Relaxation And Conversation (Kaminari, Erica)

It’d been another busy shift at the infirmary and Erica had been more than ready to call time for the day. She’d lost count of how many patients that had passed through her ward but that didn’t matter to her. The only number that did was 0, as in the number of mess ups that she’d made that day. The pink haired woman was adjusting well to her life as a healer and to be putting smiles on faces all day was all she could ask for in terms of reward. With her work and constant training, it’d left her with little time for herself and so she was quite happy to spend any moment she could to just relax, which would be the order for the evening. She could hardly suggest bed rest to her patients if she had massive bags under eyes, after all.

So, before heading home, she’d take a stroll over to the second squad training grounds in order to watch her fellow members practise their skills, all the while munching on a snack that she’d made that morning. It always amazed her to watch what her fellow members could do with a simple spell and she was always interested in learning more. She had no intention of doing much experimenting herself though, her energy rather low after having to use so much kaido but she was content with just watching, making the most of the friendly atmosphere.

Recent events allowed a deep well of frustration to fester within Kaminari. Competitive by nature, and full of hatred for hollowkind, the fact that she had to flee her fight with those two arrancar angered her. The child Klein and the Lion Amaranta. It was difficult to get beyond that right now. She had to get strong enough to deal with them if she ran into either again, or maybe even both. With the adrenaline pumping, and that fear of death looming over her, Kaminari had pushed herself to a limit she did not know she had. It was kind of exhilarating.

So, Kaminari found herself in one of the training grounds for her Division, but kept quite a distance from anyone else who was training. At times, she got a few onlookers, not surprising due to the things she was trying. Set in front of her were eight different training dummies, each a few feet apart. Holding out both index fingers, she took a deep breath and attempted to fire off the kido "Sho" at each of them. However, it wasn't a normal firing, but a rapid fire. By creating a stream of reiryoku that she cut off at specific times, let a "machine gun" of Sho kido fired.

Around the last three targets, however, it became unstable and she missed them. The skin on her index fingers tightened until it felt like her blood circulation was being cut off and they darkened red with blood. She waited for her hands to return to normal as she slowed the flow of reiryoku. Taking a deep breath, she examined the damage on the other five dummies. One and two had been knocked over, three and four had been turned, and five was also knocked over. It was getting better, but this backfire that threatened to amputate her fingers was a problem.

It was quite the display and Erica couldn’t help but find her gaze turning towards the brunette as she unleashed a flurry of Sho, resulting in a burst of reiryoku that flew towards a number of targets. Quite the display indeed and as the pink haired woman watched with interest, the projectiles struck most of the targets, knocking down a fair few. Erica mentally cringed, chiding herself for not having made much progress yet when it came to developing the core kido spells. She could cast the standard with no issue but had yet to truly delve into the creative aspect of it. There was still time though and she knew that there was no need for her to rush.

As she took a bite of her snack, Erica would tilt her head as the woman missed the last few targets, before glancing seemingly at her hands. An unusual reaction or at least Erica thought so and without thinking much about it, she’d stand up and start walking over, complimenting the woman as she did so. “That was a neat use of Sho. Something new that you’ve come up with?” Her tone was light and friendly, a smile on her face. “My name’s Erica Tolvan, by the way, I’m the new healer in the Division.”

Kaminari was brought from her thoughts by an unfamiliar voice. Looking over her shoulder, she saw the vibrant looking woman eating some sort of snack. Kaminari smiled and rubbed the back of her head. "Well, yeah, heh... I'm at least trying to come up with something new." she said, flustered. "I'm trying to take some of the easier, lower level kido and enhance them in different ways. Still not right though..." Kaminari walked over to her targets and began picking them up for another try.

Kaminari quickly came to appreciate the friendly nature that her new Division member radiated. The members of her Division were almost always nice individuals, trustworthy, and easy to talk to. Her smile widened. "I'm Fourth Seat, Kaminari Hatakeyama." she said, putting the last target dummy back in place. "What brings you to the training grounds today? Thinking of getting a work out in?"

“I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it soon.” Erica replied with a cheerful smile. “You were pretty close just now from what I saw.” The fact that the targets were knocked all over the place was testament to that and the pink haired woman couldn’t help but ponder to herself about what could be done with kido, with enough practice. The thought did cause her creative juices to flow a little and the healer wasn’t going to let them get away from her. She’d make the time to start working on a few spells which were all her own.

“Nice to meet you, Kaminari.” She’d sweetly answer when her superior introduced herself, before chuckling slightly when asked about her own intentions. “I was actually just taking a break after my shift ended and decided to see what was happening. I’ve been in the infirmary all day and this is the first chance I’ve had to just take a breather. Not that I’m complaining, it’s eye opening to see so many kido experts at work.”

Kaminari returned a genuinely cheerful smile. This woman's demeanor was kind of contagious. "Thank you, and yeah, I just don't want it to cut off my fingers," Kaminari held up her right hand, the tips of her index and middle finger both bruised pretty badly. She chuckled about it, treating it like it really wasn't that big of a deal. Kaminari returned to her previous position in front of the set of target dummies.

Ah, she was a healer then? Kaminari smiled as she pointed her fingers back toward the targets for a second try. "Well, this might just be my lucky day then," Kaminari fired off the multitude of sho, the machine gun effect going off like before. This time, Kaminari forced more stabilization, taking a bit more risk in this casting. When she was done, all but the final target had fallen. Kaminari took a breath, smirking at that progress. It was proving that her theory was possible, but...

Kaminari turned to Erica, holding up her right hand. At this point, the fingers were fully blue, their color only starting to return because the now ripped skin has loosened enough to bleed out. "Do you mind?" Kaminari asked sheepishly. Erica was a healer, and it was helpful to have someone like her around when you were taking a few risks with your training. Kaminari was a healer as well, but healing herself had always been a challenge. "I'm definitely not testing your kaido skill."

It looked like Kaminari was improving with every cast and Erica whistled as the brunette managed to knock down all but the last target. The pink haired healer hadn’t thought about using Sho in such a way before but it caused the cogs in her head to turn. If the lowest numbered Hadō could be modified in such a way then what did that mean for those of a higher level? It set her curiosity off but was tempered by her natural pacifism when it came to combat. The idea of making something new was great but when she thought about what it could do to another being then it dulled the flame a bit.

When Kaminari showed the healer her hand, Erica was quick to nod to her request. “Of course. I’ll have it healed in no time.” It felt as though it was becoming easier for her to access her kaido spells every shift and given that she’d already worked on plenty of patients that day, she found that the soothing healing energy seemed to flow straight to the surface. She held up her right hand and moved it so that it was an inch or so away from Kaminari’s hand, before starting to heal it, a gentle blue pulse of energy surrounding the injured limb, gently soothing and repairing the damage done. Erica had been told she had a particularly soft and gentle manner when it came to her powers and she hoped that would be felt as she went about her work. She hated seeing anyone in pain.

As she worked, she’d chuckle and say. “I suppose I’ll have to hang around and keep an eye on you while you train.”

Kaminari watched Erica closely. She had a strong knack for energy sensing and control, a bit of a master in both. This allowed her to really get a sense of Erica's reiryoku. She did have a gentle touch, a trait Kaminari assumed was inherited from Erica's personality. She definitely appreciated the soothing feeling. Her pain lessened enough she almost forgot it was there. That was impressive.

"Having a skilled healer around wouldn't be a bad idea," Kaminari said, an idea popping in her mind. "If you ever want to practice your kaido on more extensive wounds, try teaming up with someone who is training in dangerous techniques. Imagine trying that," Kaminari pointed her thumb back to the dummies, "On shakkaho. It'd likely be most of my arm. Your skill, my recklessness, and we both get to train. So, please, stick around as long as you can tolerate me Haha."

"And of course, if you ever want me to return the favor, I'd be glad to. Just ask when you need it." Kaminari truly did not like bragging, which is why she didn't mention it. However, she was one of the more skilled healers in the Gotei, having even developed a couple of kaido herself. She was the only shinigami she knew of that could restore a limb, or provide regeneration to another person.

Kaminari’s idea wasn’t a bad one and Erica had no objection with helping out anyone who wanted to train their Kido skills. Alright, the thought of folks being a little reckless with their powers was a bit concerning but the pink haired woman reasoned that with her there, it wouldn’t be so bad. She’d make sure that everyone was OK. The life of a support mage might have seemed a tad slow to some but to her, it was a life that she adored. She’d joined the Gotei to make sure that her fellow Shinigami always came home alive and that would never change.

As she pondered, her healing of Kaminari’s hand would come to an end, with the pink haired woman brushing her hands afterwards. “I’d love to see your Kaido in action one day so I’ll hold you to that.” She replied with a smile. “For today though, I’m more than happy to support you through healing, for as long as you need me. I’m here to help.” The healer had almost reverted back to her work persona for a second there but it honestly wasn’t all that different from her own anyway. Always smiling, always eager.

“Wiggle your fingers a little for me please.” She’d then ask, wanting to make sure Kaminari was fighting fit before letting her continue with her experiment. The brunette woman might have been both a better healer and her superior but Erica had her healer’s pride too and wanted to make sure that her healing had done its job.

Kaminari took a look at her healed hand and smiled. The pain was gone, the skin was repaired, and there was no bruising. Her hand was back to perfection. "I take shifts at the hospital occasionally, so you likely will!" Kaminari smiled and held up her hand, wiggling her fingers like she was asked. "Great job. I don't feel a thing left over, and the skin is like new. You're giving me more time to practice!"

Kaminari aimed her fingers toward the targets again, even though they were already knocked down. "You wanna know what gave me this idea?" Kaminari said and then began firing off the machine-gun-sho again. She hit targets, but seemed to be having more fun than before, like she relaxed and wasn't super focused. "The world of the living's old action and science fiction movies. They're pretty great."

Of course, as she brough her hand back in view again, the bruising started back up. With the injury Erica could see here, it was clear that she had probably fired off six or seven of these before Erica showed up. So, she had been tearing her own hand up trying to get the reiryoku usage right. She kept the number of shots consistent, but the backfire was complicating her success. "I need to figure this part out..."