Rukia was lost in thought as the teams traded thoughts on how the battle had gone. The movement was flawed, but it was smooth for a beginner. It was nothing a human couldn't do with training, but it wasn't easy.
"I don't know, man. Shiho and I learned that movement technique from our gym teacher. I only learned it a few days ago, so I screwed it up," Ren groaned.
He was frustrated, feeling as though he had lost.
"Yoruichi?! ...Sensei..." Rukia said.
The team gave her a deadpan look.
"Uh. Uh. Uh." Rukia was panicking!
"Let's file that away for later," Ren said with a sigh.
Rukia versus Yu.
Rukia stood still across from Yu.
It was clear that she had training.
Rigorous training.
She stood in a traditional kenjutsu stance, her katana in front of her, both hands gripping it.
Yu was looking at her seriously. She had a few openings, but with the confidence on her face, he wasn't going to risk being hasty.
Rukia pointed forward and yelled,
"Hadō #1 — Shō!"
A burst of wind came from her fingertip. Yu was just barely able to summon Jack Frost in time to call a wall of ice in front of his stomach to block the attack.
Rukia flickered and was suddenly midair behind him, a brick of ice as her foothold.
She kicked off, causing it to shatter. Yu raised his sword smoothly, parrying the slash. As Rukia passed overhead, Yu called out to Pyro Jack and thrust his palm upward into Rukia's stomach.
"Agi!"
BOOM!
Rukia barely recovered and slid back, holding her stomach.
"Is it my turn now?" Yu said with a grin as Izanagi appeared behind him.
"Garu."
Yu vanished on the spot.
Rukia's eyes widened as she barely blocked the overhead strike.
---
Ren was observing closely, his Third Eye running at full power. He was trying to focus as much as possible and learn from this fight.
"Genius. He planted his foot and then used Garu to pull himself forward," Ren muttered.
"Huh?" Ryuji asked. "I thought he used Garu to propel himself."
"We've been treating this like a game, haven't we?" Ann mumbled.
"It's fine," Chie said suddenly. "Do you know how long it takes to fight like that? Years."
Shiho's brow was scrunched.
"What's wrong, Shiho?" Orihime asked worriedly.
"Rukia's footwork is familiar. Not the same as ours. More complex. Same style, though."
"Thought I was imagining it," Ren groaned. "Well, we have yet another possible Shinigami."
"Yeah, our 'hot' teacher, right, Ren?" Ann rolled her eyes.
"Didn't Ryuji say that?" Orihime giggled.
---
Back on the stage, Yu and Rukia had exchanged a few more blows. Both of them had bloodstains on their clothing, having sliced each other with their swords a couple of times. But nothing fatal or serious.
"I can't beat you without releasing my blade," Rukia said quietly.
"Want to try one last time?" Yu said.
She shook her head and sheathed her katana.
"I know when to quit. It will be a stalemate until someone runs out of energy."
Yu shrugged. "Good point. It was just a fun fight."
"Oh no. All of them are combat maniacs," she whined as she rubbed her face.
---