Bleach: Realm of the Broken Blade

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Bleach: Realm of the Broken Blade

A forum-based original AU Bleach RP.

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    Post by Serenity Mon Feb 06, 2017 10:24 pm

    The next day came with clear skies and a warm breeze. Kaminari woke calmly, the events of the previous day allowing her to rest enough that morning was mostly welcomed. She took a bit longer than normal to get ready, her thoughts drifting back and forth to present time to her decision to train. When was this going to begin?

    With breakfast coming off the stove and on the table, the two occupants of the house enjoyed a quiet meal until Kaminari spoke up. She wanted to train and did not want to wait long to get started. His words from the previous day stuck with her. Her basics needed work. A Fifth Seat's basics should not need this much work. It was time for her to get off her ass and work. The decision had been made and they would start after they finished eating. Kaminari finished first, having both eaten less and rushed through her meal. She cleaned up most of the kitchen while Genpaku would take the time to finish eating. Once finished, made her way to the backyard to wait for him to join her.

    When he did, Kaminari was sitting at the far end of the yard with her back against the wall that surrounded Genpaku's property. She was a little lost in her own thoughts, but still looked ready. Though she didn't expect to need it, she did have her Zanpakutō lying on the ground at her side. When Genpaku came over, Kaminari looked up and gave a short nervous smile, allowing it to fade quickly after. "So..." she spoke as calmly as she could, "How does this work?"


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    Post by Genpaku Tue Feb 07, 2017 12:19 am


    The day had certainly started out interesting. Genpaku was glad to see that Kaminari was serious about her decision to train, even if she did seem quite nervous about the prospect still. She brought it up at breakfast, and since he'd already had a day of sitting around and doing nothing he didn't want or need a second in a row. He had agreed to Lilith's demand that he rested, and he knew he needed it, so he wasn't going to do high intensity training. Well, high intensity for him anyway. He ate his breakfast without any special haste while Kaminari sped through hers before she headed out to the backyard.

    He joined her not too long after, dressed in his normal outfit minus the captain's Haori. He had brought his Zanpaku-tous, but more out of habit than anything. He approached the back wall and set them down as Kaminari asked her question.

    “Well, first you need to calm down a little. You're still quite nervous, and you don't need to be,” he said gently. “When you're ready, stretch and warm up. If you go into the training cold, you might pull something.”

    He smiled at her and walk a few feet out into the yard himself to start warming up. Mostly, it consisted of stretching and getting the blood flowing after having rested all night. Once he was done with that, and Kaminari finished up, he turned his attention back to her.
    “For today, I'm not going to worry too much about your Kidō. I know your skill in that is exceptional, and you may well be beyond my ability to teach in that regard. Instead, let's see how your Hohō techniques are coming along. I've heard you were training the Captain of the Second, so let's see what you've picked up.” He measured the distance between them and took a pair of steps back.
    “Shunpo to me,” he said simply.


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    Post by Serenity Tue Feb 07, 2017 1:01 am

    Calming down wasn't going to be easy. She was anticipating failure and unless her mind went to something else, all she could do was fake it. She took a deep breath, stopped fidgeting, and nodded. She made sure to return a smile, but as he stood the smile faded. "Alright." Kaminari stood up and pretty much mimicked Genpaku's stretches. She tried to play it off, but she was mocking him at the same time. When he wasn't looking, she'd stick her tongue out at him, strike some stupid pose, or wiggle her arms like a moron. She didn't think stretching that important and it made her feel silly.

    Kaminari was finishing her mimicking as he turned to her. She quickly dropped the idiotic expression she had been using to mock him and raised an eyebrow at his compliment. "Doubt that." she stated bluntly. She thought on what she had been learning from Captain K. Saionji and rubbed the back of her head. "I... ran into walls, a lot." she muttered angrily and then blinked at him, "Say what now... Really? From like right here, or should I back up? A lot."

    "You're insane, but okay!" Kaminari took a step and vanished in a sharp blur. Her execution was decent, accuracy was fine, speed wasn't as high as you'd think it'd be for her, but that came from the hesitation. Her skill had improved thanks to Captain K. Saionji's training. She was no longer tripping over her own two feet and was able to control herself enough to hit her target location. However, stopping was an issue. Kaminari ended up about a foot from him and stumbled forward. She didn't trip or lose her balance. She was moving too fast for herself to stop on time.

    Genpaku caught her and she quickly recovered her balance. "Yeesh... Sorry." Kaminari's eyes narrowed and she looked back toward her original spot, muttering angrily to herself, "What in heaven am I doing wrong? That is so, so, so, so annoying! Reiryoku, check. Distance was fine..." Kaminari walked over to her original spot and pointed to Genpaku, "Don't move. I'm gonna do this right." She repeated the previous shunpo, only to stumble again. Once again, she was caught and there was a moment where she was about to rage, but she held that back. "What am I doing wrong!?"  


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    Post by Genpaku Tue Feb 07, 2017 2:33 am


    Genpaku watched as Kaminari steadied herself and attempted his exercise. He caught her when she failed to stop herself, but did note that the technique was actually quite good. It seemed she had been putting in quite a bit of work thus far and it was paying off. He couldn't actually place where in the step it had gotten out of her control, but none the less it had. She told him to stay and that she was trying again, which was fine. She repeated the process, all the way down to the stumble once more. It was obvious that she wasn't quite sure what was happening either. He looked vaguely perplexed himself
    “Your technique looked good, so I'm not entirely sure at the moment. Seemed you had it under control until the last moment,” he commented as he help set her back to balance once more.

    “Possible you're channeling too much energy into the soles of your feet,” he said after a moment, though it didn't quite feel right. It wasn't like Genpaku could see energy flow, so he couldn't be sure but that did seem to be the most likely thing to cause such a loss of balance. He took a step back himself, putting roughly the same distance between them as before but with a few extra feet between them.
    “Try again; let's see something,” he called out.


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    Post by Serenity Tue Feb 07, 2017 2:50 am

    "Yea, I don't know what I do wrong. It happens every time, unless I immediately do another shunpo afterwards. What kind of idiot can't do one?!" Kaminari's frustration rang out clearly in her voice as she threw her arms in the air in defeat. She sighed and then raised a curious eyebrow. "You think so?" Kaminari looked to her feet and pat them along the ground a few times, looking like a waddling duck. "Hm. Maybe. I thought something like that would make the ground explode, not make me fall on my face. At least..." her expression dulled, "...if it were Lilith the ground would explode." Kaminari crossed her arms, "That'd be a hell of a lot cooler. At least then I could make an entrance."

    Kaminari blinked at being told to try again, but nodded. She knew she was going to fail, but no reason not to continue, right? "You know, I thought you'd want to work on my hand-to-hand." Kaminari said as she took that step and vanished again. She was trying to make it to him like before. And like before, her technique was well done, her accuracy was good, but stopping the movement was throwing her off balance. It even seemed that the larger distance caused her to stumble more as she almost had her face hit the ground. Once again, she was caught and helped back to her feet. "Thank you." she said and then continued, "I figured Lilith would have complained about that, not my Hohō. Though you did mention my training with Captain K., so I guess it's not that surprising... Did you see why I mess up?"


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    Post by Genpaku Tue Feb 07, 2017 3:09 am


    He couldn't help but smile at Kaminari's comment about exploding ground from Shunpos. She tried again with exactly the same results. He frowned slightly as she straightened up again.
    “I didn't, because you're not doing anything wrong,” he said simply, folding his arms as he thought about it.
    “Technique looked fine, you're not wasting much energy with the steps either. From what I'm seeing, there isn't much of a reason for you to be losing your balance on the technique side of things. Which means its something on the energy side; it didn't seem like you were putting out all that much though, or that little, so it seems odd that it would be messing you up,” he commented. As far as he was concerned, this was a rather serious issue though. Granted, much of his fighting style relied on precise movements using Shunpo so a hiccup like this would have been devastating.

    He thought about her comment concerning her hakuda.

    “I'll get there. I know you're good at Kidō, and I've heard about you training in Hohō. I haven't heard much about either your hakuda or Zanjutsu. So the best place to start for me to be of any help is to figure out where you already stand. I'm starting at Hohō because the movement is a good warm-up, since you didn't seem to take much to the stretching and warm-up exercises before,” he explained before he looked around the yard a moment.
    “From this position, move and touch each wall of the yard and then get back here. Do so as quick as you can while maintain control. Ready...go.”


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    Post by Serenity Tue Feb 07, 2017 3:24 am

    Kaminari's expression fell again. She was hoping she'd be able to figure this out. Well, she was hoping that he could because she never could, and neither could Midori or anyone else who attempted to help her. She was disappointed and it showed. She was failing again. She looked around the yard after getting her new little mission. "Uh... Sure, okay. I can do that." Kaminari said and nodded, taking a second look around before making her first step. 

    The exercise was done well and Kaminari succeeded at moving from wall to wall. She executed her movements very straight forwardly, without much style or grace, but nothing she did was done badly. She merely did not have her own style. As she returned to Genpaku, the momentum she had built up became her enemy and her stumble was fast. She appeared already mid-roll and somersaulted a couple times before stopping. "Ow, ow..." she whined and went to sit up, but decided against it. Instead, she laid there and flailed her arms and kicked her legs. "Why can't I get this right!" she yelled and turned to him, "I did everything else fine, right? I just can't stop. I don't get it!"


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    Post by Genpaku Tue Feb 07, 2017 4:06 am


    Genpaku's eyes followed Kaminari as she started the exercise, and there was a slight change in him as she did. His eyes became more focused as he forced the distractions from his mind and senses. If it was something wrong in the flow of energy in Kaminari, then it should have been perceivable. She moved with simple efficiency from wall to wall, picking up speed as she went. She touched the last wall and turned to move back to her starting point.
    “There,” said a familiar voice, accompanied by a light breeze.
    Kaminari began her somersault, tumbling to the ground with a sound of pain. She lay there for a few moments before she began to complain. He was already making his way over towards her. He reached out a hand to help her up.


    “Indeed, you did the rest just fine. Kaminari, how has your training on learning the name of your Zanpakutō spirit gone?”


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    Post by Serenity Tue Feb 07, 2017 4:15 am

    Kaminari gladly took the hand and was helped to her feet. "Thank you." she said with obvious frustration. She dusted herself off and wiped her hands against each other as she thought on what may have gone wrong. As usual, she sensed nothing. When he asked his question, Kaminari was taken slightly aback by it. "Huh?" she tilted her head in confusion and then looked over to her Zanpakutō, "It... hasn't really. I haven't heard it calling out to me. I'm not sure how else I'm supposed to talk to it if it doesn't talk to me. I am not even sure if it's at that stage yet. It's probably still an normal ol' sword. I don't know how to tell when it's shifted from powerless to Zanpakutō, if it even has." Kaminari turned her attention back to Genpaku. "Why'd you ask that? Do you think it has something to do with me failing at shunpo?"
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    Post by Genpaku Tue Feb 07, 2017 4:22 am


    “Possibly,” was his response to her question.
    “I don't know what it was, but on the last step you took something fluctuated in your energy.  I only caught it because I had help,” he said with a slight shrug.  “I couldn't tell you what it was though.  However, your Zanpakutō spirit might have a better answer.  If its minor energy fluctuations like that which are off-setting your Shunpo, its possible its interfering with some of your other training as well and leading to some of the difficulties you've reported having.  That's the theory I've come up with at the moment anyway.”

    He gave a shrug; he had an idea of her skill with Shunpo now, though her using it in combat was going to be a bit difficult until she could figure out how to get it under control or adapt to it.
    “I'd say keep it in mind and look into it.  Now, I'd say you're probably good and warmed up.  Let's see what your Hakuda is looking like,” he said.  “Show me the seventh kata.”


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    Post by Serenity Tue Feb 07, 2017 4:42 am

    His theory was one that Kaminari hadn't even thought of. She had never sensed anything within the sword she carried. It was just that, a sword. In fact, that was one of the very few things that people hadn't brought up. Others blamed her lack of control, her lack of technique, her lack of focus, and even blamed her energetic personality at times. Everyone always said it was something wrong with her. Not once had anyone even hinted at a semi-outside force messing with her, so she got to wondering. Was her sword now a Zanpakutō? Could she hear it calling her?

    "Thank you..." Kaminari said sincerely and gratefully, the relief in her demeanor quite obvious, "That's something new I can explore. And knowing you, you're probably right." Kaminari smiled, the energetic cheerfulness she normally had finally making an appearance. She was excited for this new found idea and ready to explore it, but...

    "Huh?" Kaminari's mind was torn from her thoughts on her Zanpakutō and went to hand-to-hand. She tried to remember what that word meant, but couldn't place it. It was on the tip of her tongue and before he could explain, she put a hand up. "No, no. I remember..." she knocked lightly on her head, "Isn't that the technique thingies? Like those drills we learned at the Academy?" Once she got her confirmation, she took some time to think about which one number seven was. "I think I remember the right one..." she muttered, took a deep breath, and then took her stance.

    Kaminari did her best to perform the kata he chose. The different strikes, blocks, and footwork were performed at a passable level, but were nothing impressive. Beyond that, she ended up doing number eight, not seven. Even though it was technically 'higher level,' Kaminari did not perform worse than she would have number seven. Her movements were straight forward, dull, and got the job done. She had no style of her own and almost seemed uncomfortable throughout it. Once she finished, she took a moment to glance off, "I don't like this type of stage. Was that okay?"  


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    Post by Genpaku Tue Feb 07, 2017 5:05 am


    It took her a bit, but she finally got what he was talking about and moved to performing the kata. He remained silent, watching the motions as she made them. The techniques were there, but she didn't show much flare to them. More importantly, she didn't place much power into the techniques and misplaced several. On top of doing entirely the wrong kata. Lilith hadn't been wrong it seemed when she commented on Kamarini's lack of practice in Hakuda techniques.

    He made notes of the mistakes, but remained silent.

    Once she'd finished she asked his opinion on it. He was quiet for a few moments.

    “It needs some work,” he said, and held up a hand before she could respond or start to get dejected about it.
    “There is nothing wrong with it needing work. However, it shows that your focus has not been on hand-to-hand fighting. There are places where your fundamentals are out of place, where they need work. I'd say that, right now, you should use your hakuda only if you have no other option. I take it that its not your preferred combat method anyway, correct?” he asked. Once she answered, he asked another question.
    “Do you want it to be?”

    “While its useful to have multiple skills your good at, if you don't plan to really make use of your hakuda techniques then it shifts the focus on what you'd train them for. If you planned on using Hakuda as one of your primary combat methods, you'd seek out ways to cripple and destroy enemies with it. You would want to make it as formidable a skill as possible. However if you don't plan to make much use of Hakuda, say because you plan on mostly fighting using Kidō and Hohō to simply attack your opponents from range, any training in Hakuda would be more focused on how to once again gain distance from the enemy should they close with you. If you plan to use Zanjutsu primarily, then Hakuda exists for those times when someone manages to disarm you, and its purpose it largely to hold an enemy at bay and force them back long enough to recover your weapon. If you must fight, how would you prefer to do so?



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    Post by Serenity Tue Feb 07, 2017 8:01 pm

    Kaminari knew she needed a lot of work and his words were chosen kindly. She didn't feel like she had in previous training sessions with other people. Lilith would have told her it sucked and insulted her for being this bad. Midori would have laughed and Kazuo would have just raised an eyebrow and asked what she had just did. This was a much better way for her to hear it. She merely nodded in return. "O-Okay, so it needs work. I-I'm not good at hand-to-hand, so that's not too surprising." she said with an embarrassed blush, "It nee-. I need to work on it, I guess."

    Of course her focus wasn't hand-to-hand. Kaminari focused on things she felt she could do. Rarely did she try something that was difficult or didn't come easy. She didn't have that type of determination, or the motivation to keep her going. "No, it's not. I prefer Kidō. Kidō comes naturally..." she said, her eyes shooting around the yard as she paced, "It's... easier." She stopped pacing at his next question and thought about it. "I don't know. I don't want to be as bad as I am, but I don't think it'll ever be my first choice. I know I need to work on it, a lot. I jus-. I don't know what I want anymore. Should I have more than one focus?" Kaminari continued her pacing, thinking on what Genpaku was telling her.

    "If I have to fight... I prefer Kidō." she said, unaware of the major rude awakening that would be coming in her future, "I actually enjoy using it. If not that, I am about as good at Zanjutsu as I am Hohō, but I need to work on them both. When it comes to Hohō, I want to be able to keep up with you one day. For Zanjutsu, I like feeling like a samurai, so..." Kaminari scratched at her blushing cheek, "I know the reason is childish, but it's fun. That idea is the only reason I'm as good at it as I am. Of course, Kidō sometimes makes me feel like wizard, so I kind of want to learn it all."

    "Since Hakuda is my worst skill and you're a genius at it, I wouldn't mind raising my skill in that first?"
      


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    Post by Genpaku Thu Feb 09, 2017 12:06 am


    Genpaku gave a nod as Kaminari came to her conclusion.
    “Then that changes the focus of what you'd train in,” he commented. He looked over Kaminari for a moment before he gave a nod, mostly to himself.
    “For the most part, I think you're looking to brush up your basics and focus on techniques aimed at gaining distance either for reclaim your weapons or bring Kidō to bear in a fight,” he said with a nod.
    “Start that kata again,” he said, not bothering to point out that she'd done the wrong kata.

    “Stop,” he called after she'd completed the first movement, and walked over to her.
    “Turn this heel,” he commented, nudging her foot slightly until she had it more properly placed.
    “The placement of your foot matters; it affects how much power you can bring to bear and how efficiently you can do so. Given your slight frame, you want every bit of power you can get.” He moved and adjusted Kaminari's arm slightly, twisting it slightly and adjusting the bend of her arm.
    “If you bend the arm too little, it makes the arm rigid and can potentially break your arm. You want to have a slight bend, and you want to strike primarily with the first two knuckles of your fist.”
    He took a step back for a moment, looking at her positioning before he reached over and grabbed hold of her hips.
    “Pivot slightly, like this,” he said, pushing lightly so she'd move before he stepped back and nodded.
    “It might feel off and uncomfortable at first, however it will result in stronger strikes.”


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    Post by Serenity Thu Feb 09, 2017 1:15 am

    Luckily for Kaminari, she was on the agile side and knew how to adapt pretty quickly. Making those adaptions second nature was a completely different story though. She stared the kata again and was quickly told to stop. She froze in place and went along with the adjustments he noted. The change in her footing was the most difficult; it just didn't feel natural to her, but she'd have to get used to it. The bending of her arm actually made the stance feel batter, so it would be easier to keep. Unfortunately though, the pivoting of her waist didn't get to complete...

    The initial hand on her hips didn't bother her. It was when he hit a nerve to turn her that Kaminari reacted. She hopped away from him, giggling like a maniac and covered the area that he had taken hold of. It had been as unexpected to her as it was to him. She looked back to him with an embarrassed blush, but the phantom tickles still nipping at her. "Ticklish." was all she said until she calmed down and returned to her stance, the previous adjustments he had made still being implemented, "Sorry about that. Let's go. How's this?" Kaminari guessed on where he wanted her hips to go, but wasn't sure whether she had done it correctly. She was confident in everything else.  


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    Post by Genpaku Thu Feb 09, 2017 8:14 am


    Well, that was certainly a reaction.

    He raised an eyebrow, and a small but mischievous smile crossed his features for a few moments before he got it back under control. This wasn't the time to make use of it, but this was certainly information worth filing away for later. Kaminari jumped back into it, striking the stance once more, and he looked over the stance as a whole. The balance was better, and he gave a nod.

    “That's more the way, yes. A strike sent out from that stance with power will have a much greater effect than your last attempt.”

    He considered things for a moment.
    “Generally that will be helping, but I get the feeling you generally aren't going to be doing much striking; as in, you're not going to be aiming to land damaging blows for the sake of ending the fight. Most of what you'll want to use hand-to-hand fighting for it is going to be buying yourself time to either get back to your weapons or get distance to launch Kidō. As such, I think you're going to be more interested and find more use out of using techniques that take advantage of leverage and pushing power rather than destructive potential.” He thought about it for a few more moments.
    “Think of Hadō #1; using hand-to-hand techniques to accomplish what it does so that you could bring more damaging attacks to bear without catching yourself in the blast.”

    He walked over to her, and took up a position ahead of her. He slid into a simple stance.
    “Try throwing a punch at me,” he said. As she stepped in to attack he moved his hands to intercept it; he moved slow enough that she could see the movement but not so slow that she'd break away. He matched her speed, and as she punched he moved the attack to the side and away from him. However, as he did so he used one hand to grab hold of her arm and pull slightly, just enough to get her to have to step forward. As she did he took a step to the side, creating small but notable distance between them. He held a hand up as though he was going to use a Kidō, but no power came.
    “Case in point.”


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    Post by Serenity Fri Feb 10, 2017 5:33 am

    Kaminari punched at the air as he explained the difference. It did feel better, though the footing was still unfamiliar for her. She noticed a greater balance in her movements, along with a more fluid motion as she moved. She repeated the motion a few times, trying to get into the rhythm as he talked. As his explanation went on, she stopped practicing and stared at her hands, a curious eyebrow raised. "That... sounds more like me, I think." she she said with slight certainty, "I never thought of it before..." Kaminari dazed for a moment, a scene running through her mind with Hadō #1 at the center and what Lilith had taught her right behind it. There was a combination there that intrigued her.

    Kaminari turned to him and nodded. She readied her stance and threw the punch as instructed. Each move he made was one she could follow. She ended up on the opposite side and turned back to see him put a hand up. She blinked and quickly poked his palm. "Okay, I get it. That was cool. Teach me!" she said cheerfully and bounced like an overexcited child back into her stance. For the next hour, Kaminari was taught how to use an opponents momentum to gain distance. She wasn't too bad at it when she got to watch him, but the moment she was told to do it on her own, she would forget. After some time, she got it down and was able to remember the steps. However, she knew implementing them in battle was going to be a completely different story and that was the part that stayed on her mind.

    The hour was up and though Kaminari wasn't tired, the repetition was driving her up the wall. "Okay, okay! I will work on it more, I promise, but I need something else! We've done that for an hour, so is there something else I need work o-... Like I don't already know that answer, never mind!" Kaminari sighed and ruffled her own hair out of frustration. She stopped and thought to herself for a moment. "Ugh! Hakuda is the main thing I need work on. I don't even know what I should practice on until I have gotten better at that. You got any ideas?" 


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    Post by Genpaku Sat Feb 18, 2017 5:22 am


    Kaminari was certainly making progress in the hour they spent training, and he could understand her eagerness to move on to something else.  He stretched slightly as she bounced about grumbling about her Hakdua still needing the most work but wanting to work something else.  While she debated he walked towards the wall.  As she asked for his input he reached down and picked up her Zanpakutō.  He held it up, looking back at her with a somewhat questioning look for a moment before he walked a few more steps and claimed one of his Zanpaku-tous as well.

    “I've gotten a look at most of your skill set thus far, so this would be the last base to cover I think,” he said simply as he reached her and handed her Zanpakutō over.  He affixed his own to his side.
    “There are those among the Gotei that hold that Zanjutsu is close to the core of what makes Shinigami what they are.  Indeed, it is the most important tool a Shinigami has.  So knowledge of how to use a sword is of much import.  Let's see how your fundamentals look with it, shall we?” he asked with a smile as he drew his Zanpakutō from its sheath.
    “If you'd rather, I can go dig up some boken.  However, I personally feel training with the weight of your actual Zanpakutō is important since it is that weight and length that you will need to be most familiar with in combat.”


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    Post by Serenity Sat Feb 18, 2017 5:38 am

    Any change in ability that Genpaku may have noticed was lost on Kaminari. Her frustration continued on and so their current training needed to end. Kaminari watched curiously as he walked off, her question seeming to go ignored. She raised an eyebrow at him when he looked back at her. It took her a second to understand the look, but when she did, she met it with a casual shrug. "Swordsmanship then..." she muttered, mostly to herself as she was handed her Zanpakutō.

    "You want me... to..." Kaminari looked to her Zanpakutō, then to him, and then to his. He offered the boken, but Kaminari's insecurities got in the way of admitting she would prefer that. She felt inferior enough; she wasn't going to make things worse. Hiding the nervousness, she slid her Zanpakutō from its sheath and nodded. "Alright then... So we're sparring?" Kaminari took a deep breath and took up her stance, one much sturdier and more well-formed than anything she had been trying previously. Zanjutsu was the one thing Kaminari was able to do decently well. 


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    Post by Genpaku Sun Feb 19, 2017 4:56 am


    Genpaku gave a nod to her question, giving Kaminari's stance an appraising look over. He wasn't what he'd consider very skilled in Zanjutsu, but he certainly made it a point to practice the art as well as he did Kidō. More, if we're being honest. Given his natural talent towards close quarters combat and hand-to-hand techniques though, most of his Zanjutsu practiced followed a different routine than most others. He could make a good showing of himself though. Kaminari's stance was much better, and she looked much more comfortable with the weapon in her hand. He gave a second nod of approval.

    He squared his shoulders, and their sparring match began.

    By this point, Genpaku had a good understanding of Kaminari's speed. He'd seen how she moved with her Hohō techniques, and had a good idea of how quick her reflexes should be. Given the time training Hakuda, he also had a decent understanding of her strength. He adjusted his attack and movement accordingly as he advanced at her. To her it should seem fast, but she should have been able to still follow the movement as he rushed towards her and took a simple horizontal swing. He put enough power behind the strike that she'd have to block seriously, but not so much that he'd wound her. While it was an exercise to understand where Kaminari's skill in Zanjutsu lay and to get her to use that skill, it was also another exercise of control for Genpaku.



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    Post by Serenity Sun Feb 19, 2017 5:18 am

    The sparring match began and Kaminari's ability to keep herself focused was being tested. She had a hard time staying concentrated when her heart was pounding in her chest and her breathing threatened to become erratic. She was just that nervous about sparring Genpaku. She was pretty much using half of her concentration to not freak out and the other half to not die. His first strike came quickly. She saw it and jumped back out of reflex, not really trying to block, but merely avoid getting hit. Her stance held up and she prepared for another and when he came at her, she was successful in blocking. She threw an attack his way, though it was easily countered and the counter threw her off her balance a bit. She quickly regained her footing and went on the offensive again. The two of them moving through out the yard in a series of rather fluid motions and soon Kaminari was comfortable enough to show her skill.

    Unlike her Hakuda, Kaminari had proven her confidence in zanjutsu. Once she got over the fact that the person she was swinging a weapon at was Genpaku, she pushed herself to truly spar with him. She never landed a blow, but got off a couple of decent attacks and counters. After she stepped suddenly on a rock, Genpaku accidentally cut along her cheek, which she was going to whine and pick on him for later. During the training, however, she ignored it and immediately continued their surprisingly lengthy spar. Kaminari could only take so much though and lowered her weapon.

    "O-Okay." she forced the word out through heavy breaths about thirty minutes into a non-stop sparring session. Even if he had wanted to stop, Kaminari didn't. She had fun with zanjutsu and it showed. Once they stopped, Kaminari took a couple steps back and collapsed into a sitting position. She let her sword lay at her side, her hand resting over it as she caught her breath. "W-Was that alright?" she asked a little nervously, wiping some sweat from her brow.  


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    Post by Genpaku Tue Feb 28, 2017 10:03 am


    Genpaku let out a breath of his own as the sparring session came to a close. He sheathed his own blade as Kaminari sat down.
    “Yes; that was quite good,” he said with a small smile. It was obvious that Kaminari had put a significant amount of practice into her Zanjutsu practice. Or at least she had before she'd started letting her skills rust.

    Luckily, those skills could be polished up again.


    “Now that I've seen what you can do, I think you've got a long way to go,” he said simply, but without any malice. “Then again, I think you'd have to search pretty hard to find someone who doesn't think they can improve. However,” he said, holding up a finger, “I think you've sold yourself short on some of your strengths. If someone had wanted to unseat you, I think that by now they would have tried it.”

    He walked over and took a seat next to her.
    “I also know you can make it happen, once you stop doubting yourself quite so much and get your mind in gear.”


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    Post by Serenity Tue Feb 28, 2017 6:22 pm

    Well, she was relieved that she didn't do bad, at least in that area of their training. Everything else they tried she felt sort of pathetic in. Zanjutsu though? Kaminari smiled and stared at her sword as he spoke. She swung it around a bit, tapping the dull edge on each of her shoulders as she swung her head to the sides to avoid it. "I won't ever understand how you have faith in my ability." she said casually with a soft sigh, "I've never done anything to warrant it, besides repeatedly needing saved." Kaminari's eyes narrowed in annoyance at herself, but it faded quickly.

    Her eyes followed him as he came and took a seat. She raised an eyebrow of disbelief at him and then looked off toward the wall. "I'm not you..." she said barely loud enough for him to hear, "I don't have any confidence in myself, not really. The only thing I know how to do well is hunt down you higher-ups and befriend you all. Of course, you're the only one I didn't have to hunt; we just naturally became friends, which is probably why we're as close as we are..." Kaminari spoke as if she just realized that and then smiled toward him, "Being friends with so many Captains has its perks. First and best one, I'm alive. Pretty sure I'd be dead if it weren't for you guys. Mostly you, really all you since no one can keep up with you and you always get there first. Taking all the glory in rescuing little ol' me."

    Kaminari giggled quite a bit at that, wiggling back and forth as she did. It was something she did almost involuntarily when she thought something was really funny. And Genpaku being the first on the scene every time was funny to her, but also just struck a mental chord when she asked 'why'. Her giggle stopped and she froze in place as a few thoughts ran through her mind. After a moment, she scoffed, rolled her eyes and looked back to him. "I need a goal." she stated, "I need something to work toward, but right now I can't think of anything, and I've been trying for a while, not just today. I don't know what I want to do with my life... Do you have any advice on that, my wise friend?"  



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