This Is True Kido! [Mizu, Ranma]

Man, his neck hurt a lot at times… but no more, thanks to the endless efforts of the Second Division that Ranma had gotten so used to visiting involuntarily. He wanted to thank them for the longest time, but at the same time, he felt that his endless arrivals as a beaten-up piece of work might’ve made them grow wary of him as a burden, an annoyance… or a silly fool. However, not today!

Today, he visited the Second Division without a single injury on his body. The bandages over his jaw was a fashion choice officially, and thus it didn’t count. His purpose? Well, since the Second Division focused deeply on teachings of Kido, which Ranma was able to use as well, why not ask them to teach him some more? He didn’t know that many techniques, after all… and for as long as Hōkamaru kept grumping away in his own world, Ranma needed a bigger arsenal beyond his Shikai alone.

It was sweet to know that they had a training area for aspiring Kido practitioners! Ranma kind of just waddled in there, spotted a dummy, and decided to revise his Kido skills. “Okay… stand still for me, dummy. Well, I know you will, since you don’t move, but just in case-“

*Grunt*

… Wait, there it was again! That grunt – that was Hōkamaru! He made a sound again, once again! Ranma’s eyes almost turned blood-shot red with shock as he grabbed his sword, flung it right to the front of his face and glared into the reflecting steel. “Hōkamaru! I heard that – that was you, wasn’t it?! You there, Hōkamaru?! Hello?! Pleeeeeeeaaaaaaaaase, say something… ah, who am I kidding…?”

This must’ve been a prank – he remembered Erica’s advice to just give Hōkamaru space, but he began hearing grunts and growls from his Zanpakutō at a more frequent matter lately. It just made the lad enthusiastic, until Hōkamaru refused to continue making any sound afterwards. As if wanting to get Ranma’s hopes up only to crush his hopes immediately after.

It made the sake-loving guy’s entire body go limp and fall flat on the floor in defeat, arms stretched without a care in the world anymore. “Ahhhhhhhhhh, I can’t deal with this… I can’t read you, Hōkamaru.”

A month after the hospital explosion, things had finally begun to settle down for the Second Division. Most of the survivors had already been discharged and gone home, while those who remained were either waiting to be released or comatose. Then, war happened. Injured soldiers funneled into the Seireitei's hospitals after just barely making it out alive from the second battle at the Africa pit. Just as before, the Second Division's officers and doctors alike worked around the clock to provide care for those wounded. Soon enough another lull came, and things proceeded as normal.

Knowing it would just be a matter of time until another battle or event occurs that leads to dozens and hundreds of injuries being dumped on her squad, Morikawa Mizu, Vice Captain of the Second, was using her time wisely. Between dating Kyo, seeing her family, and keeping in shape herself, her schedule was full to the brim. What little extra time Mizu had would be spent in the training area, observing and working with her squadmates to ensure they would all be ready to join the conflict when necessary, and refining her own Kidō to keep improving.

Mizu found herself standing on the outskirts of the training grounds, just watching. Watching something that can best be described as strange. A Gotei soldier she didn't recognize had walked up to a training dummy and started...yelling at his own Zanpakuto? Surely this wasn't the case. Stranger yet, at some point his shoulders went slack and he just fell to the ground! Mizu sprinted forward until she skidded into a kneeling position next to the Shinigami and scanned his face to make sure he was okay, her golden hair blotting out the sun. Her golden gaze searched for any sign of injury when she realized he was fine. Mizu stood up, exasperated, and placed her tiny fists on her hips to appear as intimidating as a woman her size could be.

"What's the matter with you?? Falling down like that in the middle of the training grounds! And why were you shouting at your Zanpakutō?"

… Oh shit. Someone had run up to him in a hurry – he didn’t mean to cause a scene, but sometimes you just wanted to let go of all the tensions in your muscles and just go soft mode, y’know? Still, she scanned him like a damn vulture, almost… it made him drop a couple pearls of sweat from anxiety. “U-Uh…” He didn’t know exactly what to say, she looked very ‘in the zone’ as of now… until she stood back up with an angered look on her face.

… It wasn’t really working that well paired with her complexion, but he wasn’t going to say that out loud. That’d be rude as all hell, and she’d likely slaughter him in return. “D-Don’t you sometimes… y’know, just wanna go all ‘screw this’ and take a second to ask yourself… why am I shouting at my Zanpakutō?” Like, she had a point – it wasn’t every day that you met someone screaming at their own sword, then drop dead in the middle of the training field. It was as if Ranma’s brain just short-circuited at times.

“He’s been real quiet ever since I heard his name… can you anger your Zanpakutō? I don’t know how I did so, but maybe that’s why he won’t talk to me. How’d I even anger him? How do I say sorry if he won’t even face me…?” As if hit by lightning, Ranma’s head lit up for a moment – surely his cranium was visible for a split second – as he began rolling around on the floor in a circle while holding his head in a panic. “Arrghh, too many questions and not enough answers! I can’t keep working like this, man! Can’t he at least just tell me what I did wroooooooong… w-wait, that’s not even why I came here.”

A light bulb turned on somewhere in the Soul Society, causing Ranma to leap back up on his feet and slap dust off his uniform before facing the blonde, petite Shinigami. “I wanna learn more Kido. Y’know, take a break from talking to myself all the time, give my Zanpakutō some space. Problem is, I don’t think I’m that popular around here, I tend to get hurt a lot on my missions. I can’t begin to imagine what Captain Kuchiki thinks of me, or what the Vice Cap-“

Pause.

“… Oh shit, that’s you.”

Wha....huh?? Mizu couldn't help but be confused by this stranger's initial response. She asked him why he was shouting at his Zanpakuto, and he answers by questioning why he was shouting at it?! Maybe he's one of those crazies from the Fourth... Mizu wondered silently to herself. His second answer at least gave a little more insight into his predicament. He wasn't on good terms with his Zanpakuto spirit, something Mizu herself wasn't a stranger to. After all, before Saiko stepped in and lent a hand, the very idea of unlocking Bankai felt like an impossibility at times. But...at least she never made a public commotion because of it.

When Ranma started rolling on the ground like he'd been kicked in the head, Mizu took a quick step back out of surprise at his sudden movements. "Uuhh..." She wasn't sure what to say to him at this point. Usually she would jump straight into positive reinforcement and support, but she couldn't be sure this man wasn't a danger to himself or others.

Next he leaped up, cleaned himself off, and faced Mizu and started speaking as if he hadn't just been acting like a madman. This guy was going to give her whiplash! It was her turn to act strange as he recognized her as the Second Squad's Vice Captain, causing Mizu to blush and start waving her hand back and forth in front of her dismissively. Still somewhat new to this position, being recognized by the badge on her arm or referred to as Vice Captain often caused her to get flustered, as if calling her by her rank was a compliment.

"Yes! That's me! Vice Captain Morikawa Mizu, Vice Captain of the Second Division!" said Mizu, more excitedly than she perhaps intended. "If you're bothering members of my squad or medical professionals in the Seireitei hospitals with scrapes and bruises, that's one thing; but if you are actually injured and need assistance, of course we'll only be too glad to help. Though, if it's such a recurring thing perhaps you should exercise a bit more caution on missions...uh...what did you say your name was?"

Okay… Morikawa Mizu, that was her name. Ranma, make sure to at least remember one of those names… Mizu would do. It was far shorter than Morisawa, and likely her first name. He nodded as a greeting to the now confirmed Vice Captain of the Second Division, Morikawa Mizu. An honor to meet her acquaintances, albeit under strange circumstances. Her bashful expressions towards him recognizing her did make his heart flutter a little bit, but whose wouldn’t? Cute recognizes cute, after all.

He was glad to know that she hadn’t held any ill thoughts about him and his constant incidents. Still, it was getting weird at this point – like, couldn’t he escape a stab to the shoulder or breaking a rib or a late-response concussion after headbutting a Hollow into submission before beheading it? Scratching his head, he figured… he could try and stick to long-range combat for a bit, see how that works for him.

Upon being asked for his name, he grinned under his bandaged mouth. It was time to introduce himself as the walking badass he thought he was… although, her way of asking threw him off. Waving his hands apologetically, he replied: “I-I haven’t said my name yet, Vice-Captain, no worries! It’s Ranma – well, technically Gekiretsu Ranma, if the last name comes before the first name… but I prefer the first name before the last name, so Ranma Gekiretsu. Or just Ranma – screw the last name. Too long.” Why should he proudly state his last name, anyway? Those who gave it to him were worthless to the very core, in the most sorrowful ways too. His parents… weren’t parents, and they abandoned him and his upbringing when he was little. Therefore, he abandoned them once he grew up – it was only fair in his eyes.

But Mizu didn’t need to know all of that, and she was the Vice-Captain of the Second Division. She had a right to know his full name, but he made sure to express his opinions loudly either way.

“Anyway, since you’re here now… I have a request, Vice-Captain Water Gir- I mean Mizu!” he proclaimed with a swift, sharp 90-degree bow of his head and torso, “Before I lose my marbles over my Zanpakutō… would you, perhaps, like to help me out with learning some new Kidō? I bet you’re a veteran in the field.”

Though typically she would refer to a stranger like him by his family name and an appropriate honorific, out of respect, it seemed he had no love lost for it. For that reason she opted to call him by his given name instead. "Well Ranma-san, though the circumstances are stranger than most, it is nice to meet you. Though you could try to present yourself with a bit more dignity, befitting your position in the Gotei..." While not typically one to chastise someone like that, this Ranma fellow seemed a bit...lost.

"Oh!" Given his strange behavior, Mizu was a bit taken aback by the sudden request to train. Still, he was hardly the first person from another division to approach her for such a thing. Both Hana and Hono did, and she had been able to successfully provide them with a bit of Kidō instruction. It appeared her new position as Vice Captain of the Second would act as a porch light for all these moths requiring tutelage.

"Hai! Of course Ranma-san, I would be more than glad to train with you. Just remain calm and try to keep the theatrics to a minimum, alright?" Hoping she wasn't coming off as rude, Mizu spoke again to assuage those fears "It's just best to keep a calm head while using Kidō. If you are not careful, it can blow up in your face. Quite literally!" As if to emphasize her point Mizu brought her hands together and then threw them wide, imitating an explosion. "Now, what are you looking to improve upon Ranma-san?"

… But he was presenting himself with dignity, though? Honest, up-front, no holds barred in the presence of an authoritative figure who could likely tell whether someone’s being legit or not – wasn’t that what she wanted? If anything, he rose a brow at the notion, but maybe…

Oh, for the love of- did I say something weird again? I swear, I have to abandon so many words just to keep up with you guys…

It was a slow integration into the Gotei United for the enigmatic Shinigami, but one step at a time. He was still grateful that Mizu was willing to teach him some cool Kidō tricks, having Noharu’s earlier words from her fight with Shura echo in his mess of a mind… words that weren’t even aimed at him, but still somehow rubbed him the wrong way when faced against his own achievements.

"Against one fourth of a Shinigami, why should I even bother using Shikai?"

He betted that his upperclass-Shinigami would be overjoyed if he could replicate some of her wacky, uh, Hakuda and Kidō moves… wait, she didn’t use Kidō in that battle. She used Hohō-

W-Well, we all gotta start somewhere! All the more reason to dabble into Kidō, since there’d be a bigger chance to impress Noharu that way. Yeah, that was totally… what he planned from the jump. Also, what was Mizu on about – he was calm as a tranquil lake! “Uhhhhhhhh… ‘kay, if you say so. No clue what you’re on about, though,” he replied while scratching the back of his head, uncertain about what it was that made him appear so weird to her. He could tell that she saw or noticed something strange going on, but it was all about perspective, right?

Still, he wasn’t notably speedier than most Shinigami, and Mizu’s comment about it blowing up on his face… did give him an idea. Seriously, the moment she uttered those words, his eyes widened with a sharp ‘ding’ going off in his skull, upon which he rose an index finger up and aimed to answer her question: “Anything defensive, really. Like… demonic plates of armor, or maybe spawn a large shield. Or maybe a force field, that’d be so cool…”

Did...did Ranma not realize how strange he was? Mizu felt like she was talking crazy pills. This guy walked into another Division's training area, flipped out and collapsed, then begged for training from the first person to approach him. If that wasn't weird, Mizu had no idea what was. And now he was just naming random things instead of answering her question.

"N-no, Ranma-san...I mean...are you trying to focus on learning new spells or master ones you're already comfortable with? Are you working on Bakudō, Hadō, or Kaidō? From the sound of things, you want to learn new Bakudō spells. Now, if you've been through the Academy, which I assume you have been, you should have a working knowledge of at least what the spells from Number 1 to Number 80 do. Are there any spells in particular you struggle with, Ranma-san?""

Though Mizu had created some unique spells during her time in the Gotei, she wasn't sure if someone less dedicated to the Demon Arts would be able to use them properly. Hana and Hono certainly would have struggled to learn how to cast them. While Ranma didn't exactly fill her with confidence, she also had no idea what he was actually capable of and so she hoped he would reveal some of his ability or knowledge in their training.

”Oooooh…” Ranma realized upon Mizu’s correction – well, he could name a few Kidō techniques that he was confident with, but he wasn’t confident with all of the techniques between those few. Not to mention, he’d been using Hadō for the most part, but he was really interested in Baku-

“Yes, exactly! Bakudō, that’s what I wanna work on,” Ranma replied, thinking about all the spells he read about at the Academy, “Most of them either repulse or bind the target, no? Hainawa and Sai bind the target, and so does Geki… and Seki sends them flying back. I was wondering – are there any more Bakudō techniques like Dankū and Enkōsen? Maybe… a defensive technique that coats the caster? Like armor, or some sort…”

Stepping back, Ranma decided to test something out anyway – by uttering the incantation, he held both hands forward and chanted at last the name: “… Enkōsen!” In front of his palms, a spinning disk generated from his Reiatsu grew out, and Ranma began leaning it around himself in an attempt to… wear it? “… Nope, it’s only a disk form. I’m… not the best at protecting myself. I tend to get injured in all weird areas…”

It sounded more like he needed to get better at utilizing the Bakudō techniques that he actually knew. That would allow him to skip the need for a full body armor, after all – just get better at blocking, you dummy.

Though rough around the edges, and a bit perturbing, Mizu was excited by Ranma's excitement for Kidō. He reminded her a bit of herself, particularly of when she was first beginning to grasp the fundamentals of the Demon Arts, though he was a bit beyond that point at least. One thing that did shock her was his eager attempt at transforming a spell into something else. His demonstration, or lack thereof, showed to Mizu his eagerness overshadowed his abilities.

"I think," Mizu started, "you might be getting ahead of yourself a little bit. Changing spells on the fly is no simple task, Ranma-san. It requires a strong fundamental understanding of how the spell works, what you want it to do, and how to change it in the first place. I'm afraid I think you're not quite ready for that." A quiet moment passed before an idea struck Mizu. "Though, I may have something I can teach you! Let me show you a spell I think you will like."

Upon breathing out Mizu focused her Reiryoku then said the incantation and name of a spell of her own design "O', Lord of Heaven, Adorn me in your Grace and Defend your Arbiter. Bakudō 55: Sei-kotsu Sōkō!" A blinding light shrouded Mizu before quickly dissipating and revealing her now clad in crimson translucent armor hearkening back to samurai of old, floating just an inch or two off her body. "This is a spell I created a while back that conjures Barrier Kidō armor. It's difficult to maintain, so it won't last long when you cast it, but when you're more skilled it will last longer."