Here It Comes!

Hongjiang had no idea that the three of them had already been singled out for special attention by their instructor.

The instructor already knew the results of their spiritual power tests: one had reached the fifth level, one was at the sixth, and one was at the peak of the sixth. This year's class had produced three prodigies—the three youngsters standing before him—and he was keeping a close eye on them.

"Why aren't you going down to choose?" The instructor smiled at them and said gently, "If you wait too long, someone else might pick all the good ones~"

The three of them all looked unimpressed. One after another, they muttered, "They're all pretty much the same!"

"Yeah, it doesn't matter whether we go early or late. They're useless either way."

"Teacher, there's no such thing as a good or bad Asauchi, right?"

The last to speak was Urahara Kisuke. Afterward, he nudged Hongjiang and Yoruichi with his elbow. Could they please stop making it so obvious?

Hongjiang caught on, too. He still had to keep up the act, so he quickly changed his tune. "That's right. They're all the same, so it doesn't matter which one we pick!"

Yoruichi nodded repeatedly and hurried to explain, "Right, right! That's what I meant, too!"

"Even if they're all the same, this may be your only chance to get an Asauchi. Go on and choose. I'm looking forward to seeing what you pick."

That made sense, so the instructor merely looked a little awkward and didn't think much of it. He let them go down to choose.

The three of them couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. If they let slip that they already had Zanpakuto, their families wouldn't kill them, but they'd definitely give them a serious hiding.

"Can you watch what you say? If Urahara hadn't stepped in, you would've dragged us all down with you!"

As she walked along, pretending to browse the Asauchi, Yoruichi quietly scolded Hongjiang for his stupidity, as if the whole thing had been his fault.

"What did I say?" Hongjiang asked, bewildered. He shrugged. "Weren't your words even more over the top?"

He had a point. Hongjiang's remark could be taken as a summary of Urahara's opinion. Yoruichi's could be interpreted the same way, but on closer thought, there was a flaw in it. If they gave themselves away, it would most likely be because she'd said, "They're useless either way."

"I only said it because you led me into it!" Yoruichi turned her head, grabbed Hongjiang by the collar, and gritted out each word. "Do! You! Have! A! Problem!"

"It's all my fault! Let go—the teacher's watching!"

Once he admitted defeat, Yoruichi let go without a fuss. All she had to do was pin the blame on Hongjiang, and she'd clearly accomplished her goal.

Normally, Urahara would have played peacemaker, but this time he acted as if he hadn't seen a thing. He didn't even chuckle once.

Hongjiang turned to look at him. Urahara had his head lowered. He picked up an Asauchi, swung it twice, then shook his head and put it back, as if he were genuinely choosing a sword.

"You don't think one person can have two different Zanpakuto, do you?"

Urahara shook his head and drew out another Asauchi. "Like you said, the teacher's watching. And it's not just the teacher. Lots of people are watching us."

"So?" Hongjiang asked, puzzled.

Urahara pointed ahead. "How does it feel?"

A few students nearby were choosing Asauchi. Like Urahara, they would take one out, feel it all over, then put it back, as though the next one might be different—might be better.

"Childish!"

"They look kind of silly... They're all the same."

Hongjiang and Yoruichi answered one after the other. They could switch out a thousand Asauchi, but in the end, they'd still become a single Zanpakuto. An Asauchi was only uncut jade, after all. What it became depended on the skill of the one who shaped it.

"That's how someone who knows nothing and is choosing a sword for the first time should act!" Urahara looked at them and spoke with utmost seriousness.

"So you mean we need to make our acting more convincing?"

"No, no. You need to put on a little act first. Just copy what they do."

That made sense! Hongjiang and Yoruichi exchanged a look, nodded in unison, then started acting like proper novices. They even added a bit of flair.

"No, this doesn't feel like the Asauchi meant for me!"

"This one won't do, and neither will this one!" Yoruichi muttered to herself, her voice full of disappointment.

"This is the one! What a journey!" Urahara cried out, beaming as he looked at the Asauchi in his hands.

It was only the third one he'd picked up. Hongjiang silently mocked him. He was just trying to slack off, wasn't he? He'd just said they needed to act convincingly, and now he was going this far. Wasn't that a little too over the top?

"It's you! You're going to be my partner!"

Something even more exaggerated happened: Yoruichi. Hongjiang sneaked a glance at the instructor on the stone platform. Was this really going to work? They were practically treating the man like an idiot.

At that moment, the instructor on the platform was applauding softly, smiling at them as if he'd just found his own perfect Asauchi.

Well, it looked like he really was an idiot!

Since that was the case, Hongjiang decided to slack off, too. Acting was exhausting!

There was an Asauchi stuck in the ground just to his front right. That's the one! Hongjiang reached for it and cried, "Sorry to keep you waiting!"

What he felt was warm and a little soft. It wasn't a sword hilt, but a hand.

Hongjiang looked up. The hand belonged to a red-haired boy with green eyes, who was staring at him with wide eyes. It was Kao Susumu, the boy who had taken a dislike to Diezuka Hiroe.

Hongjiang knew him. He'd followed behind him all the way from the spiritual power test to the Sword Chamber, staring at him as if he had some kind of grudge.

Prodigies were easy targets for envy, and Hongjiang knew Kao resented him. But he hadn't taken it seriously. Young people were bound to be a little chuunibyou; he could understand.

Besides, having someone desperately chase after you, only to spend his entire life unable to see the top of your peak—that was a pretty satisfying feeling!

But something seemed off now. Weren't things supposed to go like this? He was supposed to see Hongjiang as his nemesis, refuse to touch anything he'd touched, and work hard to catch up, never speaking to him again.

What was this? Did it mean he wanted everything Hongjiang had? Where was his pride? Where was the arrogance a pursuer was supposed to have?

Hongjiang couldn't help but freeze. He muttered to himself, "Is this for real?"

Kao Susumu thought Hongjiang was talking to him and snarled, "I got to this sword first!"

Things were pretty much as Hongjiang had imagined. Kao Susumu did see him as an enemy, convinced that Diezuka Hiroe had stolen the spotlight that should have belonged to him.

But he didn't want to catch up with Hongjiang. He wanted to take back what he'd lost. The Zanpakuto was the first thing he planned to reclaim, and the best Zanpakuto had to belong to him!

When Hongjiang made no move, Kao gritted his teeth and snarled, "I said I got to it first! Let! Go!"

Trying to act tough in front of me, huh? I had to put him in his place!

Hongjiang let go at once and held back Yoruichi and Urahara, who were about to come over. He smiled. "I'll let you have this one."

Kao Susumu curled his lip. To him, Hongjiang's words sounded like the yapping of a beaten dog, and only made him feel more triumphant.

Unfortunately, that feeling didn't last long. A single sentence wiped it out completely.

"I was wrong just now. I think that one might be better." Hongjiang pointed at the Asauchi by Yoruichi's foot. "Toss it over!"

"Catch!" Yoruichi pulled the Asauchi from beside her foot and tossed it straight at Hongjiang. He reached out with his left hand and caught the hilt securely.

"I got to this one first. Want it?" Hongjiang said, then closed his eyes and continued as if chanting, "But I can't let you have this one. It really belongs to me. I can feel it~"

The smug look on Kao's face vanished, replaced by a livid, liver-colored scowl. He looked absolutely furious.

"Hahaha! I can't take it anymore!" Seeing his expression, Yoruichi and Urahara clutched their stomachs and burst into laughter. If you wanted to act tough in front of Hongjiang, you'd picked the wrong opponent.

"He's so mean. I almost feel sorry for that guy."

"With a face like that, and he says he can feel it... As if it were true..." Yoruichi laughed as she teased him, then suddenly gaped at Hongjiang. "No way..."

"You've got to be kidding..." Urahara gaped as well, staring blankly. "This can't be happening!"

The Asauchi in Hongjiang's left hand suddenly dissolved into a cloud of black smoke. The smoke seemed alive, spreading and gathering, constantly shifting its shape.

After an unknown amount of time, the black smoke in Hongjiang's hand finally solidified again, forming a sword—one completely different from the Asauchi he'd held before.

The blade was less than two feet long, in the category of short swords. Its dark gray edge was slightly curved, its arc elegant and beautiful.

The hilt was wrapped in black cord, and its diamond-shaped menuki were arranged neatly along it. From this, it was clear that the hilt had originally been black as well.

The guard was peculiar: it was shaped like a black Hannya mask, with the mask's mouth connected to the blade, as if the blade had been spat out of it.

Everyone present now stared at Diezuka Hiroe, whose eyes were tightly shut—or, more precisely, at the short sword in his hand. Hardly anyone even blinked.

Their eyes showed a range of emotions, mostly envy, jealousy, and reverence. A few girls even seemed to have stars in their eyes. That was probably admiration, though it was hard to tell whether they were taken with Hongjiang or with the sword in his hand.

This was a sinister sword, a killer's blade. No one present doubted it. They could feel its eerie nature just by looking at it.

But that wasn't what had left everyone stunned. All Asauchi were the same—not only in appearance, but in name as well.

At the same time, every Asauchi was different. Each followed a different master, and in doing so, gained its own appearance and future.

A Zanpakuto—when an Asauchi changed its appearance, its name became Zanpakuto.

A Soul Reaper's proof—the Zanpakuto. That was the name of the object Hongjiang now held in his hand!