My Friends Might Be Doomed? (2)

In the days that followed, the mock trials grew more and more frequent.

The students formed squads of ten and entered the "Trial Grounds," a space the academy had specially prepared using a barrier, where carefully selected Hollows were kept.

These Hollows were not particularly strong. Most were only at the level of lesser Hollows, making them ideal for the students to practice on.

For safety, every Hollow had also been given a special mark. If a student's life was in danger, the mark would activate and forcibly teleport the student out.

By all accounts, trials like these should have been very safe.

But things often went wrong with "should have been."

Shinji Hirako, Love Aikawa, Kensei Muguruma, and Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi were recognized throughout the academy as "geniuses," and each led a squad of his own.

Most of their squad members were students from Rukongai. They were capable and worked well together.

The first few trials had all gone smoothly.

Though students were occasionally injured, it had all remained within manageable limits.

There had been no movement from Tsunayashiro Shigure, either.

Gradually, Hirako and the others let their guard down.

"Hirako, after this, we'll be starting our Soul Reaper Internship."

At a preparatory meeting before one trial, Kensei Muguruma said bluntly, "I wish we could start the internship sooner. These boring trials don't show what I can do at all."

Shinji Hirako rolled his eyes. "Could you stop charging in headfirst every time? Look at you. Whenever Ziyun isn't on your squad, someone always gets hurt. Even you have had your ribs broken."

He tapped the table. "Can't you use your head? Stop trying to solve everything with your fists."

Love Aikawa chimed in from the side. "Hirako's right. Kensei, don't you want to be a captain someday? Who'd let you be one if you keep rushing in like that?"

Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi nodded too. "Combat needs a sense of rhythm, Kensei. Your 'charge in and hit things' style is too crude."

Outnumbered by the three of them, Kensei Muguruma muttered, unconvinced, "I know, I know... I'll be more careful next time, all right?"

Shinji Hirako sighed. "Forget it. There's no point talking to you. Anyway, all we need to do now is finish the trial quickly, then prepare properly for the Soul Reaper Internship."

He paused, then added, "Once this trial is over, let's go out for a good meal. My treat."

"Whoa! Did the sun rise in the west?" Love Aikawa raised an eyebrow. "You're actually treating us, Hirako?"

"What? Can't I?" Shinji Hirako glared at him.

"Sure, sure, of course you can." Love Aikawa grinned. "Then I'm going to order as much as I can."

The four of them chatted and laughed as they made their way to the trial grounds.

What they didn't know was—

This trial would change many things.

At the entrance to the trial grounds, an instructor was announcing the rules. "All squads, get ready! You may now enter the Trial Grounds!"

"Remember—if you encounter danger, activate the mark immediately! Don't push yourselves!"

"Safety first!"

The students entered the portal in turn.

Shinji Hirako's squad was the third group to enter.

The instant he stepped through the portal, he felt the space around him twist.

The next second, he was standing in a dense forest.

This was Trial Grounds Area 3—mostly forest terrain, suited to ambushes and guerrilla warfare.

"Follow the plan," Shinji Hirako ordered. "Split into pairs and search separately. If you find a Hollow, don't act alone. Notify your teammates immediately."

"Yes!"

The squad members answered and quickly split into five groups, scattering in different directions.

Shinji Hirako stayed where he was, making it the command center.

Everything was just as it usually was.

But ten minutes later,

Something went wrong.

The life signs of the first group went out.

They hadn't been injured and teleported out when the marks activated. Their life signs had simply... gone out.

Like candles blown out.

Without warning.

Shinji Hirako's heart sank.

He immediately called over the communicator. "Group one! Respond if you can hear me! Group one!"

There was no answer.

Only the hiss of static.

Then—

The second group's life signs went out too.

The third group...

The fourth group...

In just three minutes, four groups—eight people—had all lost contact.

All their life signs had gone out.

"Damn it!"

Shinji Hirako's face went ashen.

He shouted desperately into the communicator, "Everyone! Return to the starting point immediately! Hurry!"

"I repeat! Everyone! Return to the starting point immediately!"

His voice was hoarse with anxiety.

The same thing was happening in several other areas.

Love Aikawa's squad, Kensei Muguruma's squad, Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi's squad...

Almost at the same time, they all lost contact with members whose life signs went out.

When the surviving squad members stumbled back to the gathering point, terror was written all over their faces.

Shinji Hirako's squad had originally had ten people. Now only six remained, including himself.

Love Aikawa's squad had seven left.

Kensei Muguruma's squad had five left. Kensei himself had a bleeding wound on his arm that was deep enough to expose the bone.

Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi's squad had suffered the worst. Only four remained, and every one of them was injured.

"What's going on?!" Kensei Muguruma roared. "Those Hollows... there's something wrong with those Hollows!"

He pointed at the wound on his arm. "This isn't a wound an ordinary Hollow could make! There's residual Reiatsu in it... and it's strong! At least Menos Grande level!"

Shinji Hirako's expression grew even grimmer. "There shouldn't be any Menos Grande in the Trial Grounds."

He looked at the surviving squad members. "What did you see?"

One of them said, trembling, "W-we ran into three Hollows... b-but they were different from the ones before. They were faster and stronger, and... they worked together."

Another added, "It was like... they were hunting us down. We ran, and they chased us. We hid, and they found us. It was like... like someone was directing them."

Shinji Hirako's heart sank to rock bottom.

He remembered Liu Ziyun's warning.

Tsunayashiro Shigure...

Was it you?

He clenched his teeth and shouted into the communicator, "Instructor! Something's wrong in the Trial Grounds! Requesting immediate termination of the trial! I repeat! Requesting immediate termination of the trial!"

But there was only the hiss of static from the communicator.

No answer.

It was as though... they had been cut off from the rest of the world.

"Communications have been cut off." Love Aikawa's face was pale.

Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi tightened his grip on his Zanpakuto. "We've been set up."

Kensei Muguruma punched a nearby tree, snapping its trunk. "Damn it! Those nobles... those damned nobles!"

Shinji Hirako forced himself to calm down.

He looked around.

Some of the surviving squad members were pale with fear, some were injured and bleeding, and others were still weeping for their dead companions.

But he couldn't lose his composure, because he was the captain.

"Everyone, listen up!" His voice echoed through the forest. "Form a defensive formation around me! The injured go in the inner circle, and those who can still fight go on the outside! We don't know how many enemies there are or where they are, but we have to stay alive! Only by staying alive can we find out what happened! Only by staying alive can we avenge our fallen companions!"

His words gave the panicking squad members a much-needed boost, calming them a little.

They began to follow his orders.

But just then, heavy footsteps came from deep within the forest.

More than one.

Many of them.

A great many Hollows were converging on their position.

Shinji Hirako tightened his grip on his Zanpakuto, determination flashing in his eyes.

"Get ready to fight," he said softly. "To stay alive. To... find out the truth."

The wind blew through the forest, carrying the scent of blood.

In the distance, the Hollows' roars drew closer and closer.

The Trial Grounds had become hunting grounds, and they had become the prey.

Meanwhile, at the Fourth Division Barracks.

Liu Ziyun was treating an injured Soul Reaper.

Suddenly, his heart skipped a beat.

A sense of foreboding welled up inside him.

He stopped what he was doing and looked out the window.

Outside, the sun was shining brightly.

Yet he felt that something bad was happening.

"What's wrong, Ziyun?" Tazawa Kentarō asked.

Liu Ziyun shook his head. "Nothing."

But he clenched his fist.

His nails dug deep into his flesh.

Hirako... Kensei... Love... Rose...

Please... be all right.

He looked in the direction of Shin'ō Academy.

His gaze turned cold.

If... if Tsunayashiro Shigure really was behind this...

Then he would never let that man off.

Never.