Chapter 18

"Ahahaha, how can you call that getting out of division duties?" Miyako Amamiya stood up, brushed the dust off his clothes, and laughed awkwardly.

"Kiyone was right. We've seen through your plan, Lieutenant Miyako!" Sentarō Kotsubaki shouted.

"I trust you both a great deal, you know. And I'm thinking of you and the captain, too," Miyako Amamiya said earnestly.

"Are you making excuses again, Lieutenant Miyako? Sorry, but we won't fall for them anymore."

"Sigh, some lieutenant I am," Miyako Amamiya sighed. "Then let's settle it this way, Kiyone, Sentarō. If I take full responsibility for division duties and you two aren't allowed to interfere, Captain Ukitake won't need you there anymore. You won't have to come to the captain's office. Would that be all right?"

"Well..." The two exchanged a glance but didn't answer immediately. Although the Third Seats were supposed to assist the lieutenant, whether the lieutenant needed their assistance was indeed up to the lieutenant.

If I can't stay by Captain Ukitake's side, it would be worse than killing me... Kiyone Kotetsu thought.

"You both know about Captain Ukitake's health. With Kiyone at his side to look after him whenever he needs it and Sentarō handling division duties, there's no better arrangement," Miyako Amamiya said with certainty.

"And my role is to defend the Thirteenth Division's honor! If anyone makes fun of our division, leave them to me. I'll beat them into submission one by one!" Miyako Amamiya promised. "Well, doesn't that make sense?"

"Yes, Lieutenant Miyako!" the two answered loudly.

"I can't believe I misunderstood you so badly, Lieutenant Miyako. I'm a disgrace as a Third Seat..." Kiyone said, moved.

"Me too. I misunderstood the lieutenant without even considering the whole situation..." Sentarō Kotsubaki was even more dramatic, looking as though tears might burst from his eyes at any moment.

"So let's all do our best together, Kiyone, Sentarō. Just as Captain Ukitake trusts you, I trust you too." Miyako Amamiya patted their shoulders and spoke to them with a smile, showing his white teeth.

The two were so moved they could hardly contain themselves, completely unaware that Miyako Amamiya had fooled them yet again.

Seeing that he had completely fooled them, Miyako Amamiya left, intending to return to the barracks and rest. His sparring session with Rukia had indeed taken quite a bit of energy today.

As for whether Miyako Amamiya's conscience would trouble him? Of course not. Although he had fooled them, what Miyako Amamiya said could be considered the truth.

Kiyone and Sentarō Kotsubaki had wanted to stay by Ukitake's side in the first place, and they had plenty of experience handling division duties. Miyako Amamiya also needed more time to train himself. So this arrangement was the best of both worlds, Miyako Amamiya couldn't help thinking.

That night, Miyako Amamiya drew the twin blades at his waist and prepared to communicate with his Zanpakuto once more, not only to train for Bankai but also to confirm what exactly had happened to his Zanpakuto when he learned its name.

After all, time was the most precious thing. Now that he was back in Soul Society, he couldn't neglect his Zanpakuto training for even a moment.

Bankai... Miyako Amamiya looked at the twin blades across his knees. Before long, he lost consciousness and entered his Mindscape.

Looking at the familiar night, the familiar street, and the familiar moonlight, Miyako Amamiya couldn't help recalling his memories of that time.

But the next moment, Miyako Amamiya's eyes began to widen.

Standing on the utility pole ahead was no longer the black-haired boy in white robes he had seen before, but his complete opposite.

His short, tousled white hair shone in the moonlight, while his long black robe seemed ready to merge with the night. More importantly, disgust showed on the white-haired boy's face, and his negative emotions were plain to sense.

"Are you... Jue Nian?" Miyako Amamiya asked blankly, not knowing what had happened to his Zanpakuto.

"Don't call me by that name! You foolish, cowardly fool..." The white-haired boy seemed agitated, shouting angrily at Miyako Amamiya.

After saying that, he fell silent, seemingly holding something back.

"You're not Jue Nian?" Miyako Amamiya said in surprise. But seeing how completely opposite the white-haired boy's features were to Jue Nian's, he understood. The other party definitely wasn't the Jue Nian he knew.

"Pathetic. Did you completely abandon your identity while learning from the Quincy?" the white-haired boy mocked.

Miyako Amamiya ignored him and instead thought carefully about the white-haired boy's identity. Only the Zanpakuto and its master could appear in the Mindscape, so the white-haired boy could only be his Zanpakuto, yet he said he wasn't Jue Nian.

He carefully recalled what he knew. If two people appeared within one person, that meant the person must have two kinds of power or two souls inside them. His own Zanpakuto also happened to be a twin-blade type. Recalling the two twin-blade Zanpakuto currently in Soul Society and Ichigo Kurosaki's future Zanpakuto, Miyako Amamiya found his answer.

"You're my Zanpakuto," Miyako Amamiya said with certainty.

"Hmph. Looks like you're not too stupid to recognize me after all. But... so what if you know who I am?" the white-haired boy said coldly.

"Where is Jue Nian? Why did you appear instead?" Miyako Amamiya asked, hoping he wouldn't be as cryptic as the previous Jue Nian.

"That guy..." The white-haired boy ground his teeth. "He just awakened before I did. Now I'm stronger than him, so naturally he can't come out."

The white-haired boy hadn't been vague about where Jue Nian had gone, but Miyako Amamiya still didn't understand the current situation.

Wait, what he said just now... awakened earlier. Miyako Amamiya was startled, remembering the battle in which he had defeated Jue Nian.

When I cut Jue Nian back then, black substance gushed out of him, and he said that "he" had gotten excited.

"You're my Zanpakuto, and my true Zanpakuto at that—the Zanpakuto that represents my Soul Reaper powers." Miyako Amamiya was certain now.

"Not completely stupid, after all." The white-haired boy managed a faint smile.

"But! You're a Soul Reaper, yet you've been using Quincy powers all along. It disgusts me." He made no attempt to hide his disgust at Miyako Amamiya's fighting style.

Miyako Amamiya fell silent. He had originally thought his Quincy powers had fused with his Soul Reaper powers, which was why his Shikai took the form of a bow and arrows. But it seemed things were far from that simple. An Asauchi was, after all, a product born from the fusion of countless souls; it was unlikely to have been completely taken over by Quincy powers all at once.

"Tell me your name." Miyako Amamiya looked at him. "If you truly are my Soul Reaper powers, then tell me your name."

"I'll use my true Soul Reaper powers," Miyako Amamiya promised him.

"You rely on Quincy abilities, yet you have the nerve to ask me for power," the white-haired boy said disdainfully.

"I won't give you my power willingly."

Looks like I have to fight after all, Miyako Amamiya thought. Twin blades appeared in his hands, and he slashed at the white-haired boy.

"Weak. What do you call that speed?" Before Miyako Amamiya could get close, the white-haired boy's voice came from behind him.

So fast! Miyako Amamiya hurried forward, putting distance between himself and the white-haired boy behind him.

"You've barely learned how a Soul Reaper fights, yet you dream of obtaining my power. How laughable." With that, the white-haired boy reached toward his waist, and two Zanpakuto slowly appeared in his hands.

"Don't you want my power? Then first, have a good taste of it." The white-haired boy vanished as soon as he finished speaking.

The two blades appeared before Miyako Amamiya's eyes in an instant, and he used his own twin blades to block them.

But the white-haired boy wielded his blades like a raging storm, leaving Miyako Amamiya completely unable to strike back.

"Your Zanjutsu is just as weak. What have you been learning as a Soul Reaper?" The white-haired boy didn't stop attacking, looking frustrated at Miyako's failure to meet expectations.

Damn it, how is this guy so good with twin blades? Miyako Amamiya thought angrily.

Miyako Amamiya then used Shunpo to retreat rapidly and joined the hilts of his blades together. The blades began to change: Miyako Amamiya had immediately activated his Shikai.

A bow formed in his hands, and arrows immediately gathered. He fired them rapidly at the white-haired boy.

"Sorry, but I'm both a Soul Reaper and a Quincy," Miyako Amamiya said with a smile.

Seeing this, the white-haired boy stopped moving instead. He said nothing as the arrows flew toward him, only raising a hand and swinging his blade when they were nearly at his face.

As though he hadn't even looked at the arrows, he shattered them with a casual strike.

How is that possible? Why did they just shatter? Miyako Amamiya had estimated their strength himself. The arrows he fired shouldn't have been capable of being shattered outright by an ordinary Zanpakuto.

Miyako Amamiya had been counting on using those arrows to lay more traps.

"Ridiculous. Quincy powers are so weak."

"That's what I hate most about you. Even if you control the bow and arrows like a Soul Reaper, at their core, you're still using Quincy abilities."

"They're just outcasts of this world. How could they possibly compare to a Soul Reaper's power?"

Miyako Amamiya refused to believe it and used all sorts of skills he had learned in succession, but the white-haired boy easily neutralized them all with his twin blades.

"Ignorant and foolish. You can't even use your own Zanpakuto's true power."

"Let me show you 'my' true power." The white-haired boy raised his twin blades, and they began to change...

Seeing the change in the blades, Miyako Amamiya couldn't help saying, "How is that possible? The Zanpakuto... changed again."

Miyako Amamiya immediately fired another arrow. Although it was blocked again, the white-haired boy's hands paused, and the changing blades suddenly stopped transforming.

"So it does work. Looks like your ability can't stop it either," Miyako Amamiya retorted. Only now had he used his Zanpakuto's true Shikai ability for the first time, stopping the twin blades in the other's hands from changing and keeping them as they were.

The white-haired boy was silent. Then he gripped the twin blades tightly and swept them to one side, as if flinging something away. The blades began to change again, eventually taking on a brand-new form.

How is that possible? I already separated them... Miyako Amamiya stared in surprise at the twin blades in his hands.

"That guy is inside me, yet you actually thought you could use his power against me," the white-haired boy said bluntly. "And your will is far too weak!"

"Let me show you 'my' true power." The white-haired boy raised his transformed twin blades and attacked Miyako Amamiya.

Seeing the change in the blades, Miyako Amamiya's expression turned serious.

Late at night in the barracks, Miyako Amamiya awoke with a start, then gasped for breath. As expected, he had lost his contest with his Zanpakuto. He had too little information and had no idea what the white-haired boy had done.

The white-haired boy had defeated him using Soul Reaper powers alone, without the slightest bit of Quincy power—or perhaps he couldn't use it. And then there were those brand-new twin blades of his...

Is this an RPG? How come there's another boss after I beat one? Everyone else's Zanpakuto are so easy to talk to. The thought gave Miyako Amamiya a headache.

Meanwhile, inside Miyako Amamiya's Mindscape.

The white-haired boy's black robe began to stir, and white traces appeared once again. Before long, they flew out of the robe.

"My, my, you really showed no mercy. You wouldn't even let him use my power?" Jue Nian, black-haired and dressed in white robes, said to the white-haired boy.

"He's a Soul Reaper, yet he stubbornly puts his faith in Quincy powers. Why should he be allowed to keep using them?" the white-haired boy said coldly.

"You clearly wanted to warn him, so why did you have to tell him in such a roundabout way? Honestly." The black-haired boy sighed helplessly.

Looking at the white-haired boy, who didn't answer, he said, "Forget it, have it your way. My task is finished for now, anyway. The rest is up to you."

He then turned into white light and returned to the white-haired boy. The boy's black robe became dark and deep once more.

Does Jue Nian's power not work on him either? Or rather, is it because the power was theirs to begin with, so it can't take effect? Miyako Amamiya thought. And what was with those twin blades? Is that Jue Nian's true form?

Miyako Amamiya had never used his Zanpakuto's true ability in Soul Society or the World of the Living. Using it against his Zanpakuto in the Mindscape just now had been the first time. On the surface, Miyako Amamiya's Zanpakuto ability was to manipulate Reishi in battle. But the Reishi he manipulated was limited to what was inside his body, not the Reishi in the atmosphere.

That gave him two layers of insurance. When an enemy thought his ability was to precisely control the spiritual power inside his body, Miyako could directly manipulate the Reishi in the atmosphere. When an enemy thought Miyako's ability was the same as a Quincy's, he could still use his Zanpakuto's true ability to catch them by surprise.

Therefore, Miyako Amamiya would never reveal his Zanpakuto's ability until a crucial moment. It wasn't yet time to reveal the secret of his Zanpakuto's Shikai.

But there was a more important matter at hand. Miyako Amamiya looked at the twin blades on his lap.

Do the bow and arrows only count as a half-Shikai...? Miyako Amamiya guessed that perhaps the twin blades that had changed again in the white-haired boy's hands were the true Shikai.

Miyako Amamiya felt a headache coming on. It was this situation again: his Zanpakuto knew his fighting style inside out, but he had no information about its abilities. It was a completely unfair fight.

But releasing a Zanpakuto's true name had always been like this, a process of gradually becoming familiar with its power.

To overcome this hurdle, Miyako planned to study the Soul Reaper arts of swordsmanship, hand-to-hand combat, movement, and Kido seriously, and actively seek Jūshirō Ukitake's guidance in all four areas.

"I wonder if I can achieve a complete Shikai in time... before Aizen defects from Soul Society." Miyako Amamiya was once again filled with a sense of urgency. After all, he had neither the ability nor a reason to go to the World of the Living and stop Kisuke Urahara's schemes, nor could he face Aizen head-on.

Besides, under the course of fate—or rather, the will of the Soul King—Rukia giving Ichigo Kurosaki Soul Reaper powers was inevitable.

Miyako Amamiya didn't know what course his arrival would change, but Ichigo becoming a Soul Reaper was certain to be unstoppable.

After Ichigo and the others actually entered Soul Society, the Gotei 13's casualties weren't especially severe. But once the Thousand-Year Blood War came, it was hard to say...

Whether it was his fear at the moment of death or the things about to happen in the future, both made Miyako Amamiya long desperately for power. Only power could let him do what he wanted without having to worry about others.

The next day, Ukitake was puzzled when Miyako Amamiya came to see him, thinking he had changed his mind and come to handle division duties.

"Miyako, you're here! That's wonderful. Have you come to help with division duties? They're over here."

"Ahem, Captain Ukitake, I'm not here about division duties," Miyako Amamiya said.

"Just yesterday, I came to an agreement with Kiyone and Sentarō. From now on, we'll divide up the work."

Ukitake looked at the two beside him, and they addressed him. "Don't worry, Captain Ukitake. Leave division duties to us. Lieutenant Miyako has more important things to do."

How did they get fooled again in just one day? Ukitake wondered.

"Then what brings you here, Miyako?" Ukitake asked.

"Captain, I wanted to ask where I could learn more advanced swordsmanship, hand-to-hand combat, movement, and Kido."

"Oh, so that's what this is about." Ukitake understood. It seemed Miyako Amamiya was still setting strict standards for himself.

"Speaking of the largest repository of knowledge in Soul Society, that would be the Great Spirit Book Gallery. But it's strictly guarded, and people generally aren't allowed inside," Ukitake recalled. "If it's just knowledge of swordsmanship, hand-to-hand combat, movement, and Kido, though, the captains and the great noble families all possess relevant knowledge."

"I could teach you as well, but as you can see, my health may prevent me from teaching you for long. As for theoretical knowledge..." Ukitake pondered.

"Miyako, could you give me a few days? I'll put together the relevant materials for you."

"That would be a huge help, Captain Ukitake." Miyako Amamiya thanked him.

"It's what I should do as captain. I'm also very happy to see my division members getting better and better," Ukitake said with a smile.