The Renaissance

The weekend arrived in the blink of an eye. It was the day the captain gave lessons.

After getting dressed, Ichiro said goodbye to Urahara, who was still asleep, and set off for Squad 4.

But sometimes, thanks to some dumbass move, trouble came looking for you all on its own. Like now...

"Is something the matter, seniors? I'm in a bit of a hurry."

"Hmph. Don't play dumb, kid. We heard you bullied Sugou because you had two nobles backing you. We're here to get an explanation. We all came from Rukongai, so don't take things this far."

That's right, Ichiro had been cornered. A classic setup...

The three men were in their sixth year and had also come from Rukongai. Ichiro vaguely remembered them. When he'd gone to ask his teacher about Kido, he'd often heard their names: Tencheng Shiro, Yeyu Katsuragi, and Murashita Kazusuke. They came from the outermost districts of Rukongai and were always getting into fights.

The ironic thing was that Sugou had egged them on with talk of how they'd all come from Rukongai and should stick together, when the people they usually bullied were students from Rukongai.

Ichiro glanced disdainfully at Sugou, who stood behind the three men, and smiled.

"Bakudō #4: Crawling Rope." x 4 (chanted in one second)

(The earlier translation "gray rope" was a mistake.)

In an instant, four ropes made of condensed Reishi bound the men. Then Ichiro continued chanting.

"Way of Binding No. 26: Kyokko."

As the light and shadows twisted, Ichiro vanished from where he stood and left. Usually, he might've been interested in playing around with them, but not today. The captain's lesson mattered more.

A little while later, the Crawling Rope dissolved into Reishi, and the four men broke free. But before Sugou could say a word, Tencheng Shiro, the leader of the three men he'd brought along, slapped him across the face!

"Smack!"

"You dared to provoke a second-year who can perform Incantation Abandonment on a level-26 Kido? Are you tired of living?"

"I-I'm sorry, Boss Tencheng. I know I was wrong." Sugou lowered his head, not daring to argue.

Does he really know? A murderous glint flashed in Tencheng Shiro's narrowed eyes. He knew people like this all too well. He'd once been one himself, and he wasn't going to give Sugou a chance...

"Good. Now get lost!" Tencheng Shiro kicked Sugou and left with his two underlings.

After turning the corner and leaving Sugou's sight, Tencheng Shiro's expression darkened.

"Boss, are we really letting Sugou go just like that?" Murashita Kazusuke stepped closer and asked quietly.

"Do you think that's likely? If he can come to us over a classroom dispute and get us to back him up, next time he'll bring in other people to cause trouble for us over this. He can't be allowed to stay. Find a way to send him back to Rukongai, then have the boys..." Tencheng Shiro made a throat-slitting gesture. His meaning was clear.

"Understood, Boss. What about that Tenshin Ichiro?"

"Go find out what he likes. Tomorrow, we'll all go to his classroom and apologize."

"Is that really necessary, Boss?"

Murashita Kazusuke wasn't questioning the apology itself, but rather the idea of apologizing in the classroom. It would seriously damage their standing at school.

"It has to be done. Didn't you see what happened just now? He performed a level-26 Kido with Incantation Abandonment, then cast four level-4 Kido spells with Incantation Abandonment in one second. Do you know any sixth-years with that kind of ability? Forget it. We can't afford to provoke a monster like him..." Tencheng Shiro gazed into the distance and rubbed the huge scar across his chest.

He'd once been a local overlord in Rukongai. Though he'd qualified for admission long ago, he'd chosen not to enroll, instead expanding his territory and ruling his own little domain in Rukongai!

Until that day...

A man, carrying a sword, had cut his way from one end of the village to the other. The hundreds of underlings he'd been so proud of were cut down by that one man, and he'd taken a slash across his own chest, nearly dying!

He would never forget the look of disappointment in that man's eyes as he left...

Because of that experience, he knew very well that in Soul Society, strength was everything! The strong could have anything!

As for Sugou?

Trash like that might as well die. There was room for only one Tencheng Shiro...

Elsewhere, concealed by Kyokko, Ichiro hurried toward the Squad 4 barracks. The captain's lessons were precious, and he learned a great deal from each one.

For example, the technique he'd just used was something he'd grasped during an earlier lesson: Quadruple Abandonment. It let him cast multiple Kido spells with Incantation Abandonment in one second, though it was a weaker version of another Kido technique.

Before long, Ichiro arrived at Squad 4. Like the school, Squad 4 was off on weekends, but the members worked in two rotating shifts, since they still had to provide medical care. And if an emergency arose, all members had to report at once, whether or not it was a holiday!

So although it was the weekend, there weren't many fewer people around. Most wouldn't pass up this opportunity. After all, this was a lesson from the captain, and before Ichiro came along, it had only happened once every few years.

"Ichiro's here. Come over; we're about to begin." The captain beckoned to Ichiro, who had just walked in, drawing envious looks from everyone else.

Before, the captain had only subtly given Ichiro extra guidance and nurtured him. But after last week's Kaido incident, the favoritism had become blatant. Outside of class, the captain often called Ichiro over during regular work and taught him personally, almost treating him as a disciple.

Soon, the captain's lesson began. As always, it was easy to understand, but Ichiro couldn't help feeling a little worried. The captain was still focusing on accumulated experience today, and less and less on techniques.

That pointed to a serious problem: the captain might not have much more to teach him about Kaido...

Of course, Ichiro could study it on his own, but how could that compare to learning from someone else's achievements? Only by standing on the shoulders of giants could he reach a higher sky.

After the lesson, the captain called Ichiro aside as usual and asked with a smile, "How was it?"

Ichiro poured him a cup of tea and handed it over, smiling as he replied, "Easy to understand. You're as experienced as ever, Captain."

"Heh, you know just what to say. But when it comes to Kaido, experience really is all I have left to teach you. It's just as I expected. Come with me later to meet someone. He should be able to teach you more about Kaido." The captain took a small sip of tea.

"Is there anyone better at Kaido than you, Captain? Maybe the Chief Kido Master of the Kido Corps?"

The captain smiled and shook his head. "The Chief Kido Master is good at Kaido, but not much better than I am. We're going to meet someone else."

"Someone else..." Ichiro's eyes flickered, and a hint of surprise crossed his face. "Could it be the Royal Special Forces?"

The captain wasn't surprised that Ichiro knew the term. His faint smile remained. "Looks like you've read plenty of books at school. That's right. We're going to meet one of the founders of Kaido, a member of the Royal Special Forces, also known as the Zero Division: Kirinji Tenjirō."

Just as I thought. The Zero Division!