Youthful Teacher

**Date Started:** 1 November, 2022
**Date Completed:** Ongoing
**Next Role-Play**: N/A
**Users Involved:** User:EmperorSigma, User:Sekiro of the mist
**Setting:** Houston,
**Characters Involved**:
* **Tenth Division:** Ryujin Suiiki, Ichika

## Lessons

*New life is fragile,*
 *flexible as thread*

*thriving* in a teachers web

The sound of rapidly changing wind surrounds the Tenth Division training courtyard. the tranquil scenery was littered with slashes and tears in the world. They were previous paths of a sword, remaining against the vacuum-like rifts to a distorted world. In the middle of these were the divisions young Leuitenant, Ryujin Suiiki. Training by his lonesome.

The boy danced around the sand leaving trails and holes from his footwork. The golden badge of the tenth division gleamed vibrantly against his arm in the sunlight. Within his hands, he wielded the Zanpakuto of his mother. A sword that was now a powerless object and a fragment of his past. With every movement. A shadow seemed to follow the shinigami. Making moves of its own as if they were fighting.

Suiiki was knocked off of his feet. causing him to fall to the ground. to stop it, he stamped his foot on the air, causing him to fly backward and readjust his body. rising from the fall, he tightened his grip on the sword. Letting lose a horizontal slash. The edge of the sword distorted before sending out an air slash that, like the others, caused a rift in the entire space. As it went forward the slash reached the edge of his shadow and stopped. Behaving as if it had hit a target.

*"WHOOOOOOOOOOA"*

An anonymous voice carried through the field. It sounded like that of a child watching a magic trick. And with the day being as quiet as it was. The only thing interfering with the sound was his footsteps moving against the grains of sand.

Suiiki came to a pause, his feet sliding on the sand with a low hiss. That focused look in his eye slowly waivered before retreating as the lieutenant looked up. Looking towards the barracks he saw little orange hair bobbing up and down. That was before he looked down and saw an ecstatic child with stars in her eyes, hopping up and down.

"I-Ichika! Why are you over here" Startled by the sudden appearance of the girl he had saved from the Akatani District. Suiiki dropped his sword arm and flashed over to her side. As he appeared from thin air. The vacuums of air behind him cleared out like fog being blown away.

Picking up the katana's sheath, Suiiki put the blade away before crouching down to talk to the girl.

Ichika was completely unfazed by the fact that Suiiki had just vanished and popped back up before her eyes. Nor the weapon he just had in his hand. Giggled before walking towards him. She made sure to get real close to his face too. "MA's asleep, soooo, I came here!"

"And you knew I was here how?," Suiiki said in a teasing manner.

"Because. Niisan always trains, I felt you too." She backed away and walked around the teenager who could only watch her antics. What she was doing though, was looking for the boy's other half.

"Where's Kuri?"

Suiiki placed his hand on the girl's head to keep her from moving. Then took a seat on the wooden floor. He then sat Ichika down in front of him. Once he was sure he got her attention he raised a finger and pointed over to his mother's sword.

"I physically left him in my room. Lately, I've been losing my Zanpakuto a lot. As such, I must compensate for that and improve my ability to sense him. Maybe if I'm lucky I can call him to me whenever I want" He paused for a second to make sure Ichika was paying attention. Lucky for him she was as attentive as ever when it came to his talks.

Probably because they lead to lessons.

"I know you will ask about why I'm training still so ill just get to that. Like I said I've lost Kuri multiple times, shamefully. And I had to bring her sword out from the dust. But it made me realize something. If you take a look at us shinigami. Our zanpakuto are a part of ourselves. As such when we interact with them. They are weightless. But A Zanpakuto that has lost its other half. Ceases to exist. Leaving behind a husk. That husk carries the weight of an actual weapon. So I choose to train with her sword as a way of building my strength and also honoring her in a way."

Ichika nodded while taking it all in. After all, he had just dumped a lot of info on her. once he finished she shot her hand up. "But you said that Souls imprint on them. So why haven't you done it." Despite being the age she was. Ichika was smarter than she looked. That was mainly because she talked with Suiiki so much. And he refused to use baby talk with her.

"Ah, well... it would be possible. If My mother had not already fully developed her Zanpakuto. and had I not had my own. However, it is not entirely out of the question for someone who doesn't have one to be able to do. they where *unclear about that detail*."

As he finished the statement Suiiki leaned back on his hands and stared at the ceiling. As far as he was concerned Ichika was the only one in the entire tenth division besides their captain who could make him ponder on something like this. For someone of her age that should have been a massive feat. but he supposed it made sense given that she spent time with them both on separate occasions.

Finally, he decided to get up and roam away from the child. Before stopping about ten meters away. "You coming?"

Ichika who was only watching her older brother figure leave her on that wooden edge. Now lit up with excitement, she clambered up to her feet as quickly as possible and rushed over to his side.