Post by Nakajima Kimiko on Feb 16, 2023 15:12:14 GMT -5
The spar between Kimiko and Fuuko would last for five hours. Five long, exhausting, violent hours from morning to the late afternoon, during which many noises were emanated. For those who remained outside of the Coliseum, the noises that came from the main gates as well as the few louder ones which were released from the very top of the building sounded almost frightening; however, those of the Eleventh who trained just outside of it within the courtyard could only smile and smirk to themselves the further they would hear them. They knew what those noises were: the sound of training, of sparring, of battle. They could hear the many sword swings that sliced through the air, the booming clangs of metal against metal as blades met one another, the loud thuds of something hitting one's skin as hard as possible, and the vicious spilling of blood. But of course, the officers themselves were not there, and so they could not see what happened by themselves. The only ones who could were their Captain and the brash officer of the Fourth who damaged their property.
Behind the gates of the Coliseum, the two stood in a sandy battlefield that had been left somewhat disturbed and bloodied. In a few places, the grounds had been left uneven, unbalanced by the pressure of the spiritual energy and the attacks that it was subjected to. A few others had been so affected by this that they had been rendered much lower in comparison to their initial level, causing them to appear as small pits where one could easily lose their footing. Not even the walls which surrounded the arena appeared to have been spared from the spar, as they too sported a few damages. There were sword scars, cracks, and each and every one of them had been clearly tested by one's spiritual energy. They of course had suffered worse. If they would not have done so, they would have crumbled a long time ago. Nevertheless, combined with the general state of the arena itself, they would appear as a greater showcase of the fearsome power that had been displayed by the officers who used them both.
The brunt of the damages caused to the arena reflected well onto the two women that occupied it. Fuuko herself was unsurprisingly the one who had received the most damage. Given she was the weakest of the two, it was expected of her to appear worse for wear after this whole ordeal. With that said, Kimiko was not left unscathed either. She continued to stand upright and she wasn't really exhausted per say; after all, it was hard for her to get exhausted at all lately, especially due to her constant Hohō training requiring her to always move at top speeds. Yet despite this, her skin and robes alike had a few cuts here and there. They were small, but they were present, and each of them had visibly caused some blood to trickle down her body to cover the white of her haori in red. She also sported a tiny bruise on her right arm, one that appeared to have been left by a knuckle which had failed to completely land against it successfully. Needless to say, it was quite the sight for the speedy Captain. It was also quite the experience.
The damage, as small and perhaps as significant as it may have seemed to some, hurt. The cuts were causing her body to scream out loud from each and every one of them, and the bruise was very uncomfortable. Such was the price of prioritizing speed over strength, as to become a master of dodging attacks ultimately prevents one to become a master of enduring these same attacks. In typical circumstances, the Captain would have immediately released Shizukakane from his Sealed form and healed the damage away. In fact, perhaps it would have been much safer for her to do so now, as her Inner Hollow could have used this situation to try to take over her senses much like how she had almost taken over her while she was battling Camila. However, this time, she decided to keep the damages on her person. Instead of ridding herself from it all, she remained there with her swords unsheathed, standing proud as she stared down at an officer who had proven herself to be quite the capable warrior.
Shortly after the pause that followed the end of the spar, Fuuko - who was on the side of the arena opposite to Kimiko's - would begin to speak. It seemed that, in spite of the damages she herself received and the exhaustion that she was going through, she was satisfied with the outcome of this spar. Her happiness was enough to bring a grin out of the Captain. Unsurprisingly, she was very glad to see her training method for Fuuko had worked, even if it had lead the both of them to receive more damage than they really needed out of a first spar. "Maybe I didn't, but you definitely kept me going! If I had made one mistake, you could've killed me!" She admitted to the blonde as she quickly swiped the blood off of her blades, causing the sands below her position to become even redder. Once this was accomplished, she sheathed her swords. There did not seem to be any more reason for her to keep them unsheathed, after all. "That's the kind of attitude I always like to see."
Even though the spar had ended, the Captain was still quite excited. It had been a while since she actually trained someone like Fuuko, and frankly, if the blonde officer would have had enough stamina at this point of time to wish to do so, she would have been totally fine with continuing this spar for just a bit longer. Those moments of high energy always allowed her to remove herself from her duties as a Captain, from the stress she always has had to face everyday, and from the turmoils within her soul that keep becoming darker and darker. It was nice, really, comforting in its own way despite the physical pain that came with it. To think that pride in someone else was ultimately the one thing she understood to be the most satisfying to her... Even to this day, this realization still confuses her. Perhaps she was always meant to be a teacher, someone who would share her knowledge of battle with others whom she believed to be deserving.
But as Kimiko further listened to the medic, her energy would be dampened as intrigue slowly settled in. Apparently, the woman had been hearing someone talking to her, and she believed that voice to be owned by the spirit of her Zanpakuto. That did not really surprise Kimiko; after all, Fuuko had reached a point in her Shinigami career in which officers like her usually begin to develop their Zanpakuto properly. What surprised her a little bit, however, was that the spirit appeared to be somewhat aggressive when it came to Fuuko. She had seen this phenomena happen before, but it was rare, as more often than not, Zanpakuto spirits tend to be more cooperative. Perhaps she hadn't seen enough of them to make a proper conclusion in that regard. "So that's why you kept having those outbursts earlier... Hm... Well, my first Zanpakuto was pretty stubborn back then. He never once screamed at me, but he only gave me his name after I was able to beat him in shogi. Heh... I can still remember how long it took me before I could beat him."
A nostalgic smile came to her then as she recalled the many matches she's had with Shizukakane. Those had been interesting times indeed. Losing to him was a frustrating ordeal at first, but the further she played, the more interested she became in the process as a whole up. It allowed her to develop a love for the game and other board games of its liking she never thought she could have, as well as a sort of respect for those who proved capable enough to master its every conception. With everything that has been happening lately, especially with her Inner Hollow, she has had less and less time to play with the older spirit. In fact, come to think of it, they haven't been conversing much lately, if at all, for he was often a bit distant. She couldn't blame him for his attitude, what with him still recalling what her Inner Hollow wanted to do with him, but it was still somewhat saddening for her. Hopefully, the both of them will be able to eventually play another game together before her Inner Hollow ever decides to strike.
This reminiscing of days long past would come to an end once the officer of the Fourth spoke again. She wanted to know the Captain's verdict, her opinion of Fuuko as a whole and if she fitted within the Eleventh Division. The scarlet-eyed woman would let out a small chuckle in response to this at first, as the woman had told her some hours ago now that she didn't belong in the Eleventh. In spite of this, she believed it was right for Fuuko to know her complete opinion on the matter. "To be honest? You'd be one of our best," she started before she began to approach the blonde officer. "You want to fight like us. You have the will for it, the strength for it, and also the courage for it. I bet everyone around here would be totally fine with the idea of keeping you around." Eventually, she would stop not too far away from Fuuko with a friendly smile on her face. "But, if you really want to stay in the Fourth, that's totally fine by me. We need more people who can both fight and tend to people at the same time, and I think you're a good type for that."
Once she finished talking, the Captain would then look on over to the arena, getting a good look at how their training went. Thereafter, she would stretch a bit, hissing at the slight pain that came from the many cuts she's received in the process. "As for how you fight... I think it'd be better if we discuss that over lunch," she slightly groaned, smirking a bit in spite of the pain. "We might as well get our wounds sorted, while we're at it."
