Rei and Maki loaded their money and valuables onto a cart left over from the Kujo Group, with room to bring along food, pots, and bowls too. The two decided to travel on to the districts ahead and find a suitable place to live in seclusion.
Along the way, Rei and Maki ran into plenty of people who tried to rob them, as well as a fair number of Hollows. By now, though, those people and Hollows should all have turned into Reishi and passed on to be reincarnated.
Maki and Rei took turns pushing the cart, and after ten whole months of travel, they had only just reached North District 13 of Rukongai. They had been somewhat slow because they stopped for a while whenever they found a good place.
They planned to stop in this district too, to see whether it was suitable for them to live in. Rei felt they had traveled long enough and should find somewhere to settle down before setting out again once they had a home base.
Choosing a place to live was difficult. Some places were too chaotic: even without Hollows and bandits, there were still all kinds of local gangs and factions.
North District 13's main town was large, the largest settlement in Rukongai the two had come across on their journey. More than 300,000 souls lived there.
Rei learned that a newly opened hot spring inn stood on the edge of the district. If he wasn't satisfied with the district, he planned to stay there with Maki for five days before setting off for the next stop.
The hot spring inn was bustling, with men and women coming and going. The two proprietresses were enthusiastic when they saw customers arrive, and their sultry figures drew constant sidelong glances from men who had brought their partners along.
Since this place was already quite close to the Seireitei, many Soul Reapers could often be seen setting out for distant districts or strolling back toward the Seireitei. They were changing shifts.
At the hot spring inn, Rei and Maki sparred in an open space. Maki was still using a battered Asauchi he had picked up and had yet to form a Zanpakuto. On closer inspection, there were several notches in the Asauchi's blade.
Over the past ten months, Maki had been thoroughly beaten in his bouts with Rei, but his skills had improved considerably. In terms of technique alone, Rei already found it hard to defeat him one-on-one and could only overpower him with strength...
"Whew, you've gotten even stronger, Brother Nangong. I really am still a long way behind!" Maki said admiringly, wiping the sweat from his forehead after they finished sparring.
"No need to praise me. I took care of most of the Hollows and bandits we ran into along the way, so I've had more real combat experience than you. Of course I'd be a little stronger. I'll leave some for you to deal with from now on."
Rei felt that Maki lacked the sense of urgency that came with life-or-death battles. Even though he had consistently infused his Reiatsu into his Asauchi, he still hadn't formed a Zanpakuto of his own.
Maki excitedly thanked him. Lately, Rei had been the one fighting up front, while Maki had only killed a few petty thieves while guarding their belongings...
Drenched in sweat, Rei and Maki stripped off their clothes and came over. As their Reiatsu had grown, their bodies had gradually grown as well.
As soon as Rei and Maki entered, the dozen or so men in the hot spring couldn't help glancing at them. Rei was covered in frightening scars; restoring his Reiatsu would have erased them, but he had deliberately kept them to remind himself of the pain he had suffered in battle.
It was just like the scars on the Captain-Commander's body, kept to commemorate the injury inflicted by his lieutenant. The same went for Kenpachi Zaraki and Retsu Unohana, who kept theirs to commemorate the battle they had enjoyed with each other...
The hot spring baths were separated by gender, and three young, vigorous men were discussing the two proprietresses they had just seen...
"Damei and Xiaomei have even better figures now! What a shame!"
"Hehe, in that case, we won't hold back."
"Hehehe..."
The green-haired young man among them expressed his regret. He had brought his girlfriend on this vacation; otherwise, he could have enjoyed their charms. His two friends, meanwhile, were thrilled, feeling that their chance had come.
Hearing the explicit conversation between the guys nearby, Rei finally understood that there was a hidden reason for the inn's popularity. The women who had heard that something strange was going on at the hot spring had all come along to keep an eye on their men.
Rei looked down at his long worm, which had gradually been growing, and wondered whether it would have a chance to find favor. Then he looked at Maki beside him, who was growing more slowly and was smaller than him.
Maki noticed Rei's little gesture, shoved him away, and wrapped himself in a bathrobe. But a middle-aged man nearby noticed it too, and his face flushed red:
"Hey, brat, what are you looking at?"
"Nothing, hehe..."
"You little bastard!"
"Heh, short-worm old man!"
"Bastard..."
"Brother Nangong, let it go!"
As the two traded insults, Rei made the middle-aged man's face turn ashen with anger. But when the old man saw Rei casually pick up his Zanpakuto, he wisely stopped cursing. Maki also stepped in to restrain Rei.
After night fell, Maki infused his Reiatsu into his Asauchi, then entered a light sleep. Rei practiced Zan Zen before going to sleep lightly as well, and the two slept directly on top of the twelve chests of money and valuables.
That was right, the number had increased again. Rei had wiped out quite a few gangs along the way and claimed their money for himself...
The night sky was overcast, and before long, a light rain began to fall. The wooden building had poor soundproofing and even carried sound, and the laughter of men and women came from rooms in a corner of the inn.
Rei and Maki had lived in dangerous surroundings for so long that they had developed excellent hearing. With only three rooms between them, they could hear everything clearly. It seemed to be the two proprietresses flirting separately with the two young men from earlier that day.
Soon, the voices stopped, leaving only the sound of raindrops falling on the wooden roof. Sensing two waves of evil Reiatsu, Rei and Maki snapped their eyes open. Two things resembling spider legs pierced the wooden wall and stabbed toward them.
"Hehehehe, quick reactions! I underestimated you!"
A sinister, evil female voice rang out. Once Rei and Maki steadied themselves, they saw a spider-shaped Hollow, and a female one at that. Its white mask bore red markings that spread across its entire body, and its teeth were stained with blood from some unknown unlucky victim.
"A Hollow? It actually disguised itself as a human..."
Rei tightened his grip on his Zanpakuto. A lower-level Hollow capable of retaining its self-awareness was definitely no ordinary opponent; he had suffered for underestimating one before.
"Help! Help!"
"Aaah!"
Screams rang out across the inn. More than a dozen people were staying there tonight, but only two were screaming. The rest had all ended up in the Hollows' stomachs without realizing it.
"Maki, take care of the one behind us!"
"Yes!"
"You're my prey. Don't even think about escaping."
After receiving Rei's order, Maki pushed the door open and went out. The spider Hollow in front of them spat a web to catch him, but Rei cut it apart with one slash.
"Prey? We'll see who the prey is..."
Before Rei had finished speaking, his Reiatsu began to surge, forcing the spider Hollow to retreat two steps...
The outcome on Rei's side had long since been decided, but Maki was having a hard fight.
This spider Hollow had blue markings rather than red and eight legs. It could not only spray webs but also spray venom from its rear, capable of completely melting a human body.
Maki kept dodging attacks beneath its belly as he moved closer to its abdomen. But the spider Hollow had already seen through his intentions, and a few shots of webbing pinned him to the floor.
"It's over, brat!"
The blue-marked spider Hollow's mask was full of smugness. It raised a sharp foreleg to pierce Maki's head.
This is bad, Maki thought. After struggling desperately to no avail, he could only watch as the spider leg stabbed down...
A large red sword flew in from more than ten meters away, striking the blue-marked spider Hollow's mask squarely and killing it in one blow. It also saved Maki's life.
"Get up! We're spending the night somewhere else..."
"Yes. Thank you, Brother Nangong..."
Rei's tone was calm. He knew Maki would have a hard time dealing with a lower-level Hollow that had evolved its own abilities, so he had quickly dealt with the red-marked Hollow and come to help him.
After packing their luggage, Maki and Rei slept on the street. Soul Reapers had already rushed to the hot spring inn where the battle had taken place, and Rei had only left four characters at the scene: Hollows slain!
The two Hollows had devoured dozens of people over this period, but no one had been able to discover where they were hiding. The missing were all men who had gone looking for excitement at night, so there were few clues...
That night, an exhausted Maki once again fell asleep amid his own helplessness, while Rei remained in a light sleep. He noticed that Maki's Reiatsu had been fluctuating since the fight and figured he was about to form his Zanpakuto.
Early the next morning, Maki shook Rei awake from his night of light sleep...
"Brother Nangong, look! This is my Zanpakuto!"
"Really? Hahaha, you're amazing! Real combat really did do you a whole lot of good..."
"Now I can help out too."
"Mm, keep it up!"
Rei had already known, but he didn't interrupt Maki's excitement. The process by which Maki formed his Zanpakuto had been much like his own: both had completed it in their sleep.
After this incident, Rei grew a little wiser. They found another inn, this time in a busy part of town. He didn't mind paying more, and he decided he would no longer stay at inns in out-of-the-way places.
After leaving their luggage and changing clothes, he and Maki prepared to go out and take a good look around the large town. With several guards, this inn had the highest level of security in town.
Moreover, the inn's owner was a mid-ranking noble. No one would be blind enough to offend a noble by stealing from his guests.
So Rei felt safe leaving their valuables at the inn. If someone really did steal them, he could only say he was destined to be a pauper, unable to become wealthy even after becoming a ghost...
After walking around for half the day, Rei bought several sets of high-end clothes and put one on: a long red coat reaching his knees, with a black casual shirt and trousers underneath. It made Rei feel as if he had returned to modern times, even though he was still living in an antiquated society.
The fabric in the districts they had passed through had been poor, and the styles had been old-fashioned too, consisting entirely of robes. Only Maki liked buying black outfits that imitated Soul Reaper uniforms.
Around noon, Rei and Maki entered an upscale restaurant, where people were drinking and chatting in groups of three or five. To their surprise, two tables were occupied by Soul Reapers, kneeling with their Zanpakuto beside them.
There was a low table with no stools and two straw mats on the floor. Rei and Maki sat facing each other.
Maki knelt, showing that he understood etiquette and respected Rei. Rei, however, couldn't manage it. He found kneeling uncomfortable, so he sat with one knee raised and the other leg folded beneath him...
"Have you heard? Someone killed two Hollows nearby last night, and it wasn't a Soul Reaper!"
"Yeah, I heard too. Those two Hollows devoured more than sixty people over the past month, and we still hadn't found out where they were hiding. To think someone who wasn't a Soul Reaper killed them."
"What impressive skills!"
At the table beside Rei and Maki, three Soul Reapers were discussing the Hollows the two had killed the previous night. From their tone, Rei gradually gauged his own level. If he joined the Gotei 13, he would at least be a Seated Officer.
That level of strength was already impressive, considering he didn't know a damn thing. Of a Soul Reaper's four basic skills, he probably only knew how to slash. As for Kidō, unarmed Hakuda, and flash step, he had never learned them at all.
Each squad in the Gotei 13 had only twenty seats, though multiple people could hold the same seat. If Rei studied a little, his exceptional Reiatsu would be more than enough to make him a sixth or fifth seat in a squad.
At one table, a Soul Reaper had drunk too much and began slurring that he had taken part in putting down a Soul Reaper rebellion and had barely escaped with his life. Unexpectedly, another group of fairly strong Soul Reapers had escaped, and he still had to go after them...