"Brilliant!"
Even the watching instructor cried out in amazement. Yoruichi’s response had been flawless. Pinned to the floor, grappling was the only way she could possibly turn the fight around—and she had actually found that tiny opening!
Yoruichi moved at lightning speed. Her legs clamped tightly around Luke, then coiled up his body like supple vines.
Luke’s eyes sharpened. He had not let his guard down, but Yoruichi’s move had indeed caught a weakness. Of all fighting styles, the opponents he found most troublesome were grapplers.
Back in his original world, he had defeated several masters of the art. But that did not mean grappling was weak. It simply meant his strength had vastly exceeded theirs, allowing him to crush technique with brute force.
Things were different now. Yoruichi’s spiritual body was roughly as strong as his at the moment—and normally, she would be far stronger. He no longer possessed the overwhelming physical advantage that let him bulldoze through everything. If she locked him down, he would lose.
In that instant, seemingly on instinct, Luke sprang backward into a backflip. The long legs winding toward his neck hesitated, and the situation flipped once more.
If Yoruichi did not adjust her posture, her head would hit the floor first. But if she adjusted herself, her legs would fail to lock Luke down.
That single moment of hesitation decided the match.
No one expected Luke to plant a hand on the floor in midair. There was no collision like Yoruichi had anticipated. As she adjusted her body, Luke changed techniques, torqued his waist, and flung her away.
Before Yoruichi could rise, a straight punch had already stopped before her face. The force of it tossed up her hair. Sweat slid from her brow into her amber eyes, and the shock within them had yet to fade.
Luke slowly rose from his half-crouch. "You let me win."
He had pulled back at the final moment, not because he was going easy on a girl, but because he remembered sparring with Instructor Fujimoto. If that punch had truly landed, Yoruichi probably would not have been the one injured. He would have.
The dojo was terrifyingly silent. Only after several breaths did the sounds of people sucking in cold air begin to rise.
"The little demon actually lost?!"
"The Shihouin Clan’s Hakuda... lost to a transfer student?"
"Isn’t Yoruichi the Shihouin Clan’s genius? How could she lose...?"
"I remember... Yoruichi even beat an instructor in a Hakuda spar, didn’t she?"
"..."
Amid the uproar, Aizen stood expressionlessly in place. Yet he was far less calm inside than he appeared, his eyes locked onto Luke’s retreating back.
He beat Yoruichi Shihouin... So even his Hakuda is this formidable?
What exactly are you bad at?
"You really never learned Hakuda?"
After getting to her feet, Yoruichi looked at Luke with a complicated expression. From the surrounding conversation, she had roughly grasped his circumstances. He had previously been nothing more than a drifter from the Rukongai District.
"No one in Rukongai would teach me Hakuda. I just figured out a few fighting techniques on my own."
Luke gave a vague explanation. Naturally, he could not reveal that he came from another world.
Besides, if he wanted to graduate early, he could not hide his abilities and play the fool like Aizen. He needed to shine as brightly as possible to earn that early graduation.
"Hmph. Don’t get cocky. I was careless at the start. Next time, I’ll definitely beat you!"
Yoruichi snorted, clearly unconvinced by Luke’s explanation. To her, his fighting style looked savage, as if he relied entirely on instinct, but there was a disciplined structure beneath it. He had absolutely received systematic training.
Seeing her expression, Luke found it amusing. Who would have thought the mature, teasing Yoruichi of the future had once gone through such a childish phase? He smiled. "Talk to me when you beat me."
Then he walked over to Aizen. "Sosuke, want to spar?"
Yoruichi glared at Luke’s back, grinding her teeth. She really had been careless at the beginning, but she could not claim that going all out from the start would have guaranteed her victory. This transfer student was genuinely a Hakuda expert.
Since childhood, she had never lost to anyone in Hakuda. No. She had to win. Not for the Shihouin Clan’s honor—she simply could not swallow this humiliation.
Thinking of Luke’s shameless kicks aimed below the belt made her teeth ache. Next time, she swore she would kick his balls flat!
Luke, who was currently sparring with Aizen, suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. His movements slowed by half a beat, and Aizen’s seemingly casual fist struck him in the chest.
Aizen gave Luke a puzzled glance. Is Luke going easy on me to spare my pride?
For the rest of the class, Luke sparred with Aizen, who humbly asked him many questions about Hakuda.
Of course, Luke did not actually know this world’s Hakuda. Still, he taught Aizen several practical fighting techniques based on his own understanding. Aizen’s performance during their sparring was mediocre, though, so Luke could not tell whether he had truly learned anything.
More than once, Luke nearly asked, Isn’t it exhausting, pretending all the time? Can’t you fight properly?
"Luke, I think you might make a fine teacher. I learned a great deal in this class."
After class, Aizen praised him. He truly had gained quite a bit, though he had not shown it during their sparring.
Luke’s wildly unconventional approach to battle was something Aizen felt he needed to study. It might prove highly useful to his future ambitions.
"By the way, Luke, have you encountered Kidō before?"
Aizen asked because their next class was Kidō.
...
Luke stared at the towering middle-aged man before him. The man wore reflective glasses, a dark-blue robe, and an odd horn-shaped hairstyle. This world truly was fascinating.
Well, damn. Isn’t that Tessai Tsukabishi, the Grand Kidō Chief? He was still teaching at Shin'o Academy at this point?
"Luke, you really can’t zone out during this class. Instructor Tsukabishi is the Grand Kidō Chief. He only teaches at the academy for one month each year."
Aizen reminded him.
Luke inwardly exclaimed again. He had never expected that the man who would later work at Urahara’s shop had already become the Grand Kidō Chief so early on.
One look at the students’ reverent expressions made Tessai Tsukabishi’s standing clear. Every one of them sat perfectly straight and listened with absolute concentration, terrified that they might miss some profound truth of Kidō.
"I hear we have a transfer student today, so I’ll begin with a brief explanation of Kidō’s basic principles. Those who have already heard this need not be disappointed. After all, truth often lies within the fundamentals..."
As Tessai Tsukabishi spoke, his gaze paused briefly on Luke. Though it was only Luke’s first day at the academy, he had already become something of a celebrity, and Tessai had heard the rumors.
The other students showed no impatience, listening intently as Tessai explained the basics.
Luke listened with great interest as well. This was his first real contact with supernatural power. He might be obsessed with martial arts, but that did not mean he had no interest in the Kidō of the world of Bleach. Used well, it might produce remarkable results in combat.
The strangely dressed man was unexpectedly an excellent teacher. His explanations were simple and clear, and Luke quickly grasped the basics of Kidō.
First, Kidō was divided into three types: Hadō, Bakudō, and Kaidō.
Simply put, Soul Reapers used incantations to control the spiritual power within their bodies, shaping it into a wide variety of Kidō spells.
Incantations were not strictly necessary to cast Kidō. Their greatest function was to serve as a mold, helping a Soul Reaper give form to a spell. Once someone became sufficiently proficient in a particular Kidō, they could abandon the incantation and cast it instantly.
Ordinary Soul Reapers, however, lacked the talent for such fine spiritual-power control. Most could not cast Kidō without an incantation at all. More gifted Soul Reapers could skip the incantations for low-level spells, while only those with monstrous Kidō talent could cast high-level Kidō without chanting.
For example, the harmless-looking student beside him: Sosuke Aizen.
"Aizen, you seem to be on good terms with our new student. You can guide him through casting some low-level Kidō."
When the lesson was nearly over, Tessai Tsukabishi spoke from the front of the classroom and called on Aizen by name.
Aizen did not seem surprised. He had indeed concealed his true ability in every subject, but even so, his Kidō grades still ranked among the best.
And he was extremely curious about Luke’s talent for Kidō. This time, he could test it firsthand.
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