Nighttime, private room.
The student dormitory was hushed, with only the gentle evening breeze outside the window carrying the promise of spring, softly sweeping across the wooden frames.
Having finished his daily spiritual power training, Suō Tsukasa lay flat on his back on the bed, his head resting on the soft pillow. His entire body and limbs were relaxed; he couldn't even be bothered to move a fingertip.
He had taught Hitsugaya the spiritual power control training method after the Kidō class that afternoon, as it wasn't exactly a highly valuable secret.
Yet, the other party had thanked him as if he had received a priceless treasure, his serious attitude making Suō Tsukasa feel a little embarrassed himself.
This was because Suō Tsukasa had his own considerations.
He could take Hitsugaya along for the basic training in the morning; having a companion added a bit of shared joy to their journey of sweating it out.
But as for the evening... he politely declined.
Besides needing quiet alone time to digest his gains from the day, it was also a small personal preference.
He absolutely did not have, nor did he want to have, the habit of being alone in a quiet room with a person of the same sex late at night, even if Hitsugaya had the appearance of a young boy.
Just thinking about the scene of the two silently sparring in a quiet room made his skin crawl.
Even with Hitsugaya's personality, it was highly unlikely he would proactively suggest joint night training.
But if the other party actually asked, Suō Tsukasa worried he might feel pressured to agree.
Therefore, nipping this possibility in the bud was the best solution.
"The bed is really comfortable."
Suō Tsukasa contentedly rolled over on the bed, completely dispersing that negligible sense of embarrassment in his heart.
With a thought, he raised his hand and extended an index finger.
In the darkness, his fingertip lit up with a faint glow. A golden rope of spiritual power instantly shot up and hovered in the air.
"Bakudō #4: Hainawa (Crawling Rope)."
He chanted it mentally but did not speak, releasing the Kidō while lying on the bed directly via Incantation Abolition.
The lowest-level Kidō had no lengthy incantations; the name of the technique itself was part of the incantation.
This technique wasn't difficult, what was challenging was maintaining the Kidō's stability and power after release.
With Suō Tsukasa's current spiritual power control, he no longer needed to use spoken words to concentrate.
At this moment, he wasn't practicing technique; he was simply in a playful mood.
The rope of light twisted into an 'S' shape one moment, and a 'B' the next.
Watching the rope change shape in the air, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up. Then, his fingertip moved rapidly.
The rope began to coil and was skillfully woven. First a round head, then a torso and limbs.
In the blink of an eye, a small, endearingly clumsy golden figure hung in mid-air.
Suō Tsukasa's eyes were filled with appreciation for his own creation. He happily hummed a beautiful melody from memory in an extremely low whisper.
"Giligili Ai..."
[T.N.: This refers to the song "Ikenai Borderline."]
As he hummed, the little golden figure began to twist its flowing body, contorting in a spectacular, electric-like dance in the air.
"That's exhilarating!"
After several minutes of thoroughly enjoying himself, Suō Tsukasa exclaimed in satisfaction.
Having played enough, he contentedly released the little golden figure, and the rope of light reverted to its original state.
The next moment, Suō Tsukasa's fingertip moved again, as if plucking an invisible string.
Suddenly, the rope of light shot out, wrapping around the handle of his Asauchi (Shallow Hit) nearby.
Clang—
With a crisp metallic ring, the Asauchi was cleanly drawn from its sheath, its blade reflecting the moonlight and hanging in mid-air, gleaming with a sharp chill.
Following the movements of his fingertip, the Asauchi in the air began to dance.
At first, it was only the simplest sword techniques: cutting, slashing, stabbing, and sweeping.
However, after only a few breaths, the speed of the controlled Asauchi's movements rapidly accelerated, weaving a dense net of light in the air.
But after a short while, he stopped the movement of his hand.
Withdrawing his thought, the rope of light instantly retracted, smoothly guiding the Asauchi back into its sheath.
"It's not quite right. There's no actual sensation of swinging the blade."
"It's all form and no substance; only good for bluffing."
Suō Tsukasa frowned slightly, giving his assessment of the result of his sudden attempt.
"But then again, that makes sense. It's the lowest-level Kidō, so achieving this much is probably the limit."
However, he quickly felt relieved. In terms of tactical value, this move was somewhat impractical and, at best, a parlor trick.
The spiritual particle structure of low-level Kidō was too simple; it would be easily disrupted by external force.
But on second thought, the attempt was not entirely worthless. At the very least, it provided a good small technique for quickly retrieving his sword if it were knocked out of his hand.
Suō Tsukasa wasn't disappointed that he hadn't created any unique Kidō application.
After all, Kidō had been refined and improved countless times throughout its history. If there were any entirely new uses, they would have long been added to the textbooks as examples.
"Ah..."
He stretched with a big yawn, his joints making faint, crisp sounds.
Late night was the most precious moment of relaxation in his day.
Gradually, sleepiness crept in. Suō Tsukasa closed his eyes, his breathing slowly becoming steady. The sound of the wind and the chirping of insects outside the window became the lullaby that accompanied him to sleep.
The next day.
When the first ray of morning light fell upon Suō Tsukasa's bed, he was already awake.
The sense of relaxation from his self-amusement the night before had given him an exceptionally deep sleep, and he felt refreshed.
After a quick wash, Suō Tsukasa changed his clothes. As soon as he stepped out of the dormitory door, he saw Tōshirō Hitsugaya standing beneath the pine tree in the courtyard, his silver hair faintly gleaming in the morning light.
The boy was leaning against the tree with his wooden sword strapped to his back, spiritual light flickering at his fingertips. While waiting for Suō Tsukasa for morning training, he was still practicing the spiritual power control exercise he had been taught yesterday.
Hearing the door open, Hitsugaya also halted his practice. The light on his fingertips subsided, and he turned his head to look at the approaching figure.
"Suo, morning!"
"I practiced all night using the method you taught me yesterday."
"It's very useful, but so far I can only achieve rapid number transitions with a single finger."
His voice was still cool, but it lacked the aloofness of their first meeting, carrying a subtle hint of excitement.
"I'm glad it's useful. This is a skill that requires slow, persistent effort; you can't rush it."
"The fact that you've managed to initially master single-finger transition overnight is quite good progress. Just keep up the training every night."
Suō Tsukasa walked up to him. Seeing his earnest expression, he spoke with the composure of someone who had been through it before.
"You can't train on an empty stomach."
"Here, you take one too. Don't chew it."
He then pulled out a porcelain vial from his waist, poured out two pills, popped one into his own mouth, and tossed the other toward Hitsugaya.
Hitsugaya caught it smoothly, glanced at it briefly, and swallowed it.
"What is this?"
The taste was slightly sweet with a faint herbal aroma, somewhat similar to the sweet nattō he liked.
"Sanyuan Dan(Three-Essence Pill), a nourishing sugar pill. I made it myself."
"It'll tide you over and refresh your spirit."
"Same advice as always: be mindful of the dosage. Let's get started with training."
Suō Tsukasa put the vial away, drew the wooden sword from his waist, and explained lightly.
"Mn."
Hitsugaya knew what he had swallowed was definitely not as simple as Suō Tsukasa made it sound, but he already owed too many favors and could only engrave them firmly in his heart.
He then drew the wooden sword from his back, and they began their training together.
A light breeze blew, dispersing the faint medicinal aroma left by the pill.
Two wooden swords swung out one after the other, cutting through the morning mist and tracing synchronized paths in the courtyard.