A Gaze That Invited Disaster (Shura/Yuuto)

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It wasn't that training with the fourth was insufficient... Okay that's a lie, yes it is. She was more or less close to evenly matched against Tento, and with Rio now the Lieutenant she had other priorities she had to account for, and Kanae? Well... She wasn't exactly one for training. She needed more people to train with, the majority of the rest of the fourth simply weren't up to her level, and while they'd certainly benefit from fighting against her... she wouldn't really benefit that much from fighting them.

So that's why she came here, to the Fifth Division, there was one person here that she knew if she trained against it'd make her better. Yuuto Hisakawa. Besides the fact he was one of the strongest members of the Gotei United, he had gone into the hole in Africa and came back from it. Sure he hadn't come back from it without a scratch, but the lack of information in the report told her everything she needed to know... She wouldn't stand a chance going into that hole.

If Yuuto had gone in, and barely come back... she needed more information, and she needed to be stronger than he was. It could be argued that even her own Captain, Kanae, wasn't stronger than him, and if that was the case then honestly training with her would've ultimately been pointless anyway. But training with the man who went in and came back? Now THAT was worth training against. However beyond that fact, she had some questions she hoped to get answered as well... like what exactly he fought against, and how she could be prepared for whatever it was that was down there. Yuuto had personal experience fighting whatever was down there, that meant he was the prime candidate to train her.

So she sent word ahead, laying out plainly her request for direct training from Yuuto himself. While she was still growing, it was substantially too slow for her liking and compared to when she first arrived within the Gotei United itself, it was like she'd not grown at all. So when she did finally arrive, she wasted no time in heading directly for the Captain's quarters themselves and knocking on the door "Shura Kurata, 3rd Seat of the 4th Division." She stated quickly, knowing there was likely no need for any further words after those.

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To say it was surprising to get no response and suddenly have the door open without so much as a sound wouldn't be incorrect. She certainly knew that Yuuto's movement was honed and refined to well beyond the standard Shinigami, but she didn't expect it to be such that he made no noise what-so-ever. So when the door was opened she did admittedly jump a little, but cleared her throat and corrected her stance rather swiftly. "Captain Hisakawa..." She said after a brief moment, nodding as he gestured for her to follow, and follow she did.

His curiosity wasn't all that surprising either, nor were his assessments of training with her own division and the differences in methodology between the two. "Ah... yes I'll admit this isn't normally something I'd even consider myself, let alone think it was something worthwhile. Our methodologies are starkly different, one might even say they contrast each other in their most extreme. However..." She took a few moments pause, uncharacteristically looking towards the ground while she thought of the right words. "Normally I don't read many reports from my own division's missions, and to read reports of missions carried out by other divisions... well they have to be something extraordinary to peak my interest I'll admit. But when rumors of your return began circulating, and the condition you'd been reported in... the report of your mission, or at least what I am privy too, peaked my curiosity quite a lot."

She took a moment to steady her admittedly already slightly shaky voice "As a member of the Combat Division, it is our duty to be first on the battlefield. As a result we hone ourselves to be as powerful as we possibly can be, to be ready to hit any threat head on with full force and unwavering determination to succeed. However when we send in one of our strongest, and they return in the state you did... add on top of that, that I myself have crawled to stagnation in growth... It becomes painfully obvious that I have weaknesses that not only my own squad cannot see, but that I am also blind too. Such a state is unacceptable for a Combat Division member of any grade, let alone the 3rd seat. I have fought against my Captain in a One-on-One and lost convincingly. Even using my bankai, I was barely able to draw out my Captain's Shikai. After that fight, I fought against our Tenth Seat, Tento Zefa and came to a draw after depleting my reserves of Reiatsu. After him, I fought against our Vice Captain, Rio Shihoin. While I did draw out her Shikai using my Bankai substantially faster than my Captain, it ultimately proved futile and in spite of using even my strongest Bankai Technique, I could not scratch her Shikai."

She took another deep breathe before continuing "It has become painfully obvious to me that despite my titanic strength, it is simply insufficient. Despite my overwhelming power and aura, it is simply insufficient. This hole that has opened up in Africa has released hollows that are far more powerful than the ones we normally encounter, add to it your condition upon returning and it is clear to anyone who has a sensible mind of combat that to train with my own division would mean the unknown and limited amount of time we have before whatever was down there emerges needs to be spent achieving the otherwise impossible. My own are strong, but they cannot push me the way that I need to be pushed. However, You, Captain Hisakawa, have seen what awaits us down there. You know from first hand experience what it is capable of. Which means if I am to prepare myself in earnest to do my job as a Shinigami and member of the Combat Division, if I am to be one of the first on the battlefield and face this thing and whatever it brings with it... The only person capable of training me, would be you."

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That much she'd certainly learned in recent times, raw strength couldn't always beat out everything that was thrown at her... at least in regards to her fellow Shinigami. Of course that didn't necessarily surprise her, she had great strength but it wasn't on the level of Zaraki who could, in fact, overpower anything with just his strength. But Yuuto needn't worry overmuch about being adequate, if Shura felt he wouldn't be then she would've gone to another instead.

Then he posed to her a question, of what she was proficient in and what she felt she was ineffective in. "Well, when it comes to Hakuda or Zanjutsu, Zanjutsu is by far my more skilled and practiced fighting style. I'm proficient with hakuda, but I can't say that I'm particularly adept at it. I'm rather adept with Hoho, though much like Zaraki I have skipped all but the bare bones of Kido, making it more than likely my weakest area. Besides that, much of my Reiatsu reserves fuels my Shikai and Bankai rather directly and it can become quite exhausting, so expending energy towards kido would be more detrimental in almost all circumstances than beneficial."

She thought for a few more moments about other areas she thought herself ineffective in before speaking again. "Other than that, I guess the only other things that I'm ineffective at is being able to take a lot of hits. I may hit like a tank, but I certainly can't take it, My Captain and Lieutenant taught me that much." She gave a slight shake of her head, as if to say there wasn't much else to speak of as far as ineffectiveness for her. Of course she might've been missing some things, but that was part of the reason she was even here in the first place.

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Hearing that Yuuto was one of the best swordsman of the Gotei wasn't surprising, in fact Shura would've been rather disappointed in her choice of training partner if he wasn't. Nor was his next response surprising, ones durability could only be raised by taking hits. He then instructed her to attack him as she normally would with her sword, and this caused part of her to wonder if she should start with her Shikai. However she thought it would be better to not do such, and instead merely pulled the Zanpakuto from its scabbard with a nod.

Shura took in a deep, slow breathe and focused herself, standing before Yuuto with her blade at her sword held in one hand. As she launched herself forward, she focused her Reiatsu into the blade, causing it begin glowing a soft blue hue, grabbing the handle with both hands and carving it in an upwards Forty-Five degree arc as she neared the other Shinigami. She had to keep her eyes focused on Yuuto, as the Captain of the stealth force.. she knew he had to be too fast to not keep her eyes on the prize.

Techniques in Use:

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Unsurprising, of course. Yuuto had expertly dodged with minimal movement, making it seem as if Shura was moving in slow motion by comparison. However he didn't do it to simply make her feel inferior, rather he complimented her on her technique before noting it could be improved further. If Shura prided herself on one thing, it was the few techniques she'd developed on her own. He also asked her if she'd ever heard of a fighting style known as Shuradō, a rather ironic name given her own.

However it was one she'd heard of "I..." She began, pausing briefly before turning her head away "I had studied it... briefly... However I abandoned it a few weeks into practicing. While it is a fighting style that someone like me would excel at, it nearly got me expelled from the Academy." She could recall the sparring session in question, the poor Shinigami in question was ill-prepared for fighting against her and had the instructors not intervened... it was very likely she'd of killed him.

Techniques in Use:

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