Bleach: Reborn — Chapter 141 - Ranking Tournament — Face to Face
After Zanjutsu class, Wayne and Nakai headed back to the dorm together. Of the four courses, only Shunpo remained, he'd already been exposed to everything else. Several months into Soul Society, and he was finally closing in on the full curriculum. Whether he'd keep attending classes after that was another matter. It would depend on his mood. Foundational lessons felt like a waste of time. Sitting in the dorm absorbing Reishi suited him far better.
That night, Wayne ran his usual soul absorption while Nakai practiced sword swings off to the side. The assignment Wayne had given him was simple: swing the blade, drill stability, work the angle of each cut. The night passed without a word between them. By the time Wayne came out of his absorption state, Nakai had already collapsed onto his futon, completely spent. Wayne pressed his lips into a faint smile at that and said nothing. After washing up, he headed to the shopping street to grab something to eat and pick up some breakfast for Momo.
He stopped at the same tavern as before. No sign of Iba or Ikkaku this time, just a bowl of ramen for himself and two rice balls to bring back for Momo. He would have liked to take her along for a walk through the streets, but her stamina and Reiatsu couldn't keep his pace. After a full day of grinding classes, Momo did what any student did: sleep until it was time to show up.
The instructors were already at the training ground when he arrived. Six of them, all squad members from Squad 2. That made sense, when it came to Shunpo, Squad 2 was the only squad with any real claim to teach it. Seated officers and captains from other squads could technically do it, but there was no need. For students at this level, elite squad members were enough. Higher grades optimizing their specializations, that was when seated officers, lieutenants, even captains would step in. After all, Kenpachi Zaraki's swordsmanship instructor had been Old Man Yamamoto himself. None of the other teachers were taken seriously by Zaraki at all. And his graduation had been almost absurdly fast, he had barely attended any real classes before entering the Gotei 13. After Old Man Yama personally taught him swordsmanship for a single day, Zaraki killed the previous Kenpachi and became the Eleventh Kenpachi.
In truth, Wayne's current state wasn't far off from that. His Reiatsu still wasn't fully developed, and there were a handful of Soul Reaper techniques he hadn't yet learned, but outside of those gaps, he could pass virtually every remaining requirement and step directly into the Gotei 13. Kidō was the obvious exception.
Still, he'd decided to take his time here. Build his foundation. Accumulate Reiatsu, awaken his Zanpakuto, and push his strength through a clear developmental threshold before making that move. That way he'd have a real baseline for protecting himself. And even if Aizen actually intended to kill him over his blindness, there was no way Aizen would come handle it personally, not right away. Wayne could use that window: draw his Zanpakuto, open a Senkaimon, and get out. In the absolute worst case, retreating to Hueco Mundo was still an option. The problem with that path was he'd likely have to stay buried for the foreseeable future, lying low until Ichigo Kurosaki unleashed Mugetsu, after which he'd only be able to surface briefly. And after that, the Thousand-Year Blood War, well. That would just have to be fate.
But Wayne had no intention of playing it that safe, scraping through to the end just to emerge with nothing. The only way to avoid becoming someone else's tool was to grow strong enough that it wasn't worth their while. Steady development. No reckless plays.
"Tsukishiro Hinamori?" A teacher with a small mustache walked toward him.
"That's me." Wayne stepped over. "Good morning."
"Mm. I've heard about you from my colleagues. Top marks on your exams, and your learning speed is remarkable. A genuine talent."
"Hardly. I just pick things up quickly." Wayne waved a hand.
"With abilities like yours, that's still saying quite a lot." The teacher nodded. "A shame, though — you've only been in class a few days. Otherwise I'd have wanted to arrange for you to compete in the academy's Ranking Tournament."
"Ranking Tournament?" Wayne's brow twitched slightly. "What's that?"
"An annual intra-academy ranking competition. The focus is overall ability and student standings." The teacher spoke plainly. "It kicks off one month after the start of each academic year. Each grade has its own separate brackets. First-years don't participate. The tournament is split into individual matches and team matches — individual for personal strength, team for coordination, with four-person squads registering together. First-years are left out because they've only been enrolled for a month at that point. Not enough time."
"I see." Wayne turned it over. "A real shame first-years can't take part."
"Actually, first-year students do have the right to issue challenges." The teacher paused, watching to see if that landed. "Once the tournament reaches the round of 64, new students can opt into challenge matches to reshuffle the rankings. Upper-year students can't challenge lower-year students, only the other way around. And every time a lower-year student challenges across grade levels, the rewards double."
"There are rewards?" That was the first thing that actually caught Wayne's attention.
"Naturally. The academy doesn't cut corners when it comes to rewarding real talent. The rewards vary by tier, some modest, some substantial. The best prize ever awarded was a Reishi combat armor set developed by Squad 12. It could block slashing attacks at lieutenant-level Reiatsu. The production cost was too steep to replicate, so the set was broken apart — helmet, chest plate, and combat boots — and handed out as first, second, and third place prizes. Even split like that, they're enough to make any student here salivate. And on the lower end, the minimum reward is still at least one high-grade spirit plant."
"Oh?" The gaze beneath Wayne's blindfold sharpened slightly. He knew exactly what spirit plants were worth. Ornamental spirit plants improved the surrounding environment, drawing Reishi to concentrate in the area and raising the local density. Medicinal spirit plants could be ground into powder and used in remedies to heal injuries and restore Reiatsu. Growth-type spirit plants could be consumed directly, they strengthened the soul density of one's spirit body and substantially raised one's own potential ceiling.
All three types. He wanted all of them.
That settled it. Wayne was fully committed.
"Teacher — how does a first-year student sign up for the challenge matches?"
A thin smirk crossed the Squad 2 instructor's lips. "No sign-up required. On the day of the round of 64, you simply raise your hand and declare a challenge. One more thing worth knowing: once you've won a challenge, other students can keep challenging you. If you challenge a second-year, only second-year students can come after you. If you go straight for a sixth-year, every student in the academy can step onto your arena." He paused again, letting that sink in, drawing out the anticipation. "And here's how the rewards work: the higher the year of the student you challenge, the richer the payout. The longer you hold that arena and the more successful title defenses you rack up, the richer the reward."
"..." Wayne didn't respond. His expression didn't shift at all. He stood in silence for a moment, then asked flatly, "Your betting pool, is it private, or public?"
"Uh!" The teacher's face froze. The look of a man who'd just been read clean. "Hahahaha, what betting pool? What are you even talking about?"
"This is the first I've heard of the Ranking Tournament. But you came to me specifically, Teacher, and went out of your way to walk me through all of it. That gives me reason to think there's a betting pool running somewhere, and you're looking to profit from it. Wagering on which student breaks out. Lower year, higher odds. And as a standout first-year prospect, you've zeroed in on me. Am I close?"
"Aha, ahahaha. What are you talking about?" The teacher laughed awkwardly, the scheme thoroughly dismantled. It was true enough. As members of the Punishment Force, they couldn't move freely through the Seireitei the way regular Soul Reaper squad members could. They operated under the authority of the Stealth Force, moving in the shadows, with much of their freedom curtailed. The academy gave them somewhere to find a little amusement, running private wagers on competing students was one such outlet, a way to skim some extra profit from their posting. Strictly forbidden inside the academy, of course. But outside its grounds, plenty of instructors ran private books on their own. The higher-ups turned a blind eye to it. It didn't harm the academy's interests, after all.
"You jest, Hinamori-kun." The teacher still wanted to push back, but Wayne cut him off.
"No need to explain, Teacher. I'm only a student, but I don't think using students as betting stakes is something worth encouraging. Students have only just entered the Seireitei and haven't yet acquired a real set of skills. With respect, I won't be participating in this Ranking Tournament. Perhaps next year." He turned and walked away, leaving the instructor standing awkwardly in the training ground.
"Brat." The Punishment Force member frowned but didn't go after him. The pitch had failed, there was no point pressing further. If this kid got angry and brought it up to the wrong person, he could lose everything he currently had. And Wayne wasn't worried about offending this one instructor. There were six teachers on rotation. He'd simply find another one.
His plan for morning practice had fallen through. But now that he knew about the Ranking Tournament, Wayne wasn't about to sit on his hands. He used the time before classes to stop at a street-side shop, picked up some pastries and tea leaves, packed them up, and carried them across to the vicinity of the Gotei 13's Squad 4 barracks.
"Halt!" Two squad members posted at the entrance leveled their Punishment Forks at him. "These are the Squad 4 barracks. Unauthorized personnel are not permitted beyond this point."
"I must trouble you both to pass along a message." Wayne bowed respectfully. "Please inform them that Tsukishiro Hinamori, a first-year student of Shin'ō Academy, is here to see Seventh Seat Mizusue." He pressed two wrapped parcels of pastries into the guards' hands. "I'm grateful for your help."
"Mm. Wait here." You don't strike a man bearing gifts, that held true in the World of the Living and Soul Society alike. Even in Hueco Mundo, anyone with half a head for negotiation knew to bring a Hollow Mask as a token of good faith. A formally organized Soul Reaper unit was no different.
About a quarter of an hour later, Seventh Seat Mizusue came through the gate in her Shihakushō, mid-yawn. She stopped when she saw Wayne at the entrance. When she'd first been told the name Tsukishiro Hinamori, she hadn't quite believed it, but there he was, that blindfolded student, standing right in front of her. She glanced at the tea and pastries in his hands and smiled faintly. Here to thank her for the Reiatsu reference materials, most likely.
"What brings you here?" she asked, keeping her tone formal in front of the guards.
"I've come to thank Mizusue-sama for looking after me at the academy." Wayne held up the gifts.
"Mm. Follow me." She nodded at the two guards and they stood aside without argument, grinning at the polite young newcomer as they waved him through.
Wayne followed Mizusue through the barracks. She wore a stern expression the entire way. The moment she stepped into her own room, it vanished. She stretched with a long, luxurious yawn and sank onto her cushion, letting her blue-green hair fall over half her face. She looked up at Wayne with a sly gleam in her eye. "Looking for me this early in the morning, what is it? Because if you dragged me out of bed just to say thank you, your crime is considerable."
"There are a few things I'd like to ask for your help with." Wayne set the tea and pastries on the table and studied this languid, faintly alluring Soul Reaper through his blindfold. "Today I heard from one of the instructors about the Shin'ō Academy Ranking Tournament."
"Oh?" Mizusue's eyes sharpened with interest. "You already know about the Ranking Tournament? Is that what brought you here, you want to know how to get in?"
"Yes and no." Wayne smiled. "I already learned from the instructor that first-years can only compete through the challenge round after the preliminary selections. There's no regular registration."
"Mm, that's right." Mizusue nodded. "So what did you actually come to see me about?"
"I wanted to ask Mizusue-sama — interested in making some money off of it?"
"Oh?" She sat up. "Go on."
"I heard from that Squad 2 instructor that there are private books running on the tournament."
"You want me involved?"
"I want us involved together. Assuming Mizusue-sama trusts me enough for that."
"Spell it out." Mizusue shifted and sat cross-legged across from him, fully engaged now, her blue eyes catching the light with an unusual gleam.
"Here's my thinking. When the Ranking Tournament comes around, I compete. I challenge upper-year students across different grades. Meanwhile, Mizusue-sama places bets at the right moments. On the intelligence side, I'd expect every student has a basic profile on file with Squad 4, given the medical connection. So I was thinking: Mizusue-sama provides me with some of that information, giving me an edge in knowing who I'm up against. In turn, I use that intelligence to pick my targets and handle whoever comes after my spot. If there's someone I can't match, bet against me. If I'm confident I can take them, go all in. We keep going until I've climbed as high as I can climb."
"Not bad." Mizusue licked her lips. "I can work the intelligence side. But what's your guarantee you'll actually win?"
"With enough intelligence, I'll do my own assessment. And of course, it still depends on whether Mizusue-sama trusts my judgment."
"How are we splitting the take?" The moment those words left her mouth, Wayne knew she was in.
"Thirty-seventy. Thirty to me, seventy to you. But the ranking rewards stay with me."
"Brat, you've got some nerve." Mizusue licked her lips with obvious amusement. "Twenty-eighty. This is my money going in. How much could a kid like you possibly put up?"
"Deal." Wayne agreed without a word of pushback. In truth, he didn't much care about the money. The rewards were another matter, any one of them could make a real difference for him. And worst case, he could always sell a prize to cover what he owed.
"Fine." Mizusue didn't hesitate either. "Last question. Why me?"
"Milady." The corner of Wayne's mouth lifted. "You wouldn't want the talent you've worked so hard to cultivate to end up walking into another squad, would you?"
---
The July consecutive update streak ends here! Thank you to all the Vasto Lordes for the support, honestly, I'm nearly running on empty at this point. I need to ease off next month. My body won't hold out much longer, and I really don't want to end up in a hospital again. o(T_T)o
Next consecutive run will be September. That'll also give me time to actually think through the plot, lately the writing hasn't been at its best because I've been running too tired. I need the space to work through it properly.
For the sake of quality, I hope everyone will cut me some slack next month and let me rest. The day job is already exhausting enough. You Vasto Lordes don't want the story to suffer for it either, right? (sneaky grin)
Take it easy in August. See you for the September run.
➤ Next: The Substitute Teacher