“That should be enough for now.”
“Yeees…”
We started at around seven in the morning, I think.
And now…
What time even is it?
…Judging by the position of the sun, it’s probably sometime after noon.
At last, the sword training is over…
I’ve spent hours being forced to respond right at the edge of my limits, over and over again.
My mind and body are both completely wrecked.
Naturally, I’ve failed plenty of times too, so my Shihakushō is in tatters.
There are an absurd number of slashes torn through it…
Honestly, it’d probably be cheaper to replace the whole thing than try to repair it.
…Wait!?
H-Hang on a second!
Did I just say it was already past noon!?
“…It’s only just past noon…”
“Did you say something?”
“N-No!
Nothing at all!!”
I’d just started to let my shoulders slump when she spoke to me, so I hurriedly pretended everything was perfectly fine.
“Next, we will move on to training appropriate for a member of the Fourth Division.”
“As a member of the Fourth Division…?”
“Yes.
Kaidō.”
Kaidō, huh…
I have at least some experience with that.
But I’m already pretty battered right now.
Can I really do it properly in this condition?
And besides, to use Kaidō, I’d need someone to—
—Huh?
Wind…?
“…?”
Captain Unohana had definitely swung her sword just now.
But it was so fast that I couldn’t see the path of the blade.
I couldn’t even tell when she’d drawn it.
All I noticed was the wind created by the swing—
“OW!?!?”
The sharp pain arrived a beat later.
A diagonal slash had opened across my chest, and blood sprayed out.
“C-Captain!?”
“What is the matter?
There is an injured person in front of you.
Are you not going to treat them?”
A-An injured person…
Oh!
So that’s what this is!?
“Ghh…
I-I should be able to manage something like this…”
Once I understood what she wanted, I hurriedly used Kaidō on myself.
For an injury like this, spiritual-pressure treatment alone should be enough.
It took a while, but I somehow managed to close the wound.
“…Phew.”
“Fail.”
“What!?”
“For an injury of that level—especially one on your own body—even taking half as long as you just did would only barely make it worth grading.”
That’s harsh…
“Your own body is what was injured.
You, of all people, should understand exactly what has been damaged and how.
And because you are healing your own body, you should also understand better than anyone how it needs to be repaired.
Am I wrong?”
As though she’d read the dissatisfaction in my mind, Captain Unohana continued in a stern voice.
“Members of the Fourth Division are responsible for treating Soul Reapers from the other divisions.
That means other people’s lives are placed in your hands.
You need to face the fact that you hold the power of life and death in those hands with far greater gravity.”
She’s right…
She really is.
I never thought I was taking this lightly, but…
“Or did you intend to save others with healing skills so immature that you cannot even properly heal yourself?”
“I…
I’m sorry…
My thinking was naive…”
Feeling something burn deep in my chest, I bowed my head to her.
“As long as you understand.
And as you know, I too am still immature.
Let us continue honing ourselves together.”
“Yes!”
“Good answer.
Then—”
With that, Captain Unohana drew her sword wearing a wonderfully pleasant smile.
I smiled back too.
The sort of special smile you might make if you came face-to-face with a gigantic snake deep in the jungle.
“Um…
Captain…
about that sword…”
“It is simple.
I will cut you, and you will heal yourself with Kaidō.”
“WHAAAAAT!?”
“Until now, this was sword training, so I restrained myself to no more than shaving off a thin layer of skin.
From here on, I will actually cut into your flesh.
If I strike badly, you may lose an arm or something of that sort, so be careful…
Ah, but that would make for useful training too.
In that case, there is no problem, is there?”
And with that, Captain Unohana’s sword flashed.
What you’re saying isn’t technically wrong, but I’m absolutely certain this is not how it’s supposed to work!
I desperately swallowed the urge to shout that out.
And so my Kaidō training continued, using my own body as the test subject, until I collapsed from running completely out of spiritual power.
“All right.
That will do.”
“Yeees…”
The Kaidō training was finally over too.
The fact that both my arms, both my legs and all my fingers were still properly attached was probably nothing short of a miracle.
“You have work again tomorrow, so I will be leaving now.
Oh, one more thing.
You should be able to reach Seireitei by heading straight west from here.
Make sure you are not late for the start of your shift.”
“Uuugh…
I really do have work tomorrow too…”
At this point, I was more worried about whether I’d even be able to wake up tomorrow than whether I’d make it through work.
For now, I should probably get ready to head back—
Or rather, before that, I wanted a moment to breathe.
I pulled the bamboo flask from my bag and—
Oh.
I forgot.
“Captain.
Are you hungry?
If you’d like…”
“Oh?
What is that?”
We’d been training straight through without stopping for lunch, so I’d completely forgotten that I’d made a packed meal.
It was nothing fancy.
Just a few salted rice balls.
“I made a little extra, just in case…
It’s very simple, so I don’t know whether it’ll suit your tastes, but…”
“They look delicious.
I’ll have one.”
Captain Unohana picked up one of the rice balls and ate it.
That was all.
But for some reason, it made me happy.
“Hmm…
This is…
this flavour…”
“Oh.
Was it bad?
They’re only salted rice balls, so I didn’t think there was much room to mess them up…”
The moment she tasted it, she looked thoughtful.
Wait.
Am I about to get scolded over rice balls too…?
“…Yukawa.”
“Yes!”
“Would you consider becoming a permanent member of the kitchen team?”
“…Huh?”
Erm.
What?
“It seems you may have more talent for this.”
“P-Please, anything but that…”
Of course.
Once again, the thing I was being praised for had nothing to do with the actual duties I thought mattered most for a Soul Reaper…
Oh, and I didn’t make it back to Seireitei until it was completely dark.
Dragging my heavy body all the way back took several times longer than the trip out.
The fact that nobody attacked me on the way and I returned safely really did feel like a miracle.
Author’s Notes
● Captain Unohana
This is basically how I picture Captain Unohana.
She wouldn’t normally do things like this, but once a certain switch flips, I feel like she’d probably go this far.
Probably.
I mean, she’s practically itching to get onto the front lines.