The Furious Yamamoto

Yamamoto stood in the middle of the courtyard, staring at the two battered figures before him. His veins bulged with rage, and even the cross-shaped scar on his forehead flushed red, like two worms about to come alive.

"You two idiots! You turned the courtyard into this mess while I was away! Is the Gen Private School a place for you to run wild like this!?"

Lin Nan and Kyoraku Shunsui stood with their backs against the wall, like two children being made to stand in the corner.

Kyoraku didn't dare move a muscle. What little remained of his clothes was soaked with cold sweat. The spiritual pressure Yamamoto unconsciously released in his fury had already made Kyoraku feel as if his breathing were being choked off.

If he made so much as a careless move now, Kyoraku couldn't imagine what this devil of a master might do.

Lin Nan also sensed something strange, as if a giant water-filled balloon had rolled over him. He could feel an even pressure against every part of his body.

So this is spiritual pressure? he thought. It feels kind of like a massage. Pretty comfortable, actually...

Seeing that Captain Yamamoto was truly angry, Sasakibe Chojiro hurried to intercede. "Genryūsai, please calm down. They're still young, after all. There may have been a reason things ended up like this..."

Yamamoto turned his furious gaze on him. "No reason could justify this! What student nearly tears down their own school!?"

Looking at Yamamoto's expression, Lin Nan finally understood what it meant to "bristle with rage."

Sasakibe was at a loss for words. He wanted to help, but didn't know what to say, so he hurriedly shot the two of them a discreet look.

Kyoraku was so frightened by Yamamoto's furious expression that cold sweat covered his face. When he saw Sasakibe's look, though, he did nothing.

Seeing this, Lin Nan hurriedly stepped forward half a pace and said with a grin, "Lord Yamamoto, I have something to say."

Sasakibe gently reminded him, "You're Genryūsai's disciple now. You should call him Master."

Lin Nan glanced at Sasakibe, suddenly understood, and turned back to Yamamoto with an even broader smile. "Old Man Yama, here's what happened..."

Yamamoto's furious expression faltered. "What did you call me? Kyoraku, did you teach him to call me that too?"

In the past thousand years, aside from Kyoraku Shunsui, his wayward disciple, no other student had dared address him so casually. This definitely had something to do with Kyoraku.

As he spoke, he fixed Shunsui with an accusatory stare.

Kyoraku stiffened, his eyes full of alarm. He hurriedly shook his head. "It wasn't me! We're not close enough for me to say things like that to him. And why would I call you Old Man Yama behind your back?"

Lin Nan gave Kyoraku a look of exasperation, thinking that the man wasn't exactly lying. He called him Old Man Yama behind his back.

Yamamoto snorted, noncommittal, and turned his gaze back to Lin Nan. "I haven't had the chance to teach you anything yet, so it's understandable if you don't call me Master for now. Go ahead. What did you want to say?"

Yamamoto's cold, stern gaze suddenly reminded Lin Nan of the middle-school head teacher he'd feared most. He couldn't help swallowing nervously.

Sometimes fear really was ingrained in a person's bones. Was that why Kyoraku was so afraid of Yamamoto?

Lin Nan steadied himself and began, "Actually, this whole thing started because of me.

"Yesterday, after I arrived, Kyoraku was kind enough to show me around the school and explain its layout. He also took the time to tell me about the history of our martial arts school... no, I mean, the Gen Private School. He told me how many heroes you'd trained. I was so fired up listening to him!

"...Later, I asked him why he'd become your disciple at such a young age. He said he was a famous young prodigy in the surrounding area, and you'd recognized his talent and taken him on as a disciple...

"Now, would I be willing to accept that? I'd just fought Kenpachi, after all. My pride was swelling. How could I let that slide, right?

"...So I got annoyed and asked if he dared to fight me. He said, 'I'm the Captain-Commander's beloved disciple. What would I be afraid of? I have to defend the honor of our school. If you've got the guts, bring it on!'

"...And then we started sparring. When you're sparring, you're fighting, right? We're both still unskilled, so once we got carried away, our blows gradually got heavier... You're a grandmaster, so surely you won't blame us. We're still just kids...

"...Then we got so caught up in the fight that we couldn't stop ourselves. Kyoraku really is your disciple. Those Kido techniques, those moves—just incredible...

"...So this is all my fault. Please don't blame Kyoraku. I was in the wrong. I wouldn't blame you for expelling me from the school..."

Lin Nan talked at length about how the two of them had started fighting, slipping in all manner of overt and subtle flattery as he went. He carried on for a full twenty minutes.

Sasakibe was listening with an exasperated expression, thinking that this kid sure could talk. Once he learned Bankai, wouldn't he end up with a Zanpakuto that specialized in talking?

As Lin Nan went on and on, Yamamoto's icy expression gradually softened. He said nothing, his gaze shifting between Lin Nan and Kyoraku as if he were analyzing them while he listened.

When Lin Nan finally finished, Sasakibe and Kyoraku both felt a tightness in their chests, as though they couldn't catch their breath.

Yamamoto said mildly, "You have impressive lung capacity. You'd make a good student of physical combat."

As he spoke, he turned his gaze to Kyoraku, who was still catching his breath. "Kyoraku, how much of what he said was true?"

Kyoraku: ???

Why are you asking me? I didn't tell him to say any of that.

Seeing Kyoraku stammer, Yamamoto gave a soft snort. "Looks like nothing but the fight was true. You're a lazy little brat who only likes to sleep. You wouldn't defend the 'honor of the school.' You started this, didn't you?!"

Kyoraku's mouth twitched. He nodded slightly without saying anything. He hadn't expected his master to guess the truth so quickly.

If sleeping could defend the honor of the school, he'd be the most honorable disciple around.

"You've only just joined the school, yet you're willing to take responsibility. Not bad." Yamamoto looked at Lin Nan with a hint of approval, then turned back to Kyoraku. "Look at him!"

Kyoraku lowered his brows and said nothing.

Lin Nan couldn't hold back. "Old Man Yama, you... you have to punish me! You should expel me from the school!"

I took all the blame and gave you the perfect opening, so why aren't you taking it? Why are you turning around and praising me instead?

"Kyoraku, you're unruly, irresponsible, and you like picking on the weak. If you bullied a kindhearted classmate like this until he left, how would you take responsibility?!" Yamamoto ignored Lin Nan and focused on giving Kyoraku a thorough verbal dressing-down.

I was hoping to leave, though, Lin Nan thought to himself.

"Look at me, then look at him! Which of us is bullying the other?" Kyoraku Shunsui protested miserably, his face bruised and swollen.

"You've been beaten up like this, and you still have the nerve to argue!" Yamamoto slammed the scabbard in his hand against the ground and roared.

"So what!"

Though Yamamoto's anger had left Kyoraku trembling under the force of his spiritual pressure, Kyoraku now stared back at him stubbornly, refusing to give an inch.

"What? You're going to talk back to your instructor now?!" Kyoraku's defiant gaze finally enraged Yamamoto. His temper flared, and he raised his right hand to strike Kyoraku.

Sasakibe and Lin Nan immediately rushed forward to stop him. Sasakibe grabbed Yamamoto's arm, while Lin Nan stepped between them.

"Um... Old Man Yama, please calm down first. In the end, I was the one who started a fight with my senior right after arriving. I was in the wrong. Maybe I should just leave..." Lin Nan said in a low voice, sighing inwardly.

You're the strongest Captain-Commander in a thousand years. How come people keep daring to talk back to you?

"No need! I never said I was going to expel you," Yamamoto replied at once.

"To be honest, Kyoraku was very strong in our fight. I'm nowhere near his level. He used so many moves and Kido techniques I'd never even imagined.

"He's still young, and as your disciple, he hasn't brought shame on you. Please calm down and don't get angry." Lin Nan improvised, trying to smooth things over.

Yamamoto looked at Lin Nan with some surprise. It was the first time he'd heard him speak so earnestly and sincerely. "When you're not being a chatterbox, you actually speak quite sensibly. You're about the same age as Shunsui, but you sound like an adult."

"Uh..." Lin Nan was momentarily at a loss for words and didn't reply.

In his previous life, he'd been a corporate drone. Wasn't this a required skill? Besides, what else could he say? He couldn't exactly admit he'd rambled on just to find an excuse for Yamamoto to expel him, could he?

"Your fundamentals and character are both good. Stay here without worry. Once I've dealt with my work, I'll return in three days and teach you personally." Yamamoto let out a quiet breath, tamping down his anger, then said to Shunsui,

"Shunsui, I'll have your brother, Kyoraku Yoshiki, pay for all the damage caused today, including Lin Nan's clothes. I'll let your conduct today go because of Lin Nan. You'd better mend your ways."

While Yamamoto spoke with Lin Nan alone, Kyoraku turned his head and secretly rolled his eyes. Then he quietly asked Sasakibe, "Mr. Sasakibe, why hasn't Old Man Yama asked whether I won today? He used to care a lot about my results."

Sasakibe glanced at Yamamoto and Lin Nan talking up ahead, then smiled down at Kyoraku. "Perhaps... Genryūsai already knows the answer? A few days ago, Unohana Yachiru herself praised Lin Nan's talent in physical combat."

Kyoraku forgot about his injuries and gaped in surprise. "Huh? That evil... I mean, the great swordswoman Yachiru? Unohana Yachiru?"

"That's right." Sasakibe looked around the courtyard, which was nearly reduced to ruins, and imagined how the fight must have unfolded. "When fighting an opponent skilled in physical combat, you should prioritize more flexible Bakudo, then use Hadō afterward..."

Kyoraku paused, then nodded to Sasakibe and thanked him earnestly. "Thank you for the advice, Mr. Sasakibe!"

In name, Sasakibe was his senior disciple. But the two of them were probably at least a thousand years apart in age, so Kyoraku didn't feel comfortable calling him senior brother.

Just then, the steward responsible for looking after the Gen Private School arrived. Seeing the wreckage all over the courtyard and Captain-Commander Yamamoto there, he was utterly alarmed, afraid he'd be punished.

Yamamoto didn't make things difficult for the steward. He whispered a few instructions in his ear, then turned and left with Sasakibe, tossing Kyoraku a final remark:

"Until the courtyard has been repaired, take Lin Nan home with you for a couple of days. Come back for lessons in three days."

Watching the Captain-Commander walk away, Kyoraku rubbed his nose in frustration, only to touch his swollen lips and wince in pain.

He turned around, and his eyes met Lin Nan's. After a brief hesitation, he gave Lin Nan a sincere nod. "Thanks for speaking up for me just now."