Bleach: Reborn — Chapter 121 - Hit and Run

The crowds on the Rukon District streets were still thick under the setting sun, more and more people joining the ring of onlookers drawn to the commotion.

Inside the ring, Wayne held a wooden stick he'd grabbed from nearby, pointing it at the clothing store owner groaning on the ground. His eyes were hidden behind his blindfold, but the sharp aura radiating off him made the crowd instinctively shrink back.

"Big brother..." Momo tugged at the corner of Wayne's sleeve from behind. She wanted to apologize. She'd messed things up again.

"Momo, step back." Wayne didn't move. He just kept listening to the owner wail.

"Help! I'm being attacked! Someone's attacking me!" The owner screamed at the top of his lungs, hoping to draw a patrol unit. Unfortunately, it was dusk, the Gotei 13 were in the middle of their dinner shift change. By the time anyone showed up, Wayne would have long since fled with Momo.

"You pull something rotten and then try calling for help? You took my dried meat and tried to pocket it without making a deal?" Wayne stepped forward and pressed the wooden stick against the crooked merchant's forehead. "So — do you want to keep taking a beating, or do you want to make a deal?"

"A deal! I'll make a deal!" The merchant broke into a cold sweat. Pain or fear, hard to tell which.

"Good. Originally, I was going to let my little sister trade one portion of dried meat for two pieces of clothing. That deal was perfectly fair. Now you've gone and cut that in half. Seems a bit unreasonable, doesn't it?"

"Two pieces — no, three! Just take them!" The merchant's trembling voice reached Wayne's ears.

"Sorry. I want four now." Wayne's mouth curved upward. "You wasted my little sister's entire afternoon and made her cry. Taking one extra piece as compensation — that's not too much to ask, is it?" The wooden stick tapped lightly against the merchant's head.

"No, not at all. Not at all." The merchant's face went pale, terrified one of those taps might suddenly come down with full force.

"Momo." Wayne raised his hand, gesturing her forward. "Go pick out something for Shiro-chan and Granny too."

"But big brother... isn't this a bit much?" Momo knew she'd been wronged, but she didn't want to take advantage of someone while they were down. People who did wrong would face punishment eventually, she couldn't let someone else's misfortune compromise her own character.

"You..." Wayne shook his head, helpless. Back when he was a Hollow Beast, he would've leveled the whole shop and taken whatever he pleased.

"Fine, fine. Go ahead. Two pieces." He let it go and gave a quiet nudge, watching as Momo skipped off happily to pick out the clothes.

"You really are lucky — running into a little sister as kind-hearted as mine." Wayne crouched down and muttered at the merchant. "Alright. We're taking the clothes. I hope if there's ever a next time, you'll do business fairly. Consider this a lesson. Go find a doctor." Wayne didn't linger. After roughing someone up, the smart move was getting out fast. Once Momo finished picking out the clothes, he took her and they made their escape, leaving behind an owner drenched in cold sweat, breathing in short, ragged gasps.

"Damn it, you two little punks, just you wait!" Once Wayne and Momo had cleared the crowd, the merchant finally found his bluster again and shouted after them. "Just wait! The people behind me won't let you, Ow!" Before he could finish, a flash of black cut down from the sky. Wayne had hurled the wooden stick back through the crowd from a distance, and it landed square on the merchant's face, striking him in the mouth. At that range, if Wayne didn't have that level of control, his decades as a Hollow Beast in his previous life had been wasted.

Pulling Momo along at a light jog, Wayne led them away from the market.

"Hah... hah... okay, big brother. That's far enough." Momo called for a stop, clutching the two pieces of clothing and breathing hard.

"Ha. Momo, your stamina really does need work."

"Big brother, you've only been in Soul Society for a short while, how is your control over Reiatsu already this good?" Momo had noticed. Whether he was running just now, swinging the stick earlier, or even cutting down that Hollow Beast the day before, he'd applied his Reiatsu with remarkable precision, pushing his Reiatsu perception to its absolute limit and using it like a form of vision to observe the world. It shattered everything she understood. In all her time in Soul Society, she'd never seen anyone handle Reiryoku with such mastery, where even with relatively low Reiatsu, one could still apply it, amplify it, and use it to full effect.

"Natural talent, maybe?" Wayne didn't elaborate. He caught his breath a little, looked back over his shoulder, and found no sign of pursuers. He let out a quiet sigh of relief, led Momo back to a normal walking pace, and the two of them slowly made their way home.

"Big brother, after offending that crooked merchant today, will we... in the future..." Momo was frightened. That merchant had a reputation for letting his shop's status go to his head and bullying customers, and he'd use the backing behind him to retaliate against any spirits who refused to comply.

"It's fine. For the next three months, we'll be coming to this street a lot less." Wayne ruffled Momo's hair. "After that, we just avoid the back alleys and stay out of his way. Food ingredients are sold and traded at the main street. If it ever gets inconvenient, we can just send Shiro-chan to make the trip. For the next three months, we focus on improving ourselves so we can stand out in the Shin'ō Academy entrance exam. Only by becoming a Soul Reaper — or a noble — will we stop getting pushed around."

"But..." Momo hesitated. "I understand becoming a Soul Reaper. But how would we become nobles?"

"Hmm... how about Momo makes a sacrifice and goes to marry into some wealthy family's son?"

"Wha, what?! Brother!" Momo let out an indignant cry, her cheeks flushing red in an instant.

"Momo is absolutely not marrying into some noble family! I'm going to become a Soul Reaper! An outstanding Soul Reaper!" Momo clenched her little fists, fierce. "Someday, I'm going to become an excellent Soul Reaper, then come back to the Rukon District and rebuild it properly, so that horrible crooked merchant can never harm ordinary people again!"

"Ha. Momo has really big ambitions." Wayne smiled. "I believe in you. You'll definitely become an outstanding Soul Reaper and change everything about the Rukon District."

"Hehe, yeah!" Momo's smile bloomed across her face again.

"Oh, right. Brother, I never got to ask you." Momo suddenly thought of something. "I heard from Shiro-chan that you want to become a Soul Reaper too, to protect me and Shiro-chan and Granny. But Momo always has a feeling that your reason isn't quite as simple as that. So... what is your reason, brother?"

"Is that right? What is it, I wonder?" Wayne tilted his head, directing his covered eyes toward the setting sun about to sink below the horizon, then turned toward the other side of the sky where the moon was beginning to rise. He paid no mind to Momo's curious gaze, letting out only a quiet sigh deep in his heart. "Doesn't matter. I'll become a Soul Reaper first and figure it out from there." He dropped the topic. "Come on. Let's head back. Shiro-chan and Granny are waiting for us to have dinner."

"Okay!" Momo nodded.

"Ah, right." Partway home, Wayne suddenly remembered. "I promised Granny I'd bring back some cakes." He turned around and pulled Momo back toward a shop not far away, drawing a burst of delighted laughter from her.

Before long, the two of them returned to Shiro-chan's house. All four sat down together for dinner, the dishes were, of course, the pheasants and wild rabbits Wayne had brought back from hunting. To make the meal go further, Granny had set out only two chicken legs and four rabbit legs for tonight. The rest would be kept for the following day, and Wayne had also brought back cakes and side dishes. The little family enjoyed dinner together in warm, cheerful harmony. During the meal, Momo retold the evening's events with plenty of embellishment, which set Shiro-chan fuming, he stomped his foot and declared he'd handle any future trips to the street himself. Wayne just smiled and said nothing, thoroughly enjoying the food on the table.

As they were about to leave, Wayne asked Shiro-chan for some watermelon seeds to take home for experimentation. After telling Momo to plant them when she got back, Wayne took the small cart and headed off toward the forest.

He'd finally established a productive routine. No way he was letting it fall apart the next day.

The objective for this trip was clear: prey.

The test plot was still in its trial phase and needed time. Prey was something Wayne needed without delay. He'd eaten a full meal at Shiro-chan's house today, and while there was some sense of fullness, Wayne knew his capacity to absorb Reishi still had plenty of room left. All it would take was a little time to compress and refine.

In fact, Wayne had done a rough calculation today: based on the amount of Reishi he could currently consume, his actual limit was roughly two to three times the combined food intake of himself, Momo, Shiro-chan, and Granny eating together.

The more thoroughly he compressed, the more stable his Reiatsu became.

Fortunately, the forest held an inexhaustible supply of game and wild produce. As long as no Hollow Beast above the lower-advanced rank appeared, Wayne had no fear of danger.

With his blindfold on, Wayne took in the surrounding environment through his senses. He had to get used to fighting without relying on his eyes as quickly as possible. Fighting by sight had been his way for decades, already deeply ingrained. But using his perception to track enemies had gradually become one of Wayne's strengths, which meant this arrangement also patched up one of his weaknesses.

He set traps in the same manner as before to catch pheasants and wild rabbits, spending the remaining time searching for prey and training his mastery over Reiatsu.

Compared to yesterday's failed attempt at Shadow Step, Wayne had this time managed to replicate something approximating it using his current Reiatsu levels. In terms of power and speed, it was still nowhere near the original, but at the very least, it could serve as a viable combat technique.

As for the other two skills, Shattering Slash and Lightning Strike, Wayne chose to set them aside for now. His current Reiatsu was insufficient to use the externally projected Lightning Strike. And Shattering Slash, to put it plainly, was simply channeling Reiryoku into a weapon and detonating the Reiatsu the instant it struck an enemy, a method that didn't suit a Soul Reaper's style of Reiatsu. So Wayne could only think of other ways to compensate for that type of attack.

"I wonder, if I focus my Reiatsu along the blade and then release it following a Soul Reaper's method of circulation, could I achieve something like Getsuga Tensho? Slash out a wave of sword energy?"

After all, Wayne had been a skilled swordsman in his previous life. His swordsmanship had even advanced further after battles against Vasto Lorde-class Hollows. Wayne had no intention of abandoning the sword. In this world, blades and swords weren't really all that different, they were the same kind of thing, while double-edged single-handed swords of the Chinese style were actually quite rare. Of course, among Soul Reapers there was no shortage of Zanpakuto that, after Shikai, released into other weapon forms. But those, Wayne had no knowledge of.

Still, swordsmanship might prove to be of great use to him in the future. The only problem was that back then, his sword techniques had all been supported by overwhelming Reiatsu. Wayne as he was now clearly didn't have the ability to wield those techniques, or even to approximate them.

Perhaps he should gradually work Reiryoku into each slash? Feel out the trajectory of the release?

Wayne thought about it, picked up the watermelon knife lying beside him, then, after three seconds of silence, set it back down on the ground.

"Forget it. Tomorrow I'll trade some prey for a proper sword first." He muttered to himself with a self-deprecating smile, then sat down on the ground, closed his eyes, and slipped into a brief rest.

He still missed the days of being a Hollow Beast. At least back then, as long as his Reiatsu didn't run dry, he never felt tired. Never troubled by fatigue.

Hoo! Ha! Hoo!

Just as Wayne was resting, a succession of low shouts reached him. His eyes snapped open. His grip on the watermelon knife tightened.

At this hour, who would come to the forest alone?

Following the sound, Wayne suppressed his Reiatsu and moved step by step toward its source. Quickly, in the quiet of the forest, he located where it was coming from.

Concealed behind a tree, Wayne peered out carefully. In the open clearing at the center of the woods, a young man with short golden hair and a pale, slender face, dressed in training clothes, was delivering chopping strikes against a wooden post. His brow carried an air of nobility, he looked somewhat like the son of a noble house. He held a katana, standing in a firm forward stance, going through chopping practice. Those shouts were coming from his mouth.

"Not wearing a Shihakushō, probably not a Soul Reaper. But that attire... most likely a noble from inside Seireitei." Wayne leaned against the tree and observed carefully. He could only see a profile. He couldn't yet make out the full picture.

"Coming to the forest at this hour to practice sword swings? A noble? Doesn't he sleep?" Wayne grumbled inwardly, then furrowed his brow.

"This won't do. I need to drive him away. With all that noise he's making, my prey will all scatter." With that thought, Wayne put his blindfold back on, tidied up his appearance, and cleared his throat quietly. He stepped out of the shadows beneath the trees.

"Who's there?!" The golden-haired young man heard the sound and spun around, blade raised, only to see a person wearing a blindfold and dressed in commoner's clothing step out from the shade of the trees.

"Shouldn't that be my line?" Wayne said, not a trace of alarm in his voice. "Who are you? Why are you out here in the middle of the night, do you have any idea your noise has scared off all my prey?"

"Hmm?" The golden-haired young man froze briefly, then extended a hand and waved it in front of Wayne, only now noticing that this was a blind person.

"Excuse me... your eyes..."

"What?! Never seen a blind man before?!" Wayne snapped. Deliberately, of course. Truth be told, Wayne had been worried about not having a proper blade at hand. Whoever this person was, judging by his Reiatsu, he wasn't particularly powerful. At full output, Wayne's compressed Reiatsu gave him a weight advantage more than sufficient to land a blow. And so Wayne found himself developing a keen interest in the standard-issue blade in this young man's hand.

➤ Next: Izuru Kira — Words Unspoken