Sea, Rocks, and Misplaced Socks [JTT]

[Alexander Kuma-Hebi]

OOC: This is a joint training thread including Alexander Kuma-Hebi and Yetsuna Yishnir. Also, as allowed by Kento and Kyo, this thread will feature post-CIU Alexander. First post goes to Alexander as well.

[Alexander Kuma-Hebi]

Soul Society. Home. It was good. Good to be back. And Alexander Kuma-Hebi was definitively happy that he was back. The familiarity of the streets, his office, his home, the dear voices of his comrades, the warm, loving noise of his pets, in fact, the whole of Seireitei, it felt a lot more like a true home than before he left, in fact more than ever in his life. When he left almost a year ago, he was a very different man. Filled with rage. Filled with hatred. Darkness. Eternal turmoil, even though he didn't realize it. It took an infernal demon implanted into Alexander's very soul, inseparably, in the depths of Hell, that tried to overtake Alexander and possess him. It took a long running away from everything. It took taking his own life. It took being saved by a person so innocent that angels seemed dirty in comparison. It took a lot of thinking, and even more meditation. It took, creating a bond, a friendship, and the loss of that bond. It took being entrusted with someone's dying will. It's what it took, all of that, to show Alexander the errors of his ways. To show him the burden of his sins that he had to carry around. But he has seen it. The futures that could come to pass. The future that needed to pass. And which one would pass, depended on him. And he was not going to let anybody down.

People who knew Alexander deeply before were mostly gone. Those few that deeply knew him wouldn't recognize him at all, and those who didn't know him so intimately have seen big changes. He was different, Alexander Kuma-Hebi. Warmer. More caring. And not a single trace of racism, xenophobia, hatred and elitism that he maintained before. If one talked to the man, they could only get the sense of safety, of peace, of desire to protect form the man and from his aura. Indeed, Alexander Kuma-Hebi has grown, matured past the trifles of darkness and petty sins that he swum in before. Now, he was a cleansed man, a new man. Maybe it was some enlightenment he had on his leave. Maybe it was merely a fact that he had a son now, a responsibility. It didn't matter at all, actually. Alexander Kuma-Hebi was a new man, and there was no going back to what was before. There was only room for one thing, and that would be going forward, towards new days and towards a new peace. With maybe a two or three more gray hairs in his hair, Alexander would greet every new rising sun, happy that he and the world, and everyone within it, got to see it.

But today, it was a special day. Before he departed, Alexander wrote a letter and passed it to Captain Commander. It detailed when, and under which circumstances, a certain Shinigami was to be promoted into Alexander's new Vice Captain. Truth to be told, the Squad needed it, the Soul Society needed it, and most of all, Alexander needed it, now even more so when he was a parent as well. That promotion came and passed, and Yetsuna Yishnir was a Vice Captain for almost a month now, taking duty before Alexander returned. But, now that he has, he handled the mountain of paperwork that he had waiting for him, and then he altered some living arrangements and some of the special duties handed out inside the Squad, in order for his son, still a baby, to be babysat. Just in time, though, as luck would have it, to spend a few days that Yetsuna had on her assignment in Human World. But, she returned last evening, and Alexander did dispatch her an invitation of sorts. It was simple, saying: "Courtyard 14, tomorrow, noon." It was easily understandable.

So, a few minutes before noon, Alexander appeared at courtyard 14. It was a back courtyard of the Squad dojo, and was very spacious, being basicaly a thirty meters by thirty meters square, with a high wall on three sides, and dojo on the fourth, entirely separated from rest of facilities in that manner. It had thick, short grass to serve as its carpet, and, in a corner diagonally right from the doors that led into the dojo from the courtyrd, and vice-versa, basically the only exit and only entrance, there was a tall oak tree that gave some decent shade. Given that he had come early, Alexander easily strolled over to the tree and sat under it. He was wearing his usual outfit, meaning his formal war accompanied by the trench coat that was his haori, but he still sat in the grass, not caring if he got dirty at all.

Slowly, he pulled out a flask from inside his jacket, and took a sip. It might seem to somebody that it was merely a bit of alcohol to indulge in, it was well-known fact within Squad 3 that that flask contained water, and only water, and nothing else other than water. Alexander took a sip, and then returned the flask to his pocket. It was so peaceful. So quiet. One could indeed see the true nature of Soul Society in moments like this. It truly was... paradise. But Alexander knew, and he didn't for a second forget, that this paradise stood only because many were putting their lives on the line to protect it, and that the cost of this paradise was many lives lost. But that would occupy his mind some other time. Now, he mostly wondered if he had made the right call, and what kind of person Yetsuna was indeed. He couldn't wait for her to come...

[Yetsuna Yishnir]

Yetsuna laid in her bed caught in the half-asleep state debating whether or not she wanted to get up yet, she knew the answer, but she didn't wanna acknowledge it yet, her bed was too damn comfy, that and she was feeling sore all over. She couldn't recall last night completely, but she figured she had probably done just a bit too much drinking last night, and, going on her sore body, had gotten into one hell of a brawl. She laid in bed debating just how badly she needed to start her day before eventually picking herself up with a groan as her muscles started to complain at the excretion. She tossed her blanket off of her and towards the foot of her bed before swinging her feet out to make contact with the floor.

The floor was cool to her naked feet and it sent a small shiver up her spine upon initial exposure, but she ignored it and made her way towards the shower, stealing a glance at her clock along the way. It was already 10 o'clock meaning she only had two hours to get everything she needed done before she had to go meet her captain, the person she worked under, but ironically had not met just yet. Her appointment to the position had come down in the form of a letter while he had been away on a mission, she she took her office without ever meeting the man. She had taken it upon herself to try and glean whatever information about her superior she could and in all honesty so far she was somewhat scared she had made a bad choice.

A lot of people said Alexander was a shinigami supremacist and disliked any other spiritual race, some of the rumors she heard even said his dislike was so extreme he'd try to kill other races on the spot. Granted all those were rumors so she didn't fully believe them, but to have such ideologies tied to her new captain was slightly concerning to someone like herself who was almost the exact opposite. Yetsuna was very open person when it came to dealing with others, even members of other races like arrancars. She cared about the person they were not the prejudices and stereotypes associated with them. Either way, she'd find out if the rumors were true or not soon enough, and from there she could make whatever choices she needed to.

The dirty blonde turned on the hot water, slide off her underwear, and stepped into the shower. Immediately she felt the hot water work its magic on her sore body, all the pain and stiffness disappearing as the steaming water ran down over her skin. She stood under the water for a long while just letting the heat seep into her bones before she finally started to clean herself so that she could look presentable to the public. After a good 20 minutes in the shower she finally cut off the water and got out and dried herself off. After her cleansing was complete she made her way towards a small dresser in which she kept her underwear, the only real part of her outfit that changed daily.

She pulled on a regular pair of black bikini-style panties and walked over towards a mannequin i the corner of her room that served as the storage for her clothing/armor when she wasn't wearing it. Because much of the outfit had metal ingratiated into it was the easiest way to store it, at least the easiest she could think of. First she took off the skirt, a fairly plain piece of asymmetrical white cloth, the left side starting at her upper thigh and the right ending around her knee. After that came her belts which she wore at intersecting angles so they had a "X" shape to them. On the left side on each belt were some pieces of armor plating that cover her hip.

After the skirt and belts she put on her top, which was actually to most annoying part of her daily wear, it was mostly made of metal plate so it didn't maneuver well when she tried to put it on, and even after she managed it she had to adjust her ample bosom so that she felt comfortable and presentable. The top left much of the top of her breasts revealed and didn't offer much protection for her midriff considering it was fully exposed, but the standard shinigami uniform didn't offer much protection there either so it's not like it was a huge loss. After that came the pauldrons and gauntlets before she finally put on her greaves. Now fully dressed she grabbed the great sword that was her Zanpaktou before finally heading out the door. It was 11.

She had just enough time to swing by the galley and grab a small and quick breakfast to go before making her way to the designated meeting area. As she walked she found herself wondering if the captain would be able to recognize her at all. Until recently Yetsuna had been known a green haired shinigami with red eyes and a katana-style bastard sword, now her entire look had changed. Sure her and Alexander hadn't met in the past, but he must have heard something about her appearance before offering the position. Regardless of whether or not he did it honestly didn't matter, if he was confused about her looks it would just be something she could use to tease her new boss.

The dirty blonde would arrive at the sparring area shortly after the captain did in just enough time watch him take a swig from his flask before returning it to his pocket. She had heard a few rumors about that as well, mostly that it contained water instead of liqueur, something she found rather interesting considering how partial she was to the nectar herself, but she figured that that might not be the best way to open up the conversation. Instead she figured she do something, subtle wasn't really the word, but that was the best word that came to mind. To her it seemed Alexander hadn't noticed her arrival just yet, seemingly lost in his own thoughts.

With a quick shunpo Yetsuna would move herself to sit on one of the branches above him before giving off a cheery, "Hi there." 

[Alexander Kuma-Hebi]

While it seemed Alexander was lost in his own thoughts, he in fact DID notice Yetsuna's arrival. A sweet scent, perhaps from a bath or something. And under that, well hidden, a stench of alcohol. A dog would easily smell all of those, and Alexander was roughly on the same level to a well honed hunting hound when it came to his senses. And Yetsuna wasn't silent either, he could indeed hear her. He didn't need to look at her to know she was there. And he didn't need to sense her Reiatsu either. All he had to was to use his nose and his ears. And Shunpo, while not loud like Sonido nor flashy as Bringer Light, still had a sound of his own, and that was enough for Alexander to recognize it. A gentle sound of leaves up in the tree gave away where exactly did Yetsuna go even before she uttered hers "Hi there." Alexander didn't need to look at her to know where she was now, definitively. He nodded, and then got up, and without turning at all, started walking away, talking as he went. "You're here... Good, I appreciate the punctuality, even though it is a thing that often eludes me as a person. Funny thing, to seek in others what you cannot find within yourself. But that is what allies and comrades are there for, don't you think?"

Slowly reaching the desired distance from the tree, some twenty meters, Alexander turned towards Yetsuna, analyzing her. He looked at the woman, making mental notes. She changed her appearance, that was for sure, as she looked way different when she looked at her 'most recent' picture in that file some time ago. But it was eternity ago, as far as Alexander was concerned, so it wasn't important. What caught his eye was the fact that she also chose to not wear standard Shinigami outfit, and Alexander, who made the same choice, respected that. Not only it meant she was not a conformist, but it also meant that she had more style than your average Shinigami. At least, as far as fashion was concerned. Still, it was enough to gain some respect from Alexander. "So you don't wear standard uniform as well... I can only compliment you on that, to be honest, those were designed some thirty thousand years ago, and I do believe we should update the design at least a bit... Anyways, good choice of outfit.", Alex complimented Yetsuna. From a man that didn't hand out respect without reasons, whether she knew it or not, she just got some.

However, Alexander made further notes. That the outfit was an armor, and that probably meant it was suitable for combat, given her Squad 11 history, it most likely indicated a personality that was combat-centered, or at least liked it to an extent. And her Zanpakuto... Just as Alexander's own, some time ago, it was not in shape of katana or other Asian sword. A weapon of European origin, it was something that was generally uncommon among the Shinigami, but unheard of. It was very interesting however. Alexander was pretty convinced, based on what he had seen so far, that he had chosen just the right person for promotion. However, that was yet to be proved, and it was not by any means set in stone, simply put, Yetsuna had to prove Alexander's assumptions either right or wrong. Alexander however made a single, but significant motion. He removed his sunglasses, his trademark, from his face, and then placed them into internal pocket of his jacket. He did that rarely, but now was an occasion for that. Alexander wanted to look Yetsuna straight in the eyes, and wanted to allow her to be able to do the same, a simple gesture of respect for a comrade.

Then, he addressed Yetsuna again: "Now, that Shunpo of yours, while a bit on the slow side, had quite good technique to it. Not bad at all. Now let me be honest here. I do not know you, and you do not know me. Even though you are by rank my second in command, we are strangers to each other. Now, that will not do, if we are to ever properly work as a team. Second thing, I always try to keep my officers up to quite high standards. That is especially true for my Vice Captains." That indeed was true. Alexander only chose capable people for his Vice Captains. His previous Vice Captain, Hotaru Kuchiki-Masurao, was now in fact serving as a Captain of Squad 10, and was quite powerful on her own. However, Alexander continued. "Simply put, I want your skills to more or less match mine form the time when I just took Captaincy. Now, worry not, I know things like that don't come overnight. It takes time and hard work. But I'll help you. Hakuda, Zanjutsu. I can, and I will instruct you in those. So, if you are fine with that, could you please take out your Zanpakuto? It would serve us good to practice Zanjutsu today. After all, it has been said that true ideals and traits of someone's personality are best translated trough swords, rather than words. I would like for us to use this Zanjutsu practice for that. So, please, come at me. Attack me with your sword. Show me your resolve."

[Yetsuna Yishnir]

Her hopes of sneaking up on him were minimal at best, she was about as far from stealthy as someone could get, her hope had been more just to leave an impression of some sort on him, namely that she was fun loving and kinda like to make an entrance. Despite her efforts her new boss didn't even seem to acknowledge her actions, hell he didn't even say hello back, he just went straight into being a philosophical professional, commenting on how often he found himself being tardy. Yetsuna would remain sitting on the tree branch swinging her legs back and forth like a child as she listened before responding, "Generally, yes, but I normally worry more about them picking up the slack in combat then small personal flaws like being late." Her voice wasn't has cheery has her greeting has been, but it still held a great deal of natural warmth to it, like she was a spirit unburdened by the troubles of the world.

As she finished talking the captain would turn around to face her, and she could see him eyeing her, but not in the way most men did. When most men looked at her they saw her cleavage, midriff, and thighs, but he was actually her as a whole, as a person. Maybe he was just too focused to notice her bare flesh, or maybe it was that he truly didn't care about it, either way it was something she noted to herself. She personally kinda hoped that it was the former because she often enjoyed teasing people with her looks, but at the time she wasn't entirely sure her new boss would be up to such games. She shifted the thought aside to worry about another time, she could worry about those kind of interactions later once they actually knew each other a bit better.

While the man chose not comment on her exposed skin he did comment on her overall choice of attire, “Yeah I wasn’t a huge fan of the way the old uniform looked so I decided to do something that would fit me a bit better." Her tone was warm and casual, but there was just a hint of underlying tease that said part her decision for the change was to show a bit of skin, which wasn’t entirely a lie. She had had her outfit designed to show off a bit of her assets, she enjoyed the way she looked and had no problem with sharing the view with others, within certain limits. “You’re dressed fairly sharply yourself,” she observed back. As finished speaking she would shift her weight onto her hands and kick her feet out to launch herself from her perch. She’d land a few feet away from the tree with a sense of grace that befitted a woman of her appearance, but at the same time there was also a deep sense of strength.

Again Alexander began to talk, though rather than polite chit-chat it was about the real reason they were here, to get to know each other. Even before her captain spoke she knew what he was going to suggest they do, a sparring session. As a way to get to know someone the only way she thought might have been better was to go out drinking, but even that normally ended up having some sort of fight occur. Yetsuna drew her blade out from across her back with a chuckle, “I might be a bit rusty with a blade, I’m a little more used to fighting with my release then my sealed sword.” “Well I guess this will be a good chance for you to practice then,” Ishio suddenly rang out in her head, “I think you’ve gotten a little to used to using my powers in fights.” His voice somehow managed to mix emotionless businessman and lecturing dad in a way that never failed to get a response out of Yetsuna.

“What’s wrong with using my powers?” she asked back with a pouty tone. “Nothing. A problem arises when you become overly reliant on them however.” The female shinigami wanted to retort again, but like always Ishio had managed to trap her in a corner and she knew it. “Ya know,” she said mentally letting her voice trail off because she didn’t really have anything to follow it up with. Her brief side conversation done she flourished her blade a bit to be a little showy before taking up a combat stance, left side to the enemy, sword arm behind her and her left arm slightly outstretched to counter any attacks. “You going to draw your’s?” she’d ask more from a sense of politeness then concern, she doubted he needed to blade to deal with her, but it was still good form to ask.

[Alexander Kuma-Hebi]

"I might be a bit rusty with a blade, I’m a little more used to fighting with my release then my sealed sword.", Yetsuna said. That was, even for Alexander, understandable, even without a companion that other Shingami had in in the form of Zanpakuto, he knew the benefits of being able to use a release, it was something that was well-known to him. He did lack a release now, but he didn't always have to be on his own, some time in the past, he too had a Zanpakuto release. Therefore, Alexander very well knew the advantage of Zanpakuto. But he also knew the disadvantage. Complacency. Loss of versatility. Underdevelopment of other aspects of growth and training. Alexander calmly addressed Yetsuna on the topic. "Well, then all the more reason to do this. We should scrape off that rust. A Shinigami needs to able to, if circumstances dictate so, fight without his release. Maybe you will find yourself too tired, or too devoid of Reiatsu, or too injured, or somehow unable to maintain your Shikai or even release it in the first place. So, you must master the combat consisting of four basic arts. Hakuda, Kido, Hoho, Zanjutsu. They all exist to allow us to fight without using our releases. And also, using your Zanpakuto too much is tactically detrimental to you. Something like your release should never be something you use early on except when odds are stacked against you."

With that, Alexander sighed. In true, most of younger Shinigami took their Zanpakuto for granted. It was a common thing. A simple occurrence coming from youth and inexperience. Young Shinigami tended to overestimate the uniqueness and strength of their souls, and their Zanpakuto. They also tended to forget that not only Zanpakuto needs to become stronger, but also the Shinigami wielding it. Among senior ranks of Shingami, that tended to not be the case. As a matter of fact, Alexander couldn't think of a single Captain who couldn't put up one hell of a fight even without releasing their Zanpakuto. Out of Captains, as far as Alexander could tell, it was Captain of Squad 10, Hotaru, that had to rely on her Zanpakuto the most. And yet, Alexander, who had the opportunity to be her superior officer for some time, knew that she was a deadly opponent without needing to release her Zanpakuto. That was simply expected of a Captain. Yetsuna was no Captain, at least for now, but as far as Alexander was concerned, Captains were good role models for her.

As Yetsuna took her stance, Alexander carefully observed it. There was some skill indicated by that stance, but it was obvious to Alexander that work was needed. Alexander could see more than a few openings he could exploit, and if he could use Kido, he could probably find and exploit at least a few more. But still she was new to this. She was young, and there was a lot that she was yet to learn. "You going to draw yours?", she asked. This resonated within Alexander. Indeed, Yetsuna was a rookie. She may have had the experience and skills and powers fitting to be a Vice Captain, but by becoming one, she came into a whole different arena than one she was in. And here, she was a rookie. "Well, to add to what I said before, you, as a Vice Captain, need to be able to fight at high level without releasing your Zanpakuto. Also, in fights you will be getting from now on, you probably shouldn't worry about your opponents not drawing swords. Worry about how to survive, and how to win." Alexander still eyed Yetsuna. Should he attack, or should he still have her attack him? It would be a good test to do either, so he was unsure yet.

"But, regardless, I would be very poorly mannered if I didn't greet your sword with mine." Alexander said that in very light tone, but not jokingly. Truth is, he didn't even show it to Yetsuna. Or rather, them. With his left hand, he in a single move removed his trench coat and tossed it behind him. It flew a short distance and then landed on a chair that was left just outside the doors that led from courtyard into the dojo. What this has done was rather revealing. It showed something previously obscured by that coat. Not one, but two identical katanas hung from his left waist, their sheathes black, their guards silver and their hilts wrapped in orange cloth. Each one was quite long, almost enough to be classified as nodachi rather than katana. "But, by 'yours', I suppose you mean this one?" As he was saying that, Alexander touched with index finger of his right hand a hilt of one of his Zanpakuto. "Or perhaps this one?", he said as he moved that index finger to touch other Zanpakuto's hilt. "It really matters little..." His mind was set. The original idea was best. "Now, as I told you already. Come at me. Show me what you got. That should tell us where to start..."

[Yetsuna Yishnir]

Yetsuna listened to her captain's comments about someone using their release, and while she did see the value in what he had to say she felt that his arguments weren't exactly the best ones to use for her. As he finished talking the female shinigami would smile like a kid with a secret, "I can see where you're coming from, but I don't think you choose the best arguments," her tone of voice matching her expression. "I dunno if you've had a chance to read my updated dossier, or if they're actually updated it for that matter, but I actually don't need to use any energy to use my release; it's a permanent type now," as she spoke the sword on her back began to encroach on her body beginning to form her armor.

Yetsuna had a soft spot for theatrics and never liked to pass up the chance to do something showy or cool where she could, even if it didn't yield any real results, and this was likely going to be on of those cases. The metal would finish shifting as she finished talking revealing her armored release, no call out phrase or name spoken, a example to drive her point home, not that she really needed it. While the armor began take form Ishio began talking in her head again, "You're not fighting with your release," "I know, I'm just trying to be cool, I'll reseal in a second," "Just making sure." Her zanpaktou spirit knew she had a taste for the theatrical so why he felt the need to speak up was anyone's guess, then again if Alex had given her the option to fight in her armor she would have taken it, so she couldn't really blame him for speaking up.

"Energy, physical and reaitsu, is something else I've got plenty of so I don't have too many concerns there either," she said, not exactly dismissing his point, after she could tire out just like anyone else, but not drawing as much concern about it, every fight she had been in so far ended before either party really ran out of steam. She paused a moment as her armor resealed into its blade form before saying something she wasn't a huge fan of admitting, "But, my proficiency with my release has definitely taken a toll on my other skills. I can still fight with a sword fairly well and I'm not bad at some hoho techniques, but other then that I don't have much." The female shinigami's voice shifted slightly as she talked taking on a more serious and thoughtful sound.

Yetsuna knew she was heavily reliant on her release in combat for numerous reasons, first and foremost was to help make up for the gaps in her known techniques. Despite her best efforts she never really managed to really get a grasp on techniques outside of the hoho area and she hadn't really been able to figure out why. Her best guess was that it had something to do with her release being a permanent type, maybe her reaitsu was so elementally attuned to earth that trying to force it to take on other elements just wasn't within her abilities. "I've never had a lot of luck trying to using kido despite my best efforts which is why I decided to become so proficient in my release, it helps make up for that lack of ability."

(OOC: I'm gonna end my post here since I feel like this might be a long area of discussion for the two of them. I'll move onto her drawing her blade and everything else as another post after this conversation section is done)

[Alexander Kuma-Hebi]

Alexander carefully listened to Yetsuna carefully. "I can see where you're coming from, but I don't think you choose the best arguments. I dunno if you've had a chance to read my updated dossier, or if they're actually updated it for that matter, but I actually don't need to use any energy to use my release; it's a permanent type now." This was something that was not listed in the dossier when Alexander last looked it over, but it meant little, in the world Yetsuna stepped into by becoming a Vice Captain, this meant little to nothing. Alexander observed her armor forming, and he knew that he was being shown her Zanpakuto's Release. Yet, it meant little, no matter how good the armor, there were always openings to exploit. "I see. So that is your Zanpakuto... Then there is all the more reason for you to learn to fight without it. Being clad in armor may give you false safety, and make you overconfident, or even worse, sloppy. Any of those three things, on the battlefield, lead to only death. Forget everything you know. You entered a new world. World where a single slip can be the end of you." Alexander's tone was rather serious as he spoke those words. But, his tone brightened up for what he had to say next. "But, I'd hate to lose any of my subordinates, so, I'll do my best to aid in your preparations." This was serious. Alexander intended to keep Yetsuna in his Squad as his Vice Captain until she either retired or got Captaincy. Either way, he would hate to see her killed in action.

"Energy, physical and reaitsu, is something else I've got plenty of so I don't have too many concerns there either. But, my proficiency with my release has definitely taken a toll on my other skills. I can still fight with a sword fairly well and I'm not bad at some hoho techniques, but other then that I don't have much. I've never had a lot of luck trying to using kido despite my best efforts which is why I decided to become so proficient in my release, it helps make up for that lack of ability." Those were Yetsuna's words. Alexander pondered on them for a second, before he issued a response. "That is all well, but you cannot always dictate your circumstances. Your energy may be high naturally, but you may face a foe who can seal it away or steal it. You may face a foe who cannot be harmed by your Zanpakuto, or who can negate it or its powers. And make no mistake, no matter how good the armor is, there is bound to be one slit in it, one opening that can be exploited, and capitalized on. Cast away your armor. Breathe. Take a deep breath. Fight without it. Knowing how to may save your life tomorrow, or even today. And also... Come at me."

[OOC: Sorry for this horrendous delay and short post, but, lets get this rolling.]

[Yetsuna Yishnir]

(OOC: touched up some of the phrasing and the grammar a bit with an edit)

Yetsuna was quickly finding her boss to be a bit too serious for her own tastes, sure she hadn't been expecting some kind of huge reaction of of him, he was a captain after all, but the last thing she was expecting him to do was critique her and her release, especially before they even fought. Her face began to betray her thoughts as it shifted to a slightly bored expression; she had been expecting more of a meet-and-greet-let's-get-to-know-each-other kinda deal rather then a depressing critique. His comment about "entering a new world" also felt rather ominous, she knew some things were going to be different due to her rank, like the fact she'd have to fight some tougher enemies, but it wasn't like she got pulled into some kinda of alternate dimension or something.

As the conversation drew to a close and Alex said his final few pieces Yetsuna couldn't help but cock an eye brow and give her captain a slightly weird look, it felt like he was talking to her like she was nervous or something. Granted, she wasn't a huge fan of fighting without her armor, she knew she was horrendously vulnerable without it, but it's not like the idea was making her shake in her boots or something. Regardless she would just push the idea aside for now, this was his first time meeting her so it wasn't too far fetched to just mark his odd comment up to being on different wave lengths, maybe some combat would help them get better reads on each other.

Upon saying to attack Yetsuna used a shunpo, one of her default moves, to close the distance between the two of them. On the speed spectrum Yetsuna was definitely on the slower end, something she was been working to fix, but getting faster isn't as easy as building up physical strength, so her progress thus far had been fairly slow. She bee lined directly for Alex, intending to stop in front of him and just has her foot hit the ground her hand would reach up to take her blade off her back in a lead into an attack, but before the motion was completely she would shunpo again, this time flank around to his left, the weaker arm of most people, before finished her drawing motion and attempting to bring her blade down on his upper arm.

She didn't have too much faith that her attack was going to work, all it was was two shunpo followed by a swing of her blade, something that simple shouldn't be able to hit a captain. She did, however expect him to try and counter attack, and she was already mentally prepared to react to any attacks, but she also had a passive defense working in her favor too, her spiritual pressure. If there was one thing she didn't lack that was reaitsu and abundance gave her a secondary line of defense whenever her armor failed.

Typically when she was fighting an ally she would do her best to keep a cap on the amount she was giving off, typically keeping it just high enough to absorb a blow without injuring her partner, but this scenario was a bit different. Since she was fighting a captain she wasn't as concerned about doing some damage, especially because this was a fight for Alex to gauge her abilities, but this still had it's own problem. Even compared to her captain the amount of spiritual pressure she had dwarfed his, so it she just let it go unrelentingly there was a solid chance she could tear his arms apart, so for now she was keeping it around a level where a retaliation strike from him would end up with him cutting some cuts along his hand and forearm.