[Private] The Crystal wants training by Lord Shiba [Hana Ishikawa & Okami Shiba]

Hana wants to get better at wielding her Zanpakuto and increasing her close-ranged skills with it. The time of the day was afternoon when she looked at the sky. Hana does remember what Norosuke said to her about training underneath Lord Shiba to get proper training. It's a bit funny still that even Norosuke warned her of Lord Shiba's actions around women, which she didn't mind. 'I should probably get going to the 5th Division Barracks to talk to Lord Shiba and ask him for training.' Hana thought with her usual smile.

Hana traveled to the 5th Division Barracks, which was a bit further from the 4th Division Barracks. She did enjoy strolls from her barracks to anywhere in the Soul Society. There was a block in her way, which was two other 5th Division Shinigami in the way that was a bit irritated to see the weird woman from the 4th Division and the 3rd Seat, for that matter. "Hehe, how are you guys doing? I want to see your Captain, Lord Shiba, since I need to get stronger." Hana said with her usual smile and her usual demeanor of respect.

The both of them sighed in a displeased measure since they would want to get to know Hana better. "I could escort you to our captain, but it'll cost you." The left male Shinigami said, with an eye on her. The right one laughs at how desperate the left one was. "Are you trying to hit on the third seat of the 4th Division? Do you remember when Seiji kicked our asses previously for trying this exact strategy last time?" The right male, Shinigami, asked the other one with a sigh.

Hana gives a respectable smile and giggles at the blatant sexual harassment and knows of Seiji but never met him. "If you want to not write up by me and given to your superiors. Would you please let me passed to see Lord Shiba? Please." Hana said with a smile on her face. She does enjoy her paperwork and writing people up for the littlest of things like sexual harassment, and it would make them incredibly not happy having to deal with Seiji again.

The two men sighed in defeat since they don't want to have another written statement of sexual harassment of a female shinigami. "Alright, you win, Hana Ishikawa. I wish you were more fun instead of staying to the code of honor and law. It would be so much more fun around you otherwise." The male Shinigami on the right side said. The two male Shinigami stayed where they were and gave Hana the least confusing directions to where their Captain was and had a hope that Hana wouldn't report them.

Hana smiles happily; the two men finally gave her what she wanted instead of keeping her from asking Lord Shiba to train her. She giggles at the man to the right of the barracks' door, giving that awful excuse that the only type of fun a woman could be is easy. "Thank you for the directions, by the way." Hana said. If the two were more blatant in their flirting, she would have let them keep on with it since she doesn't mind the flirting. However, they were hinting at something a bit more wrong in what they wanted to do.

Hana followed the directions given by the two front door guards, and she reached Lord Shiba's office and knocked on the door. "Captain Shiba, can I come into your office? I want to ask you something in particular." Hana said with a respectable tone of voice toward the Captain of the 5th Division. She knows of his exceptional skill with a sword since he did train her friend Norosuke.

After Hana knocked and requested to enter, she would hear muffled permission to enter. Once the shoji doors were slid open, she would see that the Captain's office was clearly decorated for comfort, dark wood and cream-colored furniture, with red accents here and there. A couch sat off to the right, looking inviting, with paintings and scrolls here and there on the walls. They were rather melancholy poems about a warrior's duty, or elegantly painted with a well-practiced hand. Behind the desk was a small table, with a black Zanpakuto sitting on a stand along with a small sakura tree grown in the style of a bonsai - a tricky thing - and a framed image of a gorgeous woman in a Captain's haori. Next to that, on the left side of the room from the entrance, was an upright cabinet with a lock on it.

Sitting at the desk, a sleeveless haori identical to the one in the image draped casually over the back of his chair, was a handsome man looking to be in his early twenties. His hair was black and of middling length, and he wore a sleeveless shihakusho showing of arms muscled from centuries of practice. His eyes seemed to bounce between the color of brushed steel and polished silver, glinting with interest as he looked up from writing a report in handwriting matching that in the scrolls on the wall. Sitting up, Captain Shiba regarded the new arrival with interest.

Glancing her up and down, he took on a polite smile before gesturing to the seat in front of him, speaking in a soft baritone. "Please, take a seat. Hana Ishikawa, right? Third Seat of the Fourth Division? What can I do for you?"

Almost as an afterthought, his eyes flicked to the door and darkened to steel, his visage remaining polite even as he looked back. "I hope the guards didn't give you any trouble. There's been a few...incidents recently, and I'm afraid I'll have to step in personally if several of our members don't wizen up."

Hana enters Captain Shiba's Office after hearing the Captain's muffled permission to enter. She saw how his Office looks comfortable with dark wood and cream-colored furniture with red accents. The Office has other inviting stuff, including paintings and scrolls all over the walls. The look on her face was impressed with seeing a bonsai tree too. 'Whoa, this is the first time I went into a Captain's Office. It is usually Shiori's Office instead of a Captain's.' Hana thought with her smile on her face.

After Hana looked at all the stuff in his Office, Captain Shiba was sitting at his desk. She smiled at him since he looked well trained in the field of what she wants to get better at. All the time, Hana respected all the Captains for their services to the Gotei, and Captain Shiba is handsome. Before joining the Gotei, she wanted to join the Primary Combat Division, but her decision to join the 4th felt more right. Hana did see him sitting up and looking at her with interest.

Hana could tell right away that Captain Shiba was eyeing her up and down, with a polite smile to boot. She did sit down in the chair that he gestured to with his hand. "Hehe, thank you for the seat, Captain Shiba. Yes, I am Hana Ishikawa, Third Seat of the Fourth Division. I want you to train me in how better to handle my Zanpakuto in the art of Zanjutsu. You did teach my friend how to use Zanjutsu, Norosuke Uramura. He's the one who told me to come to you for training, anyways." Hana responded to his question. She wants to get stronger so she can not make so many mistakes as she has.

Hana noticed his eyes look up and probably towards the door behind her. She doesn't know why in all honesty, but his visage was still polite. He spoke about the guards and incidents, and Hana sighs. "Out of the two guards, one of them was incredibly desperate by telling me it would cost me to be escorted by him. Though, the second one did mention that Seiji punished them for their illicit actions toward women. And they didn't enjoy I went with the honor and law of the things and would want me to be more fun, whatever in honestly that means." Hana said with a deep sigh. She was always going to report them since it's how she is. Sexual harassment implied or otherwise shouldn't go unpunished. In her body language, it frustrates her sometimes that guards don't hold themselves to a higher degree. If the guard approached it differently, he might not have been outed again, but the desperation on his face was absolute as the sun shines.

"I don't think this happens in the 4th Division, but I am mostly busy with keeping the paperwork and everything running as smoothly as possible there. So, I could be blind to what happens behind the scenes. Hehe." Hana said with a giggle at the end. She was only going based on what she sees, there could be problems in hers, but she is too busy most of the time to deal with it. Shiori probably deals with the larger picture over what Hana deals with since Vice-Captains have much more responsibility in their respective divisions.

Signing the report and setting it aside, Captain Shiba nodded politely at Hana's words, dragging over another piece of paper and writing a pair of names down, along with the current time, and set it off to the side. Placing his brush and ink carefully off to the side, his smile grew a bit more genuine as he responded. "Thank you for letting me know about those two. Don't worry, their behavior will be dealt with as soon as possible. As for training...While I would be happy to help, there's something you need to know. If you accept my training, it will be difficult, and I can't guarantee you won't be injured. Fourth Seat Uramura is relatively new to it, which is likely why he suggested it. Lieutenant Mazi would tell you that prolonged exposure to my training methods is enough to send one to the Third's mental ward, although he's always the first to come to me whenever he needs extra training, so that says more about his mental health than anything else."

Standing from his desk, Okami picked up his Zanpakuto from the stand it sat in, tucking her into his belt and ignoring his haori for the moment. Gesturing for Hana to follow, he would lead her through the halls to a door, stepping out into a training yard that seemed to be abandoned for the moment. Standing in the middle of the yard, the Captain pulled a white and green bucket hat from inside his Shihakusho, setting it on his head before looking at the Third Seat. "So, first things first: I need to see if you have potential, and where you're at in your swordsmanship. Your goal is to knock the hat off of my head in the next five minutes. Feel free to use your Shikai, just avoid using Kidou. You may begin whenever you're ready."

The unspoken was, of course, that a five minute fight was unnaturally long, and would be draining even if she weren't up against a Captain-Class combatant. Hana was in for a hell of a time.

As Captain Shiba was writing on paper reports, Hana watched him drag another paper and wrote down names and times. She did enjoy writing incident reports and did notice his smile did become more genuine as he responded to her. Hana did hear his change in tone about talking about the training and how difficult it would be and that Norosuke is new to it. It must be some exciting training to warn her of how difficult it is. "No problem, Captain Shiba, about the matter of those two. Their Division should deal with them instead of anyone else, honestly. Hehe, it must be super tricky if Norosuke is new to it. I think most people would rather see me in a mental ward instead of dealing with me, it feels. I accept your training whole heartily, Captain Shiba. It will help me grasp my problem areas, I think. Specifically, the two separate personalities I have." Hana said with a small sigh. Her sigh was her separate personalities, and she does have trouble combining them. It is why she did lose to Norosuke, that is.

Hana did see Captain Shiba stand up, which causes her to stand up too. She followed Captain Shiba, leading her throughout the halls of the barracks to a door to the 4th Division's training hall. It was a bit strange when Hana saw him put on a white and green bucket hat from inside of his Shihakusho, setting it on his head. Her eyes were a bit confused about what he was doing, and this must be different training indeed. Hana was shocked at why he put the hat on his head, which means the portion of activity in question was to knock the cap off his head. "I can see why Norosuke is new to it now. Hehe, thank you, sir, for this unique experience. Kidou was one of my weakest points in the academy." Hana said with a smile.

Hana's mind switched from her friendly personality to a more serious and competitive one. She took out Shimmering Atasi from its sheath, and it was pretty but had a curve similar to usual Zanpakuto. "Shimmering Atasi Shine Brightly!" Hana exclaimed with a slight bit of a grin on her face. Her Zankaputo did start to shine and glimmer as a shining crystal.

"Unleash your fury, Shimmering Atasi!" Hana exclaimed. Her Zanpakuto changed shape entirely from the shining curved Zanpakuto to its released Shikai state. It looks like a much longer blade similar to a longsword that is a shimmering blue-colored metallic sheen. It has a beautiful golden handle with a blue gem in its center, and she held it differently from her original shaped Zanpakuto.

Hana had a smile as she holds Shimmering Atasi's Shikai released state in her hands. "Alright, it's time for Shimmering Crystals - Hexagonal Prisms!" Hana exclaimed. Crystals start to form either side of her into Hexagonal Prisms, which are smaller than her sealed Zanpakuto's ability. They start traveling towards Captain Shiba, and if he strikes the crystals, they explode in a vast water explosion with the power of a Cero.

Abilities Used::

Sighing at the attack, Okami blurred into motion, doing a front flip over the two attacks and using Shunpo to close the gap. Once within range, he drew his sword in an instant, a clear use of Battōjutsu, aimed for Hana's right hip. The Captain had held back enough that the younger Shinigami would be able to block, but only just. Once she had, he would force their blades up to their faces and smile playfully. It didn't quite reach his eyes, however, which were focused enough that if looks could cut, the buildings surrounded them would have been severed from the foundations. "Now, now, Sparkles! I thought you were here to learn the art of swordsmanship, not flail your sword around and waste energy trying to blow me up!"

With that, he would use brute strength to inch the two weapons closer and closer to his opponent's face, his own smile fading to something a bit more apathetic, although his voice remained pleasant and conversational. "If you don't take this seriously, and come at me like you want to kill me...You might just die."

Backing off a few feet and getting into a balanced stance, Okami barked in a voice not dissimilar to that of a teacher at the Academy. "Again!"

Hana was shocked at Captain's dodge and speed of, which he got close to her. She blocked the Captain's attack directed at her hip, but barely as he was hoping Hana would probably. Okami Shiba had a playful smile on his face while he moved her sword up to her face with a force of a captain would have. Hana felt a bit of a rush of like, did I fuck up or something with what she saw from his eyes. She felt a bit dumbfounded when he called her sparkles, which made her realize she did fuck up. "S-Sorry, Captain Shiba. I shouldn't have focused on my specialty of long-ranged crystals that explode." Hana said with a tone of deep regret of forgetting the one important thing. She's here to train her swordsmanship, not her long-ranged crystals.

His brute strength was brutal, and it was made her hold her sword a bit tighter than she wanted to, and it was causing her hands to hurt. She saw his smile fading, but the tone in his voice was pleasant and conversational. "Yes, Captain Shiba! I will take this much more seriously than I have." Hana said. Still, her tone was severe, but it was a bit more about why she's here.

Hana moved the released form of Shimmering Atasi's Shikai in a slightly more elegant way. She did hear his teacher's tone of voice when he spoke again. Therefore, Hana decided to make a jumping charge attack directly at Captain Shiba's head, where his hat sits. She did move the Shimmering Atasi in a downward angle to explicitly trying to hit the cap since Captain Shiba is taller than her by five inches. "I'll get that Cap, even if it costs your head!" Hana exclaimed. She does have a battle lust problem, but he did say you have to try to kill him or she'll die by his hand otherwise.

Okami took a step to the side to avoid the overhead slash, flipping his sword in an arc to strike out and stop the point of his sword mere millimeters from the back of Hana's neck as she landed. Letting it sink in for a moment, he'd take a couple more steps and turn to her new position. "A strike that brings you off the ground loses all of the force and speed that comes from the hips and feet, relying completely on momentum. Subsequently, there's no control over your motions, and you are overcommitted to that one attack. It's easy to predict, and easy to counter. Try not to focus on a single attack, and only fully commit at the last possible moment. If you have to come off the ground, solidify the reishi under your feet and be prepared to redirect yourself using it."

Just because she hadn't taken the hat didn't mean he wouldn't give her pointers. This was to determine potential, not current skill. If Hana listened, applied what he said, and improved over the course of this little spat, then she didn't even really need to get the hat.

Not that Okami said this out loud, of course. There had to be a sense of emergency, here. "You've already wasted a minute, Sparkles. You've got four left."

Hana noticed that Captain Shiba did avoid her overhead slash quickly, but his counter was quick in response. Her back of her neck hairs stood on end as Hana could barely feel Captain Shiba's blade near her neck. She shivered down her spine that Captain Shiba could have cut her head entirely off right then and there, but thankfully, he didn't. After it sunk into her head, he slightly repositioned, facing her new position. Captain Shiba gave her some pointers on why he was able to dodge and counter so effectively. Also, she didn't have any momentum because of the simplest of not solidifying Reishi under her feet and redirecting herself too. Her body language and facial features were an understanding of what she should have kept with her. "Alright, I will do better!" Hana exclaimed.

Also, Hana did reposition herself with a slightly different stance with her Shimmering Atasi in her hand in its Shikai Release. She liked all these pointers, but she should have remembered a simple as tying her shoes if Shinigami wore actual shoes. The Reishi build-up on her feet would have made it easier to move in the air. Hana had that trick drilled into her at the Academy, but she sometimes forgot about it. Therefore, she devised an attack strategy on Captain Shiba, which differed from focusing on a single attack but many strikes with her sword.

Captain Shiba then also announced that she wasted a minute. Hana, a look that she needs to pick up the pace and deal with getting his hat, or the time limit will be over before she can enjoy herself a bowl of noodles. "A Minute passed already? Damn it. Also, how many nicknames do you give to people? I do like the nickname of Sparkles, though." Hana said with an aspirated sigh. Sparkles was an interesting nickname to give to a person you met, but she did try to blow up, Captain Shiba. She felt like this was an emergency type of deal since five minutes is a short timeframe.

Hana starts with her strategy by doing her sword swinging motions, and there was a left sword swing, followed up with a right sword swing, and finished this sword combo with an upward sword swing. She had better control over her sword motions and movements, but there was a hint of lack of defense. He would probably be easily able to tell her lack of defense and going for a precisely stupid offensive-only strategy.

Okami chuckled at the surprise in Hana's voice, and her enjoyment of the little nickname he'd gave her. That being said, he didn't respond, simply gesturing for her to continue with the fight. She seemed to be learning, which was good, but there were still flaws. Namely, that she sacrificed a bit of defense, and continued to approach him from the front. That just wouldn't do. Parrying the first strike, along with the second with a bored look on his face, the Captain waited a brief moment for the upward swing to be at the point of no return, before batting it aside and swinging at the girl's neck. His Zanpakuto would stop just after touching it, allowing for a slight cut to form and start bleeding. "You need to stop coming straight at me. There's no issue with sacrificing a bit of defense for aggression, so long as you keep moving, but to approach a stronger opponent head-to-head is suicide."

Taking a few steps back once more, allowing her to reset and think of a strategy, Okami made a very deliberate motion, flicking the small amount of blood off from his sword in an obvious maneuver, and bringing his katana back up into a prepared position. He'd be getting serious from this point forward, and it showed.

Hana felt Captain Shiba's blade struck her neck by causing a small cut, which made it bleed. Her first action was to calm down so she doesn't get too angry at him for cutting her. Hana was an idiot for believing Hana could defeat a more potent foe at attacking Captain Shiba from the front. It felt a bit ironic when he brought it up himself, and she sighed with a bit of frustration at herself.  "Shit, yeah, I agree with you. I can see why you say people who train with you get injured. I can tell you are getting more serious, Captain Shiba." Hana said, still controlling her emotions even with her switch personality in control. She did notice how he struck her instead of all the previous times.

Hana saw him move back a few steps, and she tried to come up with a better strategy than suicidally honestly trying to attack him from the front. Therefore, when she thought of it, this time but without trying to sacrifice defense but still offensively aggressive. Her strategy was different in how to approach getting his hat. Hana gathered the Reishi needed for her feet but moved quickly to the side. She did have speed and agility in spades, about using it to her advantage. Therefore, Hana did jump into the air and plant her feet in the air this time. Though she aimed to get behind Captain Okami and strike at his hat, she will defend herself, so she doesn't get cut again. 'If the Captain gets severe enough, he might injure me badly. Since he can Flash Step, unlike I can, I suck at that. I will try to get somewhere with this strategy.' Hana thought to herself.

Hana was paying attention to how Captain Shiba was reacting to her with each of his lessons; it seems like she was getting the hang of it but still had a long way to go. She was wasting time, though, and she strikes at Okami's Head, specifically only at the hat with her sideways slash at his hat, but would try to counter Okami's attack, whenever he does one.