Guided by Shūhei Hisagi and Hotaru Kanisawa, Kazuya passed by many sections, each echoing the ensuing clash between students and dummy Hollows. Over half of the students in Class 1 struggled against the weakest of constructed Hollows, a given for students with a few months of training.
'At least Renji is doing fine.'
{The student may not survive if Aizen unleashes his Hollows. They might if you're not busy rawdogging Momo in the wild like dogs in heat.}
Nami's unfiltered comments always managed to amuse him. Straightforward to a fault, she perfectly personified her destructive flames.
{But then again, he shouldn't try something drastic this early.}
He, however, couldn't shake off the nagging suspicion.'Why do I have a feeling he will?'
Aizen got away with killing thousands to awaken the Hōgyoku; what stopped Aizen from making another big move? The timeline had shifted dramatically with his presence. Muramasa — whom Kazuya couldn't find anywhere in the Soul Society — introduced so many unknown variables on his own.
{I'm a bit conflicted. On one hand, we'll finally get some action. On the other hand… everyone we know in Karakura Town will be put at risk. Fuck, our brazen daughter is messing with my head again.}
'Shhh. Don't worry about anything.'
Pushing aside his worries, he followed Shūhei to a secluded part of the compound, which seemed to be a building for storing various equipment. "This is your section. Vice-Captain Ise had this prepared for you."
Hotaru nodded, looking no less serious than Shūhei. "This is the hardest training mission in history, let alone your Class 1."
Kazuya narrowed his eyes. Every student had to fight one dummy Hollow, where his group was given a section with about twenty dummy Hollows with more than twice the Reiatsu of the other dummies. The entire 6th year batch would struggle here, let alone a trio of 1st year students.
"I'm flattered that Nanao thinks so highly of me." He chuckled. "But aren't these dummies hard to make? Why waste them on our group?"
"Only the 12th Squad specialists can make them. True, it's strange they will throw them away for your test when you've already been selected as a Seated Officer."
Even Hotaru was skeptical about the arrangement. The whole trial served no purpose as he had more than proven his abilities.
"It's just procedures," Momo whispered as she grabbed his arms and gave him a gentle push from behind. "Let's finish this quickly. We have to check the town after!"
She couldn't wait to be alone with him on this special trip.
Toshiro joined in, and together they pushed Kazuya into the pitch-black building. Despite the darkness, their Shinigami eyes pierced the shadows with ease.
No sooner had they entered than three grotesque, toad-like Hollows descended from the ceiling, their whip-like tongues lashing out. Kazuya reacted instinctively, seizing the tongues and yanking them towards him. The dummy Hollows offered no resistance, lacking the survival instinct ingrained in every living being. They were built with only a function in mind — attacking Shinigami with as much aggressiveness as possible.
"Let Momo and me handle them," Toshiro called out, his figure blurring into motion. As he sheathed his katana, the mask of the dummy Hollows fell apart, and they turned into black ashes.
Toshiro stood vigilant, eyes darting in search of the other dummies. Suddenly, a flurry of bat-like Hollows emerged from the dark, spewing volleys of bullets formed from condensed Reiatsu. Although the ability wasn't as strong as Cero or Bala, Toshiro couldn't afford to be wounded and slowed down. He raised his katana to block a wave of Reiatsu bullets. Then, using his Shunpo, he closed the gap and cut down two Hollows in an instant. The rest scattered and surrounded him, once again targeting him with waves of Reiatsu attacks.
These types of dummy Hollows were to make students familiar with flying and agile Hollows, or simply to harass students.
Toshiro gritted his teeth and used Shunpo again to catch them. A few more uses of Shunpo left him breathless — unlike Shunpo veterans, he couldn't use Shunpo for more than a few times.
"Need a hand, Shiro?"
"Kazuya-kun, leave this to us." Momo stepped forward and held out her hands. A high amount of Reiryoku flowed through her being, enveloping her hands in red Reiatsu. "Shiro, move… Hado #4. Byakurai (Pale Lightning)."
Casting a Kidō spell without incantation with just one week of practice — Kazuya expected nothing less from Momo. The credit also went to Nanao for having the heart to pour time into training Momo.
Toshiro swiftly moved to the side, narrowly avoiding the scorching red blast of Momo's Kido spell. The beam incinerated the dummies, leaving behind only black ashes. Her spell's range was vast, yet its area of effect was limited. Momo focused her gaze, directing the beam from one bat to another. Most of the Hollows disintegrated upon contact, but three survived. Their bodies began to grotesquely swell, giving the impression that they would burst at any given moment.
The three Hollows charged at Kazuya, Momo, and Toshiro.
Kazuya's instincts screamed a warning. Something was amiss; these dummies were behaving abnormally. In one swift motion, he scooped Momo onto his shoulder, darted toward Toshiro, and flung him onto his other shoulder. He immediately dashed through the nearest window.
Behind them, the bloated dummies erupted in a violent explosion, coating the inside of the building with a viscous, white substance. He was intimately familiar with the acrid stench.
'Hollow essence.'
An icy shiver raced down Kazuya's spine. He had acted just in time; any delay, and Momo and Toshiro would have faced the brunt of the explosion. The infected Hollow essence would have seeped into their bodies through the open wound. As souls with high levels of Reiryoku, they would've essentially gone through the same process of Hollowification as the Visored — mindless Hollows with the Reiatsu class of Vice-Captain and Captain, or worse, succumbing to Soul Suicide under the unbearable strain placed upon them.
{That sneaky rat altered the dummy Hollows. Was he specifically targeting you or these two?}
'All of us.'
Toshiro and Momo slipped from his grasp and swiveled to observe the building where the Hollows exploded.
The silver-haired boy held his chin, frowning in confusion. "What is that white liquid? Bleh, it looks utterly disgusting."
Meanwhile, Momo silently gazed at Kazuya's face. Observing him for a long time had given a deep understanding of his expressions. She had never seen him wear such a grave look. Her intuition told her that something was deeply wrong — the dummy Hollows weren't meant to act the way they did. The explosion was an attempt to harm them — an attempt to assassinate them.
The fact turned her blood cold. Still, she pushed past her emotional strain to discern the identity of the person out for his life. She—she will not let the person get away with this.
"Kazuya-kun," she whispered, tugging at his sleeve. "Could it be the nobles?"
His eyes widened at her sharp observation. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer, rubbing her hair. "No, they don't have the balls."
"Then who?"
"I don't know. I want you both to act like this never happened."
The fighting happening everywhere within the power plant neatly masked the explosion sound.
Toshiro's brows furrowed in bewilderment. "Why, Nii-san? Shouldn't we report this incident?"
"Shiro," he said in a firm tone. "I'll explain my reasoning later. For now, just do as I say. Can you do that?"
Toshiro sighed and nodded. "Understood, Nii-san."
"Momo, can you?"
Momo's response was more visceral. She clung to him, her body pressing close, as if seeking comfort or perhaps offering it. "Your word is my command, Kazuya-kun… I'll never disobey you."
{Hahaha. This kinky little slut.}
"Meow." Yoruichi landed beside him and licked his face. "What is that foul-smelling fluid?"
"You're late to the party," he replied, looking down at her with a look of disappointment. "Well, Yoruichi. Take Shiro and Renji to Rangiku and Nanao. I'm going out with Momo."
...
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