Chapter 57 - Get Up!

Kazuya and Orihime lunged at Kenpachi from multiple directions with their wooden swords set to hit him once they got in range. Kenpachi knew what they were up to, and with his two swords, he blocked their simultaneous attacks and skillfully evaded their subsequent attempts to bash his brains out of his skull with their wooden swords.

Kenpachi could sense that both of them meant business, and that was why he also scarcely held back. Kazuya and Orihime swung at him with everything they had, but were surprised that they couldn't land a scratch on him. 

Orihime, naturally, was starting to get frustrated, so much so that she began to add in attacks from her feet, hoping to pin him down so he could get immobilized and therefore more vulnerable.

However, the swordsman saw it coming and also skillfully dodged her childish attempts to win a friendly spar, which was now being taken too seriously. Kazuya felt the same way as Orihime but was a lot more composed about it, thinking more critically about where he could find an opening in Kenpachi's fluid movements but finding none. 

After over five minutes of continuous struggle to land a scratch on Kenpachi, the master swordsman, knowing that the training session wasn't taking them anywhere, brought the first spar to an end by spinning round and smacking his students across their faces with the wooden sword. This caused Kazuya and Orihime to spin several times in the air before falling to the ground. 

Kazuya was struck on the left side of his head, while Orihime was struck on her right jaw, and both were starting to bleed from the ensued injuries. 

She felt her right jaw but quickly took off her hand as it hurt like hell, and she could tell that the area had begun to swell. She hoped Kenpachi had not broken her jaw, because the pain was almost unbearable. Kazuya did not feel the same level of pain, but it wasn't because he was stronger, but rather because he was almost knocked out cold by the sudden hit. His head ached like it was bound by chains intended to crush it, and his vision was doubled. 

"Get up, both of you!" Kenpachi instructed them both before looking at Orihime. "Rule number one: When fighting a stronger opponent for the first time, don't let your rage drive your blade. Fight with your head, and not your heart!"

Then he looked at Kazuya and said to him, "Rule number two: Overanalyzing your opponent's strategies and movement patterns would only make you more vulnerable to attack." Yes, it is good to fight with sharp critical thinking, but only in moderation. Let the opening you seek come to you, and don't go running after it. If you just let it flow as I instruct, you will conserve energy while your opponent gets exhausted over time, and the more your opponent gets tired, the more the openings in his attacks would become most apparent -- then you can go in for the strike."

Orihime and Kazuya stood back up. Normally, Kazuya would have taken offense, but he didn't, as he could tell Kazuya was taking no pleasure in trashing them this way but truly wanted them to improve. 

While he still wanted to kick Kazuya's ass, by all means, Kazuya resolved to do it in an honorable way, learning all of the techniques he needed to do so. This first session had made the skill gap between them most apparent, and he intended to close it most satisfactorily to get back at him. 

Orihime felt the same way, taking a deep breath as she took her fighting stance, with Kazuya on the other side, also taking his fighting stance. 

Kenpachi smiled. "Already standing, huh?" He said, "I respect your zeal, but I doubt it would last long."

Both of them (Kazuya and Orihime) weren't looking good. Kazuya was feeding from the left side of his head, covering one side of his face with blood. It was so much that Kazuya could not risk opening his left eye as he could feel the blood thickening over it.

Orihime's jaw was now swollen, with blood slightly oozing out of her mouth. Her right eye was now red, perhaps thanks to the impact on her now swollen jaw that was slowly reaching her upper cheek. The inflammation was severe, and the vision in her right eye was getting affected by it. 

-

While that was happening, Genta and Shizu were watching from the highest floor of the building, and even from that high perspective, they could easily tell that things weren't going well for the duo. 

Genta placed a clenched hand on her chest as she saw Kazuya and Orihime fall to the ground again, with bloodstains trailing on the ground to their points of collapse. 

Even from the high point, they could hear Kenpachi yelling at them aggressively. 

"I don't mean to question your judgement, Master, but don't you think it was unwise to train them under someone like Kenpachi?" "You know his methods of teaching are crude and outdated, right?" asked Genta, not liking what she was seeing. 

"Yes, I am aware of all that. "But even though his methods of teaching are crude and out of date, it would be most effective if they wanted to learn as much as possible in less than a week," Shizu replied. 

"I understand, but haven't you observed how almost nobody he trains ever comes out successful?" They get broken and are unwilling to continue any longer. Only a few people made it out of his training regimen successfully, but most did so with major injuries from the brutal training sessions," Genta pointed out. "Is that the same thing you want for both of them?"

"Well, that is why they have you, isn't it?" asked Shizu. "To strengthen and heal them when that happens?" "I mean, are you not a healer?"

Genta sighed, "I know, but it's just that I wish there was a better way to go about this," she replied. 

"I wish there was too, Genta," Shizu responded, "but this is the only way they can learn as much as they can in the short amount of time we have."

They both watched as Kazuya and Orihime fell to the ground again, with the prints of blood on the floor becoming more apparent from their point of view. The duo still got up again, taking their fighting pose, ready for another hard lesson from their brutal sensei. 

"To be honest, I'm surprised the both of them still got up," Shizu remarked. "This would make it the third time, right?"

"Yes," Genta said, focusing heavily on them like a spectator cheering for her favorite athlete to win an Olympic game.

"Alright Genta, enough spectating," Shizu said. "You have your training to experience, remember?"

"Yes, Master," she replied. 

"Now let's head to the library," Shizu said. "We will first start with a basic recall of elementary healing incantations to make sure you still remember them before going for the big stuff." "Are you ready?"

"Yes, Master," she replied as they headed for the library as intended. 

"Speaking of recitations, why don't we start with the healing alphabet?" Shizu proposed, and Genta nodded in response, feeling that was a great place to start. 

"A?" asked the master. 

"Alcea Cadabra. The spell is used as a mystical laxative for curing constipation and food poisoning. "It is also used for healing inflammations," Genta replied. 

"Excellent! "B?" Shizu responded. 

"Bacopa Abba. "The spell is used among very young people in education to boost their concentration and mental alertness," Genta answered. 

"Very good! "C?" Shizu continued. 

"Calendula Marigoldus. "The spell is used for healing minor injuries like cuts, scrapes, and bruises," Genta replied. 

In that pattern, Genta began her training with the Master on their way to the library, where they would learn new things that would prove vital to the mission ahead of them. 

-

Over two hours had passed, yet the bloody training session was still dragging on. It was over the twentieth time the both of them had fallen, and a few spectators from within the building who seemingly had nothing better to do had watched as the duo failed several times to land a blow on Kenpachi. 

Then, for the 23rd time, the duo stood, taking their fighting pose one more time. At this point, they were both battered and bruised, and several people who watched had already begun yelling at them to give up. Even Kenpachi was about to call it a day, postponing the next session for tomorrow. 

But seeing the both of them being resilient in this way, he just couldn't turn them down like that. 

So for the 23rd time, Kazuya and Orihime lunged at him with their wooden swords raised high. But right at the moment when Kenpachi was about to evade and go black as usual, Kazuya changed his sword's trajectory. 

Kenpachi did not see this coming, and having no time to react appropriately, he got slammed by the wooden sword so hard that it broke and sent him spinning several feet away from them before falling to the ground. 

Orihime smiled, even with her face being almost disfigured with injuries, before giving Kazuya a quick fist bump. 

"Nice one, big man," she remarked before looking at Kenpachi, who was now staring at Kazuya with widened eyes while still on the ground. He never thought either of them would be able to lay a hand on him, but Kazuya had now defied his expectations, and he was no longer sure what to expect anymore. 

Kazuya had finally gotten back at him, and it was in the most satisfying way possible. He felt this was only the beginning and was now excited to keep going.

"What are you doing, Kenny?" Orihime said to Kenpachi, who was still on the ground, stunned by what had just happened.

"...Get up!"