A Humble Request [Mizu, Urahara]

"O-oh, I guess that does make sense Captain Urahara-sama. If I was the Captain Commander I would not worry, you are a war hero after all." Maybe someone else might consider this kind of talk laying it on thick or overly flattering, but Mizu meant every word she said and doesn't consider a statement of fact to be brown nosing. After all, from what she understood from the historical records, without Urahara her own captain, Ōtoribashi Rōjūrō would have perished long ago.

Still, this situation was peculiar to say the least. Mizu had not expected a simple, humble request to require her following Urahara down into a secret cavern where they would be testing devices of some kind. With a gulp Mizu reached out and took the little triangles the captain held in his hand, and after staring at them for a moment, a little unsure, she did as she was told and placed them on her head. She noticed they seemed to be humming, which concerned her given given the strangeness of her current predicament. Not wanting to seem ungrateful for the opportunity to work with him, Mizu brushed aside her concerns and looked back up at the man "What do you need me to do next, Captain Urahara-sama?"

The pair of devices did look a little peculiar, though when it came to sensors to measure a person's Kido abilities there wasn't exactly a standard model. Especially not when Kisuke Urahara was involved. They looked a little like something else, but it was not exactly obvious.

"Now... pick a direction and start with a simple spell. We should build up, begin with the basics to establish some baseline readings, then move onwards until you reach your limit."

His approach was naturally nonchalant, with hands returning to the keyboard as he waited for Mizu to begin. Once she had picked a direction, facing pretty much any which way, a selection of targets rose from the ground for her to strike at. If she changed direction then more would appear, or perhaps the other targets simply moved and repositioned, it was a little hard to tell. The room was designed to be the perfect training space, so naturally, it would adapt to suit her needs.

"O-okay, right away!" Mizu's confidence still had yet to return to her. Even as she surmised this was just a way to get readings on her abilities, she was still a bit on edge. She was doing her best to focus on the task at hand and not on the fact she was standing feet away from and working with Urahara Kisuke. Come on, get it together Mizu! she thought to herself in an attempt to get past her own neurosis.

Mizu turned away from the Captain and faced the great underground expanse, and sighed deeply to steel herself. When the training targets popped up she knew exactly what spell to start with, one used as a litmus test in the Shin'o Academy to see who would and would not be an adept Kidō practitioner. ""Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south!" Hadō #31: Shakkahō!" From her raised hand a fiery sphere of energy formed and then launched at the center-most target, and would explode in a powerful crimson blast on impact.

The sensors perked up as Mizu began to weave her spell, standing on end, and Kisuke did take a few moments to stop his typing and observe. There was a quiet hum from the devices as they collected their data, but beyond that, they tried to stay out of her way. From his own personal appraisal, he did make a few mental notes. Her form was undoubtedly accurate, pace and tone even, and even the explosive delivery was suitably impressive. He had seen much older Shinigami perform much worse.

"Interesting choice. Okay! The readings are coming through clearly. Let's step it up. Really go for it, and don't worry about the targets - they can take it."

It was certainly true that, after the blast had fully dissipated, the central target had not even a scorch mark upon it. The Captain, for his part, returned to the keyboard and began to type once more. It would take a few more runs for him to have a full scope of her spiritual depth. After that, the actual work of developing such an enhancement tool would be trivial.

Wow, that did nothing! thought Mizu as she observed the untarnished target dummy's frame come into view after her spell's aftermath cleared away. Though basic, Shakkahō was hardly a weak spell and she figured even that might be have been too much. Evidently this was untrue, a fact reinforced by Urahara urging her to ratchet up her spell usage. Wanting to not let him down, Mizu turned and nodded in his direction before facing the targets' direction again.

It didn't take long for Mizu to decide on her next spell, primarily because she was taking the durability of these dummies as a challenge. This time she took a wide stance as she raised both hands in front of her and spoke an incantation "Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! On the wall of blue flame, inscribe a twin lotus. In the abyss of conflagration, wait at the far heavens. Hadō #73: Sōren Sōkatsui - Apply Lightning!" From her hands a powerful concentration of blue electrical energy formed which swiftly changed form into two bolts of lightning Mizu yanked and snapped sideways. This caused the bolts to slice through the air like a whip, allowing her to hit all three targets simultaneously, before exploding into a large blast on contact.

The resounding BOOM from her spell set upon her ears like dynamite, and even from this distance the whipped-up wind caused her golden locks to fly about chaotically. Mizu was instantly worried she had overdone it and waited for the smoke and dust to clear to see the result of her effort.

The resonating undulations that shook the ground in the aftermath of Mizu's second spell looked for a moment like they might wreak havoc upon all the instruments that Kisuke had set up around him but, just as impact seemed certain, the waves crashed into an invisible barrier and shot upwards into the seemingly open sky above them. The Captain, for his part, had been more focused on his machinery this time but had spared a moment to offer a cursory glance to the targets to see how they had fared.

This time they were not entirely without damage, the central target now bearing a pair of black scorch marks from having borne the brunt of the initial impact whilst the others each sported lesser charring but these were still only superficial wounds. Still, they all remained standing and silently staring back in Mizu's direction. A challenge had been offered to her now, could she find a way to knock them down?

"A powerful spell, Miss Mizu, and well delivered. The pieces are falling into place, so let's keep at it. Give them everything you've got this time, don't hold anything back!"

It was perhaps a little strange that Urahara was being so encouraging, at least to someone that thought of him as this unapproachable hero. But he was far too interested in watching this young Shingami display her potential to be worried about coming off as a little peculiar. He shifted from one machine to another, typing away as he went, though this time he did keep a single grey eye on Mizu. If it seemed like she was about to seriously hurt herself then he would step in, but only if he deemed it absolutely necessary.

What the heck are these things made of?! Mizu was less disappointed in herself and more in awe of Captain Urahara's inventions. She knew he could never be underestimated, but even still she thought such a strong spell even from someone like her would result in more than surface-level damage. Mizu turned on her heel to face the Captain as he commended her on her usage of Sōren Sōkatsui, and challenged her to truly go all-out. Her eyes widened at the man's words. If even Sōren Sōkatsui was not enough, then what could she do other than that spell? Did he really want her to use it??

With a deep breath Mizu regained her wits and bowed obediently to Urahara. "Y-yes sir! I will give it my all!" Mizu turned to face the targets again and spread her legs in a wide stance. She then raised both arms in front of her, and placed her left hand on her right bicep for support. Anybody capable of such high level magic could probably recognize this stance, though Mizu wasn't concerned with how obvious it was. For someone her size and of her strength, sometimes the fundamentals were absolutely necessary.

"Hadō #88: Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō - Apply Force!" From her outstretched hand a mass of blue electrical energy would swiftly gather before firing like a cannon, its cry mimicking that of a mighty dragon. In addition to the energy blast's typical overwhelming power, it possessed extra concussive force enhancing its force on impact noticeably. The earth-shaking beam would quickly cross the gap to the targets, exploding into an inferno upon striking them. Though Mizu was certain someone of Urahara's skill and power had seen this and more many times, for her it was the ultimate ace up her sleeve with nothing greater in her arsenal.

Kisuke certainly didn't have a particular spell in mind when he asked for Mizu to go all out, though he had never doubted that she was capable of performing even the most powerful of incantations so the choice of a #88 was perhaps a safe bet on her end. Though to call it that was probably doing his little witch quite the disservice. Regardless, there was a particular enjoyment to be had in standing so close to the event horizon of such a spell. Placing a hand atop his head to hold in place a hat that was not there, his lips curled into a wry smile.

"Impressive! You might have done it with that one."

He called out over the roaring cry of the spell, whilst the dust settled on his poor targets. There was, frankly, little left of the central one. Warped and misshapen by the force of the impact that had punched through his protective wards and finally succeeded in truly causing some damage. The others were different variations of beaten and charred, but at least still bore resemblance to that which had come first.

"That ought to do it. So. By measuring the power that you needed to cast those spells and condensing all that information down into bite-size packages, I should be able to create a device that will amplify your energy reserves when you are in need of an extra push."

One of the machines gave a whir of approval, seeming to agree with the Captain's assessment of matters, though Kisuke did give Mizu a few moments to add any further comments.

After expelling such a huge amount of energy Mizu was feeling like she had just run a marathon. She dropped her hands to her knees and took many long breaths in a row as even sweat formed on her brow from the spiritual workout she'd just undergone. Even though she couldn't pack as much energy into it as stronger Kidō practitioners could, it was also for this reason Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō was so monumentally draining to her.

At least I managed to damage those targets! she thought silently to herself, not wanting to seem a braggart in front of one of her heroes. Mizu observed the fruits of her labor with a twinkle in her eye, largely due to the praise Urahara had given her even as she continued feeling like a novice compared to him.

Mizu stood back up as she listened to Urahara explain the process through which he could concoct an answer to her earlier request. Out of respect and gratitude she bowed deeply and nearly shouted her response "Thank you, Captain Urahara-sama! I owe you a great debt! I can only hope I can one day repay you for everything!"

Nodding his head in response to her acknowledgement, Kisuke hit the enter key and let the machines get to work. Obviously, he had kept his exact explanation of what this device would do as mundane as possible to make sure that it was easy to understand. The truth would have been a little harder for Mizu to wrap her head around, so better that he kept her in the dark and let her fill in those dots on her own.

"Ah, yes, you will be in my debt but don't let that weigh you down. Keep giving your all and I will be satisfied!"

With a sound that could only perhaps be compared to that of a toaster completing its routine, one of the machines pinged up an alert before launching out a strange plastic disc. Kisuke's hand shot out, plucking the disc out of the air with impressive dexterity before he turned to offer it out to Mizu. There was certainly nothing visually or spiritually impressive about the disc, at least to an initial scan, but there was certainly an earnest smile on the genius inventor's face as he offered out the result of all their hard work.

"So, remember, when you really need that little boost, take ahold of this and take a deep breath or two. Hopefully, that will be all the push you need, Miss Mizu."