Throw Caution to the Wind [Hiroe/Byakuya]

For a session like Byakuya had planned today, he called Hiroe to the Shino Academy training grounds when no one else would be around. So, it was night and most-to-all of the staff were home. The lights were left on in one particular training area: the largest of them all. Byakuya arrived early, using time to put up a capable barrier so his student would be able to train without holding back.

Knowing Hiroe would not arrive for a while, he took the time to enjoy the silence, which was not something he could do often enough at home. Placing his zanpakuto over his lap, Byakuya began his meditation. Within moments, he was in his inner world, discussing the current condition of their relationship. Though they always had this "master and servant" thing, the recent years had left them both stagnant. As a Shinigami, Byakuya had a job to do and wasn't doing it. Neither of them were happy about this and shared the sentiment that it needed to change.

As a way of "warming up" or even getting some frustrations out, Byakuya and Senbonzakura began to spar. Not using any of the zanpakuto power, they focused on clashing blades and the usage of their reiryoku to sharpen their weapons. As they fought in the inner world, Byakuya was still and silent in the real world. He sat in the middle of the training area, waiting for Hiroe to make herself known.

However... there is a small sign sitting next to Byakuya facing the only entrance to the training area. The sign reads "Do not attempt anything foolish," as a warning...

"Do not attempt anything foolish", eh? Hiroe was the master of attempting almost everything foolishly! Embodying the notion, "nothing ventured, nothing gained" the fledgling Shinigami rarely wasted any opportunity to enliven the atmosphere and tease her stoic instructor.

Hiroe took her studies seriously, of course, and it was nothing short of divine honor to be under the tutelage of such a venerated shinigami. She simply enjoyed the level of banter she could employ to evoke a smile in those sharp features of his. Naturally, most of her efforts in sneaking up on him always ended in failure, but that would change today.

Drawing her feet back without a sound, her body poised in position for a sneak attack, Hiroe shot forward like a rocket to tap at Byakuya's shoulders from behind. Engaged in that cool meditation as he was, there was no way he would see her coming!

“She’s going to do it, isn’t she?”

“Yes.”

“Do you wish to teach her a lesson?”

“Today’s training will be enough.”

The training within Byakuya’s inner world ceased as another presence entered the barrier. He had gotten to know Hiroe enough to put the sign up, but also knew her well enough that the chances of her listening were low. He took a breath and exited his inner world as she positioned behind him. Her sneak attack was then foiled by the almost maximum usage of his speed to end up behind her. A small press of his finger against her back and the forward momentum she was already in would likely send her tumbling to the floor. Humorous, but his features stayed stoic.

"One day, you will heed my warnings," he said before unsheathing Senbonzakura. "Today's session will be about your shikai. I imagine you have trained occasionally in your shikai, correct?" Byakuya gave her a moment to answer. "How much do you feel you truly understand your shikai? It's abilities? It's strength? Your control?"

Thwarted again. What else did she expect at this point? His mastery in the realm of speed was nigh-unparalleled compared to someone like her! The element of surprise was not her forte, but no matter! She would succeed one day. For now, she would have to pay for her failures in a first class tumble and faceplant to the ground.

Such was her initial fate as her teacher watched her fall with that commonly stoic expression of his. Groaning softly, grimacing at the pain she felt in her forehead for a brief moment, Hiroe turned back to him with a pout before reorienting herself on the mat, her body positioned in a faultless seiza. Conveying the proper respect through her posture, HIroe took a moment to reflect on his question.

Denkōsekka specialized in the realm of lightning and it's adjacent accumulation. It was a praiseworthy weapon from Hiroe's perspective, but she felt her use with it so far was rudimentary at best - as though there was another tier of ingenuinity she could reach with the right training. Thus, she gave the man her genuine opinion, an honest overview of her current perception regarding her skills.

"Of course I have. Ever since I've discovered her name and the origin of her ability, most of my days have been geared toward learning the nuances behind her technique. I feel like my control is fairly acceptable so far, but I'll be honest... I'm not satisfied with "fairly acceptable" as my current model. I know I could be fr better in theory. Since it's a zanpakuto based around lightning, I'm pretty sure there are several methods and adaptions I can apply to a weapon of this nature, right?"

Hiroe raised her arms to provide visual examples of her intent, pantomiming the movements of a blade with her fingers at one interval, transitioning into the rotation of her hips at the next, and shuffling her body around to conclude the image of her intentions.

"Namely, my speed and the way I employ my swordsmanship. Learning the element of surprise, improving my hoho, the rotation of my hips, my momentum, my sword swings..."

“Good. Satisfaction at your level demonstrates laziness, lack of ambition,” Byakuya walked to the other side of the room, giving her enough space to begin, when it was time to. For now, he observed her movements and noted her concerns. She was quite analytical of herself, a trait that molded the strongest of shinigami. “Each of your concerns will improve with enough practice,” Byakuya said and held up his zanpakuto, similar to the way he would if he wanted to release his shikai. However, that was not currently the plan. “Stand up. Release your shikai.”

Byakuya had not yet allowed Hiroe to train her shikai with him. Their previous sessions focused on fundamentals, such as her stance, style, strength, and speed. He did what he could in guiding her how to find her own way of fighting, instead of copying other Shinigami or merely focusing on the textbook definitions that many young and new Shinigami did. Every fighter found their own, individual, personal flow, and the point of today’s session was going to help Hiroe begin that type of training with her shikai. He just needed to measure her current progress first.

Rising from the mat at his instruction, Hiroe took a few moments to perform a routine stretch. Shifting her body from left to right to ensure maximum flexibility in her limbs, Hiroe exhaled softly to release any degree of tension from her body in preparation. When she felt each preparation had been properly addressed, Hiroe, from a composed stance, ran a hand over the length of the blade and the tsuba.

It felt almost surreal to be standing here before a decorated warrior like Byakuya. Hiroe would have never imagined she would be here a year ago, yet here she was, prepared to employ her shikai in front of him---or possibly even against him. Through concentrated breath, she utters the release phrase to invoke her zanpakuto's techinque.

"Vanish, Denkōsekka."

In the blink of an eye, the previously visible blade grew transparent, almost resembling a construction reminiscent of glass. The typical observational eye would likely find difficulty in perceiving the blade, but a veteran Shinigami like Byakuya wouldn't find much issue given his mastered perception.

Since they weren't engaging each other in battle at the moment, Hiroe could not freely utilize the blade's first function---that is, clashing blades with her opponent to generate electricity. Thus, she simply resheathed her blade, sliding the edge of the blade against the inside of the sheath. Stepping forward, rotating her hip in a forward motion, she unsheathed the blade in a fluid motion, releasing a bolt of electricity. As the bolt slashed through the air, Hiroe decided to explain the mechanics behind her zanpakuto's function.

"There are two methods of offense I've discovered so far in my zanpakuto's repetoire. Whenever I'm clashing blades with my opponent, my weapon operates on a phenemonon similar to a static charge. When it's accumulated enough of this charge, it goes zap. Releasing bolts of electricity in a swing or a thrust. The second one, I've noticed, is rooted in the element of surprise. You're familiar with Iaijutsu, right? Well, when I employ the draw and slash, I can generate my charge just like this, release the blade from it's sheath, and unleash my lightning. I think both of them are fairly cool, but I just know I could make it even better!"

Denkōsekka. Byakuya watched the weapon transform and quietly observed for now. Hiroe always displayed a confidence that Byakuya found lacking in many Shinigami around her level. She even made sure to show him an element of her zanpakuto, and Byakuya noted the use of Iaijutsu in the motion. Though it wasn’t as smooth as it could be, the demonstration wasn’t bad. Byakuya wondered how many times Hiroe cut open the skin near the bottom of her thumb. It was a common problem for those who practiced the style, so she should expect the skin to thicken.

As Hiroe explained the two modes she discovered in her shikai, Byakuya gave a short nod about the Iaijutsu and let her continue. Her excitement about making it better toward the end was expected and noted. “Today we will be focusing on strengthening the power behind your lighting and increasing the number of charges you can use before you exhaust yourself. Ready your weapon and begin.”

Byakuya held his sword in a simple kendo stance. It wasn’t the stance he normally chose to utilize in combat, but it was simple enough for this exercise. It would also allow Hiroe to aim for the blade and utilize her shikai numerous times, at least until she dropped. And then, like she would expect, he would push her further than that.

"Understood, Sensei. I've always wanted to see how I hold up against you in a contest of blades. Let's do this."

A sharp exhale of air followed her statement. As previously displayed, this act was conducive to easing the tension within her whole body, optimizing the flexibility of her muscles and the ideal speed of her strikes. After all, it was from a relaxed stance where a swordsman could truly excel. Hasty movements were welcomed, of course, but maintaining focus against someone like Byakuya was important.

Shifting her body forward, employing shunpo as a boon to guide her charge, Hiroe suddenly vanished - reappearing in front of Byakuya to clash her zanpakuto against his blade. Purposely grinding the steel of her transparent blade against his own, Hiroe turned her hip sideways to execute a pirouette with her leading leg.

This sudden revolution increased the overall charge of her zanpakuto simply by sheer momentum. The momentary divorce of their blades was brief, no more than an instant or so had passed, and Hiroe transitioned into layering Byakuya's blade within a storm of offense, the purposeful graze of steel repeating a thunderous melody as she adhered to his instruction.

Hiroe’s shunpo brought her before him. Byakuya’s eyes followed each of her steps, something that only someone of his level could do, so the effect of vanishing was not as clean-cut going against him. A small shift of his zanpakuto and their swords clashed, during which is examined her strength and speed, along with the amount of force she was putting into her strikes. There wasn’t much force, but he noticed the method in which she fought, specifically the grace in her spin.

The stream of oncoming attacks were met with small, calculated movements that would either collide with or deflect her blade, each of these likely allowing her shikai to charge up. It was up to Hiroe when she wanted to release her shikai’s ability, but if she only maxing it out before releasing would not be an efficient way of going into battle with hollow. Her last attack was met with a strong collision, one that held her blade still, intentionally stuck against his own to stop her onslaught.

“A real opponent would not let you take this long,” Byakuya warned, and then a firm push would send Hiroe back away from him. “Now, demonstrate what you know.”

His advice was not lost on her, for he was indeed correct in his assertion. No enemy on the battlefield - hollow or human - would allow her to generate a desired charge. In an ideal reality, she would be fortunate to earn even one charge compared to the multitude of lightning accumulated during her relentless stream of attacks.

To counter the strong collision that sent her back a few meters, Hiroe shifted her center of gravity to the right, momentarily easing her grip on the handle of her zanpakuto, allowing the blade to seemingly falter to the ground. In the blink of an eye, she repositioned her fingers around the hilt, stepping forward to execute a rising swing from the ground, releasing a thunderous bolt of lightning in her wake.