Spotting Prey

However, in the second the sword spirit hesitated, Xuanxin charged like a mad dragon bursting from its cage and slashed straight at the white figure!

Bang!

Under the force of the sudden blow, a gap was smashed into its once-perfect defense!

Seeing its defense broken, the sword spirit tried to pull back and put some distance between them so it could rebuild its guard.

Xuanxin saw what the sword spirit had in mind. Suddenly, a basic Kidō he had seen in his textbook flashed through his mind.

He forcibly sent Reiatsu surging out through his fingertips. "Bakudō #1: Sai!"

A faint burst of Reiatsu erupted from Xuanxin's fingertips. The sword spirit's limbs slowed for half a second, as though someone had grabbed hold of them.

But that half-second was enough to create a fatal opening in battle.

"It's over!"

Xuanxin's gaze was sharp as a blade. He seized the half-second opening and pierced the white figure's chest with unerring precision!

Pfft.

No blood spurted out. As the blade pierced it, the white figure instantly dissolved into countless streaks of pure white light, which rushed wildly into Xuanxin's body like weary birds returning to their nests.

In the warm light, Xuanxin was astonished to find that the wound on his right hand, which had been deep enough to expose bone, was healing along with the wounds on his body, all at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Xuanxin then checked himself and was pleasantly surprised. "Wait, how come I have a little more Reiatsu too? Where did that come from?"

He steadied his breathing, sheathed his swords, and returned to the small wooden table.

This time, with neither the sword spirit blocking his way nor that terrifying sword intent present, turning the pages was remarkably easy.

But when he tried to turn to the fourth page, it refused to budge once again, as though it had been welded shut.

"Seriously? Again?"

Xuanxin looked up helplessly. Sure enough, ten paces away, the scattered streaks of white light were gathering once more.

But this time, the sword spirit was noticeably stronger than before.

"Oh-ho, the second stage? Bring it on!"

Having gotten a taste of the rewards, Xuanxin was eager to fight. He drew both swords without hesitation, ready to repeat his previous tactic.

But the moment he drew his swords and assumed an attacking stance, the sword spirit slowly raised the shorter blade and pointed it at him.

Without any incantation, Xuanxin's limbs were suddenly bound.

"Bakudō #4: Hainawa!"

An ethereal female voice suddenly reached Xuanxin's ears.

"Huh? Hainawa? That was a Kidō he'd only glanced at once while in the tree, and this sword spirit already learned it?"

Before Xuanxin could fully react, however, the sword spirit closed in and raised the Zanpakuto in its right hand without hesitation.

Blood flowing from his chest soaked into his white school uniform once again.

Then came a bone-deep pain. The sword spirit finished Xuanxin off with one strike, slashing him straight out of Jinzen.

Xuanxin now clutched his chest and collapsed onto his seat. Though the wound was not fatal, the pain and weakness from blood loss were real.

The Kaidō teacher beside him once again treated Xuanxin's wound, but just as before, it had little effect. After treating him all this time, the teacher had also exhausted his Reiatsu.

The Kaidō teacher shook his head with a wry smile. "I've done my best. I'll give you a simple bandage to stop the bleeding for now. Afterward, go to the Fourth Division and get proper treatment. I really don't have any Reiatsu left."

The Kaidō teacher then pulled over the gauze prepared nearby and deftly wrapped it tightly around the horrific, steadily bleeding wound on Xuanxin's chest, applying the most basic physical means of stopping the blood.

"All right, thank you, teacher."

"Mm."

Just then, the door to the quiet room was suddenly flung open.

Two figures filed in one after the other. Xuanxin looked closely and saw that the newcomers were Yoruichi Shihōin and Kisuke Urahara!

In fact, an anomaly had appeared while Xuanxin was practicing Jinzen. The Stealth Force members guarding him in secret had reported the strange occurrence to Yoruichi and Seigen.

If they hadn't wanted to avoid disturbing Xuanxin's Jinzen, Yoruichi would have rushed in with Kisuke Urahara long ago. The moment they heard Xuanxin's voice, the two of them charged straight in.

As soon as Yoruichi entered, her golden eyes locked onto Xuanxin, who was slumped against his seat with bloodstained bandages wrapped all over him.

Her usual teasing and composure vanished instantly. She rushed to Xuanxin's side in a few quick strides and gently supported his shoulder, speaking with barely concealed concern:

"It was just basic Jinzen. How did you get yourself into such a mess..."

Then she abruptly turned, glared at Kisuke Urahara behind her, and growled through gritted teeth:

"Kisuke Urahara! Tell me the truth. Did something go wrong when you modified the swords last night?! If fusing those lousy swords backfired on him, I'll skin you alive today!"

"That can't be right. There shouldn't have been a problem," Kisuke Urahara replied, sounding a little guilty. After all, it was his first time making something like this, so he wasn't sure himself.

He stepped forward and began examining the Reiatsu around Xuanxin's wound, but found nothing. With every second Kisuke Urahara spent examining it, Yoruichi's expression darkened.

Seeing that Kisuke Urahara might end up in the Fourth Division before he did, Xuanxin endured the pain and explained to Yoruichi that his Jinzen had caused it and that it had nothing to do with Kisuke Urahara. Only then did he pull Kisuke Urahara back from the Fourth Division's ICU.

The Kaidō teacher nearby watched them and told Yoruichi that since someone was there to look after Xuanxin, they should hurry and take him to the Fourth Division. If possible, it would be best to have Captain Unohana examine him personally; it was the first time the teacher had encountered a problem like this.

"All right, thanks for the reminder."

With that, Yoruichi and Kisuke Urahara lifted Xuanxin between them, one on either side, and headed for the Fourth Division.

Chapter 10: Spotting Prey

The wind whistled past Xuanxin's ears as the buildings beneath him rapidly fell away behind them.

On the way to the Fourth Division, Xuanxin endured the pain of his wounds and briefly told the two of them what had happened in his Jinzen world.

When they heard just how dangerous Xuanxin's Jinzen had been, both of them involuntarily faltered.

Even under normal circumstances, a sudden misstep could easily send someone sprawling, let alone while traveling through the air using Shunpo.

Sure enough, the sudden halt nearly sent Xuanxin flying. Fortunately, the two reacted quickly and caught him; otherwise...

"Why did you get distracted, you damned blond? If anything happens to Xuanxin, get ready to spend the rest of your life in the Maggot's Nest."

"Wait, how is this my—"

"Shut up!!" Yoruichi viciously cut off Kisuke Urahara's defense.

Before long, the three landed in front of the Fourth Division's General Infirmary.

For Xuanxin, who rarely went out, this was his first visit to the Fourth Division headquarters. Seeing the medical Shinigami hurrying around him and smelling the pungent disinfectant, he couldn't help feeling a little awkward.

Kisuke Urahara, however, was a stark contrast.

The moment Kisuke Urahara stepped through the Fourth Division's gates, he was as relaxed as if he had returned to his own hometown. His natural ease was astounding.

"Hey! Nurse Yamada, good evening! That uniform really shows off your figure today!"

"Oh, Senior Maeda, have you finished the book I lent you last time? Not yet? No rush, no rush. We'll talk when you're done."

Kisuke Urahara greeted every medical worker who passed him in the corridor as though they were old friends. The nurses and Seated Officers were used to it, and one even teased him with practiced ease:

"Student Urahara, your exclusive VIP bed just happened to open up today. What is it this time? Did your underground base collapse again and blow you up, or was there another accident?"

"Oh, go on, wish me something good for once. Besides, I'm here as family today!"

"Whose family are you, hmm?" Yoruichi bristled instinctively at the word "family."

"Ahaha, you're the family member, you are."

With that, he led the two of them to an examination room for treating external injuries. Then, under Xuanxin's speechless gaze, he opened the door with practiced ease.

He quickly relayed the first-year Kaidō teacher's instructions to the high-ranking Seated Officer on duty, along with the wound's bizarre tendency to "devour Kaidō."

"Devour Kaidō? This... I'll have to consult the lieutenant." The Seated Officer on duty was just as baffled after hearing him out.

"That won't be necessary. Let me take a look."

Just then, a gentle female voice came from outside the office.

Everyone turned to look. A female Shinigami slowly walked in, wearing a gentle smile. Her hair was in a graceful braid, unusually draped down the front of her chest.

Seeing the white haori over her Shinigami uniform, Yoruichi and Kisuke Urahara recognized her at once.

The Fourth Division Captain, Retsu Unohana.

"Captain Unohana!"

Seeing her, Kisuke Urahara and the usually irrepressible Yoruichi put aside their casual manner and obediently bowed their heads, greeting her with a "Hello, Captain."

Retsu Unohana smiled and nodded, then looked down at Xuanxin, who had been made to lie on the hospital bed.

But when she reached out and gently lifted the coarse, blood-soaked bandage from his chest, her gentle eyes, usually narrowed to slits, opened a fraction in a rare display.

She then used basic Kaidō to treat him. From this test, Retsu Unohana found that although the Reiatsu around the wound was strange, it was not beyond her ability to handle. With enough Reiatsu, it could be healed easily.

What truly drew her attention to the wound was the sword intent faintly visible at its edges.

In Retsu Unohana's eyes, that pure sword intent was so beautiful, so captivating.

The sword intent was like a key, opening a door she had kept shut for a long time and releasing the monster named "Yachiru Unohana."

Looking at the wound in a daze, she seemed to see the beastlike boy standing atop a mountain of corpses in Zaraki District.

But Retsu Unohana soon came back to herself and said, "What an interesting wound..."

The gentle smile on Retsu Unohana's lips deepened. She stood and turned to the three people behind her, speaking softly:

"Everyone, this wound is rather 'interesting.' I need a quiet environment to treat it. Sorry for the trouble, but could you wait out in the corridor?"

Although she used polite words like "sorry for the trouble," the soft voice carried a note that allowed no disagreement to Yoruichi and Kisuke Urahara's ears.

Frightened, the two of them dragged the Seated Officer on duty out of the room, gently closing the door behind them.

In an instant, only Xuanxin and Retsu Unohana remained in the spacious emergency room.

"There's no need to be nervous, student."

Retsu Unohana sat by the bed, a green Kaidō light glowing around her hands. But instead of using her vast Reiatsu to overwhelm the "healing-absorption shield" on the wound outright, she chose to pour it little by little into the "Reiatsu black hole" in Xuanxin's chest, slowly contesting and filling it.

"Because this wound is resistant, treatment will take a little time. Could you chat with me while I work?"

Retsu Unohana steadily supplied Reiatsu while smiling and drawing information out of him. Before long, the simple Xuanxin had told her almost everything short of the color of his underwear.

At last, when Xuanxin revealed that his wound had been inflicted by his own sword spirit, the light in Unohana's eyes reached its peak.

After about half an hour, the "stubborn" wound was finally healed by Retsu Unohana.

"The wound has been treated, Student Fujiwara. However, if your trial is not over, as you say, I'm afraid we'll be seeing each other often."

Sure enough, Retsu Unohana's words proved prophetic.

From that day on, a stable new destination was forcibly added to Xuanxin's life—the Fourth Division's general hospital.

To release his Zanpakuto, Xuanxin had to fight a brutal battle to the death against the "second-stage" sword spirit every few days.

Each time he failed and was kicked out of Jinzen, he gained several horrific cuts with "healing-absorption shields" attached. Such wounds were too troublesome for ordinary healers to handle, so Xuanxin replaced Kisuke Urahara as the Fourth Division hospital's new regularly respawning NPC.

Knowing that Xuanxin would be injured every few days made Yoruichi even more worried about him, so every few days he would sneak into the boys' dormitory to check on him.