Bleach: I Can't Get an Amen
Episode 4 - Kazuma Ren
If talent is a blessing from God,
Effort is a rebellion against Him.
When a sharp blade pierces the heart,
My rugged back swallows the scream.
In every piece of flesh carved away,
I fill the void with grit, not hatred.
The next day, as Azuma arrived for duty, the Shihakusho of a 9th seat officer caught his eye.
To be honest, he was bewildered.
A 9th seat, out of nowhere...
He was happy, of course, but confusion came first.
The person holding the uniform was Omaeda.
"L-Lieutenant, this is..."
"Congratulations. Truly."
Omaeda held out the 9th seat uniform to him once more.
"B-but there's still the 10th seat, Tetsuo-sama, and..."
"That's true. But you were the one who helped take down the former 9th seat, weren't you?"
"..."
Azuma lowered his head.
The phrase 'former 9th seat' lingered in his mind for a moment before he looked up again.
"L-Lieutenant, then what about the 9th seat, Riku-sama..."
Realizing his slip of the tongue, Azuma quickly shook his head.
"Ah, no... I mean... what happened to that Soul Reaper named Riku?"
Omaeda let out a sigh and looked at Azuma.
"His body was collected by the Research and Development Institute. I don't know if Captain Mayuri will study it personally, though."
Azuma nodded with his head still down.
The moment he had struck Riku was still not a pleasant memory.
"Don't think too poorly of it. You did a good thing, Azuma."
"...I know. I do..."
Omaeda sighed again at those words.
"Right, head on in. I'll give you an announcement later."
"Yes..."
Azuma bowed and turned to walk away.
The announcement Omaeda mentioned likely referred to an officers' meeting where everyone from the Captain down to the 10th seat gathered.
The moment the thought of seeing Soi Fon there crossed his mind, his footsteps faltered for a second.
However, he soon shook his head and continued on his way.
"...Azuma-sama!"
As he walked, the masked Soul Reaper, Kazuma Ren, came into view.
Azuma had wondered many times what kind of face lay behind that mask.
"Ren, good morning."
"That Shihakusho..."
Ren looked at Azuma's new uniform and immediately gave him a thumbs-up.
"That's amazing, Azuma-sama! To skip six seats all at once..."
Azuma's cheeks flushed with embarrassment at the praise.
"Ah, no... it's not that big of a deal..."
In that instant, the image of Riku collapsing flashed through his mind, causing his expression to stiffen briefly before he managed to smooth it over.
Ren didn't seem to notice the moment.
"Whatever..."
"Huh?"
Azuma flinched, noticing the change in Ren's tone, and looked toward him.
"Ah, no... I mean..."
Ren lowered his head, then looked up at Azuma.
"I'll be going now."
With a bow, he left Azuma's side.
Azuma simply watched his retreating back.
----
Time passed, and night fell.
This was the area behind the old building.
Night had arrived by the time he finished his daily routine.
Wanting to recapture the sensation of that day when he stood beside Sora in the breeze, he directed his steps toward the old building.
"..."
The wind was cool.
No one had arrived yet.
"...?"
However, after a few minutes of enjoying the breeze, he began to sense a familiar reiatsu from behind the building.
Curious, Azuma walked slowly toward it.
As he got closer, he could hear the sound of someone moving violently.
"...!"
Arriving at the back of the building, he saw Ren pushing himself through solitary training.
It looked like he was attempting Shunpo.
However, perhaps because he had forced his reiatsu too high, he attempted one leap and crashed headfirst into the ground.
It wasn't even a particularly fast Shunpo.
His legs gave out, and his wooden sword slipped from his hand.
"Damn it!"
Azuma heard Ren's cry of frustration.
He saw Ren punching the ground, overwhelmed by despair.
"I want to be like them... even that timid 9th seat was so incredible in actual combat... so why can't I!"
Azuma slowly approached Ren, who was staring at the ground in despair.
"...Ren, if you do it like that, your body will..."
He spoke, his cheeks slightly red with awkwardness.
"What do you know, Azuma-sama!"
Ren shouted in a sudden burst of emotion.
"You're strong, Azuma-sama! I know you work hard too, but... even if someone like me works as hard as you, I'll never even see your shadow for the rest of my life!"
Azuma was lost for words for a moment before opening his mouth again.
"Ren, I..."
"Be quiet!"
Azuma found himself unable to say anything more.
"I don't think I'll ever become someone like you, no matter how hard I try... Do you know how hard I worked just to be able to wear this mask?"
"The mask...?"
"..."
Ren carefully lifted his mask.
Beneath it was a large scar that looked like it had been stitched together.
He remained with the mask off for a few seconds before putting it back on.
"Do you see now? How hard I've worked."
"Ren..."
"That scar I just showed you... I got that while training. I struggled so hard to be a child worthy of a damn martial arts family! My other siblings inherited my father's delicate spiritual power control, but..."
Azuma remembered hearing that the Kazuma family was a fairly well-known martial arts clan.
"So my father and brothers ignored me. They called me someone who failed to inherit talent. My father even suspected my mother of having an affair. Because I had no talent at all. So I was imprisoned by my father... and eventually..."
Ren couldn't finish his sentence.
It seemed there was something behind those words that he couldn't bring himself to say.
"Your father's neglect..."
"I wanted to show them. That I could succeed even without that kind of talent. That's why I entered the Shin'o Academy and joined the Stealth Force. My grades at the Academy weren't that high. But I worked hard. This scar happened at the Academy too, while I was swinging my sword alone...
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