The night was deep and cloudless, with a waning moon hanging high in the sky.
Several figures darted across the rooftops. Abarai Renji, gripping his asauchi, was visibly thrilled as he pursued a Hollow roughly the size of a full-grown man. It resembled some kind of reptilian beast, scrambling in a panic as it was hunted down by Renji, Hinamori, and Kira.
The three of them were top students among the first-years, and their performance during this field exercise had been nothing short of outstanding.
Hinamori cut off the Hollow's escape from the front and fired a Shakkahō right into its face. However, her spiritual pressure limited the spell's power, and it failed to inflict any real damage.
As the dust settled, Renji and Kira came at it from both sides, slicing it cleanly into three pieces.
Watching the corpse gradually disintegrate into spirit particles and fade away, Renji sheathed his asauchi behind his back.
"Pretty quick work there, Kira. But honestly, I could've taken it down on my own."
Kira Izuru chuckled good-naturedly. "Don't say that. It was a team effort."
Renji, however, wore a self-satisfied grin. "I'm already at the level where I can handle Hollows myself. This kind of training is way too easy."
Hinamori, who had just walked over, rolled her eyes. "You sure know how to run your mouth."
Renji looked mildly annoyed. "I'm being serious!"
But Hinamori wasn't about to let it slide. "Every time it's the three of us working together, but you always make it sound like you did everything yourself. Are you going to take all the credit in the report too?"
Renji was momentarily speechless, looking away toward the raised platform in the distance where the upperclassmen were watching.
He quickly changed the subject. "They sure look relaxed over there."
Kira replied, "This is a training exercise for us. The upperclassmen only step in if things get dangerous."
Renji snorted. "With Hollows like that? As if anything could go wrong."
Hinamori sighed, rubbing her forehead. "Here we go again."
Not all students were handling things as smoothly as they were. Some, facing Hollows for the first time, were so nervous and frightened they nearly forgot everything they'd learned.
Thankfully, upperclassmen were stationed nearby in secret, ready to step in if needed.
Besides offering backup, they were also tasked with observing and recording each student's performance.
---
Meanwhile, over on Nobu's side—
The large Hollow that had appeared earlier had been taken down by Nobu before it could even act, and as a result, no one else had really noticed it.
He and his group had decided not to spread word of it for now.
As for the Barrier Squad's explanation, they had no choice but to tentatively accept it.
"Kira and Hinamori are doing really well," Hisagi remarked.
They had chosen a vantage point with a clear view. He'd been keeping an eye on Hinamori's group from the start.
In terms of Kidō, Hinamori was already far ahead of her peers—she had a real talent for it, held back only by her spiritual pressure.
Renji, for all his brashness, was quite adept in actual combat. His only real weakness was kidō.
Kira Izuru, on the other hand, was balanced across the board—swordsmanship, Kidō, Shunpo—he excelled in all of them.
Hisagi Shūhei made notes on a report sheet, writing brief evaluations of Hinamori's team's performance.
Kanisawa, too, was paying close attention to the field. Aside from the appearance of that one out-of-place Hollow in the beginning, everything had gone smoothly so far. She and Hisagi were beginning to think it might have just been a fluke after all.
Nobu, however, remained silent, his gaze fixed on the heavy stillness of the night.
"Nobu?"
Hisagi had been talking for a while without a response, and finally gave Nobu a curious look.
"What are you watching?"
It wasn't unusual for Kanisawa to be quiet, but Nobu wasn't normally this reserved.
"Nothing in particular. Just looking around," Nobu replied simply.
Hisagi gave him a thoughtful glance. "You worried about something?"
Nobu didn't answer directly.
Hisagi paused, then nodded to himself. A little caution wouldn't hurt.
This was only the first night. There was still a long way to go before the exercise ended.
At that moment, Nobu was monitoring every spiritual fluctuation inside the barrier, alert for any more abnormalities.
By the second half of the night—
The exhausted students had gathered at the designated meeting point for rest and food.
Some groups chatted enthusiastically, exchanging stories. This field trip to the living world was a novel and exciting experience. Others, however, looked worn out or downcast.
Nobu and Hisagi arrived as well. Hisagi offered praise and encouragement, reminding everyone not to let their guard down in the battles to come.
As the students rested, Hinamori suddenly approached Nobu.
"President!"
She greeted him with a beaming smile, then turned politely to Kanisawa. "Kanisawa-senpai."
Kanisawa gave her a quiet nod, expression unreadable.
Hinamori, clearly hoping for praise, asked, "Did you notice how well our group did?"
A small smile finally tugged at the corners of Nobu's lips. "I saw. You worked well together."
Hinamori seized the opportunity to complain. "We did coordinate well at first, but that Abarai guy kept trying to show off. He kept running off to chase Hollows on his own, no matter how many times we warned him."
Nobu raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? Call him over."
Hinamori perked up but then hesitated. "Actually, never mind. I'll talk to him myself later. If you lecture him, he'll definitely curse me in his head."
Nobu couldn't help chuckling. She's surprisingly thoughtful about that.
"Keep it up—and stay sharp."
Hinamori nodded earnestly. "I will! I'm not afraid! Because..."
She flashed a bright, confident smile. "You'll protect me, won't you, President?"
But the next moment, her smile froze.
In her field of vision, a narrow horizontal tear had silently opened in the air behind Nobu and Kanisawa—pitch black and gaping.
A massive white mask emerged from the rift, glowing red eyes radiating a terrifying presence.
What... is that...?
Her mind blanked for a split second before instinct snapped her back to alertness.
Among the Hollow ranks, some of the more powerful ones possessed special abilities—like opening Garganta.
Similar to the Senkaimon that Soul Reapers used to travel between realms, Garganta also allowed for spatial movement.
Nobu felt the surge of spiritual pressure from behind almost instantly. He spun around just in time to see a giant hand crashing down on him like a falling mountain.
Boom!
The colossal hand slammed into the ground, shattering it completely.
"President!"
Hinamori screamed.
Kanisawa was flung violently into a nearby wall. When she managed to raise her head and look back at where Nobu had been, her pupils constricted sharply.
A deep crater had been smashed into the ground. Besides the shattered stones and rubble, there was no trace of anyone.
Only then did she realize—just before the impact, Nobu had grabbed her and thrown her out of harm's way.
But Nobu...
Nobu?!