A New Generation[Invite]

"Whether you aspire to reach the top or simply give back to your people, it's all still something to be admired. I can appreciate you wishing to live up to the title passed down to you by the people you grew up with. That's why I want you to achieve that goal and I'm not gonna let you give up on it, either!" Hiroe nodded her head as she patted Kaito on his hip. She was shorter than him so a shoulder pat was out of the question. Nevertheless, she still wished to give him a proper pat without having to look silly in doing so.

Pulling her hand back to rest around her hilt, Hiroe surveyed the room as a thought passed her mind. Conversation was nice and learning more about the Ghost of Rukongai was fun. Why not see how she held up against a fellow student? The thought excited her, to be certain. A soft smile graced her features as raised the sword before her.

"You know, since no one's arrived yet. I wouldn't mind the thought of testing our techniques against one another in a spar. I enjoy practicing my swordsmanship in peace but it never hurts to see how they hold up against a sparring partner, especially someone taller than me."

Perhaps it was a sense of humbleness that prevented him from seeing his own goal as admirable, but Kaito couldn't bring himself to agree with her. Nevertheless, he smiled as she promised to not let him give up on his goal. He had no intentions. right now, at least, to give up on this dream. His gaze shifted to her hand as she patted him on the hip, chuckling softly to himself.

He hadn't properly realized just how small she was until then. It was honestly kind of cute, and Kaito smiled, returning the favoring and gently patting her on the head. The next suggestion from her, however, caught his attention. While the idea of her height wasn't something that concerned him, he'd be lying if he said that part of him wasn't eager to practice and refine his skills, especially against another person.

"Sure, sounds like fun. We should probably use wooden swords to avoid too serious of injury, but I'd be more than happy to go a round or two against you."

Sliding his Asauchi free from his side and setting it to rest against the wall, Kaito drew the wooden sword from his side, a smile coming to his face as he looked at the unique craftsmanship, even if subtle and small. He walked to the center of the courtyard, took a few steps back, before holding the sword in front of him. His pinkie wrapped around the "pommel" of the sword as he gripped it tightly in both hands, the blade tilted upward in a form reminiscent of Kendo. Kaito's voice held a sort of teasing, daring tone as he gave one final comment:

"Shall we dance?"

The headpat had given Hiroe pause as she tilted her head in confusion. Was he making fun of her size? Or perhaps returning the sentiment she was in spite of her lack of stature compared to his own? She didn't linger on those thoughts for long, however, as Kaito noted a mutual interest in sparring with the sword tailor.

Hiroe didn't pay it much attention as she set her Asauchi down. Following him towards the courtyard, the young Shinigami would grab a practice sword as the two now stood a few meters apart from the other. Kaito had assumed his stance and Hiroe observed it. Reminiscent of Kendo, it reminded her of the Joudan-no-Kamae posture or the "upper-level" stance in Japanese swordsmanship. Observing him with her eyes, Hiroe would give a perfunctory nod.


For her first stance, she would assume the middle-level position - Chudan. It was the stance in Kendo where the point of emphasis was targeting the ribs and solar plexus. Hiroe was considerably shorter than Kaito and she was well aware of that fact. To emerge victorious in this spar, Hiroe would have to strike with poise and read his movements carefully. The size difference felt difficult but not entirely insurmountable to overcome.

She would take a few step forwards, stepping in with her right foot - holding the Ghost of Rukongai with her emerald gaze.

As Hiroe began stepping forward, Kaito responded in kind, his eyes trained on her. Each step he took was careful, cautious, his fingers readjusting their grip every few odd seconds. He slowly began to lower his weapon, the tip pointed to the ground as Kaito suddenly took a large step forward, turning his wrists and slashing upward. Immediately after, he stepped back to avoid retaliation -- cleanly and quickly, with little hesitation in his movements.

As he stepped backward, his blade still in the downward-facing stance as before, Kaito slowly lifted his blade, shifting to a "middle" stance. Inhaling briefly, before letting out a quiet breath of air through, he could feel his head clearing. Just as how form and posture was important when swinging a sword, a proper breathing pattern was important, to ensure a balance in the body and maintain physical efficiency. Adopting the quiet, subtle pattern, Kaito continued to move, making small, slow steps to the side as he held his stance.

Taking another step forward, Kaito continued his offensive, raising his sword, before quickly bringing it down for a powerful overhead. Whether or not Hiroe intended to block the strike, Kaito swiftly followed with two more strikes, one to each side of her body. Should she manage to lock their swords together, or deflect all four attacks, Kaito continued his movements. Even if he didn't attack, his movements sought to create more pressure, to keep the gap small between them, and ensuring that he could create a sense of control over their sparring field, even without directly attacking

Hiroe continued to hold her stance, readjusting her grip around the bokken every odd second, gazing at the Kaito, poised emerald eyes reading his every movement. Sliding her feet a few steps forward, Hiroe continued to bide her time, anticipating his next strike. The vast difference in size would not allow her to launch an offensive. To secure victory, she ought to steel herself in preparation for his next blow.

Attacking without a proper strategy in mind would leave her open to myriad of counterattacks that would end their spar before it ever truly begins. Her opponent steps forward while she steps backward - by now, she had wholly surrendered herself to the defend and counter strategy, determined to wrest victory from Kaito's hands.

As expected, Kaito takes a large step in with his feet. His blade, which was once pointed downward, quickly rose up to execute an upward slash. Hiroe felt her moment of opportunity presenting itself as she charged forward to execute a thrust with her wooden blade - striking at nothing but thin air as the man shifted backwards to avoid her counterattack.

Hiroe exhaled softly as she maintained her composure, shifting into the wood stance - Hasso - placing her left foot forward as she pointed her sword upright, setting the hilt right in front of her shoulder. Assuming a versatile stance that allows her to strike or attack from any direction, Hiroe decides to take a different approach. This time, she moved forward to meet his attack with an attack of her own, even if the size difference let her at a significant disadvantage.

In a true battle of blades, such an act would spell certain doom. Of course, that was the point of practice, no? To see what could be accomplished in battle and what would leave you at death's doorstep if you made a poor decision. She choose to swiftly evade his overhead strike the moment before it could fully connect, lowering her body so that she could execute a sweeping strike with her bokken against his legs.

If the strike connected and the force was enough to cause him to stumble she would quickly use her feet to shift towards the side, almost in a motion akin to a roll, appearing at his side to execute a horizontal slash at his hips. These successive moments were executed quickly yet left her somewhat susceptible to a counterstrike if they failed to connect.

She hadn't worked herself to exhaustion but she would need a moment to recover from using her natural speed to perform these techniques. Ideally, it was her desire to have these first set of attack land successfully Missing the mark on any one of them meant the first round of their duel would go to Kaito.

He knew that the disposition of their sizes would put him at an advantage, not one that he particularly enjoyed, but, he would be lying if he said he had been expecting Hiroe to use her height to her own advantage. As she narrowly avoided the overhead strike and subsequent moves after, Kaito quickly looked down, seeing her aiming for his legs.

With little room or time to do much else, Kaito shifted to a rather awkward position. He moved his blade down in attempt to parry and the wooden swords rebounded from the force, with Kaito stumbling from his footing being disrupted. Left open and unable to adjust his stance and posture in reasonable time, Kaito wasn't able to properly defend himself from her follow-up as she quickly adjusted herself and struck him in the side.

The hit stung, and Kaito flinched as his body gave out from under him, her attack throwing off what little remained of his balance and footwork. Rubbing his side for a moment, Kaito smiled, getting back to his feet in short order.

"Nicely done, using your height to your advantage."

He chuckled softly, walking over to the wall to retrieve his Asauchi, securing it by his side once again, as well as the training weapon before walking back over to where Hiroe was, should she have not followed him.

"You seem to be taking the Academy's alma mater to heart, especially with that last move."

To know she emerged victorious in this practice duel had rendered Hiroe silent somewhat as she blinked and gazed towards the side, staring at the ghost of rukongai as he lay temporarily on the ground. Whoa, the strategy actually worked? It was unorthodox and Hiroe thought the man may have had a counter prepared to strike her down and steal her victory but she actually manage to come out on top.

Turning to face him as he rose up, she smiled from ear to ear as she blushed, trying to resist the urge to celebrate. Be honorable, Hiroe. It's just a spar, sheesh.

"To be fair, I think I only managed to win thanks to a little dash of luck. You had me on the ropes there for a minute, too. "

She would follow him as he retrieved his Asauchi, with her picking up her own as she gazed up at the raven-haired male. Flattered by his compliments, she chuckled softly as she waved her hand. What a flatterer. Hiroe welcomed all the praise he doled out. Even still, there were still some techniques she felt she needed to refine. She was still a work in progress in every aspect. She had to remind herself of that.

"You think so, huh? To be honest, I knew I couldn't defeat you in a direct confrontation of blades. You are significantly taller than me. I needed to think of a strategy that would allow me to emerge victorious. Aiming for the legs seemed like the most ideal decision. I'm certain, however, that that outcome may not work as well in a live setting. Ours was a contest of sword skill. I have much to learn. We both do. Thankfully, you'll have someone awesome like me cheering you on and supporting you on your path as much as you do mine. Right, Kaito-Kun?"

Kaito hardly felt any shame or embarrassment at losing, rather finding himself smiling as he saw Hiroe internally celebrate the small victory. Even if he could see that she took pride in it, he was glad that she remained humble. It was good to retain humility, even in something as small as a light spar between students. Maybe it was luck that he wasn't able to respond to her unorthodox attack in time, but it still won her the match.

Perhaps she wouldn't be able to beat him in a direct confrontation, but he meant what he said about the academy's alma mater, to cut down the enemy from behind. There was no point in seeking flair and fashion in a fight. To be able to protect the people that they as students wished to, they knew to strike from behind, ensure victory, and not waste time on honor and decency.

"Any height, weight, and strength can be a potential threat. It's all about how you apply yourself to it, how you turn your weaknesses into strengths. Something like that may work, but there are other alternatives you could look for. There's elective courses that teach other forms of Zanjutsu. You might find that interesting."

Kaito found himself chuckling at the use of an honorific. He grew up without any need for that - most people back home treated each other like they were friends and family, there was hardly any need for formality, even now. Nevertheless, he was glad to know that there was someone that had faith in him, and would hold him to the standard he set for himself.

"I'll be here to help and motivate you as well, Hiroe. Let's hold each other to our respective standards, and go for the top."