[Training Hoho] Relapse. Rebirth. Resurgent.

Lurking in the shadows, the devils of the night were coming from out of their shallow home of Hueco Mundo. Jin knew this, and was going to atone for the wrong doings he had done for the past three centuries. He needed to bring back all those souls that he had damned when he was alive, and he needed to do it by the end of the night. He was a wrong in the way he had treated them. Would he find the ones he had killed, tortured, even massacred when he was on his rampage for revenge by that evil dictator? Probably not, it was in fact four centuries ago. More than likely he would find the ones that just wanted to bite his head off. With a sinister grin, Jin looked to the sky and spoke softly. "And what better way to rest their souls than to play a little game of tag...Though I'd rather never be it...Let your souls rest on the other side." Jin was out on patrol tonight, but more than that he was going to use this as a training exercise. He needed to be faster, stronger, tougher. What better way than to fight hollow.

Standing up, his crimson eyes staring off into the star lit sky, Jin smiled into the waking moon. It was a beautiful sight. The moon was full, its glow radiating so much fierceness, controlling the tides of the sea and more importantly, drawing the hollow to the realm of the living. Jin's soft pink lips curled into his mouth as his reminisced on his days as a shinigami. He had just become a shinigami Taichou, and he gave it all up to help those ungrateful heathens. "I gotta stop day dreaming" He often fell into dreams about becoming a taichou. He was certainly old enough, if he only had the conviction. Look where it got him, or didn't get him. His fist clenched into a ball, swinging back he made contact with the face of a plus. The little floating spirit falling back into the grass, his face glowed more red than Jin's eyes. Rubbing the back of his head, Jin laughed softly before extending a hand. When the plus made it's way to his hand, something came from out of beneath him. Taking his hand back, the mouth of a fairly large hollow surfaced and closed on the unsuspecting plus. Jin shook his hand before kicking the hollow in the face.

Sure, it was basically Jin's fault that the plus lost it's life for all eternity, but hell, it's not his fault the damn thing can't float in it's own direction. Besides, this is exactly what he needed. A strong hollow to chase him around while he practiced his Shunpo. Jin smirked and jogged backward, letting his reietsu flare out. sure to attract many other hollow, the current one was beginning to crumple under the immense pressure that enshrouded the area. Jin laughed letting his reietsu simmer down while more, and more black holes erupted out of the sky, ground, and other inanimate objects around the area. Hollow after hollow pushed their way through the hole known as a garganta. Jumping up and down, doing some martial art kicks, and punches Jin felt that he was pumped for anything. Turning, he began to stroll off into the forestry that surrounded him.

As his head turned to face the hollow, he had noticed that they were all gradually beginning to follow him. Each starting to take off into a full on sprint toward Jin. He laughed and turned his body when one of the little buggers lunged and missed. Spinning on his heel, he got into a crouching, running position taking off into the trees. He shunpoed from point A, to point B, and back again. His goal was to only practice shunpo, and he knew very well that he could get away from the Hollow. Using Shunpo, Jin moved to another tree. Kicking his leg while the hollow began to make their way toward him. Jin knew this wasn't going to get him anywhere, anytime soon.

"You all are too weak...I need a challenge..."

Jin looked around, shunpoing to each hollow and cutting them down. There was one thing that could give him a challenge that wouldn't pose to much of a threat if it came down to the niddy griddy. A menos, but not a Menos Grande, the basic form of those monstrosity. Oh no, Jin was looking for the next step, the Adjuchas. And using his control over his Reiryoku, and his ability to suppress and control his reietsu, Jin began to flare it up and down. Mimicking the transition from one stage to next. who knew if it would work. Maybe the Adjuchas would come, maybe just more Hollow. Jin waited, and finally something came out. It wasn't large, but it wasn't exactly small. I had control over it's power, and it certainly seemed more like an animal than anything. Jin smirked and waited for the beast to arise from it's resting place.

Large and scaly, the reptilian beast walked out, it's arms were missing. Walking out the beast hissed wildly at Jin. Hissing back at it, Jin barked mocking the creature, only to shift his body to use shunpo once more. The creature followed with a very crappy sonido, but just enough to chase Jin around. It certainly wanted Jin's soul for it's own evil doing. Snickering, Jin looked at the sky. Had it already been that long? Jin shunpoed, appearing behind the creature with his hand risen, blade against the creatures neck. "What a simple minded creature you are." Jin exclaimed before bringing his blade down from above the creature, cutting it's head off. The creature was Naive, most likely a fresh Adjuchas looking to feast on anything that had a soul. Shrugging it off, Jin looked about before shunpoing off into the sunset. Day one was complete, and as he headed back to the soul society he prepared for the next portion of his training.

SFX: Drip, drip, drip.

The excessive dripping of the broken sink was enough to make anyone go insane. The constant sound of the water falling from the cold pipe to the sink was like having an annoying child with you running around, asking a billion and a half questions about nothing. Jin rolled around, his hands on his pillows trying to drain out the annoying, pestering sound of the dripping. He had enough, He couldn't take it any longer, and with one quick swoop, Jin leaped into the air. Throwing his blankets and pillows across the room he fell from the sky, a glint in his eyes displaying his determination to rid the building of the endless dripping! Jin landed throwing his hand forward; he turned the knob and stopped the annoying, pestering dripping. Sighing with relief he turned in a very military fashion. Looking down, a small cat had ruined his bed spread. Roaring in anger, he threw his foot forward kicking the filthy animal out of the window. ”Damn filthy animals…” I beg your pardon… A familiar voice rang ever so clear in Jin’s head. Laughing quite, he shook his hand and replied ever cautiously to Zetsumei. "Not you Zetsumei, you’re not filthy at all; you pull off the mangled, dead wolf look quite well…and you’re so fitting. Besides, you know I hate cats."

Sighing once again in relief, Jin shook his head after letting it droop in shame. There went the twelve hours of sleep he had wanted after last night’s training with his little hollow friends. ”Well, I guess training some more won’t hurt. All it can do is help…” Jin muttered to himself as the beginning of the training room came into sight. The large room was made for training, alone or with others. Jin looked about, his crimson eyes staring down the long isle of rubble. The battle scars from their previous training sessions had really taken their toll on the room. Well, thousands of years keeping Hollows in check wasn’t exactly child’s play and training had to be done. Jin got a good grasp on taming his Zanpakutō, and luckily his zetumei didn't bite back all that much. Licking his lips, the young looking shinigami gripped the hilt of his Zanpakutō. "Sorry Zetsumei, can’t train with you today. I need to work out the kinks in my speed." shouldn't you work on your stamina before you work on your speed? Can’t help you if you can’t last… "I can last plenty long, thank you very much. Stamina will come with training my speed. I’ll push myself to the limits that my body can take, and just keep going at it until I break, or I become stronger." Jin was determined, and telling him to do something different wasn't going to change his mind.

Jin began to undress himself, the white and black haori sliding down his body as if it were made out of water, flowing down to the ground his hands grabbed the bottom of his shirt as he began to remove the white tee shirt. It felt so good to be rid of those clothes, it had been far too long since Jin had trained, and the last time he got a rush was when he got this giant magnet. Stealing it right out from under their noses, stuck up Scientist pukes. He had to leave in the human world though, no point of trying to lift it all the way back here, into the seireitei. Jin looked around, his hands wrapped around his waist pulling off the loose pants he wore all day; he was stripped down to nothing but his soft, cloth cotton boxers. Now was the fun part. He began to slide on the metal plating of armor that he had to wear to make this training even worth it. Grasping the chest piece, he wrapped it around his upper body, clasping the sides he made sure they were on correctly. He couldn't have anything flying off, breaking his concentration and possibly killing him. But where, oh where did he manage to find something like a suit of armor? Well, they make some pretty good replicas made out of armor too.

Standing at the starting point Jin gripped a flag in his right hand preparing himself. Cracking his neck, his entire body clattered with the sound of metal as he shunpoed forward. This was the first time he had done it with a full metal body suit, and the extra weight was sure to improve his hoho. Forty-six yard mark… He thought to himself. He threw down the flag and then shunpoed back to the starting point. The plan was to shunpo forward until he was able to make it further each and every time. Whether or not this worked wasn’t really up to Jin, it was up to his body and whether or not it was going to give out. He took in a deep breath and shunpoed once more, this time landing right beside his original flag. Damn it…. Jin couldn’t give up now. He once more shunpoed back to his original spot, his aim was to get further and damn it all if he didn’t succeed. That was if this suit of armor…which was in fact very heavy, didn’t take him down first. He just wanted to make it past the first marker today…that was it. Surely the training with the hollow would have helped, but this armor was getting heavy. Not until I make it past the first marker He shunpoed forward, but alas it wasn’t enough. Half way through the shunpo he fell and rolled forward. He looked through the eye holes in the helmet, and there he was…A few feet from his original flag. ”Fuck you Zetsumei….”

The following day was rough, even for Jin who had an obscene pain tolerance. His body ached, his arms felt like jelly, while his legs felt like they were turned to mush. These were all symptoms from his training he had been doing to improve his Hoho. He knew that if he wanted to master his Zanpakutō, he needed to become more dedicated to not just his body, but to his mind; he needed to show Zetsumei that he could wasn't just looking for power, but true mastery over everything he had been given in this second life. Of course he wouldn't ever tell that mangled wolf this, but a part of him felt that he already knew. He wouldn't say anything either, and Jin wouldn't have it any other way. He felt as though the two of them had a connection, even more so than a shinigami and his Zanpakutō shared naturally. Strutting toward his previous training position, the other members of the seventh division stared at him like he was insane. He kept both hands at his side, making sure what he held inside of the small pockets didn't fall out.

As he mindlessly entered the seventh division building once more, Jin snapped out of his inner dialogue with his eyes forward at the tilting flag. He had left it there the day before. It was a testament to not only his defeat, but his inability to complete his goal. As he stared forward at the raised flag, Jin could hear a voice coming from behind him. His lips curled into a fashionable grin with his head turning ever so slightly to the side. Are you gonna just look at it, or are you gonna do something about it, Jin? Zetsumei had materialized himself in front of his shinigami partner. Jin stared for a moment, letting a soft, and quite single heh escape from his lips before turning back to the flag. "I'm gonna do something about it alright. That flag, and my own inadequacies are going to burn in hell." And he meant it too. Jin nodded before turning back around going to the small notch in the ground he had used before to mark the start point.

His hand slowly slithered into his pocket, pale finger tips running along cold metal. His eyes shifted from his place in front of the notch to approximately fifty yards behind him. He grinned and took two metal poles from his pocket, stabbing them into the ground. Zetsumei looked at Jin before then taking his glance toward the metal poles. Jin...what are you... Jin chuckled before reaching into his other pocket, pulling out two very long, yet wide rubber bands. They were very elastic, able to stretch to over one-hundred yards. They weren't, however, easy to stretch. It would take strength, and true grit to get them to stretch. These were two things that were natural to Jin, but things that weren't as potent as they would be. Jin wrapped one rubber band about his waist, and the other around his chest. Then taking the other ends, he tied them to the metal poles. Zetsumei stared in amusement. This should be good... He mumbled to himself before standing from his sitting position, and strutting over to a safe, but clear distance. Jin took in a deep breath, picking up the flags from there laid position. He was going to beat his previous record.

He leaned down, his breath coming to a slow, but steady pace. His eyes stared forward with true determination and in an instant Jin vanished. The bands began to stretch - thirty yards, forty yards, but just as his hand came down to slam a metal flag into the ground, the bands snapped backwards taking Jin with him. His body skid against the ground, bouncing and falling against the ground as the bands stretched in the opposite direction. This continued like a pendulum until he was back at the center of the training ground. He laughed sarcastically, with Zetsumei also laughing in the background. Jin lifted a single arm, with his middle finger in the air. He stood, battered and bruised, but ready to go again. Zetsumei's laughter ended as he watched closely. He was impressed by Jin's ambition, but he wasn't sure if this was the best way for him to enhance his hoho. Jin wouldn't hear it though. He wasn't about to give up just yet.

He once more readied himself, his eyes set on his target. There it was, just fifty yard out. Jin would get this flag down. With a series of quick warm up breaths and a stern war cry, Jin shunpoed forward with one goal. Sixty. Yards. Once more he made it thirty yards, forty yards, fifty yards. His eyes moved down as he saw himself pass the previous laid flag. Time, in a moment, seemed to stand still. Yet, it wasn't time for celebration, and as the synapses in his brain started to fire, telling him he was there, Jin moved even further. Fifty-five yards. Sixty yards. Sixty five yards. And there it was, with one last hurrah, and his arm coming down, he stung the ground like a bee on flesh. The flag stood tall, but Jin wasn't ready to let go just yet. He didn't want a repeat of his last attempt. Untying the first band on his chest, it snapped back, and then with the second on his waist, he stood and turned toward Zetsumei. He wanted to gloat, he wanted to tell him he could do it, but all he saw was Zetsumei laughing.

"What...?" And then, as he saw his friends paw rise in front of Jin, the only thing that could come out of his mouth was..." "Shit..." Just before the bands came with their second wind to exact their revenge on Jin. Two identical sounds echoed through the training hall as another sounded followed. Whack, whack. Zetsumei shook his head, heading toward a fallen Jace laughing at the red whelp on his forward and the second on his chest. Idiot....

Waking up on the rough dirt ground wasn't exactly on Jin's to do list for the week, and yet he somehow managed to mess up every single plan he had laid out in his entire life. To be honest, he was always more of a spur of the moment kind of guy, but even this was new for him. A low, but audible grunt escaped from his lips before he groggily rose from his sudden, accidental slumber. His body spurted forward before he brought one hand up to his head. He has nothing short of a monster headache, and he couldn't help but replay the same snickering laughter that came from zetsumei because of his momentary lapse in judgement just the day before. He looked around, and noticed the rubber bands still sprawled out over the ground with the metal spike still sticking out of the ground like old bones from a time before. He couldn't help but lick his upper lip, quickly taking note of the dried bloody taste. It seemed that his head had bled because of the band, but that still didn't deter Jin from standing. He was a freak when it came to pain, and his ability to withstand it was high even for most shinigami.

Jin drew his blade, looking at the hilt, then the guard, shifting then to the blade. He laughed himself, and stabbed the ground with the sword. Zetsumei found himself once more looking at Jin, his lips pursed open for but a moment, but words never left but instead only his head moved, nodding at his partner. He knew but Jin wanted; He wasn't happy about it, but he knew and he wouldn't deny his partner the chance to test himself.

Before picking up the bands, Jin looked over at the metal flags. Words weren't needed, Jin felt a sudden heat rise from his gut up into his chest. It was a feeling he hadn't often felt, but it was something that he loved nonetheless. He felt pride. He was proud of himself. That soon subsided however as he wanted nothing more but for his friend to help him. His eyes as well and Zetsumei's met; crimson hues staring into one another, and with a smirk Jin began to wrap the rubber bands around his waist, but instead of tying it, he took the end and melted the rubber together. Escaping this trap wouldn't be easy. Then, he walked over to the metal spike, and with one quick tug he ripped it from the ground. Unwrapping the band, he awaited Zetsumei to walk over to him. He did the same to his battered, broken wolf partner. Even as broken, and shredded as his body seemed, Zetsumei felt no pain, nor did he act like it. He was as strong willed, or stubborn, as Jin was, and neither of them would admit to needing help. Except for now.

This exercise, something the two did often, was going to pit the two against one another. Zetsumei would chase after Jin, and Jin would attempt to escape the attacks. Zetsumei knew how much this meant to Jin, and wouldn't hold anything back. Despite how much he detested fighting. Are you ready Jin? "You already kno-" But before Jin could finish his sentence Zetsumei had already attacked him, with his bloodied teeth bare, snapping at Jin's forearm. Jin ripped his arm away, just barely escaping the attack. He shunpoed back, stretching the band a few feet before it snapped back bringing Zetsumei hurling toward him. And like the nimble wolf he was, Zetsumei used this momentum to speed toward Jin. His mouth agape, but before he could clamp down Jin dodged and rolled. Not gonna work idiot.... He didn't turn around, but instead continued forward using his own ability to dash to expand the band a few yards.

Jin sighed, obviously agitated with himself, just before getting tugged forward. He was hurling toward a rock with Zetsumei following not far behind. Closing his eyes, Jin took a deep breath. His eyes opened as he landed on a rock, and as his friend closed in, Jin shunpoed, only to reappear behind Zetsumei, hovering above the spot he stabbed the ground with his blade. He spun kicked at the wolf and as the kick met it's target Zetsumei turned his head, and clamped down on jin's calf. He grunted for a moment, his eyes wincing it slight pain and Zetsumei took advantage of this sign of weakness. He twirled his body bringing Jin down into a spiraling descent into the ground. A wild grin slithered across Jins face and he smashed into the ground. He stood as he watched Zetsumei slowly descend into the ground. Jin grabbed the hilt of his blade, ripping it from the ground, using his other hand to grip the band. He tugged down, bringing Zetsumei down, then shunpoing back, the band stretching a few yards. The band started it's normal routine by snapping back bringing the wolf speeding toward Jin. Haven't learned yet, have you Jin?

"No...I have..." Jin brought the blade up slicing the single band in half. Quickly utilizing this moment of shock in Zetsumei's eyes, and spirit, Jin shunpoed to the side of his dog partner, bringing his fist in for a punch. However, before Zetsumei could retaliate he shunpoed once more to a position that sat above Zetsumei, only to bring his fist down into his spine. Jin then shunpoed back, landing on the ground as he watched his friend rise from the dirt. The two once more stared at each other just before they both burst into laughter. ...Perhaps you are ready.... Jin arched a brow, tilting his head like a curious dog. "Ready for what?" Indeed...