What exactly is "art"?
Kisaragi Akira had heard countless answers.
Some said it was "eternity." Others said it was "beauty."But there was one answer — from a certain yellow-haired genius with sky-high pigtails — that spoke directly to his soul:
Art is… Patrick Star!
With his current understanding of kidō, creating a multi-functional binding spell would still take time — knowledge, foundation, theory.That meant he needed patience. And until he had enough material to build that kind of spell, the Hadō series was undeniably the best way to test the trait he'd earned: "Unique Craftsmanship."
Relying on the experience of creating Thunderfire Sword, Akira began attempting new Hadō development.
Hadō #1: Impact.Hadō #11: Lightning Coil.Hadō #12: Fire Bind.Hadō #20: Heaven-Piercing Sphere.Hadō #26: Crimson Flame Plug.Hadō #32: Yellow Fire Flash.Hadō #33: Blue Fire Crash Down.
Aside from Byakurai and Akahō — which were already so ingrained in him they were practically muscle memory — these were all the Hadō taught at Shinō Academy.And because his talent was higher than average — and because he enjoyed this sort of thing — Akira had already mastered these spells long ago.
Since he wanted to walk the path of "art," he needed to figure out its center point.
Destructive power. That was the core.
"Judging from their nature, Blue Fire Crash Down and Yellow Fire Flash are the closest pair. If combined with dual incantation, their power multiplies."
"So in theory… their incantations should also be combinable, right? If the structure can fuse, the words should fuse too."
Akira tried merging the two.
Not just the arrangement of reiryoku — even the chants and hand signs were rewritten and recomposed to fit the structure he envisioned.
"Lord of creation, mask of flesh, all things of the world, burn and reduce to ash—"
"Hadō — Blue Flash!"
Scorching blue fire burst out of his palm, detonating against the small mountain ahead.Thunderous booms rolled outward, shockwaves tearing through the air and whipping up gales that howled across the training ground.
When the dust finally dispersed, Akira stared at the charred crater and frowned.
The power wasn't what he expected.It wasn't even as strong as a full-chant Blue Fire Crash Down.
Creating original kidō wasn't as simple as he imagined.
He tried again.And again.And again.
No success.
With no choice, Akira abandoned that approach and instead began constructing a new Hadō from the most basic hand-sign formulas and chant fragments.
Another attempt.Another failure.
"…Yeah, this isn't happening."
Furrowing his brow, Akira temporarily gave up.With his current level of knowledge and realm, even with maxed-out talent, creating a brand-new spell from nothing was pushing it a bit too far.
The Soul Society had existed for over a million years. Even if the first few hundred thousand were spent in primitive development, the last few hundred thousand were filled with geniuses.And yet, only two to three hundred kidō existed today.
That alone proved how difficult innovation truly was.
"Not bad at all."
Just as Akira generated another crackling orb — flames burning on the outside, lightning swirling inside — a voice sounded behind him, calm yet impressed.
"I didn't expect you to love kidō this much. To the point of sacrificing your final exam just to practice."
Akira stiffly turned around.
Staring wide-eyed at the dark-skinned girl behind him, he blurted out:
"Final exam is… tomorrow, right?"
Yoruichi Shihōin crossed her arms.One eyebrow lifted, her amber eyes narrowing slightly.
"If I remember correctly, it was yesterday and today."
"—Huh—?!"
Akira didn't even waste time responding. He spun around and sprinted.
Failing was fine.But skipping the exam entirely was definitely worse.
The Shinō Academy was great and all, but he couldn't stay there forever!
"It's already too late," Yoruichi called after him. "Everything ended ten minutes ago."
"I came straight from the exam hall."
Akira froze.
His expression melted like wet paper.He could already see Instructor Kaze flipping tables, roaring fire from her nostrils.
Skipping class was one thing…But skipping the final exam?
Yeah.He could kiss graduation goodbye.
He might actually be the first student in academy history to fail every theory course.
In a sense, that was also a historical achievement.
"Hey, don't take it so hard."Yoruichi walked up, jabbed an elbow into his chest, and grinned."It's just an exam. Even if you fail every theory class, Squad Two will happily open its doors for you."
"And when that time comes, all I need to do is use a little bit of authority…"
Akira's eyes lit up.
A light from the heavens.A miracle.
How could he forget? Yoruichi was a noble — one of the Five Great Houses.
With her authority, graduating was basically a formality!
"Wait… you didn't come just to tell me I skipped my exam, right?"Akira quickly redirected the topic.
Yoruichi shook her head.Her playful expression vanished, replaced with something more serious.
"I heard some things about you. So I came to test my luck."
"…Your luck?"
"I want a divination."
Yoruichi met his eyes, her tone earnest.
"The rumors about you have been spreading through the Academy for a long time. At first, I didn't believe them. But people keep talking — like you're some kind of miracle worker."
"And recently, something happened that made me… curious."
At that, Akira's spirits instantly rose.
As everyone knew, he had three great hobbies:Rituals, exorcism, and fortune-telling.
His last session with Captain-Commander Yamamoto had shaken his confidence — nearly cracking his Dao-heart.This was the perfect chance to reclaim his dignity.
"Alright. What do you want?"
Akira smoothly reached into his empty sleeve and withdrew a fresh tortoise shell.His left hand lit with low-level Akahō flame.His stance was perfect — intimidating, even.
Yoruichi hesitated for a moment, then inhaled deeply.
"It's about my zanpakutō. Its future."
Akira's expression twitched.
Why did everyone keep asking about these grand, vague, cosmic-level futures?Was living in the present really so difficult?
But considering Yoruichi was a high-value customer, he forced himself to proceed.
Same routine.Same process.The tortoise shell cracked.
Akira read the lines carefully.
Then blinked.
"…Huh. No problems this time."
"The hexagram is clear. And in its reading of the future… you're not there."
Yoruichi froze.
Then her brows drew together sharply.
"…Explain. What do you mean I'm not there?"
"You're telling me that—"
She stopped mid-sentence.
Her amber eyes widened in sudden realization.
"My zanpakutō's future… has nothing to do with me?!"
Akira exhaled, giving her a look that was half sympathy, half confusion.
"I know it sounds strange, but that's exactly what the reading shows."
"Just as you interpreted — in the future vision, a mature woman with… well, a very impressive figure…"
"…smashes a giant Hollow's skull with one punch."