Bleach: Reborn — Chapter 140 - Swordsmanship

"You little punk! You sent one of our 11th Division guys flying with just two cuts — do you have any idea, when that guy got back to the barracks he couldn't even lift his head? Hahahaha!"

"Exactly! You're too ruthless, kid. That guy was planning to challenge a seated officer this year, and you sliced him into a total slump — now he mopes around all day. I'm telling you, you need to bring two bottles of good liquor, and I'll deliver them for you."

"Hahaha! Brother Iba, you just want to drink it yourself!"

The morning tavern took on the energy of a late-night opening the moment Wayne walked in.

Inside the private room, a thoroughly tipsy Tetsuzaemon Iba and Ikkaku Madarame had both thrown their arms around Wayne's neck at once, coaxing him into more drinks.

Just moments ago, Wayne's reiatsu sense had been picked up by both of them. As a veteran Soul Reaper, Iba's first instinct was that someone was causing trouble in Seireitei, so the instant he detected that presence, he locked onto the source and charged toward Wayne, only to discover that Wayne had released his senses because he was blind. That put him somewhat at ease. Shortly after, he heard about Wayne's exploits from Ikkaku. At that point, Ikkaku had been ready to drag Wayne off for a fight on the spot, but a flask of liquor Wayne offered him was enough to settle the matter.

In the end, the two of them pulled Wayne into the private room, and the owner brought food and drinks for all three. They sat, and they drank. As the cups went back and forth, Iba and Ikkaku, who had already been at it all night, lost track of themselves and got properly drunk before long. They dragged Wayne into a long discussion of combat techniques and abilities, dissected his reiatsu at length, and set a date for a sparring match. To avoid hurting Wayne, Ikkaku even offered to lower his reiatsu down to Wayne's level, which earned him a solid round of mockery from Iba.

"Stop talking nonsense — who's going to sneak off with the drinks?!" Tetsuzaemon Iba, thoroughly wasted, grabbed Wayne by the arm and insisted on heading out to buy more liquor. "I'm telling you, kid, you're exactly my kind of person. In the future, I'll personally recommend you to the captain — come join the 11th Division!"

"Haha, that'd be graduating early." Wayne, also lightly buzzed, threw an arm around Iba's shoulder. "It's a deal, then — starting today I'm done working hard. I've got the 11th Division's leg to cling onto!"

"Hahaha! Stop working hard and you'll be the one slumped in a corner after the next internal challenge!" Ikkaku cut in, then poured another mouthful straight down his throat. "Mr. Iba, it's getting late — we should head back to the barracks."

On the surface, Ikkaku's seated rank was higher than Iba's. But Ikkaku knew the truth: Iba had never fought at full strength. He simply didn't care about rank, so he'd deliberately conceded half a move. And losing that half-move meant Ikkaku owed him a week's worth of drinks.

"Mr. Ikkaku, rest assured, if I ever get the chance, I'll absolutely come find you for a real fight," Wayne said. "But right now I've only just enrolled. Even if I have an edge in technique, without the reiatsu to back it up, I wouldn't be able to give you a satisfying match." He paused. "Once I graduate and join the Soul Reapers' ranks, I'll come find both of you for a proper fight, and then a proper drink afterward!"

"Alright!" Iba gave Wayne a firm clap on the shoulder. "Good kid! Work hard at the academy. We'll be waiting for you in the 11th Division!" With that, all three raised their cups and drained them in one go. Then the two Soul Reapers left arm in arm.

Wayne, of course, wasn't paying. Iba had already settled the bill on the way out. Treating a junior to a meal was no great matter for a senior.

As for the free meal, Wayne would pay it back someday. As for whether to actually join the 11th Division after becoming a Soul Reaper...

That was just talk for the moment. Who was to say other divisions wouldn't come calling too, like the 4th Division, which had always shown him particular favor. If two divisions came after him at once, the choice would take some careful thought.

He rose and left the tavern. Before he went, Wayne bought two flasks of liquor at the counter and left them stored at Uncle Yukihira's shop, so the next time Iba and Ikkaku stopped by, the owner could hand them over directly. A small repayment for the meal, and a quiet gesture of goodwill toward the two Soul Reapers.

On the walk back, Wayne used his own reiatsu to drive the alcohol out of his body. By the time he reached the school, every trace of the smell was gone. He arrived at the academy just as the first class was starting.

"Brother Tsukishiro! Where did you run off to?!" The moment he stepped into the classroom, Yū Nakai rushed over. "I couldn't find you anywhere first thing in the morning, I was worried sick!"

"Walked around town for a bit, had something to eat," Wayne said evenly. "Yū, you don't need to follow me to every single class. I may not be able to see, but my reiatsu sense and memory are both sharp, once I've walked through a classroom once, I won't get lost again."

"That still won't do. It's my responsibility." Yū Nakai pushed back a little. "I know someone as capable as Brother Tsukishiro will leave me in the dust sooner or later, but I want to do everything I can before that happens."

"Then work hard." Wayne shrugged. "Bring your physical stats up across the board. Don't fall behind the others."

"I will!" Yū Nakai said loudly. "But if Brother Tsukishiro ever needs anything, you have to tell me!"

"Yeah, yeah." Wayne gave a resigned nod, then followed Yū Nakai off toward the kendo hall.

Today's lesson was Zanjutsu, first instructor-led, then paired sparring.

The instruction portion was essentially a breakdown of basic kendo fundamentals. As for Soul Reaper cutting techniques, Wayne had studied them, and yet not quite fully. The systems were different: the sword and blade forms he had known in his previous human life were classical and traditional martial arts styles, while Soul Society's curriculum was rooted in kendo.

But nobody said a Zanpakutō couldn't be wielded with a traditional martial arts approach. So the class was a bit dull for Wayne. Different systems meant the lecture could only serve as a reference, nothing more.

He pushed through the first half on willpower. When the sparring portion began, Wayne needed to pick a partner, though he barely had a choice. Momo came scurrying straight toward him.

"Big brother, fight me!" Full confidence. She had paid close attention during the lesson, while her big brother had clearly been drifting, so from a certain angle, Momo had suddenly decided she had a real shot.

"Sure." Wayne had been idle for half a class, and since his little sister had come looking for a beating, he was happy to oblige. They picked up bamboo swords and stood at the center of the training floor. Momo was on full alert, weight low, body bent forward, both hands raised, eyes locked hard onto Wayne. Wayne held his sword with his left hand alone, tip angled toward the ground, right hand clasped behind his back, waiting.

"Big brother, here I come!" Momo let out a sharp cry and charged, raising the sword with both hands and bringing it straight down at Wayne's face.

Wayne sidestepped the straight chop, but he didn't counter. He wanted to spar with her for a while first and get a read on her natural talent for cutting technique.

The first chop landed wide. Momo swept the blade horizontally, Wayne stepped back and let it pass. Then she pressed the blade downward and launched an upward diagonal slash toward Wayne's jaw. He tilted his head back to dodge, and the moment the sword grazed past his chin, he flicked his own bamboo sword upward and deflected Momo's blade clean away.

"Ah!" The force of her sword swinging back suddenly surged, and Momo momentarily lost control, she nearly let go. In that split second, Wayne pressed his sword down and brought it to rest in front of her.

"Checkmate." A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"Hmph." Momo's cheeks puffed up. She adjusted her stance and squared off again.

"Momo, you don't need to grip so tight, ease up about thirty percent when you swing." Wayne kept talking as he evaded her attacks. "More force behind a swing isn't always better. You're a girl, and overpowering boys in raw strength is going to be difficult. But with a Zanpakutō's sharpness and the flow of your own reiatsu behind it, any enemy you can actually cut is an enemy you can take down. For enemies whose skin you can't even nick, just run the moment you see them. Don't bother tangling with them."

"That's... what kind of logic is that?" Momo asked, slashing as she spoke.

"An enemy you can't even scratch must have a ridiculous defense, which means their reiatsu far exceeds yours. If you run into that kind of enemy, either outsmart them or run, never go head-to-head. You'll only come out worse."

"But what does that have to do with how we're fighting right now?"

"An enemy who can be cut is one you have a real chance of beating. In that case, your reiatsu and the sharpness of your Zanpakutō are enough. The reason for pulling back thirty percent of your force is to move faster than your opponent, that's how you land damage and press the advantage. Wanting to drop an enemy in one big sweeping blow only works when you're completely dominating them. Enemies aren't stationary objects, they're living things, just like me, who dodge and parry and will talk your ear off." As he spoke, Wayne flicked his sword up to suppress Momo's again, then redirected the force sideways, pushing her center of gravity off-balance, and in the instant she was about to fall, his right hand shot out and grabbed the scruff of her neck.

"L-let me down, big brother!" Lifted off the ground with one hand, Momo kicked her legs in the air and tried to harass him with the bamboo sword she still held, hoping to force him to put her down, but every swing was blocked by the sword in Wayne's left hand.

"So. Do you give up?"

"I, I give up!" Momo's face went red. Looking back on it, she had no idea where she'd gotten the nerve to challenge her big brother in the first place.

"Overall, Momo handled everything the teacher covered today pretty well, but you need to learn to adapt. The most important thing in real combat is being able to respond in the moment. Enemies aren't unchanging machines that give you a fixed pattern to follow. Against an unpredictable opponent, you have to be more unpredictable than they are. Zanjutsu is only one part of your offensive toolkit, just get comfortable with it. You don't need to master it."

"Oh..." Momo looked slightly put out. "What about you, big brother?"

"I have absolutely no talent for Kidō, so aside from the other three disciplines, I don't have much of a choice." Wayne shrugged. "Take Kidō as an example, in a real fight, if you mix in Kidō harassment while engaging an enemy, that enemy is going to have a very rough time. Whether it's Hadō or Bakudō, either one can turn the tide of a battle."

"Really?" Momo scratched her head. That did make sense. Right now she was learning all four combat disciplines separately, but in a real fight they could all be used at once. How well she could actually combine them would depend entirely on how deeply she understood each one.

"Alright. Try again, this time with thirty percent less force." Wayne raised his bamboo sword and waited.

Momo adjusted her grip. After a few swings, she began to find her rhythm, and the bamboo sword in her hand moved faster and faster.

CLACK-CLACK-CLACK-CLACK-CLACK!

A rapid, escalating exchange of strikes rang through the hall. Wayne blocked every single one without retreating a step, matching Momo blow for blow. Fed a steady stream of openings, Momo gradually found her own fighting rhythm.

Little by little, the rest of the students stopped what they were doing and drifted over. Most of them were watching the girl, the one pressing forward again and again, her speed climbing with every exchange.

"Wow... her attacks are really something."

"That guy is impressive too, attacks coming in that fast and he doesn't look rattled at all."

"Of course, that's Tsukishiro Hinamori. The one fighting him must be his sister, Momo Hinamori." A student in the know was quick to share. "During the entrance assessment, Tsukishiro Hinamori sent two examiners flying with just two cuts. And now here he is sparring with his own sister, looks like the big brother is teaching her."

"But their swordsmanship looks different from what the teacher explained, doesn't it?"

"The teacher's style is all about big, sweeping movements, learning how to put power behind the swing first, so the angle doesn't go wrong and miss. But the two of them attacking like that... is there any guiding principle behind it at all?"

The crowd kept growing until the teacher finally noticed.

"You two, that's enough!" He called a halt to the match. He gave Momo some feedback, her grip was unstable, her force application still needed work, and so on. When he came to Wayne, however, the teacher said only: "Keep up the effort."

He wasn't a fool. He could see perfectly well that while Wayne's swordsmanship showed no recognizable form, every single move landed precisely where it was hardest for Momo to generate force, leaving her feeling awkward on every strike. Faced with a student who had already sent two examiners flying, the teacher had no intention of offering much instruction. He simply wasn't at that level. Better to wait until Wayne advanced to the upper course, where a stronger teacher could take over.

➤ Next: Ranking Tournament — Face to Face