Soul Society, West Rukongai, District 66.
In a peaceful little village, a burly brute barged in.
"Where the hell are the people in this village?! Where'd you all run off to?!"
The man gripped a serrated blade in his hand. A cross-shaped "X" scar split his face, and the moment he stepped into the village, he roared like a demon.
No one answered.
So he kicked open a home himself, snatched up a skinny man inside like he was grabbing a chick, and demanded,
"I'm asking you—did something just drop out of the sky into your village?
What treasure was it?!"
"F-From the sky?
I-I don't know, aniki!"
The skinny man was pale with terror. He truly had no idea what the brute was talking about.
For civilians living in higher-numbered Rukongai districts, all they thought about every day was how to survive one more day—who had the luxury to stare at the sky?
Besides, if something fell from the sky, there should've been a huge commotion. But he really hadn't heard anything at all.
"Don't know? Useless trash!"
The brute slammed the skinny man down onto the ground with savage force. Blood burst out—he was obviously done for.
Something that fell from the sky had to be a treasure!
How could that be anything but the simplest, most obvious truth?
The brute was convinced the man had lied. The village's civilians must have secretly hidden the treasure away!
Maybe it was something connected to the Reiō.
Wasn't the Reiō supposed to be up in the sky?
Thanks to decades of near-constant warfare between Soul Society and Urahara Kisuke—and thanks to Urahara's infiltration and leaks—
the Reiō's existence, while still an unknowable secret to most ordinary Rukongai civilians, was no longer mysterious to most powerful Shinigami and great criminals.
With that treasure-hunting mindset, the brute barged into home after home—most doors shut tight.
Reality proved something simple:
When real danger arrives, hiding like a turtle is meaningless.
It only makes you die faster.
At least, that was true for the Rukongai civilians in this village right now.
Screams rose one after another.
People in other houses heard them. They were terrified, yet not a single one dared to leave.
As if each person was praying that this demon who had suddenly entered the village would leave on his own after killing enough people—
and that the people he killed wouldn't include them.
"Don't know, still don't know!
You think you can keep the treasure for yourselves like that?!"
After slaughtering yet another household, the brute licked his lips in frustration and spat curses.
But this time, when he stepped outside, he saw a man standing there—an ordinary-looking man, dressed fairly cleanly.
"Oh~ So this dump actually has a guard?"
Seeing the dark-green katana at the man's waist, the brute instinctively assumed he was some kind of village guard.
"A guard?"
The man smiled.
"I'm not. But if you insist on thinking of me that way… I can be, too~"
He spoke as if the brute wasn't worth noticing at all.
"Heh. What do you mean you 'can be' a guard?
Either you are or you aren't. I'm asking you—where did you hide that treasure that fell from the sky just now?!"
The brute didn't take this slender-looking, seemingly fragile man seriously either, and kept questioning him arrogantly.
"Just now… from the sky?"
The man tapped his lower lip lightly with his right index finger, like he was recalling something.
"Sounds like you're not an ordinary Rukongai civilian either, sir. Without some serious spiritual perception, you wouldn't be able to see that, would you?"
"Heh! I'm Kazama Kakuei from West Rukongai District 70!"
The brute stepped forward, grabbed the man by the collar, and lifted him off the ground as he shouted.
"You know the Gotei 13?!
The Tenth Division Fukutaichō, Matsumoto Rangiku—she's a loser I already beat!
So what're you doing 'acting' in front of me?!"
The man's eyebrow rose slightly. He looked Kazama up and down, then said,
"You mean that Tenth Division Matsumoto Rangiku… with black hair, short and chubby, and a pretty average figure?"
A hint of shock appeared on the man's face.
Kazama Kakuei was delighted.
"Yeah! That's her!
Now you know how strong I am, right?!
Now talk—where'd you hide the treasure?!"
He was smug and satisfied—completely missing the flicker of disdain in the man's eyes.
"Whew~"
Still dangling in midair, the man patted his chest as if he'd been frightened, then smiled.
"Kazama-sama is really amazing. So, Kazama-sama… do you want to hear the truth?
Or do you want to hear a lie?"
"Fuck off—do you think I want to hear you talk in circles?!"
Kazama's patience had hit its limit.
His temper had never been good.
"Alright~ Then I'll tell you the truth, Kazama-sama~"
The man blinked his big eyes and said something utterly innocent.
"The truth is… the treasure that fell from the sky is actually me."
That nearly made Kazama Kakuei snap.
"The hell?! And you call that the truth?!
Do you think I'm an idiot?!!
How the fuck would a living person fall out of the sky?!
I'm telling you!
If you don't start talking for real, you'll end up just like the people in that house!"
Kazama held him even higher—threatening him, getting mad-mad, basically boiling over.
"Then okay~"
The man smiled sweetly.
"If Kazama-sama really won't believe me, then I can only tell you a lie~
What fell from the sky just now was actually a—"
"A what?! Say it all the way, damn it!!"
Kazama was about to explode.
But the man he was holding still wasn't in a hurry at all.
"Eeeh, Kazama-sama, I just feel like… what it is doesn't really matter."
He smiled gently.
"What matters is… you might be in a tiny bit of danger right now~"
Kazama's mouth twisted.
"I see. You're looking for death!"
With that, Kazama hurled the man as hard as he could into the distance.
He'd already given up on getting any information from him!
However, at the exact moment he threw him, a crisp, sweet voice rang out behind Kazama.
"Bakudō no Sanjūnana: Tsuriboshi (Hanging Star)!"
With the incantation, a massive reishi net abruptly formed behind the thrown man and caught him steadily in midair.
"What—Kidō?!"
Kazama Kakuei had fought Shinigami multiple times before. He knew exactly what that was.
A special universal technique exclusive to Shinigami.
Kazama spun around and saw that behind him, a small female Shinigami had arrived, her face filled with anger. Her hair was tied into a bun in the back, wrapped with a green kerchief.
"Kazama Kakuei," she declared. "I am Hinamori Momo, Fukutaichō of the Fifth Division. I now order you to drop your weapon and surrender immediately!"
"Shit… it's the Fifth Division Fukutaichō!"
Kazama didn't know Hinamori Momo personally, but he knew one thing: Shinigami don't lie about their identity. When they introduce themselves, it's almost always their real name and position.
And the fact she'd slipped up behind him without him noticing at all was already proof she was stronger than he was.
So he definitely couldn't beat her.
Then… could he run?
Kazama glanced at the wide-open terrain outside the village.
Forget it. Running would just be suicide.
So did he have any other choice?
Grinding his teeth, Kazama turned his head—and suddenly noticed the unlucky man from before, climbing down from the reishi net at an unhurried pace.
Damn it.
Wasn't that a ready-made hostage?!
Kazama didn't hesitate. He dashed forward in one step and grabbed the "unlucky bastard" again the moment he climbed down.
"Don't come any closer!
I've got a Rukongai civilian as a hostage!
If you dare touch me, I'll take him down with me!"
Honestly, by this point, Kazama had already placed himself in the weaker position.
But the man he was holding didn't seem to understand the seriousness at all. Not only did he refuse to shut up—he even fanned the flames with an exaggeratedly surprised tone.
"Huh?
Kazama-sama, why are you scared of the Fifth Division Fukutaichō?
Didn't you just say you beat the Tenth Division Fukutaichō, Matsumoto Rangiku?"
"Shut the fuck up!"
Kazama Kakuei wanted to tear the man in his hands apart. Could he stop bringing up the one thing Kazama didn't want mentioned?
Then Hinamori Momo corrected him with earnest seriousness.
"What 'beat the Tenth Division Fukutaichō Rangiku-san'?
He only beat the Tenth Division's Third Seat—Shiba Ganju."
That earned her a silent eye-roll from the man.
Great. Another one who didn't get the joke.
Couldn't she tell he was mocking Kazama?
"So what?!"
Kazama Kakuei cut in viciously.
"Hinamori Momo—either way, I'm saying this now: if you touch me even once, this guy dies!"
"Consider it," Hinamori said, frowning. "This won't benefit you!"
The man suddenly smiled and spoke up again.
"I think you can try it—see if you can kill me~"
"?"
"??"
Hinamori and the man exchanged a look.
Very nice—an expression she absolutely couldn't understand.
"Did you… say that wrong?" Hinamori tried to warn him. This really wasn't the time to provoke Kazama Kakuei, or the guy might actually lose control.
"No," the man said, shaking his head seriously. "Hinamori-fukutaichō, you really don't need to consider me. Just do it."
"That won't do!"
Hinamori answered even more seriously.
"Even if you're only a Rukongai civilian, as the Fifth Division's Fukutaichō, how could I disregard your life?
Don't worry. I will keep you safe!
I swear it in the name of Hinamori Momo!"
She even made him a solemn promise.
"Seriously, Hinamori-fukutaichō, you don't have to worry about me," the man said helplessly. "He can't do anything to me."
"No. Even if you're confident, what if something happens?
As a Shinigami, I can't gamble with your life!"
Hinamori's answer was firm.
At this point, Kazama Kakuei, still holding the man, couldn't take it anymore.
"Hey! Are you two even acknowledging I'm here?!
His life or death is in my hands, alright?!
Why are you talking like I've got nothing to do with it?!"
"Haah…"
The man in Kazama's grip let out a long sigh.
Then, in Kazama Kakuei's stunned pupils, the man simply spun once and landed smoothly on the ground.
Blood sprayed through the air.
Kazama Kakuei's entire left arm had been cleanly severed at the shoulder.
It was a beautiful cut—flat and smooth.
Neither Kazama nor Hinamori had even seen the man draw his blade.
"No matter what, he's still a villain, right?" the man said lightly. "Taking him down is credit for you, isn't it?
Then when you go back, Hinamori-fukutaichō, you can also claim merit in front of your Taichō, can't you?"
"W-What claiming merit?!"
Hinamori's face flushed at the worst possible moment—two small red blooms on her cheeks.
Kisama… how did this guy know she adored Aizen-taichō, and that she'd rushed over this time with exactly that kind of hope in mind?!
At the same time, Kazama Kakuei—near tears—finally understood.
The man he'd been grabbing the whole time was playing weak while hiding his strength.
Now missing an arm, Kazama only wanted to flee this place of calamity—right now—while those two were still talking and not paying attention to him!
Kazama swore: this was the fastest he had ever run in his life. No exceptions!
Even Hinamori, when she finally snapped out of it, cried out in panic.
"Crap! This is all your fault, talking about claiming merit!
That Kazama Kakuei doesn't have much of anything, but when it comes to running, he's one of the best among major criminals!
It took me forever just to track him down!"
She stomped her foot and was about to chase—but then she saw the strange man across from her raise a hand in a helpless "no need" gesture.
What did that mean?
Hinamori didn't understand.
But she understood very quickly.
"Chōgetsu (Challenging the Moon)."
This time, she finally saw him draw.
The movement was gentle—lazy in a scholar-like way.
But the "force" extending from the blade was terrifying.
Far in the distance—
"Hahahaha! Heaven won't let me die, Kazama Kakuei!
One day I'll become someone great!!
Haha—"
Before his triumphant laughter could go on for more than a couple breaths, Kazama's vision suddenly went black, as if the entire world had fallen into darkness.
"Why is it dark? The moon…?"
Yes.
The moon came out.
Only it wasn't in the sky—
It was on him.
His body had been split cleanly into two by that single strike.
All his skills—
with nowhere to be used.
"Y-You…"
Hinamori Momo felt a shiver of fear.
But the man, after sheathing his sword, looked at her and smiled.
"Nice to meet you.
My name is Kabuno Takuya~"
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