Brushing fallen leaves and dirt off the stone, I smiled. So much time had passed. I hadn't been here in a long while. There was so much to do that I didn't have time for myself or other things.
"Sorry for being away for so long," I said to the gravestone, laid down fresh flowers and opened a bottle of sake. I don't like alcohol, but once a year can drink a little. After all, we must remember my friends.
"Phew…" I exhaled.
"I don't like this," I sighed, immediately taking a bite of the snack. That's good, now I can live peacefully for a whole year without drinking again.
"Yeah, right," I muttered, turning back to the stone. "Two years have passed. I've grown up a little. Just a little," a heavy sigh.
"And I've become even cuter," I added gloomily, my mood sank even lower. Lucky me — still just as cute and charming as ever. Now I even have a strand of hair that hangs right between my eyes. It's a nightmare, and I can't cut it off. The damn thing grows back instantly.
"Heh. I've done so much and achieved so much," I continued. Every year I come here and tell what's happened and how much I've accomplished. "I've mastered shunpo really well, and now I jump between districts," I said with a smile.
Yes — from that day on, I finally understood how to use shunpo. Even if Matsumoto scolded me for overexerting myself, but eventually she gave in and taught me properly. As they say: if you can't stop something, at least control it. So she controlled me.
I never thought training could be so difficult. For an entire year I suffered through the exercises she assigned me — and it wasn't just shunpo. At first, I simply had to run. Run a lot. Well, that part didn't bother me. But then came jumps, sprints, sharp turns, sudden stops — everything designed to make my body adapt to abrupt changes in speed and direction. And when it came to using shunpo, all of that proved invaluable. Accelerating, turning, slowing down, leaping — every movement strained the body. Rangiku couldn't train me constantly, so everything dragged on for a year. But I'm even glad, in a way — it let me polish every movement to perfection.
Now shunpo comes fairly easily and naturally to me. It's still hard for me to fight while using it — my distance and timing aren't good enough yet — but that's just a matter of practice, training, and time.
My attempts to get even one kidou spell out of her failed miserably. Matsumoto kept her lips sealed. A true spy.
But that's fine. I'll be entering the Academy soon, and everything will be taught there.
Everything else is going well for me too.
Thanks to shunpo, I started traveling around Rukongai. The ability to move quickly and stay unnoticed helped me visit different places. I even saw Hollows…
It was the most terrifying thing that has ever happened to me.
It was six months ago. I made my way to District 73. I had already been to the seventies districts, so I finally made it there. The people there really lived in extreme poverty. But they lived — even if some were starving, even if life was harsh, they lived. I even helped a few starving people. There are always things worth spending money on — and people worth helping.
But now I try not to get attached to those I help. Alas, the memory of my friends is still too vivid, and I decided I would help silently, without building relationships. After all, I can't protect them all the time. That way, if they die, I won't feel such unbearable pain. It may sound hypocritical, but I can't do it any other way.
That was where I met the Hollow — a terrifying monster. A huge frog-like creature in a white mask with a gaping hole in its chest. The sight of it frightened me so much that I immediately fled. It was horrifying.
Since then, I've become much more cautious.
I visited many other districts. It was interesting to see how people lived farther from — or closer to — Seireitei. In the first districts, there was a strange silence, even a slight stuffiness. People lived similarly to us, yet at the same time they seemed almost fearless. For example, a couple of fools once attacked me without even considering that I might fight back. Strange types.
It seems they're taught to fear only the Shinigami, and many have never seen Hollows in their lives. Some believe Hollows are nothing more than imaginary monsters. Yeah, right. I wouldn't want to live there. They're wary — even hostile — toward anyone with high spiritual power, like me. Whether it's envy or fear, who knows.
In short, learning shunpo not only opened all roads to me but also saved me a great deal of time. When I take orders now, I can deliver them in about ten minutes. At the same time I train my endurance. So I ended up with plenty of free time — for training, traveling, and more.
Although lately I've been getting a little bored with training. Rangiku no longer shares her techniques with me. She said that since the Academy is coming soon, I'll have to learn everything there on my own. So now all I can do is refine what I already perform perfectly.
I can create balls of light even while moving or fighting. And what's more — I came up with my own technique.
Furashu — an instant flash of light. I invented it accidentally. I was traveling through a dangerous area and ran into a large group of bandits. They surrounded me and were ready to attack. So I panicked — not because I'm afraid of a crowd of enemies, but because the moment reminded me of that day… So I released a flash of light. It blinded everyone around me, and I escaped. Fortunately, they didn't know how to use shunpo, so I got away quickly.
I tried not to interact with the Shinigami in those areas. They were either from the 11th Division — whom I didn't fully trust — or simply not the most honest guys. And some were downright twitchy. At the slightest sign, they would attack immediately, sometimes with fire. Crazy people. Still, I managed to track several criminals like that. I memorized the location of their hideout. It seemed useful information to have. I didn't dare approach it closely — Shinigami know kidou, after all, and I didn't want to take unnecessary risks. Maybe later.