ReEducation [Private: Kimitsuki/Hana]

A part of Hana felt like she was getting scolded. It was something about the repeated use of her name. Was that Kimitsuki's way of getting her points across? Hana wasn't sure. And what came next was more shocking. The inferno that raised around Hana was extremely uncomfortable. As the heat rapidly rose, so did Hana's heart rate. The amount of pressure that came about with the burst of energy was almost too much for Hana. And then... the threat. For Hana, it lasted too long. Hana's trust issues made Kimitsuki's threat a real possibility. It wouldn't surprise her in the slightest if this woman tried to harm her, so she got the message.

As the fire died down, Hana's grip loosened on her zanpakuto's hilt. She had not realized how tight she held onto it until the ache in her fingers made that clear. Kimitsuki's lesson whirled around her mind as she tried to redefine her view of battle. Before she got a chance to respond, or really make up her own mind, it seemed her teacher wanted to force this experience on her without mercy. Was she to learn this way? She was not sure she could; everything she knew came from books, not experience. Still, in seeing Kimitsuki come at her, Hana readied herself. Hana's reflexes told her to parry, not dodge. Her zanpakuto became her shield.

The first clang of metal on metal rang out, then a second, and a third. Hana was stumbling about, trying to keep her footing. Then a slap of metal against her shihakusho. She winced from the pain, but the lesson wasn't over. Kimitsuki kept going and Hana kept trying to keep up. As she did, she became more fluid, less tense. She thought about each move less and let her body react. However, in this more fluid movement came a look of panic in her eyes. Each time Kimitsuki struck her and not her blade, that panic seemed to get worse. Hana backed up and away more often. It may become apparent that Hana's fear was about feeling pain.

Breathe, breathe, breathe!

Hana continued to repeat the message her teacher gave her, trying to come to some sort of rhythm. When things slowed down, Hana's panic did lessen. She regained her footing and the chance of falling was much smaller. It even gave Hana the chance to try and go on the offensive once or twice, but hesitation caused her to fail. This was when she was cut or struck with the flat side of Kimitsuki's blade. After the cut, she focused more on dodging and parrying, not confident in her ability to attack while not being injured. It seemed like an impossible task.

Suddenly, Kimitsuki switched up on her and their blades collided and became stuck. Hana wasn't sure how that was done, how Kimitsuki could stop her blade without even grabbing it. The skill to do such a thing was impressive. As Hana tried to move back, Kimitsuki grabbed her and kept her still before advising her again.

"Come to terms with pain?" Hana repeated, but then her expression became angry, an anger born of confusion. Hana looked like she was going to speak, but didn't. Things went silent as Hana's eyes darted from place to place, her mind working on something important. "I... hate p-... " she hesitated. "Come to terms with pain?" Hana's expression softened, more content as she came to a realization.

'There you go... Finally clicked, didn't it?' a voice in Hana's head spoke to her. 'You're a little less pathetic once you learn to accept the reality of the world around you.'

"Kimitsuki..." Hana stared curiously at her zanpakuto. "I'm ready to go again." Hana suddenly took on a different stance, one she had never practiced before, and definitely was not in the shinigami textbook. Within a second, she looked more determined and she took a step that let her vanish. While she was not anywhere near a master at shunpo, she rarely remembered to use it in combat; her training with Joshua helped her with that. Now, in a much more elegant and graceful form, she shunpo'd behind Kimitsuki and attempted a horizontal strike toward the woman's side. Now, it was time to see how far she could push herself before she dared let fear make her stumble. Instead, she would face it head on.

Hana looked at hollows like monsters; they were creatures to be destroyed and freed from the monstrous prison that was their bodies. Hollow were like vampires or werewolves. They did not generally ask to be changed, but their presence put people in danger. And since joining the Gotei, Hana had become a "vampire hunter" of sorts, a hero in her own story. The problem was Hana was not comfortable in battle, and no good "vampire hunter" could hesitate in battle. If they did, they would die and others would pay the price. They understood the consequences, the possibility of pain or death, but they fought anyway. The pushed beyond their fear.

In the midst of training with Kimitsuki, Hana's narrative transformed and so did her style. What was once a rigid and textbook stance, right out of Shino Academy, became an elegant flow of movements. She was no way near as fast as Kimitsuki, or as strong, but Hana looked much more comfortable gliding around the room like a dancer on a stage, agile and melodic. Her attempts at offense were simply outmatched, but that was okay. Hana kept calm. As Kimitsuki went on the offensive, forcing Hana on the defensive, Hana's footwork was much improved. The way she moved her sword felt akin to trying to cut air, as the reiryoku Hana let flow into her blade proved sharp and purposeful, a trait it lacked a day ago.

In relying on her own skills, Hana was being pushed. The clash of their blades would be an interesting one. Kimitsuki radiated heat, warmth, fire... Hana's was the opposite. Her reiryoku released a cool, icy feel, like walking outside after a night of falling snow. The complex moves Kimitsuki was doing were things Hana reacted to with simplicity and in a way that proved she understood her own limitations. She did not push herself in the sense of physical force, but instead pushed herself in concentration and tactical thinking. When she finally saw an opening, whether Kimitsuki created the opening on purpose or not, Hana went for it. The attack was swift airy arc, swinging in a crescent of white and light blue, freezing cold energy, and aiming at Kimituski's side. Finally, Hana successfully sharpened her blade...

Conflicting emotions overwhelmed Hana when she realized her blade actually touched, even cut, Kimitsuki. She was proud and excited, but horrified at her idiocy. Kimitsuki was her teacher and she was helping her, and most of all, Kimitsuki was not a hollow. Cutting her was an accident, right? Just an accident! She got caught up in the moment, the fight, the flow… She didn’t meant too! It was a mistake!

Before Hana could spit out the apology she desperately wanted to give, Kimitsuki’s excitement shined through in a smile and the words for Hana to keep going. Hana hesitated, stopped with wide eyes of confused sorry. When Kimitsuki came at her, she brought up her sword instinctively, in defense of herself. She kept telling herself to calm down, that she could apologize later. Kimitsuki clearly didn’t care.

The onslaught from Kimitsuki provided a few cuts, deeper than she would have gotten if she was still in the zone like she had been. With her mind muddled, Hana ended up hurt. When a deep cut over her shoulder shocked her, Hana’s reaction was yet another crescent swing aiming from Kimitsuki’s lower him to the opposite shoulder. The swing was accompanied by a fearful roar, though could have been mistaken for confidence, and it was accompanied by the light blue reiryoku that extended her blade about 2 extra inches, both difficult to see and as sharp as a razor. This was a decent example of a zanjutsu technique, but nothing too advanced. It was also evident that it was done reactively, not on purpose.

Kimitsuki was able to calm Hana down pretty quickly, especially once neither held a blade. Hana took deep breaths and did her best to relax, as her old teacher told her to do. In that moment, as Kimitsuki ran her hand over Hana’s hair, there was a familiar feeling that she had lost about six years ago. It was the feeling of being cared for by a parent; it was warm and comforting. She didn’t like it.

“My apologies,” Hana said, lightly pulling away from Kimitsuki. She walked over and picked her zanpakuto up. “Stopping now would be preferable, yes. I have a lot to contemplate about our spar, including how to get over my fear of fire…” Hana sighed and resheathed her zanpakuto. She smiled at Kimitsuki and nodded. “A meal sounds lovely, and this spar was a positive thing. I panicked a little, but something clicked. I only need to figure out what exactly it was… So, thank you.”