Night fell.
The moonlight spilled across the colorful dormitory buildings like a pale, shimmering river, painting every rooftop with a cold, ethereal glow.
Everyone who had watched the afternoon's duel dispersed at last—shaken, bewildered, unable to comprehend what they had witnessed—and returned to their temporary dorm rooms.
But tonight… sleep would not come easily.
At first, people assumed Kisaragi Akira defeating Kazama Jun had just been a stroke of luck. A fluke. Maybe he'd exploited a gap, or caught him off guard.
But when Akira, under the eyes of the entire academy, revealed that violent, overwhelming power…
The students and instructors of the Reiryutsu Academy finally understood:
This boy was a full-blown monster.
Reiatsu? Combat technique? Physical capability? Instinct?
Among the students of his generation, there was simply no one—no one—who could meet him head-on.
After all, hadn't they just watched the thick-skinned, iron-bodied Matsushita Takeo get drop-kicked from the sky, both arms shattered, his chest caving in, and nearly stop breathing on the spot?
The on-site Shinigami supervising the duel had to intervene immediately, halt the fight, and rush Takeo to the infirmary—and from there directly to the 4th Squad's general medical ward.
And now, after the shock settled, everyone began to wonder about something else entirely:
"What the heck… is 'Crow Airplane' supposed to be?"
Inside one of the temporary dorm rooms, Aizen frowned deeply, unable to puzzle it out.
From what he'd seen, the hand-to-hand technique Akira used in the last exchange wasn't part of anything the academy taught.
"Ah, obviously it's my own creation!"Akira grinned proudly, showing not a hint of shame."A genius like me picked up tons of tricks when I fought Shihōin Yoruha the other day."
"With just a few tweaks, even the Shihōin clan's exclusive techniques can be turned into something completely my own!"
He didn't bother hiding it.
Or rather—before Aizen, hiding such a small matter seemed unnecessary.
The longer Akira spent time with Aizen, the more he realized something surprising:
Aizen wasn't like the version in his memory—ambitious, merciless, frighteningly calculating.
Even if he watched Aizen through the most suspicious, prejudice-filled lens he could muster… the boy still seemed harmless.
Right now, Aizen was simply extremely curious, somewhat nerdy, and aside from that… not that different from other students.
If anything, his talent was average.
Compared to Akira, who had been shining nonstop for the past few days, Aizen felt like a normal follower tagging along behind him.
No background. Mediocre talent. Intelligent, yes—but in a place full of geniuses, he was hardly exceptional.
As for personality…
Gentle, polite, meticulous. Rarely rejected a friend's request.
Even someone like Akira could get along with him easily.
Maybe—just maybe—this was the real Aizen.
Kisaragi Akira had survived the hellish Inane District of East Rukongai. He had seen the best and worst of people.
If the academy was "the human world," then the Inane District was pure, naked hell.
He wasn't arrogant enough to claim he understood all of human nature.
But at the very least…
His danger instincts never lied.
Because of limited housing space, the temporary dorms were all four-person rooms.
Predictably, once the other two assigned students learned they'd be sharing a room with Kisaragi Akira, they immediately packed up and moved out.
So, in the end, only two boys remained in the room: Akira and Aizen.
After Akira finished explaining the "Crow Airplane" technique, Aizen's expression grew more and more incredulous.
When Akira had sparred with Shihōin Yoruha earlier, Aizen assumed Akira had merely mimicked her technique in the moment.
But now he realized he had underestimated him.
To fully break down, internalize, and reproduce a technique after experiencing it even once—
That wasn't normal talent.
It was terrifying.
"Want to learn? I'll teach you."Akira didn't wait for Aizen to ask. Like a kid showing off a new toy, he plopped down on the woven-cloth floor and launched into a detailed explanation.
"Actually, Yoruha's technique isn't that hard. She even slowed down deliberately—look, if you break down the motion starting from the left calf and the right side of the waist, you can—"
Aizen initially wanted to refuse.
But seeing Akira so full of enthusiasm, he found he couldn't bring himself to dampen that energy.
Then… as he started listening seriously…
Aizen's eyes narrowed.
He was explaining it perfectly.
Akira… is this your true nature?
After the long breakdown, Aizen nodded thoughtfully.
And then he asked:
"Actually, I have another question."
Akira raised a brow. "Something you didn't understand?"
"No," Aizen said, shaking his head. "I want to know… regarding today's incident. What did you actually do?"
Because he had followed Akira earlier, Aizen had witnessed the entire process of Akira communicating with Asahata—his sealed Zanpakutō.
Yet even with his keen mind, he could not understand what had happened inside Akira's body afterward.
Driven by curiosity, he simply asked.
But the moment Akira heard the question, his brows furrowed deeply.
"Is it something you can't talk about?"Aizen lowered his gaze thoughtfully, though he didn't voice his assumptions.
A Zanpakutō was the core of a Shinigami.Not sharing information about it was perfectly normal.
Even Aizen wouldn't casually reveal his own Zanpakutō's abilities.
No one would be stupid enough to reveal something so vital, right?
So Aizen wasn't surprised if Akira refused.
Friendship or not—trusting someone with that level of information was another matter entirely.
But then—
"Actually…"Akira suddenly spoke, still frowning."I'm not really sure what happened either."
Aizen blinked.
"When I used the ritual to communicate with Asahata, my consciousness entered the Zanpakutō's inner world just fine," Akira said calmly. "And then… I returned to the place I know best—Inane District of East Rukongai."
"In the shrine where I used to serve, the statue that should've belonged to the deity was replaced by a stone statue of me."
"And then… I woke up."
Akira explained everything without hesitation.
From his perspective, this wasn't much of a secret.
Compared to the absurdity of whatever "cheat-like ability" he had, a Zanpakutō mystery didn't feel that impressive.
Besides—he genuinely didn't know what had changed inside him. Rather than puzzling over it himself, handing the mystery to Aizen seemed smarter.
With Aizen's curiosity, he'd definitely dig into it.
Aizen stared at him—startled, almost moved.
It was the first time someone had extended this kind of trust toward him.
He couldn't quite describe the feeling, but a faint, subtle warmth bloomed in his chest.
"Perhaps…"Aizen's lips curved slightly."If we want to understand what happened to you, we should start investigating the Inane District's shrine…"