Throw Caution to the Wind [Hiroe/Byakuya]

It was good to see that Hiroe could take him pushing her back. He had not put too much strength into it, but had enough to possibly push her off balance. She took his advice and fired. A bolt of lightning encompassed his vision as Hiroe let her reiryoku loose. The bolt of lightning was off by enough that Byakuya only had to turn his body just enough in order to let the attack fly by. The lightning was decent in strength, but Hiroe could not allow her bolts to be so inaccurate.

“Your lightning follows the arch of your swing, does it not?” Byakuya asked, looking at the burnt mark on the wall behind him where the lightning struck and then back to her. He was curious whether Hiroe’s lightning went where her eyes followed, where her sword followed, or started at a designated point and then fired. His way of teaching her would alter depending on the method that he zanpakuto used.

"Hm?"

Hiroe paused for a moment, paying no mind to the bolt of electricity that sailed haplessly through the air. The question left her with a pause as she positioned her blade in a stationary position before her.

Ever since the discovery of her zanpakuto's ability, the notion of direction had never particularly crossed her mind. She had assumed, of course, that most of the strikes that released her bolts were predicated on swinging in the direction of wherever the opponent might be at a specific interval of time.

There are two methods. Striking from the blade to release electricity and resheathing the blade to perform a blindingly quick draw and slash to cut her enemy down in passing.

For a moment she inched forward, her head cocked in a curious tilt. Swinging her sword from a vertical stance, Hiroe ventured to test his theory as another thunderous blast soared through the air, aiming to target Byakuya as she responded.

"To be honest? I always assumed that was the case. Wherever my body swings the blade, the lightning follows that single route. There was... a battle once where I tested directing it in a thrust against one of my fellow students, but I never attempted to go back to that since then..."

The silence took over as Hiroe contemplated his question. Byakuya was a man quite comfortable with silences, so he did not rush her or become impatient like others would have. He watched her movements and the rise in her energy signaled she was trying again, likely testing the method she felt when the lightning fired. He was the target again, which was just fine. She did not put as much effort into this strike as last time, so he side stepped like before and let it fly by.

“Most zanpakuto behave this way; I was merely making sure,” Byakuya said and held up his zanpakuto. He placed the blade straight up in front of himself. “Scatter, Senbonzakura,” he said and the blade that made up his zanpakuto separated into many sakura petals. He did not move them around quickly, like he would if he was fighting someone, so Hiroe could see each of them just fine. They floated around, not nearing her at all, but moving like feathers on the wind.

“My shikai follows both my eye line and the swing of my blade; it depends on the battle,” Byakuya explained and without moving the hilt of his zanpakuto, the sakura petals all began to swirl around the room, keeping a good distance from both of them. After a moment, the moved inward and created two semi-solid pillars of sakura petals on either side of Byakuya. “Attempt to destroy them,” he said. Each were thin, so difficult to strike, but also made up of his skill and strength, so they would also be difficult to damage. Byakuya’s focus was her accuracy. Since he stood in the middle, she would have to be careful about control and not hitting him.

His words had not fallen on deaf ears, for Hiroe regarded them with nothing less than her undivided focus. Somewhere deep down in her soul, the admiring challenger in her spirit wanted to cry out that she was gloriously witnessing Byakuya's Senbonzakura amid a spar, but she held those emotions at bay in favor of taking this lesson seriously.

Diligence was the only thing occupying her mind now. Hiroe observed the torrent of petals as they swirled together to form two pillars, both positioned at his left and right, leaving him vulnerable in the middle. Of course, Hiroe understood the implications of his current method well enough. An accuracy test? She would achieve it with determination and resourcefulness.

A confident grin lined her lips as she reassumed her stance. Rather than holding her blade firmly with both hands, she kept her wrist loose enough, thereby allowing her to control the direction and swing of her blade without losing control of her weapon entirely. The grip on her zanpakuto repositioned, she stepped inward with her left leg, her blade cast forward to the pillar at his left side, lightning bursting forward to strike true with an accuracy worthy of her teacher's approval.

The effort Hiroe put into the swing was what Byakuya wanted to see. She shifted her method just enough to focus on accuracy, but he would not be surprised by the lack of power behind the swing because of it. Hiroe had not yet experienced anything resembling true battle, and could not yet understand the rush and ferocity that happens when you are truly fighting for your life. And though he could simulate the experience, he had no intention of harming his student in any significant fashion, so even then it would not be a perfect way of training her.

“Again,” Byakuya said after examining the pillar she struck. Hiroe hit it fine, but no damage was done, not a single petal out of place or even marked by her lightning. This would become a balancing act. First, accuracy. Second, power. “Keep going.”

The strike was accurate but it lacked the destructive force capable of leveling those pillars of sharpened petals. She had to balance the two if she had any hope of at least leaving a dent in his defense. Exhaling softly, his advice completely registered, Hiroe stepped back a few meters. Repostioning her grip again, Hiroe settled into a powerful stance. Turning her hip swiftly to the right, Hiroe executed a vertical strike toward the right pillar, pinpointing it with laser-focused accuracy, releasing another stroke of lightning in her wake. It was stronger due to the centrigual increase in power, of course, but would her master consider it accurate? She certainly hoped so.

Byakuya did not move, though he could tell this new strike would be less accurate. It wasn’t inaccurate in the sense of not hitting her target; Hiroe did that just fine. The problem was the controlled area in which her attack struck. There was a lot to consider when using an elemental zanpakuto like this, or any power with an area of effect. For lightning, however, a lack of energy control, good aim, or power could mean the difference between damaging your enemy, damaging nothing, or damaging an innocent. In this case, Byakuya was the “innocent.”

As her lightning struck, a piece of his sleeve was torn. He said nothing, but held it up for her to see. It wasn’t a massive or irreparable tear, but it was enough that if it had been a person, they would need immediate medical treatment.

“The after effects of your lightning could cause more damage than you see on the surface,” Byakuya explained, reminding her of electrocution and how it can spread. “All aspects of a zanpakuto like this must be taken into consideration as you strike. You must aim well, control your lightning, and put enough power behind the strike to damage your target. The chance of perfecting this any time soon is low, but you have proven your determination many times. You will get it. Now, again.”

The vigorous second effort ended in failure. The ferocity of her swing rendered her second strike imbalanced. It was an expected result, yet it was far from welcomed for the fledgling Shinigami whose ambitions knew no bounds. Golden eyes scrutinized the tear in his sleeve, surveying the severity of her lightning as she listened to her teacher's advice.

His instruction was not lost on her. There was an art behind mastering the ability of one's shikai. Concerning the element of lightning itself, mastering the area of effect was crucial. Striking the balance between power and precision was especially pertinent. A strike that encompassed strength and grace, accuracy and might... could she achieve it? Of course, she could.

Affirming herself through an internal vow of confidence, Hiroe released all of the tension in her body through a drawn-out exhale. From her shoulders to her waist, and even the soles of her feet, Hiroe allowed every muscle in her body to relax. A state of tranquility encompassed her entire stance. Placing the cherished weapon in an overhead stance, Hiroe firmly gripped her hilt with the resolve of a warrior who vowed to see their duty fulfilled. How much lightning was feasibly left in her blade, she wondered. Would it be enough to destroy at least one pillar? The answer to her curiosity lay in her next action.

Stepping in with her right foot ahead of the left, her hips shot forward like a pinball, her arms descended downward in what could be described as a graceful flow of movement drawn forth to guide a fierce swing. Every movement was coordinated. Every moment was ideal. A veritable crescent of lightning blossomed in the wake of her strike, launched forth with praiseworthy precision. Hiroe intended to cut the pillars in half with a single stroke.

Hiroe took a different stance this time, bringing the blade above her head. This was a more fundamental form for kendo, which was a basic teaching at Shino Academy. Good. Appreciating your basics and returning to more known techniques will always help create a strong foundation when learning something new. And as Hiroe made her next swing, he saw the improvement. Lightning did not hit him or his clothing. It struck the pillar dead on. Petals were blasted and blown, and the pillar was bolted through with enough power to hit the wall behind it.

“Well done,” Byakuya said, an emphasis on the first word that showed he was happy with what he saw, even if it did not appear in his expression. A quick wave of his sword and the pillar reformed, petals flying back to recreate the semi-solid structure. “That swing is what you should practice repeatedly until you can perform it under the stress of battle,” Byakuya explained, holding up his slightly damaged sleeve again. “If you take the time to practice it, it will become second nature and this will not happen again.” He dropped his arm to the ground. “Now, again.”

The word "again" became a common fixture in their spar after toppling the pillars. It stood to reason that Byakuya, a man known for his studious attention to detail, would instruct her to repeat the pattern again. Hiroe was an eager student, and hardly minded repeating strike after strike.

At one interval, she would soar in to clash blades with him again, accumulating voltaic sparks of energy in preparation for each release. At another, she would evaluate her technique, testing the trajectory of her lightning with consecutive strokes of the blade.

To Hiroe, heedless to the eventual exhaustion, these were but mere stepping stones to achieve her dream. For as long as he desired, she would go the distance until she was laying on the ground, her body spent of all manner of energy. It came as no surprise when that reality came to pass.

Sweat-covered skin, heaving chest, heavy breathing - these were the results of her vigorous training. Falling against the mat, Hiroe grinned from ear to ear, a humorous groan dancing from her lips. Man, the path to greatness sure was a difficult one, huh?

"Phew... What's my record like now after that first strike, Sensei...? I'm beat."