The Frozen Light [Kikoto, Kaminari]

Ever since his loss in the City of Light's tournament, Kikoto had been ramping up his training. Even with the loss, he still had all the energy in the world! But, there was only so much that he could do on his own. So, immediately on waking up, he was quick to slip out of the barracks, wandering into the Second Division's training yard.

He hoped to see someone else, and he was not disappointed. Hell, he was surprised at who he saw: one of their seated officers! While there wasn't as big of a difference between seated officers and general members as there was between Lieutenant and general member, Kikoto was still far from one to flee from an opportunity to grow!

So, without another thought, Kikoto slipped out from the doorway, offering a wave as he called out.

"Morning, Officer Hatakeyama!"

Kaminari’s training never ended, not when she had an idea constantly scratching at the back of her mind. That was why she was repeatedly found in the training yard these last few weeks. She took a breath and summoned what looked like a clear orb of water, except it was still like stone and made up completely of her reiryoku. From this ball, suddenly five more fired out toward a set of ten dummies.

Someone called her name...

The five orbs slammed against five of the dummies, knocking down three while the final two bent backwards, but still stood. She took a breath and looked over to the one calling her. "Sorry, but I'm horrible with names... Remind me?"

There was a unique brightness to Kikoto's eyes, one of inspiration and joy whenever he saw someone utilizing the Shinigami's magics. So, in watching Kaminari's training, the young lad grinned from ear to ear as he watched. Despite his near-obsession with Shunko, he still appreciated the fundamentals. As she looked over to him and responded, Kikoto took a few steps closer.

"Kikoto Tsurata! Just...a normal member of the division, but, I wanted to see if you'd be willing to train with me!"

Kikoto still had a wide grin, lightly bouncing from side to side excitedly. Maybe for some, it was a bold request for a regular member to be asking that of a Seated Officer. But, for Kikoto, he had little shame in going to his superiors for training or assistance. That kind of pride and arrogance didn't have a place in not just gaining power, but in his heart in general.

Being asked to help someone with their training was not a common occurrence for Kaminari. She wondered whether she would be a good teacher in the first place. Taking a moment to think, she walked over to the dummies and began picking them all back up. He didn’t get an answer immediately, but she was clearly thinking about it. Taking a breath as she picked up one of the dummies, she nodded.

"Alright, I can do that," Kaminari said. Once all of the dummies were picked up, she dusted her hands off and looked at Kikoto. "What are you looking to train?"

Part of him expected to be turned down, but, nothing ever came from not trying! Despite the doubt, Kikoto kept a big smile as he waited for a response. He idly rocked back and forth on his feet as she walked over to the dummies and picked them up. Hearing her respond approvingly caused him to quickly jump with a whispered celebration.

"Awesome!"

Then, she asked about what he wanted to look at training. Still smiling, Kikoto held up his hands, sparks of energy flashing from them. Well, first and foremost was obviously Kido. He wanted to make sure he was better for the next time that he went up against that fucking pretty boy from the Vandenreich! Even if...the whole Soul Society was on lockdown right now. Doubly so with the murder that happened.

For a moment, the smile dipped at the thought, but quickly returned as he put a hand to his chin, thinking.

"Well, first is Kido, duh! I've been pouring everything into trying to make sure I get better in that. But, other than that, I guess I wanted to get a second opinion on a theory I've been thinking about and working on. It's kinda similar to Eishohaki, and given what I've heard from Miss Chiza, it might be possible!"

"I see," Kaminari chuckled a bit. Though a “duh” to this energetic smiler, it wasn’t a “duh” to Kaminari. It wasn’t like she knew him, and someone’s Division did not always define their prime focus, especially for those wanting to branch out. Either way, she said nothing about it. She just smiled back and gave Kikoto an understanding nod. “Alright, alright…” Kaminari said, moving away from the dummies. She stood behind Kikoto and gestured toward the dummies they had just picked up. “So, either demonstrate what you're trying here, or tell me what this theory of yours is. I’m curious to see what you’re trying to come up with.”

Kikoto was a rather excitable young man -- especially when talking about the things he was passionate about. So, to hear another person interested in what he was theorizing about made him grin. But, then again, with how little information he had given initially, it wasn't entirely unreasonable that someone would want to know more before anything else. So, he promptly turned around and held a hand out to the dummies, waiting a moment before silently casting a Shakkaho.

"Right now, I can do away with incantations, but that cuts a lot of power out of the spells. So, I was thinking of a way to get around it, while also retaining the power that they give."

Reaching into his shihakusho, he pulled out a folded piece of paper, unfolding it to reveal a larger piece, with the English, kanji, and Romaji versions of Shakkaho's incantation written out. However, curiously, certain portions were lightly scribbled out, and some parts had similar words written above or below them in the respective language.

"I thought about it, and figured, maybe I could cut out some conjoining words in the chant, articles, filler words, or even replace longer phrases with shorter, similar versions. Like, the 'inferno and pandemonium' part of Shakkaho's could be replaced with 'infernal mayhem,' or something like that. The words ultimately mean the same thing, so replacing words could be easier than just trying to speak faster."

Kaminari took the paper and was quick to recognize the original incantation. His theory was interesting. So, his desire was to quicken the casting rate by shortening incantations through wordplay? Kaminari had a few things run through her mind.

"Have you ever thought about mixing languages? I doubt it must be in Japanese in order to utilize it. It's about the meaning and understanding of the words, so you could pull in Italian, French, Cantonese, Latin... even different dialects or slang." Kaminari handed the paper back. It was an interesting concept. She might even try to pull something like that off. She was working on her own theories too.

"As long as you understand the meaning of the words that you're using, it should work. Don't half-bake that kind of thing, however. Be sure in your translations and pronunciations, otherwise it may blow up in your face. Are you currently able to demonstrate your current progress, or is it currently only theory?"

Mixing languages? He hadn't thought of that. Some words might be shorter in certain languages, some may even have different words that better represent parts of an incantation. The boy's eyes lit up with inspiration as the ideas ran through his head. He'd have to learn the languages, or at least certain words to pair up with others when the time was right, but...

"You could even turn it into a giant mind game with that!"

Despite his wide smile and star-struck eyes, he understood the risks and what would be required of him to utilize something like that. Miss Chiza had also been emphatic on making sure that he wasn't half-baking what he was doing. He might have been passionate and competitive to the point of impulsiveness, but when it came to these objects and concepts of his passion, he still took his time to make sure it worked.

So, he gave Kaminari a firm nod, but the smile was quick to fade at her responding question.

"It's...still just a theory right now. I'm working on it, though! It's just...taking a bit to get to where I feel I can reasonably start experimenting."

It wasn't just about learning specific words; Kikoto would have to make those words mean something to him. When learning a new language, people went by the dictionary, which was fine. However, to make a spell work with woven language, the meaning behind the words had to be clear within the caster, as if speaking a part of them. He would likely have to become fluent to make this happen, or his spells would backfire and possibly do more harm than good. Unfortunately for Kikoto, Kaminari kept this to herself. She would rather test to see if he half-baked his attempts to make it faster, or if he would really spend the time learning.

"Shinigami live for hundreds of years and it can take decades to finely develop techniques as intricate as this. What exactly is "a bit" to you?"

Kaminari noticed the rushed culture that had come about in recent years. Everyone wanted shikai now/ Everyone wanted high level kido now. And their attempts were always weak and lazy. Even though she only had about ten years worth of memory, this felt wrong. Of course... maybe she was just old? She couldn't tell.