Taking it Easy [Makoto, Shishiyuki]

She was supposed to be resting, in her own little way she was. Makoto was infinitely glad that she did not have to spend to much time in that hospital room than she had to.

The white haired woman had found herself a nice little spot out of the way in the Academy to study. She knew this room wasn't booked for anything in particular at this time since it was later in the afternoon, and so she liked to sneak away sometimes to study or practice.

At the insistence of Abalia though Makoto had resigned to not do any physically strenous tasks. Instead she had focused on her kido, considering she had some injuries from Shishiyuki it had given her something to work with while she tried to work some basic kaido and speed up the healing process.

"Hmm. It feels a little better."

Her shihakusho was open at the front but she was facing away from the door of the dim room. While the soft glow in her palm worked its magic on the injured areas. Shishiyuki had stayed in her mind, that scene felt eeriely similar to the memory.

She was so focused that she didn't realise a student had walked by and peeked in, rather than calling out to her the kid had ran off to go look for an instructor. All he had seen after all was a woman that looked injured sitting in the corner.

Naturally most instructors at the Academy would already have been on their way home after their lessons had been completed for the day, but Shishiyuki always made it a point to stay for a while longer in case any students needed to ask something of her. Of course, when one of the students came to report an injury in one of the private study rooms, naturally she went to investigate.

There wasn't really any hesitation as she opened the door, though obviously she didn't slam it open, either. She didn't want to startle whoever was in here that might be injured.

That said, when she saw who was actually in the room, her demeanor was a touch less surprised, though her responsibility as an educator, and of course her own sense of pride in her position, meant she would not change her approach in the slightest.

"I was informed that there was an injury here. Are you well, Miss Arima?"

"Huh?"

It broke her focus and she turned around towards the familiar voice, staring back at Shishiyuki blankly for a moment. Her heart beat a little faster at the sight of her and remembering the brief fight between both of them.

"Lady Shishiyuki... Of course I'm fine."

Makoto didn't really know how to react when all that she heard going through her head was the warning of going the way she continued would get her killed. The seated officer got up and faced the raven haired woman. The nasty bruising of her stomach was visible for a moment before Makoto held her top closed and nodded. She was fine, that was a redundant question however. Makoto knew there was restraint, just enough and not to much or to little.

"You know that already though."

It briefly occurred to her that between the exit and herself was the figure of the woman that had made it quite clear that she could kill her.

"I had assumed so, yes, given the medical staff had already been willing to release you. However, it is nevertheless the proper course of action as your instructor to ask, yes?"

Shishiyuki entered the room without any real malice in her demeanor, her stride composed, tranquil even. After all, this wasn't a situation where she could afford to let even a single iota of ill-intention come out.

"However, given I am the one responsible for your injuries in the first place, I also would rather ensure that they are healing correctly. I know quite well the damage that they could cause."

For a moment, she was silent, simply studying her student with surprisingly gentle eyes. For all of the killing intent that she had carried for those briefest of moments in their exchange in the classroom, none of it was allowed purchase now. If, ultimately, only for Shishiyuki's own sake.

"You handled yourself quite well that day, you know. I had intended to visit you in the infirmary to tell you as much. Have you considered more advanced study in hakuda?"

"Right. As is my responsibility to also apologise profusely for how irresponsible my actions as a seated officer were. I am deeply regretful for how my actions disrupted your class."

Makoto winced when she bowed to show how apologetic she was. There was sincerity behind it. She had never wanted it to happen like that, it shouldn't have. It still made her so disappointed in herself that it did occur.

"A more advanced study into hakuda? I do wish to excel in all fields as a shinigami as I can realistically achieve, if I am being honest"

It was a roundabout way of expressing her interest though she didn't confirm one way or another. There was something that bothered her, the way she could so comfortably seem to exist as a gentle soul and yet she could release a killing aura. No way though, that was silly. She was mistaken.

"I've always thought my hakuda was subpar. It's my weakest attribute, and so I try hard to not be content with that failing."

She still didn't know what Shishiyuki was getting at, did she mean more advanced hakuda courses in the Academy? Makoto had already tried to obtain their learning material and study in her own time.

"I of course accept your apology."

Shishiyuki offered a respectful bow of her own, polite and genuine itself. That was just common courtesy, wasn't it? To offer a bow in return when offered one? So few people seemed to apply the rules of etiquette and cordiality to their interactions with others, particularly when they felt they had some moral right to ignore it. She, however, would allow no such failing of her ethics.

"I would be willing to invite you to specialized lessons, if you are interested. I currently have a great deal of free time within my faculty hours, and to my knowledge the Academy still allows individual training for students with particular aptitude."

She made it a point to emphasize the fact that this would, indeed, be her teaching Makoto as an instructor at the Academy. Of course, the primary reason for this was that Shishiyuki herself would have felt thoroughly uncomfortable offering personal tutelage to a woman she had only recently met, but there was the secondary matter of feeling as though that would serve to keep the both of them in relative check.

After all, she knew that it would be for the best if she, too, had a reason to rein herself back.

Makoto seemed a little confused, it was a relief that Shishiyuki did not appear to hold any grudge against her for the disruption. Her eyes looked away for a moment, her mind going back and forth on weighing up how she should respond to the offer.

"I see.. I would be honoured to be taught by someone like you, Lady Shishiyuki."

Shishiyuki's fighting style had stuck out to her particularly. The way Makoto almost lost control of her whole arm just from the pain of the fingers striking her knuckles. It was only because of adrenaline, willpower and anger that she had the strength to persist and hold onto her. If she hadn't then Makoto had a feeling that it would've not been possible to hold onto her arm.

Maybe that was the appeal, the restraint of it. Shishiyuki's strikes were intentional and refined even though she had threatened her at the end of it.

"May I ask you a question?"

"You flatter me, Miss Arima, but thank you. I hope I will prove a worthwhile teacher."

Inwardly, Shishiyuki knew that she was one of the best teachers in the Academy when it came to hakuda. She would have, in an ideal world, been able to say as much to Makoto, to tell her that it was indeed an honor, but few had the context of her skill to ever make that assumption. She had, after all, not been able to ever show the full scope of her ability, and she was not one to simply show it off for the sake of glory. Opportunities like these were the only manner in which her value could truly be weighed.

"Of course. Ask whatever you wish."

That may have come across as a bit too open of an offer, but in all honesty, there was nothing about the wording that Shishiyuki had regretted. It was most likely that Makoto would simply take it to mean anything within the context of propriety, in which case there was no harm done. In the event that she asked something which moved outside the realm of a question one would typically ask a teacher... Well, Shishiyuki would cross that bridge when they came to it, but she did not inherently mind a bit of honesty.

When she had been given such a liberal answer to the request, Makoto did hesitate. The question almost switched from her original one because of how open it was but no, she wouldn't change her question off something silly like that. Instead she looked into Shishiyuki's eyes to try and understand.

"My acceptance of your offer will not change. However, I feel inclined to ask, are you going to kill me?"

It was only natural in her head that she should ask it when the last words before she was knocked out rang around her head like an echo. It refused to disappear and if she was going to be receiving lessons then she wanted to know the resolution of that statement. However, she would not back down from the lessons even if she did answer anything other than no.

It anything, it would be something to handle when it came up later.

Now that was a question Shishiyuki was all too willing to answer. She supposed that it was a consequence of what she had said, that warning she had offered in the final moments before Makoto was knocked unconscious. Looking into the girl's eyes, Shishiyuki afforded her perhaps the faintest glimpse into the truth behind her usual calm demeanor, into the self-affirming violence which defined her.

"I will not kill you, Miss Arima. I have never broken a promise in the whole of my life, and on this you have my word."

Shishiyuki would, certainly, have been willing to kill the woman. In fact, to do it would probably have given her the briefest moment of genuine satisfaction. But it would only, in the long term, serve to harm her. It would not offer her any growth as a person or as a martial artist to kill someone such as her, and it would likely only tarnish her reputation. In that sense, killing Makoto was rather far from what her aims.