[Open]Sparring with Hopefuls

[Yuna Xiao]

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Preamble: 
Within Shino Academy there exists many classes ongoing each and every day. In order to facilitate such a broad syllabus, the Academy will invite guests to instruct for classes. One such class is a sixth year course, Advanced Martial Combat, whose guest is a Shinigami famous for his incredibly varied skill set, but perhaps more famous for his close-quarters-combat. 

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    The classroom was filled with eager students trying to cram into the limited space just to get a glimpse at the Third Seat's fantastic lesson. Any student who even casually considered specialising in melee fighting styles would take this course but they each had a handful of Shinigami that they looked up to as inspirations. Their guest instructor was certainly one of them.
    Yuna had been the first one to arrive as usual, but was particularly eager to learn from the talented guest and potentially get acknowledged by a seated officer. Yuna was easily one of the least combat-worthy students if you were to glance at her but that only made her more determined to demonstrate her ability, after all, she didn't ace every year's exam just to be passed over.
    She leaned in close at the front row as she waited for the guest to begin his lesson. The atmosphere was intense. 

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[Kaen Youji]

It was pretty common that Kaen was asked to come to do lessons and lectures on hand to hand combat. At a high ranking officer who specialized in the techniques of close quarter combat, Kaen was not unfamiliar with requests to help out at the Academy. And, if Kaen had to say so himself, he'd consider himself one of the best in Soul Society at the time. The only person who'd managed to match him in a hand to hand fight had been Kimiko Shihoin, and Kaen expected the only other Shinigami that had ever been in his league in recent history would have been Vice Captain Kenryoku Kawada and Captain Okusa Shoga. Fist fighting was one of Kaen's passions and he excelled in it. And if he could invoke that passion in others? Perfect.

Kaen walked into the classroom, a less than impressive looking individual. Standing at only five foot eight, and weighing around a hundred and sixty pounds, Kaen wasn't some massive, imposing figure. Although his arms showed clear signs of toning, he didn't have enormous muscles like biceps the size of his own head. In fact, compared to a handful of students in the class, Kaen looked downright tiny. However, he carried himself with a clear confidence. Kaen walked up to the front of the classrom, and stood, front and center, examining the class. He then issued a short bow to the class. "It's a pleasure to meet all of you. My name is Kaen Youji, Third Seat of the Seventh Division." He stated. "And today we'll be working with hand to hand combat!" There was a board behind him, but Kaen didn't bother with it.

"Some of you might be wondering what the point of learning hand to hand fighting is. The image of a Shinigami is one using their Zanpakuto. A myriad of powerful abilities. Energy blasts, wind blades, commanding the earth. With all of that at our disposal, why bother with fighting with our bodies? Hell, you can see even I carry one." Kaen drew the short blade off of his back, and flourished it in front of the class. "I'm here to tell you that at least one good reason for it, is that because if you don't keep your close quarter fighting skills sharp, you'll be preyed upon by those who do." He stated.

"Before we get started, do we have any volunteers?"

[Yuna Xiao]

    The room went dead silent for only a moment as Kaen entered the room, but was quickly filled with murmurs and whispers. Some were expressing shock that the man they've heard so much about isn't a giant and terrifying equal to a Kenpachi. Others were impressed to an even greater degree as this man must be even more dangerous and talented if since he's not particularly intimidating.
Even though this was a sixth-year course, it was still an elective. Kaen had clearly dealt with enough rookies to know that few people took close-quarters-combat as seriously as they should, even the ones taking this elective. But even so, the chance to test their mettle was tantalising. The group listened intently to his words. If he believes that martial combat is a powerful tool then these Shinigami were bound to listen, but you still had some cocky types that felt like they were ahead of the pack.  The Third Seat beckoned for volunteers and the earnest young Soul Reapers immediately clamored to secure the time-sensitive spot to obtain his tutelage. 

    "You gotta pick me, Kaen! I was the best brawler in the Rukon District!" One voice called out. 

    "Screw that - I'll show you what six years of progress looks like!" Another yelled from the rear.

    But almost literally under all of the others was Yuna with a flame in her gaze that could ignite the air itself. She excitedly tries to wave for Kaen's attention but is pushed around by the much larger people around her. "Sir! Please choose me, I would be honoured sir Youji!"  
    Unsure if she was even heard, she continues to attempt to obtain his attention by trying to even stay in front of all of the boisterous students not wanting to lose even an inch to their neanderthal antics.  

[Kaen Youji]

Kaen scanned the room, already picking out the perfect volunteers for his task. Perfect. He thought. Some of the people looked very confident. Actually a lot of them did. As such, Kaen's eyes trained in on three candidates. "Alright! I'm glad to see there's so much eagerness to participate. Unfortunately I'm only going to need three. Let's go with.... you." Kaen indicated the Shinigami who had claimed to be the best brawler in the Rukon district, someone who looked to be one of the larger individuals in the class. Kaen figured at a glance the guy probably approached nearly 6'5 and probably weighed close to 250, maybe even 260 pounds. I'm not surprised you were one of the better brawlers. You have the size, and probably a decent amount of experience. I'll have to show you that only gets you so far without finesse though. Kaen thought to himself as the one Shinigami came forward.

"Next.... You." Kaen indicated the one who proclaimed to show what six years of progress looked like. Not as big as the others, though only slightly larger than Kaen himself. Kaen'd estimate that one to be around 5'10 and probably somewhere in the range of 180 to 190 pounds. You put a lot of stock in your training. That's really good. Let's see if I can't give you something to aspire to. Kaen thought quietly. Then. Last volunteer. That one was easy.

"You." He said looking directly at Yuna. He'd guess she was probably one of the smallest people in the class. There might have been one or two in her weight class, but with even Kaen towering over her, she would be a perfect volunteer for this. And I'd wager you're a quick one, who gets by on agility over brute force. Either that, or you're having a hard time confronting opponents much bigger than you. Well, let's see what we have here.And just like that, three volunteers of varying heights were summoned to the front. Perfect. "I could go into detail and lecture you for hours about the finer points of Hand to hand combat. How to use it individually, or as a supplementary technique. Buuuuut that's boring. So we're going to do demonstrations instead!" He chirped cheerfully. "What I will take a moment to tell everyone here is this. You will never suffer for learning hand to hand combat. Whether you aspire to join the ranks of the Kido corps, or dream of one day being known as the greatest swordmaster in Soul Society, it will still benefit you to learn hand to hand combat. It will provide options that opponents that neglect these skills will not have, and will not anticipate. Just as importantly, it will keep you savvy when your opponents use those skills against you." Kaen stated. "We can cover a bit of incorporating hand to hand combat into other arts if we have time at the end. But I'll move on with the demonstrations." Kaen said. He looked at the group.

"Oh. If everyone could please move the front two rows of desks back? That would be good. We may need some space here." He added and then smiled. "Now then. Enough with theories and lectures. Your instructors here can show you plenty of techniques. They can condition you to get stronger. So we're not going to focus on conditioning or techniques today. Not directly at least. Instead, I'm going to get the three of you to try to hit me." He chirped, cheerfully. "Attack however you want, I'll teach as we go. My only condition for this moment, is that you may not use a weapon. You may only use your body." He explained as he put his Zanpakuto back into the sheath on his back, and folded his arms behind his back.

"You can attack whenever you want. Please start. I'd like to see what this year's group of Academy students is capable of."

[Yuna Xiao]

    The three selected individuals all excitedly move up in front of the others as the rest of the class all rumble with disappointment, jealousy, or even disbelief but ultimately resign to simply watching this scenario play out. After all, with such a diverse trio there's sure to be some entertainment at hand.
The largest student of the chosen group grins smugly and even flexes his finely crafted musculature as he stands in front of Kaen. "Yo! I knew you'd see my obvious talent! A strong fella like yourself surely senses what I'm capable of just by looking at me. I'll bet that if I can show up a Third Seat then I'll be guaranteed a Seated Officer position! Heh." The individual gloats without any sense of respect to Kaen outside of raw combat prowess. Had this guy even attended any of the drills and discipline classes with this attitude? 
Kaen's second choice sighs exasperatedly at his classmate's foolhardy behaviour. "Koji, man, how many times do I have to tell you to tone it down? You're gonna end up mopping the entire Seireitei if you keep that up, no matter how hard your iron skull can smash through walls or whatever." He walks up to Kaen and nods with an unfamiliar salute that you can only assume come from the many cliques in the edges of the Rukon, "Sorry about that, Youji-san. This brute is always mouthing off, but he's got the worst grades in our year. I'll be happy to show you how much Hakuda I've learned. The name's Togusa - we're both Rukon bumpkins so you don't have to worry about calling us by our last name." Togusa is clearly more civil and friendly, but his brief accosting of Koji reveals his true personality: someone who easily puts down others and only really cares about gaining recognition from his superiors even if he butters his words somewhat.
    At last, little Yuna sheepishly walks up from behind the other two. You can easily glean from her eyes that she's excited and nervous and has a spirit that is eager to be lit afire but is still young and naive, which manifests in how she did not actually anticipate being selected in spite of being desperate to be chosen and thus contradicting her own motives. With one hand close to her chest and the other behind her back, she sizes Kaen up - a genuine bona fide Soul Reaper full of accomplishment and pride. He's quite handsome too, she shyly thought to herself. She wondered if all of Seventh Division was like him and only grew more interested in meeting other officers, particularly Kaen's peers. Yuna takes a deep breath and stands at attention with her hands taught to her sides, she bows deeply to a flawless right angle as if she were wearing a protractor. "Thank you for this opportunity Youji-sama! I am grateful to learn from you, sir!" she says in earnest and switching code to flash more of her confidence that clearly hides beneath the surface. Yuna obviously has a sense of class to her, but it's difficult to tell whether or not that's due to her inexperience and impishness or a genuine sense of respect and discipline, or even something else. 
     The girl is something of an enigma to most in her class - not a single person from outside the Seireitei knows of her, and unlike most Shinigami she wasted absolutely no time in trying to get into Shino Academy and even got in on her first try. Although she's made friends since then, she has had only superficial interactions with others. Even as far as the Gotei 13 there have been some small murmurs of this batch of soon-to-be graduates being particularly peculiar. 
All the while the other students obey Kaen's request to move back the seats which they do quickly and easily and within seconds the room feels much more spacious than it did before, with the students all lining the walls and the trio of selected trainees standing in a conveniently size-organised horizontal line just one and a half metres from Kaen and half a metre from each other. 

    "Tch. What's a nerd and a little mouse gonna do?" Koji rebuffs the other two. He cracks his knuckles while grinning almost thirstily. "Attack at any time eh?"
Without hesitation he immediately lunges toward Kaen to attempt a clumsy grapple, using his superior reach and wide arms to try and trap Kaen before he can react but moving at the pace of a sloth pushing a tortoise in comparison to Kaen's finely honed abilities. 
Taking the opportunity while Koji creates an opening, his friend Togusa rushes around to flank Kaen and offer a low kick attack toward the legs in an attempt to destabilise their instructor. 
And, as if spurred on in the moment by the explosion of energy and ferocity of the other two, Yuna casually steals Togusa's idea of just assaulting Kaen all at once. She springs into action and literally runs up Koji's massive and ripped back to deliver a roundhouse kick to Kaen's head, now locking all three positions of his body in an incoming attack. Her movements are swift and nimble with the ease of a gymnast to which the attack was so graceful, quiet and simple for her that one could be fooled she had practiced just this one trick over and over. 

[Kaen Youji]

Kaen smiled as the first one, a man named Koji strode forwards to tower over him. "Hah. Quite. In more combat-focused divisions like the 10th or 11th division I would expect that if you managed to defeat me, you would be guaranteed quite a high position right away." He agreed. He didn't criticize the lack of discipline at all. Everyone learned differently. That was one thing he planned to work on with this lesson. Everyone learned differently, but everyone could also always learn better. Sometimes it took a critical eye to tell you what you were doing wrong. Whether you answered it or not, was up to you.

The next one, Togusa, was more respectful and Kaen gave him a bright smile. "Nice to meet you, Togusa-san." He greeted him pleasantly. "No need to put yourself down as a "Rukon bumpkin", many of my closest friends came from the Rukongai." A peculiar thing for those who knew what the flame emblazoned on Kaen's back meant. It was the mark of the Youji family. While when one often thought of nobles in Soul Society, the names of Kuchiki, Shihoin, Kasumi'Oji, Kawada and Shiba were oft the ones that came to mind, there were countless smaller noble houses as well. The Youji family was one such house. Granted, Kaen always hated being associated with the perks of nobility. He had never cared for the idea that someone was just born better than another. Respect, power. These things were earned, not given just because of a last name. Kaen took note of something in Togusa's tone, but he was willing to let it slide. They'd all be getting a lesson in humility soon enough. Either that or Kaen was gonna have to seriously up his training if Academy students were giving him a bad time.

The last was the smallest girl, Yuna. She was clearly a little awkward coming from the front. If I had to guess.... she's desperate to impress today. Well, I am sorry about that. Impressing me isn't the purpose of today's exercise~ Not to say that it couldn't be done. But Kaen was hear to teach, not to judge. ....Too harshly at least. She had some hidden depths. Kaen could read into that. But today wasn't the time to learn what those hidden depths were. Not directly at least. Not through conversation or chit-chat. Kaen liked Yuna's attitude. He had a feeling that regardless of what happened, what she was doing today was going to be for her, rather than to impress him or to stoke her own ego. That was a good mindset to have. If you competed against yourself, you would always drive to improve, and not grow complacent.

Kaen smiled politely and waited as Koji attempted to assert his dominance over the others. When he asked for clarification, Kaen nodded. "Whenever you like, from whatever angle you want. You can surround me first if you want to, or try to take me head on. Whatever suits you. But I will be looking for a clean hit. I'm not counting any instances of my hand getting in the way of your fist~ Perhaps one day you will develop a truly dangerous Zanpakuto that would make me regret doing that. But then. One of the wonderful things about hand to hand combat is that it is something that is much harder to take away from you than a weapon." He noted, just as Koji lunged at him. At the same instant, Togusa tried an attack from the other side. Kaen momentarily lost sight of Yuna as she moved into Koji's shadow. Well their teamwork seems solid for the moment at least.

"Lesson one, class." He stated. Kaen's movement was a blur. He practically skipped aside and away from Togusa's low kick, seemingly going towards Koji and Yuna's combination attack. As Yuna unleashed an aerial roundhouse kick, and Koji attempted to grab him, they'd find both their efforts fail. Yuna's leg snapped through nothing but air, as Kaen ducked and spun again to Koji's opposite side, cutting at such an angle that he would trip Koji as his clumsy charge sent him barreling past Kaen. "The most basic and fundamental aspect of hand to hand combat are what are most important. Fancy kicks, and throws might win you a fight here and there, but you will always come back to the basics."

The Shinigami rallied quickly enough. Koji had stumbled and fallen to one knee due to Kaen tripping him, but he was back up by the time Kaen had finished his little speech. Togusa had tried to catch Kaen on the flank again. Koji went in for a second grappling attempt, with a lower stance. Slightly slower than before but steadier. It would be harder for him to be tripped like he had last time. Granted for someone of Kaen's caliber that wouldn't matter, but he was trying to be fair. They wouldn't learn anything if he didn't at least hold back enough to make it a little interesting. Togusa this time came in with a charge of his own. More controlled, focused. He wasn't going to let Kaen simply dodge backwards this time, he fully planned to chase the Third Officer down. Kaen smiled. "Footwork." He said as he launched himself away from Togusa and towards Koji again. The big man's arms swung inwards like a trap, but Kaen pushed off the ground and Koji grabbed nothing but air. Koji closed in on Kaen as although the man was moving very quickly, he was moving slow enough that the three would be able to track him.

"Timing." He stated next as he allowed Togusa to catch up to him. The student threw a ferocious combination of punches, that seemed very technically strong. It was clear that Togusa practiced his hand to hand well. It was also equally clear that it didn't matter. With each punch Togusa threw, it seemed to miss Kaen by the barest of centimeters, the third seat easily and lightly dodging from side to side, with such pinpoint timing that there was no time for Togusa to adjust his punches by the time he realized which way Kaen was dodging. The Shinigami had folded both arms behind his back, and did not appear to have any intention of using them just yet. Though he was moving side to side and at diagonal angles to interrupt Togusa's combinations, and force Togusa to reposition mid-combo, he hadn't taken a single step back since the combination attack started. Even a roundhouse kick that was quickly thrown in was defeated by Kaen stepped in sharply directly into Togusa, with enough force that, standing on one leg, Togusa was staggered and stumbled, falling backwards on his butt, the close distance meaning the kick was interrupted before it could gain any momentum.

"And lastly...." Kaen hadn't forgotten Yuna in any of this. She was probably a trickier one than the others based on her attack. One who was probably going to try and come at him in unorthodox ways from unorthodox angles. Of the three he was fighting, she was probably the most dangerous one for this exercise.

[Yuna Xiao]

Yuna watched and waited for the right opportunity to strike. She observed her sensei's movements and did her best to absorb every bit of visual information, focusing on his muscle movements, his eye movements, even where his feet were pointing and attempting to eke out any pattern or method to his technique - if there was one at all.

She came to an understanding of at least one thing: Kaen wasn't simply anticipating each attack but exploiting gaps in reaction and overreaching. If she could time her movements to just after he had moved, then she could capitalise on the same concept. But in battle, there is not always time to surmise a strategy like this so she simply had to trust her instincts. With an incredibly focused mind and determined face, she somersaulted toward him,"Kyaaa!" the white-and-red ball of swift movement closing the gap between the two virtually instantly but she knew full well that she was not even half as fast as she needed to be to pull one over such an experienced fighter as THE Kaen Youji. The absolute millisecond her somersault completed, she vaults upward huffing with all her might in a modified Front Lotus; a vertical uppercut kick whereupon she anticipates that he would be distracted focusing on dodging that attack, so she spins around while still upside down and uses the full range of her body to grab onto - or at least attempt to - his legs as she was now upside down hoping that she could destabilise him or limit his freedom of movement so that she could perform an admittedly weak but otherwise earnest double-knee to the chest and hoping to use that momentum to knock him backward.

[Kaen Youji]

"....Distance." Was Kaen's final piece of advice revolving around what he considered the three core tenets of combat. Which he demonstrated here. The distance between himself and Yuna gave him ample time to react to her leaping somersault. Someone takes after Kimiko Shihoin I see. Kaen thought, noting some similarities between Yuna and Kimiko's highly acrobatic Hakuda style. It seemed to Kaen that Yuna had spent at least half this fight in the air so far. Something to note. Now he had to see how she handled that. As Yuna landed she launched upwards into a reverse flip, throwing a kick at Kaen. "An impressive acrobatics display~" He replied, sidestepping the kick. He then noticed Yuna try to grab onto his leg. "But, be careful~" He warned her, as he allowed her to grab hold of his ankle. His immediate follow-up was unlikely to be a pleasant one for Yuna, though there was some small silver lining. The silver lining was that Yuna got Kaen to remove one of his arms from behind his back. The cloud the silver lining was behind was that Kaen answered her ankle grab, by dropping down on her, knee first. Kaen was an expert at Jiujitsu, which incorporated a lot of groundwork. Grabbing hold of one's ankle could destabilize them-- Kaen knew this and also knew that he'd be much harder to destabilize from a lower stance. Kaen dropped down into Jiujitsu's knee-on-belly position, to knock the breath out of Yuna's lungs, bringing his arm in front of his chest to intercept the girl's double knee strike. "Hmm... Your attacks lack power. That's something you should work on. You're quicker than the other two, but that means you should be focused more on hit-and-run tactics, against a much stronger opponent. Strike, then get out and let your teammates continue the combination attack for you. Or if you're alone, don't press the attack if your opponent looks prepared." He cautioned her.

Kaen wasn't entirely foolish. He expected Yuna would try to probably throw a punch or a kick from this position, where she'd be able to likely land a technical hit on him. And this lowered position was risky in a three on one fight. Togusa had been staggered and his confidence shaken, but Koji was clearly a stubborn one and he was barreling in at Kaen. It seemed he wasn't going for a grapple this time, but a single heavy punch. "As for you..." Kaen didn't want to risk dodging out of the way this time. Not because he thought Koji would do something, but because there was a good chance the larger man would trample Yuna if he did. His charges had been forceful, but clumsy.Kaen's free arm slipped out to guard himself from either a quick jab thrown at him from Yuna from below, or another kick from the girl, while his other hand slipped down to her hand. He seized Yuna's wrist and leveraged his thumb under hers, followed by a sharp twist to break her grip on his ankle. Kaen was careful not to actually injure or break Yuna's wrist in doing this, using only enough force to break her hold on him, before springing up and off her. He did not release his grip on her wrist however, instead throwing Yuna sideways, to slide her across the smooth floor of the lecture hall, and out of the way of Koji's charge.

"Something for you to work on, Koji-san." Koji threw his punch at Kaen just as Kaen landed, and Kaen did something that, he expected, nobody had ever done before. He blocked Koji's punch with one finger. The blow slammed into the digit with formidable force, but failed to so much as bend it. Kaen smiled politely at Koji. "You need to consider what to do if you are facing someone stronger than you. You are heavily reliant on your strength. That's not a bad thing. We all have different approaches to combat, and it has clearly worked for you. But if you rely solely on your strength and never consider what to do if you fight someone stronger, you have created a glaring weakness in your technique." He warned him. "That goes for all of you." He said, turning his head to the class, and also looking at Yuna and Togusa as well, as he ducked a right hook from Koji. "Yuna. You're quick, and you use your acrobatics quite freely. Togusa, your technique is fairly impressive for an Academy student. You've all clearly put in hard work to become as strong as you are, whether that work was put into building speed, technique or power. But you should always consider a back-up option for facing someone that outmatches you even in your specialty. You won't be able to hit me if you don't. Because."

As Kaen said because Koji attempted a wide haymaker into a sudden attempt to grab hold of Kaen. At this point, Kaen simply vanished into thin air, reappearing in the center of the room, just as Togusa regained his feet. "I don't mind saying that as you are now, I'm faster, stronger and more technical than you. You'll get to this level in time, and then I certainly won't be able to take it easy on you. But for you to land a hit today, you'll have to really stretch yourselves."

[Yuna Xiao]

The crowd of students watching this mess are all keenly engaged, with roars of excitement coming from some, jeers of disappointment from others, gasps of surprise from more still, but most clapping and cheering in general. Some of them moving out of the way, particularly as Yuna slides across - Kaen forgot his strength somewhat and the diminutive woman lightly slid into the wall with a huff of air escaping her lungs after he was finished utterly outclassing her in every conceivable way as a melee duelist, her ego sorely hurt but her fiery passion to eke out even one blow burning bright.

"Footwork, timing, and distance... footwork, timing, and distance... " Yuna began to chant to herself in her heavy breath as she remained steadfast in not simply accomplishing her goal of landing a hit but also retaining and applying as much of his wisdom as possible. She knew she had been at a disadvantage from the beginning - she wasn't born into the roughneck outer rings of the Rukongai like some of her classmates, she was not strong even among the other women shinigami, and she did not even have a particular thirst for battle that many of the others did. But was it truly a disadvantage? Or did she just not yet discover how to play to her strengths instead? "Or what if the order isn't important? Guess I will find out. You've got this, girl!"

Koji was clearly and audibly getting frustrated as he began to feel like Kaen was toying with him rather than actually trying to impart any lesson. "... you slimy bastard! You think you're so tough eh? Well get a load of THIS!" the hulking brute was tiring faster than the other two and he knew it, so he decided to go all out this time. Koji leaped up into the air in an impressive display of raw strength, smashing his fists into the ceiling to leverage himself into a tremendous ape-like swing and with a mighty "HREUGHHH!!" he hefts his massive frame toward Kaen in a ridiculous body slam, trying to use all of his overwhelming size to catch Kaen and crush him - leaving many of the spectators to wonder if Koji is actually trying to harm the Third Seat, but not being too concerned as they are all well aware that it would be impossible to actually do any serious damage, 

"You damned FOOL, Koji!" Togusa knows the oaf will survive the fall - he's been through much worse after all - but with one third of impromptu team down it would make it more difficult to actually snag a hit. He does his best to force Kaen backward by taking several steady leaping and spinning kicks toward the master martial artist, trying to take care to make sure he could brace for his legs being knocked loose or otherwise loosing his footing so he doesn't get caught off guard, but it's probably clear to an experienced fighter such as Kaen that he's up to something.

Meanwhile Yuna springs into action: using the crowd around her to her advantage, she hopes to mask her movements and wait for the exact moment that Kaen seems poised to evade, she anticipates that he will either leap backward or sideways, but she cannot account for each direction. She bets on him moving backward as Togusa is trying to get him to do. Whatever Kaen decides to do, Yuna Flash Steps right behind Kaen's feet "Distance," with herself essentially on all fours as low as she can be and ready to push herself up, dash to the left, or roll to the right depending on the precise movement she needs to get herself out of danger. "Footwork." If she's successful in sweeping his footing then she is almost certain he would not allow himself to actually hit the ground but instead is likely to need to use his arms, meaning he will be too busy simultaneously evading and trying to find his footing to defend himself and that's where Yuna will seize her window of opportunity and strike with a swift kick to the jaw. "Timing."

[Kaen Youji]

"Ho. There's an interesting approach." Kaen responded to Koji's impromtu body-slam attack. "But your attack angle is predictable. Still. That's a unique tactic!" Kaen commented as he lightly stepped aside to avoid the crashing body slam, just as Togusa unleashed his flurry of kicks. One arm behind his back, his other in front, Kaen parried, dodged and deflected the attacks, allowing Togusa to drive him back. One step. Two steps. "I'm impressed. Your footwork has already improved, Togusa-san. And your moves have tightened up as well. Very well done." He complimented. And where did Yuna go? He wondered, noticing the girl had disappeared. She wasn't anywhere in the open space, even when Kaen took a chance to glance up at the ceiling. She's a sneaky one indeed.

If Yuna wasn't in the air or visible in the fighting area then she must have slipped away into the crowd of onlookers. Well. Kaen hadn't forbidden that tactic. Not bad either. At the next instant, Kaen's ears picked up the unmistakable wooshing sound of someone using Shunpo. Very good indeed! Yuna's trip attempt was timed well with one of Togusa's own spinning kicks. Kaen intercepted Togusa's but managed to maintain a stable enough stance to avoid being knocked down by it. While Kaen was not knocked down, he was staggered, and forced to stay in place to maintain his balance for a brief moment. Togusa saw this and followed up with a dual punch, aimed at Kaen's stomach and face. Ho, Yamazuki. Very nice. Kaen thought, as he brought his other arm out from behind his back, deflecting one of Togusa's punches and catching the other with his palm.

It was in that moment, that Yuna's kick struck Kaen in the jaw. It didn't do very much, beyond a slight twitch of Kaen's head, but the third seat smiled in response to the blow. "Very good." He replied, releasing Togusa's hand. "Hold!" He suddenly ordered, calling a stop to the exercise. "Well done to all three of you. Your teamwork, even if not entirely intentional in all cases was surprisingly strong. Stronger than most I see in the Academy. You made use of each other's movements well. Teamwork is something that I think could be taught much more at the Academy. Individual prowess is all well and good as well of course, but when you're out in the field, only occasionally are you working alone. If you and your comrade get in each other's way, then you will only help your opponent. It's encouraging that I don't have to try to impart that lesson to the three of you. You worked together, and all three of you improved in the course of this very match. Either that or you were all holding back at the beginning!" Kaen praised the three.

"Martial combat is always a learning experience. None of you should ever stop striving to improve. If you believe you have reached a peak in one area, strive to improve in others. Nobody's technique is truly flawless. Learning to identify the holes in your own techniques is one of the most crucial steps to improving." He looked back at the three that had just been fighting him. "Koji. As I said. Your strength is quite good for your level, but you need to work on developing your ability in other areas. There are always going to be those who are stronger than you. It doesn't matter whether that's improving your technique, developing an unorthodox technique, or learning how to fight dirty. I'm really not so strong myself. I'm only a third seat after-all. There are many in Soul Society much stronger than I am." He stated. "The same to you Togusa. Your technique is solid, but your approach is painfully direct. Work in new angles into your fighting. Be strategic. Don't always take your opponent head on. I recognize you have developed powerful skills and wish to use them, but there is a time and a place, and it is rarely when you are outmatched in head-on attacks. And as for you miss Yuna." He added, looking at the girl that had succeeded in kicking him.

"You clearly have a good idea of how to attack people from various angles and in unorthodox ways. Of the three here, you're probably the best off if you had to fight a stronger opponent. However. You would benefit from focusing on your fundamentals the most. Build up your strength. Even if you land a kick like you did, it's no good if it's too weak to seriously injure your opponent." He advised her. "That said, I look forward to seeing your development. When you graduate from this Academy, don't hesitate to seek me out. I'd enjoy seeing how your skills will have improved." He said, looking directly at Yuna when he said so.

[Yuna Xiao]

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Final post for Yuna

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The trio was noticeably out of breath. They each wanted to prove something to themselves, to Kaen, or even to the other students. With a grunt, Koji Herts himself back up and stretches out his shoulders, clearly unhappy with learning just how massive of a gap there is between the former Lieutenant and himself who genuinely thought that strength in the Rukongai translated to strength in the Seireitei.
Even if he never would admit it, he respected Keen and realised he just might have to listen to someone after all.
Togusa nodded to Keen "I'll do my best to round out my skills." 

 Little Yuna as energetic as ever flips back to being right side up and then stands in front of Kaen, lightly panting from the major workout but not showing any signs of slowing down, though Keen could easily guess she'll have a big meal, hot bath, and a long sleep from this session. After intently listening to the words of wisdom she deeply bows to the point where you'd think she was speaking to the Captain-Commander. "Yes sir, Youji-sama! I will not disappoint!" She expresses with eyes closed but passion bursting through the seams. She seems a look at the last sentence just enough to catch his gaze piercing her soul - or at least that's bows she felt. Her heart beating strong as she never in a thousand years thought she would stand out, especially with the strongest guy and the best Zanjutsu fighter in her head as comparison.

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