Fully Returned

After regaining her powers Rena had spent, what she felt like, way to much time in the training rooms getting a grip on the power she had lost. It had been a long time and she had to get used to her limitations again. Which weren't many but still existed. She was in the training hall yet again. Flexing her spiritual muscle at it's highest for being in sealed form without shikai while at the same time flexing her physical muscle as well. Taking a deep breath she punched forward with her left and shattered the air around her fist in the processs, causing a training dummy down the hall to be snapped in half as she released Ahryu P'ung.

"Finally.. everything seems to be back to where it should be."

As she said that she felt a massive burst of spiritual power somewhere else in Seireitei, recoginizing it as Keto, as she had fought with him before, and was about to head that way when she realized thought of something to herself. If he was at full power and she showed up to stop him he'd go nuts trying to finish what they started back then. Sighing and shaking her head she turned back to what she was doing before she noticed his presence and rubbed her chin.

"My body is back to normal.. how's my kidou..?"

After a few minutes of utterly failing to firer Shakkahou's because she was putting too much effort into them causing them to erupt dangerously.., She was once again firing with the proper amount of power and speed. A few more minutes passed and she was very satisfied that everything was feeling back to 100% now.

"Now what should I do with my time? Jensen has my shackled or I'd go to the world of the living to screw around.."

She sighed again and wondered what she could do. Without a mission or an escort she wasn't allowed out on her own until she had proven she wasn't going to go berserk like she did when Gotei was destroyed. Which wasn't even possible now since she wasn't a vizard..

Gráinne watched the arrival of the new Vizard Corps Captain from the trees, hidden in her raven form and with her power suppressed. She liked to get a view of the terrain before she engaged. It was due to a combination of her new experiences as Captain-Commander and her fear of letting anyone down that she adopted this approach. She watched the interaction between Keto and Riku, wondering if the rekindling of the hero's powers was nigh. But Riku had other plans. Then, a new face was among the mix, though it was masked by a Hollow mask. It was Clara Firestorm, mother of the young Liv Firestorm. Liv, who had helped Elayne when she fell into Hueco Mundo and became an Arrancar. Gráinne and Jensen had urged her to take the position of Captain, but she had refused. Gráinne understood why. Clara remained as Vice-Captain, so she could continue to protect her daughter from her own grief. The death of Arngrim Wolfcloak had been a dark omen. Clara had lost her husband, Liv had lost her father, and Gráinne had lost a friend and ally. The new threat of Azazael Darkmoon loomed large, and coupled with the events transpiring in the living world, created a new darkness which they would all have to face soon.

Gráinne was broken from her reverie by a new power source, this time coming from another direction. She recognized it immediately. "Well, that didn't take long." Gráinne took of and glided smoothly through the air towards the source of the energy. Upon arrival she saw Rena rattling off a few basic Kidou, talking to herself in between. The first few were unsuccessful, but Rena remastered her power very quickly. Rena finally stopped and sighed, lamenting the fact that she was stuck here unless someone went with her to the Living World. Gráinne could relate with her suffering. The fear of entrapment in Rukongai is what drove her to join the Shinigami Academy in the first place.

Fluttering down slowly and landing on Rena's shoulder, she spoke softly. "Mind if I join you? Or would you rather be alone to practice your Shakkahou?"

"Ah Captain-Commander." Rena said as the bird landed and spoke. Normally this would have confused Rena but she had already heard rumors about the newish head of soul society's thirteen court guard squads from other low ranked Shinigami. It was interesting to see it for real instead of hearing about it though. Very few shinigami could alter their physical forms like Grainne could after all. Yoruichi was one of the only ones that came to mind.

"You can do as you like ma'am this is, after all, your jurisdiction," Rena said with with a due amount of respect. She may have sold herself back to the Gotei 13 in exchange for being granted her powers back but that didn't mean she was about to start disrespecting and hating people just for the sake of it. So she had nothing to be venomous about, "As far as training goes I have done what I can on my own. I had to ascertain my new limitations, as I am no longer a vizard, and it seems that for the most part I am back exactly where I should be."

She took her Shinai, her sealed zanpaktou in a bamboo kendo stick form, into her hands from her back and looked at it while taking a regular Kendo stance, "I have managed reconnection with Meka and seem to be able to access my shikai and bankai forms. Though meka mentioned a further evolution to her and I's powers that I have not yet experienced. When I questioned her about it all she would tell me is that it is similar to a Vizard's full hollow transformation except I would still be in control.."

Gráinne flitted down to the ground in front of Rena and transformed back into her normal form. She swished her head and bowed. "Perhaps. I still haven't gotten used to the whole being-in-charge thing yet. In battle it's straight-forward. Everyone knows what the goal is. It's just up to me to determine the method. In what we are loosely describing as peace-time, it's a little harder. But I digress." She listened to Rena speak about her training. Gráinne nodded in understanding. "Indeed. Judging by the size of you power, you are just about back to the way you were. You are very impressive, Rena Lisola. We're lucky to have you on our side."

Rena spoke about a new form that her Zanpakuto spirit had told her about. Gráinne cocked her head slightly. "Meka is correct. It is a complete fusion of a Shinigami and their Zanpakuto, known as Toukai. The power available is comparable to a Vizard in their Hollow Form. As for the control, it is not always complete control. Captain Reinhart's Toukai is probably the best and most reliable incarnation I have seen. He is in complete control, his Zanpakuto complimenting his abilities perfectly. Mine is far less refined. While I can generate a lot of power, Neroamee's influence on me is extremely strong. I become reckless and stubborn, fueled by anger. I can direct myself to the correct target, but that is the extent of my control. That being said, I believe you are possessed of sufficient will and synchronicity with Meka to form an excellent partnership. You also have far more experience than I do, which will also help you."

Gráinne watched, hands folded behind her back, as Rena practiced her kendo stance. She gazed around at the peaceful environment, considering her next move. "I have a proposition for you, and you have every right to refuse. Would you consider teaching Kidou at the Academy? You are an established Kidou expert and you knowledge and experience would be a tremendous asset."

Toukai huh.. the perfect synchronization of zanpaktou and shinigami. She would have to figure that out later. Grainne's proposition struck a cord with Rena, while she was definitely more diverse than your average kidou master it would be good to teach those capable of it her own ways, overall strengthening the next generation. It would also be much easier to pass down her fighting techniques if she was a teacher at the Seireitei versus being a rank and file soldier teaching on the job...

"Alright.. It'll at least give me something to do while Jensen gets it into his head that I can't go berserk now that my hollow spirit is gone. Sometimes I think he forgets that."

She put her shinai looking zanpaktou back onto her back where it just kind of hung there on it's own, smiled at Grainne and crossed her arms, "So do I have to stick to straight Kidou teaching or can I rough up the fresh blood to get them physically prepped as well? Kind of like a gym class for humans. Except with spells and fists instead of balls and stuff."

She was looking forward to the answer being a "sure thing" because that was going to make everything one hundred thousand times better.

Gráinne smiled appreciatively when Rena agreed to her idea. She hoped the offer of a teaching post would help improve relations between herself and Rena, but the offer was also logical. Gráinne was a Kidou master, but she admittedly was not a good teacher. The Academy needed someone who could appreciate fully the offensive abilities of Kidou, not just the defensive and support potential. Rena had both the talent and the all-round knowledge to do that. "Perhaps. Captain Jensen is very cautious. I suppose when you have lived as long as he has, and seen the things he has seen, you gain an element of caution to your life. In any case, I do appreciate your acceptance. Thank you, Rena Lisola."

Gráinne listened to Rena's inquiry with regard to her teaching methods. Gráinne chuckled. "Well, we already have a Hakuda instructor, and I'm not sure how Aki will react if his students arrive already banged up. Do what you have to do, but within reason. The students can't learn anything if they are out cold. But I will trust your judgement." Gráinne swished her hair again.

"Oh no. I wouldn't send them to the infirmary or anything. Maybe. Probably. Ya know maybe I should stick to Kidou unless they ask about further teaching...." Rena said and ended with muttering. She scratched the back of her head, "Oh well. I'm pretty well known for my diverse skill set.. so maybe they'll ask about it on their own." She looked around, "Well just let me know when I start so I don't miss my own first day of class hahaha."

"I'm curious as to what we're going to do though. It seems there are more enemies to fight than ever before and we just got Soul Society back to semi-normal." She said with a concerned frown. She may have been out of touch with things for a while but she still had contacts and still heard gossip. Between the hollow, the sinners from hell, the humans who turn evil, and the vizard who go rogue, now they had to deal with some kind of mechanical force of hyper intelligent robots from space?

Sounded way above Rena's paygrade but she thought she'd at least ask.

(Sorry for short reply I couldn't think of much. and I'm trying to move all 4 of my threads along at once)

Gráinne smiled at Rena's thought process. She was embracing the opportunity with full commitment, and Gráinne was very appreciative of this. "Well, whatever you decide to do, I'm sure you will excel as an instructor." Gráinne stroked her chin when Rena asked when she could start. She swished her hair. "All that's to do is get you signed up. You can start tomorrow if you wish. The sooner the better if you ask me. I have been the interim instructor, but I fell the students would be better served receiving instruction from a more well-rounded and experienced teacher. I can think of no-one better for the position."

Rena's next query was the one Gráinne had been expecting for a while now. Rena wondered what the next step was after the rebuilding of Soul Society had been completed. Gráinne swished her har and folded her hands behind her back as she looked around the courtyard. "You are well-informed. In truth, we face more uncertainty now than at any other time in recent memory. While the Living World has never truly experienced a period of sustained calm, the threats that lie before us are both dangerous and numerous. I admit, I now find myself at a crossroads in my life, where I am struggling to find a safe path for our people." Gráinne drew her sword and began to doodle on the ground mindlessly, drawing random images with the point of the blade in the dust.

"That is another reason why I needed your help. The more we can stabilize ourselves and strengthen our foundations, the easier it will be to endure these dark days." Gráinne suddenly stopped doodling and sheathed her sword, turning back to Rena with a determined gaze."But there is much of the larger picture that is yet to be revealed to us. With regards to the current situation, what we know is this. Kai Allard-Liao as asked for our help in eliminating a powerful figure known as Alexei Romanov. He is a formidable dark wizard with powers that outstrip both Kai's and my own individual abilities. On top of this, there has been an attack on New York itself by a mechanical race known only as Serions. Then there is the recent events in Hueco Mundo. I had established a fairly solid peace with Arngrim Wolfcloak, but that safety net has now been broken with the death of Arngrim and the ascension of the new Espada leader, Azazael Darkmoon."

Gráinne clenched her hands into fists, failing in her attempt to hide her emotions. But this was not the time for histrionics. Gráinne relaxed and looked directly into Rena's eyes. "We face threats on many fronts, but with the help of strong people such as yourself, we will survive. For right now, do your best to teach the students everything you feel they need to know. There will be a Captain's Meeting soon to discuss our next step, to which I'm inviting you to. We will have a clearer picture then of what we need to do."