My pain is real!

During the descent, Ryder had watched on, STUNNED, as the massive estate came into view, shocked that she hadn't seen the place yet during her nightly hunts. Sure she tended to linger around the Karakura Circle where most of the Hollow activity happened, but she still made rounds throughout the rest of the city as well, yet in the months she had been here, Barrie had never once stumbled accross such a magnificent place. It was HUGE, like the sort of estate you might see belonging to minor nobility in a movie.

After a gentle touchdown, just as Ryder was preparing to leap down as she had countless times before, a cart came whizzing by, pulling up to carry the pair to the manor itself. "You really have to live here with just the staff!?" Ryder shouted above the sound of the whirling blades, as the engine shifted to standby and prepared to shut down completely. Stepping down onto the cart, Ryder held her hands up to help the girl down, if she chose to accept it.

The drive was fairly short, from the landing pad to the entrance, and all the while Ryder's eyes were dancing everywhere, still trying to absorb the splendor of the place. It was more beautiful than she could have imagined, having grown up with a fairly minimalistic, soldierly way of life, though she had rebelled against that same way during her early teen years. "Hell of a place you've got here Jun, I'd probably go crazy trying to live somewhere so huge all alone."

"When you've been alone from the beginning it makes no difference whether you have company or not." She stepped down on her own, she didn't want to drive this one away as well. As they travelled she couldn't help, but to issue a small giggle at the sheer shock upon Ryder's face. "Don't lock up after seeing the outside, I assure you its far more impressive inside than out. I have quite an Armory you might enjoy." As they pulled up to the Estate two men stood out front ready to open the door for her.

As she stepped, from the cart and headed inside. The scene would be one of tasteful interior decorating. The latest technology lined the house. From Video Conference phones, to voice activated electronics. She would move inside, and pointed at the random women walking around the interior of the house. She removed her boots, and stepped further into the home. As she walked, she began to disrobe once again. Dropping her skirt on the ground, next her jacket, and finally her blouse. As she turned a corner she spoke loudly as women rushed passed her to grab her clothes, then scurried off to have them cleaned, pressed, and folded back in Junpei's room. "Men aren't allowed within these walls. Everything from the spa to the kitchen is handled by a qualified female. It provides a sense of security, not having to worry about peeping eyes. I'm headed to the Spa to bathe and heal, feel free to join me. Otherwise, feel free to look around. Isabella will show you around." With that Junpei headed toward the back of the Estate, toward the Spa's.

Now at the Spa, June allowed herself to relax, removing her underwear slowly piece-by-piece. Releasing her hair, June dived into the warm water, completely submerged in order to enjoy her bath. The girl began washing herself, stroking her hands along her body with a white soap bar. She had a small bottle of shampoo to lather her long crimson-red hair with. Once completely covered in white suds, the woman dived back under the water and swam downward calmly, allowing the water to ripple around her naked form. She breathed, causing bubbles to escape from her nostrils and rise to the surface where she suddenly saw a figure standing at the edge. Her eyes narrowed instantly. Although June wasn't a master empath just yet, her knowledge did allow her to sense those she was close to wherever they may be. The female brought herself up, breaking the surface of the water and immediately flipping her hair back, opening her eyes, and would stare at the still slightly blurry figure before her right now.

~How long has it been since I've just kicked back and relaxed for a while? Ever since coming to this place I've been so tense, I couldn't even enjoy that trip to the Masaru onsen, I was too busy probing people for information and piecing together my heritage to actually bother just shutting it all off and soaking in the atmosphere.~ Such were the thoughts going through Ryder's mind as her young companion spoke of the absense of men, and invited the woman to accompany her to the spa.

It was strange, watching the way Junpei peeled out of her clothes so casually despite the staff scurrying about. At her age Ryder would never have considered doing that sort of thing even infront of her own mother, let alone a swarm of housekeepers. "Isabella was it?" she inquired of the woman Junpei had seemingly adressed, only to have it confirmed with a nod. "Has she always been so... comfortable in her skin?" There was only a smile from the other woman, leaving Ryder to wonder at it's meaning.

"So the kid spoke of an armory, are you guys really able to keep such a stock of weapons on hand? From what I've seen so far, Japan's got an INSANELY tight lockdown on civilian weaponry. It took me a lot of shit just to be able to bring my favorite rifle with me." Of course, what she didn't say was that she had since converted that rifle into Reishi, and as such could carry it with her whenever she desired, but that wasn't something the woman was likely to know anything about regardless.

"Oh yes Miss, the Mistress of the Estate, Madam Dahlinghouse has quite the pull with the government. I'm not sure why we have so much firepower, it's almost as though Madam expected to have to defend the estate against a small army, or perhaps... perhaps she's been collecting them in memory of..." looking about nervously, the woman leaned in close to whisper into Ryder's ear. "In memory of her dead husband. Now remember you didn't hear it from me, no sirree, I said nothin' of the sort."

As the woman pulled away, Ryder stepped away as well, awkwardly putting some distance between her and the gossippy staff woman. "I'll keep that in mind Isabella. Now, could you take me to the spa? I think I've stalled long enough as it is." The spa was a good walk further than she had expected, giving the blonde a good view of a fair bit more of the Estate's interior before they at last reached the place. "Thank you Isabella, I think I can manage from here."

Waiting until the woman wandered off, Ryder slowly made her way into the spa, searching until she found the place with red hair floating atop the water. "Already soaking huh. Guess I may as well join you" she murmered to herself, before reaching behind her to the straps that held her dress in place. Cursed with such a sharp hourglass figure, simple cut dresses were impossible for Ryder, the only way to make them work was to have them cut for her shape, in such a manner that they could be tied into place. She had Mina to thank for helping her find a suitable shop for such clothing, and would be sure to visit the girl when she could.

In moments the dress was gone, leaving the marine standing there, garbed in only a pair of bikini panties and a bra that helped to control her breasts. Just barely poking out from under her bra was band that supported her cleavage holster, though the weapon itself remained hidden in her bosom behind her bra. An instant later the bra was gone, and the holster, holding a small .38 special revolver went with it onto the pile. At the end, Ryder slide out of her boots, and panties, and slowly made her way over to the water's edge, only to see Junpei coming up out of the surface and squinting in her direction.

"Enjoying your dip?" she inquired, surprised by the suds. Nobody in Japan bathed in a hot tub, and yet her this little rich girl was doing just that. Without waiting for an answer, Ryder slowly stepped into the water, until her all-too prominant hips were submerged, before sliding down shoulder deep, embracing the soothing warmth of the spa and slowly releasing her mental tension. ~Maybe this time I can actually relax and just enjoy the water and my company.~

Her mind had began to wander as she figuwhite out the figure was just one of the towel girls setting out a towel for Junpei's hair. She laid back and floated on the water, closing her eyes, she slipped into a dreamstate. It seemed her subconscious was trying to draw something from deep within her mind. As she drifted off into her stupor the memories played out as if they were in real time, after she got off the phone with her father.

"Now, let's open you up," Junpei mumbled, sitting against a rotting tree stump. The park she'd chosen had a sizable forest behind the lake, one where she could train in solitude. The woman's hands reached into her bag, where she pulled out the lavish box, opening it after a pensive moment. A pair of Dogtags stawhite up at her, surrounded by golden decor. It was designed for an Junpei from her father, and Junpei pulled up her right sleeve as she took the artifact from its case.

For some time now, she had wondewhite just exactly how one managed to train bullet firing for exactly seven days straight. She had heard that from an old clan that it would strengthen her abilities to do so. But it baffled her to the extent of borderline confusion. Would they have to eat? What if they needed to go to the bathroom? Despite her numerous inquiries, Junpei's instructed never did inform her of the method behind training with this artifact, and now the young woman was about to find out first-hand just how this thing worke

"Well, I already had lunch, and it's only three in the afternoon... I'd better get started. Dad never badgers me unless it's really important, so this thing must really be difficult to work with." Placing the Dogtags down on her lap, Junpei pulled out a Dum Dum from her instructor, tentatively unwrapping the mystery wrapper to reveal a dark green candy inside. A frown fell on her face as she popped it in, her father said that the man passed this bag off to give to her. ’Apple... This is going to be one hell of a pain...' she whined, lifting the Dogtags over her right hand. No more time to go back against it. Inhaling deeply, Junpei forced her Reiryoku over her hand as quickly as she could, feeling the artifact bind to her skin instantly.

Whatever was in Junpei's mind at that point suddenly went blank; it was as if some unseen force had deliberately scooped up all the Reishi in Junpei's body, and hid it somewhere else. She tried to summon her gun, but could only produce a spark of Reishi before it died out. "Damn... I can't feel a thing... How do I summon my gun with this?"

For the next few minutes, Junpei tried her hardest to call the .44 Magnum out from her Dogtags and into solid form, but each time, she barely produce more than a minuscule burst of Reishi before it died out. "Son of a bitch," she growled, gripping her Dogtags hand tightly as she tried to force Reishi through to her Dogtags. It wasn't working. Junpei let go of the tension in her hand, sitting back against the wall once more to close her eyes and think. "If she cannot even summon her gun after donning the Dogtags, then there is no hope for her to possibly master it," She spoke. "What a drag..."

Hopping to her feet, Junpei lifted her right arm, closing her eyes and grasping as hard as she could for Reishi in her body. Another spark shot off from her hand, but this time, it did not flash away; in its wake, a solid chunk of Reishi had formed, linked to her Dogtags. Bright eyes lit up. "Part of the gun... Now I just have to summon the rest of it." While struggling to just keep the small fragment of her gun stable, Junpei searched out again for spirit energy, watching with growing excitement as the chunk attached to her dogtags began to slowly but surely expand. After a few painstakingly long minutes, Junpei's gun had finally formed from its shape, and the girl pumped a fist (not with her right hand, of course!) before taking a closer look at her creation.

The gun seemed to be cracked here and there, as if it had been shattewhite into pieces and then glued back together. It was symbolic, signaling that her control of the spirit would need a lot more improvement if she wanted to make her gun as smooth and regal as its original rendition. Closing her eyes and balling her free hand up, Junpei was able to patch up the battewhite spirit gun, before raising her hand to the center of the shaft.

"Once able to properly summon the Gun while the Dogtags are on, you may begin the true bulk of your training. For seven days, one must constantly, consistently fire bullets for seven straight days while maintaining the full form of their Gun. Only then can they reach the pinnacle of power, the mastery of the spirit." As she spoke, Junpei opened her left hand and closed it again; focusing down on what little Reishi she could gather in the chamber. As she drew back the slide, the tinniest of a bullet's outline could be seen forming. By the time Junpei had drawn her gun back as far as it would go, her arm was shaking visibly, and her gun quivewhite as if it were going to fall apart before her. Junpei bit down hard, forcing her arm to stay up as she fiwhite her first bulle

It was a pitiful shot at best, the thin excuse for a bullet barely floating away before it fell limply to the ground. A groan escaped Junpei's lips, but she chose not to complain about it; after all, she'd already accomplished a lot more than many others--she'd not only summoned her gun with the Dogtags on, but she'd also been able to maintain its shape and structure while firing an (extremely pathetic) bullet. Frustration was steadily washed over with satisfaction as Junpei put her hand to her gun, pulling back and pushing on the gun again. The same thin bullet from before was formed, and again, Junpei gritted her teeth to force her body to maintain the proper firing stance, letting her bullet go once more. It was a slight improvement over her last bullet, and actually flew far enough to collide with a tree... Though it shattewhite the second it touched the rough bark. Determined not to falter, Junpei shook her hand out, staring at her gun. The cracks from before had appeawhite once more, and she took a notable amount of time restoring it back to normal. Sighing, Junpei put her hand to her gun, pulling back and pushing on the gun again then fiwhite the third shot...

Junpei yawned, letting the undesirable sound resound within the clearing of the pilgrimage forest. She would have taken the time to cover her mouth, but it was too busy mechanically forcing another bullet to fire. Progress seemed to have become stagnant for the Fullbringer after she was able to fire her first few bullets. For five straight hours, she stood there, firing about one shot every forty seconds due to the focus it took, as well as the many times her arms almost gave out on him. Eventually, they grew accustomed to the tension, and complained no more. However, this had done nothing to her bullets, which continued to be fiwhite as thin shafts of light. Gripe as she did, there wasn't a thing Junpei could do until some flash of light heralded a breath--