บท 22: Chapter 22 - Study Chamber
Inconspicuously standing out of sight by a road barrier, Jin scratched his chin and observed the bipedal hollow chasing after a lost soul in an empty playground. It roared through its wide insect-like mask with pointed green stripes on it. Metal monkey bars bent and collapsed under the hollow's grip, and slides shattered into small shards of plastic in its wake.
Pressing his fingertips together in front of his chest, Jin experimentally chanted, "Barrier Make: Box Guillotine."
A large translucent cube materialized around the bipedal hollow. It slammed into the barrier wall. The impact forced it back in recoil before falling over backwards holding its face in its grayish-green claws. It wailed and screamed while flailing about within the confinement, causing a few barely noticeable cracks until a sharp translucent blade collapsed down the middle of the barrier box. The blade sliced the hollow into two uneven halves, including its mask. An ugly pockmarked face showed briefly under the cracked mask. Amidst its death throes, the Gates of Hell appeared to swallow the hollow's soul.
'That's the second time Hell showed up when I defeated a hollow. Am I destined to only fight Hollows of the most evil souls or something?' Jin sardonically commented to himself in his mind.
A few steps behind him, Urahara leaned against a wall and watched from under the rim of his hat with a raised brow. He silently observed the activation of Jin's powers, but the moment the Gates of Hell appeared, he couldn't help furrowing his brows.
"Guess that's taken care of then. I feel like the hollows I've encountered aren't that strong."
"Well, this one seems to have just recently formed," Urahara commented while watching the barriers fade away.
"Makes sense. Haven't felt tested yet," Jin replied. Then, focusing on the green-robed man, he added, "Hence why I want someone to help me train. I don't know my exact limits yet compared to Hollows or Soul Reapers."
"Hmm. I see," Urahara quietly said. Then, he grinned lazily, scratched his chin, and asked, "Can you make that barrier ability stronger?"
"Yes. Depends how much energy I use when activating it."
"Like a battery, then. The higher the voltage, the quicker the power runs out."
"That's a fairly accurate comparison," Jin said, nodding slightly even while realizing he had yet to truly run out of magic energy to fuel his barriers.
"How free are you right now?"
"I've got a few hours, but I'll be rather busy for about a week after that. Honestly, I mainly want to find out what my soul form is like today if you're willing to help me with that."
Urahara rubbed his chin thoughtfully for a moment, but then nodded and said, "We can go ahead and test that, but I'll need to observe your power a bit longer before deciding any specifics."
"Cool."
A short and quiet walk later, they returned to Urahara's shop. Not forgetting to say hello to Tessai along the way, Urahara led Jin to the back of the shop. He opened a hatch which led down to a huge open space. The wide open space formed a large room with a ceiling and walls painted to resemble a cloudy sky over a floor of desolate, brown, craggy land dotted with dead trees.
Hit by a sense of nostalgia, Jin smiled a little at the scenery, but quickly shook it off and followed Urahara to the center of the training field.
"Welcome to the Study Chamber," Urahara said, gesturing at the surroundings with what looked like a cane.
"Thanks, I guess."
"Are you ready?"
"Yeah."
"Hmm… If you say so."
Next thing Jin knew, the end of a cane marked with a skull surrounded by black and blue flames slammed against his forehead. Despite preparing himself for such a thing, it still caught him off guard. He flew backwards and slammed against the hard dirt.
For a moment, he struggled to catch his breath. The air felt thin as though he just scaled the peak of a mountain. Gravity weighed down heavier on him than before, yet his body felt light as a feather. Suddenly, he felt the tingling sensation of his Power Veins kicking into gear. He closed his eyes and focused on the ethereal feeling of the veins sucking up the limited Reishi from the atmosphere like a thirsty man siphoning water through a straw.
Eventually, his breathing stabilized, and he opened his eyes. He then groaned and sat up. In front of him, he saw Urahara holding… him. Seeing his own limp body held in somebody's grasp by the shirt collar threw him for a loop. However, a baffled expression on the man's face distracted him.
"What?" Jin asked.
"...Fascinating. You don't have a chain of fate."
"Hm?"
Jin looked down at his chest. To his surprise, he saw a simple white haori covering his body, but the main thing he noticed was that his body was whole. Like Urahara said, there was no chain like any other soul should have.
"It's like you're a soul who already underwent Konso."
'Is it because I died before coming to this world? Or is it the Power Veins? Well, I guess it doesn't matter. This makes things easier.'
Rising to his feet, Jin patted his robe to dust it off and said, "I don't like that look in your eyes."
"Hm??? Whatever could you mean?" Urahara asked with a dumb smile.
"Just felt like you wanted to rip me open like a birthday present or something."
"Pft. Of course not. I'd never do that~" Urahara retorted while laughing and waving his hand in a dismissive manner.
"...Right."
Jin looked around again, then narrowed his eyes at Urahara. The longer he stared, the more he felt like he was standing in front of a massive beast. If not for his combat experience, he might have retreated several steps out of fear, but it only caused him a bit of wariness.
"Oho~ You've already become so sensitive to Reiatsu. I'm surprised since I'm even using a special gigai. I created it myself."
"Yeah. Got it," Jin grumbled, struggling to maintain his composure. For some reason, his hands twitched as though wanting to hold something. It felt like something was missing there.
Suddenly, the heavy atmosphere vanished, causing Jin to sigh out of relief.
"Well, that's enough of that test, I suppose. Your soul is strong enough not to dissipate under the latent Reiatsu of a high-ranking seated officer, so maybe you'll actually prove useful," Urahara commented, casually swinging his cane around his hand.
Jin grimaced, but he didn't take it to heart. Instead, he looked down at his hands. He closed them and opened them a few times. Then, he looked back up at Urahara, who also looked back at him with curiosity visible in his gray eyes.
"Do you happen to have an asauchi or something?" Jin inquired.
"Nope."
"Hmm…"
"Just out of curiosity, has your soul form affected your abilities at all?"
"Let's find out," Jin said. He then pressed his hands together and chanted, "Barrier Magic: Prism Guard."
"Magic?" Urahara mumbled to himself while watching a thick glass-like barrier extend from Jin into his surroundings. Noticing a strange pulsation of energy, he muttered, "It's similar to Reiryoku, yet also a bit foreign. Is it a new type of ability wrought by contact with Hollows? No, that doesn't seem right, either. Very intriguing. I'd like to study this more."
Unaware of Urahara's mumbled ramblings, Jin warned, "Prepare yourself. I'm going to use a wide-range attack."
Urahara nodded casually in response.
Taking that as a go-ahead, Jin made sure his actual body was safe within the bounds of his barrier and then clapped his hands.
"Barrier Magic: Prism Blast."
The circular barrier exploded in all directions, shredding every rock and stone in its path. Urahara's eyes widened slightly, and he flashed away since he was too lazy to block every single projectile.
"Barrier Magic: Prism Blades."
After the chant, two barrier blades materialized in front of Jin. He smiled since he found it easier to control multiple blades now. Then, he grasped one in each hand. Noticing some discomfort, he shook his head and released one, instead allowing it to float in the air at his side. Feeling the weight of the remaining blade in his hand finally scratched the itch of feeling something missing, albeit only partially.
'Do I need to get my hands on a Zanpakuto or something to get rid of this feeling?' He wondered. Since he wasn't the child of a former Soul Reaper like Ichigo, he didn't think he could become a Soul Reaper right off the bat or anything, but the current results already exceeded his expectations.
"Your power is very interesting. These last few barriers were far more stable than the one you used against that Hollow earlier," Urahara mentioned from behind Jin.
Spinning on his toes, Jin met the man's seemingly lazy eyes and asked, "Got any thoughts on it? Like, how would it stack against a Menos Grande or the average Soul Reaper?"
"Hmm. You might be able to kill a Menos if you put in some effort. In terms of a Soul Reaper, it's hard to say since their powers vary so widely," Urahara answered honestly after a brief moment of thought. Then, he looked at the destroyed environment and said, "In terms of destructive capability alone, you might be able to contend against some seated members of the Gotei 13. However, why do you wish to compare yourself to a Soul Reaper?"
Noticing a hint of suspicion in Urahara's voice, Jin contemplated his words before answering, "Because Soul Society is going to face a lot of problems soon."
"...Is that so?"
"You can also tell without my foreknowledge, right?"
"Well, maybe. So, what else are you able to show me? I'm a little more interested in what you're capable of now."
Pointing at a distant boulder, he shot the blade floating at his side through the air. It sliced clean through the stone without any resistance. A loud crack sounded in its wake.
"Aside from these blades, I can freeform barriers, but they'll be weaker in exchange for flexibility. Other than that, I'm still learning and growing."
"It has potential, then."
"Yes."
"Hmm. How are you feeling right now?"
"Fine."
"Great. In that case, how much time do you have today?"
"A few hours at most before I've got prior responsibilities to attend to."
"Since your barriers already feel similar to Hado, do you want to see if you can learn actual Hado?"
Eyes lighting up at the prospect, Jin nodded.
"Alright. I'll have Tessai show you the basics, then. After a week or two, we'll see about keeping you as a part-time worker."
"Great. Thanks."
A few hours later, Jin left Urahara's shop with a tired expression. Two men and a black cat gathered in one of the shop's back rooms after he left.
"So, you're going to take him on as a worker, then?" The black cat inquired in a deep masculine voice while sitting on top of the table.
"He's the one you mentioned the other day who suddenly showed signs of possessing Reiatsu briefly?" Urahara asked in return.
"Yes. He's the one. After that initial spike on that first day we noticed it, I never felt it again, at least until he actually used it to get my attention earlier. It didn't feel exactly like Reiatsu. It felt… foreign? Maybe that's the best way to describe it."
"That's indeed a good word for it. I also noticed he doesn't leak any Reishi unless he's actually using his powers, so hollows probably won't cause chaos around him."
"But you want to keep him close by?" The cat asked out of curiosity.
"Have you heard the saying, 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer'? Since we don't know where he lies in terms of ally or foe, it's better to keep him close than to let him roam out of sight."
"I think he is a good kid," Tessai quietly added.
"Well, maybe. At the very least, he might be able to help with some more troublesome things."
What Urahara didn't mention was that he mostly wanted to learn more about what Jin mentioned about seeing the future by looking into a person's past. However, he didn't want to bother his friends with such information at the moment when they already had a lot to worry about.
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(A/N: Original Japanese terminology for the study chamber is Benkyō Heya, which literally translates to Study/Training Room. Dubs translate it as Study Chamber, apparently. Also, the difference among Reishi, Reiatsu, and Reiryoku is: Reishi is ambient spirit energy, Reiatsu is basically the limit or aura of the Reishi a person can weild, and Reiryoku is the physical manifestation of Reishi used to generate supernatural abilities. That's a very general explanation, but hope it helps.)
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