Chapter 13

"You think I wanted to wait here?"

Byakuya tucked his Zanpakuto into his sash and followed Haruto.

"The four great clans."

"Of the people my age, the only one who can put up a decent fight is Yūshirō of the Shihoin Clan."

Though he spoke casually, every name Byakuya mentioned belonged to someone who would one day be among the Seireitei's upper echelons.

"But that guy's a crybaby. He runs off to find the cat... Yoruichi Shihōin, at the slightest provocation. Fighting him is no fun."

Haruto wasn't a noble, after all. In front of him, Byakuya, who likewise belonged to one of the five great clans, still had to consider their respective reputations.

Though not by much.

"Besides, the Shihoin Clan is best at Shunpo and Hakuda. That combination isn't useful as a reference in the Seireitei today."

"There are a few upper nobles who are good enough, but those guys fight like old men. They hold back completely."

At this point, Byakuya didn't notice Haruto sneak a glance at him:

Ginrei Kuchiki was old, but he still commanded respect. Anyone who hurt his precious grandson would get skinned alive, even if they were an upper noble.

Byakuya hadn't realized that at all.

"So..."

"After looking around, I realized you were the best choice."

"..."

The two stared at each other for quite a while.

"I suppose I could."

"Oh!?"

Byakuya's interest immediately perked up.

"But!"

"Name your conditions."

Byakuya nodded rapidly, his head bobbing like a pestle.

"You can't use Shunpo."

"Huh?"

Byakuya's expression froze for a moment.

"If you want to train your Shikai's abilities, why do you need to use Shunpo?"

Haruto looked Byakuya in the eye and asked him a perfectly reasonable question.

"Isn't this supposed to simulate a real fight...?"

"I have good reason to suspect you want to use this chance to beat me up."

Though Haruto's eyes had narrowed to slits, Byakuya could still sense the intense "suspicion" in them, like glasses reflecting a white glare.

"Fine, I won't use it."

After thinking it over, Byakuya reluctantly agreed.

"All right, then."

Haruto nodded.

"...That's it?"

Byakuya waited a while, and when he realized Haruto wasn't going to make any other demands, he asked out of curiosity.

"You're no good at Hakuda, so what do you have left without Shunpo?"

"..."

"Why do I get the feeling you're even more confident than I am?"

Zankensōki.

Kidō and Zanpakuto were a Soul Reaper's main offensive means. As long as those two were usable, the fight couldn't be said to be over.

But Haruto seemed to mean...

That without Shunpo, Byakuya was on the same level as him.

The lower the Rei'i Grade number, the greater the gap between grades. The difference between fifth and seventh grade was far greater than the difference between seventh grade and a grade in the teens.

"Trust your feelings."

Haruto's obnoxious reply, delivered in an utterly flat tone, made Byakuya struggle to resist the urge to draw his sword.

"I don't know why, but every time we talk, I can't wait to cut you down before the conversation's even over."

"It's fine. You're not the only one with that symptom. Most guys who talk to me feel the same way."

"#!"

Haruto succeeded in making a vein bulge on Byakuya's forehead.

"Oh, right!"

Before Byakuya could explode, Haruto clapped his hands and changed the subject with extreme abruptness.

"We can't fight here, can we? The dorm room's spacious enough, but its defenses aren't much to speak of."

The dormitory did have defensive barrier Kidō, but its main purpose was to repel attacks from outside. Its defenses against attacks from within were mediocre at best, only enough to block intermediate Kidō accidentally detonated by ordinary students.

Against Byakuya's Zanpakuto in Shikai and Kidō on Haruto's level, it was no different from paper.

"...Phew!"

"Let's go where I do my morning training."

Now that they were discussing serious business, Byakuya took a deep breath and calmed down.

"Come to think of it..."

"I don't think I've ever seen you at the training ground?"

The morning training exercises varied by year, but everyone gathered and trained together at the training ground.

"Hmph~"

At Haruto's question, Byakuya lifted his chin again.

"Let me show you something new!"

"Whoosh."

Byakuya vanished from the spot with a single Shunpo, and then...

"Thud!"

With a dull footfall, Byakuya steadied his stumbling body and returned to where he'd been standing.

"..."

"Why did you close the window?"

Byakuya fixed Haruto with a hostile stare.

If he hadn't been skilled enough at Shunpo, he'd probably have a broken window frame around his head by now. Shunpo wasn't spatial movement, after all; it required a sufficiently wide passage and could never be used in a sealed space.

"Didn't we agree you couldn't use Shunpo?"

"The sparring hasn't started yet!"

In just a few minutes, Byakuya had grown quite irritable.

Even so, compared with when the two had first met, it did seem much harder to make Byakuya lose his temper now without Haruto's level of skill at provoking him.

A lot of progress.

"Oh."

Haruto reopened the window without a change in expression.

"I seriously suspect..."

"That's right. My Shunpo can't keep up with yours, so what if I lose you on the way?"

Before Byakuya could finish, Haruto's persuasive reasoning defeated him again.

"...I suppose that makes sense."

A quarter of an hour later.

Haruto followed Byakuya beneath the principal's office.

"The Shin'ō Academy has a place like this?"

Haruto looked around. The area was the size of a soccer field, and the walls were covered in defensive Kidō barriers.

"Click."

Byakuya fiddled with something on the wall, and bright light instantly filled the entire space.

"Impressive, isn't it?"

Byakuya showed off smugly as he walked toward the far side of the area, opposite the entrance.

"According to Grandfather, this was originally a shelter prepared for the great nobles during the war with the Quincy a thousand years ago."

"Even the principal doesn't know this place exists."

As he walked, Byakuya casually knocked on the pure white wall.

Though he hadn't used much force, the contact made no sound whatsoever, which was enough to show how high-level the barrier was.

"Whether it's the concealment or the defensive strength, everything here was designed with a Captain-level opponent in mind. There's no need to worry about damaging anything."

As Byakuya spoke, Haruto glanced, seemingly casually, at the kid, who was still looking pleased with himself.

The principal was only an ordinary Fourth Seat in the Gotei 13, so how could he know these noble secrets? And from Byakuya's explanation, Haruto couldn't help feeling that the great nobles had probably been worried about more than just the Quincy back then. Unfortunately... Byakuya had heard Ginrei Kuchiki's words without grasping any of the important points.

"So?"

Byakuya reached the opposite side.

"We can go all out here!"

Byakuya sounded a little excited. Bringing someone in to spar felt completely different from training alone in the morning.

"No problem."

"But as you just promised, you lose if you use Shunpo."

Haruto repeated his earlier condition.

"...Fine, but!"

Byakuya practically gritted his teeth as he spat out the word, though he didn't look like he meant to go back on his promise.

"What is it now?"

Haruto casually asked as he loosened up.

"I've promised not to use Shunpo. Shouldn't you accept some restrictions too?"

"..."

Haruto stared at Byakuya from across the room as if he were an idiot.

"Hey! Don't look at me like that!"

Byakuya shouted in annoyance.

"Think about it! If you won't let me use Shunpo, who could possibly dodge your Byakurai?"

Byakuya was actually very reluctant to face Haruto's Kidō head-on, especially his Byakurai.

When he first taught Haruto the Kuchiki Clan's secret Byakurai technique, he had only hoped his roommate would get a little stronger, so he could relieve some of his boredom at the Shin'ō Academy—