Mutual Aid District

After a day of classes, it was time for evening training again.

Having arranged a time with Tōsen Kaname, the two began sparring once more, continuing until both were utterly exhausted.

During a brief break, Arima Shizuya voiced his question.

"Hakuda? If you're asking me, then you've probably come to the wrong person..."

"After all, Hakuda is ultimately a general term for techniques refined, combined, and integrated from close-quarters combat."

"It isn't difficult to get started, but improving further is absolutely no simple matter."

"There actually aren't many instructors at the Academy who are proficient in it. As one of the Four Great Basic Skills, it has rather limited applications."

"You should be able to understand the difficulty, right? After all, a person's energy is limited. Everyone can only choose their priorities and train accordingly before they can achieve anything."

"So everyone has fields they aren't good at. When I took my first-year exams, I was once rated among the very worst in Kido."

"But in the end, the tests aren't overly demanding. The Academy isn't an organization designed to make things difficult for people."

As Tōsen Kaname spoke of his insights and experiences, he handed over the cup of water he had brought.

The benefits of an intense sparring session far surpassed beating a wooden post several times over. Without replenishing water, the body would start crying out in protest.

Arima Shizuya sat on the ground, breathing heavily as he quietly thanked him.

"So it isn't easy to find someone skilled in Hakuda?"

Tōsen Kaname sat beside Arima Shizuya and pondered for a moment.

"At the very least, I don't think it would be that simple."

That really was a headache.

After all, finding someone who could fight and having them give him some "kind guidance" was Arima Shizuya's shortcut to learning.

"Most Shinigami use their Zanpakuto as their primary means of attack. Hakuda is more of an emergency measure. Oh..."

After thinking for a while, Tōsen Kaname added,

"Those from the Stealth Force tend to be quite skilled in that area. Unfortunately, I have no connections to people like that either."

Tōsen Kaname could not see, so he remained posed as though gazing into empty air as he spoke calmly.

"My apologies."

Arima Shizuya let out a long breath, withdrew the arm supporting him, and sprawled flat on the ground.

"Apologizing is a bit too formal, isn't it? Well... I was just asking casually."

"It is a matter of attitude, not content."

"You're awfully old-fashioned. Are you some old man...?"

The corners of Tōsen Kaname's lips rose slightly. Rather than respond, he chose to change the subject.

"Though I don't know why you suddenly want to practice Hakuda, I wouldn't recommend it from the perspective of a Second-year student."

After draining the water in his cup, Tōsen Kaname lowered his right hand back onto his sword hilt.

"You only need to muddle through the exams. People should know their own limits. Your Kendo is far above your Hakuda; you mustn't waste that talent."

Oh?

Arima Shizuya could not help but chuckle.

"You say some pretty encouraging things from time to time."

"That is simply the truth of what I think... Forget it. There is no point saying more to a vulgar person like you."

Arima Shizuya could feel the disdain radiating from Tōsen Kaname. He slowly rose and extended his right hand toward him.

"Let's end today's sparring here."

You swung your wooden sword and engaged in intimate exchange with Tōsen Kaname. Kendo +2

The effect had worsened somewhat.

That meant his Kendo had already drawn increasingly close to Tōsen Kaname's level.

Arima Shizuya reached out his right hand, intending to use the support to sit up at once. But he failed to keep his expression under control.

"Ow!"

The sharp pain shooting through his muscles was so intense that Arima Shizuya could not help crying out.

Clutching his arm, he sucked in cold breaths, feeling even his head begin to throb.

Tōsen Kaname crouched halfway down, a deep crease forming between his brows. He seemed somewhat confused. "You... why are your injuries still so severe?"

You're asking me? Shouldn't you be asking yourself why you hit so hard? As if recalling something, Tōsen Kaname pondered for a moment before asking,

"Have you not asked someone to use the Healing Way on you?"

"...That's a thing?"

"Of course it is. You really don't understand anything, do you?"

With a quiet sigh, Tōsen Kaname extended both hands this time, holding Arima Shizuya by the elbows and helping him to his feet.

"I told you before, didn't I? Everyone has their own strengths. So even among students, there are those who focus particularly on Kido."

"Some of these students have clear ambitions. They choose to specialize in it and enjoy developing their abilities in that field."

"So someone like me can find classmates who aspire to join the Fourth Division of the Gotei 13 and ask them to provide treatment."

"Of course, since their skills are still lacking, or because they need practice, their techniques naturally won't be very mature..."

"I'm sure I needn't explain the issues with that. You should be able to weigh them yourself."

As he spoke, Tōsen Kaname pointed at his wrist.

Arima Shizuya knew that Tōsen Kaname had focused on striking that spot twice yesterday. It had been an injury severe enough to affect his movements.

There was no way it could have recovered to this extent in just a day and night through natural healing alone.

So you had a healer backing you up all along! Before Arima Shizuya could complain, Tōsen Kaname had already put on a thoroughly disdainful expression.

"Though I already thought you were a little slow, I never imagined it would be this bad..."

Arima Shizuya wanted to retort, but he could not seem to find any reason to do so.

All he could offer was a weak defense.

"At times like this, you just have to endure with sheer willpower. Willpower!"

"...Are you the hot-blooded idiot type?"

Having made a rare joke, Tōsen Kaname chuckled and shook his head before adding,

"When you have time, take a walk around the first floor of the School Building. That area has been explicitly opened by the school for student groups. If you need anything, you can seek help there. Though that said, they're students after all, so there are some unreliable people there..."

So there was a place like that.

He had learned something new!

"You've been a huge help, Tōsen."

He could see the other's face twitch slightly, as though he had instinctively wanted to smile, only to quickly suppress it.

He even controlled his expressions so carefully. What a stubbornly proud guy.

"You're welcome."

The two parted at the entrance to the dojo, bringing the day's training to an end.

After returning to his dorm to rest, Arima Shizuya deliberately adjusted his alarm.

The next day,

during the hour before class, Arima Shizuya visited the Mutual Aid Station on the first floor of the School Building that Tōsen Kaname had mentioned.

Looking at the handwritten posters covering the walls and all sorts of strange promotional notices, Arima Shizuya's expression became somewhat subtle.

This really did have the flavor of student-run management...

Since he had arrived too early, there was hardly anyone around. Arima Shizuya was happy for the peace and began examining the mutual aid notices.

Some were looking for roommates, while others were selling secondhand goods.

There were even posts recruiting girlfriends... What kind of lunatic would answer something like that?

Just as he was thinking this,

a pair of hands reached in from the side and tore down the notice in front of Arima Shizuya.

"..."

Huh? Turning his head belatedly, Arima Shizuya saw a figure with an imposing presence.

Like him, the other person wore the blue-and-white uniform of the Spiritual Arts Academy.

But her height was somewhat outrageous...

Arima Shizuya was already over six feet tall, yet she was still nearly half a head taller than him.

What did this person eat growing up? How is this so absurd? As he wondered, the youth looked up and met her gaze.

Pale golden eyes. Short, somewhat messy silver-gray hair.

Her two thick eyebrows were especially striking as well.

With that rather androgynous face, she was currently staring at Arima Shizuya with an exceedingly calm expression.

The atmosphere became a little awkward.

After all, when someone towered over you like that, it was difficult to summon the courage to speak.

Yet she took the initiative to break the silence.

"Are you looking to put up a new mutual aid notice?"

Uh? A woman? Arima Shizuya came to his senses with a start. He wanted to say something, but she continued on her own.

"If so, please wait a moment. This is an area that needs to be cleared... The newest notices can be posted over there."

Her tone was somewhat cold, but at least her actions were quite helpful.

As Arima Shizuya watched her continuously tear notices from the wall, she turned slightly, allowing him to see her profile clearly.

She wore several thin braids, along with matching red bar-shaped earrings that swayed gently beneath her earlobes...

Like wind chimes hanging before a window.

They were rather delicate little things, making them somewhat eye-catching.

Arima Shizuya stared for a moment, slightly lost in thought.

"Um..."

She stopped what she was doing and turned her head toward him.

Her brows drew together slightly, and her cool expression softened into one that looked somewhat troubled.

"Is there anything else?"

Arima Shizuya hurriedly waved his hands and gave an embarrassed smile.

"Ah... Sorry, no, there isn't."

Since her "work" had already been interrupted, she seemed to have lost interest in continuing.

She pressed her lips together and straightened up.

"You should be a new student who just enrolled this year, right? I'm in charge of this area. If there's anything I can help you with, just ask."

Was it because her appearance was too androgynous? Arima Shizuya felt that her expression was extremely serious—a completely different style from the words coming out of her mouth.

But since he had run into the person in charge, that saved him quite a bit of trouble.

"It's like this. Since I train often, I get injured quite frequently, so I wanted to find a student skilled in the Healing Way..."

The moment he finished speaking, Arima Shizuya saw her raise an eyebrow slightly.

"May I see your injuries first?"