An Old Blade

It was the day before graduation, and Enjiuu decided to spend it away from the other celebrating Academy members. This was not unusual, as 'Primo' (as he had been nicknamed during the first few days of his Academy years for his laid back attitude) preferred to avoid all human forms of life and spend as much of his time alone in thought, training or finding a place to lay his head. To Primo, the teeming mass of hopefuls that were currently partying their last few hours together were nothing more than an unwelcome distraction, or sparring opponents who's only purpose was to further his own skills.

Throughout Primo’s time at the Academy, he had discovered that his fighting technique leaned more towards the blade and hakuda than the demon arts, and spent much time brooding over which of the thirteen divisions he should join to reflect this. He still had not settled on a decision.

Primo walked along the graveled path leading from the main section of the Academy, deep in thought over his acquired dull and worn out sword that looks like it couldn’t cut branches off a tree. It was by far one of the most uninteresting objects he had ever been required to carry. It was a very sturdy blade, he estimated it to be around 150cm, and had a gold rectangular guard and brass pommel. The wrappings were currently a sickly shade of dark brown and the sheathe was black with old dirty cloth that drapes down from the very end all the way up to where it ties the blade itself into the sheathe. All in all, he hated its appearance and vowed to change it as soon as he returned to his room.

Most of his classmates had opted to wear their katana on their hips. Again, this was something that 'Primo' wished to do differently, so, instead of attaching the sheathe to his belt like all the other mindless sheep, he temporarily carried it in his hand, not wanting to follow the crowd's example.

Finally, he reached the door to his room and slid it open. Making sure to close the sliding door gently behind him, he promptly sat cross legged on his bed and held the katana at eye level with one hand.

''Hmm... You are indeed a boring blade...''

Bringing his other hand up to the sheathe, he removed it with a flourish and placed it carefully next to him on the bed. Uninteresting blade or not, it was his.

''Hmm...''

Sighing, Enjiuu unscrewed the pommel from the end of the handle and unravelled the wrappings, leaving the handle bare and the under-wrapping exposed. He pulled that free too, revealing the four pins that kept the blade firmly attached to the handle.

''Your construction is fairly simple...''

Pulling the pins free, he removed the katana blade and guard. With the katana fully disassembled, he quietly left his room in search of a janitors closet. After some minutes and a few empty corridors, he found what he was searching for. Before opening the door however, he glanced around to ensure he wasn't being observed. Once he was sure he was quite alone, he stole into the closet and took a bottle of bleach.

''Aha... This will do...''

The journey back to his room turned out to be just as uneventful as his trip to obtain the bleach.

Once he was back in the confines of his room, he found a bowl, filled it three quarters of the way with tap water, and then sprinkled the stolen bleach in. Smiling to himself, he added a little more, and then added the wrappings and under-wrappings.

''There... Now... The sheathe...''

The sheathe would obviously take a little more work as it was black and lacquered. Holding it out at arm’s length, he obtained an old piece of rough cloth from his small bundle of possessions and poured the undiluted bleach onto it, being careful not to spill any on his hands.

About five minutes after he applied the bleach to the sheathe, the black lacquered surface began to dissolve, revealing the discolored pine underneath. That would need bleaching too, or it would look even worse than before.

It took just over an hour to fully strip the black from the pine. Sighing, he then started on the actual wood. Another thirty minutes passed before the sheathe was complete. Not taking the time to admire his work, Enjuu removed the wrappings and under-wrappings and emptied the bleach-water out of his window. Running them under a tap, he smiled at the new gold hue of what used to be brown. Much better…

The sheathe was now a beautiful ivory color. Grinning, he rinsed it down, and waited for everything to dry by taking a nap.

A few hours later, Enjiuu awoke. He grinned as he discovered both the sheathe and wrappings were dry, and quickly but carefully reassembled the blade. It was perfect, truly beautiful and totally unrecognizable from what it was before. He attached it to the middle of his back with a length of thick chain that used to belong to a long ornate pendant. The chain was just long enough.

With his new improved katana attached to his back, he walked out across the grounds once more, his mood distinctly lightened. He even smiled at a group of drunken students as he passed them.

By the time he reached his usual bench, the sun was slowly setting far away in the distance. Tomorrow, he would join a division, meet more sheep and begin his new life as a full member of the Gotei 13. It was then that he decided he would join the 5th division. If he was to be around sheep, he wanted to be around wolves in sheep's clothing. This should be much more fun than what the academy was going on about.
“Granted it took me longer that normal but I’d say that it was just that I had no love for the demon arts and frustrated instructors had their time trying teaching me anything really. But truth is told I disliked the idea of learning such petty trickery,”

And so it followed after Enjiuu was accepted into squad seven and went by his nickname as "Primo" only to be labled as a very laid back and uncarring officer with no real motivation to move forward unless he felt he wanted to be stronger; but its been a few months and he still is unseated and has yet to pursue any increased training since joining. "Baka,"

Masamune had decided to deliver the paper's personally , his mind was remembering that ugly evening so many years ago. He knew putting the past behind him on paper was easy, but coming back and being returned to the same status as then was what made it hard. His White Captain's Haori followed him in a trail, he was a recent add to Squad Five. Wearing a common Kimono, he carried his Zanpakutō in his left hand. Something about wearing it on his belt never worked for him, with his sword style he preferred to handle it. The blade was made with a rather simple look, the weapon looked clean and polished. The sheath was a common black one without any fancy artwork on it's way up to the hilt of the weapon. The object was similar to silver or freshly fallen snow due to the blade coloring. A black string was attached at the weapon, so it could be tied on to something if need be. Unlike some of the previous Fifth Division Captains, he was very musical. His lower waist had a second kimono that was tied around it, like the top had been taken off. Around his legs was a kimono that was a bright baby blue, it was covered within clouds.

His sandals were simply the old school Japanese style, his eyes looked on a bit confused by all of it. He'd heard some rebels were in the area, he was never one to take these sorts of things seriously. Walking to the Division of Kaminari a Captain who'd been such for a while now, she was still quite new like him. Masamune, couldn't really talk about his past. The male's eyes seemed a tad cold, like they'd been in blizzards before. His build was an average and athletic build to his form. He looked like more of a dancer really if anything, but that was a common mistake. He waited at the location he dropped the documents off at normally. His eyes were closed, he reached up running a hand through his bright blond hair. "Ah they keep me waiting, how things have become, it's so interesting" His eyes closed for a moment, it was two and they weren't very well armed.

They were armed well enough that he decided to turn, one had an Afro and the other a flat top, such an odd couple really. He watched, they had drawn weapons. Zanpakutos, here they came raised their swords up high. A high sword style, taking protection off of the body and going for a more attacking role. Though if one was smart, plus practiced they could do more. Masamune's eyes remained soft, they came closer but seemed to pause. A blur happened, Masamune appeared to of maybe moved it was really hard to say. "Sorry about that, but I need to deliver these..you're lives aren't in danger, I don't believe in killing people..or fighting for that matter..But in this case you've stood in my way..Good luck in your future endeavors ." Masamune walked away from the two, who seemed frozen in place as though something had startled them. Slowly it appeared, two slash marks that came across each of their chests. Both of them had been cut from should to mid chest. Blood sprayed into the air behind him, the wound wasn't terribly deep but they were finished with attacking or chasing.

"Oh yeah, Sai.." He pointed a finger at the men locking them their in place, it was a small Kidō. But for one strong as a Captain, it may as well been like putting them in shackles and chains. He still had business, a couple of his men took them and headed to Squad 4. Word of his swordsmanship was pry spreading around now. Not many knew about the real talents of Captain Shiro, the fact he was so gifted within Kidō that pry seemed like under playing on his part. Using Sai on them was merely a safety measure, he waited for someone to come and collect his papers on the data Squad Five collected for Seven on some private subjects between the two. Shame I didn't bring my violin, could of played a song while I waited. Been working on new pieces to pass the time these days. His eyes glanced around at the meeting area, he wasn't really going all the way in. He just wanted to drop these off.

Leaving the documents in the hands of another was about to become a choice for Masmaune, he handed them to the man who'd finally arrived. Now the Captain's business was complete, the rumors spread about him by now certainly. Only time would tell how this time would go if it went anywhere.

Primo’s arrival into 5th division wasn’t as spectacular as he would of hoped it would be though he was only interested in the captain being he could maybe be someone that would help him come to enjoy the demon arts down the road since he was one of those students in the academy that just hated the way the instructors were teaching it. It’s been since those days that he has came to just flat out not enjoy the idea of wanting to learn it for reasons that is knack of learning or trying to attempt it would only backfire on him giving those the idea that he was a kamikaze guy with it.

Primo takes in the entire scenery of the atmosphere that squad five has and by it all he has come to feel a bit more at ease than when he was in the academy. It could be that he knows that his lazy attitude would only find its way to creep up on him one way or another.

“Hopefully this captain is individual I can come to enjoy the company of,”

His notions of this captain are all but empty as he knows absolutely nothing about who is the leader of squad five and only that this squad is known highly regarded as a Kidō specialist unit. Primo has come to realize one should never hold a candle to what an individual is capable of. Even when all the facts are out in front, things can appear quite differently in person.

Masamune had been out during the visit of the new 3rd seat. Quite frankly things had been terribly busy since he took the spot, people only knew he had to be a skilled user of Kidō. This much was true, Masamune was effortless when using it. But his swordsmanship was fierce, some would say he had an edge that was sharp. But needless to say, the Fifth Division was active. Men and women were working almost endlessly, Masamune entered the barracks now. The door opening as a voice said loudly, "The Captain's returned!" This was the first reaction that came from the people, he carried his Zanpakutō within hand. Returning from a trip to the Seventh Division, he'd dispatched two would be attackers with ease. Masamune's features seemed calm and collected, his blue eyes examined the place. He was simply taking in the new person, Primo he'd not heard of him. Though in fairness Masamune had only been back a couple days. His becoming Captain of this place had been something that was almost accident.

"So your our newest member, welcome to the 5th Division. Sorry I was absent, a letter needed to be taken to Captain Kaminari..We also ran into some problems along the way." Masamune said calmly now looking at Primo, he was smaller then the man. But this was well enough, he didn't really care about height or size. People were strong regardless of their size. "Come, we'll welcome you properly, with tea. " Masamune was an older fashioned Captain, he walked now to a wooden sitting area by a sliding Japanese door. The symbol for their squad on the door, he watched as a couple people began to bring tea and cups. He looked out at the clouds almost as though watching for something to happen. "Welcome to the Division, as you know we specialize in Kidō..most of us anyways, I am fairly good at it myself..But I believe a weakness can become the greatest strength if one lets it. So I know about your situation and of you, Academy teachers cannot teach what experience can."

Masamune's sword rested beside him, he never put it into his sash commonly unless he had too, if he did that was bad for the enemy. Because Masamune's fast hand did use the drawing as a way to slow him down, without that he was just fast and deadly.

"Yeah I would be the new face in squad five, I had put my papers in a few weeks to months ago and I guess those papers finally got approved. That is exactly why I came to this squad, I figured if I had to learn Kidō then what better for its teachings than this unit,”

Primo smiled and welcomed his captain’s kind words as well as the tea. Following the captain and making his way toward the wooden sitting area to enjoy and hopefully come to understand more about what this squad is about, “So were you always the captain of this squad or did you lead elsewhere?” With those said words, Primo reaches for his cup of poured tea and stirs it a bit before taking a sip of the warm oolong tea in which he greatly enjoys above everything else. His patience was one of the key factors he had while in the academy as well graduation and waiting for his acceptance into squad five was nothing really for him. In the downtime he would only practice swordsmanship since he felt a kindled apperception for the love and beauty of it. His teachings with it even far exceed what any teacher could begin to show him. A natural talent was what his papers specified about him in that particular area above any other in that year.

A few of his own battle scars and bruises can be found over his knuckles and palms from either gripping his sword to hard or adjusting himself from a steady grip to an extreme one. Though Primo is so laid back that he kept forgetting the new scars from the old ones since his time with his sword is always something he tends to enjoy when losing himself into his thoughts.

Masamune thought for a moment, he'd been a bit busy glancing down at the papers and files that had come in. "Believe it or not, I used to just be a Shinigami who was strong enough to wander around, I came back here and decided I was going to use my strength to help them. Despite..some disagreements we've had in past." No point on an old history lesson, his eyes examined the male. Masamune drank his tea softly, smiling as he got up. "So a swordsman, interesting choice coming to a Division where Kidō is strongest..Though..I guess both of us are a bit..odd.." Masamune did something he wasn't too commonly known for. He'd picked up his Zanpakutō, not many knew the connection at the moment between sword and owner had been severed and their was no sign's of it being restored soon. He stood before a couple bamboo tree's. His hand came to the hilt and that was all that could be seen, a blur of movement it pry looked like a flickering of movement from one to the other.

The Acceleration of the blade going to and coming back was so fast in reflex, that the naked eye, even that of Shinigami's could really follow it. The Bamboo had been sliced three times, making a motion to come back to it's sheath with a click. He sat back down now, having shown his little quirk of sorts. "I am fairly good at swordsmanship myself, not an expert mind you. Nor am I one at Kidō, though I suspect they know more about my Kidō based skills then I do at times."

“Well it’s good to see you came back to lead a squad again and teach new faces like myself the ropes and help lead the way for new generation of officers,” Primo answers his captain with kind and direct choices of words as he has now come to believe that he could put a sort of faith in this particular captain that has by a few glances has seen his fair share of it all. Upon finishing the cup of tea, Primo kindly signals if he could grab another cup of it since his love for tea probably surpasses that of his comrades and he watches his captain to further as to pay attention and hear his captain’s words as he shows his creditability with his own sword in zanjutsu.

His reflexes aren’t like those that can’t follow as even Primo was able to watch his captain grab hold of his Zanpakutō and stand before the bamboo trees with a motion that was quite astonishing to watch and admire. Slice and rip into the stalks so fast it gave Primo a shiver of excitement to know his choice of squad five was quite the perfect choice.

“ Very nice usage of Iaidō style you have, I take it stems from that with your very own versatile differences added to create something much more fitting for you,” Primo says as his eyes were able to see the entire quickening his captain just performed right before him.

"More or less, I learned this during my time a long time ago as a youth. I've since got a bit better at it, believe it or not I normally prefer to avoid killing needlessly. I believe life is precious and won't take it without a good reason. Just my take on things, so far I've not bumped into the New Captains yet..I know of them..but not enough to go..on" Masamune sat down, sitting his sword beside him. He sipped from his tea, the Captain was a calm and relaxed man. His Zanpakutō was the same, but he never really showed what his Zanpakutō was, or how it worked. This was a secret of his that would be kept till the grave. There wasn't exactly a reason to play share the details, his eyes focused on the males figure now. The cuts through the bamboo were some of the easier matters he'd done. Some believed in his squad that he was a Zanjutsu specialist. It's just that he focused on showing his weakest skills over strongest, unless he had too. Masamune was a pacifist and believed in using bakudo first, then using Hadō.

"So what do you hope to gain and learn from me here, I can teach most things that much is sure. But I will be able to teach a bit better if I know exactly what you wish to learn."

" I see…well I’ll continue to be straight forward with you since you continue to show the gratitude and humbleness I’m fond of. I put others safety and well being far above my own and even though I don’t talk much about myself in great detail being I feel my only purpose is to continue to grow stronger so I can help more even at the cost of my own life,” Primo continues to speak much more fuller than before being he’s felt the need to drop his guard that he puts over himself to best try to figure out if any new company is worth his time and energy to do so or not. His Zanpakutō which resides behind his back resting as the hilt can be seen as nothing special other than its cleanliness that he takes into great consideration since he shows that he cares for things that he holds dear to him to some degree.

“What I’d like to gain would be a more comfort level with learning the ropes of the demon arts. I have not yet found my notch even with the basic understandings. Could be I have zero talent or control with forming and let alone using it as it should be. I was even given the name by one such unnamed instructor that I was like a kamikaze user with Hadō spells and bakudo I never yet even attempted to try them at all.”

"While I hate to say it, I am pry one of the best at Kidō currently within the ranks..I do not desire that title, I believe their is one better out there. Kidō is something that not everyone has a talent for, we just need to find a number for you to start with..I suggest Hadō 1, it's simple and easy to do..Build upon it after you find it, for example." He raised his right appendage, he fired wave of air that seemed to have a small amount of force in it. He said nothing, this was a complex thing for Kidō users. Not having to speak for them showed they didn't require it. The move blasted some dirt around as it went up into the air. He'd fired it at a angle to show what it was able to do, his eyes remained rather calm. "Sho is it's name, it's basically a push within the demonic arts. The easiest thing about them is to learn and understand the dynamic's of a Kidō. Think of it like learning a sword style, Kidō is simple another sword for a Shinigami. It's the answer for many situations we encounter..I'll pave the way for you, once you understand Hadō 1...We'll begin training you in that art..While I would like to push for Bakudo, they don't seem to fit..Bakudo and Hadō are about personality as well..some believe anyways."

Masamune was one of the top Kidō users around at the moment, the Gotei 13 had lost much since he last came. They had paid the price he sought, perhaps one Matsu wouldn't be able to forgive him for. The Captain looked thoughtfully off to the distance, watching the sho push continue forward and hit the clouds. Making a mark in them, some of his squad members often forgot. That Masamune was gifted in Kidō, not just to a light degree.