My shoed feet headed towards one of the largest sources of Reiatsu, whose signature I knew well.
To be honest, there wasn’t any grand drama between us.
They’d hired me, stiffed me on the pay, and nearly killed me.
I was much weaker back then, and I wanted to curry favor with the new gang, but apparently someone really didn’t like me…
Most likely, their leader was just afraid I’d oust him.
Kaji, or whatever his name was.
And who could blame him?
Some punk shows up wielding a Shinigami’s blade and packing ten times the Reiatsu he had.
Anyone would’ve panicked.
With a single leap, I scrambled onto the roof of a dilapidated shack thirty meters from their base.
It was a two-story building they had inherited from another gang.
I focused and scanned its spiritual signature.
Sensory perception isn’t exactly my strong suit, but my skills are still sufficient enough for jobs like this.
There’s a pair of guards stationed at both the main and rear entrances.
Inside, there are eight people, including the boss.
The rest are likely out drinking somewhere or guarding the exits to the district.
Honestly, all these precautions and safety measures are nothing more than force of habit for me.
I long ago outgrew their level.
If I weren’t scared of using my Fullbring powers too openly, I’d be ruling this district myself.
But I’m not a fool.
Everyone knows full well how such warlords end up.
Wakizashi from Onmitsukido in the liver – no one lives forever, as they say in our homeland.
Central 46 sends its regards.
Pushing my soles off the ring of green light, I flew into one of the guards at the supposed exit and sheared his head clean off his shoulders.
Another Bringer Light, and the second one’s unstarted scream was choked by blood.
(2/17)
Well, well.
So, I need to kill them all?
Fine, I see no reason to argue.
Reinforcing my leg with Fullbring, I kick down the entrance door, knocking someone off their feet.
Then, instantly unleashing my killing intent, I make the occupants flinch.
I lunge towards the first one and cut through his worthless sword first, and then through his torso.
Kicking the corpse, I free my Zanpakuto from the grip of the flesh and turn my attention back to the bandits, who have scrambled to grab whatever weapons they could find.
(3/17)
“Well, that’s just pathetic,” I shout, loud enough for the freak on the second floor to be sure to hear.
“Hey, you bearded fuckface, come out and take your dog out too!”
“You little bastard!” The souls, whose sparks of life were fading one after another, rushed at me with a cry.
There’s really no interest or challenge in it, and I’m not even using Fullbring at full power.
Glancing back, I nudged the previously kicked-in door with my foot and drove my blade into the back of the head of the poor wretch who had lost consciousness from my epic entrance.
Keeping the blade embedded deep in his body, I activated Absorption.
A thin stream of his Reiryoku was digested by my soul, and the loser himself melted into blue sparks.
Yeah… I certainly value this skill, but I never want to recall how I acquired it.
Someone once said that people pushed to the brink are no different from animals…
well, that was one theory I never wanted to test on myself.
Looking sideways at the pop-up notification, I noted (8/17) of my targets.
That meant two guards had fled or were calling for help.
Two more souls remained upstairs too.
Clearing the blood from my Zanpakuto with a sharp flick, I raised the blade into a defensive stance and slowly ascended the stairs.
The boss and his right-hand man were waiting for me on the second floor.
Kaji himself held no interest for me.
But that powerful Reiatsu…
Hikaru.
The bastard who plays the samurai in a daimyo’s service.
He was the one who left the scar that now runs across my back.
I expected to be attacked the moment I walked in, but Kaji was just sitting on the floor in front of a small table, sipping a cup of sake.
Where the hell did that bastard get it?
“Well, if it isn’t little Kaoru in the flesh,” the cunning, goatee-sporting leader grinned broadly.
“You’ve finally stopped hiding and walked right into our hands.”
“You’d sound more menacing if you weren’t trembling behind your servant’s back,” I snorted at Hikaru, without lowering my weapon.
The pale-faced guy with a scar under his lip grinned at me, pulling his blade out of its sheath.
Well, would you look at that, also someone’s former Zanpakuto…
Was all the gang’s fighting power really concentrated in Hikaru alone?
“Now, now—let’s have no insults,” he chuckled.
“You know, I think we got off on the wrong foot.
I’m sure I have an offer for you that you won’t be able to refuse.”
“Let me guess.
It’ll be some nonsense about joining you, like with my power we can rule Zaraki together?” I raised an eyebrow.
Judging by the boss’s displeased, pursed lips, I’d guessed right.
“No, sorry.
I just need your heads.”
Smiling sweetly, I activate Killing Intent.
Before the element of surprise wears off, I dash toward the samurai using Bringer Light, reinforcing both arms.
My opponent manages to block, but he is still sent flying across the room and slammed into the cracked wall.
“You know, I used to be afraid of you,” I chuckled, instantly closing the distance and unleashing a flurry of blows.
He wasn’t half bad.
Hikaru parried half of what I threw at him, but more and more wounds kept appearing on his body.
He was just unable to shift from defense to offense.
With a powerful blow, I knocked the katana out of his hands and pierced Hikaru’s heart, turning the blade with pleasure several times.
The sight of his face, contorted in excruciating pain, will keep me warm on hungry nights.
Oh, I meant “cold” nights, Freudian slip.
“Damn it, you useless mutt!”
snapped Kadji, who had been lurking right by the stairs.
No, I won’t give you the chance to pull a surprise escape.
“You’ll deeply regret this, you snot-nos…e…d…” In a halo of neon light, the sword that had fallen from my former opponent’s hands pierced his throat at my will.
I had aimed for the heart, but this wasn’t bad either.
Having finished devouring one of my strongest opponents, who did not impress me much, I pulled out my own blade.
“That was nourishing, thanks,” I said, picking up his scabbard.
As the corpse behind me dissolved into blue particles, I pulled the second Asauchi out of Kaji’s body.
With vindictive pleasure, I pierced his body once more and absorbed a slight boost in power through the new sword.
It wasn’t really necessary, but I am a rather petty person.
Turning the new Zanpakuto over in my hands, I examined it from every angle.
It, like mine, had already achieved Shikai, judging by the altered guard.
Or, at the very least, had acquired a conscious spirit within the sword.
Oval tsuba, cobalt blue handle with white rhombuses along it.
It was rather simple compared to the one I used to have.
My sword has a round tsuba with a black and gold delicate pattern.
Yet, even though I preferred my original blade, this new one matched my hair better.
Flipping my ponytail over my shoulder, I compared its color to the guard.
It was an almost perfect match.
Stylish.
Huh?
What’s this?
I picked up the unlit bomb that had rolled a short distance from the boss’s body and stowed it in my inventory.
And this isn’t just a smoke bomb, something like this could actually kill.
A quick scan of the area revealed no uninvited guests, even though I had been expecting them at any moment.
Unexpected.
But I wasn’t about to waste time.
I searched the office room and was rewarded with several identical bombs without fuses and three thousand kans.
That was a fortune for someone from Zaraki.
Before stashing the pouch in my inventory, I happily pressed my cheek against it.
But where did he get so much?
Our entire district couldn’t scrape together that kind of money, no matter how hard we tried.
Actually, it’s not that important, I’ll just thank my Luck for that.
Continuing my search, I found a decent brown kimono and a pair of sandals among the belongings, immediately swapping my old ones for them.
Disappointed by the meager haul, I was forced to pick up the clothes the gang leader had left on the floor.
I’m not really a squeamish person, but these things definitely needed to be washed in the river.
Grabbing the only unfinished bottle of sake, I took a hearty swig.
I simply couldn’t stomach that homemade swill from the tavern anymore.
And nothing else had been available for the last five hundred years.
Or so Old Man Lin claimed, assuming he wasn’t exaggerating.
On the whole, pleased with my spoils, I stepped out of the two-story building.
A structure that was truly luxurious by Zaraki standards.
I wish I’d slept in there instead of out on the street.
I briefly considered stashing the second soul blade in my inventory but decided to hang it at my waist, mirroring the first.
Just to show it off, of course.
Over the years, I haven’t been able to awaken even one Zanpakuto, let alone two.
It will be a spare.
Reaper’s blades have a habit of snapping easily during combat against one another.
For once, sipping on some genuine alcohol, I headed to Old Man Lin’s tavern.
We weren’t exactly close, but thanks to him, I hadn’t died in the streets like a stray dog.
For that alone, I owed it to him to at least say goodbye.
And just like that, as I turned down a side street, I was ambushed.
Very unexpected…
If I were to rate them for stealth, I’d give them a plus for their low reiatsu reserves.
Although that’s not even their merit.
On their own, they were nothing but pathetic lackeys.
“Your boss is dead, by the way.
I’m giving you one last chance to scatter into the bushes and never cross my path again,” I said, deliberately provoking them.
“You’re deadman, brat!” A man lunged at me from above.
I blocked him with my bare hand and shoved him aside with little effort.
“You too.
We are in the afterlife, after all,” I shrugged.
“I’ll make that pretty little face of yours cry when we’re done with you,” someone shouted from behind me.
But he fell silent instantly after taking a kick to the balls.
Shouldn’t have threatened me.
I really don’t like that sort of thing.
“…six and seven.
I’m actually glad to see you, honestly.
I really didn’t want to have to round you all up from across Rukongai.
Die!” A few swipes, and another heap of flesh and entrails made of spirit particles splattered across the beaten paths of Zaraki.
A typical afternoon, I’d say.
Glancing sadly at the nearly empty bottle, I decided to leave the last couple of sips for the old man.
He’d earned them.
̶(̶1̶7̶/̶1̶7̶)̶
“Hooray, the finish line.
Let’s consider that I’ve already celebrated,” I said, giving a sad salute with the vessel containing the priceless liquid.
When I reached the tavern, the voices inside fell silent.
I swept my gaze over their wary mugs and snorted.
Who here was worth the trouble of messing with, anyway?
“Hey, old man!
Look what I brought—want some?” I said, thrusting the bottle right under his nose.
His disgruntled expression instantly shifted to one of ravenous craving, and his nostrils flared like a horse’s.
Snatching the vessel from my hands, he latched onto it with a vice-like grip.
“You really are a greedy old demon,” I said, leaning my elbows on the counter.
“Just don’t choke on it.”
“Where’d you get that, kid?” the old man asked quietly, once the souls finally tore their gaze away from his smug mug.
“There aren’t any more there.
Believe me, I looked,” I sighed sadly, in unison with Lin.
“I believe you wouldn’t hide it.
You’d be slurping it right in front of me, you insolent little bastard,” he smiled kindly.
Something I hadn’t seen in a long time.
“So, I hear you’re done with the Vultures?
People will be scattering to different districts soon…
Maybe that’s for the best.”
“News travels fast, I see.
Yes, I’m done.
I… well, I actually came to say goodbye.
Pack me some food for the road, I have money.” A small pile of coins appeared beneath my palm.
“So why so sad, then?
It was high time to get out of here.” The coins vanished beneath the counter just as deftly as they had appeared.
“I’ll miss it,” I snorted, half-seriously.
“For whom, for me?
Or Zaraki?” Lin laughed hoarsely.
“I’m not dying yet, and this dump isn’t going anywhere.
You’ll never want to come back here.
Take my word for it, kid.”
“On the slop that you call homemade liqueur .”
“Well, in that case, the bowl’s on the house,” he said, pouring his vile swill into two bowls.
We raised them in a toast and drank, and the old man suddenly turned serious.
“You know, Kaoru, you really should have packed up and headed to the Soul Reaper Academy ages ago.
ou have a gift, and yet you spent so much time running petty errands and cutting people’s throats.
What kept you here?”
I shrugged.
What was it?
Fear, perhaps?
That was exactly it.
I was simply afraid to venture out into the wider world.
The rapidly surging spiritual energy and the steady improvement of my skills in this area provided a valid excuse for my reluctance to leave Zaraki.
Yet, I had become so lost in that cycle of fear and training that I’d forgotten why I was doing it in the first place…
Meanwhile, a whole decade had slipped by.
It is easy to lose touch with the human pace of life when you are, for all intents and purposes, dead.
There’s so much clusterfuck ahead.
The kind where you could either die or gain unimaginable power.
And I’m going to dive right into it.
I just know myself.
What’s the point of a second life if I don’t take part in events that determine the fate of the Three Worlds (and Hell), while I’m at it?
Am I ready for that?
Pfft, of course not.
But when would I ever be?
I could keep hiding from the big world, but I simply don’t want to anymore.
“Well, I’m getting ready now.
It’s not like they were really expecting me there, and I let everyone down.
Besides, there’s no rush.
I’m in the prime of my life,” I said, running my palm over the top of my head with a look of displeasure.
No, I’m not a dwarf like Rukia or Toshiro, but I used to be a good head and a half taller.
“Don’t get used to a long life, kid.
Otherwise, you’ll turn into a grumpy, decrepit piece of shit who kept putting everything off for ‘better times’ and ended up missing out on it all.”
“That’s self-critical,” I snorted.
“Are you a complete idiot?
I’m not talking about myself,” he turned away, packing my knapsack.
And so, under the measured hum of the tavern, where everyone was busy with their own worthless existence, the old man and I silently shook hands in farewell.
Without looking back, I set off for Kusajishi, in the 79th District.
Once I was out of sight of the locals, I stashed my gear in my inventory.
Exactly where it belonged.
Venturing into the unknown was a bit daunting, but taking each step made the next one easier.
And once I switched to Bringer Light, every trace of my anxiety vanished completely.
L̶e̶a̶v̶e̶ ̶Z̶a̶r̶a̶k̶i̶ ̶(̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶8̶0̶t̶h̶ ̶D̶i̶s̶t̶r̶i̶c̶t̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶N̶o̶r̶t̶h̶ ̶R̶u̶k̶o̶n̶g̶a̶i̶)̶
̶Sa̶y̶ ̶g̶o̶o̶d̶b̶y̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶s̶o̶m̶e̶o̶n̶e̶,̶ ̶w̶h̶o̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶s̶e̶e̶ ̶f̶i̶t̶
̶S̶t̶o̶c̶k̶ ̶u̶p̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶s̶u̶p̶p̶l̶i̶e̶s̶
Quest completed
All objectives met
A couple of leaps through neon rings, and I crossed the border of the 79th District.
Somewhere around here, Kenpachi first materializes his zanpakuto, the small, pink-haired Yachiru.
It would be interesting to see them in person someday, even if it is dangerous.
But for now, let’s head to the river.