Before long a faint sound of air being cut came in from a distance, and a figure landed quickly on the roof.
The newcomer was none other than the Fifth Division’s Sixth Seat and one of the instructors leading this internship, Hasegawa Shinjirō.
His expression grave, he took in the scene.
His gaze rested briefly on the spot where the giant Hollow had dispersed, and then on Silas, before he spoke in a low voice.
“I have a general picture of the situation from Ise Nanao’s report. Running into a Large Hollow near the Gillian class is a serious incident, and we shouldn’t stay here long.”
He looked at the shaken students, his tone turning to command.
“Harada, Ise, the two of you will take all the third-years to the rendezvous point at once by the planned withdrawal route and join up with the other groups.”
“I’ll notify the instructors in the other areas to raise their guard and move gradually toward the rendezvous point.”
“Yes, Instructor Hasegawa.”
Hasegawa turned to Silas.
The rote seriousness on his face eased slightly, replaced by a complicated, measuring look.
“Vane. I hear you dealt with that Hollow alone, and quickly at that. Well done. It goes well past what I expect of a fifth-year.”
“It was only luck, Instructor Hasegawa.”
“No need to be excessively modest.”
Hasegawa waved it off, his gaze shifting toward the deeper dark.
“There has been an incident during the konsō internship, and I have already informed the Seireitei. Getting the students clear comes first. As for cleaning up whatever risk may remain…”
He looked at Silas, and his eyes sharpened.
“According to Ise’s report, you possess the strength to deal with threats at this level.”
“I am therefore conscripting you to form a temporary unit with me, to make one last quick sweep of this area and ensure the safety of the residents in the Human World.”
The reasoning was sound, it followed logically, and it carried a superior’s authority.
Silas’s gaze settled calmly on Hasegawa.
“Understood.”
“But…”
Nanao glanced at Silas, who was being left behind alone, and a flicker of worry crossed her eyes.
For a Shinigami to conscript a Shin’ō Academy student seemed somewhat against the rules.
Silas gave her a small nod, though, and at the look in his eyes Nanao felt herself settle.
She trusted his judgment.
Once the students had vanished quickly into the night, only Hasegawa and Silas were left on the roof.
The night wind moved through the ruins, carrying a wailing echo with it.
Hasegawa gave him a long look, then said nothing further and turned to leap off in another direction.
“Keep up.”
The two of them raced silently through the air above the town, one behind the other.
They moved very fast indeed.
There was nothing to be heard but the sound of the wind and the faint rustle of their clothes cutting through the air.
Not until they had crossed the town and reached a wooded stretch did Hasegawa suddenly stop.
Silas stopped as well, landing behind him.
Hasegawa did not turn around.
With his back to Silas, his hand was already pressed against the hilt of his Zanpakutō. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
In the next instant his figure vanished and he came in far faster than he had been traveling.
The blade sliced through the air with a sharp whistling sound, aimed directly at Silas’s throat.
The strike was ruthless and final, with nothing held in reserve.
It was an opening move in a fight to the death.
Silas’s eyes narrowed, and he drew and parried in the same motion.
Clang!
The crisp sound of clashing metal burst across the empty ruins, throwing off sparks.
Hasegawa was driven back several steps, his sword arm gone slightly numb.
Silas gave ground too, but his hand stayed as steady as rock.
Hasegawa stared at him.
For some reason he felt real pressure coming off a student who hadn’t even graduated from the Shin’ō Academy yet.
“Excellent defense. It seems you knew I would move against you. When did you work it out?”
“From the moment you appeared, something felt wrong… Instructor Hasegawa, have you already betrayed the Soul Society?”
“The rot in the Soul Society runs deep. How can a man betray a place he was never loyal to?”
“So your convictions are very noble, are they? Why, then, would you attack a mere student like me?”
“Hmph. If you want to fish information out of me, go back and train another thirty years first.”
Hasegawa closed the distance again.
His footwork was nimble and his swordsmanship fierce and experienced, every strike aimed at something vital, and paired with his practiced Shunpo the assault came on like a rising tide.
Silas’s answers were every bit as airtight.
Every parry and evasion landed on the right beat, closing off each of Hasegawa’s lines of attack precisely, and his strength and speed consistently overmatched the other man’s.
After dozens of exchanges Hasegawa was already showing signs of fatigue, sweat standing out on his forehead and his breathing coming hurried.
He leaped back to open distance, breathing hard.
Looking at Silas, whose breathing remained level, the self-mockery on his face deepened.
Heh.
How pathetic.
Ever since my Zanpakutō’s release I’ve leaned on its ability to fight, year after year, and let my own Zanjutsu rust.
I never expected that without using Shikai I would find it this difficult to face a student.
I expect Lord Aizen, who is surely watching, will be disappointed in this performance as well.
He raised his sword slowly and held it upright before him.
His eyes turned focused and grave as his Spiritual Pressure began to climb, giving off a ripple entirely unlike before.
“Disturb, Mijinsen.”
With the low chant of the release command, the form of the Zanpakutō in Hasegawa’s hand changed.
The blade itself didn’t change drastically, but it was shrouded in a layer of flowing, pale gray mist-like luster.
The next moment the sword seemed to disappear, leaving only the hilt in his hand.
Silas’s gaze narrowed.
Using Shikai just to fight me?
Hasegawa gave a cold snort and swung the hilt toward him.
In the next instant a sharp blade slashed out silently from behind Silas’s flank.
Silas relied on his perception to barely dodge by twisting his body, but the corner of his clothing was sliced open.
After that, Hasegawa’s attacks grew stranger and harder to read.
He stood in place swinging his sword, and invisible strikes came at Silas from every direction.
Silas had to raise his guard and dodge with everything he had.
This kind of attack, where the direction of it couldn’t be predicted, did indeed give Silas some trouble.
He could no longer read and parry as easily as before.
He had to spend far more concentration sensing and answering those elusive strikes, and several wounds appeared on him before he could help it.
The abilities of a Zanpakutō really are a nuisance…
“It’s working,” Hasegawa said, panting slightly, though his voice was resolute.
“Then it’s time to finish this.”
“Bakudō #21, Sekienton!”
A massive smokescreen spread out and blotted out Silas’s vision at once.
At the same moment Hasegawa poured all of his Spiritual Pressure into the blade, readying a thrust.
The speed and force of that strike would make it his strongest attack.
Silas’s eyes sharpened.
With this interference he couldn’t fully lock down the path the strike would take.
He didn’t panic, though.
He dropped his stance slightly, ready to break out with Shunpo at any moment, holding his Asauchi before him as his Spiritual Pressure began to rise.
But at the very moment Hasegawa was about to strike.
“Stop!”
“Hasegawa! What do you think you’re doing?!”
Several sources of Spiritual Pressure came in fast from a distance, sharp shouts along with them.
It was the other Shinigami instructors, who had rushed over after getting word or sensing the anomaly.
Hasegawa’s sword visibly faltered, and a flicker of hesitation crossed his face.
He gave Silas one deep, unreadable look, then withdrew without hesitation, using the cover of the smoke to flee quickly into the distance.
“After him!”
The arriving Shinigami were shocked and furious both.
One stayed behind to watch Silas while several others gave chase in the direction Hasegawa had gone.
The one who remained came over to Silas, watched him warily for a moment, disbelief in his eyes.
He had seen it clearly.
The Sixth Seat, Hasegawa, had already used Shikai, and still couldn’t bring this student down.
“Sheathe your weapon. What happened here just now? Why were you fighting?”
Silas sheathed his sword, looking off in the direction Hasegawa had disappeared, and at the experience fragments drifting quietly down.
“I’m not certain myself. For whatever reason, Sixth Seat Hasegawa attacked me.”
“If you can catch him, question him properly.”