"Sorry to spring this on you as soon as you’re back, but you’re being sent out on assignment, Ryunosuke."
"...."
"What? Got a problem with that?"
"No, I’m just having déjà vu...."
I had only just returned after finishing my assignment with the Tenth Division, yet somehow, it felt as though I was being driven out again.
"I already know you spent your whole time over there coasting without doing any work."
He wasn’t wrong. I drank tea with Isane, drank alcohol with Matsumoto, helped Isane pick out a present for Kiyone at her request, shared the peaches Momo brought with her and Toshiro, and asked Isane to teach me Kaidō....
"Then is this finally an assignment in the World of the Living?"
"That’s right. You’ll be going to Karakura Town."
"Of course not. There’s no way you’d send a lieutenant all the— Wait, what?"
"I said yes. You’re always whining about how badly you want to go. What, you don’t like it?"
"No, of course it’s not that...."
It was a little unexpected. No, very unexpected. Lieutenants might occasionally be sent to the World of the Living on short-term assignments, but long-term postings were practically unheard of.
"Did you pull some strings for this, Captain?"
"No need to thank me. I’m not sending you there to have fun."
Kaien paused for a moment before continuing.
"This isn’t an order, just a personal favor, but once you get to Karakura Town, use your spare time to look for traces of that damned old man."
"You mean... Isshin Shiba."
More than ten years had passed since the day Isshin Shiba vanished, yet no trace of him had ever been found.
"I don’t think he’s dead. I just... think something happened that’s keeping him from coming back."
"What do you intend to do if I find him?"
"Well... That old man might get dragged into something dirty, but he’s not the kind of person who’d do something dirty himself. If he can’t come back, I’ll go get him. If he simply chooses not to come back, I’ll leave him alone."
"I see... I’ll do my best."
As if that settled the matter, Kaien dismissed me.
"...Don’t tell me I have to leave right now."
"Go as soon as you can. The guy currently stationed in the World of the Living is probably waiting desperately for you to replace him. There aren’t many eccentrics like you who actually enjoy being there."
"There’s something I need to take care of first. I’ll leave once I’m done."
Kaien merely waved a hand, telling me to do as I pleased.
*
I headed straight for the secret training ground beneath Sōkyoku Hill. Since I would be away from Soul Society for a long time, I needed to deactivate the Reishi Flow Conversion Array before leaving.
I had confirmed that there were no longer any problems with its stability, but considering the unexpected incident that had occurred when I installed it, I wanted to be thorough.
This wasn’t my first time returning since the explosion that day.
After mastering Bankai and increasing my Reiatsu, I had begun coming and going normally to train here.
Being assigned to the Tenth Division at just the right time and gaining more time to train could only be called a stroke of providence.
The secret training ground looked no different than usual.
Barren stone mountains stood in rows, with a small hot spring nestled in one corner.
It appeared peaceful on the surface, but in truth, violent currents of Reishi were raging through it under the influence of the Reishi Flow Conversion Array.
Those currents did not defy the natural order, so they had little effect on the surrounding terrain. An ordinary Soul Reaper, however, would cough up blood after taking a single step inside.
Ten years of training since mastering Bankai had granted me the freedom to move even in such a brutal environment.
I could confidently say that I had risen to at least the average among captain-class Soul Reapers.
Thanks to that, I could now reach the hot spring at the barrier’s center without even releasing my Zanpakuto.
However—
[Bankai: Tensō Byakurai]
The pitch-black, ash-like substance covering Byakurai peeled away.
Electricity no longer rippled across its blue-silver spearhead, which looked as though it had been fashioned after someone’s hair.
It merely waited in silence for the path it would be ordered to follow.
I had activated Bankai purely for safety. There had been an unexpected variable when I installed the array, so the same thing might happen when I deactivated it.
With my ability, I could always extract myself from danger, so there was nothing to fear.
"You hardly ever use me normally, yet you bring me out for something like this?"
I ignored the blue waves undulating beside me.
"Coward. Idiot. Silver vine. Dung beetle."
Screech—
I dragged the spear across a rock beside the entrance. Naturally, it did not leave so much as a scratch on the weapon.
She had seemed so solemn and mysterious in Shikai, so why did she run wild however she pleased in Bankai?
Wasn’t mastering Bankai supposed to mean subjugating your Zanpakuto?
Shouldn’t she show me at least a little respect?
"Moron. Loser. Runt. Ryunosuke."
Despite wearing a maid outfit, she had no hesitation whatsoever about insulting her master.
"Wait, is my name an insult now?"
"Everything I said refers to you, so wouldn’t that make your name an insult too?"
"Enough. Just go back inside. Why do you come out whenever I use Bankai anyway?"
"No. I’ll do whatever I want. Besides, who was it that said he wished he could see me outside?"
"...."
I was practically a saint for putting up with her. Had it always been this far to the hot spring?
"Release."
As I uttered the brief command before the hot spring, the raging currents of Reishi I had felt across my entire body subsided.
Nothing in particular happened.
"Pfft— See? You always bury yourself under a mountain of worries—"
Since nothing had happened, I deactivated Bankai.
Byakurai did not say anything unnecessary in Shikai. Even in Bankai, she kept her mouth shut during battle... but this was what happened whenever I released her outside an emergency.
Why was she so exhausting? I didn’t want to know the answer.
I had considered practicing after learning that something called a constant Bankai existed, but perhaps giving up was the right choice after all.
Maybe I should go rest in the infirmary.
*
Isane Kotetsu, lieutenant of the Fourth Division, was deeply flustered by the unexpected visitor.
He had contacted her first to ask to meet before, but he had never shown up unannounced like this.
"R-Ryunosuke? What brings you to the Fourth Division...? Don’t tell me you’re hurt somewhere!"
She hurriedly looked him over, but fortunately, he did not appear to be injured anywhere.
"No, I’m not hurt at all. You don’t have to worry. I just...."
As though searching for the right words, his gaze drifted away for a moment, but he soon raised his head again.
She liked that about him. Even though he had to tilt his head back far enough to make anyone uncomfortable, he still made an effort to look her in the eyes.
"I just came to see you, Isane."
At those words, Isane couldn’t help smiling like a fool.
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