REVIEWS AND POWERSTONES PLSSS!!!!!Chapter 58: Return Journey
Night had fallen, and most residents of the ordinary town had retreated to their homes. The streets were nearly deserted.
Suoh Tsukasa and his two companions moved swiftly across the uneven rooftops of residential buildings, their blue and white forms tracing graceful arcs in the moonlight.
Warm yellow light spilled from the windows below, occasionally accompanied by the sound of televisions and muffled conversations from within.
Unlike Soul Society, where everything was composed of spirit particles, everything in the World of the Living was made of fundamental matter particles.
Ordinary humans couldn't perceive the existence of spirit particles, much less touch beings composed of them.
Even if they stood directly before a human right now, that person wouldn't notice them at all.
Yet Suoh and his team could exert force on any object made of matter particles.
Apart from being unable to remain in the World of the Living long-term due to spiritual power replenishment issues, their actions faced no restrictions.
Kawada Taichi led the way at the front, his spiritual perception extending outward like a web. Takahashi Kenta followed silently behind, while Suoh brought up the rear, his peripheral vision constantly scanning their surroundings.
"Suoh, we're here!"
Leaping from a rooftop over five meters high, the three landed directly in front of their next Plus.
This Plus appeared much younger than the previous one, dressed in a floral shirt and loose bell-bottom pants, carrying the distinctive rebellious air of young people from this era.
"We are..."
However, this Konsō ceremony didn't start particularly well.
The young Plus was far more defensive than the previous one. Before Kawada Taichi could say more than a few words, the Plus hastily retreated two steps and turned to flee.
"Bakudō Number One: Sai!"
Seeing this, Kawada Taichi brought his fingers together and pointed forward, immediately using Bakudō to restrain the target.
"Ah! Ow, ow, ow!"
The young Plus's hands were instantly bound behind his back by a weak spiritual force, causing him to lose balance and fall face-first to the ground.
Perhaps because he landed on his face, or maybe Kawada Taichi hadn't controlled his spiritual pressure properly in his haste, the binding force was slightly excessive, and the young Plus cried out in pain.
Kawada Taichi was a competitive person. As one of the founding members of the fan club, he absolutely didn't want to embarrass himself in front of Suoh.
"Don't be nervous. We mean no harm."
"If you're willing to listen quietly to my explanation, I'll release you right now."
He took a deep breath, suppressing his impatience, and crouched beside the young Plus.
Despite his current frustration, he still tried to address the young Plus with the gentlest attitude possible, speaking softly.
"I'll listen! I'll listen to whatever you say, just let me go!"
The young Plus was clearly intimidated by this supernatural ability. He shrank back, nodding obediently and urgently.
He also carefully stole a glance at the Asauchi on Kawada Taichi's back, realizing this person was clearly not someone he could resist. Lying on the ground, he became even more compliant.
"Release!"
Kawada Taichi's fingertip traced lightly, and the Bakudō dissipated.
The young Plus rose, rubbing his sore wrists, and stood obediently in place, no longer daring to think of escape.
Seeing the young Plus finally settle down, Kawada Taichi recited the textbook phrases just as before.
To his disappointment, the young Plus wasn't nearly as agreeable as the middle-aged one.
Seeing Kawada Taichi's attitude soften, the young Plus became somewhat presumptuous, complaining with dissatisfaction.
"Hey, but I haven't had enough fun yet!"
"I don't want to go to some Soul Society."
For him, dead was dead, but being a ghost had its interesting aspects too—like eavesdropping and, well, peeping.
Though he couldn't do certain things anymore, it still had its own appeal.
"If you insist on lingering in the World of the Living, you'll eventually fall and become an evil spirit."
"If you want me to cut you down right here, you can choose not to accept my guidance!"
Hearing this, Kawada Taichi's brow furrowed sharply. He partially drew the Asauchi from his back, its cold gleam flashing in the darkness as he spoke coldly.
The young Plus before him was still far from becoming a Hollow, but that didn't stop Kawada from intimidating him a bit.
"Don't attack! I accept! I accept!"
The young Plus was terrified by this sudden killing intent, retreating two steps and finally becoming completely docile.
Soon after, Kawada Taichi completed the Soul Burial mark on the young Plus's forehead and selected a ticket from the passage tickets to hand over.
"This is your identity proof. Keep it safe!"
"West District Sixty... what does that mean?"
The young Plus took the ticket, reading the characters on it, and looked at Kawada Taichi with confusion.
"Ow, this hurts like hell—!"
However, before receiving an answer, his body began dissolving into spirit particles.
The intense pain made the young man wail uncontrollably, his cries particularly jarring in the quiet night, only stopping when he completely disappeared.
During the Konsō ceremony, the practitioner's technique determined the Plus's sensation during transport, and the distribution of passage tickets was entirely at the distributor's discretion.
So the young Plus guided to Soul Society by Kawada Taichi would suffer some avoidable hardship, both now and in the future.
"My poor performance must have been embarrassing to watch, Suoh."
Kawada Taichi sheathed his sword and turned to face Suoh, his expression somewhat awkward as he lowered his head.
As a founding member of the fan club, he should have demonstrated a masterful performance of the ceremony.
Instead, he'd crudely completed his first Konsō in front of someone he admired. This was far from the excellent performance he'd imagined.
Suoh watched Kawada Taichi with calm eyes, speaking gently.
"Don't be discouraged. You did well."
"Just keep your spiritual pressure a bit steadier during the final marking."
Actually, Suoh had noticed something was off during the marking but couldn't interrupt.
If Kawada Taichi's spiritual pressure frequency became disrupted by his words, the young Plus would have suffered even more during the conversion to spirit particles.
"Don't let emotions control you so easily."
There wasn't much to criticize about Kawada Taichi's overall performance. They weren't saints, and they were young—showing some emotion during work was normal.
Besides, if he'd been the one guiding that ungrateful fellow, he would have given him a taste of hardship too.
"Yes, I'll be more careful in the future!"
Kawada Taichi's spirits lifted, his eyes reigniting with brightness as he straightened and responded loudly.
This simple affirmation from Suoh meant more to him than a thousand words.
The moon hanging in the sky slowly traced its path as time passed.
Another Plus dissolved into spirit particles and dispersed into the air.
"That should be enough. Let's head back."
Suoh returned his Asauchi to its sheath with a backhand motion, the guard clicking softly against the scabbard mouth. He looked up at the increasingly dark sky and spoke.
According to the Shinoreijutsuin's standards, one Konsō on the first training exercise counted as passing, two as good, and three as excellent. Having achieved their goal, there was no need to do more.
"Yes."
Kawada Taichi and Takahashi Kenta nodded in acknowledgment.
The three figures turned in the weakening moonlight, racing back toward the hospital.
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