Chapter 10

"Shō!"

Haruto's third Shō followed in quick succession.

The Reiatsu projectile tore through the air at nearly half the speed of sound, striking Munechika's falling body with pinpoint accuracy.

"Bang!!"

It sounded like gunpowder exploding and a bullet leaving the barrel.

After the sharp, violent impact, Munechika's bent body flew backward more than ten meters, as though struck by an invisible sledgehammer.

He landed right where he had stood before using Shunpo to charge.

"Thud."

He landed on both knees.

Munechika struggled to get up, but the intense tearing sensation in his chest and the pain throughout his body, as though he were falling apart, prevented him from completing that simple movement. Instead, his knees buckled, and he sank to them against his will.

"..."

"It's over."

His outstretched fingers slowly curled.

There was no need for the referee to make a ruling. Haruto had already declared the outcome of the fight—he knew the power of his Hadō well, and even with Kaidō treatment, Munechika would need at least two or three days in bed to recover from his injuries.

After all...

Students like them weren't as resilient as Captain-level fighters, nor could they call on an expert like Captain Unohana to treat them.

"But..."

Even now, Munechika couldn't believe he had lost the live-blade match.

Their fight seemed to have gone on for quite some time, but in reality, they had only exchanged blows twice.

Munechika had made two attacks, and Haruto had countered with a Hadō.

Leaving aside the time they spent talking, the actual fighting had lasted only about ten seconds... and that included the time Munechika had spent chanting Sōkatsui.

"Damn it!"

"Damn it!!"

A roar of frustration rose like a beast's from one side of the training ground, accompanied by bright red blood flowing from his nose.

The Reiatsu projectile had been aimed at his left chest, putting tremendous pressure on both his heart and lungs. Getting too worked up would only make his injuries worse.

"How can I—"

Haruto's judgment was sound, but when people were angry, they could ignore their bodies' limitations for a short time.

"Lose like this!!!"

Munechika couldn't move his right hand. The backlash from Sōkatsui and the damage from the direct Hadō strike had left him unable to grip anything with it.

But he still had his left hand.

Under the gaze of everyone at the training ground, Munechika yanked hard at the area above his tabi. A blue dagger, a few centimeters shorter than a wakizashi, had been strapped to the back of his lower leg beneath his hakama. After cutting through both his skin and the hakama, he pointed the tip of its wavy, curved blade at Haruto across the training ground.

"Racing lightning, run—"

Munechika had only spoken the first three words, and the lightning on the curved blade hadn't even begun to move along its edge.

"Swish."

Haruto had already vanished from where he stood.

"!!"

When he appeared again, he was directly behind Munechika, completely out of sight of his stunned, vacant gaze.

"Hadō #4."

The lightning rang out with a clear, beautiful sound like a thousand birds singing.

"Bya—"

"That's enough!!"

"Boom!!"

A pitch-black scabbard smashed into the training ground's solid floor.

Mutsuki Shōkaku stood between the Byakurai that was about to leave Haruto's hand and the heart of the disheveled Mikazuki Munechika.

"Thump."

Mutsuki first glanced at Munechika, whose strength had given out and who had been knocked down by the shock wave beneath his feet. Then she fixed Haruto with a complicated look for a long time.

"The live-blade match is over!"

Mutsuki had to fulfill her duties as referee first.

"The winner..."

"Haruto!"

The moment Mutsuki Shōkaku's voice fell, a thunderous roar unlike anything Shin'ō Academy had heard in nearly a century erupted from the stands.

"Yeah!!"

Some took the opportunity to vent their emotions.

"Senpai!!!"

Some were emotionally unstable juniors.

"Haruto, I love you!!!"

And some were classmates who had been scared off by Haruto's dismissive attitude and took the opportunity to make reckless confessions... their gender was another matter.

Amid such a fervent atmosphere, even Haruto, who considered himself emotionally stable, couldn't help feeling his blood heat up.

That was right.

This was the appeal of a live-blade match, and the satisfaction of showing off before a crowd.

"..."

"Phew!"

Haruto took a deep breath to steady himself.

"Teacher Mutsuki."

"...You made such a commotion. I'll settle this with you when we get back."

Mutsuki Shōkaku shot Haruto a fierce glare.

Even she didn't notice how much allure that glance had acquired, whether deliberately or not.

"Teacher..."

Haruto didn't finish what he was going to say.

By the time he returned to the classroom, it would already be a new school year—even Shin'ō Academy students had holidays to go home and visit.

After watching Mutsuki Shōkaku walk away, Haruto turned his attention back to Mikazuki Munechika, whom nobody was paying any attention to.

"Munechika!"

"!!"

Haruto's voice startled Munechika.

At least it brought him out of the vacant state he had fallen into after his defeat.

"...What?"

Munechika gave a dejected, bitter smile.

"Is it time for the winner to mock me?"

"Not really."

Through the noisy crowd, Haruto glanced at Juzu Izumi, who looked somewhat startled in the stands.

"I just wanted to tell you something."

Then he looked away and met Munechika's eyes.

"As a noble, there's no shame in using your family's Zanpakuto. After all, wealth and heritage are part of your strength too."

"But..."

At that point, Haruto's voice took on a teasing note.

"Before showing off to your girlfriend, you should first find out whether she can keep a secret... especially when she has a lot of close friends."

"Otherwise..."

The smile slowly faded from Haruto's lips.

"'A Zanpakuto that can absorb and release lightning strikes'... how do you think I learned that?"

With those words, Haruto casually turned and left.

That reminder...

Was the "lesson" he had given Juzu Izumi.

Volume one: 007, transmigrator

"Swish!"

After several quick movements in succession,

Haruto finally escaped the crowded onlookers.

"Hiss—"

Cold air rushed through his teeth and down his throat.

Haruto had just started to take another step when a weakness swept down from his knees to his ankles, making him stumble and nearly fall.

"Just as I thought."

Haruto moved a couple of steps toward the door and crouched with his back against the outer wall of the grand training ground, gently rubbing his calves, which scarcely felt like his own anymore.

"My Shunpo isn't much better than Munechika's."

Haruto had looked carefree when he left the training ground, but anyone with a little experience could see the problem with his imitation Shunpo.

To master Shunpo completely, one had to grasp three key points:

Agility, concealment, and complete control.

To put it plainly, one had to move fast enough, leak little Reiatsu while moving, and be able to start or stop at any time.

During the live-blade match, Munechika's Shunpo had only met the first requirement. Aside from speed, it had fallen short in every respect.

If Haruto hadn't been caught completely off guard by the fact that Munechika had already begun learning the first stage of Shunpo, his speed would have let him easily dodge Munechika's charge and wait for him to run into the Enkōsen Mitarai had released.

In that case, Munechika wouldn't have been smashed to pieces, but the live-blade match could essentially have been declared over on the spot.

Haruto's Shunpo was held back by his physical condition. He had made progress in every aspect, but none of them were quite complete.

For example...

"Teacher Mutsuki."

Once the muscles in his legs had gradually returned to normal, Haruto thought back to the moment the match had been stopped and stood up, somewhat moved.

"What an incredible Shunpo."

The Shunpo Mutsuki Shōkaku had used was truly the finished version—before the release of Byakurai was interrupted, he hadn't detected any trace of Teacher Mutsuki at all.

"If she's reached that level, she should be moving up from seventh seat again."

Haruto had just seen Mitarai's Enkōsen, and it was indeed commendable.

But that was all.