[13th Division] 妹妹的武训练 - Mitsu's Combat Training Session

[Valaric]

- Meimei de Wuxun Lian -

Val waited in the middle of the forest. It was far removed from the confusion and distractions of Soul Society and its inhabitants faily activities and routines, secluded enough that all sounds beyond the rustle of the trees and the whistling of the wind were absent. It was perfect for training a young shinigami and it had been the reason Val had selected this place for the purpose of today. His younger sister, Mitsu, was to meet him there to undergo so manner of training. The specifics were less important. His training tended to cut through all routes of combat to the ultimate goal of becoming a formidable warrior in the service of the Gotei 13.

The service of the Gotei 13... He shook his head. How long had it been since he himself could claim that as his motive for fighting? Years... Decades? Centuries? His grasp on time had weakened over the long period of time he'd been in a state of living, interrupted by the various times he's been killed and then dragged back to life. He'd even forgotten whether he'd been properly restored to life this time. Sometimes it didn't feel that way.

He picked up his sword that was sheathed across his back, taking it out and stabbing it in to the ground in front of him. The double-edged straight blade rested there, silent. It contrasted with the shihakushou he still wore, a clash of the two cultures that were now a core aspect of Val's being. So many things had changed since he had been in Mitsu's position, a young shinigami still finding her way in the world.

He felt a flicker of spiritual energy at the edge of his senses and he turned, blank eyes attempting to focus on instinct before his mind's eye took over, the blackness of the world around him resolving itself as he made out the figure of his meimei approaching. He crossed his arms, turning to face her. "Took your time, Meimei?"

[Mitsune05]

Mitsu woke up earlier than ever that morning. It was the day when Val, her elder brother, was going to train her for the first time. She used to call him Gege, and he was a model for her. He was wise and strong and she wanted that someday, she would be like him.

She was still a childish shinigami, who was not ready for responsibilities or obligations. She still had the mind of a childish person, and she always liked to see the things from the good part, to be optimistic. She always believed that the things can always be good. But the thing was, she still had to gain experience, to know when the things were working well and when the things were going bad. She hated to admit it, but she still had to grow up. Despite that, whenever it was necessary, she was responsible and wise. But those moments were rare. She wished that someday, she could be always as wise and strong as Val is.

She got ready for the day quickly and went to the place were Val decided to train her. The training was going to be in a forest, and amazed Mitsu by its beauty. The nature amazed her sometimes, and she thought that there are some places that are perfect for a rest. She walked slowly through the forest, looking around and smiling. The sun was shining through the branches, and the air was warm and nice. The atmosphere seemed to be relaxed, and no sound could be hear there.

She kept walking until she felt a familiar spiritual energy, also seeing her Gege's silhouette. She smiled for a moment, glad that she found him and got a bit closer. She was always happy when she saw him, she always felt that protection that a big brother has. He always knew how to understand her and what advices to give her.

Suddenly, the girl realized that her brother noticed her and turned with his face to her. "Sorry for being late, Gege." she said smiling nervously to him, scratching the back of her head. She always hated to be late, and wished that her Gege was not upset or mad at her. "So... what do we start with?" The young shinigami was curious about the method that Val was going to use o train her. She didn't move and waited for his answer, keeping the smile on her face and being really calm.

[Valaric]

A flicker of emotion crossed Val's face for a fraction of a second before suppressing it once again. The presence of his little sister was once of the few things that still seemed to reach him on a level beyond the logical, one of his few ties that remained to some sort of humanity that at one point of his existence had been peeled away in strips to expose the raw core of his being. Some of that seemed to have been restored when he'd returned to Soul Society and he held on desperately to that lasting connection to a normal life.

As a relatively young soul, her presence burned in his sight like a glowing torch, a plume of pure white and blue of fresh life that resembled that of the sakura blossoms around him, petals fluttering down all around him in a vibrant display of colours. He looked down at his own hands. In contrast, they were a silvery, ash grey-like colour, barely standing out against the blackness of the empty air around him. He wondered vaguely just how much longer he'd be around before he too faded in to nothingness, becoming just like the wind itself. He shook his head to dispel those thoughts, looking up at Mitsu and waving a hand in greeting.

"Hey Meimei... No, it's fine. It gave me some time to sit here and appreciate the beauty of this forest here..." He took a seat on a fallen tree branch, resting his hand on the hilt of his sword, fixing her with his white-eyed stare. "Unless there is something specific you'd like to work, we'll start with the fundamentals of combat, fists and blades... Prepare yourself, Meimei."

He paused a moment as he picked up his blade, unsheathing it from the earth, waiting so that she could ready herself. He a flash, he rose to his feet, flipping backwards over the heavy tree branch and kicking hard, sending it hurtling through the air towards Mitsu, before he took a deep spring and vaulted across the distance between the two of them, dropping down from the skies slashing downwards for her head.

[Mitsune05]

She continued to smile to her brother, waiting for her training to begin. She asked him to train her in zanjutsu, which was her worst ability, so she thought that he would be a great help. She knew that he was really good in zanjutsu, and she could learn a lot from him.

The girl looked at the sakura trees, and smiled, feeling like she got a piece of heaven. She was happy that Gege brought her there to train her. It was a perfect place, a special one. She had the feeling that she would not forget that training. She always wanted Val to train her, and that was a dream come true. The little shinigami felt proud of that. "Thank you because you accepted to train me." she said, bowing a little, showing him only respect. It was a honour for her, and she wanted to be more polite to him than she usually was.

They seemed to be different, but there was a connection between them, a weird one. They used to spend a lot of time together, talking, and Mitsu usually asked for advices and help from him. He was the perfect brother, the best she could ever had. And she was thankful for that, because not many people could get close to Val as she did. She always let him know that he could trust in her as well, and she was always there for him to help him.

She wanted to hug him, because she was happy to see that he was waiting there for her, but she considered that affection and feelings were not necessary in trainings and battles. She noticed that he was staring at her, and felt a bit uncomfortable, without knowing what was going to happen next. She didn't say anything for a couple of moments, while she continued to admire the place, then fixed her eyes on her brother. "All I want is to improve my zanjutsu. I am kinda clumsy, i can't handle the sword too easily, so i usually rely on hakuda. Take me from the beginning if you don't mind..." she said smiling nervously to him, scratching the back of her head. She felt embarrassed that a 6th seat didn't know too much about zanjutsu, but better later than never.

Seeing that he took his blade, she got ready and pulled her sword out of the sheath, and raised her guard, in case he was going to attack first. She looked at the heavy tree branch and wondered what to do. Her mind told her to jump, and so she wanted to do, but Val was coming from above, slashing to her. Her reflexes were good enough to block his slash, but his force was bigger than hers and pushed her down to the ground, almost making her fall on her knees. All she could do was to hold her hand above her head and try to resist to the strong man who attacked her.

[Valaric]

Her reflexes weren't bad. She managed to leap over the flying tree branch, avoiding being crushed under its weight narrowly. However, her evasion move brought her straight in line with Val's sword strike. His eyes narrowed a fraction as he drew back on a portion of power, cutting the weight of his slash so she was only hit with a smaller proportion of the original strength. Even so, it struck her with enough force to hurl her backwards towards the ground and driving her to her knees as he followed her down.

As his feet made contact with the ground, he dropped low, sinking deep in to his stance as he raised his sword high. Still locked with hers, he forced her blade up too, letting go of his blade with his left hand and clamping down on her wrist, pressing his back against her as he made a rolling motion to hurl her over in a hip throw.

Following through with the motion, he thrust his right foot out to catch Mitsu, using it to push her away from him. Reaching behind him, he stabbed the tip of his sword into the fallen tree branch he'd originally thrown at her, lifting it at the end of his blade and swinging it around at her, chopping downwards towards her head once more in a vertical strike.

[Mitsune05]

She sometimes hated to be so weak. She knew that Val was not using his entire power, but still he threw her o the ground. The thought that she failed was driving her crazy, but she tried to stay calm and act wise. Acting under madness was always a bigger fail, because she didn't think normally in those moments. If she wanted to improve, she had to be patient and practice as long as it was necessary. She closed her eyes and took a deep breathe, trying to relax.

Maybe she thought too early though... after he let his sword go, he caught her and threw her to the ground, making her hit the ground with force and pushing her away from him. "Waaaah, Gege, that hurt..." she said, trying to get up, smiling nervously and popping her bones.

"Oh no, not that tree branch! How long are you going to use it?" she asked, wishing she could destroy that tree branch. She noticed that he stared to swing the tree branch adound her, and opened wide her eyes, trying to find a way to escape.

She decided that the best way was to disappear from there, and she did so, shunpoing right behind Val and aiming his ribs, ready to kick him with a simple foot move. She didn't know if it was going to work, especially because he was strong and he knew how to get out of every situation.

[Valaric]

Val heard Mitsu give a faint cry of pain as she fell to the ground once more, injury tinging her voice even as she attempted humour to mask it. He inwardly felt a stab of self-recrimination and guilt at the idea of causing harm to his younger sister but at the same time...it was better that he did it than anyone else. At least he was able to control his power and force to such a precise degree that he could ensure that there was no significant damage done to her.

The tree trunk attached to his sword smashed down, striking the ground and shattering in to fragments, Mitsu vanishing from in front of him with a flashstep. His spiritual sight kept tracking her, following her course as she appeared behind him, firing off a kick at his ribs from her new position.

Not bothered to turn around to look properly for her, he shifted his weight to his left leg, sweeping his right arm out low in a heavy guard to stop the kick dead with a solid guard, spinning in an anticlockwise direction, sweeping low with his left leg to take out her supporting leg while thrusting out his left hand in a palm strike for her chest.

[Mitsune05]

She was not upset on Val, because she knew that he didn't use his entire force to hit her. Actually, she was thinking that what doesn't kill her, makes her stronger, and those words were perfectly describing that moment. She tried to mask the pain and think it was not there, trying to show Val that she was strong and nothing could bring her down easily. She tried to seem confident, although, her mind was thinking exactly the opposite. She was not sure of anything, and what was actually acting was her instinct, not her mind. She wished she could think faster before and action, but she didn't have enough experience yet. She hoped that being trained by Val, she was going to have a similar fighting style with him.

She smiled when the tree branch smashed to the ground and broke into pieces. "Finally, i got rid of that..." she thought, looking at the pieces from the ground, and feeling a lot better. But she couldn't be happy for too long, because Val blocked her attack without putting too much effort, and made her fall on the ground, also hitting her chest. She hit the ground for the second time, and tried to stand up, not avoiding the battle.

She stepped a few meters backwards and frowned, looking to him, and keeping her guard up. Her main aim was to get Val at least once with her blade, but she had to come up with a new plan. She shunpoed behind him, then jumped above, always pointing with the tip of the blade to his chest. She whistled to him from above, then she vanished again in a shunpo, re-appearing in front of him, holding her blade in her right, trying to cut his stomach zone, and also at the same time, aiming his chin with her left fist.

[Valaric]

Mitsu crashed to the ground once more, rolling away and quickly returning to her feet and putting distance between them so she was ready for the next attack. He didn't pursue her, letting her have a moment to breathe and recover. There was no specific rush and he had an eternity to wait and train her. He would definitely endure for as long as that but then again, whether his younger sister would was a different matter. He returned his gaze upon her as she began to move once more. He readied his sword.

She slipped in to a flashstep, appearing behind, then above and finally in front of him once more, katana raised as she lunged for him, slashing for his abdomen and lashing out with her fist to try and strike him in the face.

Stepping out to the left, Val raised his right leg and stopping her slash dead, his heel connecting with her wrist and arresting its motion in his direction. Her punch came in so he switched legs, pushed off his supporting one, and lashing out with his left this time to stop her attack with another strike to the wrist while rotating in a clockwise direction and firing a back thrust kick with his right leg, shooting behind him for her chest with enough force to knock her flying if it connected solidly.

[Mitsune05]

She took a few deep breathes to calm down before she attacked and tried to get to normal. The girl was a bit tired, but she was still able to continue. She noticed his raised guard, and in the moment he blicked her attack, she opened widely her eyes. "Damn it, why do i ALWAYS miss him?!" she thought. She always became furious when she was missing her target, and she felt like she can't improve at all.

She couldn't keep up with him, but i the moment he kicked her, she put her arms in front of her chest. However, she was pushed away a few meters and crashed with a tree. She digger her katana into the ground and tried to stand up, then pulled her weapon out of the ground.

She looked at him serious, then started to run to him, zig-zagging, but without shunpoing and attacking directly, aiming for his neck.