"An internship?"
Nobu looked at Shūhei in surprise.
"Yeah, this time it's Class B," Shūhei nodded.
It had been quite a while since their last field internship in the Human World. Because Class A's curriculum was significantly more advanced than the others, it was only now Class B's turn.
"You leading the team again?" Nobu asked.
"Our class is joining up with some students from Class B as overseers. If you don't go, then yeah—I'll be leading," Shūhei replied.
Nobu hesitated. "There won't be any issues this time, right…"
Shūhei looked uncertain too. "Shouldn't be. Last time was a special case. They've already finished the investigation, and this time the barrier and binding teams have been reinforced."
After a moment of thought, Nobu asked, "Kanisawa and Aoshika are going too?"
"Yeah." Shūhei seemed to recall something and added, "I looked over Class B's roster. Since Rukia missed Class A's last internship, she's been temporarily added to Class B to join this one."
That was fairly standard procedure…
Nobu's gaze flickered thoughtfully.
Human World internships were usually routine—but after what happened last time, he couldn't help but be uneasy.
"You sure you're up for leading this?" he asked, clearly not reassured.
Shūhei rolled his eyes. "You say that like you're hoping something goes wrong."
Nobu exhaled. "Forget it, I'll go too."
Shūhei shrugged. "Even better. If you lead, it saves me the trouble."
Nobu went straight to Nanada-sensei's office and told him about the change.
Nanada-sensei had no objections, readily approving—having Nobu on the mission was extra insurance, after all.
Not that field internships were particularly dangerous to begin with. The training area was sealed, and only low-level Hollows were deployed. Last time had been an unfortunate exception.
...
A Small Seaside Town in the Human World.
Nobu stood atop the highest building, eyes sweeping over everything below.
It had been a day and a night since the internship began. So far, everything had gone smoothly. Nobu hadn't sensed any unusual spiritual pressure.
Maybe I'm just overreacting after what happened last time.
There was no one in this group that Aizen would be interested in testing. It was unlikely Aizen would orchestrate another incident like before. If something did happen again, not even last time's excuse would hold up—the real cause might even get exposed. Aizen had no reason to invite that kind of risk.
Rukia's team was doing reasonably well, though her group was made up of Class B students, whose overall performance was noticeably below that of Class A.
Compared to the last internship, the upperclassmen were stepping in far more often.
Still, as long as nothing goes wrong…
Security this time had been tightened significantly. Both the barrier team and the support unit were much stronger.
Another day and night passed. The final Hollow inside the barrier was eliminated, and the students gathered at the designated meeting point.
"All clear," Shūhei let out a breath of relief as he spoke to Nobu.
The previous incident had left its own scars on him too.
"That's good. Let's get ready to head back," Nobu said with a smile.
In the crowd, Rukia waved at him, and Nobu waved back.
She jogged up to him. "President, how did I do?"
"Not bad. You're improving fast," Nobu praised.
Rukia smiled modestly. Since entering Class A, the pace of learning was completely different from Class B's—but she had the benefit of four personal tutors in the Kuchiki household. They pushed her in her training every day, and she'd caught up quickly.
"But your team members weren't quite up to par. Next time, you'll be working with your current classmates—it'll be much better then."
"They worked hard too," Rukia said in defense of her teammates.
Nobu just chuckled. "Alright, time to head back."
Shūhei used his communicator to notify the barrier team that the internship was complete and they were ready to return.
Soon, a Senkaimon—the gate between realms—opened at their location.
"Great job, everyone. You can head back now."
The students began filing into the gate in an orderly fashion, returning to the Soul Society.
Standing off to the side, Nobu suddenly stiffened, his gaze turning sharply in one direction.
"Nobu?" Shūhei looked at him.
"It's nothing. Might've been my imagination."
Nobu forced a calm tone, then called out to the students, "Move faster!"
The remaining students quickened their pace. One by one, they stepped through the gate—but as their numbers dwindled, Nobu's expression grew darker.
That wasn't my imagination.
There was a spiritual pressure—very faint, but rapidly approaching.
Shūhei noticed it too. "What is that?!"
Nobu took a deep breath. "Ignore it. Just get back to Soul Society. Go!"
The students hadn't sensed anything unusual and continued entering the gate without concern.
To ensure no accidents, Nobu had intended to be the last one through. But just as he followed behind Shūhei and was about to step into the gate—
A surge of aggressive spiritual pressure exploded toward them!
"Nobu!"
He'd sensed it in time.
A massive fireball came hurtling through the sky, aimed directly at the Senkaimon!
In the split second he had to decide, Nobu stopped short. If the gate were struck while they were passing through, they could be stranded in the Dangai—and that would be catastrophic.
"Go!" he barked.
Then he stopped cold.
"[Bakudō #39 — Enkōsen]!"
BOOM!
The fireball hit with far more force than he'd expected. The circular shield formed from spirit particles cracked almost instantly, shattering under the impact. A column of fire roared upward where Nobu had been standing—but the gate behind him was already sealed and safe.
From within the flames, Nobu's voice rang out, calm and cold:
"Kidō, huh? So it is a Shinigami."
He stepped out of the blaze, completely unscathed. Even his clothes showed no signs of having been burned.
Nobu's eyes narrowed. On a rooftop not far off, a figure stood cloaked in black. The full-length cloak concealed everything—including their face—but there was a faint spiritual pressure radiating from them.
Just beneath the cloak, Nobu could make out the hilt of a blade.
They came for me.
Of course. After the incident with the Adjucha, it was clear: he had become the test subject.
He'd been too preoccupied with worrying about Shūhei and Kanisawa to realize it sooner.
The cloaked figure seemed surprised that Nobu had survived unscathed.
Nobu, meanwhile, was running through possibilities. Someone launching an attack at this stage, in this manner—it could only mean one thing.
Another of Aizen's pawns.
One of Aizen's Shinigami…
It couldn't be Gin… or Tōsen… right?
The figure didn't display any distinctive features. The cloak nearly swallowed them whole.
Nobu pulled out his communicator. "Can you hear me?"
No response.
He lowered the device, gaze sharpening.