@Kitsune@Kurisa@Oblivion666

Once the trio would reach the post, they'd find that nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. There would seem to be no distress signals present, instead just calmness. If any were to inspect the area further, they'd find a cave situated a little way further into the forest behind the post that had been vacated. Looking into the cave's opening, there would be nothing but darkness as if the inside was completely void of all light. Not even a speck of daylight lit the inside of even though it was a rather bright day.

If one were to decide to inspect the cave and step inside-

@Kurisa@Oblivion666@AbigailTenshi

Koyo had to stop Akira from wondering off a few times but eventally they made it to the post where the missing shinigami was meant to be located. "Sotaro, please keep stay together with Akira while we are her, ok?" It was both to stop them from wondering off alone but also to keep them safe in case something really did happen, and for some reason she felt like something was going to...

It was calm here, far too calm in fact, as if not only was there no one around but not even a single animal was in sight. Though it bothered her she continued to look around the area for any signs of the wayward shinigami, soon coming across a cave. "Either of you want to head inside?" She may have asked but she clearly didn't want a answer as she started to go in, not the type of person to allow others to be sent into danger before her. She kept a firm hand on her sword as she did so.

@Kitsune@Kurisa@Oblivion666


The moment Koyo-shi would take a step into the cave, she'd find that there was nothing to step onto. If she had entered the cave, she would find herself falling for quite a few minutes with nothing to grab onto before landing a rocky surface. Any sound that may of been coming from her wouldn't be heard from outside of the cave's entrance. Her sense of sight would be virtually useless as the inside would be just as dark as before, however she'd suddenly be able to feel multiple strong power levels, along with many unstable ones. Groans of pain would surround her, along with a couple screams every now and then.

Although, if Koyo-shi jumped back instead of entering the cave fully once discovering the missing floor, the next step would be up to her... Would she send the other two in with her? Or tell them to keep guard outside while she entered? Or maybe something else? Only time would tell.

In the large garden within the area of the Squad 1 barracks was a man with black hair sparring another with blonde hair. The man with black hair had his fists raised, covering his face slightly as he swiftly avoided the blonde mans attacks. As the Blonde man threw a right hook the black haired male ducked and stepped forward with his with his left foot before slamming his right fist into the Blonde mans gut, the impact released a small shockwave and the blonde man coughed up a fair amount of blood before he dropped to the floor clutching his stomach. The black haired male straightened himself up before looking down at the Blonde haired male and speaking "You leave yourself to open...You need to practice more on keeping your defence and evasion up. Only striking when there is a clear open spot. I'm not one for wasting my energy to hit something that will only be evaded or blocked...when I attack I intend for it to hit. Now get up and go sort yourself out...I've got some important work to do" The blonde haired male remained on the floor coughing as the black haired male walked off.

After the black haired male took a shower and got himself all cleaned up he placed some special gear he wore under his clothing before stretching a little and leaving his room. As he walked down the halls of the Squad 1 barracks the various Shinigami that were in this mans presence bowed. The Black haired male was known as Kichirou Matsubara, a relatively young man from the Matsubara family, a family that boasted nothing special, in truth Kichirou boasted nothing special...he had no natural talent, no crushing spiritual energy and he was an utter failure with the use of Kido. However Kichirou was an extremely hard worker who has devoted his life to becoming the best he can and this was why he joined Squad 1...yet it wasn't always like this. Kichirou left the Academy with terrible grades, he was considered weak but worked harder than anyone else. The first Squad Kichirou joined was Squad 11 and even then he was only allowed in because he didn't like Kido. After a few years at Squad 11 Kichirou requested to be transferred to Squad 2. He had shown excellent Skill with Hakuda and Hoho and his Zanjutsu was incredible after his time at Squad 11 and so during his time he perfected his skills in Hakuda and Hoho at Squad 2.

Many more years passed and eventually he rose to 3rd seat within Squad 2 and had begun to gain a decent reputation among his Squad members and even some of the Gotei 13 for that matter. Kichirou was ruthless and executed orders with no issues. He did not care for who he was killing or capturing...he followed his orders with complete perfection. However the current Lieutenant of Squad 2 had grown bitter towards Kichirou and eventually turned traitor, it was Kichirou who requested that he go alone to defeat the former Squad 2 Lieutenant. The Captain had faith in Kichirou and so granted him his wish, this action that some would consider stupidity was closely monitored by the Head Captain. Kichirou had tracked down his target within a few days and defeated the former Squad 2 Lieutenant with great skill...one thing however that surprised the Squad 2 Captain who had been assigned to follow Kichirou by the Head Captain was Kichirou's use of a Bankai...something the traitorous Squad 2 Lieutenant didn't even possess. Kichirou had kept his Bankai a secret as he wanted to earn his position through sheer skill as opposed to simply gaining a flashy Bankai...yet Kichirou's Bankai wasn't flashy at all, it was considered small in terms of a Bankai yet was just as deadly as he defeated the former Squad 2 Lieutenant with a single punch.

Upon completing his mission Kichirou was noticed by the Head Captain and despite his lack of kido the Head Captain assigned him as a joint Lieutenant of Squad 1 with his current Lieutenant. As time passed the two Lieutenants of Squad 1 were sent on various tasks and completed every single one they were assigned, the two worked extremely well as a team and had shown many times they were capable of taking on enemies supposedly many times stronger than they were. However the two were sent on a mission to capture an extremely high priority target, the two fought to the best of their abilities until Kichirou's partner was killed in battle, Kichirou himself would have been next if not for the Head Captain showing up and taking the fight into his own hands. Since that day the Head Captain has apologised to Kichirou for sending him on a mission that cost him his partners life. It was false records of their target that had done this...the target was indeed strong, strong enough to draw out the head Captains Bankai...in truth the target was toying with the two Lieutenants until they grew bored.

Now Kichirou runs the Lieutenant spot alone...now strong enough to rival many Captains of the Gotei 13 he stays true to his position of Squad 1 Lieutenant, not caring for a Captain position...in truth Kichirou had got where he wanted, he was now the closest person to the Head Captain a man who would likely help Kichirou grow stronger than he had ever imagined. However Kichirou was a professional...when working...when not working he was no better than a common thug in the Rukongai. Kichirou when working was entirely different to the Kichirou off work. Now leaving the Squad 1 barracks Kichirou could relax...no longer having to act professional. It was time for him to go enjoy himself and so off to one of the many bars of the Seireitei he went. Kichirou often caused trouble when off duty and the Head Captain was wise to this...however he let this slip as he knew Kichirou would make up for it by working harder than any other...something so good has to come with a bad side...and Kichirou's off duty ways were the bad side..

"Watch it you fool!"

The voice of her sword spirit made her react swiftly, reaching out to grab onto the side of the caves entrance as her foot met nothing and almost sent her falling down into who knows where. "What the?!" Koyo exclaimed, pulling herself back and staring into the void for a moment. Then she remembered the other two she put out a hand from stop[ping them advancing anymore, hopefully they would listen. "It seems this is a little more complex than I first thought, I want you two to stay here for a moment. If I say it is fine then you can follow along, but if I don't return then call the captain." She hoped it would not come to that, but if it was nothing more than a hollow trick then those two following suit would be helpful. With that she jumped into the cave, hand on sword and at the ready!

As he paced about in the temple room, another monk appeared. He was sweeping off in the corner as well. At first glance, Kyoichi paid him no mind. He walked a few more steps and took another curious glance at the monk. Just then, he noticed it. The silent monk was an exact replica of the one he had greeted not ten minutes ago.

Turning his head slightly, he kept his own silence. Walking over to the alter, he clasped his hands together to offer prayer and respect to the patron deity of the temple. As he looked up, he noticed that the patron deity was Guhyapada. How did he not notice the massive statue when he stepped into the temple was beyond him.



"Child, your quest is dangerous. It is foolish. Turn back and live, or proceed and die." A voice that resonated through the hall said. At first, Kyoichi peered over to the monk. To his surprise, the monk had disappeared once again. Now, the room was filled with the light fragrance of lotus flowers and other incense. Taking his backpack off and setting it on the ground next to the alter table, he took a few steps back and stood in the middle of the floor. "I mean the great Guhyapada no disrespect. However, my quest is to lead me to the man that cut down my superior in cold blood. I must succeed. Therefore if a god is to stand in my way, I must cut him down..."

As soon as he finished his words, he looked up to the Guhyapada statue and noticed that while its expression has not changed, there was a visible ripple that seemed like reiatsu to him that was emanating from it. Taking in a deep breath, he unsashed his sword while keeping it sheathed and prepared for battle.

"Then, child, you must go through me."
The monk from before emerged from the left side of the statue. Instead of a broom, he is not carrying a wooden staff that had a golden tinge to it. "Then lets get it on the way." Kyoichi said as he bowed slightly to the monk as a sign of respect. His reiatus rippled from his back as well. For someone standing on the outside looking in, it would seem as if Asura was about to do battle with Deva...

The first of many battles he must undertake is about to begin...

@Kitsune

::Squad Thirteen Mission Update | Koyo-shi::

Koyo-shi would of fallen for a few minutes before landing both feet on what would of felt like a rocky surface. Echoing painful groans and screams surrounded her and filled the room. Judging by the echoes, the room she was in was definitely a huge one. Multiple power-levels suddenly revealed themselves after she had stepped into the cave's hole. Listening a little closer, Koyo-shi would hear the sound of shaking shackles and chains, meanwhile the unstable power-levels would gradually grow stronger with each passing second.

A loud bellow from a Hollow then would abruptly overpower all the sounds heard by Koyo-shi. The bellow would seem to have originated from an area deeper within the cave, exactly where one of the more powerful power-levels were emitting from. The area Koyo-shi was in was still dark, however the sounds of groans and screams seemed to be in the exact same room as her.

What would she do next? Try to find a light source? Rely on her senses? Or something else? It was up to her, but from this point on it was certain that she would be alone without back-up as the other two would be completely oblivious to what was actually going on.

@AbigailTenshi

Koyo look a deep breath of the stale air around her, the sounds of death and pain still echoing out but despite her shaking hand she was much calmer than she had expected to be from this strange experience. Putting it down to the fact she knew she was not strong herself and knowing she was not truly alone Koyo gripped the hilt of her sword before starting to step forwards towards the bellowing roar she had heard before.

"Hadō #31. Shakkahō - Revision - Control"

The bright red orb formed in her hand, however instead of firing it she only put the tiniest amount of power into it, using it as more of a light source than anything else, and maybe a distraction if anything was foolish enough to try and attack her while she dashed towards the hollow. Wherever she was it was clearly not natural, and with those power levels she was feeling it was putting her on edge, still she felt like she could not back out now even if she wanted too.

@Kitsune

::Squad Thirteen Mission Update | Koyo-shi::

The glow produced from Koyo-shi's Hado filled a part of the area surrounding her but barely touched the walls on both sides of her, however now she would be able to see a small bit of the smooth rock walls along with the smooth floor beneath her. It seemed more as though someone, or something, had created this cave more than it just naturally forming due to the smoothness of the rock walls and floor that looked carved. The light Koyo-shi produced wasn't strong enough to reach the ceiling, it was a very high ceiling.

As Koyo-shi began dashing towards the loud enemy, the sound of chains rattling became more aggressive, almost as though they had finally noticed Koyo-shi's presence and was trying to get her attention. The groans and screams of pain continued to surround her and echo throughout the cave. The Hollow she was headed towards belted out yet another bellow before all of a sudden the cave began shaking violently.

Something was coming... And it was closing in on Koyo-shi fast.

@AbigailTenshi

Koyo felt a little better as part of the darkness gave way to her spells light, it was not much but it was enough for her to be put at relative ease. Even with all the chains and groans that echoed out she was retaining her composer, though she was nervous at least the chains sounded familiar as they often sounded in her mind when Aki spoke to her.

"Be ready"

Drawing out her blade Koyo readied herself as she listened to not only the warning but the shaking AND the feeling that was closing in on her! She couldn't just stay there she knew that much and so she started to make up, making sure to try and keep her attention on the oncoming power, her blade tip touching the ground in a ready to strike stance.

The monk peered at the young man in front of him. Unfazed, it seemed as if the monk knew all along that this day would come. Without another word, the monk entered his stance, asking Kyoichi to attack first. Through his training, he had come to the conclusion that the one that attack first must strike hard lest they put themselves in a disadvantage. Steadying his breathe, Kyoichi dashed forward towards the monk.

Raising his staff slightly, the monk stopped his footwork and braced for the incoming attack. While dashing, Kyoichi held his sword with both hands and to his right. Upon reaching striking distance, he swung his sword upwards at an diagonal. Using his staff, the monk received the strike and was pushed back slightly. Flicking his wrist, the monk parried the strike and stopped Kyoichi's movement. Using the momentum from the wrist flick, the monk swung the staff down a little bit more and when the staff is perpendicular to Kyoichi, he thrusts it forward with his left hand. Using his sword, Kyoichi pushed the staff to his left and evade the thrust. When the staff is fully extended, the monk lifted it quickly and swung it down just as fast. Turning his sword upwards about 45 degrees, Kyoichi received the overhead strike. When the strike has stopped, Kyoichi dropped his sword and took a step to his right while pivoting his body so his right shoulder is pointed towards the monk. While he turned, Kyoichi swung his sword, held a a parallel to the ground, towards the upper body of the monk. Unable to move his staff in time, the monk tucked his left arm towards his body and received the strike from the sheathed sword.

The monk and Kyoichi disengaged after that first exchange. Steadying their breathes, the monk said "Not bad, your forefathers has trained you well..." The reiatsu ripples are even more visible now. "Now that the warm up is over, please release your shikai." The monk continued. "Without it, you will not last the next exchange." Stretching slightly, the monk let the upper portion of his clothing fall from his shoulders. As it fell, it revealed that he had a dragon tattooed to his chest. Even though it was in black ink, it seemed like the dragon was glowing gold. "Now, speak the words the show me the shikai you earned."

".........Bring to life the essence of the Living Flame! The Furnace." Kyoichi said as his bluish reiatsu rippled and flowed into his sword. "I'm ending this quickly..." He said as the golden mace that is his shikai appeared in his hands. "A fire type...Interesting..." The monk replied. He said it with such confidence it seemed as if he has known that sword for ages. "The name..It's got a nice ring to it..." Before the monk fully finished his sentence, Kyoichi had shunpo'ed from where he stood to behind the monk. He moved so close to the monk that when he executed Vicious Strikes, both hits connected and thus he fired a burning orb after the second hit. Thinking that the monk has to have taken some damage, Kyoichi took a few steps back and observed as the smoke from his attacks cleared...

"Nice, heavy swings...Nice fire orb as well..." The monk said as the smoke slowly cleared. "A kobu of reiatsu, fired at close range...good design..." The monk continued as he appeared from the smoke, completely unscathed...

@Kitsune

::Squad Thirteen Mission Update | Koyo-shi::

Within a mere minute, the ground in front of Koyo-shi began caving in due to the shaking before completely bursting open. Huge chunks of rock would fly in all directions, some towards Koyo-shi. Another roar tore through the groans and chains once again, much louder and clearer this time. A forceful gust littered with rock and dirt debris would then shoot directly at Koyo-shi, strong enough to knock her back a little if she wasn't in a strong enough stance at this moment. Once she'd look in front of her, her sight would meet two rows of large, sharp teeth that lined an open menacing mouth.


Without giving Koyo-shi any time to register the Hollow's presence, it opened it's mouth and began charging a bright red Cero. The glow from the charging orb would quickly completely fill the area, lighting up every corner of the room and a part of the connecting tunnel. This would also reveal the source of the noises Koyo-shi would have been hearing this whole time.... Demi-Hollows.

The walls were actually lined with chained souls, their soul chains almost torn out of their bodies leaving a hole in their chests. It was too late to help these souls now, they were nearing full hollow-fication and even if someone were to try to help, there'd be too many for just one Shinigami to handle. Their spiritual pressures continued to raise but this time began slowly stabilising, however it was already higher than a usual Hollow and only continued to grow, quite peculiar. This was clearly bad, there were nearly thirty of them in this room and tunnel alone... Let alone the how many of them might of been deeper within the cave. Then again, why were there so many? What could of happened?

The hole Koyo-shi fell in from was still there. Atleast if this became too much for her, there was a chance to escape. But if she chose to call for the other two to help instead, she'd receive no response. Everyone on the outside wouldn't be able to sense or hear a thing, which could explain why this issue wasn't spotted and taken care of already.

Yu Amagi

At a nice looking dumpling shop that just radiated a nice atmosphere and overall happiness, would suddenly self destruct with a male with long purple hair walking out of it crossing a name off the list. "Nope still not good enough for Shinji. These foolish places don't realize his tastes require the greatest food!" Yu would state as he walked on to the next place where an old man would stand. "Hey there whipersna-" Yu would cut him off by just instantly destroying the building with a simple sho. The old man would look at his former establishment and shake. "If you called me that, that meant you would called Shinji that, and he is our god. So I punished you, be thankful it was me." Yu said as he continued walking. He stumbled upon the not so nice area where hoodlums were about so Yu just cracked his neck and tore two pages out of his book. "Nope." Yu spoke and the entire area would just be covered in a black nope box and would vanish off any map.

@Oblivion666



Shinji walked around not to far behind Yu, he was munching on a Dumpling from a shop he recently destroyed...why? eh he was bored...being this strong often meant that there really weren't many people that could even challenge him. To him this was truly a curse but going down wasn't an option...so he had to go up and find stronger opponents. As it was Shinji didn't want to destroy the Soul Society, he just wanted to find an opponent that could match him. After a little walk Shinji caught up to Yu and spoke "I take it there is nothing interesting here then...I wish something would happen. I'm tired of these boring slow days..."

@Kurisa

Yu Amagi

"I understand what you mean, if even I get bored fighting them you would be suffocating from their weakness. I only know of a few that could withstand a few minutes of fighting you. That Sieg Oda guy and the Head Captain, there is me of course but a student of one such as yourself would always have a better chance than anyone else after all." Yu said before bowing before Shinji and raising his head. "If you want I can try and bring someone that may entertain you even if for a few minutes?" Yu would offer if only to please the god of the soul society.

Keisuke walked through the Rukongai, his hands in his pocket as he looked around for anyone causing trouble. Since his exile Keisuke has kept up his duties and dealt with them accordingly...or more his way. Despite no longer being in Squad 6 Keisuke is determined to make the Rukongai a safer place by removing the problems...permanently. Locking these criminals up was no justice, they still held the most valuable thing in this world...life...however Keisuke didn't kill every criminal. Only those that had taken a life or ruined someones to a great degree. As Keisuke took a deep breath he heard the sound of things crashing as a man being chased by another emerged from an ally, the man being chased held something that seemed valuable. Keisuke watched for a few seconds before taking action, finally deciding that the man running away had stolen the item and so Keisuke used his shunpo to appear before the man, extending his right arm and stopping the man with his index finger "Does this belong to you?" The man behind was clearly an older person where as the one he had stopped was...not so old...clearly he had stolen from this old man as he was an easy target

Keisuke then sighed before removing his index finger from the mans head, the man then flew through the wall to Keisuke's right as Keisuke held his right arm right out to his right, the back of his hand smoking a little. He then caught the valuable item with his left hand before handing it to the old man "You shouldn't get anymore trouble off this guy..." The old man bowed and thanked Keisuke before walking away. Keisuke turned his attention to the man who was out cold laying in and under a pile of rubble. "Now what to do with you?..." Keisuke simply turned and walked off a little before a couple of Squad 6 Shinigmai showed up "Hey Keisuke!" Keisuke stopped then spoke "What?" "Just...wondering. Why don't you plead your case to central 46?" Keisuke let out a sigh before speaking "I can't go back...you know this. I'll keep helping you guys out with these petty criminals but I take care of the more serious criminals my own way...that's why they exiled me in the first place...you know they want me anyway, I'd be walking right into their hands. Just don't tell Captain Kuchiki alright? I can keep you all looking pretty good like this and that means keeping Kuchiki happy...and no doubt off my case" at that point Keisuke's Zanpakuto vibrated a little...Keisuke knew his Zanpakuto spirit despised Kurisa but that was it's problem...

"Well anyway I'm off...I'll catch you guys around sometime..." as Keisuke walked off he thought about his time at the Gotei 13...in truth he did sort of miss it but there wasn't any real way for him to get back in...not yet anyway. One day he'd retake his place there...but as the Captain of a different Squad...one he could shape to see things his way. Now...to find something to eat...it'd been awhile and after doing some hard training he needed a decent meal

@Oblivion666



Shinji listened as Yu spoke before replying "Sieg?...Name doesn't ring a bell...in truth he sounds weak. If the current Head Captain can beat him then I have no interest in him...the Head Captain himself is likely my best bet but I have no real reason to attack him and his little army...not yet anyway. I'm waiting for them to all get stronger or until the right pieces fall into place so I may be able to ascend to a greater place to take on some...supposedly stronger opponents. A few minutes of yawning is hardly going to keep me entertained...I did however hear about a few interesting people showing up...yet finding them isn't worth my time, I'll wait till they come in and make a big show..."

Yakima wiped the sweat off his forehead, wearing the same headband that holds his hair back when he cooks. The sun was high and intense, its light beaming down on Yakima's neck as he nailed his sign on top of the door. Previously it hung by chains above the entrance but after their last visit, most of the shop had broken down. Both Yakima and Ike worked on rebuilding it almost from scratch. Ike worked on the inside while Yakima worked on the outside, since he didn't want Ike to attract anymore attention. He moved back a little, standing on top of a ladder. He nodded "That will do" It was the same run down sign as before but Hanami had made it so there was no better sign out there. He stepped down the ladder, looking behind him off into the distance. He let out a heavy sigh, missing both Hanami and Midori after their last departure. Yakima had scrounged up most of his money to send his wife and daughter to the Human World where they would be safe. And he had spent the rest of the money he made on the repairs for the shop. After so many years he was back to right where he started, probably even worse.

Yakima took a seat on the dirt in front of his shop, the shade protecting him from the sun. He placed his head against the wood, looking up at the sky. It was as if he was in a deep philosophical thought. "Last damn time I hire someone I know"

@Kurisa

"If I keep thinking about it, my head is gunna explooode hehehe, Hmmm Hm-Hmhmmm... Hm hm Hmmm~♫♪" Kicking her dangling legs about, Nishiki sat on top of a random high roof within the Rukongai while humming a tune to herself joyfully. She tapped the tops of her thighs at the beat of her own hums while observing a few average souls below go about their day. There wasn't anyhing for her to do, so instead she took to finding somewhere random to relax and entertain herself in. Nishiki never tended to stay in the same place for too long anyway, making her quite the drifter. Abruptly stopping her actions, Nishiki sat silence for afew seconds before letting out a short sigh and pushing her body up to stand on the roof's edge. She clearly didn't realise how loose some of the tiles she was sitting on actually were.

"WOOOAAH-!" CRASH

Face planted straight into the floor, Nishiki groaned in mild pain before gently lifting her head and turning it, her left cheek resting on top of the hard surface while her nose grew bright red and throbbed. Her eyes were closed but then she slowly re-opened. As she did her vision met with a pair of shoes. Her emerald eyes scanned up the shoes, trousers and torso gingerly until they found a face along, which was bordered by a mess of white-ish-grey hair. "Errr H-Hello, heheheh~... Sorry" She was slightly embarrassed by this, but this wasn't the first time her clumsiness had caused her to make an utter fool of herself. Just giggle it off, that's what Nishiki always told herself during these sorts of moments.

Such nonsense, Kyoichi thought. How did this monk receive two of his attack, one at an close range, and remain unscathed? "However, your fire does not burn hot enough." The monk said as he launched himself forward, kicking off his back foot.From what Kyoichi could see, the monk held his staff in front of him with his right hand. Anticipating a forward thrust, Kyoichi stepped to his right and thus the monk's left to put some distance between the two of them horizontally. However, as he was about to react and swing his mace, he was essentially bashed on the right side of his head with a staff swing coming from the same direction. Quickly after the swing, the staff had moved to Kyoichi's left. With his momentum shifted because of the previous attack, Kyoichi could not defend himself and thus was sent tumbling into the ground by a low sweeping swing of the monk's staff. The movement that had just taken place was like a dance, much too fast and far too intricate for Kyoichi to fully observe.

"Flow like water. One must flow like water to temper the flames..." The monk said, cryptically.

Still not quite grasping the situation, Kyoichi rolled backwards and gathered himself, putting himself out of the monk's range completely. He did pick up one thing from the previous exchange, however. His mace, even though he has more or less mastered it, was still far too heavy. If the monk is that fast, he needs to at least give himself a chance to react. Thus, he sheathed his sword and redrew it. This time, in the sealed state. "Come, this battle is not yet over." Kyoichi said, his reiatsu now flowing freely.

With the slightest grin, the monk approached. Holding his staff in the left hand, the monk seemingly tried another low sweep with it as soon as he got within striking distance of Kyoichi. Not falling for it, Kyoichi jumped upwards and backwards, attempting to add distance between the two of them. However, before he reached maximum height from his jump, the staff swung down hard from above him, now held in the monk's right hand, onto Kyoichi's left shoulder, causing his entire body to tremble from the force.

"Child, you heard but was not listening... Flow like water."

Kyoichi looked at the monk, bewildered. What did he mean by flow like water....?