The Young and the Fresh

[Nakajima Kimiko]

Shawn Rabuburedo. Wielder of the Jian sword. Officer of the Eleventh Division. Those three things, in Kimiko's mind, were all information that she needed to take into account in this fight. Well, perhaps the name wasn't as important, seeing as she never really heard about the guy before coming here as part of this visit to the squad's barracks, but the two other things certainly were.

As a practitioner of Kendo, she never has had the chance to face someone with a foreign sword before. In fact, when it comes to the experience she has had ever since she began following martial arts in the World of the Living, she has mainly always faced two kinds of opponents: unarmed adversaries in her Karate courses and rival swordsmen. Although she has started practicing the arts of Hakuda with her mentor, most of the people she fought who made sure to stick to the use of their fists usually resorted to swift hits and grapples. In the meanwhile, those who instead brandished swords preferred to unleash quick overhead hits with a few key thrusting attacks thrown into the mix. It was not rare to see thrusting attacks from a swordsman, but it was hard to qualify them as being notably present during battle as they only tended to be used at the right moment.

Now, the one detail that she had by now gotten used when it comes to fighting swordsmen was that the most of them wielded the katana; after all, all wooden blades needed to be equal to one another during Kendo. Her mentor also used katanas too, so only their numbers mattered. Shawn, however, obviously does not use a katana. Kimiko has never really witnessed a blade like that in person as she's only seen them in books and museums, but just by looking at it, she could tell that it was different enough for her to believe that the officer would not attempt to use it like a Japanese sword. It just was not slim enough to allow for the faster movement of a katana. So then, how was he going to use it? That was a question that she would need to answer by herself over the course of this battle. The blade's flatter double-edged design seems better fit for broad sweeping attacks, but there's nothing that says he cannot instead solely focus on thrusting that blade instead.

All in all, it is going to be an interesting battle. Just thinking about all of these things was enough to get her excited, and in essence, perhaps that was the true reason why she had gone forward so quickly to reach for the man. A few seconds after the match began, she had stepped into his space with surprising speed with her eyes dead set onto Shawn. Knowing his position, she doubted that he was going to just stand there before a student of the Academy and do nothing, and her instincts proved to be right. By the time she was within five feet of him, the man prepared himself to thrust his blade towards her. If she did not move or change the trajectory of her incoming attack, the both of them are going to get hit in the chest even if her blade will reach him first, thus consequently leading to the both of them either gaining a point or concluding this to be a draw.

Of course, her competitive side was not going to let that happen, and so with a quick step to Shawn's left and a slight change to her posture, the student raised her arms over her head with her hand still firmly placed around that imaginary scabbard. Once done, she then "unsheathed" her wooden blade from the scabbard, sending it slashing straight down onto the officer's chest. It was done quickly and efficiently, and if successful, she'd then crouch down low enough to prevent the Jian blade from hitting her with a surprise sweeping attack before launching herself away from Shawn to reset the round. Either way, even if it didn't work and he was able to hit her, the execution would still bring her a sense of satisfaction as it had all been delivered much better than the last time she used it thanks to her training.

The visiting group watched attentively at this point with those who were previously badmouthing the Eleventh Division now completely quiet. It was clearly difficult for them to understand that one of the more-proficient swordswomen of the academy had been among them during all this time. Whoever was with them at the time was not as excited as the quiet and reserved girl that kept herself to the back of the group for much of this visit. Even the teacher who watched it all unfold was impressed by what was happening, keeping a hand on his chin as he watched. This student... He had heard about her supposed apprenticeship with the Tenth Division's Vice-Captain, but wasn't she still relatively new? Yes, she just declared herself as a first-year, after all. How was she able to grow so quickly in the matter of less than a year? An amazing drive must fuel her, then, for her to act this way. There was no other way to explain it.

[Tsukuyomi Kawada]

Although this had only just started, Tsukuyomi could already see in the eyes of not just Shawn, but this academy student as well, thought, planning. Things that the intelligent swordsman needed in order to employ their skills effectively against those that excel or exceed them in physical aspects. This wasn’t just a sparring session to see what this academy student might bring to the Evenith, but also what Shawn may be able to develop in the Division. The young Vice Captain continued to watch from the ever present position where all those around him simply weren’t looking for him. No one was expecting a Vice Captain to be standing there in the group let alone one to look as young if not younger than most of the academy students and so they didn’t notice him.

The brief exchange between Shawn and the Student from the academy was one that really told Tsukuyomi that both of these individuals had the potential to excel in his Division. He’d be a fool to let them join anywhere else or drift away. He had to try and aid them after this in obtaining their true strengths and developing what they already excel at into true methods of war. Soul Society was under constant threat and these two individuals were the sort that would be needed in order to preserve and protect everyone in Soul Society. The student shared the same name that Tsukuyomi knew from his own past and her movement to the side in order to avoid just serving to remind him even more. Her speed was impressive for a student solidifying even further that she was a necessary recruit.

[Shawn Rabuburēdo]

Just as Shawn expected, this student was just to fast for him to properly react to, on the other hand she was fast enough to avoid being poked in the chest by his practice sword. Nimbly side stepping the thrust she manages to get into the perfect position before letting out the slash she has probably been preparing for this entire time. suffice it to say the attack landed perfectly as his counter failed to tie their points, the wooden sword she wielded smoothly left her hand scabbard smacking him swiftly across the chest getting an "Oof" from Shawn as she quickly jumped backwards.

"Well done, your speed is superb, I'm not really a speed specialist so this spar is good experience for us both, I'm actually better at using my reiatsu then fighting with my hands or sword but that is why I strive to get better at them both!" Shawn will be saying this to Kimiko but by the end he will turn to face the class. "Now, I want you all to understand this, battles are never fair and this is a dangerous but important duty. Just because some of you might think Kido and the like is more powerful than physical ability does not mean a physical expert can't demolish a Kido specialist. Some of you have probably heard stories of beings that were so strong they could swat a Hado away as if it were nothing but a bug."

Beginning to pace around the area he was currently at Shawn continues talking to the class, "In other words, learning how to fight physically both helps to understand how to face a physical fighter while also helping you to be more creative with your own fighting style. A good example is someone who focuses on speed can make it very difficult for a Kido expert to fight, after all it's hard to react to something that is hard for you to keep track of." Turning to face Kimiko Shawn will then say, "With that you gain the first point and I gain nothing, so could you go back to the starting zone."

Shawn will wait as she moves back over to her original position, preparing himself for an attack that he will struggle to keep up with. I know she has the advantage right now but at least now I know she prefers singular attacks using speed to her advantage. Readying himself into the same position he was when the first round began, holding his weapon up close to his face like before. Sweat was beading on his forehead from many factors but the main culprit being exertion from the previous two matches. Knowing the only thing he can do is be smarter and a little faster on his reaction he speaks out loud, "Alright, we will begin again counting down from three, so Three, Two, One, BEGIN!"

[Nakajima Kimiko]

Kimiko's execution of her technique was swift and precise. The moment she stepped into Shawn's space, she moved quickly to dodge the incoming thrust of his blade before then delivering a rapid blow to the chest. Although her strength was just a tad better than normal, the momentum of her attack allowed her blade to smack loudly as it slid against the officer's chest. The noise alone was enough to cause some of the students among the group to let out a surprising gasp. It was not too surprising: everything had happened quickly, enough so for a few of them to not have been able to follow everything that's happened very well. Moreover, a few of them could barely believe that a student - even one as promising as Kimiko - could rival a proper officer of the Shinigami. The teacher, who was of course able to follow everything with his own eyes, found himself quietly admiring the student's potential, wishing for this to continue.

And continue, it seemed like it would. After the swordswoman was able to land a hit on Shawn, she would launch herself away from his position towards her starting zone. It had been an instinctive move to dodge any incoming attack, but it did not seem like there had been any attack of that caliber after all. Her eyes were dead-centered on her opponent, focused yet betraying her excitement for this fight. If it was not for the fact that she was forcing herself to respect the rules they had set between themselves, she would have continued to hit him just like how she would have continued to try to reach for Celes in their own spars against one another. "Thank you. You're good too. If I would've been slower, I would have ran straight into that thrust," she said in appreciation to the man's words in regards to her speed as she kept herself in check and stood there ready to go at it again for another round. It was a best of three, after all: just one round was not going to be enough.

As she stood and waited for Shawn to prepare himself again, however, her excitement took a bit of a hit with her expression slightly cringing for a split-second. So the guy wasn't actually much of a specialist in melee combat like she had expected him to be due to his affiliation with the Eleventh Division, but rather more of a practitioner of Kidō. This raised many questions in Kimiko's head, the first of which almost bringing her to directly ask him how he was able to say something like that in front of the members of a Division who was well-known to despise Kidō. The other questions instead centered around the disparity between their skill. What she once thought to be her direct superior in combat now potentially has proven to be possibly weaker than her in this particular context. It was... quite the predicament. In fact, if it wasn't for the fact that their fight had already begun, her excitement would have just outright turned into annoyance by now.

Well, anyway, she can't stop this now. There was probably a reason why Shawn was here within the Eleventh; after all, he did admit that he wanted to train his skills as a Zanjutsu and Hakuda practitioner. Maybe he had a change of heart during his time at the academy and asked those responsible for his graduation to deliberately move him to this particular Division. Who knows. At least what he was saying was a good lesson to learn for battle, especially for her who so far has been unable to show signs of great mastery in Kidō. As a melee fighter, she will have to use that speed of hers to overwhelm and punish those who refuse to use their weapons - be they natural or not - against her. She may not deliver strong hits, but swiftness alone is enough to completely shut down a fighter who swears only upon the use of ranged combat. It was why she has slowly been starting to look into the arts of Hohō recently, especially now that the teacher of her own class has announced that they will look into that later this month.

With all that in mind, Kimiko would prepare herself after Shawn finished speaking to the group, stretching herself to boost her motivation before adopting that same Iaijutsu stance again. Her eyes focused onto him once again. Alright, so she landed her first hit. That in of itself was good: it confirmed that she was faster than him and therefore could maneuver around his attacks so long as she can accurately predict them. However, now that she has landed that attack, there is no way she could repeat it again so soon, or at least not in the matter that she previously delivered it. Fortunately, in the case of her attack, it wasn't so much of an issue. If there is one thing that she has learned from her bouts with Celes, it is that Iaijutsu may be predictable if you expect it to be executed in the classic diagonal fashion of old towards the chest, but less so when it is done slightly differently as proven by her previous vertical slash.

What was instead more important to note here was that the fact that he was not going to be rushing at her any time soon. Her speed had definitely surprised him earlier, enough so to force a thrust out of him, and so, with that knowledge, there was no way that he was going to take the offensive any time soon. Judging by the beads of sweat on his forehead, he also seemed to already be a bit exhausted after the last bouts he had with that other officer. With all of those factors, despite his opening position being the same as before, Kimiko would think about what to do. Eventually, however, the man would start to count, and by the time he did, all strategies that previously came to be eventually subsided into the unconscious side of her mind. That was enough strategizing for now, especially given all the information she had at her disposal.

Thus, with her left hand holding onto her wooden blade and her right hand placed above the hilt, Kimiko would wait for Shawn's countdown to end before she rushed towards him once again. It was the same speed as before, the very same pace, with her eyes still very much focused onto him. She was obviously using her speed to see if she could get a reaction out of him, but either way, she would eventually rush forward in front of him before crouching low and delivering two successive hits: one horizontal Iaijutsu slash towards his legs then followed by an upward diagonal slash towards his right shoulder, with the latter having been completed by twisting her right hand to position her weapon correctly. It was again with incredible speed, and in the meantime, she made sure to maintain his attention onto him, never taking her eyes away for a second. Her excitement, her Spiritual Pressure... They were both rising again.

Whatever. Kidō specialist or not, this was still melee combat. She was still going to enjoy this so long as that man can hold himself appropriately.

[Tsukuyomi Kawada]

Tsukuyomi wasn’t sure what to do at the moment beyond continue to watch this unfold like the visiting class. It was an interesting little spar that was giving him a bit of information on his subordinate Shawn while his mind had been made up on the student Kimiko. Once she graduated from the academy she’d be coming to the Eleventh. Individuals with her mind set, skill set and attitude were necessary on the front lines. Tsukuyomi was certain based on the way she held her sword and moved herself that she could be taught to be a true weapon. It also told him though that someone else had been teaching her. She didn’t move like a typical student, it wasn’t raw talent either, but practiced movements that came from someone good. Almost as if she had been being taught by someone of his ranking from a different Division. “I’ll just have to sway her to me.” Tsukuyomi came to the decision although not voicing it outwardly.

He continued to give the both of them their spar knowing how frustrating it could be to have one interrupted especially when one had something to prove. “Shawn’s got promise, additional training accompanied by direct aid will be necessary, but worth it in this case. Kimiko huh. Strange this’ll take some getting used too. I hope that woman never learns I plan to teach someone with her name. I don’t think I can handle another training session with Haunzu if he’s serious.” Tsukuyomi thinking about what he planned to do after today. Shawn was showing visible signs of exhaustion. Not something good as he’s only been in combat for a few minutes worth. His stamina would need to be developed, but his determination was just as noticeable.

It wouldn’t be long now before Tsukuyomi revealed himself, but taking away from their fun just wasn’t right and thus he continued to stay hidden in plain view.

[Shawn Rabuburēdo]

The moment Shawn finished the countdown and shouted begin he began to move as he knew if he didn't start his action her speed would easily overcome his slow counters. Understanding her fighting style is helping him know how she might generally attack and that is what Shawn is banking this counter strategy on. He will seemingly thrust his weapon at her again as if he is using the same strategy as before but in truth it was to cover his next move, just before she would reach his weapons range he would suddenly drop the tip of his wooden sword straight towards the ground until it planted itself somewhat into the hard packed dirt.

With his first part of his counter strategy in place Shawn would use his planted sword as a way to stop any head on horizontal or diagonal strikes as he now knows that's how she prefers to begin her attacks. The second her first attack launches forward he himself would step towards her and attempt to quickly get in a place to close for her to attack. If he manages to do that he would next use his left foot to press down on her right foot in order to make it harder for her to escape.  

With this done Shawn's next move would be to switch his hands position on his weapon so that if he lifts it up it would be facing down and not up. Once he repositions his hand this way he would push it forward while bringing it up for a slashing attack directed at her left shoulder. If he was successful in all of this he would move backwards while pushing her back trying to throw her off balance to prevent a last ditch effort attack. Sweat rolling down his face and arms contradicts the smile on his face.

If Shawn's strategy was a success then he would begin talking to her and the class, "Just because your opponent may be much faster doesn't mean you will always fail, if you can plan ahead and understand their fighting style there will always be a chance for victory. The question is though" turning back to face only Kimiko he would continue, "Are you ready for our final round?"

While a win may be possible Shawn also understands that her speed may be great enough to avoid his trap if she see's it coming early enough, thus way he was banking on the hope that she wouldn't and would instead walk right into it. Sadly this means the battle revolves around the moments of Kimiko rushing in for her attack and whether or not she realizes what he might be doing.

[Nakajima Kimiko]

Kimiko knew that her next move was most likely going to be anticipated by Shawn. As stated before, although her main fighting style relies on the use of Iaijutsu, Iaijutsu itself is both predictable and easy to react to once you understand how one executes it. Hell, one who pays enough attention might even be capable to understand how the attack works from the get-go. As such, with that knowledge in mind, if there is someone that could most likely react well to something that quickly becomes predictable, it is a person that primarily specializes themselves in the employment of ranged combat. After all, a fighter who finds himself weakened whenever they are confronted to an opponent in close-range combat will typically always find ways to keep their adversaries - especially ones that instead specialize in melee combat - away from them. Given that Shawn exclaimed earlier that he was a ranged fighter himself, there was thus no reason to believe he would not have reacted accordingly to her assault.

The man's strategy was definitely not a wrong one, especially considering Kimiko's combat style. On paper, him planting his sword down onto the ground by faking a thrust was a good attempt to prevent any kind of attack from the swordswoman, or at least ones that came from the front. In fact, now that his sword was there, there was no real easy way for the student to get close to him and give him the round-ending blow she was seeking. No matter how she may have been able to execute it, any straight-forward attack would have been easily anticipated and appropriately-countered by Shawn, and straightforwardness was by now something that she preferred to stick to. Although she found it doubtful that the man figured that out within one single round, it nevertheless was a factor to take into account in this little predicament.

The problem with his strategy, however, was that she had already anticipated a reaction from him. After the first round, it was only natural to expect that Shawn would have preferred to remain on the defensive rather than the offensive, and just like she had predicted, she was indeed able to use her speed to gauge a reaction from him. With her gaze stuck onto him as she moved, the student kept an eye on the Shinigami's movement as she herself moved towards him, making sure to approach his left in the process with her blade raised by her side during her first crouching attack. Due to her speed, the Jian sword's position looked risky as he could easily swipe it towards her direction during the execution of her attack, but it was, however, ultimately safe as the position of her own blade would allow for her to block the attack.

Much like the last time, Kimiko's slashes were done quickly with good precision. She moved swiftly, her excited eyes analyzing the Shinigami's moves accordingly to try to see what he could do, while also reacting to incoming counter-attacks. With the tip of his sword currently into the ground, she doubted that he was going to allow himself to take the hit, and so she executed her attacks as planned all the while moving backwards in the process to avoid his stomping foot. "Sneaky," she huffed with discontent, showing clear disapproval of his technique before swiftly sending another sword strike towards his leg in retaliation, then jumping away from him so as to create some distance between the both of them. Once done, she then stood there for a moment with her eyes still focused on Shawn as she slowly started moving back towards her initial position.

It only lasted for a few seconds at best, and yet she could already now tell that the officer was ready to use moves that she considered to be rather annoying. She was very aware of what he wanted to do. For all sense and purposes, he wanted to negate her movement and hit her while she could not move in the meanwhile. It wasn't a bad thing that he did that or anything of the sort: she just really hated these kinds of tactics. In a way, it reminded her of the people at the arcades who often tried to aim to stun the target rather than attack it with combos like anyone really should, and she often tended to lightly criticize those people back then for doing such a thing. Of course, given that this guy was a Shinigami, she wasn't really sure if she wanted to criticize him too since she didn't feel that it was her place to voice her opinion of his fighting style at the moment. Perhaps she'll be able to do so later.

In any case, it was clear that Shawn was not going to last for much longer. Despite his smile, he was definitely starting to look exhausted now if the sweat on both his face and arms were anything to go by. Kimiko wanted to fight him a bit longer, especially since she did feel as though he wasn't doing badly for someone who specialized in Kidō, but even she could understand that everyone has their limits, be they short or a bit longer than the usual. "Yes," she answered the man's question with a nod as she prepared herself for the final round of this little bout. The excitement for battle was still there, still burning brightly within her eyes as she prepared another fighting stance, crouching forward once more and preparing what seemed to be yet another Iaijutsu attack. The air around here was tense, still pulsing a little with the Spiritual Pressure within her... until it wasn't.

Sharply once more, her legs pushed Kimiko's forward with surprising momentum. Each step resonated loudly against the ground as she moved forward, with every single one of them causing the makeshift scabbard that was her grip around her wooden blade to become tighter. The very moment she'd start nearing Shawn, she'd suddenly stop before standing straight up and slashing at his chest in a diagonal fashion. In other words, it was the classic Iaijutsu technique. It was done quickly enough at first, but then, shortly after she finished her first hit, she would then slash at him again, and again, and again. They were swift, methodical hits all done in an attempt to exploit his physical exhaustion. She had the advantage when it came to their current stamina, so there was no point in not using hers just a little bit further to end this battle. This was usually a tactic that she would use against opponents that are stuck near a wall in the fighting games that she played, and most of the time, said opponents tend to do one particular thing in response to that: lash out in self-defense. It wasn't true for everyone, but she was slightly expecting this to happen here too.

[Shawn Rabuburēdo]

This was it, Shawn knew this was going to be the last round, if he couldn't land a strike on this one he knew his body was to tired to continue. Not that he wasn't used to physical exercise but this academy student has so far pushed him farther than any other spar he has been apart of. Sure he hasn't gotten a point of his own but that doesn't matter as long as he can finish this bout at anything but zero, it was all or nothing this time around and he was ready, at least he was mentally prepared to push himself past his limits.

That last round told him everything he needed to know, she wasn't happy with facing opponents who use a more tactical style. He already knew that he couldn't keep up with her pure speed normally and that last round showed that if he continues to try restricting her movement she struggles, after all she nearly had him again but the strike aimed at his legs was slowed just enough thanks to his tactics that he managed to avoid the strike. She also seemed ready now as when he asked her she gave a vehement yes.

In the same defensive position yet again Shawn keeps his focus centered on this fast student, It's time to catch her off guard, while he had this thought floating in his mind she began rushing forward. She obviously prefers that quick slash of hers, but even knowing that he doesn't know the exact area she will aim for on him, this fight shows she likes aiming at the lower body but that doesn't mean she absolutely will. With her speed I only have one chance to pull this off, even then I'm going to have to give it my all, no, more than my all. 

The moment she reaches striking distance he does it, moving forward himself as fast as he can he dives to her left, hoping she misses whatever her initial attack was aimed at. He barely realizes she herself stopped at the same distance, apparently she learned from the last round and didn't want to get so close that he could prevent her movement. With all the strength he could muster Shawn slashed at her hip while he was still moving in the air towards the ground, hoping with everything he put into that strike it would hit.

Regardless of the outcome he was done, even if he avoided her attacks and landed his own he couldn't continue, knowing that her speed could have been great enough to avoid his attack and/or hit him with her first attack by simply attempting to redirect it before she went through with the full slash. Sweat pouring out of his face, hands, arms, and legs while gasping for breath as the impact from that dive took the air from his lungs when he made contact with the ground. Struggling to his feet he would use the wooden weapon as a crutch, breathing heavily he would force himself to speak, "It's always the opponents who become cornered and have little to no options that you should fear, for they are the ones willing to do anything to win the battle." turning from Kimiko he would slowly move his gaze to hover over the rest of the class before continuing, "This is why Kido isn't everything, after all what does it matter if you were able to defend with Kido against a close range fighter if you run out of stamina before you can claim victory." 

[Nakajima Kimiko]

Kimiko's move, in theory, was sound. Given what's happened in their last round, she was aware that moving so quickly towards Shawn would most likely create a reaction from him, especially now that he was visibly exhausted and, to put it bluntly, seemingly on his last leg. It was clear that he was going to try to do something desperate against any kind of move that she would dare throw at him, be it a simple or complex one. In the fighting game plane that she could somewhat visualize in her mind, the Shinigami was near the wall now, and so all it would take would take was a constant stream of successive strikes to get him to crack and throw something out in a fit of panic. In a way, she sort of got what she wanted as he did react this way. However, much like how he reacted during the rest of the fight, he did not panic; rather, his move was more calculated.

Once again, he had moved once she had come close to him. He visibly reacted as quickly as he possibly could to purposefully throw himself towards the ground in a dive towards her left. It was a bold, yet purposeful move as, judging by the movement of his blade, he had deliberately done so to forcefully throw himself into Kimiko's blind spot and therefore instantly break through her defenses. Anyone who would have rushed forward without thinking in that instance would have immediately been hit by Shawn's incoming slash. However, although the positive consequences of this attack were of course to be considered in the grand scheme of things, the negative ones greatly outweighed them here, or at least they did in Kimiko's eyes which could only slightly squint in slight disappointment at what was to come.

Because she had abruptly stopped her rush, the student was able to properly see the attack coming once she failed to land her first swing. With a light kick to the ground before her causing her to jump away from Shawn's Jian sword, she watched as the blade in question whizzed right in front of her chest as she raised her arms - and therefore her own wooden weapon - to deliver a final attack to the Shinigami in the form of a vertical Iaijutsu strike right against the man's shoulder shortly before he landed onto the ground. She had done so swiftly, accurately and without hesitation, the sign of experience through constant other spars similar to this one. Once she was done, she tensed down, her Spiritual Pressure slowly lessening to go back to its usual level, then let out a sigh as the adrenaline left her soul. The instinct of battle had left her. She has won, whatever this meant in this particular context.

Straightening her body shortly after the battle ended, she would hold her wooden sword with her left hand as she listened to what Shawn had to say. It seems like the man had more lessons to tell even while he was tired and beaten, and again, his lessons were good too. It was mostly for Kidō users, but there was worth in his words. Unfortunately, this did not change the fact that the battle was nevertheless not only short-lived, but also ultimately not entirely fulfilling. She had been right from the moment the man had admitted his interest in the magical arts: this battle had effectively set an unfair handicap onto him. As annoying as Kidō may be, it was obvious that a man who specializes in Kidō would struggle in a melee-only battle against an opponent solely specialized in melee combat. The winner had already been declared from the very start. In other words, she had honestly expected something more from a member of the Eleventh Division.

"Thank you for this battle, Rabuburēdo-san. It was a good fight," she nevertheless said then as she bowed before him respectfully for the fight she was offered. Despite the disappointment that she was currently experiencing, Kimiko had a good time anyway. Although his skills in the blade were perhaps weaker than his skill in magic, he is not a bad fighter at all and has potential if only for his strategic capabilities. She still has no idea as to why he is among the Eleventh Division, but if he is here despite his skills in Kidō , then surely, it must mean something. Besides, he had also allowed himself to spar her to begin with, and so she felt she had no right to either voice her opinion of the fight here or criticize him for how poorly it went down. Even if the fight would have been an instant win for her, she couldn't really bring herself to say something bad to a Shinigami.

After she was done, the student went to return the wooden sword to the weapon stand before returning to the group who were by now standing there, stunned in awe at what had just happened. Some were already talking to each other, whispering to themselves about how a student of the academy somehow proved themselves today to have been able to beat a Shinigami officer without being too tired after the fact. The teacher guiding the group, him, merely stood there in silence as he contemplated the situation, blinking at the prospect of it all. A prodigious swordswoman... How curious. At this point, if she can do something like this and fight in such a way, then she will most likely do something even more spectacular very soon. "Well, this was quite the spar, I may say," the man smiled softly with a wise chuckle. "So many lessons too. Remember the words this kind officer have given to you, students. They will help you quite a fair bit, if I may say."

[Tsukuyomi Kawada]

Well it seemed that the sparring match between the two shining jewels was concluded with the academy student claiming victory. Tsukuyomi knew that normally someone in his position may experience a sense of disappointment or perhaps anger towards the subordinate failing to someone that wasn’t even a part of a division. The young eyes of the Vice Captain could tell though that this girl wasn’t someone entirely fresh, she’d fought enough throughout her life and honed her physical talents to a point that only someone with real experience would be able to defeat her.

In a sense Tsukuyomi had just watched a contest between two separate jems, one that was still being unearthed and cleaned, while the other was already out and polished. He couldn’t be anything other than accepting of this outcome and know that with some further training Shawn may shine bright enough to really make a name for himself in the Eleventh. It was up to Tsukuuuomi to really push him now, to make sure his talents fester into something potent enough to bring down his foes. It seemed though that the group was ready to move on, as if they’d seen all that the Eleventh had to offer.

He couldn’t allow an entire class from the academy to witness one of their own besting one of them and then just leaving. The chance of recruiting even one other individual let alone this particular student would drop drastically in his opinion, so the best course of action was now to really catch their attention. “Hold on a moment, I’d like to experience a bit of fun as well.” Comes the young even voice as Tsukuyomi steps forward through the group of academy students. Not one to usually make a scene this was a bit different than just the attention he receives from his rank.

Of course once they noticed the Vice Captains badge on his upper left arm he was sure that would instantly become the only thing of notice. That was of no concern to him though, the only important thing right now would be testing this student just a bit more and showing her hat although she managed to beat one of the officers in this Division. That didn’t mean she was anywhere near the level of exceptional battle hardened Shinigami that found their home in the Eleventh.

Taking up one of the practice worsen katana for himself Tsukuyomi moves into the practice area. Looking at Shawn “We’ll start your training tomorrow you best get a good amount of sleep tonight.” Tsukuyomi did his best not to come off as angry or disappointed in his subordinate. He didn’t want to make him feel as if he had failed, but rather excited that he was now noticed by the temporary leader of his Division. Looking over to Kimiko now. “So was that your best or are you hiding even more?”

[Shawn Rabuburēdo]

In the end Shawn couldn't land the hit, but that was ok, when it came down to it he still managed to control most of the battle near the end. Landing a hit isn't always the most important thing in battle, but not having any control over how a battle goes will certainly lead to losing. The beginning of that battle really was nothing but showing what a squad 11 officer could do but it quickly became an uphill battle for Shawn, one that he had to push forward against and see how far he could make it. 

"It certainly was a good fight", answering the young academy student, slowly getting up to his feet, attempting to push past his notable exhaustion from the spar. Listening to the students teacher talk about the multiple lessons spoken to them by Shawn he couldn't help but grin slightly, in the end you still had to strive to become stronger, whether born with talent or not, preferring Kido or Physical, in the end it came down to how much work and experience you gained and not the actually way you fight.

Suddenly Shawn heard someone speak up saying to hold on a moment so that they may have some fun, I really hope that aren't talking to me, I doubt I could handle another spar. Then he see's who spoke, it was non other than his Vice Captain Tsukuyomi Kawada, as one from a noble house he was young, very young in fact. Climbing to the position of Vice Captain at his age spoke a great deal about his talents, this was one of the people Shawn looked up to in his squad as an example for working hard to grow stronger.

Walking towards them Shawn put every ounce of remaining energy into saluting to Tsukuyomi, just managing to keep his stance still and not falling over. When he finally stopped in front of them he looked at Shawn and stated they will be starting Shawn's training in the morning, the way Tsukuyomi spoke it was clear that he was trying acknowledge Shawn and not put him down. If it wasn't for the fact that I beat another fellow Squad 11 member before sparring the academy student it would definitely be harder to know if he was trying to encourage me or not.

While Shawn was thinking the Vice captain turned his attention to the student and asked if that was their best or if they were hiding more. Well, it seems to be my turn to sit back and rest while someone else does the sparring, can't wait to see my Vice Captain in action. While Tsukuyomi would be waiting for Kimiko's response Shawn would take this opportunity to walk into the group of fellow squad members that were also part of the group chaperoning the academy kids and teacher around. 

[Nakajima Kimiko]

With the spar between Kimiko and Shawn having now ended, the student gave an eye to the students that she accompanied on this tour as it seemed as though they were about to take their leave. She could tell that the most of them had enjoyed the spar. Some were talking to each other rather excitedly now - almost as if they had just witnessed an important battle of some kind - while others were instead writing down the advises that Shawn had told them, and there were also a few that were giving her looks of admiration too. To see them be at least so impressed by what's happened at least was able to somewhat mitigate the disappointment that she had been starting to experience from around the middle of their spar. Although it was true that the battle did not really do much for her, she could at least understand that the Shinigami's tenacity and the advises that came with it were both able to inspire a few of the more magically-inclined individuals among the tour.

I guess that's that, her thoughts hummed as she returned to the group, having by then tensed down completely to her quieter self. There were a lot of things that she wanted to think about now that she has finished this spar, lots of things indeed, and it looks like it was also making the rest of students in her group think as well. It was clear that, while the spar had been impressive, that a student beating an officer in such a way was not at all a good showcase for the Eleventh Division, or for any squad, really. Even if she happens to somehow be a prodigious swordsman, an officer shouldn't be beaten by a student of the Academy, especially not on what she believed to be unfair grounds. That's just how things are, or at least that's how they are in her mind. If she would have known the man was an adept in Kidō, she would have honestly demanded him to use spells. She really can't say she enjoys magic in the slightest, but she'd rather fight an opponent who uses Kidō as a sort of challenge for her to overcome rather than set an unfair handicap onto her opponent. It would have just bettered their fight, at this point, and not made the Eleventh Division appear so underwhelming.

As the group was about to get a move on, however, someone suddenly came forward and spoke up, prompting Kimiko and the rest of the group to look towards the source of the voice. The student's scarlet eyes blinked in surprise at the sight that was given to her. At a first glance, the owner of the voice appeared to be no one but what she could assume to be a teenager of Rukongai that was somehow able to steal parts of a true Shinigami's Shihakusho. He looked young, at best in his late teens, and was smaller than most of the students of the group. Much of his garb were not quite so much the typical spiritual robes as instead some kind of armor that the swordswoman did not remember seeing anywhere before, an attire that made him look quite fierce despite his slender frame, which potentially betrayed a sort of athletic physique. All in all, if it wouldn't have been for the shoulder pad clearly signifying his position, a good number in the group would have not been able to identify him as a Vice-Captain, Kimiko included.

Naturally, the presence of a Vice-Captain was enough to silence all of the students altogether in shock, as none of them could believe that someone with such authority would even bother to interact with them. Even the tour guide had grown a bit quieter, as although he was starting to think that they really should have moved on by now so as to conform to the schedule, he couldn't raise his voice against a Vice-Captain without reprimand. Kimiko, however, was eventually able to understand why the young man decided to show himself to them once the surprise of seeing this person suddenly come forth eventually vanished. As mentioned before, the spar that she has just conducted with Shawn had not constructed a great image of the Eleventh Division, and so it was only normal for someone of higher power to come and attempt to correct the issue. In a way, one could say that this was a political solution to a political problem rather than a show of interest from the Vice-Captain.

And yet, the swordswoman found no care about any of that. Instead, just seeing him this person come forth and start talking to her with a wooden katana in hand was more than enough for her to get excited again. A Vice-Captain... Better yet, it was the Vice-Captain of the squad that intrigued her the most among the Gotei 13. She absolutely knows where this is going. Like Celes, she will lose this battle due to the sheer disparity between them and - given the current context - she will be used as an example by this person before the group so as to make sure no one would dare to underestimate the Eleventh. Despite that, her Spiritual Pressure flared once more and her excitement squashed away the disappointment that she had felt from her victory against Shawn. It does not matter if she loses this battle in particular. At the very least, it is going to potentially give her a great fight while also allotting her significant experience. More fighting is always better, no matter the cost.

As such, the woman would take a deep breath as she headed forward back towards the training rack again to grab the wooden blade she had returned after her spar with Shawn. "I always do my best," she answered the question that was told to her with that same focused gaze from before as her shyer demeanor melted away once again and her feet guided her to the sparring area of the coliseum. "It doesn't matter who or what I fight, I always give it my all... It would be lame of me to hold back." While she spoke, she positioned herself onto the same patch of ground she was occupying just before her spar with Shawn. Once there, she took a good look at her opponent once again before she steadily prepared before bowing to him. She had no idea that he had been here observing the entirety of her fight with Shawn this whole time, so she found it best to introduce herself again to her new adversary. "I am Nakajima Kimiko, first-year student of Shin'ō Academy! Let's have a great spar!" The words came out of her lips as powerfully as before she then took a combat stance, waiting for the duel to begin.

In the meanwhile, as the two prepared, the teacher that was alongside the other students would simply stare at the fight with crossed arms as he stood near Shawn, who had approached the group alongside the other Shinigami who were present in the area. Like Kimiko, he had eventually realized what this was all about. "Hm... I hope this will not go too far," he hummed mostly to himself at that moment, though would not mind potentially sharing a conversation with somebody at that moment. "Vice-Captains fighting students in their own barracks... Back in my day, that idea would have sounded quite preposterous. Oh, how times change."

[Tsukuyomi Kawada]

While it wasn’t the answer he had been expecting to get, it was one that was good to hear. Tsukuyomi had been expecting to hear from the academy student that they had been holding back throughout the entire thing. Nothing against her or really based on the fact she was a Shinigami. It just seemed that was something that he had been told throughout his time as a Shinigami by the majority of the individuals he’d faced in combat. Almost always despite landing significant blows or the individual being out of breath he’d always hear how they were still holding back and weren’t even close to unleashing their true power. So this was a refreshing response for the Vice Captain,

Time, it seemed, wasn't going to be wasted, something that Tsukuyomi was known to hate. Bowing his head as a sign of respect to the student who had already shown herself capable with a blade. Tsukuyomi leans back up and in the moment that follows dashes forward at a speed of 250 closing the distance between them in just a moment. The wooden katana he was holding in his right hand positioned straight forward so that if the student did nothing she’d feel the hard jab of the point striking her left shoulder.

The feeling wasn’t something he was used to anymore. The sensation of holding a training sword. This wooden blade, although the weight wasn’t much different, was lighter than Tsukuyomi. His blade, the beautiful silver of the moon, shared with him many experiences and through them all they’d bonded enough that wielding others at first had been almost unbearable. Although different now, using a training blade to the Vice Captain was still foreign. He wondered if all of them had been trained with such obvious signs of restraint or if they’d been like him, forced to stare down sharp, real weapons from the beginning.

[Shawn Rabuburēdo]

Finally, some time for Shawn to rest and even better he gets to watch his Vice-Captain take part in a spar, I can't wait to see how he deals with the student I struggled against! Standing among his fellow squad mates he could hear some whispers going between them such as, "When did the Vice-Captain join us? I could have sworn there were no officers of high position that took on this job", and another person, "Being new I've always wondered how the Vice_Captain fought, guess this is my chance to see."



Shawn agreed with that last whisper fully, after all you can learn much from someone with experience. Finally some of his energy returns to him, sweat starting to dissipate from his forehead. At the moment Kimiko and Tsukuyomi are getting into their positions, taking some time to throw out some words at one another. After the words were spoken it seemed the time was nearing, now Shawn could only sit back and see what he can learn.

[Nakajima Kimiko]

Before the spar began, Kimiko took her time to assess the looks of the opponent that she was just about to face. For all intent and purposes, the Vice-Captain of the Eleventh Division sure was able to conceal his strengths very well, for he did not look impressive in hindsight. His armor was certainly astounding, but his physique wasn't necessarily striking and his personality was rather quiet, to say the least. Compared to him, most of the other people of the Division she has seen wandering about Seireitei are often boastful and very proud of their abilities. If anything, the young man's outside demeanor was instead more reminiscent of a Shinigami's which served the Sixth Division, though again, she'd rather not judge a spiritual entity by its cover. In the end, all that mattered was that his person was giving her the chance to spar with her. Hopefully, that earlier assumption she believed had brought him forward won't force him to fight too seriously against her.

Once they acknowledged each other's greetings, the swordswoman stood still and stared at her opponent with that same position from before: wooden blade over her left hip with its tip pointing down and a hand hovering over it. It was very clear that she was not going to stop using her Iaijutsu technique; in fact, from the looks of it, it did not seem as though she was going to fight any differently from before. She hoped that this stance alongside the words that she has told to him earlier would be both enough for the Vice-Captain to understand that she was not kidding about having given her all to defeat Shawn. She did not think of his concern as insulting or anything of the sort, but having him be aware of this will most likely lead to a better and more honest battle between the both of them. Limiting herself is, after all, just a needless handicap in her eyes, at least in this particular context.

With that said, as soon as the fight began, she immediately smashed her right foot against the ground and rushed forward towards the Vice-Captain, crouching forward in the process to head forward at her maximum of 256 speed. Naturally, her opponent had the same idea, seeing as he too decided to move towards her at the very start of the round. This caused the both of them to immediately meet each other face-to-face not even a second after the round began, which made Kimiko's eyes slightly widen at the sight of the wooden blade about to reach for her shoulder. The suddenness of the young man's movement surprised her, to say the least, as the difference in speed between he and Shawn was very drastic. Nevertheless, she had fought long enough with Celes now to have started to getting used to such speed. She just needed to respect his speed, see herself as his equal, and adjust her mind to the incoming strikes.

Even so, her options were somewhat limited. Given that the blade was coming her way, there were really only two options that she could consider choosing in this instance. The first option would be to attempt to block the incoming attack, which was probably the worst option of the two as it would only force her to purely remain on the defensive. Seeing as her opponent seemed to be as fast as her, he could really just continue attempting to strike at her before her guard eventually breaks, and by then, it will all be over. The second option was to counter the Vice-Captain's attack much like how she countered a few of Shawn's attacks. Countering would allow her to remain on the offensive, or better yet, downright give her the round right away depending on how she executes this counter-attack in the first place. However, if the counter-attack somehow fails, then it will leave her right open and practically grant her opponent the win. There was also no way to tell if the Vice-Captain would be capable of countering her counter-attack, which could lead the both of them to undergo a ridiculous test of endurance taking the form of an unending spree of counter-attacks.

A more prudent fighter would have, of course, most likely just picked the first option and hope for the best. Kimiko, instead, simply completely disregarded the first option and immediately took her chance with the second option so as to limit the duration of her thought process. As such, with a determined gleam in her eyes, she twisted her chest to the left as the momentum brought her body forward, enough so to allow her to raise her blade up from her hip and slide it against the Vice-Captain's. Since the swords were made of wood, she should theoretically be able to do something like this quick enough to then be allowed to deliver a swift downward diagonal strike after sliding her blade against her opponent's. Should the attack be successful, the attack would start from the Vice-Captain's right shoulder to his left hip, sliding onto his body akin to a true slice. They may be using wooden weapons, she was still vividly attempting to use them as true blades of steel.

Meanwhile, the spectators which composed the sidelines of the sparring arena watched with both curiosity and excitement as the battle began appropriately. The teacher who guided the students of the Academy remained composed, his eyes gazing at both the student and the Vice-Captain. He could tell that Kimiko's speed was rivaling her opponent's for now, but he was clearly experienced enough to realize that this was not going to last much longer if the Vice-Captain decided to play a little rougher. To be fair, that was only a simple guess more than anything else: he was not at all familiar with the young man's technique and neither did anybody else, from the looks of it. That particular fact somewhat impressed him. How could a squad of Gotei 13 be unaware of the fact that a new Vice-Captain had appeared within their ranks? Is this common protocol nowadays? Then again, he personally has never served for the Eleventh. Perhaps now is the time for his elderly mind to learn more about he matter. "Rabuburēdo-san, if I may," the old man decided to speak as his voice reached for the Shinigami officer, "how long has this Vice-Captain been present within your division?" His tone was quiet, casual, hinting at a wish for small talk more than anything else. "I do not believe my failing mind to have seen him before in my time."