[10th Division] Courtyard

[Bloodedge]

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4260/35769295085_3cda638507_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/WuNZfe)

[Apollymi]

A young woman stepped out into the courtyard of the 10th Division. As she stood out beside the Sakura tree in the center, groups of members of this division gathered around. Apparently this day was to include a large announcement. She was wearing a Shihakusho short as a skirt complete with high ninja like boots with shin-splints. On top of this she donned a teal and white haori like covering and a black scarf around her neck. And then one more layer completed her outfit and it was, a large sleeveless white haori with a hood, which bore the kanji for the number ten on the back of it. She stood at a relatively standard height hands tucked into the pockets of her outermost layer with the hilt of a sword sticking out at her left hip. As such she waited for a couple of different things, all of her members as well as a young male to join her at her side.

[Bloodedge]

Moments after the arrival of this woman, when all members of the division were present in the courtyard, the final piece to the puzzle arrived. A male figure, with tanned skin and white hair protruding off the back of his head in his own personal fashion, exited the barracks. He wore numerous chains over his shihakusho, as well as a small white haori and fingerless gloves with the kanji for "Kumori" emblazoning them. Over his left arm was a Lieutenant's badge belonging to this very division. After emerging, he stood a step behind the apparent Captain, taking to her left side in claiming his position.

[Apollymi]

"Fashionable entrance," would be the first word spoken by the obvious captain of this division to the male who'd appeared at her left side. She didn't seem to be bothered by this, in fact, this was exactly where he needed to be. The badge on this left arm, would let all present know the information they needed to about why this impromptu meeting had been called but the slower ones seemed to be putting it together as well. "Alright, everyone is here listen up!" this speech started and the young woman with her clear grey eyes to a step forward standing up a bit straighter as she addressed the entire group with supreme authority. "As many of you know. We've been without a Vice-Captain for a while now. This is one of the Academy's most recent top graduates. He's gone on missions with several of you, so I'm sure you're familiar with him, and he's shown the skills to give me every reason to believe he'll be perfect for this position. You're all to welcome Kumori Raizen to the Division." she said waiting for the chorus of understanding to come from the group. "Now, I'm not so hard up as to be mean about it, just make sure to keep everything respectful and it will be business as usual. This is a celebration!~" she finished. It seemed that this particular captain was rather easy going though very much about the niceness of her division and all of its members.

[Bloodedge]

"Hai. I had some pretty big footprints to step in on my way out," he replied, regarding the status of the Captain herself within this division. He remained silent thereafter, allowing the woman to go on with her speech to her subordinates. When all was said and done, the man introduced as Kumori Raizen bowed to the large group in front of him. "Ore wa Kumori Raizen. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu!" he said. When his head rose, a grin was flashed in the direction of a very specific division member: a woman with an open shihakusho, and a head ornament holding her silver hair up to take on a horn-like appearance. This particular member had been deemed 3rd Seat of the 10th Division, and seemed particularly interested in the placement of this Vice-Captain.

[Apollymi]

"Hai!" this was the chorus from the group of men and women who made up the division. "Onegaishimasu!" and that would be all. Except for the noticeable eye contact shared between this new Vice-Captain and the Third Seat. Whatever the case, the Captain of this division found herself blushing and waving off the extra commentary of this young man, who seemed to think he had some large shoes to fill in taking up her previously occupied position. "Ah, it's nothing like that. You'll do fine, plus... I'm sure you'll leave behind way bigger footprints than me." she said giving the young man a gentle pat on his shoulder. "Alright, everyone is dismissed. Make sure you take care of your duties and don't neglect your training," she said to the group as a whole as she gave them the leave to disperse.

The entire time this was taking place though, another individual was watching from a rooftop above. She was on her way to the Academy but in having seen such a gathering, her own curiosity left her to watch the entire ceremony. "Uh... seems like a lot of fuss for one person," she said though she supposed this young man was attractive, and likely powerful which made him a bit more interesting than the average individual. Actually, she couldn't remember a time before this that she thought someone was nearly as interesting.

[Bloodedge]

"That's the plan of course, but I'm not really expecting to," he said with a grin and a glance toward the Captain. In the meantime, the lass on the rooftop was joined by another individual. This one was male with silky brown hair. After sneaking up behind the girl, he peeked over the roof to see what all the fuss was about. "Oh, I think that's the guy! Komurin or something. They were talking about him during applications; said something like he just graduated at the top of the first class with a bunch of new records for the academy's history. Speaking of the academy, shouldn't we be there in like... now?"

[Apollymi]

The girl atop the roof was wearing red hakama and everything for the academy uniform except the long sleeved white shirt which was rolled down around he waist revealing her bandaged chest. Her crimson colored hair was up in a ponytail with one eye hidden by her bangs for no reason other than she liked it this way. Of course, her eyes narrowed as she was joined and the young man went so far as to mispronounce the name of the young individual. She thought to correct him just a bit. "It is the one they were talking about then. His name is Kumori Raizen and apparently he just became Vice-Captain of the Tenth Division." she said, thinking about it more they should likely be at the academy already but they'd likely be on time anyways. As such she stood up a bit straighter hands on her hips, in a rather obvious attempt to cover her wandering eye. "And yeah, we should be there already, but... how about a race~ Shusuke-kun, I don't think you've ever beaten me and it's gotta be getting to ya' by now~" she quipped and without another word she'd disappear from the rooftop using the fast movement technique Shunpo.

[Bloodedge]

"Kumori. I feel like I heard that name before," the young male said with a quizzical expression. "Vice-Captain already? That means a lot. Including..." With the redhead darting off to initiate the race she'd suggested herself, the lad called Shusuke took off after her. In his first step, he was able to catch up just in time to finish his statement. "... being way out of your league," he said, taking an additional step to pull out ahead toward the academy. During this time, the newly appointed Vice-Captain on the ground below looked up, shifting his gaze in the direction these two had gone.

[Apollymi]

As she had already gone, the red haired young woman didn't only heard the first part of his statement. Apparently in catching up with the young woman the young man known as Shusuke finished said statement and took the initative to step in front of the young woman in this race of sorts. His words made her eyes widen as she immediately became defensive. "Out of my league?! Please, it isn't even like that... I just wanted to know what all the fuss was about. Not like I like the guy or anything, I don't even know him," she said scoffing and seeming indifferent as she took several more steps to increase the distance between the pair. She didn't at all intend to let this young man win anything, and her usual teasing personality came out. "I'm just saying, if that's the best you got, your future graduation prospects will be grim. Saya-sama will be so disappointed~"

[Bloodedge]

"Blah blah blah! I liked a girl whose name I didn't even know once. She got eaten by a Hollow before I ever learned it," he replied. He continued moving forward, but seemed to be falling behind a bit step by step. Meanwhile, Raizen began walking away from the courtyard, sharing a few words as he moved. "Taichou! I'll be back later on; I've got that class arrangement today!"

[Apollymi]

A week after she received a visit from the redhead young woman who called her dojo home, the former Vice-Captain of the 10th Division Kisaragi Saya found herself standing outside of the Division. She was dressed instead of in her Dojo attire in the modified version of the Shinigami Uniform which included a short pleated skirt and a long sleeved top closed off by a red ribbon instead of the standard white. "Himotoya-taichou, you really didn't have to go through this much trouble..." she whispered to the smaller platinum blonde woman who seemed to be stunned she'd even say such a thing. "Oh hush, Saya-nee, I'm too happy to have done anything else. You have your leg back and you wanted to come back to us. You even took a demotion so you could be here. How am I not supposed to make sure your sacrifices are celebrated," she said Saya could only shake her head, pushing glasses up onto the tip of her nose. Still Saya was quite happy, and she still had the small redhead girl to thank for this moment.

This moment was strangely enough an outdoor party being thrown in the 10th Division's courtyard. There were balloons and food set up, stands with different kinds of food and light paper lanterns hanging from the branches in a large sakura tree. It seemed like something of a celebration and one which the Captain of this Division likely figured would take place for an extended period of time. Members of the 10th Division would be coming up to the black haired woman wishing her well, inquiring into her coming back and even just hanging around. The 10th Division had a lot to celebrate in the last few weeks and this was just another of a series of rolling parties being thrown for the Division.

[Bloodedge]

Well into this apparent party, the present Vice-Captain of the Division made his return. He had been out on leisure for quite a few hours, and was surprised to see the festivities occurring when he arrived. He moved through a crowd of Division members en route to where he assumed the Captain would be, and upon seeing her, he stepped to her fore. "Tadaima. Taichou, what might this all be for?" he asked. Apparently, he was completely out of the loop for once. He knew not of Kisaragi Saya's return, so of course, he had no idea why Saori was throwing this party. He'd been far too engrossed in his own outings to be keeping up with such things.

[Apollymi]

Saori was soon greeted by her Vice-Captain. It would be in this moment that she'd realize that he wasn't here when she made the snap decision to throw this party nor had he met their new third seat. "Oh... wow..." she said thinking about it more. "So I just realized you weren't here... but good news!~" she said seemingly amused and happily bouncing between her Vice-Captain and her now Third Seat. "This is Kisaragi Saya!! She was my Vice-Captain before, when I was really young and fresh on. She was out with an irreparable injury, but it was fixed. She came back!!! She's gonna be third seat, so I threw a big party to welcome her back..." she said.

Saya being one of general respect and all gave a bow to the new Vice-Captain, "Kumori-fukutaichou, I've heard of you. Nice to meet you," she said seemingly in the same mood she had been when the young man popped up. She didn't want his seat or anything, she only wished to be part of the division she'd been part of for so long.

[Bloodedge]

"Taichou... I told you this morning that I had plans with someone today," Raizen said, wondering how this managed to go over the head of his Captain. Either way, when he received the news regarding this party, Raizen's eyes widened. He'd heard of Kisaragi Saya prior to his recruitment to being her eventual replacement, but the thing that bothered him was the fact that an irreparable injury had somehow been repaired. This wasn't something he could or would voice, but he most certainly logged it away for later. Saya greeted him, prompting Raizen to bow gracefully before the woman. "Kisaragi Saya... yoroshiku. I've heard much about you as well, dating back to the days before I even entered the academy. It's an honor to be able to work with you."

[Apollymi]

Saori looked to Raizen and her eyes went wide, she thought really hard and eventually remembered the lad mentioning he'd be out for leisure the first half of the day. "Oh yeah, sorry you have no idea how much stuff is going through my head!" she said seemingly abashed by her lack of memory. Saya sighed and looked at the Captain of the 10th Division shaking her head. "So... brilliant and still forgetting everything said to you... Nothing much has changed in six decades... I'm surprised," she said to the obviously younger Shinigami who seemed to go wide eyed then her cheeks puffed up and she frowned deeply. "Look you don't understand there's so much stuff in my head," she said frowning deeply. "Uh-huh, I suppose that is better than one person I know, who purposefully deletes all unnecessary information, including the names of people she doesn't respect or deem interesting enough..." she said playfully rubbing the Captain's hair, it would seem they had an interestingly playful relationship, similar to the one shared between Saori and Akiko."You know someone like that now... what have you been doing out in the Rukongai?" said Saori in a playful manner as she move her hair back in place.

To Raizen, she nodded. "I heard your graduation from the Academy is relatively recent and you weren't there for long. What an interesting kid you gotta be, I look forward to working with you too," she said finding this man to be different from what everyone mentioned about him. Though she knew about his recent imprisonment she didn't bring it up, as it was unimportant to their meeting and something about this lad gave her that same feeling she got whenever she looked upon a new person with a bright future. "I ran a dojo in the 3rd District of the Rukongai, trained some brats in Shinigami Combat and sent them to the Academy. Ya' know to keep myself busy... my nephew is still there now,"

[Bloodedge]

"You could always get rid of something if it's affecting your ability to retain information for mere hours. As a Captain, I would think you'd be more pressed for having strong short-term memory," he said. With this, Raizen intended to do nothing more than state his opinion on the matter of Saori's seemingly awful information retention. Little time was spent on this topic, as the one called Saya was proving to be the greater focal point, thanks mostly to Saori's own efforts to create these festivities. "Ah, so you're the one. I sat in on a few sessions of last year's Kidou class at the academy. There was one particular student who, despite her attempts to hide it, showed signs of someone used to fighting other Shinigami, and of someone with skills far beyond even the fourth year of the academy's teachings. I dare say your training regimen reflects your record, Kisaragi-san."

[Apollymi]

"Who needs short term memory when you have people around to remind you of stuff~" said Saori about her lack of memory. This had simply always been that woman's attitude and as such she seemed to be fine with not always recalling minor details told to her when she was thinking about other things. Moving right along, it seemed the former Vice-Captain of the 10th Division had been busy while she was gone, and it seemed beyond this that one of her students had made a bit of an impression on the young man before her. At the mention of a student who seemed to be well beyond the Academy's teachings, she could think of only one of her students who would end up in such a situation. "Oh did she? You didn't point it out did ya? Before she left she proclaimed that she was going to try out not being at the top of the class..." she said thinking of the rather forceful girl that was one of her students. "I'm glad she retained a bit of her training. Instincts are hard to deny and they'll save her life someday..." she said. "Not that I can take all the responsibility for that. Though I'll probably go back to training recruits around here if neither of you minds, I could use the exercise, getting used to having both my legs again... " she said waving it off. "Wait who'd you train?" said Saori who'd been completely not paying attention to this conversation.

A chuckle escaped the raven haired woman as she pushed her glasses up on her nose. "A little redhead named Niwatoko Benihime, one of the recent Academy graduates..." she explained, not expecting the woman to know her. She was then further surprised as Saori looked at her with wide eyes seemingly stunned and recognizing the name at the very least. "Wait, you trained the girl that won the Tournament of Power Seated Officer's Bracket?! And you didn't tell me?!" it seemed like something amazing. Saya had no idea what this Tournament was so she simply looked wide eyed. "She did what with who?"

[Bloodedge]

"That way of thinking doesn't seem like it will serve you well in the long haul," was all Raizen had to say to his Captain. With the curiosities of Saya on the table, Raizen felt compelled to clarify a few things. "Only in a roundabout way. It was the first class, so there was a certain amount of expected ability. I could tell the key differences between gifted and seasoned, is all." He figured this was ample explanation for Saya to understand the situation from the academy. As for her wish to train recruits within the 10th Division, Raizen couldn't say he was opposed to the idea. "I see no issue with it. I find myself being a bit busier in my personal life lately, but if it's exercise you're looking for, I could also offer my services," he said.

A brief exchange between Saya and Saori occurred involving the 12th's 5th Seat, and part of this chat involved a tournament which the former was unlikely to know about. Raizen took it upon himself to do the explaining again. "A tournament was held in the Seireitei some months ago. This student of yours defeated the best Seated Officers the Gotei currently has to offer, and went on to join the Vice-Captain's bracket of the tournament, in which she chose me as her opponent. It was... entertaining, to say the least."

[Apollymi]

"Sou ka, seasoned is an interesting way to phrase it, but it is also accurate," said Saya about her student. Though what none would know, unless the girl decided to share, was that she was seasoned because she took her combat to the streets of the Rukongai gallivanting about as a vigilante in the deeper districts of the Rukongai. Of course, that wasn't really important as none seemed to mind Saya's request to teach the other newbies, and Raizen even went so far as to offer himself up for a round of exercise as well, "I can't really say no to that. Maybe in a week or two when I got myself back together and I'm used to not having to find my balance. I'll have a go." she offered.

As they moved on in conversation, it seemed there had been a Tournament held among the Shinigami and her young student seemed to out pace the other seated officers going on to win her own bracket and even challenge a Vice-Captain. "Sou ka, she choose you did she? Better make that about a month then," she said upping the time frame on the amount of time she'd need to get herself back together before fighting Raizen. "Also where was a tournament when I was seated, I was always bored and the only people who ever wanted to fight were in the 11th Division," she said thinking back on previous times where things like tournaments didn't really exist. "Saya-nee raised a super awesome fighter, bet you're super proud... though I'm surprised you didn't know about it. Don't people usually share accomplishments like that... Also I came up with the Tournament, so that's why it didn't happen before." said the Captain of the 10th Division. "Ano, Himotoya-taichou, you probably shouldn't keep calling me Nee, you're my Captain remember?" mentioned the black haired woman who went on to address the woman's actual question. "Also no, she isn't the type to tell anyone anything, she'll do whatever she likes. Hell, I didn't know she'd graduated until she showed up at my place a week ago. I still don't know what seat she is, but I'm proud she kept strong and is accomplishing things she wants," she said of the lass who was the best of the Dojo students. "I'm your Captain then I'll call you want I want, Saya-nee." said the Captain with all the attitude of an impetuous teen, it was strange to her that a young person wouldn't share with their mentor their accomplishments but she also didn't know the red haired lass very well.

[Bloodedge]

"Hai hai," said Raizen once his sparring offer was accepted, albeit on a week or two hiatus. Moments later, though, his brow was forced to raise. Saya padded an additional couple of weeks to the time she'd initially given. "Oh... alright then. The courtyard again, one month from today. I'm anxious to see what sort of shoes I'm filling." With that said, Raizen excluded himself from the discussion at hand, remaining present, yet silent, until it became apparent that he was the only one who would come forth with information to sate Saya's curiosity. "12th Division, 5th Seat, if you were wondering."

[Apollymi]

Saya found herself getting a strange look from the young Vice-Captain known as Raizen. This man apparently found it strange that she'd padded on a couple of extra weeks to her recovery time, but this just caused the former Vice-Captain to chuckle. "Hm, nothing personal, but it sounds like she didn't win in her fight with you, and she's nothing if not calculating meaning she knew she wouldn't when she took it and did it anyways. That speaks volumes and I'd rather not walk in blind~" she commented speaking both to the skills of this young man and those of her student. As Saya went on to converse with Saori the Captain of the 10th Division went on to purse her lips. "That's weird." said Himotoya, but she supposed it was possible for good people to come in all different types. She was now simply huffy that she hadn't managed to recruit the girl to keep her on hand. "Yes it is, but so were you once upon a time," she said to Saori. Moving on Raizen provided some unknown information to Saya and it made woman take pause.

Finding out that her protege was fifth seat seemed to make some sort of relief come across her face. "That's good." If one was normal they'd likely think the woman was simply proud of her student for making such a high rank, but this wasn't really the case at all. She'd been a bit worried when the girl had shown up to her dojo restoring her leg and claiming that she simply wanted the woman to do something interesting. It'd also bothered her a bit that the young woman was hiding in plain sight from hollows and that she hadn't really said anything about the death of her family. Saya was experienced enough to understand what the stages of grief looked like and wondered if the girl was feeling less than pleased with her own life at present. But if she had only worked herself into fifth seat then the girl wasn't suicidal and that was rather relieving.

[Bloodedge]

"Yare yare. No cravings for adventure, then? Alright," he replied with a light sigh. Raizen never thought himself to be immediately superior to any potential opponents, until he scanned them properly himself. Given his most recent encounters, though, he was beginning to think training and practice would not help any sparring partner he may receive, but there was certainly hope to be found in the form of legends. He had aspirations of learning things beyond even his present state, and to do so, he needed something that would push him to greater heights. Saya was what he hoped could be his next milestone.

When the woman replied to the Division and ranking of her pupil, Raizen's brow rose once more. She thought this to be a good thing, Benihime's rank as 5th Seat. Raizen knew well the ability to improve during time spent at the Shino Academy, but there was a certain amount which had to come before, and he doubted this one had actually "learned" anything during her year stay before the tournament. "Is it? I would say 3rd Seat, if only for lack of a fully-developed Shikai."

[Apollymi]

Saya looked to Raizen and smiled. "Adventure is one thing, but Vice-Captains now are kinda strange... luck favors the prepared," she stated with a nod, implying her earlier run in with another Vice-Captain she didn't recognize. It seemed that this young man didn't receive many challenges and Saya thought this odd, but she was more than willing to fight him, but only once she was fully back to her old self.

Beyond that, it seemed that Raizen was surprised that Saya was okay with the current seating of Benihime. His words about her exactly mirrored what most would think of the girl. That aside from the fact that her Shikai wouldn't have been developed, she should have been ranked higher. But they also didn't know about her family and how a higher seat cursed those people to a young death. And to be honest it wasn't Saya's place to mention this, instead she chose a statement which would slightly be more and less diplomatic. "Her Shikai being underdeveloped won't last long regardless, she's been showing signs of possessing a powerful Zanpakuto for decades. But..." there was a pause from this woman like she was considering the proper way to word what she had to say next, knowing it could potentially be taken the wrong way. "If Benihime is Fifth Seat, it's because it's the seat she wants," she finished, the implication being the girl could be the only one to provide the answer as to why this was the case. Of course Saya herself knew why the girl would choose such a seat, but not many would buy into it.

[Bloodedge]

"As you wish. One month," he concluded. Raizen himself had ample time for his newly developed personal life during this time period in which Saya would likely be returning to her own self while training the Division's recruits. He would make much use of this freedom. As for the woman's protege, Raizen wondered what could have possibly made this individual desire 5th Seat, aside from a basic wanting of inconspicuousness. His curiosity was piqued, but nothing more. "Sou ka," he said before his attention returned to Saori. "Is there anything you need of me, Taichou?"

[Apollymi]

'Hai hai," said Saya about their arrangement to fight. When Raizen next spoke to his Captain, it seemed that she'd wandered away sometime during the conversation and come back. She was currently eating and had a mouthful of cake and rather wide eyes when she was addressed. "Hmmm..." she started finishing that which was in her mouth before she managed to say anything else. "No, nothing at all... You can do what you want. Enjoy the party if you feel like.... or whatever," the Captain said. Saya smiled looking over the entirety of the 10th Division and picking various targets to practice with those eyes of hers hidden behind the glint of her glasses.

[Bloodedge]

One month later, Raizen stood in the open courtyard of the 10th Division. He wore his hair in a flaring ponytail of sorts, otherwise sporting nothing more than his Shihakushou and badge of office. His left hand gripped the sheath of his Zanpakutou, with that hand's thumb resting upon the guard of the weapon. He'd waited for exactly one month to stand here, at high noon, to await this Division's 3rd Seat. Various other members of the Division surrounded the courtyard to behold the show that they were sure to enjoy, by their own approximations.

[Apollymi]

A month had passed and at high noon approached a woman with two black pig tails and a pair of ovular glasses on her face. She was sporting a pleated mini-skirt black in color and holding in her left hand her Zanpakuto. She bore a bit of a smile as she eyed the gathering of her Division members. "Ano, I didn't expect a crowd..." she said thinking this a bit strange but over the last month she'd been making waves in the Division again, stirring some of their more complacent members to work and being oddly helpful, if a bit demeaning. Sitting on the roof, of the area was the red haired fifth seat of the 12th Division. Something about this seemed oddly familiar to her. Even so, she was curious about this situation, mostly because she knew of the skills of both opponents she felt she understood who the winner would be, but still thought it interesting enough to watch. Particularly after her mentor had turned up to ask her about facing the lad previously.

[Bloodedge]

A grin appeared on Raizen's face when his to-be opponent arrived in the courtyard. "You should have. They're bound to be excited for something like this," he said. Raizen's Reiatsu began to exert itself, capping at an amount that one would expect from a high-tier 3rd Seat. He drew his Zanpakutou with his right hand, and when he did so, the naturally glowing blade gleamed in the light of the overhead sun, as if prisms had been applied to its edges. "You said you would be ready in a month. Are you?"

[Apollymi]

"I suppose that is pretty true..." she said. As the young man unsheathed his weapon her eyes widened just a bit. She'd never seen a blade like this before this moment and the glow coming off of it was something entirely unexpected. A chuckle came from her then but she didn't draw her own weapon, and thought about the answer to the lad's question. "Well, I feel like my old self. Got my balance back, so yeah... I'm as ready as I am going to be," she said more than ready to take on this challenge. Of course she didn't say more than that, she simply approached, moving faster than most would have the eyes to follow she drew her weapon en route and aimed a debilitating slash at the man's neck as if she intended to behead him on the stop travelling from left to right as her body completed a simple spin with the momentum built up from the drawing of her blade.

[Bloodedge]

"Good," was all Raizen had to say. It seemed Saya would be the initial aggressor in this battle. Raizen had no problem with this, but he did take issue with the amount of ability she showed with her first move. In the time it took Saya to spin, Raizen flipped his katana to a reverse grip, and held it out against her blade. "There's no use holding back so much," he stated while using his ample strength to push against Saya's weapon with his own, aiming to back her down step by step with his efforts.

[Apollymi]

To be fair, Saya was indeed skill checking this young man. Though she'd heard quite a bit about him, she'd never witnessed it for herself, still as his blade met her own in the reverse grip and he pushed against her, his words met her ears. "Suit yourself..." as the young man used strength to try and back her down step by step, she allowed her upper body to go a limp. This would make the initial push likely more than was expected, but this was done by Saya completely on purpose. She'd use the force of his push against her to rather quickly arrange her sheath against the ground, the palm of her left hand balanced over it and she'd flip over spinning her left hand and the sheath rather rapidly aiming to quick spin kick the young man, using both her feet in alternating strokes several times before he could recover from the lack of her blade against his to push. Whether she succeed in this or not at the end of the maneuver her she'd end in the crouched position ready to use either her blade or its sheath against the young man should he come any closer.

[Bloodedge]

"Hmph," Raizen muttered in response to the statement of Saya. Her reaction to his pressing was skillful; letting her body fall through to gain momentum for a counter did indeed send him forward at a faster than expected pace, removing his sense of balance. Raizen, however, quickly reacted by lodging his downward blade into the ground to support himself with haste, allowing him to push away from the Zanpakutou and fall back into place with only Hakuda to rely on. By the time he righted himself, Saya's maneuver left her delivering a series of kicks toward the man during another spin maneuver. He crouched beneath the woman's legs, remaining there for the duration of her assault, and when she landed, he aimed his left palm forward. Silently casting the first Hadou spell, Raizen unleashed a quick burst of pure kinetic energy from his outstretch palm the moment his hand was righted, aiming to blast Saya away and grant him the freedom to dash forward and reclaim his sword. If such were to occur, he would use this moment to continue his forward momentum with an upward slash aimed at he front left region of her torso. Otherwise, he would simply remain at the ready to defend himself.

[Apollymi]

Saya's eyes widened ever so slightly at the boy's reactions to her maneuvers. There were few in range of her skill set who could react in such a way, given this she knew that she wouldn't have much choice in the matter of holding back. She was further surprised when none of her kicks made contact and instead the Vice-Captain of the 10th Division was crouching below her legs giving him the space needed once she righted herself to aim a palm towards her which blasted her away without direct contact. 'No,' she thought coming to one conclusion about how this was done, and the thought of it was just a little bit frightening. Even so she was indeed blasted away, though not quite as far as she would have expected. Very similarly to how Benihime reacted to being blasted way the woman took her time in the air to rather gracefully right herself giving the young man enough time to retrieve his weapon, as she brought up both her sheath to defend from the coming sword slash while still having her sword free. "Kids nowadays got some strange skills, casting Kidou without words is kinda scary..." said the woman as her sword arm came forward as she aimed to force away his blade with a quick outward sweep of her sheath and immediately follow up with a downward slash from his left with her blade.

[Bloodedge]

Raizen's forward movement with his sword was left to a clear path, much to his satisfaction. When he reached the former Vice-Captain, though, his blade was met by the sheath of her Zanpakutou to halt its movements. "Is it? I like to think it's one of my more modest skills," he commented. When Saya's sheath pushed his blade away, her sword came down at his left side. Raizen utilized the momentum put in place by the sheath's push to twist his body to the right, only to add a shift forward to this movement. This resulted in the blade passing through the air behind him. Once it cleared hip level, Raizen aimed to quickly pull the sheath from his obi and swing it toward Saya's lower right side, aiming to both wind and repel her. "I've been assuming you also have a list of unorthodox abilities others may not be privy to."

[Apollymi]

"That's a modest skill?" Saya was surprised but not by much. The more she saw of this man's combat the more she understood of why her former protege had chosen to fight him. And she couldn't agree more with her choice, the thought alone left the young woman to smile. As her blade traveled through air given the young man's movements she let it go mid-motion only to toss her sheath into her now empty right hand and capture her blade with her left instead. She'd use it to meet the sheath of Raizen's weapon aimed to wind her in a set of movements which were graceful and practiced. As this happened she took a single step back and switched the position of the sheath of her sword with her sword holding both at her sides. Raizen's words were ones which hit her ears and made the woman shake her head from left to right. "You're wrong about that... try again," she said, and this was also honest, Saya had no specific unorthodox techniques nor abilities. As if to make this obvious she braced herself and then took a step forward, it was a singular use of Shunpo which she used to close the distance between them, closing the gap almost instantly and immediately launching into a spin which involved a downward slash of her blade from his left to his right and also a spinning kick aimed downward from left to right as she completed the spin with her alternate leg. These movements were quick and fluid as she aimed to maim the young man with a deep slash but also add blunt force trauma around the same space.

As she watched this fight, Benihime came to several conclusions about her Master, and as she thought about this her eyes widened. She'd figured with her leg back she'd do something amazing, but she wasn't sure how she'd missed what this woman's actual talents were before. 'Damn shame, that had to be a bitter pill to swallow. No wonder she kept trying to get rid of me,' the young woman thought. Even so she was content to watch and see the limits of this woman's abilities, and at the very least, catch a peek of her Zanpakuto.

[Bloodedge]

"Nani?" Raizen seemed somehow bothered by Saya's claim that he was wrong. From what he'd heard of this individual over the years, she was her own type of legend, the creator of multiple Captain-class Shinigami, and a favorite to be one in her own right. Her next move would be one he inspected more carefully than others. There had to be something strange going on for her to speak this way, and when he looked for the oddities, he found out what she meant. His sword was swept through the air to meet Saya's blade and slow its progress long enough for him to side-step right and avoid its edge, as well as the following kick. This was accompanied by a full counterclockwise spin by Raizen as his own sword slid away from Saya's. He stopped once he was cleared of this assault. "Sou ka. Your movements are far too practiced; I should have noticed before. Gomen... it looks like one of us isn't quite ready for this battle yet."

[Apollymi]

Raizen seemed to be stunned by what Saya had to say about not possessing any unorthodox skills. And she noted in him then, the same thing she noted in her favored pupil. A close analysis of her own abilities as seen through her next movements. Unsurprisingly enough he dodged very deftly away from her and afterwards she stood. Her brow raised curiously as the young man mentioned her practiced movements she nodded. "There ya' go," she said as he acknowledged the one thing about Saya which set her apart from others. "But there's no reason to think you aren't ready," she said not seeming to understand the ambiguity of his statements. She stood at the ready facing him once more as if waiting for something.

Benihime watched from above, mumbling the conclusions she'd come to as if there was someone around to hear them. "Saya-sama, is quite practiced. She may even be a Master of All Shinigami Combat and a Maker of Captains. But that is because she's simply had more than enough time to learn and master the basics of all combat. That's why she can teach anyone what the Academy does and probably better. She's a living course in Zankensoki mastery but..." she paused looking at the woman and feeling her Reiatsu. Benihime had spent much time studying feeling of Spiritual Pressure, it was one of her many topics of study, in this moment she realized why her mentor had been older than her previous Captain. "She's hit the upper edge that skill alone can take her, with an inability to master the techniques of those various schools of combat. It's why she can pick people who'll be Captain, it's the difference between practice and instinct. She can see it, because the latter is what she lacks," she said looking over the edge of her knees from her perch on the roof.

[Bloodedge]

"Iie," he replied. With Saya returning her stance and offering this statement, it became more than apparent that she thought Raizen may have been admitting his own weakness against her. "I don't mean to mislead you. I just..." He trailed off there, seeming disheartened by this revelation. He'd hoped this one could be used as a milestone. Suddenly, it seemed as if something within Raizen's soul broke, and his self-imposed Reiatsu cap was released. This left him able to put forth massive quantities of Reiatsu as he sheathed his sword, staring blankly across the courtyard at his opponent. "Kiyou Shibari," he said, causing the materialization of eight miniature black holes around where Saya stood, with a ninth that would appear at her torso. In spite of Raizen's incantation abandonment, this spell carried incredible strength; enough to hold a low-tier Captain. This was Raizen's only action, and with it, he felt his message would be relayed properly.

[Apollymi]

Raizen said no to the assumption that Saya had about his feeling unready. And she was soon to be let know why this wasn't the case. Her misunderstanding of this situation was showcased in ultimate form by the unsealing of this man's Reiatsu froze Saya in place. Such a feeling was massive and it became obvious that Raizen had been limiting himself for the entirety of this fight and probably most others he'd participated in. Saya's eyes widened as she simply couldn't believe what she was witnessing, if not for being paralyzed by the massive feeling of his power, she likely would have fallen. Unfortunately she wouldn't be given this opportunity as the young man went on to use a Kidou spell, without the incantation and a high level one at that. This created several black holes around the woman and one in the middle of her chest. "Bakana!" was all she managed because there was literally nothing she could do about this. "So you're that strong, sou ka. Scary, Kumori-fukutaichou," Her body was now suspended and kept her up, it looked like this fight was over. 'Himotoya-taichou has my bad habits, picking kids that will be able to beat her once their skill level catches up to their instincts. And this kid is already monstrous... good.' she thought seemingly unable to free herself.

Benihime watched the way this ended and though she expected some sort of massive blow out, she didn't expect that this woman wouldn't even get to use her Zanpakuto. Beyond this, the use of Kidou by the Vice-Captain of the 10th Division made the girl's eyes widen as she held out a hand in front of her. "Sugei!~ That's really cool. I wonder if I can.." she remembered the incantation for all spells, she'd just never bothered trying most of them because she didn't initially have the power to make them, as she thought this the pinkish glow of a black hole started before her and she stopped it with a huge grin on her face. "Sou ka, I'm that strong now, huh?" she said.

But before anything else could happen, Saya began laughing, it was almost hysterical. This drew Benihime's attention downward. 'Oh? she's got something else maybe?' she thought as she watched as Saya began speaking after her mild outburst. "I didn't think I'd have to do it," she said her Zanpakuto starting to glow an eerie white color. "Sake..." she muttered and the glow solidified "Hanakamemushi," she finished. This happened several insect like creatures emerged from the sheath and the blade of her weapon, they began floating about her, eating away at the various black holes which made up the kidou which previously imprisoned her. "Yare yare, kids these days.... ya' know it isn't over yet," she mentioned, as the insects finished eating away at the black holes a small burst of Saya's Reiatsu was enough force to finish the situation. It broke her free of the Kidou so seamlessly used by the Vice-Captain of the 10th Division.

[Bloodedge]

"I suppose you could say that," he said about the assessment of his strength. In fact, Raizen had hardly worked toward approaching his true ability, but he figured there was no reason at all for him to do this. Soon enough, Saya showcased her ability to actually escape the spell he'd cast upon her. Raizen seemed apathetic toward this development, Shikai or not, but... he had to admit that the Shikai itself was intriguing. "Iie. If anything, this battle was over a month ago. This Shikai of yours seems interesting, but I'm afraid this is a one-sided battle regardless."

[Apollymi]

Saya was still free the glowing white blade of her zanpakuto and several insect like creatures flying around her. Now that she was though, she fully recognized that she was actually in no position to be cocky this day. She understood her own limitations enough to know that it had taken a great deal of her energy just to free herself, most of it in fact. Still she'd shown a great deal of extra ability, and that was enough for her to respect her own efforts. "The battle would be one-sided regardless and you know that... I imagine you're very bored all the time. But I know my own limitations..." she said sheathing her weapon and as she did the white glow of it disappeared, the insects dispersed and the Reiryoku they previously absorbed scattered to the wind.

'Sou ka, she wastes a lot of Reiryoku creating those... but I imagine there's a better way to do it.' Benihime thought to herself soon enough Saya's eyes narrowed and she saw the small redhead on the roof from the corner of her eye, if only because she knew to look up to find her. "Besides, that last bit wasn't for you..." she said as she turned on her heels and looked directly at the young woman who'd returned her leg and asked only in exchange that she do something interesting. "Kiddo, was that interesting enough for you?" she asked the girl whose eyes widened as most people didn't find her when she was looking like this but... Saya was one who knew her habits better than anyone else. The redhead gave a simple nod, but didn't descend. "Arigatou Gozaimasu, Kumori-fukutaichou. You should find yourself a sparring partner you'd enjoy..." she said giving a bow. "Oi are you coming down, for tea?" she asked Benihime who didn't say anything but stood with a cheeky smirk. "Iie. Raincheck... I have somewhere to be..." and with that the girl would utilize Shunpo, aiming to disappear from this place with no more than a salute to those below.

[Bloodedge]

"Incredibly," Raizen replied. True enough, the only satisfaction he found in combat as of late had been training with Han Juri, and battling against this new seed of Hollows and Tamamura Tamao. Everything else had disappointed, bar a few choice... interesting encounters. As if to note this, Saya spoke to the being whose presence Raizen had purposefully not pointed out all this time, causing Raizen to shift his gaze toward the roof. This Niwatoko Benihime was, in fact, one of the encounters who'd managed to pique his interest, but he found himself avoiding more than a few brief meetings with her up to this point, for reasons all his own. When the redhead dismissed herself after rejecting the offer of her former mentor, Raizen's eyes traced her movement until she was out of sight. "Interesting. That one keeps appearing around me," he said.

[Apollymi]

"I can't imagine..." she said rolling her eyes. Though she knew that others often felt this way, one particular redhead came to mind. A girl who fought everyone and mastered her skills within the Dojo only to be bored and winning for decades after. When things stopped being challenging the girl had gone on to divert her attention to other things, other challenges. She imagined the Vice-Captain of the 10th Division was likely similar to this. As her student had fled while turning down an offer for tea, Saya scoffed. 'When did she get that fast...' she wondered having kept track of only the first two of the girl's steps before she lost visual sight of her. The girl often did things like this but it didn't make much of a difference to her at this point. She supposed she'd go have tea with Baiken instead, but before that, Raizen pointed out that the little redhead kept appearing around him. This was something which caught Saya's attention. "Appearing... around you?" she repeated. Thinking back on the habits of the crimson haired lass, she could only think of a few people the girl bothered associating with, beyond this for her to appear before an individual more than once was almost unheard of. Such a situation was curious. "Does she know your name?" asked Saya because by this point it was just a matter of curiosity.

[Bloodedge]

When Saya replied to his open statement, Raizen's gaze dropped until it was upon the raven-haired woman. "Hai," he spoke through a sigh. "Very frequently, she either shows up where I am, or where I'm going. It is an obvious coincidence sometimes, but I've encountered her more than anyone else since I took on this position. It's something I've frankly been trying to avoid." For some reason or another, Saya thought to ask if this individual knew Raizen's name. Even he couldn't begin to fathom why this would be of importance, but beyond the strangeness of the query, he supposed he could answer regardless. "Well, yes. What does that matter?"

[Apollymi]

As Raizen explained the strangeness of his random encounters with Benihime, Saya aimed to keep her face neutral. The girl didn't often find anyone interesting enough to try and encounter them. He claimed that sometimes it was completely random and coincidental but that he'd been avoiding her for unknown reasons. The idea of this man avoiding anything made Saya chuckle, but she wouldn't comment on that at all. Moving on to the lighter part of this conversation. "Well, it might not matter much at all. I can't really read her like I used to... I haven't been able to for a while now," she said thinking about the redhead from the point that she showed up beaten up on her doorstep, following the death of her family. The girl hadn't even bothered explaining what had happened, Saya had only found out when she went to see what had happened and discovered that her family dwelling was destroyed and had to question neighbors about the Hollow attack which caused their untimely demise. "But, assuming she doesn't want you dead, she likely just respects you," she said thinking of the only two situations which made the girl remember someone's name.

[Bloodedge]

"... Sou ka," Raizen said as he looked in the direction the redhead ran off in, his eyes narrowed as he did so. This claim of respect seemed a bit curious, to say the least. Raizen had the sense that there was some deeper meaning, but this was something he'd rather not bother looking into. "Whatever the case, I suppose I'll be going now. I'll be in the human world. Don't worry; I didn't leave any additional responsibilities for you to deal with while I'm gone. Ja ne." With that said, Raizen vanished via Shunpo, making his way toward the barracks of the 7th Division.