Two days later.
Cicadas drilled the air; the heat turned Seireitei's streets to sheets of white fire.
Even in this restless weather, good things happened.
Shinomiya finished lunch and lay down under a tree in the Academy's central lawn, hands behind his head. A line of ink-black script flowed across his vision.
[Friend. Brother… Bonds that outlast centuries carry many through their lives.]
[Under your gentle prodding, your companion—like other children of fate—achieves coexistence with the demon within. In the world's eyes, your evil and your greatness outstrip the demon's. Machina rejoices!]
[To avoid the educators' fate—guiding chosen ones only to die for it—you study their failures, resolve to become stronger…]
[—You comprehend Black Flash.]
For an instant, a chill pricked his lower back. Then a current raced through him, seeding his nerves and muscles with the memory of a technique. His body changed—slightly, but unmistakably.
"…"
He sat up and curled his fist, thoughtful.
So—Ichigo had talked his Hollow into a tag-team. That was why Machina had paid out.
"Black Flash, huh?"
It felt a little… pointed. First he'd learned Sevenfold Flash and Sole Flash. Now Black Flash. Not one of them was an actual "flash-type," as if the system were ribbing him for calling himself "the strongest flash-type Zanpakutō" back when.
Jokes aside, he never turned down power.
He focused, and the technique's core settled in his mind. A hybrid of hakuda and kidō: you rub physical impact with your own spiritual pressure until the friction twists space, a reishi phenomenon—and damage explodes.
The multiplier? At least 2.5 to the power.
If "fist plus reiatsu" normally equals 10, Black Flash spikes it to about 316—thirty-plus times the output. And the surge kicks your instincts into overdrive, pushing your body past its limits.
He hadn't thought much of it at first—its "source material" came from a much weaker world. But with Machina's rewrite, he couldn't dismiss it.
"If it's any physical strike… can I cut with it? Sevenfold probably won't fit, but Sole Flash might. Can I stack them?"
Ideas cascaded. The last made his pulse quicken. A Sole Flash in Shikai topped with a Black Flash? Thirtyfold damage on top of sharpness…
Kenpachi might come for him before Unohana hunted Ichigo down.
"Anyway—Ichigo's almost through. He'll pass the trial and 'subjugate' in a day or two. That leaves a week before the execution—enough to get used to his Bankai."
"And I'm not far behind…"
He lifted his gaze.
A dreamlike figure stood in sun-washed green. Even from the back, you could feel her delight.
"How's the real world treating you?"
"I like standing in sunlight," the mushroom girl said. "It's just like when I use my power—everything glittering…"
"…Right."
He'd eaten a lot of explosions to get her to materialize. In the inner world, it didn't matter how many times she blew herself up. Once, he'd given in and tried it too. He still died.
She'd thought of the trick; so had he. He just rejected "go down together" as a tactic. Fights were for winning. At worst, he could do what Ichigo had—lose everything for a while, then climb back up.
Dragging the enemy to the grave with him? Never.
"Plenty of sunny days ahead. Hell, I'll take you to the human world for a real sunbath. First, though—help me finish Bankai."
"I've been satisfying you all along, haven't I?" she lilted. "Yes—'materialization' is done. Next is making me submit, right?"
She turned, lazily amused. "Bankai is a vast force your master cultivates. To harvest it—to make it yours—you break it. Hunt and digest, really. Normally that means violence."
"But you and I have been set against each other for a long time. No need to do it twice."
"So you're not planning a real-world duel to settle it?"
"Mm-hm. I only want one answer."
Her smile was sweet and wicked all at once. "Tell me, Master… up to now, what do you fear most?"
"…"
Shinomiya blinked, thought, and said, "I can't remember."
"Then try again. When you know, tell me."
"…So you'll shape my Bankai to counter it?"
"Why not assume it was always destined to be?"
"?"
She dissolved like smoke before he could press her, leaving him alone in the shade, silent for a long time.
…
Soi Fon didn't take walks. The word stroll did not appear in her planner.
Today, she was inspecting the Patrol Corps.
Complaints were down. Not just for Patrol—the Second Division was, subtly, earning respect. It wasn't Ōmaeda's laxative diplomacy. It was the policies she'd crafted—granular, precise—that mattered.
Efficiency wasn't just about a cold fist. Sometimes a few well-chosen words did better. Books from the world of the living had given her tricks; tuned to Seireitei's reality, they'd upgraded the intel game.
The ripple effect was clear: the Second had gone… opaque to the other squads. In a good way.
She was pleased.
Did she not know the Stealth Force's reputation? Of course she did. She'd accepted it: finish the mission, shoulder the blame. If your name is mud afterward—so be it.
Now she saw room to grow. From scorn to wary respect—
She'd found the judiciary's essence. Under her hand, the Second and the Stealth Force would outstrip her predecessors.
Riding that clean, cool sense of accomplishment, she spotted the man who'd handed her so many good ideas.
"Shinomiya?"
He was walking Seireitei's main avenue, head down, lost in thought. Soi Fon's brows knit. She waved her attendants away and strode forward to cut him off.
"—Shinomiya. What are you doing in Second Division territory?"
-------
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