12 The first day Part 1 (2/2)

Phantom pain - Someone of a higher reiatsu can make an opponent feel as though they are being attacked though nothing is happening to them

Though there are no techniques to offensively use reiatsu, there are ways into using it. Sometimes, just releasing reiatsu in all its glory can cause damage to the environment.

So, overall, a Shinigami's fight heavily depends on the amount of reiatsu a being possesses.

Next came break. The group of four decided to get to know each other better. Yuroe was from Seireitei and was the daughter of a pair of Shinigami who worked for the Gotei 13. They were just low ranked Shinigami who didn't even know the names of their zanpakuto. Due to her personality she had no friends and Rangiku was her first.

Once break was over they went to the Hakudo training hall. The teacher was already there.

Hakudo was basically hand to hand combat. The Onmitsukido (Special Forces) are the best trained in this. Being one of the four basic fighting styles of the Shinigami, it is divided into five stages: Untrained, Practitioner, Combatant, Expert Hakudo Combatant and Master Hakudo Combatant.

Untrained - The user hasn't learnt it or has just started it.

Practitioner - Casual users of this art that can take on average armed opponents. Those of this level are among the seated and unseated officers of the Gotei 13.

Combatant - Average users of this art can take on average armed opponents and put up a decent effort against those many times their size. Those of this level are among the seated and unseated officers of the Gotei 13.

Expert Hakudo Combatant - Experts of this art can take on average armed opponents and those many times their size easily. Those of this level are among the seated officers of the Gotei 13.

Master Hakudo Combatant - Masters of this art can take on heavy armed opponents and those many times their size easily, and, as mentioned before, the Onmitsukido are the best-trained Shinigami in Hakudo. The 2nd Division captain and their 3rd seat, or head of the Detention Unit, are most often the premier masters.

After that it was the introduction to Hoho. The group of four went to the Hoho training field and immediately saw various courses with some students working hard to complete them in the fastest time possible.

Hoho is a defensive style of fighting which relates to footwork, it is one of the four basic combat skills of the Shinigami. Hoho is an important skill for most Shinigami, which incorporates speed and agility. The skill level of Hoho can be enhanced and improved through concentration, training, and mastery of it. The foremost practitioners of this technique are those assigned to the Onmitsukido. Shunpo (Flash Steps) is the greatest expression of the Hoho technique; however there are variations even within Shunpo, which only master Hoho practitioners can use.

Shunpo is a movement technique which allows the user to move faster than the eye can follow. The focal point which determines the basis of this technique is speed. As speed is the main factor of the technique, the method is best characterised by how fast one can get from point A to point B in the least amount of steps.

Shunpo can be categorised into four stages:

Untrained - Those in this category, possess no skill for Hoho and instead, rely on walking to get where they need to be, or have trained extensively to enhance their natural speed to a level allowing them to move considerably fast, though decidedly under that of Shunpo.

Shunpo practitioners – Practitioners of the technique can maintain fast movements for a short period of time, by seemingly taking only a few steps to bridge what would normally be a large distances. Those who are practitioners commonly use their knowledge of Hoho while engaging in combat.

Shunpo Experts – Experts of the technique are considerably fast, and can maintain high speed movements for extended periods of time. While not as fast as a master, they can keep up quite effectively. Some holding the title are faster than others, but, nonetheless, their application of the technique is highly advanced.

Shunpo Masters – Shunpo masters are capable of maintaining high speed movements for extended periods of time while using the least amount of steps to achieve those movements.

Once the introduction was complete, the teacher then went on to complete a few exercises showing the recruits a few Hoho examples