What Do You Fight For?[Hannah, Solomon]

"...I suppose you do have a point there. This is their duty after all. If I request it, however, I'm sure they won't mind. Otherwise, I may be here for a few more days."

Solomon couldn't really deny her there. Those primarily tasked with healing members of the Vandenreich and nothing else probably took immense pride in their talents. He could imagine how they would receive a Shinigami walking in on their grounds to heal a patient, how that might be an affront against that pride. Of course, her words prior didn't go ignored, either.

By and large, he rarely held one's past against them. There were those who were certainly unforgivable, and those who simply lost their way in life. Unaware of her history, he could offer nothing but praise for the woman he had experienced in the current day. Someone who supported him in times of need. As far as he was concerned, that was constitution enough for a lovely woman.

"You should take pride in the lady who is in better control of herself today. My experiences have been nothing short of pleasant with her. If you wish for me to approach the compliment from a technical point of view, then by all accounts, the best part of you is a lovely thing---admirable, even."

Genuine words from the bottom of his heart. He won't deny the respect he has for her, no matter how morbid she might attempt to be.

"If only everyone could see today, rather than yesterday" Hannah would reply, before departing the room. She would return some five minutes later, take a seat next to Solomon, and hold out her hands. They quickly started to glow green, and a radiating power bloomed from Hannah, filling the room with a benevolent aura. The wounds Solomon took quickly healed, and his energy increased alongside it, bringing him back to peak form in but a few minutes.

"Now, I do believe you are on schedule to be mercilessly beaten up by me?" Hannah would comment, with a broad grin.

Solomon wondered about her parting words. Whether they were directed at him or simply a thought voiced to no one in particular, he nevertheless reflected on her statement---how it applied to himself and everything else in his life. He was always reflecting on his losses so strongly, dismissive of the victories he had accumulated along the way. This was unbecoming. Anger would no longer do him any good now.

He had to improve. That was all there was to it. If a thousand defeats didn't yield improvement, then fight ten thousand. If a ten thousand didn't yield progress, then fight a million. No matter what, as long as he drew breath, he had to follow his path wholeheartedly. Exhaling softly, he cast his gaze back to Hannah as she returned.

After reseating her body on the chair, she divulged her attention to bringing him back to full health. Within a few minutes, Solomon felt as good as new. No, reinvigorated was more apt. He felt as if he could take on an entire mountain. Of course, that would prove more realistic than metaphorical as Hannah announced her challenge. Offering a confident expression of his own, he flexed his arms softly as he rose up from the chair.

"What a torturous schedule. Fresh out of the hospital, right into the frying pan. Very well, I accept your spar. I may not prove your equal, but I'll certainly give our battle everything I've got."

"Depends what you compete with me on" Hannah would reply. "While my spiritual is well honed, my physical strength is not and I would lose quite quickly. And I am not a durable woman, so I can not last long in a proper scrum" Hannah would stand, and head over to the door to prepare leaving.

"But I can help you flex the reishi absorption muscles and help train quick draining of spiritual matter for the future" she would then turn a shade darker, and her voice fell. "And there is also a special training method that can be used for great strength, though mentally it comes at great cost, so it is ill advised"

"You aren't wrong there, but given your otherworldly mastery over kido, I would have to contend with you in a battle of attrition. Considering the nigh-boundless scope of application one can naturally achieve at the pinnacle of demon arts, I am uncertain as to whether or not I'd be able to reach you in time to engage in a contest of physical prowess."

Solomon offered his opinion on the hypothetical battle ahead. He hadn't seen the full scope of her skill, but he was no fool. He had done his research, and among the list of soul reapers who wielded a great skill, her name was always somewhere at the top of that list. His eyes grew curious at the shift in mood when she talked about the training method that came at a great cost. Walking beside her, he tilted his head.

"If you don't mind my asking, what does that special training method entail?"

Well, she had told him about it. And Solomon wasn't the kind of person to just let such a thing go by without comment. Or, possibly even use of. So she would steel her heart and speak, in a calm and measured tone so as not to give in to the tundra beneath.

"It is a fight, without end, or pause. You carry on, and on, neither wounds nor death any pause, since you are dragged back from both with callous hands. The ends happens only when your soul is exhausted and nothing can rouse you from your slumber. And this comes hard, for you will be roused many times in the course of the fight"

Solomon quietly listened to Hannah, observing the shift in her tone as she spoke at length about this rigorous training method, part of him genuinely finding her words frightening considering the difficulty therein. Each word sparked greater curiosity as he ran a hand through his hair. Part of him entertained the idea of being pushed to such an extent, wondered if that would grant him the power necessary to protect those he cared for. Curiously, he posed a question.

"Do you believe it is something with enough time and strength that I would be capable of enduring?"

For a blind woman, Hannah really could bore a hole through someone's skull with her stare. She was simply, quiet for a few moments, saying nothing, doing nothing, and then finally spoke.

"What does my opinion have to do with it?" Hannah would ask, an unnaturally measured tone. "You are the one who knows you best. Only you can say if you can handle the stress, live with the pain, and carry on afterwards. There is a lot more than just the moment itself, after all"

Solomon certainly couldn't blame her for her honesty, as chilling as her stare was. Even so, he nodded his head as he truly thought it over. At this point, his mind had already been tested time and again. He went to battles he had no business winning, and lost almost all of them outside of his minor victories. Yet, he persisted. No matter what he endured, how much it tore through his mettle, he rose up and ceaselessly pursued his one unyielding desire. Defending those who could not defend themselves, protecting this city he adored with every fiber of his soul. Exhaling with determination in his form, his gaze met her own as he offered his response.

"You are correct. Your opinion has nothing to do with it at all. If there is a path for improvement wherein I can go beyond myself and test my limits, I will pursue it without hesitation. My mettle has been tested time and again, anyway. I will keep challenging fate until it offers me the results I am looking. Therefore, I believe I am wholly capable of enduring it."

"Then follow me" Hannah would say, stepping out of the room and heading down the hall. "Though be forewarned. There will be no submitting, no surrendering, no ending of the fight before it is over. Once you step into my barrier, there will be no escape until all that you are has been wrung out and left to dry. You shall change forever, and so shall we"