Benefits of Education [Kiyotsumi/J.]

It felt heavy in her hands like it was trying to fight against her touch. This accursed weapon that she had been gifted was so damn impractical. Then there was the matter of form and posture too. How neatly all the other students fell into place and left her out like a stick in the mud. No. She wouldn't be the outlier. She wouldn't fail.

Kiyotsumi's thoughts were much darker than her appearance suggested as the dainty girl struggled to even manage a short string of swings with her sword before losing her balance or tumbling one way or another. She was not one to often put in the time for extra practice, but she wanted to be good enough that her classmates wouldn't laugh at her at least. That hadn't felt like too much to ask until she was out here alone, struggling. Resetting her stance, she tried again to recall what the instructor had said earlier.

Step. Stance. Strike. Turn. Correct. Step. Stance. Strike.

The plan was there in her head, though it certainly did not seem that way as she flailed and stumbled around until, finally, someone called out to her. She froze in place like an ice sculpture for a few long seconds, then turned her head to look at her observer and offer a sheepish smile. Whoever this stranger was, he certainly had an aura of competence about him that gave her a little more chills.

"Haha... No... I just don't think this weapon likes being held by me."

Her deception was quite easily dismantled, for it was quite a baseless one at that, but the instinctive choice to blurt out a lie was somewhat telling. But was she really at fault for what came tumbling out of her mouth when a handsome stranger came stumbling directly into her life? No, that was hardly something that she would let slip so casually.

"All three. Though I suppose I should start with the first. Even the basic techniques are surprisingly difficult."

She turned so that he could study her profile, if his eyes were so interested then she might as well display herself, and returned to her starting stance. The positioning of her feet was hardly ideal, a little too flat with legs just too far apart, and her body was also awkwardly hunched over as if she was trying to duck under another threat. Hardly a master at her craft, but not entirely hopeless - that might be a fair assessment.

"You are not dressed as a student nor a teacher, so how should I address you, Mister?"

Jay Saionji was not a name that Kiyotsumi had heard before, though that was hardly a fault against him because she could barely name any noble houses outside of the great ones. Still, she had not heard any rumours about him from the other girls in her class. That solidified her belief that he wasn't an official teacher, but that also made him even more interesting. And he was a Lord, hmm? It seemed fair to assume that they were usually quite experienced in Shinigami affairs.

"A pleasure to meet you, Lord Saionji. If... If you think that you can help then I would be most grateful."

Kiyotsumi took a brief pause in her posturing to offer him another smile and nod of her own in response to his apparent high status. Her face had flushed with colour at the rest of his offer, pink staining the porcelain skin of her cheeks and refusing to depart quite so easily, and yet she invited him to help all the same. Turning again, she returned to her neutral stance and waited to see how he would guide her. She waited until he approached, or at least until he had been drawn in a little closer, to offer up a proper response. Though perhaps it was the nerves that prevented her from looking him in the eyes as she did, for it seemed that she grew quieter with every sentence.

"M-My name is Kiyotsumi." Another pause, though just before he might respond she let slip a little more. "Or just Sumi, if you would prefer."

The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as Jay repeated her name back to her, though the feeling of him wrapping around her from behind certainly did more to stiffen her already tense body. Kiyotsumi complied with his suggestions though, letting his hands guide her as she shifted and adjusted into a much straighter position than she was used to. The idea of towering over an opponent did draw the quietest of laughs from her lips, as there were not many that she could make such a claim when fighting against. He was right that she felt a little flimsy now, that wide stance with her feet being her apparent undoing as he encouraged her to tighten her spacing and a little confidence finally returned.

"I feel taller and stronger, but why do I want to make myself a bigger target?"

It did seem like an unappealing prospect to the young student. She always wanted to keep a low profile, in life and at the academy, so painting a bigger picture of herself in a fight did not exactly feel natural. But Jay did seem like a professional though, perhaps he had the insight that Sumi lacked right now. At least she was good with her feet, though, and that was where he wanted to continue this process.

"It is hardly like I could outreach an opponent, even when I puff my chest out."

A little bit of volume had returned to her now, not that she was one to shout and such, but that initial flustering that he had given her was beginning to wear off.

Falling into step with J, Kiyotsumi did certainly show off an impressive level of dexterity in copying his movements. Her sword still made her a little slower than she might have liked but keeping up with those individual steps was well within her capabilities. Not that she got it right every time, especially when he threw in a double step, but it was a far cry from the clueless girl of moments before already.

And if the predator sees you as nothing more than a pup then they will let their guard down and you can stick them real good.

Sumi remembered what she had been taught by her fellow urchins in those back alleys. Though it was hardly a formal education like what Jay was giving her, and it was hard to kick out those bad habits. That was not how the noble Shinigami fought, with such upstanding honour and pedigree, and she would have to learn to fight like that too. So she did what she could to put those errant thoughts out of her mind because she wanted to be better than them.

"So I should look strong even when I am not? That's not too hard!"

There was definitely an unhealthy amount of youthful naivety in her tone as she made that remark. It really didn't seem too hard to do right now, in a safe training area tucked away in the cushy heights of the Seireitei. Whether she would say the same when facing down a giant monster had not yet crossed her mind.

She continued to keep up as the movement exercise resumed, bouncing from one foot to another until it was finally growing easier to predict what direction Jay was going to move in before he had entirely revealed it. At least at this speed, if she could keep up with him then maybe he would be impressed. Her effort was rewarded with praise, and she accepted his positive reinforcement with a nod before releasing a sigh after all that exertion.

"Um. The one that kills my enemies."

It took her a second to realise exactly what she had said. It had kinda just slipped out when she got caught up in the heat of the moment, but maybe Jay would think that it was just earnestness. Surely there was no malice behind those words, right?