Bleach: I Can't Get an Amen
Episode 3 - Riku
When the trembling of your hand that stabbed me is conveyed,
I finally see the indelible dark stigma
engraved upon your soul.
A week had passed since the day he defeated the Hollow with the three rookies.
In the meantime, his relationship with the three newcomers had not soured.
Azuma Shohei sparred with them, went out for meals, and even shared drinks on the weekend.
He learned then that the three of them had incredible tolerances for alcohol.
For Shohei, who had little experience with drinking and would get tipsy after just one glass, it was a rather grueling night.
Fortunately, though the 15th seat was originally supposed to foot the bill, Omaeda happened to pass by and paid for them instead.
By the end of the night, they had all bonded over a promise to cooperate more actively in the future.
Shohei now knew for certain that they weren't bad kids at heart.
It was the following day.
Shohei couldn't remember how he had made it home.
His head throbbed mercilessly, likely the aftermath of the previous night's alcohol.
Nevertheless, the time he checked upon opening his eyes was the same as always.
It was 6:00 AM.
"Ugh... Argh..."
He clutched his head with both hands.
He realized then, with painful clarity, that even a small amount of alcohol could do this to him.
His desire to look like a capable senior who could hold his liquor in front of them had been his undoing.
Still, he couldn't skip his morning routine.
The first step was eating a simple breakfast as soon as he got up.
What he ate changed from day to day.
Sometimes it was a simple rice roll, other times it was a noodle dish.
Today, it was garae-tteok—cylindrical rice cakes.
He wasn't sure about the nutritional value, but it was easy to eat, and the taste alone was enough to satisfy him.
After finishing the rice cakes, he headed to the bathroom to shower.
The sensation of the cold water pouring down seemed to wash away the lingering intoxication, if only a little.
He occasionally thought about wanting to wash with warm water, but such an opportunity had not yet been granted to him.
It was one of the reasons he envied those of noble birth.
After his shower, he went to the wardrobe next to his bed.
He took out one of the several identical sets of Shihakusho hanging there, put it on, fastened his sash, and grabbed both his Zanpakuto—which he had luckily left at home yesterday—and the standard sword he usually used before heading out.
Upon stepping out the door, the first thing he did was give a light bow to a single stone nearby.
It was a stone with meaning.
Then, he began walking toward the 2nd Division barracks.
When he checked the time then, it was 7:00 AM.
On the way to the barracks, he exchanged brief greetings with familiar faces from other divisions.
Among them, the Soul Reaper he encountered most frequently was Hanataro Yamada, the 3rd seat of the 4th Division.
Because Hanataro seemed to have something in common with him, Shohei felt a sort of internal sense of kinship toward him.
After greeting a few people like that, he arrived at the 2nd Division barracks around 7:15 AM.
If there was a morning schedule set, he would follow it, but there were no special plans for today.
On such days, he always headed to a corner of the barracks.
It was a consistent spot.
A spot where Soi Fon was visible.
To him, it was a special place.
However, she was nowhere to be seen today.
On days like this, a small sense of regret invariably pooled in a corner of his heart.
Even so, he did not stop his sword.
The thought that she might appear midway through kept his wrists moving.
"...998... 999... 1,000."
The time it took to swing the sword a thousand times varied slightly from day to day.
At the shortest, it was an hour; at the longest, about two.
Whether it ended early or late, the red blisters forming on his palms were the same every time.
Today, she didn't come until the very end.
It must be because of the drinks yesterday... Shohei thought.
The corners of his eyes drooped slightly.
After finishing the thousand strokes, he stood there for a moment, silently looking down at his wounded hands.
Aside from not seeing Soi Fon, the morning breeze was cool.
The sensation of feeling this breeze after training was another reason that drew him to this spot.
It was while he was feeling that breeze.
"Azuma!"
At the sudden male voice, Shohei turned around in surprise.
The thought that his secret spot had been discovered flashed through his mind.
"Y-Yes?"
When he quickly turned his head, the person who had called him wasn't Omaeda this time, but Riku, the 9th seat of the 2nd Division.
"Did I scare you? You look pretty rattled..."
Riku laughed as if amused by the sight of him.
"O-Oh, no... But how did you know this spot...?"
"It's still within the 2nd Division barracks grounds, isn't it?"
"Ah, well, I suppose that's true...?"
Riku took a seat on the ground in front of Shohei.
Then, he pulled two tumblers out of his bag and gestured for Shohei to sit down.
Shohei looked at him for a moment before quietly sitting down beside him.
"Drink up. It's green tea."
He held out one of the tumblers.
"You... you brought two...?"
"I predicted you'd be here."
"Oh..."
When he opened the lid, the subtle scent of green tea wafted to his nose.
He took a sip.
The flavor filled his mouth.
It was delicious. Truly...
The taste caused the corners of his mouth to lift slightly without him realizing it.
"Is it good?"
"Yes..."
Riku had always been this kind of person to Shohei.
When he had first been promoted to a seated officer, Riku was the first person he met along with Omaeda.
At that time, Riku was also a 15th seat.
He had kindly taught Shohei everything a high-ranking seated officer needed to know, one by one.
In terms of what he had actually learned, he had received more from Riku than from Omaeda.
It was Riku who had given him his first music box as a gift.
He was also the first person Shohei had shared a drink with after becoming a seated officer.
He had received many gifts, both large and small.
Last year, out of everyone he knew, Riku was the only one who remembered and celebrated Shohei's birthday.
That was the kind of presence Riku was to Shohei.
"Anything bothering you lately?"
"...W-Well, you see..."
"Right, it would be a lie to say there's nothing..."
Riku stood up and looked down at Shohei.
"If anything is hard, tell me anytime. Got it? What did I say when we first met?"
"That... well... shadows are ultimately created because of light."
"Exactly. So you shouldn't overlook the value of light."
Shohei nodded silently.
"...Well, anyway. I should get my money's worth for that green tea."
"Pardon?"
Shohei looked at Riku with a bewildered expression.
"I heard you don't have any duties this evening. Is that right?"
"Ah, yes..."
"I have a mission I've been assigned. It's an investigation in an abandoned residential area, and three people are assigned including me. But I think it would be better if we had one more. I'd like that to be you, Azuma."
At Riku's words, Shohei nodded without hesitation.
"I'd be happy to. Truly..."
"...Just so you know, the 10th, 11th, and 12th seats are also part of this mission."
The moment those words reached his ears, Shohei's eyes widened slightly.
Those three were the ones who disliked Shohei most blatantly.
They were the ones who had directly interfered with him in the past.
For a moment, his heart shrank.
However, since it was a request from Riku, he couldn't bring himself to refuse.
"...I... I don't mind regardless..."
"As expected, you're a good person, Azuma. Don't worry. I'll make sure there's as little contact as possible. I'll send the 10th seat and the others as the vanguard, and you can come as the rearguard. Got it?"
"Understood. Tru...ly."
"Then I'll see you then."
Riku nodded and walked out of Shohei's sight.
Shohei stood there, turning various thoughts over in his mind. The thought that he could provide a good repayment to Riku warmed a corner of his chest.
After his conversation with Riku, he continued his training for the rest of the morning, and at lunch, he sparred with Ren, Mia, and Sora.
It was clear to Shohei that their skills were improving by the day.
During the sparring, he casually brought up the story about Riku.
Perhaps because the way Shohei told the story sounded like he was singing someone's praises, the three of them listened with bewildered eyes.
Time passed, and evening arrived.
He packed his Zanpakuto for the mission and stood at the waiting area Riku had specified, waiting for the signal.
All sorts of thoughts flashed through his mind while he waited.
Thoughts of Riku, thoughts of those three seats, thoughts of Omaeda, and thoughts of Soi Fon.
When his thoughts reached the last one, his cheeks flushed on their own for some reason.
At that moment, the signal came from Riku.
'Azuma, come now.'
Shohei gripped his Zanpakuto and headed toward the location Riku had pointed out.
A sense of unease seemed to dog his footsteps.
He felt it would be right to get confirmation from the Captain or Lieutenant first, but he convinced himself it would be fine since Riku himself was leading the matter.
After running at full speed for about ten minutes, he arrived at the abandoned residential area to find a strange barrier erected.
An alien energy leaked from that boundary.
"...9th Seat!"
Shohei sent a transmission with a flustered tone.
"9th Seat... there's a barrier here, I can't get in..."
"Ah, Azuma... I know. The 10th seat and the others went in, but something felt off..."
"Then what should I..."
"Just wait there for a moment."
He waited as Riku instructed.
How many seconds had passed?
A chilling sensation began to creep up from his toes.
Shohei tightened his grip on his Zanpakuto and slowly scanned his surroundings.
Then, a familiar reiatsu began to descend from above.
It was Riku's reiatsu.
But the sensation was strangely close.
The reiatsu closed in on Shohei at a rapid speed.
"...!"
He reflexively raised his Zanpakuto to block, but it wasn't enough.
A sharp impact slashed across his chest.
"Argh... Aaaagh!!"
Shohei clutched his chest, staggering as he looked at Riku.
The question 'Why?' began to spin in his head.
"Ah... what a shame. To think you'd dodge that."
Riku looked down at Shohei with an expressionless face.
"Ri... Riku, what is the meaning of..."
"Azuma, haven't you realized? I'm trying to kill you."
"What...?"
Shohei's eyes shook.
Even though what was before him was the truth, he didn't want to accept it.
The fact that the person who had looked after him had betrayed him meant that the number of people who would stand by his side had decreased by that much.
Perhaps that thought was transmitted to his hands, for he couldn't properly lift his sword.
The desire to point his blade at Riku did not arise.
Riku looked at Shohei quietly.
"Don't worry, Azuma. I don't intend to kill you. I'm just... taking you to someone."
"S-Someone? Who?"
"It's definitely someone you don't know. Only those who have been in the Gotei 13 for a very long time would know this person."
Shohei had no idea who he was referring to.
It was also because the shock of being betrayed by Riku was crushing his ability to think.
"You have such naive eyes, Azuma."
Several figures began to gather around Riku.
He couldn't tell if they were Soul Reapers, humans, or something else entirely.
"See you later, Azuma. Now, knock him out."
Riku turned his back.
The ones who appeared to be his subordinates began to reach out toward Shohei.
The will to resist did not arise in Shohei.
The desire to cut Riku down did not wake up.
He felt that if he cut him down, the person who understood him would disappear.
But perhaps that, too, was Shohei's delusion.
"Endure, Bitter Root!"
Black iron chains flew sharply toward the figures reaching out.
The chains that instantly strangled their necks separated them just like that.
However, not a single drop of blood flowed from the severed parts.
They were clearly neither Soul Reapers nor humans.
Ren appeared beside Shohei.
"Azuma-sama! Are you alright?"
"R-Ren... what on earth is this place..."
"The mission the Captain mentioned had some suspicious parts, so I asked the Lieutenant. But... it turns out that only the 10th, 11th, and 12th seats were actually assigned to this mission, not the 9th seat."
"What?"
Shohei's eyes shook violently.
He still seemed unable to properly process the situation.
The moment Ren finished his explanation, the barrier completely dissolved.
As the barrier vanished, Mia appeared in front of Shohei.
"Azuma-sama..."
"Mia, this is, I mean..."
"I've taken care of the ones maintaining the barrier for now, but... those things are likely..."
"...I'm thinking the same thing."
At that moment, the faces of the three people left inside the barrier flashed through Shohei's mind.
The 10th, 11th, and 12th seats.
Names that might already be dead.
It was hard to accept this situation.
Nevertheless, Omaeda's words came to mind.
'You must stand up when you are able to stand.'
Shohei forced strength into his weakened legs and stood up.
"...Where's Sora?"
"He's left with the Lieutenant to request help from the 4th Division."
"The Lieutenant too?"
Shohei bowed his head and gathered his thoughts for a moment.
"I'll go over there first. You two guard this area. Especially... be careful because the 9th seat might reappear. I'll be back as fast as I can."
Mia and Ren nodded silently and scattered to their positions.
Shohei turned and began to search the interior of the abandoned residential area thoroughly.
After checking about ten houses, he felt a familiar reiatsu in one of them.
It was a reiatsu that usually felt heavy and oppressive to him, but now it had grown noticeably small.
When he opened the door, it was as expected.
All three of them had sustained significant damage.
The moment he saw their faces, past events flashed through Shohei's mind.
The days they had ignored, mocked, and bullied him.
The three of them froze with surprised expressions upon seeing Shohei.
"A... Azuma..."
"...10th Seat."
Silence fell.
The three could say nothing and simply lowered their heads.
Shohei thought for a moment where he stood.
It was a dilemma about what to do with these people.
A little time passed.
And he reached a single conclusion.
Save them first.
They were Soul Reapers of the 2nd Division regardless, and at the same time, they were Soi Fon's subordinates.
And Shohei thought that they, too, deserved the chance to stand up again.
"Can you get up?"
Shohei stepped forward and held out his hand to the 10th seat.
The 10th seat remained still with his head bowed before slowly taking that hand.
"Yeah... somehow..."
He barely managed to stand.
It seemed as though he had almost no strength left.
The 4th Division needs to get here quickly...
"Azuma-sama."
Sora's voice cut through his deepening worries from behind.
"Ah, Sora... thank goodness. What about the others?"
"They said they're coming soon."
"...Right. Do you see the people over there?"
"Yes."
"Take care of the 11th seat. I'll take the 12th seat and go. Let's move fast."
"Yes."
As soon as the words were spoken, Sora supported the 11th seat and helped him up.
Shohei also supported the 12th seat and began to walk.
The 10th seat followed behind on trembling legs, barely keeping up.
While walking, various thoughts crossed his mind, but one remained most persistently.
Where was Riku now?
And why had he betrayed him?
But every time his thoughts reached that point, one conclusion raised its head.
The conclusion that Riku had never thought of Shohei as a good junior from the very beginning.
Shohei kept pushing that conclusion away.
"Damn it, damn it..."
Low curses leaked between his lips.
He moved forward while denying those thoughts.
It was the moment the place where he had first met Ren and Mia came into view.
"...Ah, you've come, Azuma?"
Riku was looking at Shohei, Sora, and the three battered seated officers with his sword in hand.
The sight of the incapacitated Mia and Ren caught his eye behind him.
Shohei's eyes widened further.
"Riku... 9th Seat, why..."
Shohei couldn't say anything more.
"I believe I told you earlier. Do you not remember?"
Riku looked at Shohei with an expressionless face, then slowly shifted his gaze toward Mia.
And he approached her without a sound.
"I wonder if your memory will return if I kill this one..."
A dagger tilted over the neck of the unconscious Mia.
The tip of the blade began to lower slowly.
Shohei had to make a decision.
Whether to cut down Riku and throw his own heart into chaos, or to freeze like this and sacrifice those two.
His hands began to tremble.
---
Meanwhile, on the forest path between the 2nd Division barracks and the abandoned residential area.
"Azuma... are you really alright... To think you'd make the Captain send me...!"
Omaeda was running at high speed through the forest path, leading the 7th and 8th seats of the 2nd Division and several members of the 4th Division.
His mind was a mess.
He wasn't unaware of the relationship between Riku and Shohei, and he couldn't predict at all what choice Shohei would make in that situation.
"Lieutenant, it's over there!"
While he was lost in thought, the 7th seat of the 2nd Division called out to him.
He had caught Shohei's reiatsu first.
Omaeda nodded and increased his speed toward that direction.
"Azuma!"
And the moment he arrived at the scene, several things entered Omaeda's sight at once.
Mia and Ren collapsed on the ground.
The three seated officers on the verge of collapsing.
Sora looking at it all expressionlessly.
And...
Azuma Shohei, who had thrust his sword into Riku's chest.
The hands Omaeda saw then were trembling violently, as if soaked in the cold.
Comments (0)
Please log in to leave a comment. Login or Register