I'll go back now and fall asleep. Thankfully, that's what days off are for.
I made it to District 1 and changed into my Academy uniform. I have my pass with me, so there won't be any problems.
I approached the Academy at dawn. It's beautiful here.
But I don't like District 1. It's kind of swampy. Foggy. Lazy. Too safe. It's as if no one lives here—everyone is just sleeping. This is especially noticeable in the morning.
The first thing I heard when I entered the grounds was not the singing of birds in the nearby trees, but breathing, panting, and shuffling.
Intrigued, I followed the sound and found Renji and Kira conducting a training fight.
They were moving quite well. Renji has good strength, and he instinctively enhances his strikes with spiritual energy. But his speed is worse. Kira is a more passive person. He has better technique, is more agile, and is better at defense. But Hakuda is clearly not his calling, though he's decent at it.
That's how they tried to defeat each other: Renji tried to hit, and Kira tried to catch and throw him. But Renji had the advantage simply because he was more resilient. It's better not to fight him in a battle of attrition.
The outcome was obvious: Kira slowed down and missed the blow.
"The winner is Abarai Renji!" I said loudly. Only then did they notice me. "Good morning."
"Hi, Karas," the bushy-browed one waved. "What brings you here so early?"
"I had some business to take care of, so I'm back now."
"Really?" Kira looked surprised. "We couldn't find you. We wanted to invite you to practice."
"Are you that worried about the test?" I smirked.
"Not really," Abarai smiled. "But it's better to be prepared. And I just want to warm up."
"Well, as you wish," I shrugged. "Why didn't you bring Rukia with you?"
"She's not an early bird," Renji chuckled. "And she was looking for Hebiko until evening, so she got tired."
"Heh." I smiled. "She's stubborn. Well, good luck to her — and to you. I'm going to bed. I'm spending my day off relaxing, and in the evening have to read War with the Quincy. Otherwise Doe will gore us."
"Don't remind," Renji groaned. Yes, he's terrible at theory.
Waving them off, I headed to my room. I was so tired I didn't pay much attention to anything around me.
I reached my room, went inside, and began undressing.
"I've been waiting for you, dear," a woman's voice said.
I woke up instantly and turned toward the bed.
Hebiko was lying there under the blanket — a snake-like smile, narrowed eyes, and a quiet chuckle. She's lying there in just a robe, sweetly exposing her leg from under the blanket.
I had forgotten about her. I had invited her to sleep here myself. Hmm.
"Are you that afraid of the head of the dormitory?" I sighed and sat down at the table. Great. I won't be getting any sleep today.
At my words, her smile tightened a little. Hmm. They're really strict over there. Things are more or less decent and proper here too, but our head doesn't go around sniffing out who's sleeping with whom. We had a case where our old man Hommoji caught a couple in one of the rooms, but he didn't make a fuss and let the young people finish, and scolded them afterward. So I wasn't too worried about having little Snake here. And what kind of reputation do I even have after being caught fooling around with my "sister"?
"She's fierce," Hebiko sighed. "If I'd seen her there, I wouldn't have joked around. Oh well, I'll have to turn myself in voluntarily. Maybe they'll go easy on me."
"The main thing is to make your eyes look sad and let a tear of remorse fall."
"You really think I can pull that off?" She flashed that snake-like smile again. What I find amusing about Hebiko is her ability to make fun of herself.
"Oh well," I waved a hand. "It's all clear with you."
I went to the closet and took out a blanket. I wouldn't be able to sleep in bed tonight, but I still wanted to sleep.
I wrapped myself up and lay down on the floor.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"Sleeping."
She didn't know what else to say, clearly understood the situation. She couldn't leave because she was being hunted, and it was too early to turn herself in — but staying here was also uncomfortable. So I solved a couple of problems at once. Fortunately, the floor was clean and warm, so it wasn't too bad. And in my wanderings around the districts, I had slept on floors, on dirt, on rocks… wherever I had to. Over the year, I got used to it.