Bleach: I Can't Get an Amen
Episode 8 - Deep Rain
Rain does not fall from the sky.
It rises from beneath one’s feet.
When my abyss overflows,
The burning brand of yesterday
Finally sinks beneath the cold surface of the water.
The sun was shining again inside the 4th Division barracks.
Azuma Shohei’s body was wrapped in bandages.
In the bed next to him, he could see Kazuma Ren.
Ren’s shoulder was also tightly bound with bandages.
Shohei turned his head to the other side.
Utsumi Sora was there.
"Azuma-sama," Sora said softly.
"...Sora..."
Shohei simply stared at him for a moment before lowering his head.
"...What about Mia?"
"She’s fine. She received some brief treatment and returned to duty immediately. Mia and I already gave the full report to the Captain and Lieutenant. So please, just focus on resting."
"I see..."
Shohei turned his gaze back to the ceiling.
It was a plain ceiling, nothing but wooden planks.
The sight of his 9th seat Shihakusho, which he had caught a glimpse of earlier, began to swirl in his mind.
"...Honestly, Sora, I don't think I'm cut out to be the 9th seat..."
He spoke while staring at the ceiling.
The image of Ren throwing himself in harm's way to save him flickered behind his eyelids.
He also thought of the people who had died because of his past.
"Am I... really meant to be a Soul Reaper?"
His Zanpakuto lay beside the bed.
If he had truly used his full strength back then, he might have been able to defeat that entity.
But in the face of what he was forced to confront, Shohei had frozen. That was why he had lost.
"Azuma-sama, I heard it from the Lieutenant. Do not forget the definition of a Soul Reaper."
"Stand up when you can stand up..."
Shohei repeated the words in a low voice.
The doubt of whether he was currently in a state where he could stand up bloomed within him.
"I believe in you," Sora said.
"...Yeah..."
Shohei simply let out a sigh.
He hadn't reached a conclusion on what he should do yet.
It was then.
"...?"
A signal chimed from his Denreishinki.
"Sora, could you hand that to me? I'll check it myself."
Sora handed him the device.
"...!"
The moment he checked it, Shohei’s eyes widened slightly.
A video, seemingly sent by the entity he had encountered yesterday, was playing on the screen.
"...Wha... What is this..."
His pupils began to tremble.
The background of the video was the same burnt, abandoned area where he had faced the enemy yesterday.
"Azuma, yesterday you were lucky enough to escape thanks to outside interference. But that doesn't mean you can run forever. I see there's still a small residential cluster left in this area... Do you want to see that burned to the ground too? If not, come. Coming here to investigate in the first place was your mistake."
The video cut off after those brief words.
Shohei lowered his head.
His hands were shaking.
However, the fact that he had to go was clear.
A Soul Reaper must stand up when they can, but they must also stand up when they have to.
It amounted to the same thing.
"...Sora..."
He looked up at Sora.
"I have to go..."
"Go ahead. As for the 4th Division staff... I'll find a way to explain it to them."
Shohei gave Sora a small smile and nodded.
"Thank you, truly..."
He picked up his Zanpakuto from beside the bed.
Still dressed in his patient gown, he opened the window and slipped outside.
"Is something wrong!?"
Hearing a noise, a 4th Division rank-and-file member burst through the door.
Seeing Shohei’s empty bed, the medic turned to Sora with a bewildered expression.
"W-What happened? Where did he go?"
"He... said he wanted to go for a walk..."
"A-A walk? Like that...?"
Sora remained silent for a moment before speaking.
"...He’s always had... a bit of a crazy side to him."
"...Ah...?"
The 4th Division member stared at Sora, speechless.
---
Outskirts of Rukongai District 78.
Still in his patient gown, Shohei walked toward the location where that entity waited.
His sword was gripped firmly in his hand.
He was being forced to face a past he never wanted to revisit.
Had he decided that running toward his past was better than letting those few innocent people die?
"..."
Memories he needed to remember flashed through his mind.
The moment a woman taller than him was murdered by men taller than him.
The moment he stood before a man who looked just like himself in his subconscious.
Must he remember these things?
No.
Why must he remember?
For their sake?
For what, exactly?
For the people?
He didn't understand.
The value of this moment.
Yet, he moved forward.
Because he believed the lives of those few people were worth enough.
"..."
It was the same place as yesterday.
A region of Rukongai where the scars of fire remained everywhere.
At the very spot where Shohei had collapsed bleeding, the figure revealed itself.
"That appearance of yours... I remember who you are."
Shohei simply stared.
His hand slowly moved toward his Zanpakuto.
"You were the kid standing next to that bastard back then. How... are you still around?"
"Why don't you use my name? I have a proper one: Enjo."
"I don't want to remember any names from that time."
His hand remained on his hilt.
"Why are you trying to kill me? And why now?"
"Can't you tell? I am simply carrying out the mission that person gave me until the very end. As for why now... I decided it would be better to kill you just as you were starting to forget the consequences of what you did to him."
"Why! Why on earth are you so loyal to a man like that?"
"That man was the savior who rescued my life. He was a noble who would save even a lowly commoner like me."
"Just because he was a savior..."
Shohei’s voice trailed off.
"It seems you understand your own situation well. You are also a being who relies on your own saviors—those two, or should I say three now? You and I are no different."
Shohei lowered his head.
The pain he had caused them seemed to come rushing back.
"No! I... I am carrying on their spirit..."
"Exactly! I am also living by carrying on his spirit!"
"I'm different from you!"
"No, we're the same!"
Enjo closed the distance in an instant.
"All I'm trying to do is settle the past. You know it too. In the end, one of our pasts must end without being overcome. I will kill you and then I will go. To that person's side. I will follow you to Hell itself to punish you."
"That means killing one person... no, killing two! That's..."
"...The past is the limit of those who exist."
At that moment, Enjo raised his Zanpakuto and swung at Shohei.
Shohei drew his blade and parried the attack.
"Seep into the bones, Rakushin."
Black smoke began to pour from Enjo’s Zanpakuto.
Soon, the smoke billowed toward Shohei.
"Cough... Ack!"
The smoke, smelling of a house fire, forced its way into his lungs, making it hard to breathe.
Shohei instinctively backed away.
The smoke seemed potent even in small amounts; his vision blurred for a moment before returning.
But the moment his sight cleared—
Enjo appeared right in front of him and plunged a dagger into his stomach.
"Gah!"
With the dagger still embedded, Enjo sent Shohei flying with a kick.
Shohei crashed into a wall.
"It's the same. Just like yesterday. Why do you hesitate?"
"Th-That's..."
"Do you hate facing the past that much? Or are you just a fool who hopes he can show mercy even to an enemy from his past? If anyone with average spiritual pressure inhales enough of my smoke, they die. You too... your spiritual pressure seems low enough to be easily killed by my smoke. You aren't the person you were back then."
Shohei gripped his sword.
His hands were shaking again.
He wasn't someone who lacked the stomach to cut down an enemy.
However, the more he looked at Enjo, the more those memories resurfaced, preventing him from swinging his blade.
"...Well, if you can't overcome it to that extent... maybe it's better if you just die..."
Enjo walked toward him slowly, Zanpakuto in hand.
He gently placed the tip of his blade against the dagger stuck in Shohei’s stomach.
"See you in Hell, Ku—"
It was at that exact moment.
"Pierce, Kantenkyo!"
Along with a familiar voice, shards of mirror rained down on Enjo.
This time, he couldn't dodge them all.
Several shards embedded themselves in his body.
"Ugh...!"
Mia, Ren, and Sora appeared before them.
"You... You guys..."
"Did you know Sora is a terrible liar?"
"...What?"
Mia turned around and glared at Shohei.
Sora slightly avoided Shohei’s gaze.
"...B-But why would you risk yourselves for me..."
Shohei asked tentatively.
It might have been a contradictory question given his own past actions, but he had to ask.
"Azuma-sama, we don't really know what's going on. But... the Azuma-sama we saw was someone who tried to stand up no matter the hardship! Are you really going to let a mere... ghost get to you? You're the one who told me to keep trying, Azuma-sama!"
Ren’s voice trembled.
He was clearly on the verge of tears.
"Th-That's..."
"That's right. You said the same thing to me, Azuma-sama. To try and stand up in our current situation. You told me you wanted to see what kind of needle my Shikai was. Now you show us! Show that bastard what your Zanpakuto can do!"
Mia also shouted at Shohei.
Shohei lowered his head as he listened to them.
Why was he unable to practice what he had taught them?
Was this not the time when he had to stand up? The thought began to spread slowly through his mind.
"You think that's going to work? You don't even know this man's past. You speak of your own pasts without knowing his. Didn't it occur to you how dangerous that is?"
Sora simply stared at Enjo as he spoke with a sneer.
"Even so, it looks to me like Azuma-sama is trying. Isn't that better than doing nothing?"
"...Foolish. You can't escape the past! Everyone carries their own wounds. That is the limit of those who possess a heart!"
The black smoke around Enjo began to billow even more intensely.
He clearly intended to swallow all four of them in the smoke.
"I'll kill all four of you! Die burdened by problems you can never solve!"
But the moment Enjo was about to attack—
A gash appeared on his right flank.
The wound appeared silently, and blood began to pour from it.
His attack was interrupted.
"...What! Don't tell me... Soi Fon?"
He raised his sword, guarding in all directions.
But then, his right arm began to feel incredibly heavy.
There were traces on it, as if it had been soaked by rain.
"...No, could this be...!"
Filled with dread, he looked behind him.
Shohei was standing there.
He immediately slashed across Enjo’s solar plexus.
A cold moisture seeped from his Zanpakuto.
An aura resembling a light drizzle began to manifest around Shohei.
"...How?"
"...Looking at those kids, I realized that none of that matters right now."
"Ha, you'll just continue to be consumed by the past!"
Enjo clutched his chest with one hand.
"...Yeah, those times will come. But..."
Shohei turned his gaze toward the three people watching him.
"...Sometimes, you stand up even in those situations. And you stand up when you can stand up. That is the definition of a Soul Reaper I've decided on...!"
Enjo’s expression hardened.
Rage began to spread across his face.
"...Your nature is still just soft!"
Perhaps due to his injuries, Enjo charged without being able to produce the full black smoke.
"...!"
But with a single swing of Shohei’s sword, the water droplets clinging to the blade touched Enjo’s left shoulder.
The crushing pressure that had been weighing down his right shoulder now spread to his left as well.
Only then did Enjo realize.
That his spiritual pressure was lower than Shohei’s.
"...So your spiritual pressure from back then wasn't just for show after all."
Barely enduring the crushing weight, he raised his sword.
"Now... now it's really the end..."
He forced himself upright and looked toward where Shohei stood.
But Shohei was nowhere to be seen.
"...As I thought..."
Enjo closed his eyes and lowered his head.
A moment later, a Zanpakuto was thrust through his back.
"...Ha, haha... Let's see how long you can endure that past, Shohei."
He turned back to look at Shohei one last time, let out a single laugh, and collapsed.
As Shohei withdrew his sword, the man’s breath stopped.
"Azuma-sama!"
Ren and Mia ran toward Shohei.
"...Are you okay?"
When Ren asked, Shohei gave a light nod.
"Yeah... I'm just glad my gamble that his spiritual pressure would be lower than mine paid off."
"...Azuma-sama..."
Ren and Mia looked at him with pitying eyes.
"Ren, Mia, Sora... I'm really sorry for causing so much trouble yesterday and today. So... let's do better from now on. I'll show you what a proper superior looks like. I'll be a Soul Reaper who stands up when he can stand up."
Mia let out a sigh of relief.
"You said that's the definition of a Soul Reaper. I'll help you too."
Ren stood beside Mia and looked at Shohei.
"Me too. You're going to keep training us, right?"
Sora also nodded, looking at Shohei.
"I can at least... provide some music on the side..."
Shohei smiled slightly at their words.
"Thank you, everyone... So... uh... shall we go buy some ice cream?"
Ren, Mia, and Sora all gave a small nod.
-Episode: Nakseongjae Hall - END-
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