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.

If not for Kimitsuki's fine control of the fire, she may have long destroyed the training room they were in. As it was, it would still endure some damage from the intensity of the heat and flames. Kimitsuki continued to pace around Hana, watching the woman from within her shroud of fire. She did seem to be briefly struggling with the intense flame, perspiration accumulating upon the woman's skin as fire harmlessly licked her exposed flesh. The woman continued to watch until a visible change was wrought.

Hana's ice flowers vanished immediately and without a sound, and Hana did appear to be recovered a bit from the heat and exhaustion. Additionally, however, she seemed to be focusing entirely on the task of cooling herself down so she could more easily bear the heat. Kimitsuki couldn't help but smile widely, the wide smile of a teacher proud of her student, of Kimitsuki being proud of Hana. She had done it, and that was a start. Now came the more difficult part, learning to maintain this even within the heat of combat.

As flame continued to envelope Hana from nearly all angles, and the heat didn't increase, Kimitsuki's hand emerged from the flame and came to rest upon Hana's head in a very gentle headpat. Soon, the rest of the woman's body followed as Kimitsuki fully revealed herself to Hana once again. With a warm smile, Kimitsuki listened to what Hana had to say, her red hair seemingly to glow and blend in with the fire around them. She understood what Hana was concerned about, how she would focus on this state while in a battle.

"Simply put, Hana, you won't. At least not yet. You'll have to learn how to focus on that task of keeping yourself cool and fight at the same time. It won't happen instantly... but this alone is progress. Now, I want you to focus and try to dodge or counter, any way you can. If you lose focus, you may very well pass out, Snow Blossom~"

Kimitsuki smiled warmly before she backed into the flames around herself and Hana, once more eclipsing herself within the embrace of her fire. After doing so, Kimitsuki moved within her fire again, the sound of her feet muffled by the roaring inferno. Within a minute, she attacked once again, intending to test Hana's focus in a literal trial by fire. Hana was perfectly safe, of course, but that didn't mean Kimi wouldn't rough Hana up a small amount to help her grow stronger.

Hana's efforts did seem to bear some fruit as the young Shinigami dodged Kimitsuki's attacks and kept her focus intact. They danced through the crackling fire to an unknown tune, waltzing through their motions in their mock battle. It was good that Hana was regulating her temperature, it helped insulate her from the heat around her. However, the technique was likely unrefined, unpolished. This made its energy consumption on the rather high side. However, even if Hana's energy was failing, the woman did last a good ten minutes before she finally started to show proper signs of exhaustion. She was making mistakes, and it seemed that her temperature regulation had worn off; leaving her with the scorching heat of the obscenely hot room.

Once the woman had fully seemed to be succumbing to the heat of the room, Kimi once more returned to hide within her flames; keeping a very close eye upon Hana. If she was to soon pass out from exhaustion, Kimitsuki would need to act swiftly to prevent Hana from succumbing to the effects of the heat. Kimi watched as the woman seemed to push herself just that one last bit before she lost herself to the heat and fire.

Hana's scream was louder than the roaring flames to Kimitsuki, a scream of desperation and frustration. There was a blast of icy energy around Hana before the woman began to fall, seemingly in slow motion to Kimitsuki. Within those moments, Kimitsuki had moved to Hana's side. She didn't catch the woman, not completely, but she did help prevent Hana from smacking her head against the floor. Instead, her head would come into contact with a much softer surface as her fall was slowed by Kimitsuki. With Hana's head now in the fiery Danava's lap, Kimi raised a hand upwards and all the fire jumped into her hand and seemed to disappear into the Danava; or was otherwise snuffed out by the Danava's control over fire.

With the room showing the results of intense heat and fire, Kimitsuki used her liberation flame to gently liberate Hana of any wounds Kimi deemed to be too serious to leave alone. Otherwise, she knew the woman wouldn't wish for the Danava of Fire to just simply remove such things. Additionally, the Danava did her best to do the same on the room, but her efforts were otherwise limited. Afterwards, she returned her worried eye to Hana. She stroked the woman's hair gently, a soft exhale leaving Kimi's nose as she did her best to keep the unconscious woman comfortable.

"Oh Hana... I hope you'll one day confide in me what is tearing at you so... But for now, I'll do whatever I can to make you stronger; I promise."