Strength and Discipline [Open; Sparring]

Combat has always been a part of the integral life of the Shinigami. Even those of the Fourth Division who have devoted themselves to medicine and healing are still required to have skills in combat to ensure that they can defend themselves and their medical camps. As a result, Shinigami often have to train themselves to keep up their prowess, even when there does not seem to be a war on the horizon. While Hollow are excellent fodder for killing frequently, they don't offer much in terms of training. Usually, they die in one or two swings--not enough to get proper training out of the way. And while one would be quite happy to go forth and find an Arrancar to fight, nearly dying doesn't exactly constitute a real training session either, especially when you don't learn anything from the fight. No, there were few things that Shinigami could really fight with to train, and one of those things had to be amongst themselves.

Even here, however, it wasn't always easy. The vast power differences between Shinigami could mean that you end up sparring someone as weak as a puppy that you cannot use your full abilities on--or someone that decides that you are a weak puppy. However, Daigoro Ito had already made the decision to stand around and wait for the possibility of having someone to train with. While most people would actively seek out targets, his own mind was set on simply practising repeated swings of his Zanpakutō until someone chanced upon him. Being a Third Seat meant that most people would either look down on him, or look up at him--there was no middle ground that he could see; even most of the other Third Seats looked up at him for some reason. They still had not found a new Vice-Captain here in the Seventh Division, and he wouldn't want to fight someone from within his own Division anyway.

Now, those who did not know Daigoro would probably be slightly confused. If they looked upon him making the swings of his weapon, they would not see a sword in his hands, but an umbrella. That said, each swing of the umbrella looked as fluid and smooth as a swinging Katana. It was unlikely that people would realize this, but the umbrella in his hands could cut--almost anything in his hands could be used as a proper weapon. Each swing was more stable than the last, until he eventually reached his five-hundredth swing and decided to take a minute's break. Approaching the side of the room, he picked up a small canteen and brought it up to his mouth, throwing his head back and taking a long draught from the small metal bottle. Wiping his brow, he looked around to see if anybody had chanced upon him yet.

"Hello there, sorry about disrupting your training. I am Alastair Knightfield, Lieutenant of the Ninth Division." he slowly turned to fully face the man, placing one hand on his hip while holding the umbrella over his shoulder with the other. His eyes were first drawn towards the Lieutenant's armband on his, well, arm. Wasn't that something? Breathing out, he cricked his neck and rolled his shoulders. "I find myself quite bored on my off day and your umbrella has caught my interest. I guess I am overdue for, hmmm, any physical activity I would think." Dai let out a small chuckle and looked to the side for a moment, "I see," he began, but quieted himself for the next sentence from the newcomer, "May I ask your name lad?" He let out a breath and adjusted his stance slightly. He wasn't trying to give off any kind of aggression, but he needed to be sure that what was about to happen, was going to happen. Also, he didn't particularly like this guy's tone--'lad' irritated him. Only a little, mind you, but it still definitely irritated him. "Daigoro Ito; Third Seat, Seventh Division."

"Also, I know this is sudden, but do you think we could have a spar or something? I think we may be able to get away with using any shikai's, hehe. I'll deal with any punishments later." He sighed and dropped the tip of the umbrella from his shoulder, to the ground. "Well, I'm more of a defensive fighter--but I don't see any problems with just having a little spar," A small grin would alight his face, "And as for the release of Shikai? What people don't know, won't hurt them." He chuckled to himself, wandering towards the centre of the room and swinging the umbrella around a bit, testing out its weight. It looked, quite frankly, to be the most unwieldy weapon possible--and yet, for some reason or another, it wasn't that. He looked over at Alastair for a second, watching his movements and waiting for him to move to the centre of the room as well. Something in his chest ached for the fight, but he put that on the backburner while he waited.

"Well, defensive fighter hehe. Maybe we can start off with slight Hakuda spar and word our way up. Also true not knowing anything wont kill anyone so we should keep this a secret Ito-san. Daigoro shook his head, sighing softly and looking to the side. This could get them both in a pretty hefty amount of trouble--possibly that guy more than he, due to the rank disparity. That said, Daigoro could feel his spiritual energies, and they didn't really feel as high up the ladder as his. That could pose a problem if it got into a situation where they both just needed pure spiritual horsepower to endure each others' attacks. He looked back over at Alastair and sighed, [color=red]"I don't see why not. Hakuda isn't exactly my strong point, but I have decent enough training in it to at least hold my own. "If I fight that weapon off the bat I will surely be defeated I need a slight warm up spar." "Heh, a Lieutenant being defeated by a sealed Zanpakutō? Wouldn't that be a sight for the ages." He hooked the umbrella up on his back and closed his eyes, letting his breath enter his body as he changed his stance with a slow maneuver. It was nothing like fighting with a weapon in his hands; but maybe he could simulate it to give himself a better fighting chance?

"So would you be up for that?" He opened one eye and smirked, "Of course." Stepping forwards, Daigoro started to make his moves, sending a quick jab at Alastair's body--he wasn't sure how well this guy moved, so he needed to be certain that any moves he made were at least here to test out his reflexes. At the same time, he kept his feet apart and in a defensive position, lowering his centre of gravity in order to keep his footing in case of emergency. Daigoro, in this situation, did not move very quickly. He was deliberate and only used the amount of power he needed to--not having much raw physical strength or speed meant that he needed to rely on pure technique to win this spar.