Forged in Guilt, Part 3 [Hana/Kimitsuki]

Kimitsuki always had time for her students, even if they had graduated from the Academy... Speaking of which, the Academy was on a "Until further notice" break, meaning Kimitsuki had no classes to teach, and need only attend to any duties she may be required of at the Kyoraku estate. Aside from helping with the aftermath of the invasion, all Kimitsuki really had to do was to create lesson plans so she was at least read if and when the Academy opened its doors back up. Kimi was simply glad that they let students stay at the dorms, to upend so many students would have been quite a terrible event.

Regardless, once Kimitsuki had that request from Hana, and after she had accepted, Kimitsuki had been at the training room bright and early. She didn't need to be there so early, frankly speaking there was no reason... But the request was different from Hana's other requests. Shikai training was certainly something different, and Kimi could only infer so much from texts. Regardless, Kimitsuki had made sure to be prepared for Hana as much as she could, the training area as well, so that Hana's training could be meaningful. Once Hana's energy become apparent to the Danava, Kimitsuki waited patiently for the woman. Soon, her voice graced the fiery woman's ears and Kimi turned to meet her.

"Good to see you, Hana~"

Kimi's eyes graced upon the woman before her and she immediately noticed a change... Rigid posture, forced smile, and those dimmed eyes... She had done more than just fought during the invasion. She had lost, be it someone or something... she had lost. Kimi knew enough about Hana, and about how some people dealt with these events, not to treat Hana like a victim, not to feel sorry for the woman; but to treat her like she normally would. However, Kimitsuki did move up close to the woman and placed a warm hand upon Hana's shoulder. A gentle, warm smile graced her features as the Danava spoke softly, as if not to be overheard.

"You need not force a smile for my sake, Snow Blossom."

That was all Kimi said before she left the woman and spun a ring of fire around her index finger as she walked away from Hana, briefly reconsidering her approach for today. The Hana she saw before her wouldn't want to be babied or dealt with gently... Sure, there was no reason to be harsh, but being tough on the woman was a fine approach... She wanted results, not pampering. With that, Kimitsuki threw the ring of fire over her shoulder as easily as she would cast a rock. A burning flame shot past Hana's face, not injuring the Shinigami but showing her that Kimitsuki would treat this encounter with the utmost sincerity. With little preamble, fire erupted around the entire training area. Thick heat poured from the flames and quickly enveloped the room as Kimi drew her sword, the obsidian blade shimmering into existence as Kimitsuki turned to properly face Hana.

Any hint of care or affection was temporarily gone from the Danava's countenance as she turned to face Hana. All that remained was the fierce burning determination that poured from Kimitsuki's eyes, and that ever potent fiery gleam. Perhaps Hana hadn't seen Kimitsuki focused like this, even during her time at the academy, but for once Hana likely got a peek into the other side of the woman; the more dangerous one. Kimitsuki swung her blade downwards, a torrent of flame careening from the blade, the fire meant as a distraction. In that same moment, Kimitsuki moved on Hana, whether her blade was drawn or not, and pressured her so Hana had no choice but to retaliate with equal force or be hurt in the process. If Hana wanted it tough, she would get it tough... But also, she would hopefully discover what she was looking for. Only time would tell...

Kimitsuki wasn't surprised that Hana wasn't very receptive to her nickname from before, frankly speaking it seemed much more like she begrudgingly accepted the nickname than anything else. However, it was clear she didn't at least disapprove of it. That at least warmed the Danava's heart, along with the trust that Hana may have accidentally shown by not attempting to dodge or flinch away from the first precursor of their fight. Perhaps Kimi and Hana were quite alike in that respect, hurting someone they cared for was a hard thing to perform.

Hana's shikai was a sight to behold, even if Kimitsuki had never seen it before now... at least not in this setting, perhaps. Her distraction from before did seem to pull Hana's attention away from Kimi's initial offensive. However, Kimi did take some mental note of the icy blades that, while they did stop Kimi's fiery distraction, they also often were melted by the very same fire they countered. It was a sort of yin and yang, a balance as the two's powers conflicted. Often, Kimitsuki's power did overpower Hana's ice, especially because fire was the direct counter to ice, but Kimi was careful to keep her fire from becoming too overpowering for Hana's sake... But that didn't mean the heat wasn't a little stifling!

In the midst of that fiery onslaught was a blast of icy wind that struck Kimitsuki head on. Frost briefly appeared on some of Kimi's hair as the Danava briefly anticipated an attack from those same icy blades that her fire tangled with earlier... They never came. For whatever reason, Hana seemed to perform an act that was unknown to her, and surprising to Kimitsuki. Without the attack of those icy flowers, the chilling effects of the wind were dispelled within moments as Kimitsuki went back on the offensive.

The Danava of Fire pressured Hana once again, utilizing more fire to further test and weaken her icy abilities. She pushed Hana to the utmost, each fiery slash threatening to burn Hana fiercely. However, much like Hana's wind was less lethal upon Kimitsuki, Kimitsuki's fire too was far less brutal once it got close to Hana's body. With a snap of her fingers, Kimitsuki sent two pillars of blazing fire straight towards Hana from agonizingly close. Of course, Kimi was careful not to harm the woman, but Kimitsuki used this as an additional distraction as she concealed herself in flame to try and attack Hana from the woman's left side; the one likely unguarded by the fan. If she was successful, Kimi would only give the woman a very shallow cut, almost a scratch really, on her left arm. Otherwise, however, she would simply continue to pressure the woman with pure heat, intent to test just how far her shikai could go in such extreme conditions.

"Your Shikai is beautiful, Hana! Make it colder!!"

Hana was certainly a stronger woman than she gave herself credit for, but she couldn't emit the same amount of force on her environment like Kimitsuki could. She dodged well, as per usual, and often didn't take any direct hits from Kimitsuki's fire. Even if the woman had, the fire would only lightly lick her skin, perhaps singe her clothes the smallest amount; but everything else pointed to just how hot the woman's flames were. But, it was getting hotter each moment, the absolute heat was bound to be overwhelming for Hana. However, once the woman ceased her attempts to attack, and certainly after that tiny cut was successful, Kimitsuki followed suit. Instead, the woman focused on maintaining her fire acutely. She amped up the heat just enough to truly test Hana's capabilities, but not enough to directly harm the woman.

Once Hana started to try and force her reiryoku further outward so she could create more ice flowers, Kimitsuki slid into her flames and instead took a backseat to observe Hana. She paced around the woman, watching her closely as she observed the woman closely. She didn't know of Hana's conversation with her Zanpakuto, but the Danava did consider that Hana's inner desires controlled her Zanpakuto quite on accident. That alone, once she noticed it, was progress in itself... But Kimi knows Hana well enough that she won't accept just this as progress.

"Breath, Hana. Try to shut out the intensity, the heat, cool yourself before you cool the air around you."

Kimitsuki continued to pace, occasionally sending embers past Hana's exposed skin. She purposefully made certain that the tiny bits of fire didn't hit the woman, but they were intended to disrupt her focus. Frankly speaking, if Hana could properly ignore the heat, and the distractions, she could progress once again under the desperate stress of heat-exhaustion. Kimitsuki knew that Hana could do it, especially under such duress. Hana simply needed to believe that she could do it too.