Haruto stared at Byakuya's smug grin and barely managed to resist firing a White Lightning at his face.
"So you haven't gone home yet, and you're loitering at the dorm entrance just to use me as a test subject?"
"I told you, it's called trust. Do you even know what that means?"
Byakuya was not entirely wrong.
Whether Shikai or Bankai, the abilities of a Zanpakutō were among a Soul Reaper's most sensitive intelligence. Before those powers were widely revealed, no one would disclose them lightly—certainly not to anyone who was not a close friend.
Still.
No matter how Haruto looked at it, Byakuya was clearly here to show off.
"What rank is your spiritual pressure authority now?" Haruto asked after a brief pause, choosing not to reject him outright.
"Fifth rank."
"…"
Spiritual pressure authority was a measurement system used among the nobility, referring to the density of spiritual pressure contained within reishi. Since a Soul Reaper's body itself was formed from reishi, this ranking provided a rough estimate of combat strength.
The ranks were ordered from high to low:
Ranks one through three were captain level.
Ranks four and five were vice-captain level.
Ranks six through twenty covered seated officers down to ordinary rank-and-file.
Byakuya claimed he had reached the fifth rank.
Which meant—
Purely in terms of strength, ignoring status entirely, he already qualified to serve as a vice-captain in the Gotei 13.
"Is that fun?" Haruto glanced at him sidelong.
"A vice-captain-level fifth-rank bullying a seventh-rank academy student like me?"
Byakuya was noticeably younger than Haruto.
The last time they had tested their spiritual pressure together at the Kuchiki estate, Byakuya had still been sixth rank—only slightly above Haruto. That had been just three months ago.
Now he had stepped directly into vice-captain territory.
It would have been strange if Haruto were not shocked.
He was already a once-in-a-generation talent at Shin'ō Academy, yet his rate of growth still could not match Byakuya's.
Noble bloodlines simply produced geniuses at a far higher rate. And when geniuses advanced, they did so at terrifying speed.
Haruto genuinely wanted to say—
This man could replace anyone.
"An ordinary student?" Byakuya's mouth twitched.
"Go ahead. Find me another seventh-rank student anywhere in the academy."
"…You just missed the right era," Haruto replied calmly.
He was not bluffing.
The current Shin'ō Academy really did lack outstanding figures—but in a few years, two silver-haired prodigies would shatter these trivial records with ease.
"Besides," Byakuya waved it off, unconcerned.
"You think I wanted to wait here?"
"Since morning training ended, I haven't even eaten. I've just been sitting here waiting. Why was your exam so slow?"
Though technically a student, Byakuya had enrolled only to experience a normal Soul Reaper's path and "improve interpersonal skills," per the Kuchiki family's arrangement.
He did not need to take the exams at all.
"I got shoved to the back of the queue," Haruto replied, deliberately avoiding mention of the True Blade Trial.
"…Lucky you," Byakuya scoffed lightly.
"You're not doing too badly yourself," Haruto replied.
After all, waiting for Byakuya had hardly been a loss.
"…Anyway," Haruto continued as he stepped inside the room.
"Let's get back to the main topic."
Thanks to Byakuya, he was finally enjoying a level of housing he had never experienced in his first four years.
Byakuya followed him in, Zanpakutō tucked at his waist.
"You think I enjoy waiting?" he said flatly.
"Among our peers in the Four Great Noble Houses, the only one worth fighting is Yūshirō Shihōin."
He said it casually, yet every name he mentioned was a future pillar of Seireitei.
"But that guy cries at the drop of a hat and runs to find Yoruichi Shihōin. Fighting him isn't fun."
Haruto was not a noble, so Byakuya still held back a little in front of him.
Only a little.
"And the Shihōin specialize in Shunpo and Hakuda. That combination doesn't have much reference value in today's Seireitei."
"There are a few capable upper nobles, but they fight like old men—too restrained."
As Byakuya spoke, he failed to notice Haruto glancing at him quietly.
Kuchiki Ginrei was old, but his prestige remained absolute. Anyone who injured his precious grandson—upper noble or not—would pay dearly.
Byakuya, of course, had not realized that.
"So," he concluded,
"after looking around, you were the best option."
The two stared at each other in silence for a moment.
"It's not impossible," Haruto finally said.
"Oh?" Byakuya's interest flared instantly.
"But—"
"State your conditions."
Byakuya nodded so fast it was almost comical.
"You're not allowed to use Shunpo."
"…What?"
Byakuya froze.
"If this is about training your Shikai, why insist on using Shunpo?" Haruto asked evenly, meeting his gaze.
"That's to simulate real combat—"
"I have every reason to suspect you just want an excuse to beat me up."
Haruto's eyes narrowed to slits, yet the intensity of his scrutiny felt like light reflecting off polished lenses.
"…Fine. I won't use it."
After a moment's thought, Byakuya agreed, though clearly dissatisfied.
"Good."
"…That's it?" Byakuya waited, then frowned when no further demands came.
"You're not good at Hakuda. If Shunpo's sealed, what's left?"
"…Why do I feel like you're more confident than I am?"
Zan, Hakuda, Shunpo, Kidō.
As long as Zanpakutō and Kidō remained, combat was far from over.
Yet Haruto's attitude implied—
That without Shunpo, Byakuya stood on equal footing with him.
And the smaller the authority rank number, the greater the gap. The difference between fifth and seventh rank dwarfed that between seventh and fifteenth.
"Trust your instincts," Haruto replied casually.
The tone alone nearly pushed Byakuya to draw his blade.
"I don't know why," Byakuya muttered,
"but every time we talk, I want to cut you down before the conversation even ends."
"That's normal. Most guys feel the same after talking to me."
A vein throbbed on Byakuya's forehead.
"By the way!" Haruto clapped suddenly, forcibly changing the topic.
"We can't fight here. The dorms are spacious, but their defenses are terrible."
The dormitory barriers were designed to block external attacks. Internally, they were only good enough to stop a careless student's mid-level Kidō.
Against Byakuya's Shikai and Haruto's Kidō, they might as well have been paper.
"…Fine," Byakuya exhaled.
"We'll go to my morning training spot."
"Come to think of it," Haruto added,
"I've never seen you at the training grounds."
All grades assembled at the grounds for morning practice, regardless of curriculum.
"Hmph." Byakuya lifted his chin again.
"I'll take you somewhere eye-opening."
Flash.
Byakuya vanished—then—
Thud.
He staggered back into place.
"…Why did you close the window?" Byakuya glared.
If his Shunpo were any worse, he would have smashed straight into the window frame.
"Didn't you agree not to use Shunpo?"
"The match hasn't even started!"
Byakuya was already growing irritable.
Still, compared to earlier, it took far more provocation to truly unsettle him now.
Progress.
"Oh." Haruto reopened the window calmly.
"…I just realized," Byakuya said, then paused.
"Right. If I lose you, I can't catch up anyway."
"…That's actually true."
A quarter-hour later, Haruto followed Byakuya underground—beneath the headmaster's office.
"Shin'ō Academy has a place like this?" Haruto scanned the vast chamber, easily the size of a football field, its walls layered with defensive barriers.
Byakuya adjusted something on the wall.
Light flooded the space.
"Impressive, right?" he said smugly.
"According to my grandfather, this was a noble shelter during the Quincy war a thousand years ago."
"Even the headmaster doesn't know it exists."
He tapped the white wall lightly. No sound echoed.
"The barriers here are designed with captains in mind. We can go all out."
Haruto glanced at the proud boy.
The academy headmaster was only a Fourth Seat—how could he know such noble secrets? And judging by Ginrei's words, the nobles of that era had feared more than just the Quincy.
But Byakuya had missed that point entirely.
"So?" Byakuya said eagerly.
"We can fight without restraint."
"No problem," Haruto agreed.
"But remember—use Shunpo and you lose."
"…Fine. But!" Byakuya ground his teeth.
"You should add a restriction too."
Haruto looked at him like he was an idiot.
"Don't look at me like that!" Byakuya snapped.
"If I can't use Shunpo, how am I supposed to dodge your White Lightning?"
White Lightning was the one Kidō Byakuya least wanted to face.
When he first taught Haruto the Kuchiki family's secret technique, he had only wanted his roommate to be strong enough to ease the academy's boredom.
Their shared dormitory was fate.
Even so, after the family learned of it, Haruto had been summoned for tea—no punishment, only a warning not to spread the technique.
"So what do you want?" Haruto sighed.
"You can't use White Lightning," Byakuya said instantly.
"And no modified Thrust either."
"You might as well ban Kidō entirely," Haruto muttered.
"Cough." He cleared his throat sharply.
"Let's start. Lunch is coming up."
"You agree?"
"What choice do I have?"
"Good."
Byakuya produced a small gold coin and flicked it into the air.
"On landing?"
"Deal."
Clang.
"Hadō Number Thirty-One."
"Hadō Number Thirty-One."
Their chants overlapped perfectly.
Both raised their right arms, fingers aligned, spiritual pressure condensing into fist-sized fireballs.
"Red Fire Cannon!"
"Red Fire Cannon!"
The fireballs collided, already several times larger than basketballs.
Even as a probing attack, chantless Red Fire Cannon at this level far exceeded standard academy output.
The explosion filled the chamber.
Promises made to women, Haruto recalled, were trustworthy only halfway.
The smoke thickened.
"Smoke?" Haruto narrowed his eyes.
Red Fire Cannon did not produce this effect.
Which meant—
Byakuya had modified it.
"To hide Shikai activation—"
"Not happening."
Haruto tilted his hand at the hilt.
Clang.
The Asauchi sprang free.
"Hadō Number Fifty-Eight."
A high mid-level spell, barely effective with chant omission—but perfect for one thing.
"Tenran."
A violent gale tore forward, scattering the smoke.
Byakuya stood revealed, Zanpakutō raised—
"Bakudō Number Nine."
Haruto dropped to one knee and slammed his fingers into the ground.
"Geki."
Golden bindings raced toward Byakuya.
Forced to dodge.
In that instant, Haruto's hand caught the spinning scabbard.
Shing.
"Hadō Number Thirty-Two."
The blade glowed pale gold.
"Yellow Fire Flash!"
The attack streaked forward.