Measuring the Distance Between Us / The Five Great Noble Clans: Tokoyo

Faced with the gazes of all his classmates, the teachers, and Aizen, the Fifth Division Captain, and the powerful aura weighing down on him,

Tokoyo Misao remained standing straight, like a proud stalk of green bamboo.

Aizen raised a hand to adjust his glasses and continued gently:

"This is a good opportunity, so let me say a little more."

With those words, he drew the struggling students' attention back to him.

"When you enrolled, your Rei'i Grades were tested, so you know they represent the concentration of Reishi in a person."

"Since you're all determined to become captains, there's no harm in telling you this ahead of time."

"One of the mandatory requirements for promotion to captain is a Rei'i Grade of third class."

"Earlier, when I was standing on the platform, none of you felt any pressure.

"That's because Captain-level figures have such high Rei'i Grades that they normally have to keep them suppressed within themselves as much as possible.

"Otherwise, they would damage their surroundings just by walking."

"The force you're experiencing now is the pressure created when that normally suppressed Spiritual Power is released—Reiatsu."

"A Soul Reaper's Zanpakuto Shikai releases the Soul Reaper's power, bringing the Spiritual Power in their body fully into play and amplifying it as well."

"Usually, the amplification is fivefold."

He smiled and displayed the Zanpakuto in his hand. The two streams of water were still rapidly rotating in alternation.

"So, if you encounter an enemy in the future and can't even withstand the Reiatsu they release, the best solution is to flee immediately."

"But as Soul Reapers, we're bound to face situations where we can't flee."

"What should you do then?"

As Aizen spoke, he pointed his other hand at the students struggling to hold on with their backs bent.

"You should do as these students are doing: let your body bear the Reiatsu across a wider area and build up strength for a counterattack."

As he spoke, he slightly reduced the Reiatsu pouring out of him, giving the students a little breathing room and allowing them to check on one another.

Then he pointed at the students lying on the ground and said with a smile:

"Of course, lying on the ground like these students reduces the pressure of the Reiatsu on your body, but it also leaves you unable to counterattack, so it isn't a very good solution."

The faces of the students on the ground flushed red at once, and each of them struggled desperately to get back up.

Fortunately, Aizen had reduced his Reiatsu somewhat, allowing them to stand up without difficulty instead of remaining on the ground.

"The wrong way to respond is to do what that student is doing."

"You must never stubbornly try to bear it like that, or your body will give out first."

As Aizen spoke, he pointed at Tokoyo Misao.

All the students immediately turned to look, their eyes widening.

Although Tokoyo Misao was still standing straight, and not a single bead of sweat had run down his forehead,

bright red blood was flowing from the corners of his mouth and his nostrils, dripping from his chin and splashing onto the ground in little red flowers.

They simply couldn't understand why he insisted on remaining upright, even after being badly injured by the captain's Reiatsu.

Rukia said anxiously, "Idiot, stop forcing yourself! Your mouth is bleeding!"

"Misao, stop trying to bear it!" Momo Hinamori shouted as well.

She struggled to step toward him, but the Reiatsu pinned her in place, leaving her completely unable to move.

Tokoyo Misao did not respond to them. He continued standing ramrod straight, letting blood flow from his nostrils and the corners of his mouth. Blood even began to flow from his ears.

Aizen continued, "If he keeps this up, his body may break down."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a series of cracks came from inside Misao's body.

It was the sound of bones breaking.

Crack, crack, crack, like firecrackers going off.

"Captain Aizen, please let him go!" Rukia whipped around and shouted at Aizen on the platform.

Aizen smiled and waved a hand, drawing all the Reiatsu he had released back around his body.

Thud, thud. The sounds of students falling to the ground rang out one after another.

Deep breaths echoed through the training ground.

"Idiot, why are you still holding on?" Sensing the Reiatsu dissipate, Rukia hurriedly looked back, only to see Tokoyo Misao still standing where he was, his posture straight.

She quickly took two steps forward to check on him. Seeing Misao's calm expression, she couldn't help scolding him again.

"Are you an idiot?"

"I'm fine." Tokoyo Misao had barely gotten the words out when a gurgling sound came from his mouth, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

Rukia hurriedly pulled a handkerchief from her pocket, stepped forward, and grabbed his clothes. She gave them a hard tug, pulling Misao down until he bent over, and wiped the blood from his mouth.

"Why did you have to keep forcing yourself? Now you're badly hurt!"

Tokoyo Misao replied softly, "No, I wasn't forcing myself." Much of his voice was muffled by Rukia's handkerchief.

"Still trying to talk tough!" Rukia immediately glared and pressed harder with her hand.

"Hiss!"

"If that wasn't forcing yourself, what was it?"

"Miss, he wasn't wrong." Captain Aizen's voice came from behind her.

Rukia turned around, puzzled.

Aizen was in no hurry to explain. He looked at Tokoyo Misao and asked with a smile:

"What's your name?"

"Tokoyo Misao."

He nodded and began to explain:

"Misao's Rei'i is only nineteenth class. Normally, the moment I released my Shikai, my Reiatsu should have swept him to the ground and kept him there until the end."

"But he's very skilled at using the Spiritual Power in his body. He concentrated all of it in his shoulders, head, and upper body, which allowed him to remain standing without falling."

"That's a very refined technique for controlling Spiritual Power."

"Misao is very talented."

"Oh, is that so?" Rukia immediately looked back.

"That's right, but relying on nineteenth-class Rei'i alone to withstand Captain Aizen's Reiatsu was still pushing it a little too far."

Tokoyo Misao sighed.

"Isn't that obvious? Didn't you hear what Captain Aizen said just now?" Renji Abarai had also run over. "One of the requirements for becoming a captain is a Rei'i Grade of third class."

"You're only nineteenth class. Even if you'd never been to school, you should know the gap between those two numbers."

Tokoyo Misao raised his head slightly and looked at Renji.

"Of course I know, but there was no better opportunity than this."

"Our homeroom teacher said it too. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

"An opportunity? What opportunity?" Renji Abarai stared at him, unable to understand what kind of opportunity this was.

Misao patted the back of Rukia's hand and smiled at her. Then he straightened up again and looked toward the platform.

"An opportunity to measure exactly how far away my goal is, of course."

The training ground fell completely silent.

Every student stared blankly at Tokoyo Misao.

"Damn it!" Renji Abarai bared his teeth and clenched both hands into fists.

He understood what Misao meant at once.

The curse he had cried out instinctively was not a rejection of Misao.

Rather, he wondered why he couldn't do the same thing.

His gaze fell on Rukia, who stood in front of Tokoyo Misao, and he gritted his teeth again.

No, I can't admit defeat!

Renji shouted in his heart.

"Misao, you're really amazing," Momo Hinamori said, walking over and praising him with a smile.

Izuru Kira stared at the straight figure, rooted to the spot.

Clap, clap, clap.

Applause rang out from the platform, drawing everyone's attention back again.

Captain Aizen was smiling as he applauded. At some point, he had returned his Zanpakuto to his waist.

"Misao's resolve is something everyone would do well to learn from."

"A Soul Reaper's work is not simple. There's a risk of losing your life at any time."

"Without a firm mindset, it's very easy to break down."

"You should all learn from Misao, set a clear goal, and work toward it."

Everyone returned to their places of their own accord, stood straight, and answered loudly in unison.

"Yes!"

Chapter 5: The Five Great Noble Clans: Tokoyo

Captain Aizen's smile faded, replaced by a concerned expression as he asked Tokoyo Misao:

"Misao, can you still carry on? Would you like to receive treatment first?"

Tokoyo Misao reached up and wiped away the blood flowing from his ears. Looking straight ahead, he replied, "I can carry on."

Captain Aizen nodded. Then he turned his palm over, and the Zanpakuto entwined with streams of water appeared in his right hand again.

At some point, the Zanpakuto at his waist had disappeared.

No one present realized what had happened.

"Did you see that?"

"Did Captain Aizen release his Shikai again?"

"No, that definitely wasn't another Shikai."

Captain Aizen immediately explained:

"A Zanpakuto grows together with a Soul Reaper through being nurtured by their soul and through dialogue."

"Its abilities are also connected to each person's soul."

"My Zanpakuto is Kidō-type. It manifests its ability by using flowing water to create illusions."

"So the Zanpakuto you saw at my waist just now was actually only an illusion I created."

As he spoke, he raised the Water-type Zanpakuto in his hand high.

A moment later, the two streams of water gradually slowed and finally disappeared. The Zanpakuto returned to the form of an ordinary long sword and was slipped back into his waistband.

"I've taken up quite a bit of the academy's time today, so let's stop here."

He looked at Tokoyo Misao again. "Misao, please go to the academy's treatment room immediately."

"I can still..." Tokoyo Misao had barely opened his mouth and spoken when

a sharp pain came from his stomach.

Rukia had driven an elbow straight into his belly.

While Misao doubled over in pain, she hoisted him onto her small shoulders.