A Meeting Of Blonde And Blue (Leona/Armina)

-Fourth Division HQ, a training room-

Clad in her black Shinigami uniform and holding the grip of Reppūmaru in her right hand, Leona sat on the floor of a spacious training room while gazing into the blue-white blade of her Zankaputo and thinking about recent events. She had missed the excitement that had occurred not too long ago, which would have been the first real action she had gotten since the end of World War IV. Leona's disappointment at missing out on the fighting was more than tempered by the knowledge that Soul Society had paid a considerable cost for its victory. The full ramifications of the one-two punch of the Arrancar invasion and the questionable actions of the near-mythical figure known as Ichigo Kurosaki would likely take some time to be realized... the blonde Shinigami certainly needed some time to make sense of it all.

Leona found herself wishing that she had gotten into the action so that she might have been able to make a small contribution to Soul Society like saving a few of her fellow Shinigami from death, but it was too late for that now. No amount of heroic fantasies could change the grim reality of what had happened. The blonde frowned into the blade and the reflection showed green eyes narrowed into sharp emerald daggers. After a few moments of looking at herself she got to her feet and held Reppūmaru in both hands using the grip she had learned from the Kendo training she had gotten before World War IV. She then began swinging her Zankaputo in precise motions, being careful not to spend too much energy slashing the air.

The blonde Shinigami began practicing some Kendo footwork to go along with her Kendo strikes. Both of them were basic and she would likely not fare well against a more experienced practitioner of that style, but the basics had been enough to protect her during the war, when a basic defense was enough to defend against the attacks of all but the most tenacious Hollows. Leona preferred to either use speed to avoid enemy attacks or be the one attacking so that her opponent did not have the time or the space to do anything but react to her, but knowing the basics of defense such as footwork and proper blocking technique had saved her life more than once.

As she practiced what she had learned a lifetime ago Leona found herself wishing that she had an opponent to face so that she could truly test her skills. Sparring with someone was much more exciting than fighting empty air. Deciding to keep going despite the tedium of fighting an imaginary adversary, Leona focused on what she was doing and kept going through everything she had been taught.

As Leona continued to practice Kendo she paid attention to Reppūmaru as the blue-white blade cut through the air. She recalled the years of effort and innumerable hours of training she had put into attaining Shikai and the joy she felt when she had finally reached that goal. Its significance went far beyond being just an accomplishment that would help her catch up with her older siblings Leonidas and Lucia; the power boost and the abilities that came with Shikai had helped her immensely during World War IV. During that conflict she had fought quite a few tenacious opponents who were too strong for her to handle until she used Shikai to turn the tide.

As powerful as it was that release was just not enough... in the present day she had the goal of attaining Bankai. The reasons for that were twofold; the first reason was to increase the amount of power she had at her disposal and that in turn neatly dovetailed with her second reason. She wanted Bankai so that she had a realistic chance of earning a seat in the Fourth Division. In the past the blonde had occasionally given that endeavor some thought but had not committed to actually pursuing it. Now Leona was starting to give the matter more and more serious thought and would soon form the beginnings of an actual plan.

Thinking about it in greater detail would have to wait, though. A tall woman with long blue hair and a powerful presence entered the training room in a dramatic and noisy fashion. Leona finished her current short, diagonal stroke with Reppūmaru and then stopped what she was doing to greet the newcomer, who was obviously displeased about something and did not look like they were here for a casual conversation.

"Hi there." Leona greeted the stranger before giving a wave of her left hand. She felt like she should know the blue-haired woman from somewhere, but at the moment the blonde was not recognizing the new arrival. She would probably learn the other person's identity soon enough.

"I became a member of the Fourth Division prior to World War IV and I served in that conflict. However, I'm original to the Fourth, not a former Eleventh Division member." Leona answered the question the best she could despite not remembering the exact year she had joined off of the top of her head. The blue-haired woman might not find that answer to be satisfactory, but there was no other way the blonde could phrase it. She was not the most articulate Shinigami in existence and she truthfully did not remember details that could further narrow down the start of her membership. Hopefully the other person could understand the point she was trying to make despite not having those details to give.

Looking at the other woman again, Leona felt the spiritual pressure emanating from her and noticed how strong it was. She was clearly stronger than the blonde, a fact that did not bother her all that much. In fact Leona was intrigued by the might of the other person and wondered how they would fare in a sparring match. However, the blonde did not dare broach the subject due to the other Shinigami's current mood... instead she decided to inquire about their tenure in the Fourth Division.

"How long have you been with the Fourth Division?" Leona asked to keep the conversation going and to try and lighten the mood.

The blue-haired woman's opinion on the academy's curriculum was quite clear. Leona did not see any issue with being taught an all-around balanced skillset because having multiple means to fight was never a bad idea. There might come a day when an opponent was too fast for her to engage in Zanjutsu or Hakuda and that was when she would need to draw upon her knowledge of either Hoho to use her shunpo to try and close the gap so that she could use her preferred arts or Kido for a ranged option. The other Shinigami obviously did not feel the same way and cited her ideal way of fighting, which was the style of the former Eleventh Division. Leona was not wanting to get into an argument over the ideal way of fighting because that was a topic best saved for when the other party was calmer, but she was interested in the current conversation, so she decided to inquire about the Eleventh Division instead.

"What was it like to be in the Eleventh Division back when it was around?" Leona asked her colleague with sincere interest on her voice. If the stranger wanted to talk about that subject the blonde was all ears. If the other Shinigami chose not to discuss it Leona would have to find something else to talk about or let the blue-haired woman choose the next topic.

Hearing the blue-haired Shinigami recount the heyday of the Eleventh Division gave Leona a good idea of what that collection of individuals was like and made her thankful for the relative calm of the Fourth Division. The blonde liked a good fight and was always up for a sparring match, but she could not imagine clashing with her colleagues each and every day like the members of the Eleventh sounded like they had done. Even she needed a break every now and then. Leona kept her mouth shut and was rewarded with a reiteration of how members of the division tended to do battle, which was exactly as the other young woman said earlier. The fact that the captain heartily endorsed such a style was news to the blonde, but again she chose to remain silent because she doubted that the time was right to discuss the benefits of building and using a well-rounded skillset.

Leona's choice to hold her tongue proved to be a wise one when the blue-haired young woman approached and introduced herself as "Armina Willsaam" and the holder of the 4th Seat. That explained why Armina's spiritual pressure was so powerful... she had to be strong in order to get a seat and keep it for as long as she had. Leona was more than a little curious as to what Armina had to go through to become so strong. She might ask that question later if the mood lightened enough... right now she needed to keep the conversation on track and tell the other Shinigami who she was.

"I'm Leona Sheridan, an unseated member of the Fourth Division." Leona calmly introduced herself to Armina.