Chapter 34

Haruto's days in Rukongai could be summed up as a cycle: get robbed, rob someone, get robbed, rob someone...

Over and over again.

It continued until these ordinary souls, under Haruto's leadership, had brought every surrounding village to heel and united every settlement across a vast, desolate expanse covering nearly half of District 66 into a brand-new, large gang.

It was only after that that Haruto's talent as a Soul Reaper was discovered, and he entered Shin'ō Academy. Searching for students with the talent to become Soul Reapers in such a remote part of Rukongai was a thankless task.

If Haruto hadn't happened to make a name for himself at the time, he never would have caught the eye of a passing Soul Reaper.

"..."

"Forget it. It has nothing to do with me now anyway."

Being one of the two dominant figures in East Rukongai's District 66 sounded impressive, but if he really offended the wrong person... a low-ranking Seated Officer from the Gotei 13 would be enough to swiftly destroy an organization of this size from top to bottom.

"Haru..."

"Big Brother Haruto!?"

On the street, where only the faint chirping of insects remained, Haruto suddenly heard someone call his name and instinctively turned around.

"Hm?"

From between two houses a short distance behind him,

a young man appeared in Haruto's field of vision. He had a square face and a buzz cut, and he was taller and more muscular than the already lanky Haruto. His clothes were clearly finer than those suited to the surroundings... or at least much cleaner and tidier.

Whether from exercise or some other reason, beads of sweat were clearly visible on the man's forehead, yet to fall.

"You are...?"

Haruto didn't recognize him.

He had been away from District 66 for five years, and many memories quickly grew hazy in the chaos of Rukongai.

"It's me!"

The man thumped his chest.

"Jōsuke! Big Brother Inukai's follower!"

"..."

The man named Jōsuke was a little too emotional for his seemingly composed face.

"Oh~"

Haruto tilted his head and thought for a good while before finally—

"You're that little shorty who used to hang around Inukai?"

Haruto had finally recognized him by his face. Honestly, it couldn't have been easy for a kid living in this dump to grow so fast.

"Yes, yes!"

When Haruto recognized him, the tension vanished from Jōsuke's face.

"Big Brother Haruto—"

"Stop right there."

Before Jōsuke could come any closer, Haruto raised a hand to stop him.

"Is Inukai still here?"

Haruto asked calmly.

"B-Big Brother Inukai is here, of course!"

Although Jōsuke was big and burly, he seemed to stutter whenever he spoke. It was hard to tell whether he was nervous or had gotten a fright as a child.

"Good. Tell him to wait for me at the usual place."

"Haru..."

Jōsuke still wanted to say something, but a look from Haruto made him fall silent. In the space of those few words, Jōsuke had already recalled Haruto's fearsome reputation.

"Hurry up."

"...Yes!"

Jōsuke bowed deeply to Haruto, then quickly turned and ran off as though he had drunk syrup.

The little interruption drew plenty of looks from the roadside. Among them, whether familiar or unfamiliar, Haruto spotted quite a few old faces. Of course, as far as they were concerned, there was no one who didn't recognize Haruto.

But apart from Jōsuke, no one came up to greet him.

"..."

Haruto didn't mind.

All kinds of trouble occurred every day in the higher-numbered districts of Rukongai. A former gang leader wasn't worth remembering forever, even if he really had done the village a great deal of good.

As his past glories faded away, Haruto's image soon grew hazy in their minds as well.

Walking along the road, cracked and parched by the sun, Haruto headed home without pausing.

Ten minutes later.

"Here we are."

A house stood before Haruto. It wasn't particularly tall, but it was built entirely of sturdy, painted timber.

"Is this what they mean when they say the tea goes cold once you're gone?"

Haruto knocked on the door he had made with his own hands, sending grayish-white dust cascading from its upper edge.

"They couldn't even manage something as simple as looking after the house. No wonder the village has ended up like this."

Before leaving District 66, Haruto had entrusted both the gang and the village to the man Jōsuke called Big Brother Inukai. He had been the best fighter in the gang apart from Haruto, and his willingness to fight desperately in any battle, regardless of casualties, had earned him a position second only to Haruto.

Incidentally,

Haruto had helped name many of Inukai's underlings... back then, the vast majority of people in District 66 had been nameless.

"Fighting ability is one thing, but Inukai really isn't cut out to be a boss."

"Creak!"

Haruto pushed open the heavy door.

If he hadn't used such a lavish amount of material when building it, the house, left uninhabited for years, would probably have fallen into terrible disrepair.

"..."

The white mass of cobwebs inside and the damp smell of slow decay as fungi spread made Haruto instinctively pinch his nose.

"Snap!"

Haruto snapped his fingers.

A blue flame sprang to life at his fingertip. It was Sōkatsui, its power weakened countless times over.

"Hadō #58."

Haruto flicked his finger, sending Sōkatsui flying. Then, before the flame landed, his right palm, grasping an invisible current of air, struck gently forward—

"Tenran."

"Whoosh!"

A scorching wind swept down the hallway, flinging every living thing and its handiwork to the floor. The currents of air reached everywhere, swirling these uninvited guests out of a territory that had never belonged to them.

"Whoo~"

The last wisp of wind brushed past his ear.

The refreshed air and clean, sanitary room finally reduced Haruto's aversion enough for him to step inside. Whether dealing with enemies or cleanliness, Haruto was secretly something of a clean freak.

"..."

The harsh sunlight shone into the room through the window.

Haruto put down the bag he carried and bowed deeply and solemnly to the empty room.

"I'm home."

This was a place he had once been able to call home.

When he left, he had given away everything he could, keeping only the simplest daily necessities.

Now, aside from a pot, a water jar, a table, and a chair, the most conspicuous thing in his home was the Buddhist altar in the corner of the main room. With those four things, he could cook, store water, eat, and rest, meeting his most basic needs. For many untalented souls who drifted through life in a daze, having water to drink and somewhere to sleep was enough.

As for such a luxury as a Buddhist altar...

Haruto hadn't believed in such things, and there was no need to in a world where Soul Reapers existed.

But!

The "grandmother" who had taken Haruto in when he still had the body of a child and raised him until he was old enough to join a gang and earn a living before passing away contentedly had believed in it.

So no matter how much trouble it was to make, Haruto had to find a way to get one. In the resource-poor District 66, even the necessities of life were hard to come by, let alone rare items with such a special purpose.

The reason Haruto had led his gang in fighting its way across half of Rukongai was precisely so he could recreate the Buddhist altar before him, which his grandmother had once described to him while she was alive.

"..."

The Kidō flame appeared once more.

Three sticks of spirit incense, specially purchased from the Seireitei, quietly began to burn at their tips.

After kneeling and bowing three times, Haruto placed the incense firmly into the exquisite censer.

In the room, where even the sound of insects couldn't reach, Haruto closed his eyes and quietly waited for the fire in the censer to burn the incense completely to ash.

Five minutes, ten minutes, a quarter of an hour.

Once the fragrance had filled the last corner of the room,

"Inukai."

Haruto had deliberately left the door open when he came home.

At some unknown point, a gray-haired man with a scar on his face had knelt silently a short distance directly behind him, on the other side of the sliding door—

in a full prostration.

"...Big Brother Haruto."

Haruto had spoken casually, but Inukai's answer was somewhat bitter.

"Is the gang still around?"

"...We were absorbed. All of District 66 is now under the control of one gang."

Before each answer, Inukai had to think it over very carefully.

"I meant the people."

"...There are nine left that you know."

"Compared to the sorry state outside, that's not a small number... did the others die or surrender?"

"Half and half."

This time, Inukai answered quickly enough.

In a remote area like District 66, having fifty percent loyalty to a gang was already extraordinary.

Let alone the kind of loyalty that made someone willing to die for it—

"Not bad."

Even Haruto couldn't help remarking on it.

"What about you, then?"

Haruto turned around quietly. It was the first time he had looked directly at his former underling since their conversation began.

"..."

Inukai.

The man who had once fought so recklessly no longer had any trace of his former ferocity on his face. Though he hadn't grown fat, he would definitely be more than thirty percent slower in a fight than he had been five years ago. Then there were the rather expensive silk clothes he wore—