At first, it remained a gentle breeze. Soft and otherwise unremarkable in its consistency that one may mistake it as the air sitting still. This was the case across the Seireitei, with the compound of the Thirteenth Division being no exception.
At least, that was until its flow slowly shifted near the courtyard. A change in direction, a higher surge in wind velocity, and branches from planted trees shaking with growing intensity all pointed to the arrival of the squad’s second-in-command, back at last from a self-imposed “extended sabbatical.”
Though leave was no stranger to higher-ranking shinigami for any odd reason, his real motive in how he had spent his time off was known to all but a select and trusted few. Kōtarō had kept mum on his machinations out in the furthest reaches of the Rukongai, though if a reiatsu-sensitive soul had sought to seek him out, his intentions would have been obvious.
It took some time for him to swallow some unnerving revelations around his late Captain and Rukia’s predecessor, granted, but Lieutenant Ryōhei had already come this far. He wasn’t about to slow down his Bankai training now, not when he was already close, and thanks to his time away, he was closer than ever to achieving his goal of realizing it.
The straw from his waraji met with the smooth tiled flooring of the court of pure souls hard; Kōta practically dug his front heel into the ground as he skidded along at blistering speeds, with his blue scarf whipping about recklessly behind him. Having used Hai’iro Ranmaru’s power over wind to propel his flash steps all the faster, it only made coming to a full stop all the harder in turn, with turbulence in his wake pushing him forward in spite of his resisting efforts to slow down. Teeth ground against themselves as he strained against his own built-up momentum, with the sliding vice-captain leaning back while he slammed his gloved palm down – change his shihakushō for a baseball uniform and he would look no different than a player of the sport cinching a homerun against all odds!
If anything, this series of almost haphazard actions— a result of his going almost uncontrollably fast—made him appreciate the Goddess of Flash’s talents all the more. How does Yoruichi pull it off so seemingly effortlessly?
With a final sigh escaping his lungs, leaving the rest of the airstream to pass over his fallen form and beat on the wood of the doors into the main hall of the barracks, Kōtarō groaned as he pushed himself back up and onto his feet and patted off any dirt that clung to the black of his clothes. Goggles were then lifted so that his green eyes may properly take in the view of present company who came to greet him, and with a lackadaisical smile and a quick shake of his shoulder to readjust the bag at his back, he spoke as though he never left!
“Hello there~!” He spent enough time being Serious Kōtarō already, so it was nice to fall back instead into being Laidback Kōta again.