Classes went on as usual, and I continued preparing for the upcoming showdown.
Renji eventually decided to set up a few training bouts for me. What can I say—he's good. In a fight, he's better than I am.
Yes, I've fought before. But I've only been in the Soul Society for about five years, while Abarai has spent almost a century here. Some souls grow very slowly, and sometimes we lose track of time entirely. He spent so many years in the outer districts and had far more fights in his life.
Honestly, I'm even glad I got to train with him. I've never had such a strong sparring partner. Spiritually, Renji is much stronger than I am. He instinctively reinforces his fists with reiryoku, which makes his punches extremely dangerous. Once he improves his speed and technique, he'll be a terrifying fighter.
But we'll be taught all that soon enough.
So, as usual, early in the morning we were training in the park. I was exchanging blows with Renji. Kira and Rukia sat nearby, watching and offering snide comments about our mistakes. They were thoroughly enjoying themselves. Hebiko lounged on a tree branch, yawning and munching an apple. Hiro slept under a tree—he still wasn't used to waking up this early, but Renji had dragged him along, and now he was catching up on sleep while the bushy-browed guy pummeled me.
Soon we finished our run. Why? I don't want to get hit by Renji's punches, but I can't hit him hard enough either, and he can't land a clean strike on me. Plus, my appearance sometimes plays a cruel joke on him. I don't look exactly like Rukia… but similar enough that he really hates hitting me in the face. And I take full advantage of that.
"Boo, Renji is losing," my little sister laughed.
"Shut up," the redhead muttered, offended.
"Heh," Kira smirked. "She's right, Renji. You need to be more persistent—or you'll never get to Karasumaru."
"I can wear a mask," I offered. "Might be more comfortable for him psychologically."
"We can try that," Renji nodded.
"Heh-heh-heh," Hebiko chimed in. "Something interesting is happening over there." She pointed ahead.
When I went up to her, I saw a rather amusing sight.
Our old friend Kano Sakamoto was surrounded by five guys who didn't look particularly bright. Judging by their armbands, they were from 3rd Class.
"We should check this out," I murmured, sliding closer.
Kira and Renji followed me. The others stayed behind to watch the show.
We crept closer.
"Know your place, trash," Kano snorted.
"You'll pay for this, bastard!" growled the biggest of the five.
"Nobodies should live like dogs. You're not worthy of studying here—or even breathing the same air as me!" Kano sneered. "If you get on your knees, I'll forgive you."
"You freak!" snapped the second guy. "You'll pay for beating Cho!"
"No," Kano smiled even wider. "My family has enough influence to forgive me for anything. But you will be expelled. So get on your knees!" he ordered.
He was deliberately provoking them. What a jerk. Looks like I'd have to intervene.
One of the big guys couldn't take it anymore and lunged at him.
Yeah, no. I wasn't letting that happen. After exchanging glances with my friends, I saw that they understood what needed to be done.
Dashed forward!
In the blink of an eye, I was in front of the charging student.
A sharp blow to the stomach—he dropped to his knees.
I vaulted over him and struck the second student in the knee. An uppercut and push him to the ground.
Renji took down one, and Kira handled the remaining two.
Done!
All five are lying on the ground.
Kano stared at us in surprise, while the battered five glared angrily.
At that moment, еhe physical training coach—and our future Hakuda instructor—suddenly appears next to us. Kai Ryumon: a tall, muscular man with features carved from stone. Bald, with a small beard. Wearing a standard shinigami uniform—minus the sleeves.
"What's going on here?!" he barked, looking over the scene.
"Sir," Kano immediately spoke up, voice trembling with righteous indignation. "These guys attacked me while I was relaxing in the woods. If it weren't for Kuroki and his friends, they might have killed me. I believe we should remove such dangerous criminals from the Academy."
The teacher frowned and turned to us.
"Is that true?"
"No," I replied, putting on the most innocent, bewildered expression I could. The beaten students stared at me in shock. "We were training together. We arranged to meet here for a sparring session. That's all. Then Sakamoto showed up. I don't know why he thought it was an attack." I shrugged. My friends nodded solemnly, barely holding back laughter.
Sakamoto's face twisted with fury. He shot me a glare that could freeze lava—but it didn't bother me in the slightest.
"I think Sakamoto-sama should go to the infirmary," I suggested politely. "He seems to have overheated in the morning sun, which might have caused hallucinations and paranoia."
The instructor's expression remained stern, but his gaze softened slightly.
"Well then," he said at last.
"If there are no issues, you three are free to go. And you—" he pointed at the stunned five. "Head to the training grounds and practice there. If five of you were defeated by these three, then you need to work much harder. Move!"
The five practically leapt to their feet and hurried away, not forgetting to nod gratefully to us.
"And you, Sakamoto-kun," the teacher continued, "go to the infirmary. You need to be examined."
When they finally left, I turned to Kano.
"Don't forget to ask for an enema," I advised brightly.
"You'll pay for this," he growled.
"We'll see, Mr. Second," I smiled.
He scowled and stalked off, muttering and cursing.
Ruining an idiot's morning. What a beautiful way to start the day.
"You've made an enemy," Renji said.
"But I didn't let him do whatever he wanted."
"That's true. Come on, let's get back to training."
"Let's go…"