Adorn Yourself in Divine Heavenly Moonlight! [Private]

Yato sat in the training ground meditating with Tengetsu. Ever since he was promoted to Lieutenant and had that battle against Ragar, he could feel an increased presence and resonance in his Zanpakuto. It was clear to him, that he was ready to begin training on the next step of unlocking his Bankai. He knew the basic steps to go about doing this, being that he had to draw out his inner Zanpakuto Spirit. He had read several interpretations on how to accomplish this, the main being careful and patient meditation, focused on events that tie you and the blade together. He would start there.

1/10 [Bankai!]

~Flashback~

Six years after he started the Academy, he graduated at near the top of his class. He was given his Asauchi, which was now a Zanpakuto, and was then assigned to the 20th seat position in the 1st division. He worked closely with his new friends and teammates to grow stronger in order to protect his family. For the next twenty years, he went on missions and trained with his new squad, they felt like they could take on the world. Yato’s mother even went back to the academy and was placed on his division. She was placed at the 25th seat however, due to her age and skill level.

2/10

He deeply enjoyed the prospect of having his mother in his Division. It was good to get to spend more time with her and get to see a different side of her. She was placed on his squad with the fifteenth seat being their squad leader. It was a good time, taking on basic missions and the like with her. But bit by bit, he could tell that her age was slowing her down and dulling her senses. He could tell this both in their group training exercises as well as in the field during missions. It worried him greatly.

3/10

One day, Yato, his mother and one other team member were sent to hunt down and purify two hollows that had been hunting in the human world. It was moving like clockwork. He would dash in, distract them. Kidomaru would follow up with a powerful attack and finally his mother would throw some Kido at them. But one of the hollows attacked their resident long-range fighter. This caught them all off guard, and Yato couldn’t do anything to stop the attack that ended his mother’s life. Sent into a blind fury, Yato attacked the hollow with all of his worth. Effectively killing it, but not before it was able to pierce his chest with one of its claws. This served to fill Yato with its spirit, cursing him with horrible nightmares and a permanent reminder of his failure.

4/10

After that mission, Yato would despise and hate hollows with a burning passion. While most Shinigami will kill a hollow if they come across one, he would go out of his way to eradicate them if they are nearby. He will never forgive them for ripping his mother away from him. So, he trained, and trained, and trained. Yato lived, spoke, and breathed training. He wanted nothing more than to gain the power to destroy every last hollow, to keep them from taking any more of the people he cared for. He trained like that for two hundred years, learning new styles of martial arts and training with his blade. It was after this he was able to meditate and find a moment of peace.

5/10

After he was able to find peace with himself, he gained a voracious hunger for growth, only fueled by meeting his Rival Ragar Rose III and then later meeting Roi. These two proved to be invaluable catalysts in his exponential progress. He saw Ragar's innovative personality and ability to create genius level strategies on the fly, and Roi's total understanding of Kido and control over Reiatsu as things that he needed to improve within himself. So, he focused on those levels of improvement alongside attempting to bond with Tengetsu. It was a long and arduous process.

6/10

~Flashback End~

Opening his eyes and willing his very soul forward he finally managed to see someone sitting across from him, though it didn't look like the Tengetsu he had met before. No, this one looked much more sagely and refined. The man opened his eyes to reveal a glowing well of pure, unbridled Reiatsu that was somehow held back from crushing the area with his totally refined control and composure. The spirit would speak in a voice that sounded like Tengetsu layered with an older, wiser voice. "It is time, young one." That was all he heard before he felt it.

7/10

He felt the growing Reiatsu in himself, as well as a change in the composition of it almost. Something that he was really trying hard to understand. Standing, he would grasp the hilt of his blade only to see that it had changed form, gone was the small Chokuto that was black in color, nor was it the great sword that shined with a darkness greater than the night. In their place was a pristine yet weathered Katana whose blade was slightly battered, yet still looked sharp enough to slice anything in two. Around the hilt was wrapped a tattered bandages that seemed to be long enough to also wrap around Yato's arm.

8/10

Looking back to the spirit, he was taken aback by the sight of his room engulfed in white flames with a black outline. The spirit would speak again, "It is time that you learned my true name. With it, you will be able to carry not only my full might into battle, but your own full might as well..." Yato looked on in awe as the spirit spoke, knowing this was no longer just Tengetsu that he had gotten to know slowly over the course of hundreds of years, but the true, underlying personality of his blade.

9/10

The spirit seemed to be engulfed itself in flame as it then was apparently absorbed back into the blade with just the faintest whisper left ringing in the air and through Yato's head... "Speak my name so that we may become one." He then felt a surge of energy as he looked down to see his normal Chokuto once more, it seemed that it was time. Holding his blade out once more, in a manner perpendicular to himself, he would call out the name that resonated so clearly and crisply in his mind. "KAMI TENGETSU!"

10/10