The Salamander's Bloodlust - Unlocking Shiori's Bankai

In spite of all the beautiful gardens in the Seireitei, this grove somewhere outside of the Rukongai's walls held some sort of special place in Shiori's heart. The tall trees cast shade around the grove without shrouding it in the darkness of the surrounding forest. A ring of red spider lilies circled the grove, the very same flower tattooed across her back and down her arms. It was this grove where Shiori had first contacted Suijingiri and achieved Shikai, though that same luck was apparently not transferring to progress on Bankai. The formerly cryptic but helpful spirit had only become more ornery and passive aggressive in recent years.

The slimy spirit sat before her, curled up for a nap while she attempted to meditate. Any attempts at communication were fruitless, as they had been for the past few days. His attitude had reached a peak in infuriating ire, and Shiori was at the end of her rope. So here she sat, attempting at meditation in her sleeveless training garb, hair tied back from her face. Maybe the isolation in nature would help her keep her calm? Maybe, though every so often the bastard of a sword would occasionally sigh in a way that seemed to sound like a laugh. Aimed at her, of course, though this time these snide sleep laughs were helping to fray her last nerves.