I am currently in the middle of heading to the "good place" we talked about the other day, guided by the shop owner.
It was around the time breakfast was finished and things had settled down that I was led out of the izakaya by the owner.
Because I would be sweating a lot, I changed into exercise clothes handed to me by the landlady—seemingly old clothes tailored to fit—and with a bit of consideration and some simple luggage, we headed straight for our destination.
However, perhaps because our stride lengths are different, I am walking ahead of him.
That said, immediately after being guided, I guessed where we were heading. So there is no worry of getting lost.
Straight ahead along the main street of Rukongai, scenery different from the Rukongai landscape comes into view. A developed cityscape is visible. I can also see a very large trench between Rukongai and "the other side."
Coming this far, I know almost for certain.
We are heading to the Seireitei—or to be more precise, the Seireimon (Gate of Pure Spirits).
"Danzōmaru-san! Are you there?"
"Mm... Oh, if it isn't the restaurant owner!"
Eventually, we arrived at a hut built near the border; it was huge but crudely constructed.
When the owner called out, a giant like a small mountain slowly appeared. He had dark, tanned skin and a fearsome face. The outfit he wore was based in black—the Shihakusho worn by Soul Reapers.
Seeing the man who appeared, I was convinced. He is the gatekeeper of the Seireimon.
Come to think of it, I recall there was such a huge gatekeeper in the original story too. What was his name...? Something-bō?
"It has been a long time!!"
"Do you have business today?"
"No, no, actually, this child says she wants to become a Soul Reaper."
"Hmm?"
When told that, the gatekeeper—Danzōmaru-san—glared at me. Moving his gaze up and down a few times as if assessing me from head to toe, he eventually opened his mouth as if disappointed.
"...This girl?"
"She said she was hungry, so she seems to have spiritual power. I want to respect her will."
"Um, are you acquaintances?"
At the sight of the two conversing familiarly, I instinctively interjected.
"Ah, yes. This is Danzōmaru-san, the keeper of the Northern Black Ridge Gate. Naturally, he has skill, but he has also received education as a Soul Reaper. I thought I could ask him to act as a master for Airi-chan, who aims to be a Soul Reaper."
"I-I see..."
When told that, it makes sense. I looked at Danzōmaru-san... or rather, looked up at him.
He is truly tall, or rather, huge. It is just an estimate, but isn't he about 10 meters tall? He looks about twice the size of the giraffes I saw at the zoo long ago...
"...Well, very well. Aptitude aside, if she has spiritual power, there is a possibility. If you are fine with my spare time, I will train her."
"Really!? Thank you very much!"
Although he sounded reluctant, Danzōmaru-san agreed—
—No, I should call him Master from now on.
I bowed and thanked my Master. Next to me, the owner was stroking his chest as if to say, "Thank goodness."
After all, I don't even know how to use spiritual power properly. It is important to ask someone who knows and learn efficiently.
"That's great. Well then, I will be going. Airi-chan, you just need to come back by evening. Good luck."
"Yes, thank you for going out of your way for me."
The owner waved his hand and went back the way we came, as if his role was finished.
He is truly a good person. I keep becoming a burden to him in various ways.
That is why.
I will pretend I did not notice the hot gazes poured onto my butt on the way here. I will keep it a secret from the landlady too, so please rest assured.
"Now then, I would like to start training immediately, but before that."
"Before that?"
"First is to confirm how much ability you have. If I don't know that, I can't train you."
I see, that is certainly true.
"So. First, come at me. I will judge by seeing how you fight."
"Umm, well..."
S-Suddenly!? No, there is a problem before that...!!
"What is it? Do you assume you will injure me? Do not worry, I won't get hurt by a fledgling."
"No! That's not it!!"
I hurriedly denied my Master's words, who had misunderstood something, and continued.
"Um, I am empty-handed."
"Does that matter?"
"Swords or weapons, um... things like that..."
"I see. Certainly, Soul Reapers handle swords called Zanpakutō. But that is not all. It is called Zankensoki (Swordsmanship, Hand-to-Hand, Hoho, Kido); we also learn Hakuda—the art of fighting with fists. Not having a sword is no excuse! Enough prattle, come at me!!"
"Y-Yes!!"
Driven by his roaring voice, I frantically challenged my Master.
■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□■□
—There was a very, very big harvest.
It seems I do not have a fragment of something like "rare athletic talent."
"Haa... haa... wheeze... wheeze..."
Crouching down with my hands on my knees—a posture like the horse in leapfrog—I desperately repeated rough breaths. Even so, as a final bit of stubbornness, I desperately resisted doing something like collapsing onto the ground.
It was fine that I challenged him bare-handed, but the result was natural, or perhaps a crushing defeat, or simply miserable.
To begin with, he is an opponent superior to me in everything. My half-hearted attacks were all parried, dodged, and crushed. I couldn't even show the "a" of attack.
I thought it was enough for me, but Master did not allow me to stop halfway and urged me to continue.
The result.
I was forced to challenge him to my physical limit; my limbs are trembling, and my throat is parched. My whole body is drenched in sweat, and the clothes that absorbed the sweat are sticking to my skin, which feels gross. The fatigue attacking me incessantly is tremendous, to the point where I don't want to move even a single finger.
And I realized one more thing that is absolutely necessary for the current me.
"...From next time, I absolutely have to prepare a sarashi (binding cloth)..."
It is impossible to exercise with these breasts without even wearing a bra.
How did Rangiku and Harribel fight with such breasts and unstable outfits...? They would definitely spill out!
Eh, what would? Breasts, of course! They get swung around every time I move violently! My balance collapsed in an instant!
What is it, honestly!! Why can people in fighting games move like that despite having such styles and outfits!?
"Hmm... I assumed the worst-case scenario to some extent, but this is terrible..."
I need to retrain everything from zero, like how to use my center of gravity and how to move my body.
Just as I was quietly resolving to do so, I heard Master's disappointed voice.
"I... guess... so...?"
"Never mind, keep resting."
Master spoke as if to interrupt me when I lifted my face and started to speak with a stinging throat. So I will take him up on his offer and rest slowly to regulate my breathing.
"Ah, that's right... Master, may I ask one thing?"
Around the time my heartbeat settled and my thirst improved, I remembered something I was curious about and asked.
"Master?"
"Ah, since I am in a position to study under you. I thought calling you Danzōmaru-san might be... was it no good?"
"No, I don't mind. So, what is it you want to ask?"
"I would like to ask the names of the current Soul Reaper... Gotei 13 Captains."
What I wanted to know was roughly when "now" is.
No, I tried asking the customers at the shop, but they told me they were born in "Ken'ei," "Kenji," or "Oho."
My brain has no clue what year that is in the Western calendar.
What I came up with instead was the names of the Captains.
If there are names of Captains I know, I should be able to calculate backward and deduce it to some extent.
"Hmm, it is not like I remember them in detail either, but—"
While prefacing with that, Master taught me all the Gotei 13 Captains and, incidentally, the roles of each division.
Among them, there were two names I had heard of.
Only the Captain of the 1st Division and Captain-Commander, Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, and the Captain of the 4th Division, Retsu Unohana.
Although I heard the other Captains too, they were all names that didn't catch in my memory at all.
In other words, now is... much longer ago than the time I know?
Speaking in meta terms, does it mean "long before the start of the original story"??
But if I think about it in reverse, it might be lucky. Considering my current situation, it doesn't seem like having a long training period will be a problem.
"However, why did you ask such a thing?"
"That is... I thought if I met them somewhere, having even one connection might make it easier to become a Soul Reaper."
"I see, certainly it is natural to think that way. But becoming a Soul Reaper is not so sweet that connections alone will let you become one! Come, stand up soon. We will continue. You must first learn how to use your body."
When I voiced the excuse I had thought of beforehand, Master laughed a little as if convinced, and the training continued.
What started next was the training of "how to use the body" that Master mentioned. Put simply, it is training to become able to move properly. Unless that is finished, we cannot do proper training.
I make my body memorize movements by training the core and doing basic muscle training.
Just when I thought the physical training was over, next was spiritual power training.
First, I was taught about "Hakusui" (Soul Sleep) and "Saketsu" (Chain Binding). Come to think of it, those existed. I feel like they remained in a corner of my memory.
Hakusui is the source of spiritual power in the human body.
Saketsu is the booster of spiritual power in the human body.
—Apparently. Both are vital points, and if you get hit there, you won't be able to use spiritual power at all.
And it seems spiritual power can also be trained in the same way as building physical strength. It is drawn out by using spiritual power, and as a result, the inherent spiritual power increases.
So, raising the power like this, nngghhh... it... ugggh, I-I'm gonna die! Impossible!
The generated spiritual power was weaker than expected, yet my head is dizzy. Before I knew it, Master was looking at me with eyes like he was looking at a pitiful child.
I-It (my spiritual pressure) will get bigger from now on!!
"T-Thank you very much for today..."
"Umu. Also, as I said earlier, I am not free either. Training will be about twice a month; if that is fine, come again."
"Yes... please take care of me next time too..."
In the end, the day's training finished around the time the sun started to set. It was about two hours before the shop would become busy at night.
While my head and body were wobbly thanks to the unfamiliar exercise and unfamiliar control of spiritual power, I left the North Gate.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]