Hard at Work: Training (open)

Joshua had been in the Gotei 13 for some time now and felt as if he had not been progressing as desired. It was one thing to get to where he was it was another entirely to stay there. As of late he had been stealing away in the dead of night to train. He had been offered by teammates to train but Joshua always worked best in times of solitude, that being said a sparring partner now and then wouldn't go a miss.

He had recently arrived in a secluded spot in the Seireitei and decided it would be the perfect place to train. He placed his hand up to his shoulder and stroked the head of his small rodent friend, in a sense this was announcing to him that he was about to start training. Darwin, clung to Joshua's torso as he readied himself for the training. Josh's most advanced skill was his Hoho, he was very fast and had been working on his Flash step for some time. For this reason he felt that to train this tonight would not be the wisest use of time, for he could be the fastest man alive and it would mean nothing if he could not land a solid strike.

Joshua quickly released his blade from it's sheath, it let out a ringing noise that pierced the night sky. Placing his second hand on the handle of the blade Joshua readied himself in a fighting stance. He closed his eyes once more and took a deep breath, his grip tightened on the blade but not so that it was rigid in his hand and after he exhaled he shot forward with an alarming burst of speed. and slashed at the tree in front of him. It was now apparent why he had traveled so far out of the way to train as when his sword made contact with the tree it let out a loud shrill screech as if a woman was screaming. The noise would surely make anyone's ears bleed, but not Joshua's he had grown accustomed to this, it was almost like a sweet song to him now. He slashed repeatedly at the tree, every strike stronger than the last, every cry from his blade louder still. "Shh" He whispered to the sword as he brought it close to his lips, close enough to kiss. The night was silent once more as Joshua drew breath. The only noise was the sound of Darwin squeaking in Joshua's ear.

"Yes, my friend" Joshua said to Darwin as a small smirk appeared on his face. The two of them were ready to thrust themselves back into the training, neither of them were ready to quit yet, far from it, they had just begun. Joshua took his blade in one hand and let the tip touch the ground. His feet shifted slightly in the dirt as he found his footing and then like a flash he was off again.

This time however he rocketed backwards towards a tree behind him. He placed his back foot to the ground and spun round bringing his blade upwards as he did so slicing diagonally up at the tree. Once again his blade began to scream, singing that sweet song to Joshua. He then planted his other foot down and set his stance so he could bring the blade directly down with startling force. He began to attack the tree more rapidly this time and within seconds he had eviscerated the tree and it was barely standing. Joshua jumped backwards and stood himself in defensive stance with his blade primed in front of him, he was breathing more heavily this time, but being slightly out of breath wasn't about to stop his training.

Joshua thrust his blade into the ground and rose his legs up underneath him, he landed in a kneeling position with his blade directly in front of him, his head bowed as he did so. He rose a hand to his shoulder allowing his tiny friend to climb aboard before he lowered it to the ground for Darwin to scurry off, The training Joshua was about to undergo Darwin could not take part in. Joshua closed his eyes and the world around him seemed to fade into the distance. "You want to be free, I can feel it in your blows, I can hear it in your cries, speak to me"

Joshua now felt as if he was in an empty world, he opened his eyes to find himself back on his feet stood in a swamp that stretched as far as the eye could see, the sky was as black as death and the trees, pale as bone. Joshua was stood in water that reached to just below his boot. A thick fog hung in the air and clung to his clothes with a strange desperation. Joshua did not find this world comfortable in the slightest. He began to wander through this swamp, searching, scanning, looking for someone. As he turned his head he was met by a striking white visage. Stood across the swamp was a woman with skin as white as snow and a beautiful face like none Joshua had ever seen, However this face, as pretty as it was, was more terrifying than anything else as tears of blood ran down her cheeks from her dead white eyes. The two slowly made their way over to one another and stopped with a few paces between them. "You return" The woman whispered in a cold tone.

"You just can't keep me away" Joshua laughed an uncomfortable laugh. He took a step closer to the woman int he black dress stood across from him.

"What makes you think you are ready to hear my cry?" She whispered once more.

"The cries of your blade are like a sweet song to me now, i am certain i can learn your name" Joshua said now stoic with a strong sense of confidence in his voice and demeanor.

"My name is not one to be said in whispers,and when i call it you shall feel the full force of my scream, if you can bear it you will learn my name." She whispered to Joshua. "Are you ready?"

Joshua took a stance that suggested an impact was about to strike. his face also betrayed this fact as it tightened in such away that he was expecting to be hit. He took a deep breath as did the woman across from him. She opened her mouth wide and let out and shocking scream, the likes of which Joshua had never heard. It was louder than an explosion and rang like a strange bell, the sound was both deafening and terrifying and the cry carried with it the force of a hurricane, Joshua fell to his knees as he braced himself before the screeching stopped. "You are not ready" The woman whispered as she brushed back her lifeless grey hair. "you have grown stronger but are still not ready, the time will come, i have faith, but this is not that time" She continued to say as she walked of into the darkness and fog of the swamp leaving a disheartened Joshua knelt in the murky water as he slowly found himself back in the forest knelt before his blade which was now ringing ever so slightly.

Joshua looked down at Darwin who was eagerly awaiting a response from him, he let out an exasperated sigh before picking the mouse up and placing him back on his shoulder before saying in a disheartened tone "Not this time buddy". Joshua climbed back to his feet and removed his blade form the ground placing it firmly back in it's sheath. "Maybe next time" He said shuffling off into the thick of the woods.

The walk back from training was a long one, full of thought and reflection "What am i doing wrong?" Joshua thought to himself as he walked along the path back to the barracks. Darwin squeaked at Joshua in an effort to cheer him up. Joshua stroked his little friend on the chin before returning to his thoughts. "I thought for sure she would tell me this time" Joshua felt a little disheartened and stopped walking to lean back on a nearby wall. the paths were empty at this time of night so Joshua need not worry about looking tough so he let out his frustration by punching the wall behind him before sliding down and sitting on the ground with his back to the wall. He placed his head in his hands and let out a deep sigh before Darwin nudged him. "I know buddy, i know" Joshua whispered. "I just wish i could talk to her" at this point Darwin nudged Joshua once again, Joshua seemed to gain a realization at this point. He climbed to his feet and with a smile on his face. "I can't let myself be defeated like this, She said she knew i could do it, she has faith in me, if i let myself give up like this it will be an insult to her trust and her power, i cannot give in, i will make her proud and i will achieve Shikai"

At this point Joshua drew his blade and thrust it out in front of him with a single arm. "I will hear her cry, she will break her silence and i will brave the storm" Joshua then began to start swinging his sword about, at first it appeared random but it soon became evident that he was training again, each swing of the sword was to a precise location and despite the distinct lack of enemies nearby the force of each swing could be felt all around. Joshua's movements became fluid, each move was connected to the last and the movements began to look like a kind of dance. "I will make you proud" He thought as he sword dance continued.

By the time Joshua had finished his sword dance and arrived back at the barracks it was already time for the squads morning training session. Truth be told he was worn out by this point, he had spent all night working on his Zanjutsu and swordplay and to engage in a sparring match now would surely see him be defeated. Nevertheless he joined in the morning exercises.

Being that squad 9 was the security force for the Seireitei they were always training to be on top form in case anything were to happen so morning training was to be expected nearly everyday. Joshua thought to himself how this mornings session seemed strangely rigorous. He couldn't place it, though perhaps it was just because he was so tired. He picked up a wooden sword and began practice his sword technique on a dummy, hoping to avoid a match with anyone in his current state. He was so tired though that all his movements seemed sluggish and lazy, something he never wanted to be. He dug down deep inside himself and found a strange reserve of energy whether this was real or just for show was unknown. His movements and strikes grew precise once more as he attacked the dummy ferociously albeit slowly than he had been moving during the night. Each strike found it's mark, not that it was to be difficult with a dummy but it was enough to please Josh considering the circumstances. He then took a step back and fell to his behind.from sheer exhaustion. Perhaps he should have gone inside to rest.