The kidnapper spun toward the voice at the cave entrance.
A man stood framed in shadow, perhaps in his forties, thin-faced, glasses catching a sliver of light. His hair was slicked back, a sheathed blade at his waist. He smiled—a polite, gentle smile that somehow chilled the air.
The kidnapper's hand flew to his own weapon. "Why've you been tailing me? You like the girl too? You can have her if you want!"
The man's smile never faltered, though his eyes carried a glacial weight. "Of course I like her… but I like you more. I've been looking for you for a long time."
The kidnapper's face twitched. Fear flickered. "Why? Why are you after me, you lunatic? Yanagi Junrei! Haven't you killed enough people?"
Junrei's tone stayed calm, almost pitying. "Please don't compare me to you. You kill for lust. I kill… for love."
Rei huddled in the corner, trembling—fragile, frightened, powerless.
"So!" the kidnapper snarled. "We do this to the death!"
Junrei's voice softened further. "If possible, don't resist. Resistance… only increases your pain."
The kidnapper lunged, blade thrust for Junrei's throat—
—only for Junrei to halt it between two fingers, like plucking a flower.
"Please… don't make me repeat myself."
Steel whispered from its scabbard.
"…It will only add to your suffering."
The slash came like a streak of white lightning. The kidnapper staggered back, clutching his left hand—only to realize the skin had been flayed clean away.
Blood sheeted down his wrist as the pain hit. "AAAAH!"
Junrei stepped in, blade flickering like wire, stripping another swath of skin.
"You like the child? Take her! You want meat? I've got meat! Money! Just take it!"
A cold kiss of steel pressed to his throat—then shifted, unfastening his armor.
"You're filthy," Junrei said almost kindly, "but your skin… I'll accept that gift. I'll be quick. Gentle, even. You'll still be alive."
Panic warped the man's face. He struck wildly—but Junrei's counter was too fast. In a blink, the weapon shattered, his right hand's skin peeled away, his vocal cords severed.
"Tch. I dislike screaming," Junrei murmured. He cut the tendons in all four limbs, then produced a gourd. "And here's a little something for you—saltwater. Want to feel it?"
The man convulsed violently as the brine hit raw flesh. Junrei watched with the patience of a gardener watering a plant.
"It's only the beginning. The night is long. Let's enjoy it."
Half an hour later, the man was still breathing—skinned, mute, crippled, nailed to a tree. Junrei sat beneath it, quiet, waiting for death to finish its slow work.
Rei stayed hidden in the back of the cave, too terrified to move.
"Little sister," Junrei called gently, "don't be afraid. I'll take you home. Where do you live?"
"I came with my teacher. He'll be here soon," she murmured.
"There are beasts here. If I leave you, they might eat you. Come—I'll take you down the mountain." He hoisted her onto his back, stepping carefully down the slope.
The man on the tree was left for the wind.
Less than twenty meters later, Junrei paused. Two immense spiritual pressures were climbing fast.
"Oh? Company?" He adjusted his glasses.
It was Yamabuki Haruto and Kirinji Tenjirō.
The moment Haruto drew close, the copper tang of blood hit him. His hand went to his sword.
They found a bespectacled man carrying Rei—and, nailed to a nearby tree, what was barely recognizable as human remains.
Haruto didn't need much to piece it together. You're the killer, aren't you? Rei's safe—good. I'll leave you a whole corpse.
His blade flashed in the moonlight.
Junrei's eyes widened slightly. Fast. He drew his own weapon without hesitation. Steel rang against steel.
Haruto's brow furrowed—the man's spiritual pressure was higher than his own. Not even Saitō Furofushi could force this much pressure on him.
Were there really this many monsters in Soul Society a thousand years ago? And why do I keep running into them?
"Brother Yamabuki, it's a misunderstanding!" Rei cried.
Junrei set her down. "It's rare to meet a master," he said warmly. "Let's spar."
The cave mouth filled with flashing steel, Junrei's blade raining down like iron hail—precise, relentless, flawless.
Haruto matched him, but the speed and skill forced him back.
"I don't care who you are," Haruto said. "Oppose the Gotei 13, and you'll regret it. You've left me no choice but to use my ultimate technique!"
Junrei tilted his head. That wasn't his full power already?
Haruto inhaled sharply.
"Kirinji!!! Get over here! We're taking him together!"
Junrei: "…"