It's Here, It's Here!

Diezuka Hiroe did not know that the three of them had long since been marked as key subjects of concern by their instructor.

The instructor had already seen the results of their spiritual power level tests: one with a full score of five, one with a six, and one with a six-plus. This year had produced three geniuses—the very three little ones standing before him—and he was paying them close attention.

"Why aren't you going down to choose?" the instructor asked with a smile, his voice gentle. "If you wait too long, the good ones will be picked by others, you know~"

To this, the three of them looked utterly dismissive. One after another, they scoffed, "There's no real difference!"

"Yeah, going early or late makes no odds; they're all useless anyway."

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

The last to speak was Urahara Kisuke. After he finished, he nudged Diezuka Hiroe and Yoruichi with his elbow—could they not make it so obvious?

Diezuka Hiroe realized his mistake; he still had to act. He immediately changed his tune, saying, "That's right, all Asauchi are the same, so there's really no difference!"

Yoruichi nodded repeatedly, hurriedly explaining, "Yes, yes, that's exactly what I meant too!"

"Even if they are the same, this is the only place you can get an Asauchi. Go on down and pick; I'm looking forward to your choices."

This explanation held water, so the instructor only felt a moment of awkwardness before letting it go and allowing them to head down to choose.

The three of them breathed a sigh of relief. If they were to expose the fact that they already possessed Zanpakuto, they wouldn't necessarily be beaten to death by their families, but losing a layer of skin was a certainty.

"Can you control your mouth? If it weren't for Urahara, I would have been dragged down by you just now!"

As Yoruichi walked, pretending to browse, she whispered her accusations about how foolish Diezuka Hiroe had been, as if it were entirely his fault.

"What did I even say?" Diezuka Hiroe asked, bewildered, shrugging his shoulders. "Your line was the most exaggerated one, wasn't it?"

He wasn't wrong. Diezuka Hiroe's comment could be interpreted as a summary of Urahara Kisuke's opinion. While Yoruichi's words could also be applied, they were actually quite flawed upon reflection; if they were exposed, it would likely be because of that "they're all useless anyway" remark.

"I was led astray by you!" Yoruichi turned her head away, grabbed Diezuka Hiroe by the collar, and gritted out, "Do! You! Have! A! Problem!"

"It's all my fault, let go! The teacher is still watching!"

Seeing that he had conceded, Yoruichi let go readily. As long as she could pin the blame on Diezuka Hiroe, she was satisfied—and clearly, she had achieved her goal.

Under normal circumstances, Urahara Kisuke would have played the peacemaker, but this time he acted as if he hadn't seen a thing, not even letting out a chuckle from start to finish.

Diezuka Hiroe glanced over to see Urahara Kisuke with his head down, picking up an Asauchi, swinging it twice, shaking his head, and putting it back, as if he were truly searching for a blade.

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

Urahara Kisuke shook his head and pulled out another Asauchi. "Like you said, the teacher is watching. Actually, it's not just the teacher; many people are watching us."

"So?" Diezuka Hiroe asked, confused.

Urahara Kisuke pointed ahead. "What do you feel?"

Not far away, several students were choosing their Asauchi. Just like Urahara Kisuke, they would pull one out, fiddle with it, and put it back, as if the next one might be different or better.

"Childish!"

"It feels so silly... when they're all the same."

Diezuka Hiroe and Yoruichi answered one after the other. Even if you swapped a thousand Asauchi, they would only ever become one Zanpakuto. At the end of the day, an Asauchi is just raw jade; what it becomes depends on your own craftsmanship.

"That is what a proper, first-time sword-choosing look is supposed to be!" Urahara Kisuke said, looking at them with a serious expression.

"So you mean our acting needs to be more realistic?"

"No, no, no. You need to add some acting; just follow the lead and mimic them."

That made sense! Diezuka Hiroe and Yoruichi exchanged a look, nodded in unison, and began to act the part, even adding a bit of flair to their performance.

"No, this doesn't look like the Asauchi that belongs to me!"

"This one won't do, this isn't it either!" Yoruichi muttered to herself, her tone filled with deep regret.

"This is the one! That was not easy!" Urahara Kisuke shouted, a wide smile on his face as he looked at the Asauchi in his hand.

That was only the third one he'd picked up, Diezuka Hiroe thought, silently roasting him. He just wanted to be lazy. He'd just said the acting needed to be convincing, and then he turned around and did that—it was a bit too over-the-top.

"It's you! My future partner!"

An even more exaggerated scene unfolded: Yoruichi. Diezuka Hiroe snuck a glance at the instructor on the stone platform. Was it really okay to act like this? They were practically treating him like a fool!

At this moment, the instructor on the platform was clapping softly, watching them with a smile, as if he were the one who had found his own ideal Asauchi.

Well, it seems he really is a fool!

Since that was the case, Diezuka Hiroe decided to slack off too; acting was exhausting!

There was an Asauchi stuck right in front to his right—that's the one! Diezuka Hiroe reached out to grab it, shouting, "Kept you waiting!"

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

Diezuka Hiroe looked up. The owner of the hand was a green-eyed, red-haired boy, staring at him with wide eyes. It was Kao Susumu, who held a grudge against Diezuka Hiroe.

Diezuka Hiroe knew this guy. He had been following him ever since they left the spiritual power testing room, staring at him as if he had some sort of grievance.

Geniuses are easily envied; Diezuka Hiroe knew Kao Susumu was dissatisfied with him, but he hadn't taken it to heart. A youth isn't a youth without a bit of angst, he figured.

Besides, having a peak you're dying to chase, only to realize you can never reach the summit—being that peak is a pretty great feeling!

But something was wrong now. By all normal tropes, shouldn't you view me as your mortal enemy, refuse to touch anything I've touched, work hard to catch up, and never speak to me again?

What is this now? Does this mean you want everything I have? Where is your pride? Where did the arrogance of a pursuer go?

Diezuka Hiroe couldn't help but freeze, muttering to himself, "Are you kidding me!"

Kao Susumu thought these words were directed at him and retorted viciously, "This sword! I got it first!"

Things were much as Diezuka Hiroe had imagined; Kao Susumu truly viewed him as an enemy, feeling that Diezuka Hiroe had stolen the limelight that rightfully belonged to him.

Yet, instead of thinking about catching up to Diezuka Hiroe, he wanted to snatch back what he had lost. The Zanpakuto was the first thing he wanted to reclaim; the best Zanpakuto could only belong to him!

Seeing that Diezuka Hiroe didn't move, Kao Susumu gritted his teeth and snarled, "I said, I got this first! Let! Go!!"

So he's trying to put on airs in front of me! I have to put him back in his place!

Diezuka Hiroe suddenly let go, reached out to stop Yoruichi and the other who wanted to help, and said with a smile, "I'll bestow this one upon you."

Kao Susumu curled his lip; to him, Diezuka Hiroe's words were nothing but the barking of a defeated dog, which only gave him a greater sense of accomplishment.

Unfortunately, this feeling didn't last long before it was completely ruined by a single sentence.

"I felt wrong just now; that one seems better." Diezuka Hiroe pointed at the Asauchi by Yoruichi's feet and said, "Toss it over to me!"

"Catch!" Yoruichi pulled the Asauchi from beside her feet and tossed it toward Diezuka Hiroe, who extended his left hand and gripped the hilt firmly.

"I got this one first this time. Want it?" Diezuka Hiroe said, closing his eyes and continuing as if chanting, "But I can't bestow this one; it truly belongs to me. I can feel it~"

The smug look that had been on Kao Susumu's face had long since vanished, replaced by a liver-colored complexion; it seemed he was infuriated to the core.

"Hahaha! I can't take it anymore!" Seeing the other's expression, Yoruichi and Urahara both clutched their stomachs and burst into laughter. Trying to act tough in front of Diezuka Hiroe—let's just say Kao Susumu picked the wrong opponent.

"He's wickedly devious. That guy is truly pitiful."

"With that kind of attitude, 'I can feel it'—he said it as if it were actually true..." Yoruichi scolded with a laugh, then watched as Diezuka Hiroe suddenly opened his mouth. "No way..."

"You've got to be kidding..." Urahara also had his mouth agape, saying blankly, "This is impossible, right?!"

The Asauchi originally in Diezuka Hiroe's left hand suddenly dissipated into a thick black smoke. The mist seemed to have a life of its own, dispersing and condensing, constantly changing shape.

No one knew how much time had passed before the black mist in Diezuka Hiroe's hand finally solidified once more, forming a sword—a blade completely different from the previous Asauchi.

The sword was less than two feet long, falling into the category of a short blade. The edge was a dark gray, slightly curved, with a very beautiful arc.

The hilt was wrapped in black cord, and the menuki were diamond-shaped, arranged neatly along the handle, from which one could tell the original color of the hilt was also black.

The guard was peculiar, shaped like a black Hannya mask, with the Hannya's mouth connected exactly to the blade, as if it were being spat out by the mask itself.

Everyone on the scene was now staring at the eyes-closed Diezuka Hiroe—or more accurately, staring at the short blade in his hand—hardly blinking.

Various emotions could be seen in their eyes, mostly envy, jealousy, and reverence. A few young girls even had stars in their eyes; this could be considered a form of admiration, though it was unclear whether it was directed at Diezuka Hiroe or the sword in his hand.

This was a blade of malice, a sword of slaughter. No one present doubted this; just looking at it, one could feel its strange abnormality.

But this was not the reason everyone was stunned. All Asauchi were the same; not just in appearance, but their names were identical as well.

At the same time, Asauchi were different; they followed different masters, and thus possessed different appearances and futures.

Zanpakuto—when an Asauchi changes its form, its name becomes Zanpakuto.

The proof of a Shinigami—Zanpakuto; this was the name of the object Diezuka Hiroe held in his hand at this moment!