A Meeting Of Blonde And Blue (Leona/Armina)

"I know that I might be spreading myself thin by trying to have a balanced skillset, but I want to be ready in case someone tries to fight me from a distance. If they do I can either use shunpo to try and close the distance or use Kido to fight fire with fire." Leona took the opportunity to try and strengthen her reason for not specializing in any one Shinigami art. Armina had likely deduced the blonde's reason already because the holder of the Fourth Seat seemed to be fairly intelligent, but Leona chose to add that explanation anyway. The blonde preferred to have options that allowed her to fight a wide range of enemies... besides, she tended to get bored when she was not training any of her skills.

"I taught quite a few of those creeps a lesson. They thought that I was a pushover just because I was attractive, but punching them in the face a few times often taught them differently." Leona told a condensed version of her days in the Rukongai. She deliberately left out the night of her worst defeat and its humiliating aftermath because that was something personal that she did not want to discuss just yet. Instead Leona focused on Armina's preference in romantic partner.

"In my opinion there's nothing wrong with that. When it comes to romance I'm not sure where I stand because I've never had the time or inclination to pursue anyone." Leona commented on the blue-haired Shinigami's preference and stated that she was still undecided. After what had happened to her she kept her distance from men. However, that did not mean that the blonde was looking for a girlfriend either. To say that Leona's view of romance was complicated would be an understatement.

When she spoke Armina started off by giving advice pertaining to Bankai and the key to earning that power was to diligently train in Zanjutsu. The reward would be the power that the blonde wanted along with the might to have fair chance of standing up to any opponent she might face. It went without saying that Leona wanted Bankai, but she would not get it just by wanting it... she would have to apply herself to the study of Zanjutsu just like she had done to attain Shikai way back when.

Next came the Fourth Seat's approval when she had learned that Leona had not taken the attention of the opportunistic creeps from the Rukongai lying down. The blue-haired Shinigami then informed Leona that the Fourth Division was home to a few men who had difficulty keeping their hands to themselves. The solution to that problem was the same as it had been back in the neighborhood... a few punches to the face would likely be enough to persuade them to stop. If they required more fist-to-face behavior modification than the Rukongai riffraff took to learn their lesson the blonde would be happy to administer it.

"I'll keep that in mind if I run into them. Thanks." Leona thanked the Fourth Seat for her advice concerning the men she had been warned about. The talk about romance was not of much interest to the blonde Shinigami, but she did her best to pay attention anyway out of respect for who she was talking to. Leona was not particularly interested in dating anyone of either gender right now, but she did not know what the future held and thus could not confidently rule out the possibility of finding a significant other.

Leona did not have to think very hard about what her response to the offer of a sparring match with Armina would be. She was going to go for it because she wanted to see the power of the Fourth Seat for herself. Besides, it had been awhile since she had last sparred with a Shinigami opponent and she had certainly never faced one that radiated as much spiritual pressure as Armina.

"I'd be glad to, Fourth Seat." Leona answered confidently. She was about to spar with one of the Fourth Division's more powerful members, but the blonde was not worried in the slightest. If she really wanted to test her skills she needed to go up against strong and tough opponents. Armina seemed like she would fit both of those criteria and that was the kind of challenge Leona wanted.

Leona's teeth were exposed by a grin when Armina not only got ready for their match but granted the blonde the privilege of making the first move. While that meant the blue-haired Shinigami could set the blonde up for a counterattack if the latter misjudged the Fourth Seat, Leona did like having the initiative and always tried to take it. The blonde drew Reppūmaru and the blue-white blade of her Zankaputo gleamed in the ambient light as it was raised into a two-handed kendo grip and held diagonally outwards. It was a basic grip, but she used it because of its versatility: it could be used for either attack or defense without requiring a major shift in her stance.

However, it was possible that the Fourth Seat had knowledge of kendo that was equal to Leona's, if not superior. Therefore Leona would need to find a way through Armina's defense that did not involve standing there and trading blows in the hopes of landing a lucky hit. The blue-haired Shinigami looked like she was able to withstand a battle of attrition a lot better than the blonde, who preferred to avoid that kind of fight if she could help it.

Maintaining eye contact with Armina, Leona thought about it a moment before deciding to go for the direct approach after all. She wanted to see what her opponent was capable of before she used any of her fancier tricks such as Kido and shunpo. She moved in quickly with footwork that kept her steady on her feet, then stopped within sword range of the Fourth Seat and performed a left-to-right diagonal slash aimed at the left shoulder. Leona was not banking on the basic attack actually hitting... she was testing her opponent to see how skilled the latter was with Zanjutsu and how quickly Armina could react to the blonde's attacks.

Leona was briefly surprised by the speed with which Armina reacted to her strike, but that was to be expected from someone who had attained Bankai. One had to reach a high level of competence in Zanjutsu to earn that power and the Fourth Seat had likely shown a tiny bit of what she could really do. Leona was undaunted by her opponent's unflinching gaze and maintained eye contact even when pushed back by the force of Armina's push against her Zankaputo... the blonde quickly recovered her footing and blocked the Fourth Seat's horizontal slash with her sword held in a tight grip, but the swing was forceful enough to let the blonde know that trading sword strikes would not be a good idea. Unless she could get by the blue-haired Shinigami's guard and land strikes to critical places like the arms or shoulders before Armina did the same a battle of attrition was not likely to end in Leona's favor.

Leona was still grinning as she readied her Zankaputo for another attack by keeping it in both hands in the same kendo grip she had used earlier. She got within sword range of her opponent again, then rotated her body slightly to the left and quickly adjusted her grip on her Zankaputo. She changed it to placing her right hand behind her left and holding the weapon's grip parallel to her left shoulder while the blade was parallel to the ground and its tip aimed at Armina. Leona then thrust the blade outward with her left hand providing most of the thrust, making a quick and sharp stab aimed at the Fourth Seat's left shoulder. Again she was not counting on a hit, but if she managed to surprise Armina and land the stab that would be a welcome surprise.

Leona's favorable opinion of her opponent grew as the Fourth Seat deftly deflected her stab with a combination of quick maneuvering and her sword. After successfully deflecting Leona's sword Armina did not waste any time in counterattacking with a few stabs of her own, making three carefully directed stabs in rapid succession. The blue-haired Shinigami was demonstrating her knowledge of Zanjutsu with displays of good form and attacks that were precise and did not expend more energy than necessary to make them.

Leona did not have time to take up her normal two-handed grip, so she quickly took her right hand off of the grip of her Zankaputo and used a one-handed grip to deflect the attacks on her shoulders, effortlessly deflecting each one. However, her sword was out of position to deflect the stab aimed at her center mass, so the blonde had to rely on maneuvering to avoid being hit in a vulnerable area. Leona quickly turned her torso to the side and leaned back in an effort to dodge the incoming point, but Armina's sword still made contact of a sort by piercing the front of her uniform just below the chest... the sword point grazed her skin and when it passed made a short and shallow cut that drew a small amount of blood from the blonde. Leona really needed to work on her speed.

After that close call Leona quickly stepped backwards and out of harm's way before putting her left hand to the shallow wound for a moment, then withdrew her hand and found a small patch of crimson on her palm. The blonde quickly wiped the blood off on her left hip and gripped her weapon with both hands again. Despite the unexpected wound her fighting spirit was not dampened in the slightest.

"Well done, Fourth Seat!" Leona gave her opponent a genuine compliment for the precise display of Zanjutsu. After giving credit where it was due the blonde went on the offensive by taking a single half- step forward and quickly whirling forward to get within range. As she performed a left-to-right rotation she quickly took her left hand off of her Zankaputo's grip and raised her sword above her head when she reached the halfway point of the maneuver. When the rotation was almost finished and she faced her opponent she brought the sword down in a one-handed diagonal left-to-right slash that was aimed at Armina's left shoulder and came to a stop after performing it. The maneuver was a fairly flashy method of attack that emphasized speed over power and could easily be deflected if Armina reacted quickly enough.