Jaran
07-06-2006, 10:37 PM
Alright, I hope you guys like it, I had fun writing it... :D
Watashi no Shinsetsu no Joukai
(My New Theory of Heaven)
Hayate ran through the halls of the Shinigami Academy as fast as his legs could carry him, his feet raising a torrent of sound which echoed through the corridor. Once again, he was late for his classes, and he was not looking forward to the scolding he knew he would receive once he arrived.
"Hayate-san!"
His teacher, Takigama Shinishiro-sensei's voice caught his ears, stopping him in his tracks and spinning him around. He was in for it now.
"Yes, I knew it was you, Hayate-san. Only you would be this late for classes."
Hayate lowered his head in apology and began to speak. Shinishiro cut him off abruptly.
"Hayate-san, this is the second time in as many weeks that you have missed class. How do explain this behavior?"
Hayate had been busy that afternoon in Rukongai, assisting an older woman with her daily chores. He knew however, that Takigama-sensei would not accept this as an excuse. So, he decided to merely bear the weight of his teacher's rebuke upon his own shoulders.
"Takigama-sensei, I apologize for my absence. It was inexcusable, and I will not allow it to happen again."
Shinishiro looked at Hayate with fire in his eyes. How could he rebuke a young Shinigami with so much potential? He knew exactly what Hayate had been doing, but he did not understand why Hayate thought he needed to conceal the truth from him. Perhaps an impromptu lesson was in order here.
"Hayate-san, come with me, since you missed class today, I will conduct remedial training with you."
Shinishiro set off towards the training grounds, with Hayate in tow. As they walked, Shinishiro noticed that Hayate's spiritual pressure was sagging, most likely due to his conflicting emotions. If only Hayate understood that he needed to stand up for himself and not be afraid of the consequences...
His meditations stopped abruptly, for they had arrived at the training grounds. These were not the ordinary training grounds that the Shinigami classes used on a day to day basis. Hayate noticed that Shinishiro-sama had brought him to the special training grounds, the ones where the graduate classes were given their final examinations.
"Takigama-sensei, isn't this..."
Shinishiro interrupted him with a quick slashing motion of his hand.
"Hayate-san, this is not the time for you to ask questions. Here, as you may have guessed, is the graduate examination pit. You may ask yourself, why have I brought you here, and you are very wise to wonder this. Now prepare yourself for a lesson, Hayate-san."
Shinishiro drew his zanpaku-to and assumed a guard stance. Hayate's eyes widened as he understood what was happening here. Quickly, he drew his zanpaku-to and assumed a wobbly attack stance.
"Now, Hayate, do not allow fear to enter your frame. I can tell by your weak stance that you are afraid of what may happen here. If you are truly a Shinigami, then you must not allow yourself to be worried by such things as emotion. Face me, as you would face someone who would take your life."
Shinishiro's words caused a strange feeling inside of Hayate, and he drew himself up to his full height, spread his legs shoulder-width apart, squared his shoulders, and brought his zanpaku-to up into a stable position.
"Now, Hayate, let the lesson begin."
With those words, Shinishiro ran towards Hayate, bringing his zanpaku-to down upon him in a vertical slash. Hayate quickly reacted and brought his sword up to parry the blow, but he was still open for attack. Shinishiro brought his foot up and kicked Hayate square in the chest, causing him to stumble backwards, gasping for air. Shinishiro took the opportunity and pressed the attack with his zanpaku-to. Hayate had just enough time to counter the attack with a parry, but Shinishiro once again exploited the holes in his defense with a slap to Hayate's left ear. Hayate was stunned and dazed by the sound ringing in his ear, but still somehow managed to parry his teacher's next attack. This time, Shinishiro did not attempt to attack him again, but instead took a step back to look at Hayate.
"Hayate-san, why are you merely standing there defending yourself? Will you not attempt to attack me?"
Hayate still stood in his stance, resolved to see this through to the end.
"Takigama-sensei, if I attack you, then I would open myself up for further attack. If I can merely guard myself, then perhaps I could survive."
Shinishiro shook his head at Hayate's words.
"Hayate-san...you do not understand fully yet. If you do not attack, then how will you defeat your opponent? You cannot merely block their attacks and hope that you will survive. A Shinigami must realize that if he does not press forward with the attack, then he is doomed to fail. Merely guarding just delays the inevitable. Now, Hayate, attack me."
Hayate immediately sprung forward at his teacher's command, releasing a flurry of blows with his zanpaku-to. The fury and power released from him in this attack was more fierce than a stampede of elephants, more powerful than a raging tiger. Shinishiro was amazed at his student's power, and realized at once just how much Hayate had been hiding himself. His potential far outshined what he had previously imagined. This had gone on long enough. With one motion, Shinishiro moved behind his student and pointed his zanpaku-to at Hayate's back. Hayate spun around with fury and rage pouring out of him and smacked his teacher's zanpaku-to away with a mighty blow, then leaped at him again to press the attack. Shinishiro had been underestimating Hayate's resolve and now found himself in a precarious position. Realizing that he had made a mistake, Shinishiro quickly used shunpo to move behind Hayate and instantly grabbed his student by the arms.
"Hayate-san! This lesson is over! Put your weapon down, now!"
The fire in Hayate's eyes cooled to a simmer and he dropped his zanpaku-to. Shinishiro retrieved his own zanpaku-to quickly and sheathed it. This lesson had been successful, perhaps more successful than he intended.
"Hayate-san, I know what you have been doing in the afternoons. Helping those who are unfortunate is an honorable cause. However, hiding the truth from your superiors is not. The point of this lesson was to show you that you must not be afraid of the consequences of actions you know to be right. This is the key to being successful as a Shinigami. Class is dismissed. Get some rest, Hayate."
Shinishiro left the pit, leaving Hayate to himself. After a few moments, Hayate picked up his zanpaku-to and beat the dirt off of it before sheathing it. He had indeed learned the lesson that Takigama-sensei had intended to impart to him, and he had hoped that he would keep it with him forever. There is nothing wrong with doing good, and he would never be punished for good deeds, at least not here. Hayate sighed softly to himself as he left the training pit and headed for the barracks. Perhaps Soul Society was more than he thought it had been. Maybe it really could be...heaven.
Watashi no Shinsetsu no Joukai
(My New Theory of Heaven)
Hayate ran through the halls of the Shinigami Academy as fast as his legs could carry him, his feet raising a torrent of sound which echoed through the corridor. Once again, he was late for his classes, and he was not looking forward to the scolding he knew he would receive once he arrived.
"Hayate-san!"
His teacher, Takigama Shinishiro-sensei's voice caught his ears, stopping him in his tracks and spinning him around. He was in for it now.
"Yes, I knew it was you, Hayate-san. Only you would be this late for classes."
Hayate lowered his head in apology and began to speak. Shinishiro cut him off abruptly.
"Hayate-san, this is the second time in as many weeks that you have missed class. How do explain this behavior?"
Hayate had been busy that afternoon in Rukongai, assisting an older woman with her daily chores. He knew however, that Takigama-sensei would not accept this as an excuse. So, he decided to merely bear the weight of his teacher's rebuke upon his own shoulders.
"Takigama-sensei, I apologize for my absence. It was inexcusable, and I will not allow it to happen again."
Shinishiro looked at Hayate with fire in his eyes. How could he rebuke a young Shinigami with so much potential? He knew exactly what Hayate had been doing, but he did not understand why Hayate thought he needed to conceal the truth from him. Perhaps an impromptu lesson was in order here.
"Hayate-san, come with me, since you missed class today, I will conduct remedial training with you."
Shinishiro set off towards the training grounds, with Hayate in tow. As they walked, Shinishiro noticed that Hayate's spiritual pressure was sagging, most likely due to his conflicting emotions. If only Hayate understood that he needed to stand up for himself and not be afraid of the consequences...
His meditations stopped abruptly, for they had arrived at the training grounds. These were not the ordinary training grounds that the Shinigami classes used on a day to day basis. Hayate noticed that Shinishiro-sama had brought him to the special training grounds, the ones where the graduate classes were given their final examinations.
"Takigama-sensei, isn't this..."
Shinishiro interrupted him with a quick slashing motion of his hand.
"Hayate-san, this is not the time for you to ask questions. Here, as you may have guessed, is the graduate examination pit. You may ask yourself, why have I brought you here, and you are very wise to wonder this. Now prepare yourself for a lesson, Hayate-san."
Shinishiro drew his zanpaku-to and assumed a guard stance. Hayate's eyes widened as he understood what was happening here. Quickly, he drew his zanpaku-to and assumed a wobbly attack stance.
"Now, Hayate, do not allow fear to enter your frame. I can tell by your weak stance that you are afraid of what may happen here. If you are truly a Shinigami, then you must not allow yourself to be worried by such things as emotion. Face me, as you would face someone who would take your life."
Shinishiro's words caused a strange feeling inside of Hayate, and he drew himself up to his full height, spread his legs shoulder-width apart, squared his shoulders, and brought his zanpaku-to up into a stable position.
"Now, Hayate, let the lesson begin."
With those words, Shinishiro ran towards Hayate, bringing his zanpaku-to down upon him in a vertical slash. Hayate quickly reacted and brought his sword up to parry the blow, but he was still open for attack. Shinishiro brought his foot up and kicked Hayate square in the chest, causing him to stumble backwards, gasping for air. Shinishiro took the opportunity and pressed the attack with his zanpaku-to. Hayate had just enough time to counter the attack with a parry, but Shinishiro once again exploited the holes in his defense with a slap to Hayate's left ear. Hayate was stunned and dazed by the sound ringing in his ear, but still somehow managed to parry his teacher's next attack. This time, Shinishiro did not attempt to attack him again, but instead took a step back to look at Hayate.
"Hayate-san, why are you merely standing there defending yourself? Will you not attempt to attack me?"
Hayate still stood in his stance, resolved to see this through to the end.
"Takigama-sensei, if I attack you, then I would open myself up for further attack. If I can merely guard myself, then perhaps I could survive."
Shinishiro shook his head at Hayate's words.
"Hayate-san...you do not understand fully yet. If you do not attack, then how will you defeat your opponent? You cannot merely block their attacks and hope that you will survive. A Shinigami must realize that if he does not press forward with the attack, then he is doomed to fail. Merely guarding just delays the inevitable. Now, Hayate, attack me."
Hayate immediately sprung forward at his teacher's command, releasing a flurry of blows with his zanpaku-to. The fury and power released from him in this attack was more fierce than a stampede of elephants, more powerful than a raging tiger. Shinishiro was amazed at his student's power, and realized at once just how much Hayate had been hiding himself. His potential far outshined what he had previously imagined. This had gone on long enough. With one motion, Shinishiro moved behind his student and pointed his zanpaku-to at Hayate's back. Hayate spun around with fury and rage pouring out of him and smacked his teacher's zanpaku-to away with a mighty blow, then leaped at him again to press the attack. Shinishiro had been underestimating Hayate's resolve and now found himself in a precarious position. Realizing that he had made a mistake, Shinishiro quickly used shunpo to move behind Hayate and instantly grabbed his student by the arms.
"Hayate-san! This lesson is over! Put your weapon down, now!"
The fire in Hayate's eyes cooled to a simmer and he dropped his zanpaku-to. Shinishiro retrieved his own zanpaku-to quickly and sheathed it. This lesson had been successful, perhaps more successful than he intended.
"Hayate-san, I know what you have been doing in the afternoons. Helping those who are unfortunate is an honorable cause. However, hiding the truth from your superiors is not. The point of this lesson was to show you that you must not be afraid of the consequences of actions you know to be right. This is the key to being successful as a Shinigami. Class is dismissed. Get some rest, Hayate."
Shinishiro left the pit, leaving Hayate to himself. After a few moments, Hayate picked up his zanpaku-to and beat the dirt off of it before sheathing it. He had indeed learned the lesson that Takigama-sensei had intended to impart to him, and he had hoped that he would keep it with him forever. There is nothing wrong with doing good, and he would never be punished for good deeds, at least not here. Hayate sighed softly to himself as he left the training pit and headed for the barracks. Perhaps Soul Society was more than he thought it had been. Maybe it really could be...heaven.