Binding Chains

[Wynne Kuchiki]

Thread Title: Binding Chains
Participants: Wynne Kuchiki vs Nakajima Kimiko
World: Soul Society
Death Setting: Non Death Enabled
Rating: PG-13
Location: Squad 11 Barracks
Special Conditions: N/A
Circumstances: Friendly Spar between Wynne and Kimiko

[Wynne Kuchiki]

As the breeze rustled her hair gently, Wynne continued her walk towards the Squad 11 barracks. Today she was setting out to meet Nakajima Kimiko, someone Celes had recommended to meet for a friendly spar. Ever since Wynne had decided to focus on her body, she had been needing more people to train on. She had already sparred with her captain, and while that was nice, Celes was a busy person, having her time filled with paperwork and managing her squad. Therefore Wynne needed to find other people, so here she was.

Heading deeper inside the barracks, Wynne headed towards where she thought the training facilities were. Celes had given her a brief rundown of the location, so she knew the general gist of the area. And it wasn’t like the layout was too confusing, so she doubted that she was going to get lost. Even if she did, she could just ask for directions. Assuming no one was daunted by her 9’9” frame which even she didn’t know the cause of. Every day she found herself growing, and she wasn’t sure why. The next time she met Col she would have to ask him, as he was the only for her sudden increase in height.

Still, she didn’t mind her new size. She felt it suited her oddly enough. With the large size came an increase in strength. Power was in her bones and muscles now. She was a force to be reckoned with. Even a simple swing from her could send out a fast shockwave. So if someone tried to dodge an attack from her, they would have a little surprise coming their way. Her increase in appetite was taking some getting used to. A few weeks ago she didn’t eat much, but now she devoured calories by the thousands. When she ate meals, she actually had to designate a decent bit of time to eat, thanks to all the food she had to consume. It was an interesting experience to say the least.

While they wouldn’t know her pain exactly, Squad 11 should know it somewhat, since they followed physical pursuits just as closely as Wynne did. Training muscles burned calories, which made you hungrier, which made you eat more. An endless cycle of repetition. Such was the grind of getting strong. Perhaps Kimiko would have tips on the matter? Wynne would have to remember to ask her once she found the woman. Supposedly she should be someone nearby now that she had arrived? Looking around the training grounds, she attempted to spot the black haired woman. It was around the time for their meeting, but Kimiko might not be here just yet. If not, that was fine. Wynne could wait.

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SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats & Skills }Type: Berserker

Strength: 240 + 150% = 600
Speed: 50 - 50% = 25
Reiatsu Strength: 50 - 50% = 25
Spiritual Pressure: 50 - 50% = 25
Instinct: 25
Senses: 50 - 50% = 25
Energy sensory: 0 - 50% = 0
Healing Expertise: 0
Light Aura: 50
Dark Aura: 50
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Pain Tolerance [Free]: 1
Strength of Will: 1
Lack of Fear: 1
Damage Recovery: 1
Bleeding Tolerance: 1
Poison Resist: 1

[Nakajima Kimiko]

Early afternoons within the barracks of the Eleventh Division have always been known by the people of the Gotei 13 to be rather energetic. Having long awakened from their slumber, the grand majority of the Grin Division's officers had finished their paperwork and were now focusing completing their menial tasks of the day. Those who had less experience had long headed off to clean the streets of Seireitei or conduct patrols in the higher districts of Rukongai, while others instead remained indoors to complete the remainder of their paperwork, an occurrence which unfortunately tends to happen rather frequently due to how many times they tend to get in trouble. However, if there was one thing that many of them had decided to do on this beautiful day of spring, it was most definitely not commit to work or anything of the sort. Oh no, definitely not. In this amazing meteorological conditions which followed the annoying cold of winter, many had instead decided to go train in the wilder parts of Soul Society. In so doing, they had thus left the barracks surprisingly empty for the day safe for a few offices here and there.

No attention was given to the newcomer as she passed by the halls. Well, that is, up until a certain point. Not long before she was able to reach the training area where not many had gone, a man came out of one of the offices. He was tall, almost as tall as the newcomer herself, and he looked... surprisingly handsome. His hair was a brushed mane of black that had been pulled back so as to lay on his shoulders and blend with his Shihakusho. His face, soft and refined, held almost feminine features, something fitted his rather slim build. As for his eyes, they were dark, yet not intimidatingly so, instead serene, welcoming. It was fortunate that they were able to spot the woman in the hall, else his delicate hands would have most likely been unable to hold the sheets he held should he have bumped into her. For a moment as he stopped, he simply stared at her, blinking quietly to mostly himself. Eventually, he let out a gravy voice the newcomer would perhaps find familiar. "I'm... sorry..." he said politely yet in a rather unnerving fashion, then walked around the girl without paying much more attention to her thereafter. "If you... are looking for her... She is training at the coliseum..."

The man was the only person that crossed the woman's path before she was able the training grounds. The rest, she would not see, as they had long since left for literal greener pastures. However, if she would have been slightly more sensitive to spiritual energy, she would have probably understood that there was perhaps another reason to it at all. The more she would approach the main gates to the coliseum, the more she would have started feeling as though there was something odd about them, like there was a sort of aura covering them. This aura would have not dissipated once she would have opened the doors, instead only appearing stronger still. Of course, she could not quite sense any of this, much like how many of those within the Eleventh Division wouldn't have either. Rather, she'd probably only feel a bit of unease. Yet, unease was probably more than enough to get people to move elsewhere, especially in a time as important as training.

Once the newcomer would be inside and head square towards the center of the coliseum, she'd eventually see the probable culprit of this feeling. Not far from one of the northern walls was the scarlet-eyed bladeswoman that she was looking for. She was standing near a training dummy, though it seemed as though she has not interacted with it just yet. She was moving in front of it with her eyes closed almost like she was in water. Her step was precise yet methodical, her breath slow and steady. At times, she would unsheathe one of the blades that were attached to her obi sash, though she would always eventually return it to its scabbard. After a point, if the newcomer was well-versed in swordsmanship, she could identify this as a personal kata of sorts, most definitely one that she had crafted herself. Although this meant that she didn't really do anything to the dummy in particular, the air around her was charged, intense. One could almost say that she was about to strike at any moment.

Then, suddenly as she sheathed her blades, a violent metallic noise rang throughout the coliseum as her blades struck the dummy. It had happened incredibly quickly, so much so that the newcomer would have most likely been unable to follow her movement completely. Wooden pieces which formed the dummy flew in the air for a moment before it fell on the sand below, leaving onto the dummy itself a cruel dual scar which spanned across its chest. It wasn't deep, but if it would have been a real individual in its place, it would have perhaps suffered great internal damage and bleeding. After the process was completed, she stood still and slowly lowered her blades as she stared at the result of her attack, showing her back to the newcomer in the process. After a time passed, she sighed. "It's too slow..." she would tell to herself as she stared a bit more at the dummy, then casually put her swords into their scabbards. Despite the casual way she put them back, one of them - the one who possessed a black scabbard - had been returned more roughly than the other who instead possessed a scabbard of the opposite color.

By the time she noticed that someone was staring at her and started turning towards the newcomer, the aura that was previously there had slowly started to vanish. The completion of her kata had seemingly calmed her down a notch, even if it had been through disappointment. She would look over the woman with a rather-passive look at first, but as she further analyzed her, she blinked. "I don't... think you're in our squad," she stated, which seemed obvious in hindsight, though also not quite so. "You could have at least sent us a message or something... Are you from the Tenth?" Her height did not surprise her, something that most definitely was the result of hanging around really tall people for some time now, but it also did not seem as though she recognized the figure at all even though they have somewhat met before. In all fairness, that was a long time ago now and the newcomer looked barely like the person she was before. 

SPOILER: Click to show

{Stats & Skills}

Statistics

Physical	Spiritual		Sensory	Miscellaneous
Strength: 102 (135-33) Speed: 432 (320+112)	Reiatsu Strength: 30 (40-10) Spiritual Pressure: 432 (320+112)		Instincts: 210 Senses: 150 Energy Sensory: 25	Light Aura: 60 Dark Aura: 40 Healing Expertise: 0

Skills

Mental	Battle		Body	Utility
Analyzing: 2 Strength of Will: 2       Learning: 1	Iaijutsu: 2 Martial Art - Hohō: 2 Battle Analysis: 2 Martial Art - Hakuda: 1 Battle Focus: 1		N/A	N/A

[Wynne Kuchiki]

As Wynne traveled through the halls, she was beset by a feminine man with pulled back black hair. What made him stick out the most to her was that his height was similar to hers, not something she frequently nowadays. Either way, he was kind enough to point out where Kimiko was, which was nice, because she was apparently heading in the wrong direction. It was only after he disappeared that she realized she had never told him she was looking for Kimiko in the first place. Odd. Perhaps Celes had sent word ahead of time? Her appearance was quite unique after all, so it wouldn’t be strange for people to notice that she wasn’t actually part of their squad.

It only took a few more moments of travel until Wynne reached the main gates of the coliseum. And upon approach she would get a sense of foreboding that she would shrug away immediately. She was here to train, there was nothing to worry about. If there was any sort of danger here, she doubted Celes would send her here. Her captain was too much of a worrywart for that. As much as she loved Celes, it was a true statement. Celes treating her squad as a family had its ups and downs, but Wynne wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s what made their squad unique since she didn’t think other squad’s inner relations worked the same way.

Inside of the coliseum was Kimiko, facing off against a dummy. She wielded two swords, similar to Celes. Not wanting to disturb her at the current moment, Wynne kept as quiet as she could as the scarlet eyed woman continued her sparring. Right now the woman would unsheathe her blades before resheathing it. Wynne wasn’t sure why, but clearly there was a point to the process. And she found out in the next minute when Kimiko suddenly attacked randomly in the midst of one of her unsheathes, striking the dummy with a metallic clang. "It's too slow..."

Judging from how Wynne hadn’t even seen the blow come out, she clearly disagreed, but it probably wasn’t her place to say anything so she kept her mouth shut. Not only was Kimiko’s blow fast, but it was powerful as well. The dummy was now in pieces, scattered in the sands nearby. If it was a real person, they would be dead or bleeding out. She had only seen one attack and Wynne was already glad Celes had sent her Kimiko’s way. Speed wasn’t really her forte, but perhaps she could learn from the stance she had taken prior to her attack? As Wynne usually didn’t use any when she attacked.

Most of the time she just went with the flow. Her style of attack had been summarized as brutish. She just swung and relied on her strength, since it was all she had. While there were Kuchiki stances she could learn back at home, she wasn’t on good terms with her family so she hadn’t taken the time to learn them. She was basically the black sheep of the family now, so she avoided home whenever she could. Still if the stances made her stronger, maybe it was time to tough it out and learn it from her family members? Either way, it’d be an uncomfortable conversation Wynne wouldn’t want to do. But that was usually how life went. You’d have to do things you weren’t comfortable with.

"You could have at least sent us a message or something... Are you from the Tenth?" Nodding her head and giving a polite bow towards Kimiko, Wynne graced her with a small smile. “Yes, I apologize for the inconvenience. Celes sent me. She said you would be able to give me some pointers?” Wracking her brain for the right etiquette, Wynne tried to remember how far to bow when asking for a favor. As a Kuchiki she had learned how to do so, but it had been so long ago. And she had so much on her mind as of late that it was hard for her to remember this specific little thing that didn’t seem that important. She didn’t think she would, but it was hard to tell what some people would get offended by.

[Nakajima Kimiko]

The scarlet-eyed warrior remained quiet as she now gave her full attention to the newcomer, allowing the latter to have a better view of her. In hindsight, she looked well. Even though a grand majority of it was covered by her Shihakusho, her body was toned and in good shape much like the ones the rest of the members of her division sported. She was of course not as physically enhanced as the newcomer with musculature that paled in comparison to hers; after all, not even her legs - those things shaped by her speed into impressive pillars of stamina - could appear as powerful as the stranger's. Nevertheless, she definitely seemed as though she has trained quite literally every single day since she has proper member of the Gotei 13. Most notably, despite the fact that she did not exhume as much spiritual energy anymore, she still held quite the presence in the area due to the sheer amount of it that stirred within her. It was rather impressive, especially given that she still was not a veteran officer just yet.

Her gaze studied the person before her as she stood there. She hadn't been expecting anyone to come here today. For some time now, the people of her division have been complaining about the cold of winter and were excited to see it transition into spring, so she had believed that everyone would have gone to enjoy their time training outside on green grass rather than here on beige sand. Although it was disappointing that she consequently had no one to spar with, she thought that it wasn't entirely bad, seeing as it allowed her to further her own personal training... or rather, further her relations with this new blade of hers. Even though six months have passed since she has somehow conjured this new Zanpakutō from an Asauchi she went to retrieve at the Academy, she was still on bad terms with the spirit within it, and so she sometimes had some difficulty handling it. That was not even mentioning the fact that she had to get used to fighting with a new blade altogether, something which she had never thought she would do in her lifetime. It was all very frustrating, and so, for once, she had thought the solitude would help. It did not last for long.

This newcomer at least looked very impressive. To say that she looked unconventional was a bit of an understatement. Her hair was strange, seemingly designed to resemble horns, while her dead-tired eyes were of a black color that seemed darker than even night itself. Her cheeks were shallow as though slightly sunken, and overall, her face looked tired and dead. Despite this, the rest of her body seemed anything but. She was tall, probably just as tall as Gideon or Siegfried, and the bits of muscle that appeared here and there on her body were more than just a bit generous. It was like staring at an undead warrior that was somehow even more undead than Shinigami by nature. This realization caused Kimiko's gaze to go from a passive look to one that seemed a bit more curious. There was something about her that didn't seem quite natural to her, like all of this was not something that quite of the newcomer's making, and it slightly intrigued her.

Her question was replied to with a bow and an answer. The first element of this reply slightly took the swordswoman off-guard, and for a moment, she simply blinked and watched with clear surprise. "Ah, it's... fine. You're not bothering me or anything like that," she answered in response to it all. A bow... It had been so long since she had seen someone actually stick to such an etiquette while conversing with. A long time ago, during her Human years, it was something that she had to do every time she would meet someone. It was standard social etiquette in Japan. In comparison, she couldn't even the last time she actually bowed to anyone. Perhaps it was because of the fact that many in her own squad preferred to not actually bow, but rather simply greet normally. Perhaps it was because the grand majority of those she speaks to on a daily basis are not of Japanese descent. Either way, seeing it again somewhat hurt her, reminding her of the years in the Living World that were stolen away from her by that cowardly murderer.

The second element was fortunately enough to chase away the brief emotional pain as it surprised her even more than the first. "Celes sent you...?" She repeated, taken aback by the fact that such a thing occurred. Usually, whenever her mentor wants to do anything with her or somebody else, she tends to actually be present during the activity. If she isn't here at this point in time, then she must be more than just a little bit busy. It was a good thing that the newcomer was here to keep her from doing it, because if she wasn't, Kimiko would have appeared rather annoyed. Back then while she was at the Academy, they trained with each other multiple times every week, and would always follow it up with a trip to Rukongai to go eat food. Now, they barely even meet every once in a while. Is that what Captaincy does to someone? Make them eternally busy until the end of times? That doesn't really sound very fun. Hell, she very much doubts that even Celes herself finds it all very amusing.

By the time her mind stopped complaining about the subject, she then moved on to the next with a bit of confusion. Pointers? What exactly did she mean by that? Does she need a guide? Something that would lead her somewhere? After thinking about it a bit more thoroughly, she eventually realized that the strange woman wanted her to actually teach her something. "... I'm... gonna assume that you're talking about fighting," she guessed rather awkwardly as she was still not entirely sure if that was what the newcomer meant by that. If she came from Celes, it was doubtful that she had come here to ask her about anything else; after all, the Captain of the Tenth knew her very well, and there was no way she was going to send someone to her for any other reason. Still, this left her in a rather tight spot. The only other time she has taught someone fighting, it was back when Siegfried had brought her to some event where she showcased her swordsmanship some of the students of the Academy. Aside from that, she didn't really have any any experience in teaching someone how to actually improve their fighting capabilities.

Even so, she couldn't just tell this woman she couldn't teach her and leave her be. If she does, Celes will definitely be disappointed in her, and that is the last thing that she needs right about now. Taishokukane is already stressful to deal with as is, she really doesn't need drama alongside it. So, for a moment, she looked around slightly unsure as to what to do, though determined to actually fulfill that woman's request. It was all definitely more than a little bit awkward given how quiet she was, though eventually as she looked around the coliseum, she would look back towards the woman and let out a brief sigh. "Well... alright. I think we can, uh, start somewhere basic," she started as she looked up and down the newcomer again. "You came to me to learn about Zanjutsu...?"

[Wynne Kuchiki]

“Yes, I exclusively trained with Kido most of my life before turning completely towards the physical arts recently. Therefore the majority of it is still relatively new to me.” While learning how to fight from close range wasn’t necessarily hard for Wynne to learn, she still lagged behind compared to others due to just how recently she started. If it wasn’t for her cramming sessions of training with Celes and her own personal training sessions, she’d be even further behind. But she was catching up steadily, and soon the distance would barely be noticeable. This was part of the reason she was trying to get as much training as she could to begin with.

“Starting with something basic would work. I’m pretty durable, so you can just beat the lessons into my thick skull until you get the point across.” If Kimiko wanted Wynne to learn a certain move, and she was having a hard time learning it, she was sure she’d be able to get it down if she was hit by the same move multiple times. After all, it’d be hard to forget it if she was hit by it at least a dozen times. Sure it’d hurt, but what was the saying? No pain no gain? And for training like this, some pain was to be expected. That was just how physical spars worked. You had to get somewhat injured in order for your body to learn.

When Wynne had fought with Celes, it had been the same way. Only by getting thrown to the ground multiple times did she learn the lesson of learning the advantage of terrain. Before she used to stomp the ground at her leisure, cracking it with no care in the world. But once she took a pile of debris to the face thanks to Celes' kick, she decided to be wiser about such a thing in the future. With great power comes great responsibility. She wasn’t the only one with strength, and her opponents could sometimes do all the feats that she could do.

Widening her stance somewhat in the sand, Wynne pulled out her zanpakuto. Taking a moment to stare at her blade, she wondered how she was going to use it. The only moves she really did with the blade was basic slashing or stabbing. She had a preference for punching and kicking her enemies, so she usually went with that. Only using her zanpakuto when she had to fight hollows, since they could only be purified by that particular weapon. Maybe if she paid more attention in the academy she would know more moves involving her zanpakuto, but back then she had been learning Kido, so could you really blame her?

Perhaps with Kimiko’s help she could be fast tracked back through the basics? She wasn’t sure how good the woman’s teaching methods were, but even if they weren’t that great she couldn’t complain to begin with. She was helping her for free after all, plus Celes recommended her, so Kimiko wouldn’t be that bad, right? Taking a moment to look around the coliseum Wynne wondered what the woman was doing here all alone. She knew she was here training, but why here of all places. Didn’t people in the same squad usually train together? Unless there was something more going on? Either way, it didn’t involve her. She was here for training, so that was what she needed to focus on.

[Nakajima Kimiko]

While she was a student of the Shin'ō Academy, Kimiko has met many who relied heavily on the use of Kidō in order to become Shinigami. They came from the superior districts of Rukongai or Seireitei itself, and for the most part, the greatest reason as to why they wished to specialize themselves in the magical arts was because they believed themselves to be weak for the physical arts. It was either that or because one of the teachers at the scholarly institution - especially the one that was unfortunately given to her for most of her classes - convinced them to become full-fledged magicians rather than versatile warriors. These students were afraid of pain and exercise, preferring to instead remain as far away from danger as they possibly could in order to win, and so they typically never bothered to train in Zanjutsu or Hakuda. In other words, they were spoiled and cowardly beings who simply wanted victory by muttering words. Well, at least that's how the scarlet-eyed warrior perceived them.

Considering this, hearing that the newcomer was actually a fully-fledged magical warrior who decided to completely abandon the magical arts in favor of the physical arts was rather shocking. The pleasant kind of shocking, of course. She had never actually seen anyone who stuck to Kidō ever decide to completely abandon them, let alone give much of a chance for the other arts, so she was more than a little impressed by this person's decision. In fact, she was so impressed that she could not help but let out a brief snort. "Wow. Finally, someone gets it," she did not refrain herself form breaking out of her quiet shell with a victorious smile, even if it was just for a moment, though she then went on to apologize rather awkwardly after the fact. "Ah, sorry, it's just... I've never seen anyone actually do that before. Abandon magic altogether, I mean. You'd be surprised at how many people just want to shoot fireballs and lightning strikes all day around here." 

This person really was just a bunch of surprises in one, wasn't she? First, her strange appearance; second, the fact Celes has sent her; the third, the fact that she wants to learn Zanjutsu from her, and finally, this. At this point, if this goes on, maybe teaching her will be less awkward that she thought it would be. Who knew what she currently believed to be mutual hatred in the magical arts would be what would actually convince her to give this all a better shot than she previously was? Well, the fact that this person was once a wizard is a bit of a bummer, yes, but her will to correct that decision with a newfound and seemingly-complete focus onto the magical arts made sure to completely overwhelm every worry Kimiko would have had about her. If things go well here, she won't even need to call this person's fighting style lame by default! Unlike Seiji's! And Shawn's! And Kyomei's. And... the style of that girl from before that she met during that exercise. What was she called again? Argh, she can't remember, it was way too long ago. Huh, come to think of it, she knows a lot of people who actually stick to the magical arts.

With all of that aside, the newcomer seemed to be ready to go with something basic. Kimiko wasn't quite sure of what that basic thing was going to be; after all, once again, her teaching experience was rather limited as she hasn't done a lot of it herself. However, from how oddly enthusiastic the woman seemed to be about, in her words, "beating the lessons into her thick skull until she gets the point across", it seemed that they could potentially do this how she typically has always done it with her trainers, whether it be Celes, Vice-Captain Kawada or Shizukakane: sparring. In her mind, there was no other way for someone to both learn about a technique or themselves, or realize what exactly they are doing wrong in a fight than sparring. Sure, there is typically some pain involved, but it sure will make someone more knowledgeable than hitting a wooden dummy over and over. That's how she's always done it in the Living World during her Kendo classes and arcade bouts.

"Alright then... If you don't mind the beating part, we can go with a sword-only spar. There's no one around, so we have plenty of space to do it here," she said as she lightly stretched her body one last time. Although they haven't even started yet, she was already starting to be a little bit excited about this. She needed to fight somebody else than Taishokukane for once. Due to her excitement, the energy from before was slowly starting to come back, progressively rising further and further as she prepared herself for the spar. Unlike the time she fought Teresa, she deliberately made sure to not unleash it beyond its normal extent. By now, she is very aware that she can unleash her reiatsu in a way that will crush everything around here, and she has no idea if it is going to crush the person before her if something like that ever happens now. "We have wooden weapons... but I think we're good enough to use our normal swords without any problems. I can't remember the last time I used them."

The Third Seat's hands would rest onto the handles of her blades as she focused onto what looked like will be her opponent. The one resting in the white scabbard gave out a serene and quiet energy while the other instead appeared more intense and bloodthirsty. Though they were clearly polar opposites that happened to serve the same master, they both seemed to be interested in this newcomer to an extent. "I am Nakajima Kimiko, Zaraki Company, Third Seat," she introduced herself then with an excited smile, pushing her thumb against the guards of her blade as she did so to slightly push them out of their holders. Doing so somehow increased the spiritual energy around her, causing that wave from earlier which filled the coliseum up until the gates to appear again, albeit in a less intense form. "Usually, I go all out during spars... but I'll go a little bit slower this time. If I still go too fast, please tell me. With that out of the way... let's have a good fight!"

[Wynne Kuchiki]

“Yeah I’m something of a unique case. I can kinda see why others would want to shoot fireballs instead of using boring old swords, but once we get in close, those fireballs won’t help them much.” Wynne had learned from first hand experience just how true that situation was, hence the reason she believed so strongly in training her body first and foremost. You couldn't just rely on your mind and Kido all the time and expect everything to go your way, only pain laid down that route. If she truly wanted to, she could have supplemented her fighting style with a little bit of Kido, but she wanted to start anew. Thus she decided to abandon it completely and commit wholly to her new style of fighting.

Nodding her head in agreement, Wynne looked once again at the wide space around them. It was a nice little area that Kimiko was in. Squad 10 had something vaguely similar, but nowhere near as grand. Squad 10’s arena wasn’t even an arena, just a vague outpost with some normal dirt and some benches scattered about on the border. Plus it was usually filled with her squadmates, so you could barely get any personal training time unless you arrived at odd hours. The sand here was a nice touch, and Wynne wondered if they could get something like that for their squad. Falling on that would probably feel much nicer than falling on hard dirt.

Noticing Kimiko stretching her body, Wynne decided to copy her temporary mentor’s movements. Pulling a muscle mid spar would be a painful reminder in why a good stretch was always necessary before performing tasks such as this. Bending low to the ground, the tall shinigami touched her toes before standing upright and twisting to the side and popping her back with a loud pop. It took her a few more moments to do the rest of her exercises, because while Kimiko was more than likely warmed up from her prior movements with her zanpakutos from earlier, Wynne did not have such a luxury. But all in all, it didn’t take too much time until she was done and raring to go.

“Yeah, I’m sure we can handle using actual weapons.” The two weren’t complete rookies, and even if they suffered some actual wounds, it wasn’t like they would die from it. It would take a lot to actually kill Wynne, and while she didn’t know for certain, she had a feeling it was the same for the woman in front of her. "I am Nakajima Kimiko, Zaraki Company, Third Seat," As the woman in front of her introduced herself with a smile, Wynne returned it with one of her one before introducing herself as well. It was only polite to do so after all. “I am Wynne Kuchiki, unseated officer of Squad Ten. Please treat me kindly.”

Placing her hand on the dark lavender hilt of her zanpakuto, Wynne held it firmly in her hand. The spar had just begun! Pulling her blade out of its sheath and holding it with both hands, Wynne waited for Kimiko to make the first move. She wanted to see what her opponent was capable of before coming up with a strategy. Celes had taught her a few things in their last spar, and Wynne planned on using some of the tips from their fight in this one. Widening her stance somewhat, she kept an eye on each of Kimiko’s blades. There were two of them, which meant there was an extra avenue of attack for the woman to take. A minor annoyance, but something Wynne might need to expect from future opponents. It was time to see what Kimiko was capable of!

[Nakajima Kimiko]

Upon hearing the newcomer's view on Kidō, Kimiko had a bit of a guess as to why she so suddenly decided to completely switch over from the magical arts to the physical arts. In their point of view, most magicians tend to believe that no enemy will actually ever reach them. They often imagine themselves protected by an imaginary wall in which they will be allowed to cast their spells uninterrupted for the entirety of a fight, and so it is why many of them are more arrogant than the typical swordsman. Why would they not feel superior with such arrogant logic? She too would probably start feeling like she was above her peers in combat if she kept hammering that mentality into her skull.  The ironic truth about this logic is that it is incredibly easy for a warrior who is aware of such a flaw to exploit it. She had no idea of what this individual has gone through in her past, but she must have learned that lesson the hard way, quite unfortunately.

That wasn't to say that she was not happy to hear that she ever came to that logic to begin with. If anything, she was very happy that came to that logic on her own. Most magicians outright don't or, worse, seclude themselves in that logic as they grow older. That stupid teacher of hers, Hamanai, is a prime example of that. "Exactly," she would thus agree openly with the newcomer after she stated her words. "There's probably a bunch of spells that allow you to fight up-close... I can't really deny that, since I haven't really seen a lot of them in action. Even so, I can guarantee you that those spells would be less effective than a sword for the most part. Either they would require too much energy out of you, or would take too long to cast." After she explained, she pause, then blinked. That sounded surprisingly instructive. Maybe Celes' teachings are rubbing off on her. "I mean, just the fact that you need to chant some incantation to throw a spell can you leave you at a serious disadvantage... For example, there's a guy around here who uses Kidō. Most of the time, I'm just fast enough to reach him before he has the time to say anything. It's so lame." 

As she spoke, it would seem increasingly apparent to the newcomer that, despite the instructive nature of her words, she was slowly heading towards a small tangent. The swordswoman really couldn't help it. Over the years, she has been trying her best to keep her hatred for the magical arts in check in front of those who are not from her squad, with the closest she's ever been of unleashing it on someone being when Seiji - literally a member of the Kidō Corps - tried to convince her that it was not as lame as she believed it to be. Now that someone from the Tenth finally gets it, she could finally let it out in her own way. It was still subdued, of course, but it nevertheless allowed her to let that hatred out. Fortunately, she eventually realized what was happening. "Ah, damn it... Again, sorry," she apologized once more as she forced herself to stop, this time with a bit of an embarrassed blush. "I swear, I don't usually rant so much... I'm just not a fan of magic." 

With all of that out of the way, they could finally move on to what they were now both aiming to do, which was to spar against one another. Kimiko was glad to see that the newcomer seemed to not be against the idea: the last thing she would have wanted out of this temporary teaching session to come up with some sort of makeshift training program. Moreover, she was also happy to see that they would not have to use wooden weapons for this. Employing their Zanpakutō in this spar is most likely going to lead to minor wounds here and there, but it is typically going to simulate a real battle much better than the employment of wooden weapons ever will. Those things were good-enough back when she was still a student at the Academy; however, now that she is a full-fledged officer of the Gotei 13, they have become rather obsolete. It would be best to leave them to those who are either less experienced or outright not as confident in their skill as they should be.

Introductions then followed. The scarlet-eyed warrior presented herself to her opponent, and the opponent did the same. It did not take for her to become intrigued by her name. Wynne Kuchiki... For some reason, that name was slightly familiar to her. It was like she had already heard it before. There's a chance that it might be because of her clan, since the Kuchiki clan is fairly renowned within the Soul Society, but there was something about it that made it seem as though she had already actually met this person before. However, that was impossible. This person was definitely not just some average-day woman you would see wandering around Rukongai. She had strikingly-unique features, so much so that she barely even looked alive. As such, there was no way Kimiko was going to forget someone so recognizable, even if her memory tends to be somewhat less-than-stellar at times. So then, what was that feeling of familiarity? There had to be some kind of explanation behind it.

Well, whatever. That probably wasn't too important in the grand scheme of things. She wasn't going to let a name, of all things, interrupt this battle. So, she focused onto the unseated officer, standing still. There were many things to analyze here and there. Her name aside, there was her weapon and her squad itself. As a member of the Tenth Division, this person must regularly tend to duties which would bolster the defense of the Soul Society. In other words, she must act as a shield for the realm. This could mean many things, though from what she gathered of the officers of the Tenth, she somewhat held the belief that this woman was going to be a very enduring person. It probably will be difficult to bring her down, even if she just switched from the magical arts to the physical arts. However, that last fact is most likely going to make her a poor swordswoman. That sword probably will most likely be swung around without any coherent style, something which Kimiko unfortunately has had to deal with more than once thanks to Dai and co. Hopefully, this training will allow this Wynne to realize what she must do to become stronger.

The more the scarlet-eyed warrior remained in thought, the more her eyes widened. Her focus and her spiritual pressure both became greater. As she slowly made all of these conclusions, her excitement grew and grew. This was a spar, yes, and a teaching lesson, but it was also a fight. Not only that, but it was a fight with a new opponent that she has never fought before. Ain't no way she won't become excited by that. Eventually, she couldn't take it anymore, and so suddenly, she smashed her right foot against the sand below before launching herself towards her opponent. Her speed was lessened in a bit more than half at about 200, but given the sheer energy that came out of her, she almost seemed faster. By the time she reached Wynne, her calm appearance had disappeared entirely, instead replaced with a combative grin. Show me what you can do! Her thoughts shouted, and thus, with a violent cry, she unleashed her blades onto her opponent in a double Iaijutsu strike with both weapons sent in a horizontal pattern above one another. Given the physical disparity between the both of them, it was doubtful that these blades were going to do a lot of damage to her, but it was nevertheless going to hurt.

[Wynne Kuchiki]

As Kimiko went on a tangent about why magic sucked, Wynne just stared at the woman awkwardly. All she had mentioned was that she had swapped to physical pursuits from magical ones, not that she hated the Kido arts. The spells themselves had been interesting to learn, and while Kimiko’s words held some truth, she was also clearly biased in her opinions. But since Wynne didn’t particularly want to get into any sort of debate, the taller woman just slowly nodded her head. She had a feeling this was one battle she didn’t want to fight. If her teacher for the day hated magic, then so be it. That was her opinion and it had nothing to do with her. To each their own.

The awkward moment soon disappeared from Wynne’s mind as Kimiko appeared in front of her in a burst of speed with her two zanpakuto at the ready. Locking her knees and readying her sword, Wynne faced the attack head on. She did this for two reasons. The first was because she had to. Kimiko was fast while she was slow. It was literally impossible for her to dodge, thus blocking was the only way to get out of this exchange unscathed. The second was to test her mettle against the woman. The whole point of this spar was to improve, and to do that she needed to push herself to the limit. And what better way than to face Kimiko head on?

As Kimiko got closer and closer to her, Wynne took one more glance at her blade before deciding to change her tactics somewhat. One blade against two would put her at a disadvantage, therefore she needed to use her own advantage to even the odds against the scarlet eyed warrior. Twisting her body and aiming her left side towards Kimiko, Wynne held out the back of her left arm towards the approaching girl, with the intent on taking the blow of her two sword’s against it. Flexing the arm, Wynne would wait for the attacks to hit before countering with a return thrust of her own with her right arm, aiming towards the right of Kimiko’s torso. With the level of her strength, Wynne was pretty sure her body was tougher than her zanpakuto at this point, so she might as well take the blow herself.

Her methods of battling were unorthodox, but that was just how it was for her. The nature of her body had a big role to play in how she fought, so tactics such as these came naturally for her. Why defend with her sword, when her body could take blows so much more effectively? Kimiko’s dual swords were tricky, so the moment she started mixing up different attacks with each of them, Wynne would be hard pressed to catch up. Still, she could always ignore one and focus on the other if it came down to it. As long as Kimiko’s weapons didn’t hit anything important, Wynne wouldn’t be taken out anytime soon. She prided herself in her durability after all. Something Kimiko would soon come to find out.

[Nakajima Kimiko]

Kimiko could tell that her opinions about magic had left Wynne in an awkward spot. She said nothing in response to her rambling, not even a remark that could have brought a counter-point to it all, and in so doing, she left the scarlet-eyed warrior to stand there in comical silence for a brief moment. That's... new. Usually, mages always try to defend their arts, especially those who swear to solely dedicate their lives to them. Given this woman was once one of those people, she would have thought her to at least say something in favor about it. She wasn't expecting anything substantial, of course, but definitely not just outright nothing. She's... She really not gonna say anything, isn't she?  The swordswoman asked to herself then in hopes of potentially then seeing a reaction from her soon-to-be sparring partner, then felt a bit of a sting on her heart. Damn it, this was embarrassing. At least people like Seiji attempt to shoot back at her words. Better to receive vocal denial than plain indifference.

This moment fortunately did not last for long, at the very least, for the spar then began. At that point, the embarrassment had left the warrior, instead to be replaced with the adrenaline which she has now become so familiar with. It was very clear that this was going to be a good spar. Even though she has not yet crossed blades with her fellow Shinigami, she could tell. Those muscles had power inside of them that seemed on-par with Celes', and yet that sword seemed on par with hers'. Yes, this was supposed to be a learning experience that would allow the other to learn more about Zanjutsu techniques, and yes, there is a good chance that her lack of knowledge on said techniques will most likely lead her opponent to flail her sword around like a maniac, but it was also going to be something new and different compared to all the others she has sparred with. Just thinking about the potential outcomes of this fight was making her spiritual pressure boil with excitement.

Eventually, she rushed forward and delivered her first attack. She approached the woman with a merciless aura to her, the pressure closing behind her like a wave of utter power heading straight for her opponent, and once she was close enough to her, she unleashed her blades onto her. Her focused gaze would make sure to keep an eye on her while she processed this entire matter, wanting to see what she would do in this instance in response to it all. At first, she was impressed. She was glad to see that her opponent immediately understood what her main weakness was in this battle prior to getting hit by her blades to begin with, which was her speed, and thus attempted to devise a strategy around it by instead focusing on blocking and counter-attacking. She was also very impressed by the fact that, despite using her full strength onto the girl, her swords barely cut through the skin of her left. It felt like she was slashing at an iron wall, a bastion of steel fueled with might and bravery. Both of these qualities reminded her of the man that inspired her to identify herself as being part of not the Grin Company, but rather the Zaraki Company.

The problem about this strategy, however, was evident. It was not the first time Kimiko dealt with someone who preferred to play defensively; after all, one of squadmates is someone that she considered to be more defensive. If there was one thing that she has learned from that fighting style, it is that more often than not, speed is required there too. You cannot simply counter someone that is faster than you with an attack that, in essence, also requires speed. Another strategy is required here, for fear of being led to a fate similar to Wynne's here. The moment the downright-horned woman pushed her right arm towards her, the dual swordswoman would dodge towards her opponent's right with a kick to the left before then bringing her swords to her right. Upon doing so, she then pushed onward near the girl's arm before rushing by her right side, slashing at it in the process. It happened quickly, though still not at the warrior's full speed, this time somewhere around 150.

Should she be successful in her endeavor, she would push slightly away from Wynne so as to give her a bit of a break. As she did so, she rapidly swiped the blood off of her blade, doing so expertly before returning them to their scabbards. It was done expertly and perhaps even a bit stylishly, which was the telltale sign of someone who trained for thousands, if not tens of thousand of hours. After the fact, she then started walking around the taller woman, her eyes gazing at her. If it was not for the fact that she was still trying her best to act as that woman's teacher here, she would have almost looked like a predator circling her prey. "I guess you missed the part where I said sword-only," she noted aloud seemingly with disappointment at first, but not without an accusing tone. Rather, it was more of an observation. "Normally, I'd say that was lame... but that might be good here. Your defense is... frankly, it's amazing. I barely cut your arm with my swords... but you're slow. Honestly, if you tried to do what you just did there even with one of the slowest people around here... I don't think you would have hit them." 

She would continue to circle around Wynne as she spoke, forcing her to remain on her toes. Needless to say, the swordswoman preferred to not do this at all; if anything, she outright rushes her enemies constantly so as to not allow them to rest. However, here, it was outright just necessary. She wanted to get her point across. "So, let's try something else," she hummed as she contained her excitement within her, preventing it from bubbling to the surface. "This was supposed to be a spar focusing on Zanjutsu, but we'll instead mix it with Hakuda. One of my friends here is an expert grappler who barely even uses her Zanpakutō. Maybe we could do something like that." She then pointed at Wynne's arm, the one she cut at with her swords. "Use that arm for grappling. Do wide sweeps to try to grab the opponent. Meanwhile, keep your Zanpakutō sheathed. If you grab the opponent, then take it out and stab. If not, use it reverse-sheathed to block and bait for a grab. Got it?"

As the swordswoman spoke, she slowly found herself reflecting on what she just said. That was... actually not terrible teaching? Hell, she personally found it to be somewhat okay considering she never really taught anyone anything that extensively beforehand. She even somewhat sounded like that Kendō teacher she followed so long ago back when she was Human, which was a bit of a surprise. Maybe she has a sort of knack for this after all. Siegfried did say that he was pretty happy about how she had showed those Academy students how to fight back then, but she hadn't fully believed his words then. Well, no, that wasn't right: she had instead perhaps outright denied them for fear of teaching wrong things. Huh... Maybe I could teach people how to use Zanjutsu in my spare time, she found herself thinking about then as inspiration struck her. Maybe I could even open my own school one day... That sounds... kinda nice, yeah.

In any case, this was not the time to think about that. She needed to continue teaching Wynne to make sure she could understand what she was saying. Although she herself believed her teaching wasn't too bad, it could be a lot of information for her temporary student to grasp, so she wanted her to remember that information all well-enough so that she can then use it in a real fight. Moreover, she needed to keep her excitement going before it gets deflated by her own teaching. As such, the scarlet-eyed warrior would eventually stop circling the woman and instead rush for her again, remaining at a speed of 150 for now. "Let's start again!" She called out as she reached for the taller woman again, then repeated the same attack from before to put emphasis on her words: a twin horizontal Iaijutsu strikes. Now that she had this information, she wants to see how Wynne is going to react to the same attack, especially now that it is slower.

[Wynne Kuchiki]

While her block was successful, her counterattack was not. And the reasoning for it came down to her speed, as it always did. Wynne’s body was just too slow, and her opponent was just too quick. Like a pesky mosquito that you couldn’t swat, no matter how hard you tried. Although it was a rude comparison, it was a suitable one for Kimiko in the current moment. Since she now had Wynne’s blood on her sword. It barely stung though, since although the woman had the speed to land an attack, she didn’t have enough strength to cut too deep. Being this slow was starting to be an annoyance for Wynne though, so hopefully she’d be able to be faster in the future.

“Yeah, my size makes my body quite cumbersome to move around to say the least. I’ve been trying to work on my speed, but it's been slow going.” Giving Kimiko a shrug, Wynne looked at the woman awkwardly. She knew she was slow, but there wasn’t much she could do about it. Moving her enormous frame took a lot of energy, that’s just how it was. She was sure if she lost a couple of feet she’d be able to move faster, but since she was over 9 feet, she had to move at a certain speed. Such was the way of things. She didn’t let her lack of speed bring her down though, as her strengths lay elsewhere, such as her defense and physical prowess. And she wouldn't have it any other way.

"Use that arm for grappling. Do wide sweeps to try to grab the opponent. Meanwhile, keep your Zanpakutō sheathed. If you grab the opponent, then take it out and stab. If not, use it reverse-sheathed to block and bait for a grab. Got it?" As Kimiko circled around her and talked, Wynne listened intently to the advice given to her. It seemed starting with swords was not the way when her speed was lacking by such wide margins. Better to make an opening first and then take out her zanpakuto.

Nodding her head and sheathing her weapon, Wynne crouched slightly and waited for Kimiko with her arms open. Thanks to her size, she had quite the armspan, so this type of tactic was actually quite effective. Normally she would have to be wary of her opponent’s blades cutting her arms, but with a quick flexing of her arms, that was no longer a cause of concern. Assuming Kimiko’s blade landed on those parts of course. Her having two blades made this situation a little more difficult than it should’ve been, but she would just have to deal with it. Not everything in life could be easy after all.

As Kimiko rushed towards her, Wynne would aim to trade blows with the woman in order to grapple with her. Swinging her arms out towards her, she would aim to take the sword swings on her forearms while reaching towards the woman, aiming to grab whatever limb was closest. If she managed to grab onto a limb, she would hold on tight before attempting to slam Kimiko into the ground, hoping to stun the woman. Not at full strength of course, that might kill the poor woman. She wasn’t sure if such a strategy would work, since Kimiko was so slippery, but there was only one way to find out. And if not, Wynne could take the hits that would no doubt be coming her way.

[Nakajima Kimiko]

Kimiko could tell that Wynne was not particularly proud of the fact that she was slow and that being criticized for it bothered her. Although her reaction was emotionally light with nary even but the simplest of complaints, there was an air of awkwardness in the air that the higher officer could not ignore, and frankly, she wasn't very pleased by it. It made her feel uneasy, as though she had said something wrong, and considering the matter at hand, it made for a rather poor experience. Criticizing others for their mistakes has never really been her forte. Usually, whenever someone tends to make a mistake, she simply keeps quiet and tries to ignore it in hopes that the person eventually realizes their wrong execution, as she is simply afraid that they will take her criticism wrongly. That is, unless they of course directly ask her if they have done something wrong, in which case she will answer them with her observations just like she has done so here. As such, she had been hoping Wynne would have at least taken her words well-enough.

Still, she really did want her to understand what she was doing wrong here. The girl clearly has a penchant for strength and incredible power, that much is very obvious, but she currently almost has no finesse at all. There's no speed to her form, no technique: it was like fighting the personification of a brick wall. That in of itself is not necessarily a bad thing, as she does indeed have tremendous defense that could allow her to last in a fight for a very long time, but if she continues her Shinigami career as is, she will most likely never be able to even so much as use her full strength in battle before being defeated. For example, if the dual swordswoman even so much as tried to fight Wynne seriously as she would with a Hollow worthy of her time, she would most likely be able to defeat her in the matter of a few minutes at best without ever being touched once. The only thing that would be damaged in the fight would be their surroundings. The battle would probably be even shorter if her Releases are included too.

Her advice was at least seemingly taken well, as noted by the lack of objections coming from Wynne, which was good. In theory, her idea was reasonable enough, and as seen in practice with her squadmate Binita, it can definitely be very effective in practice. Considering the taller woman's powerful frame, long arms and great defense that seemingly allows her to ignore pain, having her focus on a defensive fighting style focused on grappling is mostly likely going to get her much greater results in comparison to an offensive style. If everything goes well for her during a fight, she will eventually be able to grab onto her opponent and then never let them escape her grasp ever again. By then, given her amazing strength, she would probably be able to end the entire fight by simply breaking her opponent in whatever way she wants. Hell, come to think of it, she might not even need to stab them at all: she could really just break their backs or their necks, and call it a day.

Eventually, with her thoughts and reflections both concluded, the temporary teacher would find herself rushing forward towards her temporary student once again. Her excitement rose anew as she rushed along, and so did her spiritual pressure as she prepared her blades to strike. Shizukakane and Taishokukane were then eventually unleashed from their scabbard onto Wynne. As to be expected, the twin blades would pierce the air with their higher velocity before reaching the taller woman's forearms without much difficulty, seeing as they went at a speed that clearly outpaced hers, but they did again did not do much damage. Their sharp edges would simply collide with the skin and provide the girl with a brief cut that could barely be called life-threatening. Furthermore, she seemed barely affected by the cutting. Despite having just received two clear sword cuts, it was as if she had barely acknowledged it, allowing her to respond in kind without difficulty with her attempts to grab Kimiko.

The scarlet-eyed warrior almost showed a smile of pleasant surprise as Wynne executed her attempt. It was not perfect, seeing as it was still so very slow that she needed to respond to it at a speed of 100 just to show her temporary student what could have happened to an opponent closer to her level. It also was not quite what she had asked her to do, given that her other hand was not at all close to her blade for defense. Even so, it nevertheless was executed well enough to force her to react almost seriously to her attempt by rapidly moving away from her opponent's incoming hands. This... was a new feeling that she was not quite sure how to describe. It was not the same thing that she had felt back then at that academic event. Back then, it was a showcase, merely something that she showed for the upcoming recruits that somewhat made her proud in herself. This, however, was... curiosity. Pleasant curiosity. She hasn't even met this stranger for so long and she was already curious as to how far this person could go under her supervision. Was this how Celes felt back then when they first sparred against one another?

In her brief moment of surprise, there was a moment in which she appeared downright open to Wynne as she hopped away from her. Her hands were very close to to her legs, and in so doing, she would be able to grab onto the part of the Third Seat's Shihakusho that covered her left leg. The very second she would do so, however, the higher officer would immediately return to the real world and react by rapidly cutting off the part of her robe that would have been grabbed in that moment at a speed of 100. Taishokukane was the one sent to commit the deed, with its dark edge cutting off both the fabric of the Shihakusho itself and the trousers underneath. Once she would have taken a sufficient amount of distance between herself and Wynne, Kimiko would briefly look towards the now bare skin of her left leg, then smiled, satisfied. "Nice... If you had actually grabbed my leg, I think that would have been it," she complimented as she wiped the blood of her blades, then returned them to their sheaths again before rushing towards Wynne again with further excitement. She clearly wanted to see more of this, wanted to see how far she could bring her at this point in time. "Keep this up!"

It was good that the taller woman had taken her hint about how she was going to handle her offense, but now, the dual swordswoman needed to affirm her temporary student's defense. In so doing, she hopped back towards Wynne at speed of 75 in an attempt to rush her down with her aura following close behind. She did so by having her chest be positioned close to the ground, waiting to see how the taller woman would first respond to this. If she would attempt to grab her again, she would then push herself forward in the direction of the grabbing arms before unleashing her blades in a horizontal slash towards her chest, then a scissor slash towards the underside of her arms. It was a countering motion, to put it bluntly, one that would definitely put Wynne on her toes. She would stay close to her opponent while executing this counter, all in an attempt to have her use her blade defensively. She had a tool for defense and Kimiko was going to make her use it.

[Wynne Kuchiki]

Back and forth. Back and forth. As repetitious as it was, it was needed. Kimiko was a good teacher, and Wynne needed the training. As shown by the crimson droplets that dripped slowly down her arm. If she were skilled, such a wound wouldn’t be there. She also wouldn’t be nine feet tall and be in the current abominable form that she was currently inhabiting. But alas, such was the way of life. You had to deal with all the blows that came your way whether you wanted to or not. You didn’t really have a choice. Something she was still coming to terms with in the past few weeks.

Her counter grab was semi successful, which was a surprise, since her speed was atrocious. It was akin to a snail racing any sort of four legged beast such as a mouse or a cat. The race was rigged from the start. She would never win unless her opponent wanted her too or by some sort of rare stroke of luck that would only occur once in her lifetime. On the bright side, she took off a piece of Kimiko’s clothing, so there was that? Maybe she’d be able to grab her leg next time if she was lucky! Hah! Perhaps if she was more naive she might believe such a take. Still, that was the whole point of this training no? To make openings where there weren't any, so she could in fact grab her opponents. Hopefully she’d never encounter speedy opponents in the future. Judging from how Kimiko was, fighting them wouldn’t be pleasant.

“Will do.” Giving Kimiko a deadpan response, Wynne watched as her temporary mentor wiped her blood off her blades and returned them to her sheaths. Taking a moment to look at the cuts dotting her body, she wondered how many more she would have by the end of this session. Dozens, hundreds? It was hard to tell. They only stung a little, but the cuts symbolized her incompetence and imperfection in speed, so it wasn’t particularly pleasant to see. Physically it was virtually painless, mentally it was a whole different story. Letting out a sigh, Wynne turned her attention back to her teacher. It was time to get her mind back to what was important, the current spar. She could worry about how she felt later. Emotions were for the weak.

As Kimiko charged towards her at triple her speed, Wynne would try to respond as quickly as she could defensively. Reaching out to grab her teacher, she could only watch as the blades connected with her chest and then the undersides of her arms, her speed too slow to catch up. Grimacing in annoyance and in pain, Wynne took a step backwards from the force of the blow, feeling new cuts beginning to dot her body. It seemed her teacher’s offense was too powerful this time around. “Seems I messed up a little on my defense there. Maybe it had something to do with my footwork, hard to tell?” The two were working at a fast pace, so it was a little hard to keep up. Perhaps it would get easier with time and repetition? Wynne was still used to studying her problems away, as she had only swapped to the physical arts only recently, so all of this was still relatively new to her. Hopefully with time she’d be as good with her physical body as she had been with Kido.

[Nakajima Kimiko]

Wynne's response to Kimiko's encouraging words were interesting to the scarlet-eyed warrior. In hindsight, they were as emotionless as much of the dialect she has employed thus far, something that would usually be more fitting for a cold and heartless machine. The dead tone fitted her looks, to say the least. However, to the Third Seat of the Eleventh, there was something in there that sparked even more of her interest to teach this woman: the will to learn from her, to be taught. If she would have lost interest for this, she would have said so by now or, worse, complain about how her training method was outright ineffective. Again, it was a... satisfying feeling, to be followed to the letter like this, to have her words be considered in such a thoughtful and potentially-impactful manner. No, it was not just satisfying. She was not quite sure how to explain it, but it just made her feel happy. Now she was starting to understand why Celes felt so proud of her while they were training.

That said, with this eagerness to learn was also frustration. The giant woman was not openly showing any signs of anger or exasperation towards what was currently happening to her, though if Kimiko was in her place, she would have been more than a little bit irritated by what was happening. Not only has she been proven that her previous methods of fighting physically were wrong, but she was also being shown the effects of being outmatched by a faster opponent. Those were not pretty effects, of course, seeing as they mainly took the form of bleeding cuts that were light, yet also just deep enough to make the woman understand how outmatched she could be her temporary teacher was using her full speed. The scarlet-eyed warrior knew what she was going through; after all, she herself has gone through it several times with Celes as they trained together. It was powerlessness, helplessness, the feeling of inability to properly respond to incoming attacks.

This feeling was better laid bare during Kimiko's next offensive. Once again, the dual swordswoman had decided to go for a faster approach that the juggernaut could handle, and in so doing, she was able to dish out yet another deal of damage to her. As to be expected, Wynne was unable to defend herself against the offensive, and now, she had to confront the realization that she was starting to be covered in cuts. The teacher's blades had sunk into Wynne's stone-like skin, drawing blood to the best of their ability from the chest, the arms, and their undersides. They were rapid cuts, still just as weak against the juggernaut's body, but the damage was there nonetheless, and now she had to deal with it. This unsurprisingly caused the emotionless visage of the corpse-like lady to finally start breaking as she spoke out her opinion of the matter. In response to this, Kimiko would swing the blood away from her blades as she stood near the girl.

"Earlier, I told you to use your blade in a reverse-sheathed position to block. You weren't using it this time, so I was able to strike you," she reminded Wynne as she remained motionless near the woman before pointing one finger towards the temporary student's weapon. Although she was doing nothing, the sheer spiritual energy that was coming out of her was almost violent. Though she could not sense it fully, the lower-classed officer would most undoubtedly feel its effects from such a close distance. The only thing that somewhat alleviated this powerful aura was Kimiko's excitedly-serious attitude. She was... visibly struggling to contain her excitement for this spar now, but at the very least, she was still making sure to not go too hard on her. If she can turn this inexperienced physical fighter into something good, she will perhaps be able to feel even more pride from this activity. "I did tell you to focus on grabbing people, but your Zanpakutō is still there to help you out against opponents you can't handle on your own. Think of it as a shield."

As she explained, she would then position herself near enough to Wynne so that her arm would be able to reach for her back if it was swung widely around her. From so close, the tense atmosphere around Kimiko was even more tense.  "Remember what I told you: wide sweeps with your arms, blocks and baits with your blade," she would say as she continued standing there, letting the anticipation build up so as to forcefully ready Wynne for the next assault. There was no intent to strike, but it felt as though she was going to attack at any time. After a few seconds would pass, however, this intent would suddenly explode as she reached for the both of her blades again, and unsheathed them in a dual upward diagonal Iaijutsu strike. The speed at which she reached for her swords and then executed her attack were both at a speed of 25, which was roughly Wynne's speed. She probably won't be capable of blocking the attack perfectly, but at that velocity, she should be able to. 

Whether the blocking was successful or not, Kimiko would then sheathe her weapons before maneuvering around her sparring partner at a speed of 35 to deliver the same attack at a speed of 25 again. There were no variation in her attacks, just an intent to repeat the attack over and over while showing off the footwork of a faster opponent. This was slower than before for sure, a decision that will most likely spare the juggernaut an increasing amount of cuts, though it was also a more direct one. In the teacher's mind, if this person truly cannot respond to higher speeds for the time being, then the least she can do is iron out the style she wants her to adopt, then hammer it in through repetitive attacks. "Keep your hand on your blade!" She called as she maintained her assault. "Don't let go of it!"