Urahara Shop / Putting Their Cards on the Table and Cooperation
"Hurry up and follow me. Once the Senkaimon opens, it only stays open for three minutes."
Kanisawa and Aoga hurried after him into the dark space, and the students filed in one after another.
"Thank you, teacher." After thanking him, Tokoyo Misao turned and entered the dark space as well, with Renji Abarai and the other two following behind him.
After stepping through the Senkaimon, they found themselves looking down a pitch-black passage.
The passage was not spacious, only about ten meters wide, and the ground was not made of stone slabs, but some kind of solidified fluid.
Strangely, the substance was not made of Reishi, either.
Both sides were also covered in the fluid, which looked like lava after a volcanic eruption.
It was the students' first time seeing something that contained no Reishi whatsoever, and they were somewhat amazed.
But Tokoyo Misao was very familiar with it.
In that dark space, he had cut open space more than once, and each time he entered, he found a passage like this one.
But many times, there was nothing at the end of the passage, forcing him to return empty-handed to the dark space and continue looking for the next location.
"Brother Misao, it looks like they're speeding up ahead. We should hurry and keep up," Izuru Kira whispered.
Shūhei Hisagi had already started running up ahead, and the students sped up to keep pace.
As Shūhei Hisagi ran, he said, "Hurry up. We have to get through the passage within a minute, or a Kōtotsu will come through, and everyone will die."
"What's a Kōtotsu?" one student shouted.
Shūhei Hisagi answered calmly, "We're in the gap between Soul Society and the World of the Living, also known as the Dangai.
"As you've noticed, there's no Reishi in this passage, and there's no concept of time here either."
"What? There's no concept of time? Doesn't that mean you could train here for decades and then go back to Soul Society?" Renji Abarai shouted in shock.
When he said that, Momo Hinamori and Izuru Kira looked at him in puzzlement.
Tokoyo Misao remarked, "I didn't expect you to have the brains to think of using this space's properties for training so quickly."
"Don't get ahead of yourself. There's no Reishi in the Dangai, so how would you train?
"Of course, although there's no Reishi here, you won't lose your own Reishi either, so you really could hide in the Dangai and stay alive for a long time.
"But there's something here called a Kōtotsu. It passes through the Dangai's passage at irregular intervals, clearing away all foreign objects in its path and turning them into the Kōryū around us, leaving them here forever as part of the walls."
Shūhei Hisagi's calm voice echoed through the passage, sending a chill through everyone.
They all realized what their senior had meant by one minute.
If they failed to pass through the Dangai and reach the World of the Living within a minute, then when the Kōtotsu appeared, they might have to stay here forever.
"Pick up the pace, no dawdling. We're here."
Shūhei Hisagi leaped toward the opening ahead.
The students immediately sped up as well and passed through the passage.
Chapter 29: Urahara Shop
Dark clouds filled the black night sky, leaving little light.
Fortunately, electric lights hung along the surrounding streets, so visibility was fairly good.
Shūhei Hisagi said directly, "This is Karakura Town, a Jūreichi. Your task is to find souls, perform Soul Burial on them, and guide them to Soul Society."
"Now split into groups of four and scatter."
The new students quickly sought out classmates and friends they knew, then dispersed in every direction.
Tokoyo Misao was, of course, in a group with Renji Abarai, Izuru Kira, and Momo Hinamori.
He picked a direction at random and led them away.
"Brother Misao, the Reishi in the World of the Living is really thin. I feel uncomfortable all over." Izuru Kira's breathing had noticeably grown heavier.
After growing accustomed to the Reishi-rich air of Soul Society, coming to the World of the Living felt like a lack of oxygen, leaving one somewhat lightheaded.
Momo Hinamori was the same. She breathed deeply, her hand rising and falling against her chest as she adjusted to the Reishi in the World of the Living.
Renji Abarai, on the other hand, seemed unchanged, quickly adapting to the thin Reishi.
Tokoyo Misao said, "This is still a Jūreichi in the World of the Living, with far more Reishi than other places. Even so, it only feels roughly comparable to districts 79 and 80 of Rukongai."
"You two were born in Junrinan, close to Seireitei, where Reishi is abundant. That's why you're having some trouble adjusting for now. You'll be fine in a little while."
"Are there really souls on this road?" Renji Abarai glanced at his two companions, and only after seeing their breathing gradually improve did he ask Tokoyo Misao.
He intended to get good results and graduate early to become a Soul Reaper.
Walking at an unhurried pace, Tokoyo Misao said, "In a Jūreichi like this, even souls who aren't locals will be drawn here."
"So there's no need to worry. Look, aren't there two souls under that streetlight up ahead?"
The three followed his pointing finger. Two children stood all alone beneath a streetlight a hundred meters ahead.
When they walked over, the two children looked up.
Their faces were covered in blood, and only half of the Chain of Fate at the Saketsu on their chests remained.
"We have to hurry. If their Chain of Fate disappears completely, these children will become Hollows." Momo Hinamori quickly crouched down and explained to the two children:
"Don't worry. We're Soul Reapers, and we've come to guide you to Soul Society. There's no hunger or pain there."
"R-really, miss?" The two children glanced at each other, then looked at Momo Hinamori with hopeful eyes.
"Really." Momo Hinamori took out her Zanpakuto.
The two children were startled at the sight of the blade and hurriedly took two steps back.
"Don't be afraid. I'm not going to cut you." Momo Hinamori reversed her grip on the sword and brought the bottom of the hilt over, gently pressing it against a child's forehead.
The next moment, the child turned into Reishi and dispersed, heading to Soul Society.
Izuru Kira also stepped forward and sent the other child off with a Soul Burial.
As he pressed the bottom of his sword hilt to the child's forehead, he smiled and said:
"May pain and suffering never touch you."
"Thank you, mister."
After sending the two children off, Momo Hinamori took a notebook from her robes and wrote down the number.
For this field exercise, each of them had to perform one Soul Burial. They had not expected two of them to finish so quickly.
Renji Abarai shouted, "Keep going, keep going!"
Tokoyo Misao, however, stood where he was, looking toward a house they had just passed.
With the aid of his Eternal Eyes, he could see that the house was filled with powerful Reishi, which intertwined and enveloped it in a very peculiar pattern.
But when he had passed in front of the house just now without activating his Eternal Eyes, he had noticed nothing strange about it and had assumed it was an ordinary home.
Now, however, it was clear that something was odd about the house.
"What is it, Brother Misao?" Izuru Kira asked.
Tokoyo Misao stood there for a moment before saying, "You three keep looking for souls around here. I'm going to take a break."
"You're taking a break already?" Renji Abarai frowned.
As far as he knew, Tokoyo Misao was not that lazy.
"Go on." Tokoyo Misao waved his hand.
The three exchanged glances, then turned and walked toward the other side of the street.
Though they wondered why Tokoyo Misao had used such an obvious excuse, they trusted him and left for the time being.
When Misao had scanned the area just now, he had not seen Aizen's peculiar Spirit Ribbon, proving that the man was not nearby.
So who could be inside this peculiar house before him?
Tokoyo Misao walked over. A large yard lay before him, with a fairly large house inside that looked unremarkable from the outside.
He raised his right foot, but just as he tried to step into the backyard, the peculiar Reishi created a resistance that kept him from putting his foot down.
I see. Is it a defensive Kidō?
It could not only make people unconsciously overlook this location, but also defend against enemies.
It was an excellent compound Kidō, and there was no record of anything like it at the academy.
He examined it for a while, then walked to the right and came to a wall.
He noticed a flaw in the Reishi at that spot. He reached out, grabbed the stone wall, and hauled himself over it.
"Oh my, what can I help you with, dear customer?"
As soon as Misao landed, he saw a man standing in front of him. He wore a hat, a long green robe, and wooden clogs, and held a folding fan.
The man looked Tokoyo Misao over, then snapped open his fan and covered his mouth:
"You look like a student of the Shin'ō Academy of Spiritual Arts. It should be time for your field exercise, so you shouldn't be wandering around."
Tokoyo Misao looked at the man before him and replied calmly:
"I was just curious why there was a Kidō concealing this house, so I came in to have a look. Who are you?"
"Aha, I see. My name is Urahara. This is the shop I run, and it's called the Urahara Shop." He turned sideways and pointed at the signboard on the house.
Tokoyo Misao followed his finger. From outside, the building had looked like an ordinary house, but now its appearance had changed, and the words "Urahara Shop" were clearly written on the signboard.
Of course, Tokoyo Misao recognized the man in front of him as well.
He was Kisuke Urahara, former captain of the Gotei 13's Twelfth Division, and a man wanted by Soul Society.
Kisuke Urahara asked with a smile, "May I ask your name, young man?"
"Tokoyo Misao." After answering Kisuke Urahara, Tokoyo Misao paused, then added:
"Head of the Tokoyo Clan, one of the Five Great Noble Clans."
Kisuke Urahara's gaze instantly sharpened.
Chapter 30: Putting Their Cards on the Table and Cooperation
A cold wind blew across the open space in front of the Urahara Shop.
Kisuke Urahara reached up and pressed down the brim of his hat, completely hiding his expression.
He had learned about Tokoyo Misao through his own means long ago.
Although he was in the World of the Living, he had always kept a close eye on events in Soul Society.
In particular, he would not let even the slightest rumor about Aizen's activities slip by.
And of course he paid special attention to Tokoyo Misao, who had recently performed exceptionally well at the Shin'ō Academy of Spiritual Arts and was also peculiar.
A few days ago, when he had heard about the Tokoyo Clan, one of the Five Great Noble Clans, he had asked someone close to him about it.
That person was Yoruichi Shihōin, the former head of the Shihōin Clan, itself one of the Five Great Noble Clans, and also the former captain of the Gotei 13's Second Division.
But Yoruichi said she had never heard of a noble clan called Tokoyo.
She also said, however, that she had never much liked matters concerning clans and nobles, and had never studied them seriously.
She had now returned to Soul Society through a Senkaimon she had made herself, going home to look for information about the Tokoyo Clan.
As a former captain and a close friend of Yoruichi Shihōin, Kisuke Urahara knew more than most.
Much lay hidden behind the reason the great noble clans could stand above all other nobles, and even the Gotei 13.
The Shihōin Clan, for example, possessed the Heavenly Bestowed Armaments—equipment with strange rules and powerful abilities.
The Kuchiki Clan controlled the creation and enforcement of rules.
The Tsunayashiro Clan controlled the history of Soul Society.
The Shiba Clan controlled the sky—though Kisuke Urahara still had not figured out exactly what that meant.