbed her Asauchi, exhaling softly as a grin creased her lips. Stepping toward the courtyard reserved for training, Hiroe unsheathed her Asauchi, golden eyes bearing down on the Captain with newfound resolve. She didn't know what the future held, but she would start. The dream would live on so as long as the dreamer remained steadfast in their belief. With support from so many great men and women? She'd be a fool not to try!

"Fine. I'm going to give it everything I've got! En Garde, Teacher!"

Executing rudimentary shunpo, Hiroe vanished and reappeared towards Henrex, executing a vertical swipe towards his chest. To such an exceptional warrior, these movements likely appeared as if they were happening in slow motion, but Hiroe was going to give it her all. That's what got her this far. That is what she hoped would take her over the top.

That was the Hiroe he knew, and one he hoped to see for the foreseeable future. A woman who wanted to rise to the top, stopping at nothing to do so. So, watching her draw her sword with a smile, he let his own weapon fall to his side. He kept his stance open, deceptively vulnerable as she leaped forward with her Shunpo, cutting down toward his chest.

Responding with an equally simple upward slash, the two blades clanged against one another, with the Captain forcing his student's away and up. Less than a moment after, he slipped closer, forcefully, but still carefully, pushing Hiroe back a few steps before he retreated as well, taking a couple of steps backward as he returned to his stance from before.

"Again! Find the moment, the opening, and strike like lightning!"

His heart swelled with pride as he encouraged his student, wanting nothing more than to see her reach the peak of the mountain that she was so eagerly wanting to climb.

As expected, her first strike was deflected and countered within the space of a single movement. Even so, Hiroe remained determined. Her resolve had returned, and so too did the tenacious dreamer. She had failed countless times before, far too many to count - yet still, she persisted. There was no need to run away. If he countered her first strike, all she needed to do was execute an ever greater technique, to defy his expectations. The mountain stood before her - adorning the form of a mighty warrior who had seen countless battles. To land even a single strike would be victory enough, and she'd go even beyond that. A moral victory would eventually become an absolute victory. How long had it been since she'd felt the joy of imagining foolish dreams, housing otherworldly delusions of growing beyond every measure imaginable?

Ah, I'm finally having fun again. This is what it means to be alive. I'll never doubt myself again. Push it. Go further. Don't let up!

HIroe shifts her feet forward, sheathing her blade as she took a deep breath. Repeating her flash step technique, she reappeared before him, twisting her fingers around the hilt to execute a swift draw and slash technique, swinging her sword upward to reach his shoulder. With his skill in discernment, Henrex would doubtless catch a glimpse of sparks dancing along the blade's edge. Hiroe, lost to her own excitement, pays little heed to the phenomenon taking place. She only sees the insurmountable obstacle standing before her!

He held his sword at his side, keeping a close eye on her movements, watching her like a hawk. He didn't expect her to beat him, that was out of the question -- he wanted to see her improve, her to take him by surprise and to show him that she still had what it took to reach the mountaintop. So, as he watched her sheath her sword, a foot dug into the ground slightly.

He reinforced his stance, ready for whatever she might throw at him. He was ready to defend, parry, and retaliate. Her feet shifted, and she took a deep breath, surging forward with a Shunpo again, swiping at his shoulder. Quickly switching hands, moving his sword to the other, he raised it to let her sword slide against his. But, then he noticed something: sparks.

A new look of excitement came to his scarlet eyes as he pushed her sword away, reacting similarly to how he had before, a firm but careful shove to put her back at the distance from before. He knew that those sparks weren't from steel clashing -- he could feel the remnants of spiritual power in them. The spirit in her sword had no doubt been whispering in her ear, calling out to her. Perhaps...

He smiled, lowering his sword for a moment, only to shift his stance. His body twisted slightly, and he held his sword out instead of downward, akin to fencing posture.

"Again! Don't stop now!"

In the material world, Hiroe remained unrelenting. She was pushed back again. Her second attempt ended in failure. Yet, she didn't back down. Her tenacity was frightening. It was as if all she desired to do was overcome the obstacle before her. The futility of the act hardly mattered. She no longer cared. Her body was lost in a state of euphoria, her adrenaline pumping at an exceeding rate. She charged forward. Sheathed and drew her blade once more, soaring toward him with every ounce of speed she could muster.

In another world, an entirely different phenomenon was taking place. Falling. Falling. An eternal descent. Hiroe is falling haplessly through a heavenly sea of swelling clouds. Where am I? What is this? A foreign world. A realm that defied her imagination. Everything felt so real. Everything felt so ephemeral. She was falling, but everything felt so right. Everything felt so free. Through the clouds, golden eyes bear witness to the majesty of a dreamlike courtyard. The descent is no longer swift, no longer eternal. There is an end. The path starts there. A new destiny begins. She lands gracefully within the center of the courtyard, captivated by it's grace. The clouds that she had fallen through separating and connecting again. In the distance, a young woman is gazing at her, her appearance reminiscent of a female samurai. They lock eyes. Hiroe is the first to approach. Then, it becomes abundantly clear. This was her inner realm. The mirror of her soul.



"My resolve..."

He could sense the adrenaline-induced high burning through her as she wasted no time in attacking again. She sheathed her sword, and Henrex kept himself ready for her next attack. As she surged toward him, drawing her sword to attack again, their blades clashed as he brought his to meet hers.

Effortlessly moving it to the side to avoid damage, he controlled the momentum of their weapons to move it to the opposite side, before abruptly tearing his sword upward and bringing his own back to his chest. Quickly adjusting his footwork, he began turning to gain momentum, aiming for her free arm. Regardless of whether or not she was hit by the attack, it wouldn't do much damage.

He had no intention of hurting her -- merely pressuring her to see her break through her limits, to unleash the full brunt of what he had seen only a small snippet of moments prior.

"Indeed. To dream without resolve, without conviction, is a fool's errand. Do well to remember that, Hiroe. Take pride in knowing that you can now call yourself my wielder. Now... Call me by name, my little child of the clouds. The Lightning Snowflake: Denkosekka."

Resolve. Conviction. What was did those words truly mean? No one could question her determination in this pursuit, but had she truly thought herself worthy of it's glory? No. She had always doubted herself to one degree or another. I'm not strong enough. I'm not as good as him. I'm not as good as her. Everyone has way more potential than I do... that's right. For a dream of this magnitude, there ought to be no doubts. Comparison was the killer of joy, after all. She will no longer doubt herself anymore. To hell with this worthless fear. I'll blaze through it all, like a thunderous bolt of lightning slicing through the heavens. Yes. I'll never doubt myself again, Denkosekka. Be prepared. You'll be seeing me again.

The thrust rings true against her arm, but HIroe does not waver. Shifting her body in reverse, she sheathes her blade. Her expression is joyous, her posture radiates an aura of absolute conviction. To her, Henrex is no longer her teacher. He is the pinnacle. The mountainous apex. An inexhaustible courage fills her soul as she brings it all to bear, extending her flash step beyond what it is currently capable of. It hurts. It's painful. Yet, she doesn't stop. One strike. She would show him her resolve with one strike!

"Vanish..."

For a moment, her blade adopts the form of a transparent sword. A glasslike blade. It is hardly discernable, but perhaps he can see it. He is the stealth division captain, after all. To Hiroe? Heh, he's simply something to overcome.

"Denkosekka!"

The thunderous dream bursts forward. Her shunpo, her spiritual pressure, her immature shikai all melding together in a brilliant display. Ah, it's not enough. It's not even half of what she is capable of, but for now, that's fine. She is the star of the show, after all. Therefore, the script will correct itself in the end. With one draw and slash, a blinding flash of lightning is released in a vertical cleave.

Seeing Hiroe sheath her sword again made him switch his stance again, returning to the prior position. But, then he saw her face, lit up with joy, a blazing resolve in her eyes. His own heart resounded in joy as he saw that fire reignite in her eyes, seeing her drive blaze through again.

He took a half step back to steady himself. However, beyond what he felt then, what he heard next caused his expression to shift.

From confidence to excitement, the verb that left her lips caused him to shift to a defensive stance. He noticed the change in her sword, the glass-like blade glinting in the afternoon light. As she called out the name of her Asauchi -- no, her Zanpakuto -- the Captain's heart swelled with pride. Not just that she had finally broken past the barrier, finally hearing the lingering whispers, but of the name of her Zanpakuto, and the power that it wielded.

Her draw was faster, the crackle and scream of lightning ripped through the quiet air of the training room as she lunged forward, cleaving with everything she had. In all of what he felt in the moment, the sudden speed of her draw took him by surprise. Her cleave sliced cleanly through his shihakusho, neatly avoiding his haori, the black fabric darkening in red, though the wound behind had closed and repaired itself.

The arena went still as he looked at Hiroe, a warm, wide, yet proud smile on his face as he lowered his sword, the weapon sliding silently back into the sheath.

"Fantastic. Absolutely fantastic! I knew you had it in you, Hiroe. Now, take that feeling, and never forget it. Blaze through everything that holds you back, and soar to the top. Show them that nothing will stop you."

It was an immature release, far from tempered, far from cultivated. Hiroe practically felt her legs crying out in pain after forcing it to bend to her will after that lightning-rending slash, but if an observer dared to look closer, there was neither a grimace nor a sense of discomfort in her expression. It is an expression of exultation, a boundless pride that she would contain for no one. Immature though it was, it achieved the result she'd sought and in that moment, Hiroe had felt as though she'd overcome the mountaintop. It was a momentary victory, but a victory nonetheless.


There was no longer any reason to doubt herself. Rising from the ground, gathering her footsteps, she turned towards Henrex. A soft sigh escaped her lips as she sheathed her blade. Golden eyes peered toward the man who, along with so many others, had helped her overcome this terrible chapter in her life. Now, as he said, it was up to her to move past her doubts. To show them that despair was not enough to stop Hiroe from achieving greatness.

"Of course, I will. Thank you. I'm never going to let doubt hold me back again."