Incomplete Cherry Girl [Bambietta, Makoto]

If she was gonna be getting better like she'd said she would, then Bambietta knew perfectly well that she couldn't wait around for the opportunity to come her way. The commander hadn't really had time for anything super involved, which didn't surprise her at all, but that didn't mean that she was just gonna give up. Far from it, in fact. She'd been asking around as far as who the best shinigami to learn from were, and everyone kept pointing her toward the Realm Enforcement vice captain.

Honestly, based on the few times she'd heard about her at the academy, that didn't surprise her one bit. Considering she was no longer on probation, and was actually allowed to come to Shino during the normal hours, Bambietta wasted no time in seeking out Makoto Arima, and upon finally finding her as classes were ending, she gave a deep bow, enough so that the wide hat she'd taken to wearing around nearly fell off her head.

"Vice Captain Arima, I'm substitute Bambietta Basterbine. I'm sorry if you're busy, but I was hoping to ask for your input on some things related to the shinigami arts."

Originally, she'd really only been worried about her zanpakuto, but it wasn't as if that was her only weak point, was it? She was honestly pretty bad at this job, and if she really wanted to try and be a captain one day, that wasn't going to cut it.

"Hmm?"

The act of people seeking her out for tips and lessons had become more common, perhaps only increasingly since she had been promoted. It kind of made sense in her head that a promotion to what was a leg underneath captaincy would draw ambitious young individuals even more to her and while it was a lot more mentally exhausting it was just another challenge to her that she'd meet.

"Bambietta Bastelbine."

Now why did that name sound familiar and cause her to ponder to herself. Bambietta.. Oh, now she remembered and it was because she was on a watchlist for quite some time due to her past criminal activities which demanded the sixth division's attention but that got shuffled back into the recesses of her mind. Something to be aware of but not linger on for the moment.

"And what exactly might those be?"

If she was going to give advice then Makoto certainly needed something to work off. The areas in which Bambietta had recognised her own shortcomings in.

Bambietta chose not to acknowledge the mispronounciation of her surname, even if it was admittedly a little annoying. That seemed like it was a relatively typical mistake people made here in Soul Society, so she was just used to it by now.

"I'm not sure my understanding of my zanpakuto is right. People keep saying the name doesn't sound real, and I think a lot of them are sure I'm faking the whole thing, but it's made me think I'm still doing something wrong. My hakuda isn't great either, and neither is my hoho. I'm not completely awful, but I feel like people have always been afraid to teach me more because of...how I joined."

Bambietta's eyes were still confident, sure, and she looked at Makoto with a determined attitude, though she was still maintaining professionalism. This was a superior, after all. Bambietta knew how to interact with her.

"If I don't learn right, I'll never be a real shinigami. Just doing okay isn't good enough for me. The Gotei changed my life and I want to be the absolute best shinigami I can be, even if everyone thinks I shouldn't."

Maybe she'd vented a little more than she wanted to there, but Bambietta didn't really care much about how she came across right now. This was something she really did care about.

"Your greatest teacher is yourself. If you are lacking, don't look for otheres to make excuses."

She began with a chiding though she could understand why people might be hesitant to teach someone with Bambietta's background too much. At the same time she was not going back on what she said. If anything, her attitude towards her own growth was more than most shinigami she trained showed her which was a point of favour.

"How frequently do you perform jinzen and what is your training regime consist of?"

Her response came to the point, Bambietta had told her plenty and yet nothing at all. I'm lacking here and there and I don't think I'm doing this right but she had given little in the way of finer details for Makoto to mull over by going on a tangent.

Makoto was right, of course, and Bambietta definitely knew that much. She'd never had a teacher in her life, so blaming everything only on the people who had taught her was dishonest. If she couldn't learn from them she had to just figure it out.

"I perform jinzen twice a day, once in the morning and once after my work is finished. It used to be once, but ever since I learned its name, it hasn't really been answering me. When I wake up in the morning I usually try and start with hoho training to avoid waking anyone up. I'm not really focused on my speed right now, more my steps, so I'll pick a circle somewhere I haven't been before and do a few laps before the sun comes up. Hakuda training is after work, once I can get a little louder, but that's a lot harder to really learn without someone to show me. I try to go by the 4th division and see if I can get a match, but that's not always reliable, so usually I just have to go by the academy and audit a class or read manuals."

Honestly, that was one of the ones that really bothered Bambietta the most, because she knew there wasn't too much else she could do. Practicing on your own only went so far when it came to something intended for combat.

"Once the academy is closed for the day I go home, and after the nightly jinzen I study up on kido theory for a few hours before bed, so I don't fall behind the rest of my division."

Of course, most people probably would have keeled over at trying to maintain that involved a regimen every day, especially given how little time that actually left her for sleep. Bambietta, however, didn't even think that was something worth considering. She had to improve, and really, she was used to not sleeping much anyway.

Well presuming she was not embellishing her routine it was quite the dedicated and demanding regime. Few people had the mental fortitude to keep up such vigourous exertions daily and while her's was far more intense she was also prone to pushing herself far too hard. There was something that stood out to her thought.

"And how much time do you spend in reflection and planning, or do you go through your routine thoughtlessly?"

It was easy with the shinigami arts to fall into the trap of doing them mindlessly, letting your mind wander while going through the motions like a robot. Makoto's eyes closed while pondering Bambietta's regime, looking for other flaws or reasons as to why she was not improving.

"Tell me your milestones. What have you achieved and what do you strive towards presently?"

"I wouldn't say I go through things thoughtlessly. I always try to take different paths in the morning and study different hakuda techniques, but I guess that's not really changing up my actual approach, huh..."

Bambietta had already noted that particular failing in her approach, but the second question was actually a difficult one for her to answer. She didn't really think too highly of her own milestones. They were just meeting expectations in her mind, and when she looked to the people she actually wanted to be like, she could see far more improvement to be had. That was why she didn't really list any as she spoke.

"I don't tend to win any spars when it's in hakuda, I can get the energy to move well enough through my hand that it's more than a normal punch, but I'm not getting any of the specifics right in terms of technique. For hoho I keep tripping if I try and go too quick. My steps aren't stable enough, I want to improve on that before I start trying to go faster. My kido... I think a lot of what's holding me back there is power. I understand it, but I can't force something bigger than what my spirit's capable of right now. As for my zanpakuto, I really don't know. I know even achieving shikai is difficult, but I still feel like I'm doing something wrong."

Bambietta knew a lot of her frustration came simply from not knowing how to even learn this to begin with. She'd been elevated to power by her assignment to the penal legion, and again when she'd been allowed to become a substitute. She was a quick learner, sure, but that was when she had the opportunity to learn.

"Hmm, out of curiousity what are your scores within the Shin'o Academy's courses? I am aware that your situation has placed you in a strange position but I trust the former captain commander's judgement in her handling of you. I trust that you passed the fundamentals to serve as a shinigami but if you showed potential for advanced courses and did not receive that opportunity I can imagine it would be a cause of your woes."

Makoto explained and took a more relaxed position to think about it. Letting Bambietta hapharzardly try and teach herself when she was no regular shinigami put her in an awkward spot where the vice-captain felt that the most important thing she had was guidance and who would be a suitable teacher?

Maybe Shishiyuki would have an idea, Makoto didn't like taking personal students while trying to facilitate her duties as vice-captain. Could a candidate come to mind maybe to give Bambietta proper one-on-one, that'd probably be the best bet.

"I scored pretty well, but I wasn't allowed to take higher level courses since...well, since I was here as part of my penal service. Her Maje- Commander Kyoraku-Hayden let me join, but I wasn't allowed in any classes with other students, so I never asked about anything advanced."

Of course, the reality was actually worse than even Bambietta really knew. She certainly had excelled in her courses, but given the complete lack of trust in her, and her nature as a penal soldier joining as a substitute, she had been taught relatively little outside the unilateral necessities of the position. Anything more refined or specialized had simply not been on the table for her, and while she didn't know that, it was certainly in her Academy record.

"I don't really know if my grades were good enough to qualify for the higher courses, but I noticed not all of the teachers seemed too happy teaching me, so I've been hesitant to ask about it for a while. I'm trying to fix that now."

"Hmm. Very well, I shall pass on a recommendation for your reevaluation for aptitude."

Makoto was speaking from her vice-captaincy with this though, if Bambietta was deemed appropriately rehabiliated by the assessment she could make suggestions to some of the advanced courses. The red eyes going down to gaze at her clipboard and make a note of Bambietta on her page.

"If you are deemed appropriate for it then I shall make suggestions on your behalf. Your reiryoku is on par with a seated officer and so if your potential contributions to the Gotei is being wasted by neglect then I will remove that issue. Does that sound agreeable?"

Her words were kind but the sharp gaze of Makoto also told Bambietta that she was going out of her way to assist Bambietta like this. She would not get a second chance and if she disappointed her then she'd have earned the vice-captain's scorn.