A Conversation in the Hospital Room

When Renji pushed open the door to the medical room, Kou was lying on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. Bandages were wrapped around his body from his chest to his waist, and there were several bandages on his arms. He looked like a piece of porcelain that had been pieced together. Hearing the door open, he turned his head, saw Renji walk in, and his lips twitched slightly.

"Yo, Renji- senpai."

"Yo." Renji sat down on the chair by the bed, crossed his legs, and placed Zabimaru on his lap. "How have you been lately? How's your recovery going?"

"Not bad." Amber tried to shrug, but winced in pain as soon as she moved. "Captain Kuchiki really went all out."

Renji chuckled.

"Be content. You're one of the few who survived the Senkei."

He sat there, his fingers unconsciously tapping the scabbard, his gaze sweeping across the ward—white walls, white sheets, the rustling of bamboo leaves outside the window. Then his gaze returned to Hu, and his lips moved slightly.

"Rukia's verdict," Renji said in a low voice, "Is death in the Renji instance."

"I know. Shaoling told me."

Renji's fingers were still resting on the scabbard, his knuckles slightly white.

"I went to see her at the Senzaikyū today," he said. "She was wearing a white Sin Robe and handcuffs on her wrists. I asked her why she didn't offer any explanation, and she said—'Because I want to save him.'"

His voice trembled as he repeated the sentence.

Koko didn't speak. Renji lowered his head, staring at his hands.

"Amber, I admire you." His voice was soft. "A month ago at the Second Division training grounds, it took you, Maeda, and me to barely challenge Captain Kuchiki in his Shikai Marechiyo Ōmaeda. And now you've managed to force Captain Kuchiki to use his Bankai all by yourself."

He raised his head and looked at Hu, his eyes revealing a helplessness that had been suppressed for too long and was finally seeping out from the cracks.

"I envy you. You've become so strong so quickly, able to do things I want to do but can't. I..."

He didn't finish speaking. His fists clenched, his nails digging into his palms.

"I don't know what to do," he managed to squeeze out from deep in his throat.

"Rukia is going to be executed. I want to save her. But I am the Lieutenant of the Sixth Division, and my duty is to carry out the orders of the Central 46."

Moreover, I can't defeat Captain Kuchiki, nor can I change the laws of Soul Society. I can't even bring myself to say 'I want to save her'—in the Senzaikyū, I stood right in front of her, yet I couldn't utter a single word."

His hands were trembling.

Hu looked at him, remaining silent for a long time. The rustling of bamboo leaves outside the window filled the ward, one after another, like something repeatedly washing over the riverbank. Then he spoke.

"Renji- senpai, you look a lot like me when I was training."

Renji looked up.

"Back then, the instructor in charge of training me pushed me to the brink. I lay in a pool of blood, covered in wounds, feeling completely powerless and unable to do anything."

"Then he told me that there is no room for hesitation in battle. Cowardice leads to defeat, hesitation to death."

Renji's fingers twitched slightly.

"I only understood then." Hu seemed to be savoring the feeling at the time. "I always felt that I wasn't strong enough, so I couldn't do anything. But that's not actually the case—it should be about deciding to do something first, and then becoming stronger in the process of doing it."

Hu lay relaxed on the hospital bed.

"Some things don't have to wait until you're capable to do them. Strength doesn't come when you're prepared—it comes when you decide to move forward. If you stay in one place and just think about it, you'll never be able to overcome the thorns in front of you."

Renji opened his mouth but didn't speak. He lowered his head, looking at his hands. Those hands, which had held Zabimaru, had seen countless battles. His brows were furrowed, and his lips were tightly pressed together, as if he was trying to digest something, but always falling short.

Looking at him, Hu reached under the pillow and pulled out a coin. It had probably gotten into his clothes during the fight and been left by the bedside when he changed into his hospital gown. Hu felt it was fate and kept it.

It was just an ordinary coin, its edges worn smooth and shiny. He pulled Renji's wrist and placed the coin in his palm.

Renji looked down at the coin in his palm. "... What's this for? Are you making me flip a coin to decide?"

"No." Hu released his hand. "Flipping a coin isn't for you to see the result."

It's about letting you feel, at the very moment you toss the coin, which side you truly desire—heads or tails. You know what you want before the coin even falls to the ground.

He leaned back against the pillow. "Renji- senpai really has no other choice but to try this..."

Renji stared at the coin in his palm for a long time. Then he clenched the coin, stood up, and turned to walk towards the door. He paused at the door but didn't look back.

"Thanks."

The door closed. The ward fell silent again, the rustling of bamboo leaves filling the chair where Renji had sat. Amber looked at the ceiling and let out a long breath.

After an unknown amount of time, the door was pushed open again. When Cilian walked in, Hu was trying to sit up by himself. He had only managed to prop himself up halfway when he saw that familiar figure in the doorway. His hand went limp and he fell back down, hitting the back of his head on the pillow, which made him cough violently.

"Don't get agitated." Cilian walked over and patted his back.

Hu finally stopped coughing and looked up at Cilian. Since arriving at Seireitei, he had only seen Cilian a handful of times. Every time he went to see him, Ci Lian was either busy or on his way to do something else.

"Teach--"

Before she could speak, a dark shadow darted out from behind Cilian and landed nimbly on Amber's bed. It was a black cat with glossy fur and golden eyes. Amber's eyes widened instantly, her mouth agape—

The cat's paw pressed directly onto his mouth.

"Don't make a sound," Yoruichi's voice came from the cat's mouth, very low. "I came back to see you secretly on behalf of Kisuke. I'll leave right away. Don't make a sound."

Amber nodded frantically. The cat withdrew its paw, Yoruichi squatted on his blanket, and Cilian pulled over a chair from the bedside and sat down.

"How does it feel to fight the captain of the Sixth Division and face his Bankai- on?" Cilian's tone was as casual as if she were asking what she had eaten that day rather than asking about a deadly battle.

Hu leaned against the headboard, thought about the battle situation at the time, and then his words began to flow out like a tap that had been turned on.

"Captain Kuchiki is cheating. What is Bankai?!"

First, there was Gokei —the sheer number of petals was outrageous, surging in from all directions like a tsunami. I cleaved through one layer, and ten more rushed up. He even hid himself in the sea of flowers, closing in on Senkei completely. There was no escape; he just locked me inside."

Hu took a sip of water.

"And speaking of that domain of the Senkei, I was truly disgusted by it." Hu got more and more excited as he spoke, gesturing with his hand out from under the covers. "That space was incredibly solid, and the Reiatsu required to drive the Judgment Cut to tear through space was two or three times the normal amount. What's worse, that domain was constantly draining my Reiatsu; even standing there still caused me to lose energy. I've never been so disgusted before."

"I charged in with my Phantom Blade and Kidō, but he immediately used a Dankū, rendering my Kidō useless. I've only reached Sequence Sixty, and he completely overwhelmed me with Dankū. I could break through with Beowulf, but that thing consumes too much Reiatsu; I was panting after just one punch. My Summoned Swords out, Senkei all the swords and blades hanging around me. In the end, I could only rely on Beowulf to break through a path, and by the time I finally got close, my Reiatsu was almost depleted. I was defeated after only a few rounds."

Meanwhile, in a corner of the Sixth Division Tea Room, Byakuya was also reminiscing about that day's battle.

No one knows what he's thinking, but if someone could hear him, it would probably sound like this:

What's wrong with Amber? After Bankai, each of Senbonzakura's blades gained a significant increase in strength. But when they flew to Amber's side, they were still cut apart. The increase in the number of blades was meaningless to him—when he used Judgment Cut, he could cut through a large area with a single strike. Gokei posed no threat to him whatsoever.

After transforming into the Senkei, he thought that the autonomous space constructed by his own Reiatsu would be much stronger than the unclaimed space outside. He thought that with his Shikai alone, he would no longer be able to easily cut through space. In that case, the Jiku'a would just be a slightly sharper Zanpakuto.

However, he can still cut. Each time he is cut open, I need to expend Reiatsu to quickly replenish it, which is quite costly.

If I hadn't shown no fear, making him feel that the Judgment Cut was too taxing and yielded little result, I would have been considering whether to take back the Senkei.

Even if he no longer uses the abilities of Jiku'a easily, Amber is still a formidable opponent. First, there's Phantom Blade — the Kidō unleashed through that sword are amplified. Without using the Dankū Piercing Technique, it's impossible to block. Combined with his Shunpo speed, without the continuous weakening effect of the Senkei's attacks, it's hard to say whose Reiatsu will run out first.

Then there are the Summoned Swords. Spatial Kidō with such low energy consumption are really troublesome. If they are not destroyed in time, they will be caught off guard. Senkei is not that intelligent, so he can only pay attention to each Summoned Swords he shoots and destroy them in time.

Finally, the most dangerous was Beowulf. That armor was no joke. Against him, the Dankū was no different from glass.

Although I noticed that the physical Beowulf consumed significantly more energy than the phantom form, I deliberately kept inducing him to use this set of equipment in order to deplete his Reiatsu, which was comparable to that of Captain-level.

However, its threat level remains extremely high. It can be concluded that if Hu, dressed in that suit of armor, were to seize an opportunity, it would almost certainly be fatal.

In Soul Society, only a handful of Soul Reaper can withstand a full-force attack from that set of armored weapons and emerge unscathed. I am not among them.

I can't believe this is the fighting power of a Soul Reaper has only mastered Shikai...

After venting his frustrations, Hu leaned against the pillows, panting. Cilian waited until his breathing calmed down before speaking.

"Bankai is the ultimate technique of Soul Reaper, and it can even be one of the conditions for captain selection. There is a huge gap between a Bankai Soul Reaper has Bankai and Soul Reaper who does not." He stated it as if it were a very ordinary fact.

"To fight Soul Reaper Bankai this extent with Shikai, or even without Zanpakuto, is something only a handful of people in Soul Society can do." As she said this, Cilian glanced at the cat crouching on the blanket: Coincidentally, there are two such people in this hospital room...

The black cat, perched on the blanket, puffed out its chest and held its tail high. "Yes, you can be proud of that."

In the hospital room, after listening to Cilian's words, Hu leaned back on the pillow, her eyes lighting up. "Then I want to master Bankai too."

Cilian shook her head. "Bankai isn't something you can master overnight. It's the ultimate technique; you have to take it one step at a time."

"But I heard that Mr. Urahara has something called the 'Tenshintai,' which can quickly teach Bankai." Amber leaned forward. "Shaoling mentioned it to me before."

Yoruichi's tail stopped. She remembered her conversation with Urahara at the Urahara Shop before she came to visit Koko.

"Yoruichi, if Kou wants to quickly learn Bankai because of his battle with Byakuya, never recommend the Tenshintai to him."

At the time, she found it strange. If Amber needed to become stronger, obtaining Bankai would be the best way, so why not let him use the Tenshintai?

Urahara sat behind the counter, his hat pulled low.

"Because Amber's Zanpakuto ability is extremely unique. In the worst-case scenario, whether Aizen can be killed really depends on his Zanpakuto."

If using the Tenshintai doesn't grant him Bankai, but instead causes him to lose his Zanpakuto, it's practically like losing his biggest trump card. This is something he absolutely cannot gamble on."

Yoruichi snapped out of her thoughts, raising her paw and pressing it against Amber's hand. "The Tenshintai isn't suitable for you. Give it up. Urahara won't let you use it anyway."

Amber opened her mouth, looked at Yoruichi's cat face, then at Cilian. Cilian nodded as well. "Opportunism is not advisable."

He leaned back against the pillow and let out a long sigh. "... Alright. If even the inventors disagree, then there's nothing we can do."

"Don't think about taking shortcuts." Cilian stood up. "Take it one step at a time. You'll master Bankai sooner or later."

He turned and walked towards the door. Yoruichi jumped off the covers and followed behind him.

After the two left, Amber stared at the ceiling, hearing the rustling of bamboo leaves drifting in from outside the window. The bitterness in his heart remained unresolved. Cilian had said to take it one step at a time, but if he really practiced for hundreds of years, he'd be too late for anything. And for some reason, Urahara possessed the quick-fix method, was unwilling to let him try. This was truly worrying...

As evening approached, the door opened again. Yin walked in, carrying an oil paper package. He sat down on the chair by the bed, unwrapped the package, and found several steaming pastries inside.

"Xiao Hu, how's your recovery going? I bought this on the way here." He pushed the oil paper package towards Hu.

Hu didn't look at the snacks; his attention was entirely on Yin's wrist—the persimmon-colored bracelet with its Gin Hanabi pendant hanging quietly at her side. Hu's lips slowly curled up into a smile.

"Brother Yin."

"Um?"

"Has the bracelet been given away yet?"

Yin's wrist twitched slightly, and the pendant swayed gently. He didn't pull his hand back, but simply sat there, letting Hu's gaze fall on that persimmon color. A faint smile, naturally spreading from the corner of his mouth, appeared on his lips.

"I really have to thank you for this."

Hu was taken aback. He had prepared a whole host of witty remarks, but this honest thank you completely shut him down. He looked at Yin as if he were looking at someone he didn't really know.

"... Brother Yin, you've become more straightforward."

Yin didn't answer, but just smiled and took a pastry from the oil paper package and handed it to him.

Hu took the pastry and took a bite; it was so sweet that he frowned. He swallowed the pastry and looked out the window. Dusk seeped in through the gaps in the bamboo leaves, bathing the entire ward in a pale golden hue.

"Brother Yin."

"Um."

"Can you teach me Bankai?"

Yin looked at him, her eyes, which had been narrowed, opened slightly before closing again.

"Sure," he said.