Time slipped past, and the Konsō internship came rushing up on them.
Kaien’s exhaustion was visible to the naked eye.
When he ran into Silas at the academy today, his eyes were plainly looking for an exit.
“Silas… Vane-senpai, are we going again today as well?”
“Kaien, you’re a grown man. Why are you being so bashful about it?”
“It isn’t that, senpai. We’ve been sparring flat out every single day. I truly can’t take any more… How about a break?”
Kaien looked utterly wrung out.
He genuinely hadn’t expected Silas to have this much stamina in him.
Seeing Kaien looking thoroughly drained, Silas felt a rare small prick of conscience.
He had been leaning on the man a bit hard lately.
As the system notifications kept refreshing, Silas could feel himself getting steadily stronger.
His Zanpakutō resonance was climbing slowly but surely toward a higher percentage too, through this constant tempering in combat and the growth of his spiritual pressure.
The Konsō internship in the Human World was the day after tomorrow.
He was mostly ready.
Silas clapped Kaien on the shoulder.
“You’ve worked hard these past few days, Kaien. Get some proper rest over the next two.”
“When I’m back from the Human World internship, I’ll treat you to something good at Ichiraku Ramen. The yakitori we just added to the menu is excellent.”
“Thank you for understanding, senpai. Honestly, your progress has been enormous. It’s getting difficult for me to fight you now.”
Kaien visibly breathed out at that.
Once he had seen the relieved Kaien off, Silas opened his status panel.
[Name: Silas Vane]
Spiritual Power Level: Rank 8 (EXP: 80/8000)
Zanjutsu: Lv4 (EXP: 120/5000)
Hakuda: Lv4 (EXP: 85/5000)
Shunpo: Lv4 (EXP: 70/5000)
Kidō: Lv3 (EXP: 1880/3000)
Zanpakutō: Asauchi Resonance 98%
[Special Abilities]
Hollowfication: Lv1 (EXP: 10/1000)
Hōgyoku (Awakening: 0.05%)
Every one of Silas’s basic skills but Kidō had reached Lv4 now.
Which meant that in anything other than Kidō, his command was enough to stand against a seasoned senior Seated Officer in the Gotei 13.
His Spiritual Power Level had broken through to Rank 8 as well.
As that level rose, the resonance with his Asauchi climbed higher still.
Unfortunately, once his skills hit Lv4, the experience he drew from sparring with Kaien began to fall off, and the returns grew far thinner.
This much improvement was the limit of what squeezing Kaien over this stretch could give him.
He could only hope this Konsō internship would pass smoothly, with no emergency he couldn’t handle.
The final preparations before the internship were in full swing.
The group assignments had gone out, and he had actually been placed with Nanao.
Silas met his two companions for the trip, Ise Nanao and Harada Heita, in their assigned classroom.
Harada Heita was a plain-looking, introverted but hardworking fifth-year.
His strength wasn’t much, though, and he had always hovered in the lower ranks.
Seeing Silas, he gave a polite nod, looking somewhat awkward about it.
One look at the manner and there was no need to guess.
He was from the Rukongai, and used to being pushed to the margins by the noble students in class.
Nanao had already shifted into work mode, producing a small notebook with the location and basic details for this Konsō recorded in it.
“This is our group’s assigned area of operation.”
She pushed up her glasses and looked at Silas and Harada.
“The process is the same as before. For a one-day Konsō internship, we work through the night and return at dawn.”
“We all know the standard Konsō procedure. After that it’s a matter of guiding our juniors.”
“If we run into a Hollow, Silas, your overall strength is the greatest, so you pin it down from the front. Harada, you support from the rear with Kidō, and I’ll take the flank for reconnaissance, early warning, and backup. As for the three third-years…”
“We need to give them clear instructions to handle the relatively safe rear security. Under no circumstances do we let them out of our sight or allow them to act on their own.”
When Nanao had finished, Silas nodded in approval.
She really was very capable when it came to this sort of desk work.
“Agreed. Harada, what do you think?”
Harada looked a little nervous.
“Ise’s plan is very thorough. I agree as well.”
“Good.”
Silas gave the closing summary.
“Nanao’s arrangement makes good sense. We’re a team, and we watch out for each other. Remember what Hasegawa said. Safety first, mission second. If anything unusual happens, the safety of the third-years comes first.”
The three of them went carefully back through their equipment list.
Their Asauchi, rations and water, a temporarily issued denreishinki, and a map of the area…
Once the preparations were done, Harada left first, leaving only Silas and Nanao in the classroom.
Nanao looked up at him.
“I didn’t expect we’d actually end up in the same group.”
“Yeah. I wonder whether it’ll go smoothly.”
“So? Has the training with Kaien been paying off lately?”
Nanao looked at him.
Seeing the concern in her eyes, Silas felt a warmth in his chest.
“It’s fine. A couple of days’ rest and I’ll be right. And thanks to Kaien, I have gotten quite a bit stronger.”
“I’ll keep you all safe during this Human World internship.”
Nanao nodded slightly, and then her eyes turned faintly suspicious.
“Speaking of which. You and that girl from the Shiba family…”
“I’m starving. Isn’t it about dinner time?”
Silas rubbed his stomach and made his escape at the speed of light.
All Nanao could do was sigh softly at his retreating back, a trace of helplessness in her gaze.
On the day of departure, at the Shin’ō Academy central plaza.
Over a hundred students stood in neat ranks.
The freshmen were full of the novelty and excitement of going to the Human World.
The upperclassmen taking part as instructors looked a good deal more serious.
Silas stood in the line, with a focused Nanao on his left.
On his right was Harada Heita, slightly nervous but standing straight.
Behind them stood three third-years, Yoshida, Kobayashi, and Sato, looking excited and apprehensive at once.
Their eyes flicked now and then to the backs of the three upperclassmen in front of them.
The instructor in charge, Hasegawa, stood at the head of the group.
He was a burly man, and his piercing eyes swept over every young face.
“Is everyone here?”
His voice was loud enough to bury every scrap of chatter.
“I’ll go over the key points of this internship one more time.”
“First. Safety. The Human World is not the Seireitei, and it is certainly not a playground. Hollows are dangerous, and they devour souls. Every one of you follows orders strictly. Nobody acts alone.”
“Second. The mission. The primary goal is to guide wandering souls back to the Soul Society and purify the area. Each of you completes at least three soul burials to pass.”
“Third. Cooperation. You are not lone wolves. You are in groups of three with a senior leading you, and you will be each other’s eyes and limbs. If you meet a Hollow, assess the risk, pin it down first, disengage, and call for backup. No showing off, no chasing after anything without orders. The denreishinki in your hands are not decoration.”
He paused, his voice carrying to every ear.
“Last. Remember who you are. You are the elite of the Shin’ō Academy. You are the Shinigami of the future.”
“On this internship you will not only complete the mission, but protect the juniors behind you, the comrades beside you, and!”
“Protect yourselves! Is that understood?!”
“Understood!!!”
The students’ voices rolled across the plaza.
Silas drew a deep breath and set his hand on the Asauchi at his waist.
The spirit light of the senkaimon began to flow, and the vortex leading to the Human World slowly took shape.
“All groups ready. Move out!”