Rebirth the Edge, Part I [Tsubine/Kaminari]

Tsubine let Kaminari take her steps back. This time, he drew his Zanpakutō. He held it in front of him in a neutral striking pose. Once again, he began chanting... But this was a very different Kidō than before. This one was one he knew fairly well, and the way he spoke it signified it. There was a bit more ease in his voice and posture. As he finished casting, he called out the spell's name. "Hadō Eleven: Tsuzuri Raiden!" A yellow, jagged-edged flash appeared around his blade briefly. He turned to Kaminari after the immediate effect died. "That one I can do without much issue, but it's not as... flashy as my using Reiryoku to throw a rock. It lasts for just a moment and is more like me turning my sword into a stun prod."

What Kaminari would have sensed would be something fairly interesting. The Reiryoku easily flowed from Tsubine into his Zanpakutō—far easier than most other Shinigami, in fact. It was almost as if there was no barrier between the two, unlike him and empty air. The Kidō was channeled perfectly for someone of his level, which perhaps made the strange disconnect his Reiryoku had all the more odd. "Did that help at all?"

KAMINARI HATAKEYAMA

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Tsubine had always had an innate understanding with Kōgin Reimei. From the time he grabbed her to now, they had a connection that few others could even comprehend. Of course, it didn't help that his Zanpakutō was the most jealous woman he'd met—even beyond Kanna. Perhaps she was part of the reason Tsubine had issues with Kidō. He had relied solely on her for so long that perhaps he no longer had the connections that other Kidō pracitioners could use.

In the end, Kaminari's explanation made sense to him. Kōgin Reimei was an extension of himself. It was the part of him that desired to be the jack-of-all-trades, the protector of all, and the one who could do all. He felt his Zanpakutō roll her eyes. He couldn't quite tell if it was a "Yeah, right" or a "Duh" eyeroll. That was a conversation for another day. Today was a day for magic.

Sheathing his Zanpakutō, Tsubine followed Kaminari's instructions and sat down. He closed his eyes and began channeling his Reiryoku into his upturned palm. It took much more effort than Kaminari needed, but eventually, his Reiryoku became visible to the naked eye. It wasn't forming a sphere. Instead, it was more like tiny spears of light the size of toothpicks were coming out of his hand and fading away as they reached a certain point. They were tilted towards where a sphere might be. If Tsubine was doing the same with his other hand, a sphere would be seen in the negative space between his Reiryoku.

KAMINARI HATAKEYAMA

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Tsubine knew that it wasn't going to be easy. This wasn't going to be like the day he picked up his Zanpakutō. His lips tightened into a brief, tight smile as he stood. He began to pace around as he listened to Kaminari's explanation. He nodded along. Everything she said made sense. But Tsubine wasn't the best student. He was an intuitive learner. If he didn't catch on immediately, he'd likely never get it. And so, he had to think outside the box.

Stopping his pacing, Tsubine turned to face Kaminari. "You know, something I've learned over the years... Well, it's that I can understand someone a bit better when I cross blades with them" He pointed at her. "Why don't you fire some Kidō at me? I'll try to... well, dodge or hit it. Maybe feeling how the energy behaves when I cross it with my Zanpakutō would help me understand how it's supposed to be flowing." Tsubine saw no flaws with this dangerous and juvenile plan.

KAMINARI HATAKEYAMA

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"Probably." Tsubine conceded with a joke. He was serious. It might be the worst idea ever, but it was an idea. If she didn't actually try to hit him, his instincts wouldn't kick in. So it had to be live-fire. He was confident in his ability to dodge or hit the Kidō himself, but he needed to understand it.

"If you hit me, you can heal me, right?" Tsubine quipped before making his way to being in front of one of the berms. He wasn't going to let the kidō just go wherever. These mounds of dirt were there to keep this from doing exactly that. Tsubine gave a thumbs up and focused his senses. He was never good at that "reikaku" stuff in a way that allowed him to detect opponents before they struck. What he did have...

Was reaction time. The lightning bolt flashed towards him, and he could feel the Reiryoku zipping along. Eyes closed, he didn't see it. His body turned to barely avoid the strike. As it passed, he tried to feel the Kidō. It moved too fast for him to really feel it, but something was distinct. "Again." Tsubine called out and readied himself for another blast.

This time, he tried to find the leading edge of the Kidō as early as possible. It was definitely Reiryoku—he could sense the buildup in front of Kaminari. It was brief because of her skill in Kidō, but it was there. He dodged again, this time slightly earlier than before. He called out for her to shoot again, as he thought he had an idea.

It was almost as if the Reiryoku was dough—and the words were kneading it into a specific shape. Or was it the intent behind the words? That was more for a scholar like Kei to figure out. He was fine with his dough analogy. That part was fascinating to see, but he'd need a new test to his theory. "Okay, now do a different one!" If this worked, he'd have a different test to try...

KAMINARI HATAKEYAMA

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Tsubine closed his eyes once more. As Kaminari welled up the Kidō, it formed just like before. The ball was being kneaded with what was likely her intent. This meant that the words were more like a channel for the intent to flow into the spell. Or something like that. Kaminari was skilled enough to not need the channel. As it began to rocket forward, Tsubine opened his eyes to see which spell was coming at him. Oh, that's that red-exploding-ball one. Tsubine had forgotten that one's name. It was his least practiced because he wasn't able to escape the explosive radius of the spell.

This time, Tsubine did something different. He drew his sword and threw his Reiryoku into it. He blocked the spell—but it still exploded. However, his blade was far enough away from his body that only his upper arms got singed. He came away smiling as the smoke cleared. "Kaminari, I think I'm onto something here." Tsubine didn't sheathe his Zanpakutō as he walked closer.

"I can kind-of feel the Reiryoku forming as you say the spell. It's like... dough. You then knead it with your words, the incantation thing, and the next thing you know, it's sent off like an exploding cake. I just need to figure out two steps. The first one, which is I guess the mixing of the dough, and the third one—how it gets 'sent.' I want you to hit me with a variety of Kidō. Don't worry about hurting me too much." Tsubine turned and stepped away—the blade of his Zanpakutō becoming more reflective and melting away. Globules of mercury-like liquid formed where the blade might have once been. "I've got a guardian angel on my side."

KAMINARI HATAKEYAMA

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