The Young and the Fresh

[Tsukuyomi Kawada]

Rushing forward to meet the academy student head on granted quite an interesting turn of events in the moments that followed. Normally Tsukuyomi expected individuals to either back up or cast some sort of spell in order to deal with his speed. Although in truth he was only giving it about half his true effort this was still more than the average foe of Soul Society possessed. Throughout his battles as a Shinigami this was the speed most common in foes that needed to be watched, should be found, were necessary to eliminate. This was the speed that this academy student and Shawn would need to adapt towards if they were going to be successful as Shinigami that could really accomplish something.

Matching his speed for the most part the academy student met him blade to blade in a brilliant first exchange. The loud thud of wood clashing against wood, no sparks flying from the material like metal yet the fear of splinters cascading throughout the area was much more real than what it had seen during the last exchange. The wooden weapons were well crafted yet even then wood can only stand up to so much. Tsukuyomi felt the tightness of the student’s grip through his own weapon, learning more of her proficiency from the first exchange which only increased.

The impact of the student's strike wasn’t exceedingly strong, but it was enough that it knocked the point of Tsukuyomi’s thrust to the side, bringing her blade above her shoulder. Wasting no time Tsukuyomi heard and watched as the wooden katana was brought along the side of his own weapon. Dragging it across the side towards his front was a good method of attack. Shifting his feet Tsukuyomi turns his body bringing his left side backwards as he transitions to a sideways stance in front of the student.

Her blade coming closer to him, Tsukuyomi makes two separate actions at the same time, his mind processing what's going on fast enough that these few moments felt slowed down compared to what he’d experienced while he’s still been fresh like this student. Stepping backwards in order to avoid the wood katana to pass in front of him. At the same moment though Tsukuyomi bringing his right arm down attempts to place his katana down on her shoulder. Not harming her, but indicating that she’d been cut.

[Shawn Rabuburēdo]

This spar was already going much different than the one Shawn had with the academy student; His Vice Captain was actually matching her speed which caused them to meet in the middle nearly as soon as the spar began. Upon reaching each other a sudden series of attacks, counter attacks, and counter attacks for those counter attacks happened. Tsukuyomi started it out with a simple jab towards the left shoulder, nothing powerful, just something that could catch her off guard if she did nothing about it.



Her response was good, instead of aiming to just simply block she instead turned it into a counter attack that is quite effective against a lot of different opponents. She did this by using her Iaijutsu to bring her blade upward sliding down Tsukuyomi’s weapon, Shawn was pretty sure if she finished her move it would have been followed up with a quick downward slash. Things do not always go according to plan, for the moment she initiated her counter attack and started sliding her wooden blade down his, he just simply turns his body and steps back, doing so he manages to not only avoid her weapon sliding against his and possibly hitting him, but also the follow up attack. Following up the dodge, Shawn watches as Tsukuyomi brings his blade back down, more than likely aiming to land on her shoulder.



Around this point in the spar Shawn would hear the academy teacher calling for him, so he would oblige and move closer to him. Shawn will then get asked a question he wasn’t used to, “He has been here longer than me, I have been a full Shinigami for little under a year now, in fact I’m pretty sure he has been here for quite a long time.” The teacher would follow up by mentioning the reason why he asked this question. Shawn would answer this as well, “I can understand that, he tends to be out on missions most of the time and when he’s free, training is what he chooses to do, and if he’s like me he more than likely has a special place to train.”

[Nakajima Kimiko]

In fighting games, it is imperative that one must learn how to approach their opponent in a multitude of ways so as to break through their defenses. This mentality, which is often categorized as a "mix-up" by those who play such games, must be adopted by all over the course of time. It doesn't really matter how one tends to executes those "mix-ups" so long as the same technique isn't used too many times in a row, and Kimiko has long since understood that such a mentality could obviously be used in a real battle against a real opponent with real weaponry. Naturally, due to this, she has been working on several ways to execute her Iaijutsu techniques. At times, she'd hit high, and at other times, she'd hit low. Sometimes she'd counter, sometimes she would attack. She would never use the same attack twice in a row, but at the same time, she would never truly diverge from her original technique. Case in point: this particular move she has just executed against the Vice-Captain.

Dragging her weapon against another's was a technique that Kimiko has founded on her own during her spars against Celes. She couldn't quite remember when she first executed the maneuver, but ever since she has, she has been employing it every now and then in an attempt to diversify her counter-attacking maneuvers. It was all well and good to stay still and just wait for an opponent before unleashing the classic counter-attacking move of old; however, she can only do that so many times before her opponent sees right through it and punishes her for it. Combining that particular counter-attack with this refined "sliding counter" allowed her to execute a counter-attack on the move. Since her blade was positioned near her body and her opponent was still using his momentum to rush forward, there was theoretically no way for him to properly attack her without either taking a huge risk shortly after the attack, or quite simply by having anticipated the move, something which Kimiko was by then not expecting as per the scenarios that had formed in her mind prior to the execution of her technique.

Unfortunately for her, the Vice-Captain would show her how much more experienced he truly was in comparison to her in that moment. With expert movement, the young man reacted almost immediately after her sword touched his, turning his body so as to move in front of Kimiko in the perfect defensive position. The student could only watch as the efficiency of her technique was dismantled step-by-step. By the time she realized that her counter-attack had failed, she did not have the speed nor the intuition to bring a stop to her momentum as she followed the sliding of her weapon with a downward strike, regardless of the fact that the Vice-Captain's speed was currently similar to hers. She was aware that her sword was not going to touch the Vice-Captain in that moment and she understood that she was going to be left wide-open. All she could so was simply accept that her counter-attack had failed and that the round was going to end with her defeat.

Her opponent was kind enough so as to not hit her shoulder too hard, but with his weapon touching her body, she had officially lost this round. Usually, she would feel shame from this experience, perhaps even embarrassment, yet she couldn't. Instead, her excitement rose. It was the exact feeling that she felt while sparring against Celes, an emotion so pure and unadulterated that made her gaze excitedly at the Vice-Captain. Well, at least enough so to make her appear happy, not to the point that it made her appear like a literal psychopath. Gotta keep appearances, after all. Although it is now clear that her reactions are weaker than her opponent's, she now understands that she can learn great lessons from this spar, enough so to greatly enhance her current techniques. Now, for instance, she knows that she can improve on her sliding technique's speed and maneuverability. It is a very general prospect, but it is enough for her to understand that this opponent was truly worthy of her attention.

With a nod, Kimiko would return to her starting position after accepting her loss so as to begin the next round. Although she had lost this one fair and square, there were still two more rounds for her to experience against this foe, two more battles that she can learn from. Now that she has an idea of her opponent, she can start truly taking this spar seriously. Assuming her same earlier combat position, the swordswoman would await the beginning of the next round with her gaze fully focused onto the young man again. She awaited patiently with her scarlet eyes analyzing him further. The first thing that her opponent has done was strike her first with a thrusting attack... so with that logic, this means that he is the kind of person to attack first. If she can get the initiative before he does, then she can perhaps force him to be on the defensive. As much as she could respect his offensive maneuver, it was his defensive ability that she was interested in, not the former. She wanted to know more about his counters, know more about what to do against them...

... and so, once the round began, the student kicked the ground forward again and rushed towards her opponent at the same speed from before. Her rush was definitely more aggressive this time around, more focused on preparing a strike than preparing a counter-strike. The moment she would near his perimeter, her left hand holding her wooden blade would let go before she would allow her right hand to guide it towards the Vice-Captain in an horizontal fashion. After the first attack would end, she would then kick the ground forward to herself in her opponent's perimeter even further before attempting to deliver a similar a diagonal strike towards his left arm. She had no idea of how he was going to dodge this attack thus far, but if the first horizontal attack was enough to force him to guard or attempt to counter-attack her, her intrusion of his guard could force him to attempt to dodge away in any direction. If a pure mix of offensive and defensive cannot grant her victory, then she shall use pure offensive power to reach it!

Meanwhile, the teacher listened to Shawn speak as the other students of the tour started cheering for Kimiko at this point. He still to be terribly impressed by the display of the spar, but the Shinigami's words impressed him more. Was this even possible? The old man was great in sensing reiatsu and somewhat understanding who owned them, and he could see that his reiatsu was still fresh, recent. If Shawn was telling the truth, then that means he was still a child... and yet here he was with such impressive energy battling for the Eleventh Division. "He resembles a young one, yet possesses the strength of some of our finest," he commented then as he watched him spar with Kimiko further. "The training he must conduct to possess such spiritual energy must be incessant." He continued to spectate the spar before he smiled to himself. "Back in my day, it took some of our students decades to reach such a level of skill. A rare occasion not often seen by many, and now here we are, watching two prodigies do battle."

A moment of silence then came to him as he wondered about what to say next. Teaching was his specialty, talking was less so. Usually, he tended to keep to himself after classes even with his fellow teachers, despite at times trying his best to converse with some of his students. Fortunately, this time around, he was capable of thinking of something up to not make this conversation too quiet. "Who do you believe will win this spar?" He asked then with kind eyes. "And I don't mean just physically, of course."

[Tsukuyomi Kawada]

The strength behind the blade was in part better than what he had been expecting, something to really take note of considering he had already watched her face off against Shawn. Although it seemed her top speed wasn’t close to his own, that didn’t mean it wasn’t impressive all the same. An academy student with the speed that she possessed was a rare addition and one that could aid Division Eleven in the battles to come. The endless war was just that and Tsukuyomi knew that anyone was a good addition, but this girl could be someone that turned the tide of a battlefield.

More to the point though Tsukuyomi made sure to show that if this had been a real battle between the two of them this academy student would have just been killed. She needed to see the difference between someone at the starting line such as herself and what she could potentially face while out in the field. Thankfully though this didn’t discourage her, something that was plain to see from the expression she declared in the moments that followed. Tsukuyomi continued to get more and more good news about this one. The stance that she took was the exact same that she had been taking this entire time. Either it was all she knew or there was something more she could do with it.

In the moment that followed Tsukuyomi was given that little bit of information. Rushing forwards towards him once again Iimiko delivers two different slashes one after the other both of which would be met by Tsukuyomi’s own practice blade. Clashing against her swings with enough force to stop them wasn’t something Tsukuyomi normally would do due to his lack of extraordinary physical might. While his blade did meet hers it was at an angle both times sending her blade out and away. Still her persistence was good and something he could work with when it came time to train her.

Last time Tsukuyomi had gone on the offensive he had delivered a thrust towards her, this time the Vice Captain increased his speed, revealing a bit more of his actual capabilities as he swung his blade in on Kimiko with a speed of 300. Doing this just after he deflects her swing Kimiko will have to think on her feet without a doubt otherwise be hit across her stomach by the wooden katana. Although he couldn’t see him right now, Tsukuyomi had to hope that Shawn was taking note of the exchange in order to boost his own knowledge of the sword.

[Shawn Rabuburēdo]

This spar was really beginning to heat up, the fact it was only the first round of their battle spoke wonders on the ability Kimiko actually possessed. The speed she was using was good but her will to win was the real reason Shawn respected her. True he was a little worried she might not understand how dangerous an opponent who wields both physical and spiritual powers can be, but he didn't think she wouldn't learn before it actually became a threat to her. In fact it was pretty clear his Vice Captain probably already had his eye's set on recruiting her if at all possible due to Kimiko's talent.



Within moments of the initial clash the first round was over and the victor was Tsukuyomi, however, Kimiko certainly didn't appear like she was upset at the loss, if anything there seemed to be a sort of excitement in her eyes. While Kimiko made some good decisions during that round she couldn't quite keep up with the Vice Captains experience in battle. How he claimed the win was pretty amazing to watch, thanks to understanding the type of counter attack Kimiko used, Tsukuyomi simply turned his body just right and with simple movements managed to leave his opponent wide open before tapping her on the shoulder.



Shawn sure was having a hard time keeping up with the battle, between the speed at which both are fighting at and the questions he is answering for the teacher of the Academy students. Moving back to the starting areas both participants get ready for the next match. At this point while the action has slowed down the Teacher begins talking with Shawn again, bringing up how young and skilled Tsukuyomi is, which he is certainly correct. Then he throughs out an interesting question, who does Shawn think will win this spar session. Giving it a moment to think about that he eventually turns to face the Teacher before giving his answer, "I'm not saying this because of my position, but, I do think my Vice Captain will come out on top, without a doubt he might have more power than Kimiko, however, he also has much more experience dealing with multitudes of different foe's. In this line of work experience really can be the deciding factor in a battle."



Giving the Teacher his answer, Shawn notices the second round begin. Kimiko rushes forward launching a couple of slashes in quick succession more than likely intending to keep the pressure on him. This does not seem to bear any fruit though, for as Kimiko lashes out Tsukuyomi easily deflects each attack, clearly showing how much experience he has actually acquired. The way he deflects the attacks isn't even reliant on strength but is actually more dependent on speed and the angle at which he smacks the practice blade with his own. Before too long Tsukuyomi transitions one of those parry's into an attack, slashing towards her stomach. With how smoothly he transitioned into the attack it was obvious his Vice Captain has honed his body to perfectly match his mind, allowing him to time his moves without the slightest hesitation thus giving him total control over this specific battle.



With the way this Spar is going Shawn has realized how much he still needs to learn, not just about the sword or Kyusho Jitsu. Clearly he hasn't been pushing himself as hard as he could be, in fact he might be to lenient on himself. How is he supposed to win battles if the thought of how others fight never crossed hi mind. To boot this is after throwing out all of those words earlier about how dangerous an opponent who can use a combination of fighting styles can be. Now was the time Shawn needed to focus even more intently on the battle before him, hoping to glean as much knowledge and experience as he can.

[Nakajima Kimiko]

Kimiko attempted her best to rush towards her enemy without making any mistakes. Logistically, rushing towards a stronger enemy isn't always a bad idea as it can lead a weaker warrior to rapidly overwhelm the latter in a burst of momentum. If that momentum is maintained throughout the rush, it can allow for a breach in the stronger opponent's defenses, which can eventually lead to a victorious round in this scenario for the weaker warrior. However, if the offense is ever broken during the maneuver in some shape or form due to a silly mistake from the weaker warrior's end, then the aforementioned momentum can be swiftly rendered void and obsolete, resulting by then in the weaker warrior's defeat. With that in mind, the swordswoman needs to focus and deliver her attacks as greatly as she possibly can. It won't be easy to maintain that momentum against a foe like this Vice-Captain, but if she can, she may at least snatch one round of this spar off of him.

Her sword swings were delivered swiftly, each followed by a step forward towards the Vice-Captain in order to maintain her momentum. As to be expected from a superior opponent, the both of them were however immediately countered by him, this time via classic deviations of her wooden blade. Kimiko respected this: it meant that the Vice-Captain was still taking her seriously even though she was clearly outmatched. He could have simply dodged each attack effortlessly and win the round, or worse, he could have simply remained completely immobile with the exception of his arm, but he didn't. Still, the fact that none of her attacks were able to hit him was a problem. Even if her momentum remained intact throughout the clashes, it was currently not being put to use appropriately enough to allow for a single hit to break through his defense. She needs to take a risk, to do something that could possibly allow her to turn her tide at the expanse of having her defense be broken again.

Eventually as her second strike was deviated away by the superior officer's blade, she was able to figure something out which she believed to be sufficient enough to potentially hit him without risking the complete end of her momentum. In a moment of slight predilection as she sensed an incoming attack, the student would purposefully allow her momentum of her deviated attack to guide her forward towards the Vice-Captain's right side. Once done, she would then allow her blade to return to the makeshift sheath that had become her left hand before twisting her upper body towards the right and attempting to deliver three rapid Iaijutsu strike to the young man's side from the chest to the thigh. Although it was yet another sequence of Iaijutsu attacks, the footwork that brought her to this position was impeccable for a rookie, seeing as it allowed her to lead her away from the teenager's swing sufficiently enough to permit her to dodge it. Even Kimiko herself was surprised by her own intuition. She must have been predicting attacks better thanks to Celes' training.

While the battle would unfold, the teacher would listen to what Shawn's reply with a quaint smile as his gaze focused still on the battle ahead. Judging by his words, he could tell that the unseated officer was new: he lacked the wisdom of veterancy yet still shone brightly with the potential of youth. As such, it was thus no surprise to him that he did not take into account his advice and only stated the obvious. Perhaps another teacher of the Academy would have been a bit stricter, but he couldn't feel any anger from the response. In fact, he felt somewhat happy, partly due to how strategical and logical his answer was despite the lack of sagacity, and partly because even though this officer must have graduated from the Academy some time ago, he still reminded the old man of his students. Many have been like him back then when he had just began teaching, and many were like him now today. It thus only felt right to somewhat give him a lesson in response to his words.

"It would be abnormal of this particular Vice-Captain to lose this battle, I agree. As prodigal as she may be, she lacks experience, and with a lack of experience comes eventual defeat against an experienced foe," he acquiesced as his tone became more natural, more in line with the voice he typically held during his classes with his students. They had gone beyond simple conversation in his eyes now. "However, you have described to me only but a physical victory. Physical victories are good, but it is always better to look further beyond." He gently turned his head towards the energetic Kimiko and then towards the epistemic Vice-Captain. "The young one learns of the woman's potential. The woman instead learns of her weaknesses and of her affinities. In a way, they both find victory, even if the woman does not achieve physical victory here." It was a very brief comparison, but he believed it was enough for Shawn to have some sort of semblance of the lesson to be learned here. "To defend our Soul Society, we must understand that defeat is only found by those who refuse to acknowledge victory. For that reason, I firmly believe that, however this may end, both shall win this spar."

The elder then became quieter once he noticed that the officer decided to apply more of his focus onto the spar. As disappointed as he may be for being unable to continue this brief lesson, he was glad that he has had enough time to deliver it. What Shawn makes of said lesson is still unknown to him now, but he hoped that he will apply it to his training later down the line to become a stronger Shinigami in return.

[Tsukuyomi Kawada]

Things were definitely going good with a showing that told Tsukuyomi this diamond in the rough was something that had the promise to one day becoming a gem in Eleven. His retort was meant with a rather elegant evasion from this student that brought up something akin to a flash of remembrance. The way that her ankles moved in order to evade his swing suddenly the pale student’s figure was replaced with the visage of a dark skinned woman with the body of a Goddess. One of the most dangerous Shinigami and Tsukuyomi’s sensei, a woman that toyed with him with the same sort of movements that this student had just employed. The flash though was over just as suddenly as it appeared and Tsukuyomi had to grin.

The movements that this student was employing on her arm now though told him something else, the position of her arm, the angle of her arms, her intent was clear to the man that had been trained to the bone. Stepped forward inside of her guard just as her Iaido slashes were unleashed, Tsukuyomi holds the training sword upside down, allowing the triple assault to clash off the blade while his opposite hand moves forward stopping just over her heart. The position of his hand and the way he held it in a closed manner was one that the instructor of the class at least would recognize as the grip of someone holding a knife. Although he wasn’t holding one himself the intent would be clear that Tsukuyomi had stabbed the student in the heart. Although whether she recognized it or not was unclear.

“Very good.”

[Nakajima Kimiko]

Kimiko tried her best to showcase the results of her training to this Vice-Captain, that much was now becoming incredibly obvious. Everything about her movement and execution of attacks was impeccable for a rookie. Her swordplay was already proving to be one of the best which could have possibly been shown by a student of the Academy, and her instincts were shockingly accurate, as though already somewhat sharpened. In all fairness, it was actually quite surprising that she was able to last this long against such a superior foe. Most warriors of her level would have fallen a long time ago in such a battle. Even so, she was still a student of the Academy, still a beginner, still a swordswoman that had a lot to learn, and although it was true that she is the disciple of another Vice-Captain and is thus more refined than most, such knowledge couldn't possibly be available to her in such a short period of time since the beginning of her attendance, and it showed.

As she rushed towards the Vice-Captain of the Eleventh, she moved quickly and efficiently, with her blade ready to be unleashed against him. Upon reaching him, she immediately allowed it to fly straight for the man's body. One, two, three. Each time she sent it towards him, it failed to reach him, instead hitting his blade which he held upside-down as a makeshift shield. Of course, she understood what was wrong with her approach: her guard had been broken almost immediately by the man as he had rushed forward to reach for her. The problem was that her momentum was such that she could not prevent it from moving her forward. Her successive attacks had already begun, and in so doing, she could not stop herself from executing it. The only thing she could do to hopelessly prevent the inevitable was to attempt to push herself out of the way by kicking the ground as hard as she could, bringing herself towards the man's right in the process. However, he followed her without fault, and before she could defend herself, his hand positioned itself straight before her heart in a gripping fashion. She recognized the motion immediately.

So he uses a knife... her thoughts rang as she stared at the motion, and soon came to a stop. If this was a real battle, she would have died, and in so doing, there was no point in continuing this round any further. The fact that the Vice-Captain took her out with such a stealthy weapon somewhat irked her. It felt... disrespectful, like it wasn't something she should have been expecting from him. Who could blame her, really? So far, the young man had only been using a sword and nothing else. Something as inconspicuous as a knife should this have never been accounted for, especially not in a spar of all things. Even so, she wouldn't have appreciated this in a real battle either. On one hand, fairness and respectfulness are both things she shouldn't care about in a fight, but on the other hand, it felt wrong to take out someone in such a way. Considering all of this, his comment felt rather moot to her, like it was a band-aid meant to cover the equivalent of a slap to the face.

She was not going to show his displeasure to him, however. It was pointless to find any argument, especially not with a Vice-Captain and even more so with such an argument. This isn't a game. If she cannot accept that her opponents are and will definitely be willing to use dishonorable means to defeat her, then she is a weak Shinigami unworthy of the title. As annoying as it was to see someone of the Eleventh Division do such a thing, she was not going to let it beat her. With that in mind, she thanked the Vice-Captain with a quiet nod, accepting his compliment, then returned to her starting position. They have reached the third round. One more loss, and she's done. She took a deep breath as she thought about this. She only needs one chance to take him down, and with it, she can extend this battle further, learn more from this. Celes is a great teacher, but fighting other powerful opponents will allow her to learn even more about her weaknesses.

The swordswoman remained still as she awaited the beginning of the next round, and during that moment, the other students watched intently. None of them really cared that Kimiko was losing: they were very impressed by the fact that she hadn't lost the match yet. Their teacher too was impressed by this, even impressively so. He was already convinced that the girl could be let go of the Academy right now and be an adequate officer of the Gotei 13. "Ah, what a magnificent display," he complimented as he maintained his gaze on the two fighters, saying this to no one in particular but himself. A round won by this female warrior would perhaps be impressive; however, even if she loses, his previous input will still stand. This is a victory for Soul Society either way, the birth of a new generation of excellent Shinigami.

[Tsukuyomi Kawada]

Tsukuyomi was quite surprised with what he saw after the second round had been accomplished. This student was proving more and more with everything that she did, she was meant to be a part of Division Eleven. Although what he was seeing in her always gave him urgency. He wasn’t worried about whether she would actually get a hit on him or if he was missing something about her form right now; those things were within the bounds of error on his part. The scary thing was what could happen should she be found by his former teacher. In order to prevent that Tsukuyomi was determined now to show enough that she wouldn’t be able to choose a different division.

Getting into the ready positions yet again this time Tsukuyomi places his left hand behind his back in what he referred to as the Noble gesture. A style of swordsmanship his grandfather was quite adept at utilizing when tormenting him. Despite being forced to face down the withered old Shinigami hundreds of times over the last couple years, Tsukuyomi couldn’t claim victory even once. A master of the blade beyond anything Tsukuyomi could claim yet he would imitate what he’d experienced himself now.

He’d wait a long pause between what was about to happen as suspense built, rising higher as each fraction of time dragged on. Whether Kimiko moved first or not wouldn’t make much difference as Tsukuyomi sprints forward, his upper body leaning forward while moving near his top speed, fast enough that he’d blur to Kimiko and be virtually invisible to most others watching. Twirling the practice blade in his hand to a reverse grip, Tsukuyomi begins to slide.

The loose sand floor of the training circle gave way allowing Tsukuyomi to slide on it almost as easily with his momentum as an ice floor. Moving to slash at the shins of Kimiko’s legs in a single motion was the goal and one that would truly test what Kimiko could do right now. Did she have the reflexes to dodge or the knowledge to block? Tsukuyomi was curious although his decision was already made regarding her evaluation.

[Nakajima Kimiko]

A profile of the Vice-Captain was now starting to be properly set about in the rookie swordswoman's head. It wasn't complete, with many features missing, yet just from the bits she had, there was a part of her that had a brief glimpse onto where this was all going. Like Celes, this officer was exceptionally strong. He was fast, able to predict her moves without any problem at all, and he was also confident in his abilities. Not once has he hesitated when performing his moves and not once has he failed to deliver them. Additionally, although he primarily wields a sword, he also seemingly keeps a knife on his person that he will also not hesitate to use at any given time, meaning that he most likely had a sort of opinion about honor and fair play against his opponents that she personally found to be a bit bothersome. To top it all off, he was a teenager, a probable prodigy who was able to learn how to wield the sword very quickly. The only difference was that he most likely had more time to better his skills in comparison to hers.

It didn't take a genius mind to figure out that she was at a complete disadvantage. Even though she stood there with a strong will in a vain hope to succeed in some way or another, it did not change the fact that her chances to do so were incredibly slim. Out of all the rounds that have passed so far, she has not yet landed an attack on him, and now, there was only a single round left before she would be declared the loser of this spar. It was disheartening, to say the very least. It was also tiring. The more this went on, the more the movement she had to show off to this guy alongside the constant reading of his own proved to be fairly exhausting. She tried her best to not show it, but at this point, he most likely could start noticing that both this and her fight with Shawn - as one-sided as that one was - was starting to have a physical effect on her. The sweat, the pain in her legs, the burning feeling in the hand that held her wooden blade... They were starting to become problematic.

And yet, despite all of this, Kimiko still held on. She wanted to see this to its end. Sure, she's probably going to lose this round, and sure, even if she somehow wins it, she'll probably lose the one after, seeing as it is becoming more and more apparent that her body will cause her to make a mistake by the time her own victory would be ascertained. However, none of that mattered here, not even in the slightest. If she loses, she will at least have learned a great deal from this, and if she wins, she can learn just a bit more. Her strengths, her weaknesses, her limits and how to surpass them... The list went on and on, and in a way, that was good. There is no better way to learn about one's self than to fight a foe that is more powerful than you in every sense of the word. It was a lesson she had learned back when she was still a Human playing at the arcades of Akihabara, a lesson that she had learned while sparring with Celes, and now, a lesson she has learned by herself against another superior opponent.

So, she readied herself for what she could only assume to be the final round. With the last one now over, she stared forward towards her adversary. Her eyes were widened, and her stance absolute as reiatsu coursed through her, both inward and outward. The students back in the group who had the ability to see the girl's aura would be stunned by what they were seeing, astonished by this cloud of scarlet red which exhumed from her being. The one who led them, the teacher, appeared enthusiastic at first, more so than ever before, but then his smile paused in hesitation. Out there in the redness of her spiritual energy, there was something strange. It was small, extremely so, but it was there, and once he noticed it, this thing that could only be described as a single needle of black, his happiness wavered. This darkness... He found himself thinking for a moment as he attempted to find some kind of answer to this happening, though before he could come to a sensible one, the round began.

It happened the very moment the Vice-Captain sped onward. To the students of the group, he downright vanished, but to Kimiko, he appeared as a blur. His figure was unclear, rendered difficult to detail properly by speed alone, yet she could still somewhat see him nonetheless. This was something that often happened whenever she would practice with Celes, as she too was faster than her whenever she set her mind to it. The fact that she could even position him in the arena was good. What was not good was that this proved that he had now convinced himself to use his full speed, which, given that the rules of this spar grossly accommodate for fast warriors, can definitely leave her in the dust. Such speed can bring the superior officer anywhere he wants to be around her, and from there on, he can then strike wherever he wants with minimal response from her part. Thus, she needed to act not only quickly, but also intelligently.

There were many solutions to fighting a faster opponent, one of which being what Shawn attempted to do against her during their own spar, but she was not going to stand her ground like him. She didn't want to just stand still and hope for the best by flailing her sword around. No, she was going to confront this speed head on without hesitation, just like he did not hesitate to use that "knife" on her. And so, she did just that. The very moment the blur appeared in her eyes once the man moved, she rushed towards his position as fast as she possibly could. After she had taken about four steps, she then kicked the ground behind her so as to launch herself in the air, then raised her weapon so that she would be holding it just above her left shoulder. Once this was done, she would then "unsheathe" her blade in a downward horizontal fashion towards her right, doing so with enough speed and power so as to cause her to spin ever so-slightly around herself.

The strategy was, all things considered, simple and rather untrustworthy, causing a few students to wonder if this was the right thing to do. Even the teacher, for a brief moment as he tried to distance himself from the darkness he saw, found himself pondering onto the matter. However, after some time, one could see the potential in unleashing such a move. The aforementioned technique was improvised, though it was theoretically effective. By spinning in such a way, the speedier opponent could potentially have a harder time striking the swordswoman, as her blade would be capable of protecting her body in the motion. In essence, this made it so that it was both an offensive and defensive maneuver at once, something which could potentially work against the vanished Vice-Captain. Not only that, it was also rather impressive to watch, as the jumping and spinning both caused a bit of sand to be pushed around in the arena.

[Tsukuyomi Kawada]

Closing the distance between the two of them happened in less than a blink as both of them took off towards one another. Tsukuyomi hadn’t anticipated that this student would go on the offensive once again, which he’d have to think about later. Was she ignoring everything that had happened so far and just plunging head first or was she going to try something new? One was a good attempt and the other was the sort of thing that wouldn’t just get her killed, but would claim the lives of her squad mates as well. Jumping off the ground and spinning while in the air is a maneuver that may have gotten Tsukuyomi if he didn’t have experience both doing and dealing with acrobatics.

Footwork being one of his best aspects as a fighter, Tsukuyomi makes a split moment decision to cease his swing instead shifting his ankles in order to change course. Moving at his top speed for a moment in order to leave behind an afterimage that all present would witness including this student. The afterimage was Tsukuyomi’s figure looking at the student as she flew towards him. Whether she tried to gain a strike against or not by the time she landed on the ground the afterimage would vanish leaving most to think Tsukuyomi had just executed Shunpo.

Tsukuyomi couldn’t waste any time though he really wanted to show not just this one student, but all the others and Shawn that in combat you can’t let your guard down. You always run the chance of finding someone better than you at what you're good at, so broaden yourself and prepare otherwise when it actually happens, you’ll be left a loser. Once the student was back on the sand and his afterimage vanished Tsukuyomi would be right in position. Dropping down from above with his practice blade held with both hands downwards ready to strike the student as if he were ready to pierce through her.

[Nakajima Kimiko]

Kimiko had sent her body forward in what could only be considered to be one of the only things she could have done at the time. She had decided that, instead of remaining on the defensive, she would brace this superior foe head-on with an improvised move, and so, she had done just that. The muscles in her legs ached as she pushed them as hard as she could against the ground below, a sign that this was starting to take an exhaustive toll on her, and her sweat was spilled onto the sands below as it flew about from the movement of her blade over it. Though it was made of wood, one could almost imagine this weapon singing as she committed herself to her maneuver and thus made it brave the air. Its lightness would almost contribute to not only her tactic, bringing her forward faster than the typical steel of the Asauchi, but also the image conveyed to her academic peers. The technique may not have been a proper one, but it was a remarkable thing to witness nonetheless.

But her body wasn't the only thing that moved forward. Her mind followed closely behind. It was the one responsible for bringing about her wooden stick in such a way that it would strike both offensively and defensively, and it was the one that kept an eye on the opponent before her. She knew that this was probably not going to hit him at all; most likely, he is just going to dodge it in one way or another. As such, her eyes maintained a deep and focused gaze onto the blur before her. It studied every bit of it, as blurry as it was, all in an attempt to see what she could do against it and what it was about to do to her. Was it going to find a way around her blade and attack her? Was it going to smash her to the ground? Was it going to pierce her heart with that "knife" of his? The possibilities were endless, and to all of them, she could only clench her teeth, hoping that he would do none of that out of mercy for the ultimate disparity between them.

Perhaps unfortunately for her, none of those predictions occurred. Rather, the blur stopped and stared at her. The student's gaze immediately widened in surprise, and her mind then was befell with confusion. What? What was he doing? Was he just going to take her head-on? But that doesn't make any sense! According to all that she had believed him to be up until this point in their spar, doing something like that was a complete antithesis to his own philosophy of combat! No, that's not true... He could always counter her. He is perhaps planning to counter her again just like back in the first round. Damn it! If this is really what he is going to do, then there is absolutely nothing she can do in response to it! She cannot stop her blade! Her teeth clenched further against one another as she realized this, enough so for her lips to slightly open in the act, and the needle of black which resided within her reiatsu turned into two. If she is really going to be countered there and now, then it is going to hurt.

Her blade then passed through him. Right through him. Well, not just her blade: her body too then went on to do the same. She watched as her weapon, then her arms and legs and chest quite literally phased through the Vice-Captain. Her eyes somehow widened even further from that, surprise now turned into shock that she shared with the others who were watching from afar. W-What...?  Her thoughts wondered then, taken aback. What happened? How was she was able to pass through him like that? Had he made himself intangible somehow? Impossible. Even if the ability of his Zanpakuto happens to make him that way, he never called its name and it would be odd of him to do so in a spar against a student like her, as proficient as she may be with a sword. So then, if he hasn't made himself intangible... he must have instead moved away from her. If that is indeed the case, then this must be some kind of afterimage... right? Is that how they call this phenomenon?

Whatever the case may be, Kimiko did not hit the Vice-Captain, and now, she needed to think fast. Something will happen once she lands on the ground, and since she was unable to properly land a hit, she now is at a total disadvantage. As it stands, given that she has gone right past his initial position now, there are a lot of essential combat elements that she now has ran out of. She doesn't know where she is, doesn't know where he might appear, and doesn't know how he is going to respond to her attack. In other words, she cannot see him and cannot even predict where he will exactly come from now that she has lost sight of him. If this remains true for the next few minutes, there is no way she will be capable of winning this fight; at best, she will be ambushed and that will be the end of it. So then, what can she do against this literally-invisible foe? Well... as painful as this might be, it looks like she will have to use her legs again.

The very moment she would finish her attack and bring herself towards the ground, the student would look down towards the sand. She knew what was going to happen next, but she did not have time to think of the consequences, and so, she processed it all anyway with clenched teeth. Her feet immediately kicked backwards the aforementioned sand once they were able to reach it so as to propel her body forward into what could only be considered to be a sort of makeshift sprint, causing pain to ache in her legs as they brought on even further momentum onto her body. It hurt, it sure did, but it allowed her to bring her body away from where she had landed. Like this, it would hopefully prevent her from being a sitting duck for this invisible foe. However, she now needed to move again. She needed to stay mobile, stay aware of her surroundings. Maybe, by doing so, she'll catch him again, and this damned round will not end so quickly.

Move, move! Her thoughts cried on as she turned her body towards where she had spun and attempted to look out for the Vice-Captain, attempted to spot him as she tried her best to move as quickly as possible while she did so. Soon, she did. He was right there in front of her, having appeared from out of nowhere where she just stood. MOVE! Her thoughts cried again, this time louder, and with a demon-like glare and another spike in adrenaline, a war cry came from her throat as she rushed onward towards her younger opponent. It was instinctive, a monstrous push towards the superior officer which surprised even her peers. It was the first time she had truly completely broke through her quiet shell, the first time she had willingly pushed herself beyond that barrier of hers in front of a bunch of people that were not Celes, her master. With her cry, she put herself into her classic Iai position again, and shouting until her voice cracked, she swung her blade in a horizontal fashion towards him, all the while the needles of black in her reiatsu became more prominent.

[Tsukuyomi Kawada]

Tsukuyomi after leaving behind the afterimage was able to get a different visual on the spar, one that gave him a bit more insight on this student. Rushing forward towards him it seemed had been her last chance at victory as panic was virtually palpable in the air. Everyone around it seemed shocked that Tsukuyomi had employed an afterimage, a fact that made him question why the teacher even had his position if he was knowledgeable enough to spot one nor employ it himself. Perhaps he was a kido specialist. . The only thing that could justify his lacking displays.

As for the student, she didn’t just miss her swing, but fell right through the afterimage. Landing a blow of her while she pushed herself up off the sand wasn’t what happened though. He could have enhanced his attack, striking her easily within the moment of time he had available yet it wouldn’t have shown her what he wanted her to see. This wasn’t a spar to show the difference in power between them, it was to show all of them how good they could truly be if they pushed for it hard enough. Landing on the sand himself, Tsukuyomi could see the fire in the student’s eyes. A fire that he hoped never would be put out.

Coming in front with no apparent subterfuge the horizontal slash the student delivered towards him would be met with a swift downwards blow to send her blade down low enough that it would pass by his abdomen yet lack the length to actually cut him. His blade after knocking hers off course would be thrust forward seamlessly transitioning into the next motion, no different than a train following the tracks course. Whether or not his blade would poke the student on her chest he wasn’t certain, but if she evaded he wouldn’t be surprised anymore with everything else she’d done.

[Nakajima Kimiko]

As the Vice-Captain prepared his final maneuver, Kimiko's last stand became more impressive by the second. The reiatsu that was expelled from her body became darker by the second. A wave of red and black, it moved along with her as she rushed for Tsukuyomi for one last attack, stunning those who could sense it and hear the loud cry that came from her throat thereafter. The sands below were lightly pushed away as she headed forward, as though affected by the force of her momentum. For someone who only became a student of the Academy about not even two months ago, it was a shocking display of both mental strength and unmitigated spiritual power that shocked many of the spectators, including some of the officers of the Eleventh who were watching along. It was truly the sight of a prodigal warrior gifted with an innate amount of energy. However, as impressive as that image might have been to many, it would not lead this warrior to victory.

With an infernal, focused glare, she unleashed her blade from its scabbard, sending it towards her opponent in the form of an horizontal slash. On paper, it was supposed to reach for his chest. It probably wouldn't have hurt him, but it would have at least been enough to declare her the victor of this round. That was all she wanted out of this, just one victory against this superior foe to prevent failure. In reality, it never actually reached its intended destination as it was instead struck by her opponent's sword. It was a swift hit, one that immediately sent the tip of her wooden weapon towards the ground. By the time she realized what was happening and tried to bring it back up closer to the man's chest, it had already passed by the man's abdomen without being capable of touching it. Her momentum that she had so meticulously constructed over the course of the last minute had been broken, and now she was left wide open for the taking.

Don't... give up! The words screamed in her head as she attempted to take control over her weapon once more. In her mind, there was still something she could do here, still an opportunity to take. She was so close to actually win this round, so close, and so she clenched her teeth, forced her right foot further into the sand, then had it push her body forward as she grabbed the handle of her weapon with two hands. Her gaze was still burning bright as she attempted this maneuver, aiming the sword in a way that allowed its tip to be pointed right at the Vice-Captain's chest as it rushed straight for him. If the blade would have been real, she would have literally been trying to thrust the sword straight through him. It was clearly a last-ditch effort to keep her momentum going. But of course, it didn't work. The reason why that was that he was simply faster than her, and so, he had the time to do a thrust of his own before she was able to land her own.

She felt the officer's wooden blade crash against her chest about halfway before she could have landed her own into his. The impact was immediate. Instantly, she felt as though she had hit a wall, causing her to let out a noise of surprise as she was sent onto the ground. The sheer amount of reiatsu surrounding her had disappeared alongside the darkness, leaving her lying on her back as pain briefly invaded her system. It wasn't too painful: it was the fact that it came so quickly that hurt the most out of it all. She would stay there on the ground for a moment panting as the exhaustion of the fights came to her, holding onto her chest with one hand and the wooden sword with the other. Eventually, however, she would slowly sit on the ground and look up towards the Vice-Captain. Her eyes were wide opened still, almost as if she was still ready to fight, though once she realized what had happened, they soon lost their ultimate focus to instead took on a more a disappointed look.

So she had lost. As hard as she had tried to at least beat this superior officer once in this spar, she had last all of their rounds. She never had a single opening in that fight to exploit. She couldn't use her speed against him, couldn't use her strength to overcome him, and couldn't do anything any more drastic than what she had done against Shawn to beat him. With her current set of skills, there was no way she could beat him. In a way, that was already quite the disheartening reality on its own, but what disappointed her the most about this was that she could not fight him any further. This had been very brief, yes, yet also enlightening. She learned of her weaknesses, of her faults, and it was something that she could not accomplish with the grand majority of her peers at the Academy. The only person that could replicate such an effect was Celes, and although they often meet every week, she is but one opponent with one fighting style.

Nevertheless, the swordswoman would raise herself from the ground without complaining. She could not bring herself to let out what she believed to be such a childish and selfish thought before this Vice-Captain: it is just going to make her feel even worse. So, instead of doing anything of the sorts, she would stare at the officer and eventually bow. "Thank you. It was a great spar," she told him respectfully. Her tone was, despite the obvious disappointment, very honest. Although the outcome wasn't quite the one she had wanted as she had truly wanted this fight to last a bit longer, she has at least showed her skills to yet another superior officer who was willing to see them in action. Given the importance of these people and their actions in the Gotei 13, it would be easy for one to imagine that they would prefer to do anything else, and yet here they were giving her their time. It was a much better outcome than she should have perhaps gotten, all things considered.

[Shawn Rabuburēdo]

Shawn continued to watch the spar with open mind and most of his focus. Listening to some of the last things the Teacher of these students spoke to him. In the end the match was still going and still going strong for that matter. Kimiko pushed forward at his Vice Captain, trying to break his guard with her flurry of attacks. Sadly this did not pan out for her as Tsukuyomi parried each attack smoothly. What Shawn could only assume to be a final flurry of attacks to keep her momentum going, Kimiko lowered herself and moved into a position to Tsukuyomi's right, launching three rapid slashes. As expected from his Vice Captain the attacks were blocked before he moved in close to the student holding his fist in a weird position above where her heart would have been.



With that each combatant went back to their original positions, signaling that whatever Tsukuyomi just did gave him the point for that round. Preparing immediately for the next round Kimiko released a lot of Spiritual Pressure, so much so that even Shawn could feel it regardless of his horrible energy sensory abilities. With that the round begins and the Vice Captain disappears from Shawn's sight, clearly moving at a speed he couldn't even process. In response Kimiko launches herself forward and then up, transitioning into a spin the plan must have been to catch Tsukuyomi of guard, meaning she must have been able to keep up with his speed visually to some degree.



This spin seemed like it might actually work, watching as Tsukuyomi appeared under the spinning Kimiko. In fact he didn't just appear there, it seemed as if Tsukuyomi froze in place watching the attack coming down at him. Then the impossible happened, Kimiko's practice blade looked as if it phased right through the Vice captain. Actually her wooden sword wasn't the only thing that did that, following behind the weapon was Kimiko's hand, then elbow, and then chest until she herself phased into the image of Tsukuyomi. The rest of the crowd including Shawn were completely caught off guard by this.



Not halting from this change of events Kimiko slams her feet on the ground as soon as she could, propelling herself forward. Tsukuyomi on the other hand appeared just above the student, preparing an attack that she managed to get out of the range. Turning from her sprint she then charges at Tsukuyomi preparing yet another slash while letting out a shout of readiness for the battle ahead. Reaching her opponent the blade gets knocked to the side rather smoothly before Tsukuyomi transitions into a piercing strike. Kimiko seemed to have a similar idea as she tried to shift her blade to face the Vice Captain's chest, aiming to pierce it as well.



Unlucky for Kimiko the Vice Captain was that much faster, landing his attack as her weapon was halfway through it's own motion. Running into Tsukuyomi's blade caused the student to fall backwards, landing on her back and putting a hand to the spot on her chest that was hit. It took a few moments but she finally got up and gave a bow to the Vice Captain, "Thank you. It was a great spar." It was obvious the girl was tired, something Shawn was able to understand at the moment due to the Spar's he had.



With the spar completed Shawn would wait before both participants were done speaking before giving a round of applause. She would be a wonderful addition to Squad 11 and Shawn hoped with everything shown today she would choose here. Sure the squad could get rough and wasn't the friendliest to someone who used a lot of Kido, but it was still a good place to call home and start forming bonds. Lifting his voice Shawn would speak to the two, "That was an amazing spar, the fact you could even react to the Vice Captain's movement at the end was a feat in its own right!", pointing at Kimiko when he mentioned her. "If it's alright with you Vice Captain Kawada, could you help me learn how to wield my sword better? I know I have a different sword style but to have even someone to practice it with who can push me to grow would be great. If these spars have done anything it was reminding me on the need to practice sword. after all Kido can't prepare a person for everything." Finishing his words Shawn would lift his voice up at the end to hopefully nudge some other students into working on their swordsmanship more, maybe even causing them to join Squad 11.