Disturbingly Distant, Similarly Different [Abalia, Makoto]

"No? I have found that it is not ideal to spend the entirety of one's time or efforts on a single aim for an extended period. Even if we find ourselves achieving more in the immediate, we will invariably be met with resistance, from both the body and the psyche. Even I am not able to pursue a single course singlemindedly without detriment on my overall progress. Please do consider your well-being, for both your own sake and that of the Gotei."

Abalia could certainly tell that Makoto had already been here for some time, and while it was admirable to aim only for improvement, she had been forced to come to terms with the truth; it was, quite frankly, not practical. She had no concern for her own well-being, but she did certainly care about results.

Ah--Abalia realized in a fraction of a second that Makoto's hand was moving to strike her once more. She had not, however, been prepared for it, and so rather than any physical response, which certainly would have been far too slow, her natural reaction was one far quicker. When Makoto's hand came near Abalia's eye, it was met only with the most piercing stare of which the Captain Commander was capable. It lasted for only a moment, as Abalia quickly reined back her natural defensive instinct, but the effects of such an overwhelming degree of authority would certainly have killed lesser men on the spot, and Abalia's eyes displayed the faintest degree of worry at Makoto's state, certainly more emotion than she tended to show in a professional environment.

"My deepest apologies, Miss Arima."

"I appreciate the concern ma'am but I am quite alright."

Impractical, that she knew, the same way she knew it had consequences on her wellbeing. She certainly had moments of passing out from fatigue and waking up in a pained state on the floor of her quarters and even used kaido at times to push herself to further extremes. Makoto was fine, she had yet to end up in the hospital yet regardless of how close she had come at times before.

Then her strike yielded unexpected results, what she expected to happen and what did happen were two different things. Her chest and throat felt tight, it was like without even moving Abalia had gripped her by the throat and started to choke her while the other hand had broke through her rib and wrapped it's fingers around her heart. For a faint moment her heart did stop and made her wonder if this was the start of a heart attack. The perfectly still hand in front of Abalia's eye had started shaking though it could not get any closer even if Makoto had wanted it.

The effects almost mirrored the effects of high levels of reiatsu on weaker souls but Abalia had admitted as such that she had none and it wasn't an unknown fact that there was very little spiritual power in the Captain Commander but Makoto had never imagined that her mental power could generate something so intense that it almost made the idea of her having spiritual power redundant.

"It's.. okay ma'am. A strike like that is the best way to judge someone's expression of Tainoumeiseki and the relationship between mind and body."

Makoto took a moment to recover, her words a bit slow before regaining their usual professionalism. She had never really met anyone who successfully handled her testing strike, they'd always recoil or try to intercept it but Abalia didn't even flinch and then proceeded to attack without even moving.

"The pressure you exert is truly one that deserves praise."

To achieve an effect like that with spiritual pressure was one thing, but pure mental fortitude was jarring.