"Ah… huh?" Muten Natsu recognized the boy. It was Uryū Ishida, who had been scolded by Kagine-sensei along with him before.
"Ishida?" Orihime Inoue asked curiously. "What do you mean by first round?"
"The final exams. I won."
Uryū Ishida was slender, his short, center-parted hair covering his ears. Behind his glasses, his eyes were a deep blue.
"Now," he said calmly, "let's begin the second round."
"Congratulations on your victory."
Muten Natsu had no idea what he was getting at, but he couldn't be bothered to argue.
"Truly, congratulations."
Beep beep beep!
Rukia Kuchiki's phone suddenly rang.
"Muten, we've got orders."
Muten Natsu, who had been about to make an excuse to leave anyway, immediately asked,
"Where?"
"Over there." Uryū Ishida raised his hand and pointed in a direction. "You don't even know that… and you call yourselves Shinigami?"
A silver cross pendant slipped down from his right wrist, bursting into a brilliant blue glow. Surging Reishi gathered and shaped itself into a longbow.
Uryū Ishida hooked his fingers around the ring on the cross and pulled hard. A Reishi arrow formed out of thin air, its tip aimed at a Hollow flying high in the distant sky.
"Go!"
With his sharp command, the arrow shot forward, piercing straight through the Hollow. Before it could even cry out, the Hollow dissolved into Reishi and vanished before hitting the ground.
Muten Natsu recalled what he and Orihime Inoue had encountered earlier.
"So it's been you these past few days, taking out the Hollows?"
"That's right." Uryū Ishida's gaze was cold. "I've been waiting for this for a long time."
White, ribbon-like strands appeared around him, floating and swaying in the air.
"By compressing the spiritual energy in the atmosphere and giving it visible form, you get spirit threads. As a Shinigami, you should already know this."
Uryū Ishida reached out and plucked a particularly vivid red thread.
"This one belongs to Rukia Kuchiki. All Shinigami spirit threads are red."
He released Rukia Kuchiki's thread and grabbed hold of a black one instead.
"And this black one," he said, "Muten Natsu, is yours. You—hey, stop right there!"
When Uryū Ishida looked up, Muten Natsu was already walking away.
He quickened his pace and caught up, protesting loudly,
"How can you just leave like that?!"
"Well… you just said it yourself. I already know about spirit threads," Muten Natsu replied honestly.
"So there's really no need to keep listening, is there?"
Spirit threads were simply visualized spiritual energy, used for tracking and reconnaissance. It was basic knowledge taught at the Shin'ō Academy.
As for why his own thread was black, Muten Natsu guessed it was probably because of the influence of Hell's flames.
"As a Quincy, I won't pick on a Shinigami whose power hasn't fully recovered," Uryū Ishida said, his gaze lingering briefly on Rukia Kuchiki.
"But you're different. Judging by how you fought at that abandoned hospital, your strength should already be back. The final exam was a battle of intellect. Next…"
"Hey, stop!"
He had barely spoken a few sentences before Muten Natsu had already taken three more steps forward.
"Well… when it comes to personal strength, I know myself better than you do," Muten Natsu said plainly. "There's no need to listen to you."
"Aren't you curious why I also have the power to eliminate Hollows? Those Hollows earlier were all taken down by me!"
"Thanks, you did great!" Muten Natsu gave him a thumbs-up. "Keep it up. Take out plenty more Hollows in the future. I'm rooting for you!"
"You're welcome… no, wait! Who asked for your thanks? I hate Shinigami, all of you—"
Seeing Muten Natsu about to leave again, Uryū Ishida shouted, "Let me finish!"
Orihime Inoue tugged at Muten Natsu's sleeve. "Why don't you listen a little longer?"
Muten Natsu frowned slightly. "But…"
Rukia Kuchiki lowered her voice. "He's about to cry."
"No!" Uryū Ishida shouted back. "I'm not!"
"Fine…" Muten Natsu sighed. "What do you want?"
"What do I want?" Uryū Ishida stared at Muten Natsu without blinking. "Let's settle this, Muten Natsu. Let's see which is superior, Shinigami or Quincy. I'll prove to you that Shinigami are completely unnecessary in this world!"
"You're right. Quincy are superior."
"Even if you deny— huh?" Uryū Ishida flared up. "Who told you to agree?!"
"You did."
Uryū Ishida choked on his words. "...That's not what I meant!"
"I know," Rukia Kuchiki whispered to Orihime Inoue. To learn more about the World of the Living, she had read quite a few books. "That's tsundere, right?"
"Mm-hmm," Orihime Inoue nodded repeatedly. "But tsundere never admit they're tsundere."
"Tsundere? Who's tsundere?" Uryū Ishida took a deep breath. "Who are you calling tsundere?!"
Rukia Kuchiki and Orihime Inoue exchanged a glance and nodded in perfect sync.
"I get it. You're trying to make me lose my composure," Uryū Ishida said, frowning as he pushed up his glasses. "If you think tricks like this will work on me, you're seriously mistaken."
Muten Natsu replied bluntly, "Seems like it's working pretty well, though."
"...Muten Natsu, are you really that eager to run away?" Uryū Ishida took out a ring-like object. "Then we'll settle this in a way you can't escape."
He applied a bit of pressure with his fingers. The ring shattered, and an unusual ripple spread outward.
"This is bait used to lure Hollows. Crush it and scatter the fragments, and Hollows will gather," Uryū Ishida said coldly. "Let's see who eliminates more Hollows, Muten Natsu."
"I thought there was something off about you earlier. Now it's clear you're seriously unhinged," Muten Natsu said, his voice sinking. "For a pointless contest like this, you're willing to put all of Karakura Town in danger?"
"Enough nonsense!" Uryū Ishida replied firmly. "You don't need to worry about anyone else. As long as I'm here, not a single Hollow will get away!"
Orihime Inoue sensed a disturbance in the Reishi in the air, something completely different from before. "Muten…"
Rukia Kuchiki had already put on her Gokon Tekkō and pulled Muten Natsu out of his Gigai.
"You'd better live up to your words," Muten Natsu said as he grabbed the Gigai's head with his free hand. Black flames surged from his palm, completely engulfing it.
"Rukia, Orihime, the rescue is up to you."
Muten Natsu's Hell's Eye opened on his forehead. "I'll tell you the locations of anyone who needs help."
The clear sky suddenly split open with a pitch-black rift. A Hollow forced its way out.
Then a second followed. And a third…