First Division Ferocity! [Kei/Igen]

KEI SAIONJI

Kei now understood one thing about Igen. She didn't have much else to teach him. He already knew Shunkō—which was an advanced technique in and of itself. Kei only knew of the technique through obscure writings and theorized proposals. It wasn't something she ever imagined she'd see. Plus, seeing it from her equal was impressive and disheartening. She was only knowledgeable in Kidō—and possibly not more knowledgeable than Igen.

Kei had a split-second to decide how to react—and she had to fight her instincts. It cost her some "points" for this match. She braced herself and cast one of her modified Kidō without the incantation. "Daishō." This was perhaps her simplest Kidō modification. Shō was a simple blast of force directionalized by an indicator—usually the caster's finger. Daishō was Kei deciding not to need to directionalize. A blast of force erupted from all directions around Kei like a bubble bursting.

It wasn't enough to stop Igen's assault fully. It, rather than Igen's kick, shattered the ice. It also slowed Igen enough for her to not go flying. She skid along the ground like a backwards skier and stumbled backwards to the point of almost falling. That would have been an opening for an opponent. J would scold me for that. After regaining her balance and breath, Kei held out a hand. "One moment before we continue."

Kei took one more deep breath and returned the spar to what this actually was—a lesson. "That was an excellent move. However, against someone who can fight you head-on, you may want to obscure your approach. While freezing my legs was the correct move, your approach afterward was predictable. Consider using Sekienton as a cover while you activate your Shunkō. With your constant-release type Zanpakutō, it may confuse your opponent into thinking you have an ice-type."

Kei rubbed where Igen's kick sent her backwards. She used some minor Kaidō to lower the ache, but not the bruising. Bruises were a secondary concern. "Also... Watch out on using Kaidō in the middle of combat. It can be fairly taxing, and it shows your opponent where you've been injured—if it's not an obvious wound."

KEI SAIONJI

"I have a few personalized Kidō up my sleeve. Both the blasts I hit you with as I surrounded you with Hyapporankan and that one are both among them." Kei would not elaborate further. Igen didn't need to know the specifics yet, and she wasn't about to explain just how two of her best moves worked. This wasn't an anime where explaining your moves made it stronger. That was instilled in her by the anonymity provided by the Kidōshū.

Igen had a lot of surprises about him. Shunkō? A constant-release-type Zanpakutō? And a prepared Kaidō? If Kei wasn't so sure of her skill as a manager of a large household, the only thing she'd have over Igen in this provisional 3rd Seat competition would be her Kidō. And even that was showing as not as wide of a gap as she expected.

"Hakuda may have been better, yes." Kei reluctantly admitted. With a sigh, she decided to tell the truth to Igen. "I could go on to explain that it was entirely because I needed a two-pronged approach of defense and utility... but that's only part of the truth." It was her natural instinct to tell that version of events. That it was obviously just better to use Kidō was her methodology for most situations. "My skill, or rather lack of skill, in Hakuda almost cost me graduating on time. I've never had a need to practice it either. I was recruited by the Kidōshū immediately upon graduation, and since then I've been doing Kidō-related work since. So while, yes, Hakuda might have been the better choice, my Hakuda would not have been. I think I would have been sent into that wall had I not used Daishō."

KEI SAIONJI

Kei didn't like the thought of learning Hakuda. Again. She didn't like it in the academy, she didn't like it when J tried to teach her, and she doubted she'd like it even if Igen was the one teaching. This wasn't because she was some fragile maiden who didn't like getting her hands dirty. I mean, she didn't but that's beside the point. Kei didn't like Hakuda because it felt wrong to her. Her own reiryoku didn't like the idea of being used in such a manner. Sure, she could force it, but she'd heard stories about what happens when people push too much Reiryoku through themselves...

"I will keep your offer of Hakuda training in mind." That was the nice way Kei said "no thanks." Kei had no strong feelings on whether to keep going. On the one hand, it was invigorating to let loose some. On the other, it was meant to be a teaching moment, and she couldn't find much else to teach. "Up to you, really. I don't really know if there's anything more I can teach you without being like my brother. I could comment on stance, enunciation, et cetera, but that's never fun."

"But if you're wanting to continue, I'll be releasing my Zanpakutō as well." Kei would not espouse on why she felt the need to warn Igen. To her, it was twofold. One, she wasn't exactly the best with her Zanpakutō. Two, her Zanpakutō was seemingly built to go against in-fighters like Igen. The less he knew, the better.

KEI SAIONJI

Igen made a very astute observation. No, she hadn't used her Hohō. It was something she kept in her back pocket. She liked playing the part of a solitary, immobile target. It got the opponent confident. Buuuut in this case she honestly forgot to use any. "I probably could brush up on it some... I had some skill in Hohō back in the day, but it was, as you said, more of a means of escape. I think nowadays, I'm about as good with my Zanpakutō as I am with Hohō." And that's not saying much is what Kei left unsaid, but only barely.

Kei nodded to his suggestion of taking a break. "Sounds good." Kei found a stone to use as a seat and sat down. She rested her polearm against it and had to adjust it more than once to keep it from falling. "Judging even from that small bit of a spar, I think the two of us would work well together—at least ability-wise. I can provide battlefield control and drive an opponent to one area... and then you come in and take advantage of openings I create."

Kei then spent some time going over various battle plans she was thinking of—a tag-team style of fighting that would have Kei using all sorts of Kidō to break down or corner an opponent and Igen performing the last rites. Only a few had the roles reversed. "Igendai, what do you do in your spare time? I can't imagine it's all training all day... even my brother has hobbies outside of brooding and training."

KEI SAIONJI

Kei... thought that was a bit sad. Sad in the same sense that her brother was sad, but sad nonetheless. Kei believed everyone should have one or two hobbies. She had a few of her own. She liked calligraphy and flower arranging, for instance. Sure, they were calm activities, but they still were something she enjoyed. Kei was also the type to count her chasing after women as a hobby—though only with 50% seriousness behind it. So it was that she found someone who didn't seem to have a hobby a bit sad.

Kei wasn't going to interrogate the man on who his friends were, nor did she want to talk about training anymore. So, she latched onto the final part of his answer. "I've only been to the World of the Living twice. Once during the academy, and again on a quick leisure trip with someone I was seeing at the time. She took me to a beach that we thought we'd enjoy... Turns out we hit it at the peak of tourist season, and it was far from enjoyable. Worst sunburn I've ever had." Kei chuckled lightly. "Once things calm down, I say the two of us try to make some time and go to the World of the Living. You definitely have to know more interesting places than I do."