"Oh."
Nara Dan lowered his Wooden Sword, with no intention of continuing his attack.
He remembered the boy before him. That distinctive hairstyle belonged to a supporting character who would get plenty of screen time later on—and the Vice-Captain of the Third Division, Kira Izuru.
"Why do you come watch me meditate every day?"
Nara Dan looked at Kira Izuru, who still hadn't recovered from his shock, and asked calmly.
"I just heard that among the new students, there was a super genius..."
"One who even wounded an examiner."
"Then I found out that student happened to live next door to me."
"So I got curious and came to take a look..."
After catching his breath, Kira Izuru hurried to explain, afraid that if he was too slow, Nara Dan would cut him down.
"So what did you figure out?"
Nara Dan asked with interest.
Just wanting to take a look didn't explain why he came every day. Including today, Kira Izuru had watched him train for five or six days in a row. People didn't keep dropping by to take a casual look with that kind of persistence.
Kira Izuru's expression stiffened, and he shook his head.
"I was originally planning to introduce myself and say hello."
"But every time I came, you were doing Sword Meditation..."
"So I couldn't bring myself to speak..."
Then Kira Izuru paused.
"But lately, I've been taking classes on Shikai."
"They also teach Sword Meditation as a way to communicate with your Zanpakutō."
"I saw you doing Sword Meditation every day..."
"You're so focused, yet you're still using an ordinary Wooden Sword."
"So I wanted to see what you were doing and learn from your experience."
Nara Dan knew that Sword Meditation meant doing what he had just done: using meditation to refine