Chapter 20: 20 - Practical
Out of the three sixth years, Kanisawa was the one to supervise Rumi in killing dummy hollows so she followed Rumi as she tried to find a dummy hollow.
"So, Kanisawa san, how many dummy hollows am I supposed to kill?" Rumi asked.
Kanisawa thought for a while before answering, "Normally, students in groups of three need to work with the groups to kill one dummy hollow each so they need to face three dummy hollows. But since you have to work alone, only one dummy hollow is enough."
"I see," Rumi replied, she then rubbed her fingers on her Asauchi and asked, "Can I kill more than one? Or is the dummy hollow count exactly the same as the number of students? I was thinking maybe I could kill a few dummy hollows and practice my Zanjutsu a bit on them."
"And you think you can take on more than one dummy hollow alone?" Kanisawa asked.
Rumi shrugged, "Maybe. But what's the harm in seeing it myself? Could be fun, you know?"
As Kanisawa was about to reply, they both saw a dummy hollow a few meters away.
"I guess that's my cue." Rumi said with a grin. She then used her wind reiatsu to boost her speed and closed her distance between her and the dummy hollow.
Kanisawa was a bit taken aback by Rumi's speed, it wasn't Shunpo but Rumi just used her wind reiatsu to achieve a speed almost comparable to low level Shunpo.
'Seems like rumors didn't lie, she really does have elemental reiatsu and has achieved this level of control in such a short time.' Kanisawa thought.
Rumi, on the other hand, after arriving within a meter reach from the dummy hollow, she drew her sword from the hilt and charged towards it to cut it down with a swift movement.
In less than a few seconds, the dummy hollow was cut in half and exploded into the air.
"It was much easier than I thought." Rumi muttered in disappointment. She was hoping this would be a bit more of a challenge so that she could rely more on her Asauchi but she was wrong apparently.
"Well, now that your mission is done, you should get back to the gathering point." Kanisawa said.
"I will after I go and find my friends." Rumi replied before running off to find Renji's group.
"Wait, don't run around-" Kanisawa shouted but as she saw Rumi had already ran off, she sighed. At least, her part was over with Rumi killing one dummy hollow as per the instructions. So, she just contacted Hisagi and let him know about the situation.
"I see, we will see if we can keep an eye on her and did she say who she was going to find?" Hisagi asked.
"She did not." Kanisawa shook her head.
"I see," Hisagi replied, "Come back to the gathering point first."
"Understood," Kanisawa replied.
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Meanwhile, Rumi was searching around the area for Renji's group. Since she was supposed to go wait at the gathering point until everyone was finished, it was bound to be boring, so Rumi figured she would go and play with her friends for a while. Maybe she could screw with Renji while he tried to kill the dummy hollow.
With a playful smirk, Rumi sped up with her wind reiatsu. Since the academy, except Renji, Rukia, Kira and Momo didn't know that she could use Shunpo yet, Rumi decided to not use Shunpo here. It was also not needed for now and using just her reiatsu could also help with her reiatsu control.
Soon, Rumi found them on top of a building. Renji was jumping off from the building and attracting the attention of the dummy hollow on the streets.
"Now!" As Renji was chased by the dummy hollow, Momo chanted, "Number 31 of Hado, Shakkaho."
A red orb of energy was shot out from Momo's palms with the chant and as the spell hit the dummy hollow, Kira also appeared from behind and slashed it with his sword.
"We did it!" Momo said cheerfully.
"It was easier than I thought. Hah, this whole practical would be over in no time." Renji said with confidence.
"It might've looked easy but I don't think any one of us could've done it alone." Momo said.
"Nah, I think I could've killed one myself." Renji replied still with confidence.
"I wonder how strong real hollows are." Kira muttered.
"Probably not that much stronger," Renji said, "Damn, I wish I could already face a real hollow."
As Kira called him out on his words, Rumi also decided to make her presence known. She quickly jumped in front of the group and waved, "Hey guys."
"What the- Rumi!" Renji shouted as he saw Rumi jump in front of him out of nowhere. He was so caught up in celebrating and big talk that he didn't even notice her reiatsu. Looking at Kira and Momo, they didn't look like they noticed Rumi's reiatsu before either, none of them was paying attention to their surroundings.
"Why the look? You guys should really pay attention to your surroundings you know?" Rumi decided to tease them for their scared faces when they saw her out of nowhere.
"You just arrived too suddenly when we aren't expecting." Renji defended himself.
"Bullshit! If you pay more attention to reiatsu in your surroundings, you should sense my reiatsu like a minute ago because I was watching you guys kill the dummy hollow over there." Rumi said, pointing to the opposite building corner. It wasn't that far from the scene so Renji and others could've noticed if they were paying attention.
"Shut up! Are you my teacher?" Renji huffed, he knew he wasn't paying attention. But who did that idiot Rumi think she was to scold them like this? Talk about her smugness, Renji was annoyed as usual.
"Heh, if I was, you'd be in more misery everyday." Rumi replied with a smirk.
"You're so annoying, Rumi." Renji said.
"Thank you!" Rumi replied, then she turned to Momo and Kira, "Good work, you two! Momo, your Kido spell is already that powerful without the full chant. It's great!"
"And Kira kun, your Zanjutsu at the end when you killed the hollow in one slash was nice, almost as nice as mine haha." Rumi continued.
"Thank you, Fujiwara san." They replied, feeling a bit flushed because of the sudden compliment.
Renji wasn't happy about that.
"Why do you give them compliments but not me?" He asked.
Rumi smiled and said in a teasing voice, "Ara, does Renji kun want praises?"
"What- no!" Renji shouted, his cheeks red, "And what's that tone of voice?!"
"are you embarrassed?" Rumi decided to push further and as a result, Renji's voice got even louder.
After the chaos subsided, Rumi was about to go off and find some more fun but Renji seemed to know what she was thinking.
"Stop messing around, idiot Rumi." He said as he dragged her to the gathering spot with the group.
"Damn it, how'd you know?" Rumi complained as she was dragged back to the gathering spot. She could've broke free from Renji's grip but decided to let him, well, at least he was her friend. He deserved a bit of satisfaction that comes with dragging her back like that.
It didn't take long for them to get to the gathering spot where everyone gathered after finishing their parts.
When they got there, Rumi saw that there were still a few groups who hadn't arrived. And since the deadline to find her Zanpakuto spirit was today, Rumi decided to do sword meditation a bit.
"Hey, Renji, Momo, I'll do sword meditation for a bit. Tell me when we're about to go back to Soul Society." She said.
"You're doing sword meditation, like right now?" Momo asked.
"Yeah, it helps to pass time." Rumi shrugged and sat down with her Asauchi on her lap. Then, without waiting for a reply, she decided to start.
Once she was in the innerworld, Rumi started to look for any differences from her other attempts. She checked the amusement park rides, the streets and even the food stalls which were empty by the way, it was an empty amusement park through and thorough, although it didn't look like an abandoned amusement park in her first dream she got shortly after getting to Soul Society.
'Wait a moment...if the amusement park is the innerworld,..why did I dream of it even before getting an Asauchi? And why did it change from abandoned state to normal empty amusement park?' Rumi thought.
Could it be that her Zanpakuto spirit had been there even before her Asauchi?
Could the second dream relate to the change in the amusement park?
Now that she thought about it, the little girl's voice was quite similar to the mysterious voice in the first and second dream. Not to mention because the voice warned her to wake up, she escaped from a dangerous situation back in the cave.
If the mysterious voice was the little girl, her Zanpakuto spirit had been contacting her since her arrival in Soul Society and helping her even if the communication was too one-sided.
As for the change in the state of the amusement park, Rumi thought it might also relate to the second dream.
She remembered feeling like a new person after letting go of her past and decided to look forward, she remembered the voice telling her to enjoy the ride and she replied that she would.
Maybe it was related to the amusement park becoming not abandoned anymore. Because Rumi decided to enjoy the ride, meaning she wouldn't abandon it anymore.
As a result, the amusement had become a normal empty amusement park.
Rumi decided to test out the rides before the tornado came and chase her again. Maybe if she enjoyed a ride or two, she would see the spirit?
Rumi wasn't quite sure of that but it didn't hurt to try things she hadn't yet, especially with the deadline getting closer as seconds go by.
Rumi tried opening the door of a Ferris wheel to get in. She even sat on a seat and waited for the ride to start, like an idiot because it didn't start even after a few minutes.
"Pfft, are you an idiot? Who goes into the Ferris Wheel alone and sit like a loner?" The little girl laughed.
Rumi looked around but she didn't notice anything except for the breeze. It seemed that she still couldn't see the spirit despite her improvements in several areas this week.
Still, she maintained her composure. She believed in keeping her head cool, especially in high stress situations. Only with a cool head, she could think of a solution or way, after all. Panicking would get her nowhere.
"You're telling me to find someone in this EMPTY amusement park?" Rumi rolled her eyes.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" The little girl asked with a giggle, "You know I'm your Zanpakuto spirit, right?"
"Yeah, I know that." Rumi said, "I also know you wouldn't just join me if I asked."
"You know you're hurting me with your words." The little girl replied, "How'd you know when you didn't even ask?"
Rumi sighed, alright, that made sense. "Okay, do you wanna join me on a Ferris Wheel ride?"
The little girl chuckled, then answered, "Nope!"
"..." Rumi was speechless at that, "Why'd you make me ask you if you're saying no anyways?"
"I wanted the option to say no." The little girl replied.
"Seriously?" Rumi rolled her eyes.
"I mean it's not like you could see me. What's the difference?" The little girl said, "Seriously, Rumi, I'd open my mind if I were you."
"Open my mind?" Rumi muttered, "What'd you mean? You were the one chasing me away everytime I try to find you."
The little girl was quiet for a while and Rumi felt the breeze got a bit stronger before it calmed down again, "Am I?" She asked.
"Wait, I don't understand-" Rumi was about to ask more but suddenly, she was dragged back to the real world.
"Rumi! Get up now!" As soon as she got back to the real world, Rumi saw that Renji and Momo were shaking her awake.
"What's going on?" Rumi asked, confused.
"Seriously, Rumi, you told me to pay attention but you won't?" Renji said in annoyance. "That reiatsu in the air, couldn't you feel it?"
"Reiatsu?" Rumi focused her attention on the reiatsu in the surroundings and it was indeed strange, it was as if something that had a strong reiatsu had been around. But, the problem was none of them could see the source where the reiatsu was coming from.
"Hisagi senpai is contacting the barrier unit but so far, no one is answering him. He needs to go and check it out but at the same time, he feels like he'd risk our safety if he go and check the barrier unit." Kira said.
"Damn, that's tough." Rumi nodded in understanding, "Understanding the situation was clearly important but at the same time, she can understand Hisagi's reluctance to leave the first years when there was clearly such a strong reiatsu of the unknown.
"Alright, I've decided to volunteer." Rumi said. Even if Hisagi couldn't, she could. Because she wasn't responsible to protect first years like Hisagi and she also wasn't comfortable being in the dark about a serious situation like this.
While there was a chance that going out there alone was dangerous, not knowing the situation and waiting here was also dangerous. If the situation was the one that could be solved by waiting out, it was fine, but if it were one of the situations where it seeked to directly harm everyone here, Rumi couldn't imagine the consequence of staying still right here. She'd probably be like a gullible lamb waiting for its turn to be slaughtered by then.
Rumi clearly wasn't comfortable with leaving her fate to chances. At least, by going out and finding out about the situation, she could control her own fate. And even if she met a misfortune because she decided to take action, she wouldn't regret it much, because she was the one who decided to do it.
"Rumi, don't joke around." Renji said to her, with a look of worry, "This ain't time to show off. It's crazy dangerous out there."
"I know," Rumi replied, "Still I'm going."
"Fujiwara san.. I think you should think it over." Kira said.
Momo on the other hand, was silent, she wanted to stop Rumi but she herself was having a hard time telling herself to not do something.
"Sorry, Renji, Kira kun. I really think it's better for me to go." Rumi said.
"There's no stopping you, is there?" Renji asked, defeated.
"You know it's either 0% or 100% for me." Rumi said with a smile. "And I guess I'm feeling like 100% today."
Renji and Kira sighed, "Take care."
"Mn!" Rumi nodded before walking towards Hisagi.
"Hisagi senpai, I heard the situation from Renji and Kira. I know that we need someone to go and check on the barrier unit and find out what happened." Rumi started.
"That's right, but since one of us sixth years leaving would potentially affect your ability to protect you, we're forced to remain here and contact Soul Society instead." Hisagi replied.
"So, what's the reply from Soul Society?" Rumi asked. Maybe if there were going to be reinforcements soon, Rumi wouldn't need to risk anything. But, Hisagi's reply pointed to a bad omen.
Hisagi shook his head with a grim face, "No, unfortunately, we haven't been able to contact Soul Society. It seems that our communication had been cut off."
"That means..." Rumi trailed off, not able to fins better words. They were going to have to face whatever that was in the air when the time came and most likely, they would be prey to it by the time.
Hisagi said, "If the worst came to be, it's our responsibility to keep you first years safe. So, don't run off alone and make things difficult."
Rumi shook her head, "I disagree, I think we're better off knowing the situation so that we can prepare ourselves. Staying here without doing anything would just get us all killed."
Kanisawa replied, her voice shaking, "We know that! It's just that none of us can afford to leave. We can't guarantee your safety even with three of us, let alone with one or two of us missing."
Rumi sighed, "I know that, that's why I came to talk to you guys."
Hisagi raised his eyebrow, curious on what she would say.
"I'm volunteering to go and check on the barrier unit and find out what happened." Rumi announced.
"That's definitely a no." Hisagi said, "Do you know how dangerous that could be?"
"I know," Rumi replied, "But I also know I'm the best candidate here to go."
"Fujiwara, you don't understand the situation-"
"Actually, I do, and that's the only reason I'm insisting." Rumi disagreed with Hisagi and Aobe's words, "I know my way about Kido so I can attack long range. And because my reiatsu had wind nature, my speed is much faster than other students. So, I can at least run away if things get too dangerous."
"But.."
"It's better than sitting here and wait for death." Rumi said.
"Or we can keep trying to contact Soul Society. Maybe.."
"Maybe reinforcements can arrive in time." Rumi nodded, but then she continued, "But there's also a chance that it won't. So, if I were you, I'd go with my option."
Hisagi sighed, he knew what Rumi was saying made sense. It was just too absurd of an idea. A first year trying to do something even he a sixth year couldn't do alone. But then again, he had to say out of them, Rumi had the highest chance of coming back alive.
"Alright," Hisagi finally said, "You have to come back."
"If things go difficult, come back." Kanisawa said.
"Like they said, don't do impossible things." Aobe said.
Rumi nodded, "Alright, I'll get going then. Please care of my friends."
Hisagi took a glance at Renji, Kira and Momo. Now that he had seen the four of them together in a group, he already knew they were friends. He and Kanisawa nodded.
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A/N : Here we go, another chapter!
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