Chapter 20
"Looks like it's time I fulfilled my duties as lieutenant of the Thirteenth Division..." After listening to the two of them, Miyako Amamiya had a plan. After all, Miyako had personally promised Ukitake and the others, and wanted to take the matter seriously.
Before that, however, Miyako needed to ask the division members for the details of the incident. Even a challenge at their doorstep needed a proper justification.
"Aaaagh!" In the 11th Division's training room, Fourth Seat Nomura went flying backward with a wail. The other members of the 11th Division exchanged glances and swallowed. None dared step forward.
"Hey, even Fourth Seat got taken down. Who started that rumor about the Thirteenth Division having no one to carry on after them?"
"But Miyako's been in the Thirteenth Division for less than two years..."
"Idiot, I heard Miyako became lieutenant by defeating the Third Seat!"
"Damn it. If the captain and lieutenant weren't out, and Third Seat Madarame and Fifth Seat Ayasegawa hadn't taken Sixth Seat Abarai out with them, things wouldn't have come to this."
Miyako looked at the Fourth Seat sprawled on the floor and sighed.
After listening to Kiyone Kotetsu and Sentarō Kotsubaki's complaints, Miyako had asked the other division members for the full story and discovered that the matter actually involved Miyako too. The reason the 11th Division had mocked them was precisely the choice of lieutenant.
Word of Miyako's recent appointment as lieutenant had yet to spread widely, so the 11th Division had assumed that, after being mocked for so long, the Thirteenth Division had picked someone at random as lieutenant to serve as a figurehead, but whose strength was pitifully weak.
As lieutenant, failing to respond to such provocation would only make the rumors grow more exaggerated. After consulting Ukitake, Miyako had personally come to challenge the 11th Division to prevent this from happening again.
Hopefully, they'll rein it in a little after this. Miyako knew those battle maniacs in the 11th Division respected strength, not virtue, and wanted to beat them into submission in one go.
Miyako had naturally given the visit careful thought. Needless to say, 11th Division Captain Kenpachi Zaraki was far beyond Miyako's current ability to defeat, but Kenpachi had no interest in those weaker than himself.
Lieutenant Yachiru Kusajishi generally did not fight, since her true identity was Kenpachi's Zanpakuto.
That left Ikkaku Madarame as the strongest opponent Miyako might encounter in the 11th Division.
"Hey, I heard everything. Your Third Seat is out on business, right?" Miyako called to them.
"Y-y-y-y-yeah! If Third Seat Madarame were here, he'd never let you get away with this," someone nearby said, putting on a brave front.
"I'll wait right here for him. Go ahead and get him." Miyako returned both swords to the waist and sat down cross-legged.
They discussed it among themselves.
"Quick, go find Third Seat Madarame!" After that shout, several people hurried out of the 11th Division.
Miyako settled in to wait. In truth, Miyako had also come for personal reasons, hoping to measure swordsmanship against the 11th Division's members. Ukitake could offer only theoretical knowledge, and the only capable fighters in the division were Sentarō Kotsubaki and Rukia Kuchiki.
But Sentarō had division affairs to handle, and Rukia's Zanjutsu had long since stopped improving, so Miyako had to look to other divisions.
And Ikkaku Madarame was an excellent choice.
After a while, Ikkaku finally arrived, and the people around him parted to make a path.
"Hey, hey, hey, you guys are useless. With this many of you, couldn't a single one beat Miyako?" Ikkaku rubbed his gleaming bald head with a helpless look.
"Honestly, your embarrassing behavior is not beautiful in the slightest," Yumichika Ayasegawa added from behind him.
Renji Abarai, who followed them, looked in surprise at Miyako sitting on the ground ahead. He hadn't expected Miyako to be the one who had come to challenge them.
"Kid, give me your name. You've got the guts to challenge the 11th Division, so I respect you as a man!" Ikkaku stepped forward and spoke to Miyako.
"Are you Third Seat Madarame? I'm Miyako Amamiya, lieutenant of the Thirteenth Division. I've come to seek your instruction," Miyako said, standing up.
"A lieutenant? Now that's interesting. I never thought anyone would come knocking to challenge the 11th Division. Don't you know the 11th Division was born to fight?"
"I didn't want to, but your members mock our division every day. As lieutenant, I couldn't stand by and watch anymore."
"Oh, really? How come I haven't heard about it?" Ikkaku looked around and saw several members flinch in fright. "Forget it. The reason doesn't matter."
"It's not every day someone challenges the 11th Division, so I'll give you a proper fight!" Ikkaku said excitedly, reaching for his sword.
"Wait, Mr. Ikkaku." Renji stepped forward to stop him.
"Renji? Are you trying to steal my opponent?" Ikkaku looked at him, displeased.
"Sorry, Mr. Ikkaku. I really want to fight this person." Renji wanted to see how strong Miyako was and how Miyako had become lieutenant so quickly.
Seeing the determination in Renji's eyes, Ikkaku reluctantly gave up his opponent.
"Hey, Renji, I'll let it go this time. But if you lose, I won't let you off easy."
Renji stepped forward and drew his sword.
"That's unusual, Ikkaku. I never thought you'd give up an opponent," Yumichika said with a smile.
"Tch..." Ikkaku said no more.
In the training area, Miyako and Renji faced each other with swords drawn.
"Abarai, I hear you're about to become lieutenant of the Sixth Division. Congratulations. Oh, right, Rukia wanted to congratulate you too, but she's about to leave on a mission, so she didn't have time to come." Miyako was also curious about his strength and had not stopped him from stepping forward to challenge Miyako.
"Rukia?" Renji said in surprise. Then he asked, "Lieutenant Amamiya, what's your relationship with Rukia?"
"Our relationship? Well... for now, I suppose she's a 'junior' I look after." Miyako offered no further explanation.
"Then did you have something to do with Rukia recovering too?"
"I just talked some sense into that idiot who was overthinking things." Miyako had no intention of telling him just how much talking that had taken.
"I see..." Renji said. He was glad Rukia had recovered, but disappointed in his own inability to help.
But I still have to get stronger. Even though Rukia has recovered...
"Come on, Abarai."
Renji took a deep breath, tightened his grip on his Zanpakuto, and stepped forward with a slash.
Miyako blocked Renji's sword with one blade, but only barely managed to hold it off.
As I thought, one hand is still a bit of a stretch. But that's exactly what I want.
Miyako quickly slashed at Renji with the other sword.
Renji saw the blade coming and hurriedly pulled back to dodge it.
"Two swords..."
"That's right, my Zanpakuto is a pair of swords. If you think I'm using numbers against you, we can switch to wooden training swords."
"There's no need," Renji said, before slashing again with even greater force.
"Tch, two swords? What a shame I gave him to Renji," Ikkaku said regretfully from the sidelines.
"Didn't you just let him have the fight? Why are you already changing your mind?" Yumichika asked, puzzled.
"There aren't many people in Soul Society who wield two swords. Fighting a completely different weapon like that is a rare opportunity."
"Miyako's from the Thirteenth Division, right? As long as you're both in the Seireitei, you'll get a chance to fight sooner or later."
"Third Seat Madarame, Fifth Seat Ayasegawa, this Miyako Amamiya seems to be a big deal," a division member beside them said.
"Huh? I can tell that much without you saying it. Just look at the fight with Renji." Ikkaku watched the two combatants clash nonstop in the training area.
"That's not what I mean. We went and asked around. It turns out the Thirteenth Division didn't have an officially appointed lieutenant, but recently Miyako Amamiya suddenly became its lieutenant."
"Oh? Now that's interesting. What's Miyako's background?" Ikkaku asked excitedly.
"I heard Miyako met the requirements for early graduation after four years at the Shin'ō Academy, then became lieutenant less than two years after joining the Thirteenth Division. A genuine prodigy."
"What did you say?!" Ikkaku roared. "Damn it, what a waste to give this fight to Renji! I never thought Miyako would be a genius like Captain Hitsugaya."
Ikkaku stared intently at Miyako, trying to gauge Miyako's strength.
In the training area, Renji attacked again and again, but Miyako dealt with each strike.
Damn it, are two swords really this troublesome? Every time Renji attacked, Miyako skillfully deflected the force with the two blades, leaving him unable to land a damaging blow.
At the same time, Miyako found something strange. Though Miyako could block Renji's attacks relatively easily, he also dodged every attack Miyako made. It did not seem as though he had anticipated them, but rather that he had avoided them by instinct.
Instinct like a wild beast's...? Miyako thought. But instinct alone won't stop my attacks.
Miyako went on the offensive, driving Renji back with repeated slashes from both swords.
Miyako hadn't spent all that time in the Mindscape just taking a beating. Fighting the Zanpakuto had also greatly improved Miyako's skill with two swords.
Renji forcefully drove Miyako back, but Miyako immediately charged in again.
Holding both swords sideways at the waist, Miyako rushed at Renji. Before he could react, Miyako drew a blade and slashed down at him. When he blocked it, Miyako used the force against the sword to leap over his head.
Then Miyako thrust straight at Renji's body.
Renji had no choice but to dodge sideways, but Miyako's other sword slashed at him without mercy.
Though he immediately blocked the slashing blade, Miyako reversed the grip on the thrusting sword and stabbed to the side again.
"It's like a tornado," Ikkaku couldn't help remarking as he watched Miyako fight.
Miyako alternated between forward and reverse grips on the two swords, fighting so differently from traditional Zanjutsu that the attacks were impossible to parry.
"Renji's losing ground," Yumichika observed.
"Yeah." Ikkaku watched the fight with great interest.
Renji stumbled under an attack, and Miyako knew the opportunity had come.
I'm too far away. He'll probably recover his stance by the time I reach him. Miyako made an instant decision and threw one sword at Renji.
What? A thrown sword? It was the first time Renji had seen anyone fight like this, and he was shocked.
Before he could recover his stance, he hurriedly swung his sword again to block the flying blade, but the impact made him tremble.
Miyako seized the chance to kick Renji's sword hand, then caught the thrown blade. With one sword, Miyako knocked Renji's weapon away, and laid the other across his neck.
"The fight is over," Miyako said calmly.
Renji looked at Miyako, bitterness welling up inside him. He had never expected to lose even in Zanjutsu, the skill he took pride in.
"All right!" Ikkaku shouted from the sidelines. "I'm next!"
With that, he hurried forward, sword in hand. Miyako had piqued his interest, and he could hardly wait.
"Mr. Ikkaku, I..." Renji said dejectedly.
But a commotion arose at the edge of the crowd, followed by a rough voice.
"Hey, what are you all gathered around for?"
"C-C-Captain Zaraki!" Everyone hurriedly scattered and bowed to the returning Kenpachi Zaraki.
"I see. Someone's fighting? How interesting. And you didn't even call me over."
"What's this, Renji? You've already lost?" Kenpachi looked at the three people in the training area with a fierce expression, then at Renji's Zanpakuto lying nearby, and got a rough idea of what had happened.
"Interesting. Kid, what's your name?"
Miyako calmly put away both swords and said to Kenpachi, "Miyako Amamiya, lieutenant of the Thirteenth Division. Hello, Captain Zaraki."
"A lieutenant? What, are you here to challenge us? Then I'll have to see what you can do."
"Captain, please let me! There's no need for you to step in yet," Ikkaku said hastily, afraid Kenpachi would steal his opponent.
If Miyako fought Captain Zaraki, the battle would probably be over in an instant.
Miyako, however, had no intention of continuing to fight, much less facing Kenpachi. "Let's leave it for today."
"What?!" Ikkaku looked at Miyako, thinking Miyako wanted to run away.
"Let's save our fight for next time, Third Seat Madarame. Don't worry, I'll come back. As for a match with Captain Zaraki, I know my own limits."
"Besides, the Seireitei's rules don't allow Captain-level figures to fight as they please. You know that too, don't you, Captain Zaraki?"
"Tch, kid, you sure know Soul Society's damn rules. You're the type I hate," Kenpachi said in displeasure. He had thought coming to the Seireitei would let him fight more people, but those rules had instead kept him from enjoying battle.
"What a shame, Kenny." A little pink-haired girl popped up from behind Kenpachi and spoke to her.
"One more thing. I hope you can keep your members in line, Captain Zaraki. Tell them not to go around mocking other divisions," Miyako said with a sigh.
"Mocking them? I didn't know those guys had so much time on their hands. Looks like their usual training has been too easy," Kenpachi said with a vicious grin.
In his view, they would be better off improving their strength than doing something so boring. A personality like Miyako's, one that dared to fight back, was more to his taste.
"Eek!" The division members nearby trembled all over at Kenpachi's words.
"Third Seat Madarame, I'll come find you next time. Let's have a proper fight then." Miyako said goodbye and walked out the door.
"Interesting." Ikkaku watched Miyako leave, his excitement mounting as he looked forward to their next fight.