Rukia Kuchiki walked back toward the crowd, and Hirano's gaze followed her until it caught on the figure leaning lazily against the wall.
That guy... his name was Yuta?
The name sounded odd. It was obvious at a glance he wasn't from any noble family.
Since he was a commoner, Hirano had no interest in him-but what he hadn't expected was for the man to speak so boldly. Saying No. 31's Shakaho was too simple?
Hirano clenched his fists.
Anyone who belittled Hado 31 Shakaho was mocking all the effort he'd poured into mastering it-and insulting the elite education passed down in the noble houses.
It left Hirano deeply irritated.
He scoffed, eager to see how some random lowborn would handle an intermediate-level Kido technique.
And then the commoner didn't use it at all. He turned and ran without trying anything.
That was all Hirano needed to reaffirm his thoughts-the guy was full of shit.
...
Rukia burst through the crowd.
Even in the swarm of people, Yuta stood out. It was as though everything around him had faded into white and only he remained clear and dark in the center of it all. Rukia sped up and caught his wrist.
"Hey! Can you tell me about yourself?"
Yuta glanced back at her. "You're not trying to drag me back to class?"
Rukia smiled and said lightly, "I am, actually. Taking you back is part of my job. I'm your teacher, after all-but I also want to get to know you better."
She narrowed her eyes. "Also, it's wrong to say things like that. Even Hado 31 takes hard work. If you don't train seriously and end up facing a Hollow one day, it'll cost you your life."
"I've already learned it."
"I don't believe you."
"Let me show you, then."
...
They ended up in a forest on the edge of the training grounds where no one else was around.
"Hadō #31: Shakkahō."
Yuta narrowed his eyes and raised his left hand. The words left his mouth without hesitation. In front of his palm, a fireball about one meter wide spun into existence with a low hum before shooting forward through the trees with a roar.
The blast struck a thick trunk directly. Flames surged across it before dying down, leaving behind charred bark, white smoke and glowing red cinders spread across blackened wood.
"What do you think?"
Yuta hadn't used any serious power. That had been cast entirely with standard spiritual pressure-the level of any average squad member.
Had he truly used his captain-level pressure behind that spell, he would've torn the forest down with it-and Rukia right along with it.
Rukia's eyes widened in disbelief. "How is that possible...?"
She stepped forward slowly. "How could you learn over level 30 Kido so easily...?"
"Even Gin Ichimaru couldn't manage that when he was called a genius."
"Did you already study Kido before entering school?"
Yuta scratched the back of his head. He remembered using the Six-Rod Light Restraint before ever attending class-even though he'd learned it after watching Kyoraku Shunsui cast it only once.
"Well... I guess you could say I'd been exposed to it already?"
Rukia's expression shifted into something slightly proud as she smiled. "I knew it."
"By the way," she asked, "can you tell me where you're from?"
"Me? I'm a commoner. From Rukongai."
"Which district?"
"District 80. Zaraki."
Rukia froze on the spot and didn't speak again right away.
Life in District 78 had been brutal enough for her, the kind of life where she'd barely survived day by day like some feral animal clawing for scraps. She couldn't imagine what District 80 must've been like... or what kind of strength it would take to make it out of there alive.
Yuta glanced back at her. "Is something wrong?"
Rukia smiled faintly. "It's nothing. Let me tell you about myself instead."
She lowered her head and stared at her toes as she spoke softly, not caring whether Yuta listened or not.
"I was born in Inuzuri, District 78... I had an older sister, I think, but my memory of her is blurry now."
"I can't really tell anymore whether she truly existed... or whether I made her up out of loneliness."
Her words drifted out slowly while Yuta listened without interrupting her once.
Seconds passed unnoticed. Minutes too.
Eventually Rukia wiped the tears from her lashes and smiled bittersweetly. "I probably shouldn't be saying this as your instructor, it's kind of pathetic."
Yuta said nothing back.
He already knew everything about her before she spoke-but hearing Rukia say it aloud in that fragile little tone tugged something inside him anyway.
Rukia turned away with another laugh. "Just think of it as me rambling again."
Yuta stepped forward and pushed her lightly against the stone wall beside them with a hand on her shoulder, not saying anything as he leaned closer.
His face moved forward slowly until she could see her own reflection in his eyes.
"I... I'm your teacher," she whispered unsteadily.
In the next second something hard tapped her on the center of the head-
Smack!
Yuta's knuckle bounced off her skull. "Idiot."
He stepped back and turned away without another word, starting on his path forward again without looking behind him.
Rukia opened her eyes and stared at him through the fog of impact she felt pressing into her head. That silhouette in front of her... it reminded her of someone strong, someone reliable, not someone who wavered when life pushed back against them.
Her fingers touched the skin on her own head gingerly. It stung badly enough to leave behind dull throbbing pain-but the feeling grounded her somehow.
She really had been acting pathetic-and feeling bad for herself too long already.
The corner of her mouth lifted into something grateful before she jogged after him quickly.
"Aren't you supposed to go back to class?" Yuta asked without slowing down.
"If I go back now it'll probably be over anyway," Rukia answered lightly. "Everything they needed to teach has already been taught. From now on it's all free practice... oh, and please call me Rukia."
Though she didn't say anything else aloud-
Being near Yuta always felt strange somehow. The air around him felt denser-smoother-like the spirit particles were richer than usual...
It had to be her imagination.
"You know we've got Unohana-taichō's class today, right?" she said after a moment. "We're learning Kaidō in the Kaidō training room, it's right up ahead."
"Come on. Let's go check it out."
The two continued walking toward the Kaidō classroom together.
The room was massive compared to ordinary lecture rooms-and built with ornate structure much grander than anywhere else they'd been lately.
People kept filing inside as they approached.
"You probably haven't met Captain Unohana before," Rukia added casually as they walked side-by-side now. "Let me tell you something about her... Captain Unohana is very gentle…"
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