"Non posso credere che ce l'abbiamo fatta!" Rangiku esultò felice con le braccia alzate mentre i tre amici varcavano i cancelli dell'Accademia Shin'ō.
“In questa posa e nella nuova divisa, il tuo seno è sempre più in evidenza, mia cara.”
Un pugno nell'addome fu l'unica risposta che il ragazzo cieco ricevette a quel piccolo commento.
"Fortunatamente, non sembrano avere requisiti di età."
Gin ha commentato accanto ai due, notando quanto i tre sembrassero più giovani della media. Il ragazzo cieco, Hayato, però, si fece serio e rispose.
“Se ci pensi, ci sono molte più anime che si risvegliano in questo mondo rispetto a quelle che vi nascono, quindi è normale che la popolazione più anziana sia più numerosa”.
“Che discorso noioso! Andiamo ragazzi! Stiamo per diventare Shinigami, impareremo finalmente a diventare più forti, non moriremo più di fame e soprattutto avrò tre stipendi per comprare un sacco di cose!"
I due ragazzi ebbero la strana sensazione che gli occhi del loro amico brillassero di luce propria in quel momento... ma poi, quando avevano stretto quel patto di spartirsi lo stipendio?
Chiacchierando allegramente, finalmente arrivarono a destinazione. L'aula del primo anno.
Ognuno dei tre ragazzi ha varcato le porte dell'aula con la propria convinzione.
Ma non importava se questa convinzione fosse vendetta, potere o denaro. Tutti e tre rimasero estremamente delusi dalla loro prima lezione.
Due ore intere a parlare della storia arcaica della Soul Society, di quanto fossero grati al Soul King per averla creata, ai nobili per averlo aiutato e al Comandante Generale Yamamoto per essere così forte. Più che una lezione a Gin sembrò semplice propaganda.
Hayato non ha seguito nemmeno i primi 10 minuti. Si addormentò quasi subito. Ma nessuno, tranne Gin, se ne accorse. Hayato era cieco e ovviamente poteva tenere gli occhi chiusi quanto voleva, ma solo il ragazzo dai capelli argentati notò il suo respiro regolare e rilassato.
Non poteva biasimarlo per questo, però. Il maestro era estremamente monotono e il suo essere così prolisso nell'elogare la nobiltà non poteva che annoiare.
Rangiku aveva ceduto alla noia e ora si stava tagliando le unghie con una lama di rasoio che Gin avrebbe potuto giurare di non aver avuto qualche minuto prima. Forse l'aveva preso in prestito da un compagno di classe? Non lo sapeva.
Il loro insegnante, che avrebbe dovuto essere uno shinigami esperto per ricoprire quella posizione, davvero non riusciva a vedere la situazione in classe? Si trattava di un test per vedere chi riusciva a rimanere concentrato anche in situazioni così monotone?
Molti pensieri si alternavano nella testa di Gin, ma furono tutti interrotti dall'istruttore che all'improvviso alzò la voce.
"Sig. Hakuhito. Potresti dirmi quali sono le cinque grandi case?
La domanda improvvisa, nella mente di Gin, si confermò come un test per misurare l'attenzione generale. Non era affatto difficile rispondere alla domanda se avevi ascoltato la lezione, del resto erano scritte anche alla lavagna. Poi il suo cervello collegò il nome Hakuhito con il volto del suo amico cieco.
OH. Non sa leggere.
Il ragazzo in questione, sentendosi chiamare per nome, balzò in piedi, sbatté i talloni con le gambe tese, un braccio lungo il fianco e l'altro piegato sulla fronte che colpì con una mano tagliente.
"Signore, non lo so, signore!"
La risposta praticamente congelò l'intera classe.
“So besides lazing around, you couldn't even notice that I wrote them right behind me?”
The instructor's tone was truly angry, however...
“Of course, I didn't see them, sir! I'm blind sir!”
Some kids even started laughing at that joke. They weren't tired already, lucky them, Gin thought.
“Sit down and pay attention… AND STOP TALKING IN THAT DISTURBING WAY!”
What was certain was that the lesson did not improve from then on...
---
“So, this is an Asauchi. At least this day served some purpose.”
“Says the boy who almost got himself kicked out of the classroom just to be funny.”
“Shut up creepy boy! I'm not here to absorb your sermons!”
Even though the two boys argued with each other, they still held their swords close to each other. Those were the swords they had to keep with them at every waking moment if they truly wanted to become a true shinigami.
“Who knows how beautiful my blade will be once it awakens…”
Rangiku's blissful trance-like voice stopped the argument between the boys, who smiled at each other and then each sat on one side of the girl.
“Hey Hayato.”
“Tell me Rangiku.”
“I want to try it… could you make some jokes about my breasts?”
Gin actually laughed at those words. This was the Rangiku he liked. The careless, but fun girl who could do anything for. That girl with the most beautiful smile he had seen and who he swore to protect at all costs. He will never see the sign of her tears again. He swore it.
That's why he went out again that evening without saying anything to his friends. He had things to do... everything to prepare his revenge, to understand who that man with glasses was and above all, how to kill him.
He didn't know why, but he had the feeling that the blade he received that day also agreed with him.
But that evening he wasn't the only one who went out under cover of darkness.
Hayato was in the schoolyard, even though there was no light. Not even the moon was present that evening, but a blind boy didn't care about such frivolities. He has lived his whole life in darkness and the black darkness has always been the most familiar colour to him, if not the only one.
He gripped the blade he had at his side tightly.
He held the sheath tight in his left hand and held tight at his side and took the handle of the blade in his right hand.
He breathed in and out. In a rhythmic way. Familiar. Like when he tried to concentrate to perceive the world around him.
Then he pulled out the blade decisively.
He drew not to swing the blade, but to strike and finish it all in one fell swoop.
He put the blade back in its sheath.
He pulled it out decisively.
Still. And still. And still.
He stopped when he felt the first rays of the sun hit his face. He hadn't moved a step from where he started. There was a pool of sweat underneath him, but there was a smile on his face.
---
Gin walked through the familiar woods near the old shack. He didn't remember when winter had arrived, but it was snowing. He honestly didn't even remember being back near the shack.
The snowflakes fell slowly, covering the nearby shrubs in white.
But only those close to him.
Gin was feeling a strong sense of wrong.
Since the snow close to him made it difficult to see further, he tried to focus on his other senses. Just as he was taught by the blind boy, he closed his eyes and listened to the surrounding nature.
Silence.
There wasn't the very relaxing song of the birds, or the roar of the small river or even the music that is created by the wind in the leaves. He couldn't even hear the omnipresent insects.
"Gin…"
A voice, or rather a whisper, surprised him. He whipped his head towards the source and found nothing.
“It's not long now… but you're not ready yet…”
Gin took a handful of snow and realized that it wasn't cold. It wasn't even snow. They were tiny fragments of steel.
---
Have you ever wondered how a blind man dream? A dream is a mental representation of something, so are blind people's dreams in colour or black and white? Do they only dream of infinite black? Or do they dream of seeing?
The truth is that unlike people with sight, blind people dream with their other senses.
They do not dream of the image of a green forest, but they dream of its scents, noises, the sensation of freshness, they dream of the emotions felt over the course of the days.
That's why Hayato knew he wasn't in a dream.
He was in a totally dark place, but he could tell it was a simple wooden room, enclosed by four paper walls. He didn't know why, but his instinct led him to say it was a dojo.
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“…what you're doing doesn't make sense…”
An old, tired voice spoke in the distance.
"Why?" He replied, curious about this sudden criticism.
The voice waited a few moments to speak again.
"Do you want to see?"
Hayato didn't understand the voice's question. Or rather, he didn't understand the meaning of it. What idiot asked a blind man if he wanted to see? Wasn't the answer obvious? That's why he tried to think of something different... but in the end...
“I already see.”
“No… you perceive. Do you want to see?"
“Sigh… yes… I want to see…”
“Then look…”
Hayato still didn't know, but at that moment he understood.
He could see the old man make a single movement.
A drawing of the sword.
That's all.
However, it was so fast that it emitted light. A light so intense that it illuminated the darkness of the dojo... and of Hayato's eyes.
Hayato saw white for the first time ever.
It only lasted an instant, but it was addictive. He could never forget the exact moment he saw lightning for the first time.
---
The days began to pass.
On the second day they held their first lessons on Kidō... or Kidō theory. Obviously how can people who have no idea how to control it or even the necessary spells start spamming reiatsu spells?
That's why they started by explaining the theory behind Kidō during the morning. Then they were taught small exercises to learn how to control it.
On the third day everyone was taken to the courtyard at dawn to start exercising the body, then lessons for half the morning and finally lessons on Kidō in the afternoon.
The following days all unfolded in this manner.
I'm not here to talk about the routine of these guys, it doesn't interest me or you, so let's go with some scenes, typical of a training cut:
* During the 2nd day –
The practice of exercises for control over reiatsu was taking place in the shooting range, so that the boys who came from noble houses or shinigami families could skip these familiar exercises and train in throwing the simplest Kidō which range from 1 to approximately 9.
Rangiku sat with her legs crossed, her Asauchi resting in her lap and her hands on her knees.
Her concentration was so intense that you could see the beads of sweat on her forehead.
“Ptsss… Hey Gin… ptsss…”
The blind boy, who was in the same position as the girl, tried to whisper.
“Do you need anything, Hayato?”
The boy with silver hair replied.
“How long do you want to pretend you're not ready to make those Hadō throws yet? I can sense very well that your control is already greater than almost everyone there.”
“You mean to tell me you don't really know the answer?”
“Nonono… actually I already know, but I just want you to understand how much of a whipped boyfriend you are… Just admit to her that you love her and everything will be fine.”
Silence fell after those words and Hayato began to feel an icy cold creep up his spine in the form of shivers.
“Doesn't that apply to you too… Hakuhito?”
“Uh… to call me by my last name, maybe I exaggerated… eh eh eh”
A shadow suddenly rose behind the two boys who were chatting.
“Since you're both good enough to be distracted… why don't you show us what you can do?”
Spoke the shadow, revealing himself as none other than Ōnabara Gengorō, their teacher in charge.
“You always manage to get me into trouble, don't you blind guy?”
Gin sighed before taking position in front of a firing position and speaking softly, though clearly heard by everyone.
“Ye lord!...”
The eyes of many comrades widened at those words. They were the words for a spell from the 30 series. That day they had had difficulty even with the simplest Kidō, let alone using a more difficult one. Meanwhile Gin raised a hand and finished the spell.
“Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier rises, march on to the south! Hadō: n.31 Shakkaho!”
A sphere of energy formed in front of the outstretched palm and was fired towards the intended target, a wooden dummy, which exploded.
Gin knowing he had left everyone petrified, calmly returned to his seat and sat down.
“Maybe now they'll understand what a monster you are, Gin…”
“It's your turn.”
Hayato got up and headed to the station next to the one Gin used.
Hayato however did not speak. He pointed his index and middle fingers at the dummy and everyone was still wondering how the heck a blind man could aim right at the dummy.
“Hadō: n.4 Byakurai!”
A beam of light passed through the outstretched fingers and almost instantly crashed onto the dummy. All the companions remained speechless at the execution. Not only was it very fast, but also without a spell and more powerful than it might have seemed, according to the extensive burns on the dummy.
“Woah… you're really impressive blind boy…”
Hayato sat back down with his Asauchi on his lap, ignoring Gin's sarcastic comments and their teacher's astonished face.
However, both boys did not notice the young girl standing next to them, who had two large veins protruding on her forehead.
That evening they both found themselves going to sleep with bumps on their heads.
* During the 3rd day-
All the students had to report to the training camps at dawn, arranged in orderly rows. The orders were clear. Run around the special training field, which has the function of absorbing reiatsu and emitting it into the environment, until the reiatsu itself runs out.
Everyone obeyed immediately, especially the background kids who no one cares about who started taking it too seriously and immediately started sprinting, rather than maintaining a fast pace.
Gin and Hayato instead each held Rangiku by the shoulder who wanted to join the cannon fodder in their blows.
"Gin! Hayato! Don't hold me back! If we don't hurry we will be the last!”
“Wait, my sweet sunshine… no need to be hasty, your beauty will still overshadow all of them put together…”
Hayato tried to speak, dodging away from the incoming roundhouse kick.
“This time the blind boy is right. The goal is not to go fast, but to do the most laps of the field.”
“Hey slugs! We finally saw something where you aren't fucking geniuses! Now we will show you that we nobles are completely of a higher caste!”
A random Cannon Fodder said as he passed them.
"GIN! LET ME KILL THAT PIECE OF SHIT OUT!”
Rangiku became very angry at the obviously provocative insult, but the silver-haired boy tightened his grip and held her friend back.
20 minutes later.
“Hahaha Seen Gin and Hayato?!... ha... What did I tell you?... ha... There was no need to be hasty!... ha... Look at these poor wretches... ha... they're panting... ha …while we are as fresh as roses!”
Gin and Hayato for once smiled at each other and chose not to comment on their friend's condition, even though the latter was running half bent forward, panting from tiredness.
However, not even a few moments later did Hayato have to speak.
“Hey, isn't that guy lying on the ground the guy who wanted to make fun of us earlier?”
A strange light shone in Rangiku's eyes, and in an instant, she was running completely straight in a perfect pose.
Just as he was passing that poor boy lying on the ground from running out of reiatsu, the girl spoke.
“Come on Gin and Hayato, let's prove ourselves superior to these people who take every opportunity to try to make fun, when they don't even have the skills to lick my new sandals.”
The two boys had the impression of a sort of ghostly substance coming out of the mouth of the boy lying on the ground, but everyone in that environment was already souls, so surely, they were wrong... right?
* During the 5th day –
Gin and Hayato had proven themselves so superior to their peers in Kidō that they were sent to do practical exercises with the second-year boys.
This obviously didn't sit well with Rangiku, who even though she had little difficulty with Kidō on the first day, in order not to be left behind by the boys, thanks to her relentless efforts she managed to prove herself better than everyone else. Unfortunately, the girl had serious concentration problems for the boring parts, so even though her practice was continually improving, the theoretical part concerning spells had lagged too far behind her friends.
Gin and Hayato easily realized their friend's situation, but at the same time they both had their own goals. How could they slow down?
That day, however, sparring exercises for Zanjutsu began, so all the first-year students, including Gin and Hayato, found themselves in a different training ground.
This training ground was as simple as possible, covered with brown sand and with lots of circles drawn in white chalk on them. Not that Hayato could see them, but he only perceived a terrain with several boundaries drawn.
The instructor waited until everyone had arrived before speaking.
“Today we will begin to see how you are placed in Zanjutsu. When I call your names, you will have two minutes to take a bokken and position yourself on center court.” The instructor waited again, this time to make sure his words were understood. “Ichimaru and Takahashi!”
Gin and a thin, docile-looking boy with short black hair even though he was very tall, stepped forward and went towards some wooden displays leaning against the wall on which various bokken of various sizes were arranged.
Gin took a medium sized one, before taking a few casual swings. He didn't know why, but it didn't feel right. It seemed too unbalanced forward. Then he put it down and picked up a smaller bokken that resembled the shape of a wakizashi. Takahashi on the other hand took a bokken that looked more like a classic katana.
Gin noticed that the boy wasn't one of those who always looked at him with distrust or contempt. He was probably another boy from Rukongai, he just didn't have his talent.
The two took a similar stance with their legs slightly apart and the sword in front held straight with two hands.
“Hajime!”
At the instructor's shout, the boy came forward with a vertical swing from top to bottom. The posture was good and Gin could see that the boy's strength wasn't bad either.
But it was slow. Or at least for him it was. Gin felt like he could go get some water before returning to see the swing end.
Gin could imagine at least twenty ways to resolve and end this sparring. He could hit the side of the opponent's bokken and then slide his own bokken up to his neck, or he could hit his hands and disarm him. However, the boy did not deserve any humiliation, so he decided to avoid the swing with a side step and make a quick little hop forward with the blade aimed as if he were about to pierce his opponent's heart.
Upon contact with the torso, Gin stopped. The boy had just finished the swing and had an expression of absolute shock at his opponent's absolute demonstration of superiority.
“Go back to your seats you two. Ichimaru, starting tomorrow you will come with the second-year students.”
"Yes, sir."
Obviously, Gin's far superior ability could not go unnoticed by the instructor's watchful eye. The latter waited for them to return to their seat before calling two more people, then two more. Neither fight was as one-sided as Gin's, then he finally called out to Rangiku.
“Matsumoto and Kira.”
Gin immediately recognized the boy's surname as that of a low-ranking, but noble nobleman nonetheless. Both students had blond hair, but while Rangiku had more golden hair, the boy's was more yellow. The height was also similar. The boy's problem is that it was the boy who spoke out of turn a few days earlier and who had made his friend angry. He felt sorry for him.
The boy, who took a medium bokken, as well as Rangiku, was the first to start speaking.
“I know you're just a commoner, but I can admit that you're not exactly a no-good to anything. I am from the noble Kira family, my name is Ushio, please..."
"I am not interested."
The girl rudely stopped the blond boy and waited for the instructor's shout.
“Hajime!”
Rangiku rushed forward and struck with a side swing that forced the boy to block with her bokken. The force of the blow seemed to surprise the Kira family boy, before the pressure on his bokken suddenly disappeared. Instinctively he raised his wooden sword to block a blow from above and right there came Rangiku's next blow.
The two remained in a standoff for a few moments before separating.
“Not bad… for a girl.”
He tried to provoke the noble boy, using an air of arrogance and based on the protruding veins on Rangiku's forehead, he was successful. Not in the way he thought, though.
"Poor boy…"
Hayato's hum could be heard from the side.
Then the boy started rushing towards Rangiku trying to hit her with a downward swing, but the girl struck with her own bokken upwards. The blow between the two wooden weapons made both duellists retreat, however, while the boy was unbalancing with his arms raised, Rangiku's were already lowered and ready to hit the noble's side with a lateral swing and take away all his breath.
With this one well-aimed blow the girl won the victory and smiled proudly at her friends, who gave her a thumbs up.
“Well done, Matsumoto. You can return to the seat. Hakuhito and Jakku.”
Hayato stood up calmly, while his opponent was visibly excited at the idea of fighting someone who seemed strong. Even though Hayato was truly blind, no one made fun of him or underestimated him. They were too terrified of his Kidō skills.
"That's better! I didn't feel like beating some useless guy. Even if you're blind, that doesn't mean I'll go easy on you! I'm going to be a captain, so I'm going to have to take down all of you assholes!”
Hayato smiled and sensed his opponent better. He couldn't tell the colour of his hair, but he could sense that even though it was long it had an upward spiking shape, while some of it went down the back of his neck to his shoulders and he also had some strands falling onto his face. The boy was a little taller than him and seemed very confident in himself as he went to get one of the largest bokken available. The one he took was clearly reminiscent of an ōdachi. The boy clearly had great physical strength and Hayato could remember that he was always among the last to get tired during his morning training run.
“I am Jakku Atorasu, but I prefer the name Jack. Get ready to get your ass kicked, blind man!”
Hayato of course remained silent and placed his bokken at his left side. Not being able to use a sheath, he would have been at a disadvantage to perform the techniques he had trained with up to that point.
“Hajime!”
At the instructor's shout, the boy who prefers to be called Jack, ran towards Hayato raising his ōdachi-shaped bokken. Despite the significantly larger weapon, his speed was incomparable to that of the boy who was defeated by Gin. However, the result did not change. As if he could observe the swing, Hayato managed to dodge out of the way while keeping his face turned towards the large weapon.
Jack retracted the swing and made a horizontal one, but this too was dodged by Hayato who took a step back and placed himself in the exact position by which the wooden broadsword missed him by a single inch. The two continued on for a while, with Jack continuing to swing, while Hayato avoided them all.
“YOU DISAPPOINT ME BLIND BOY!” Jack suddenly shouted. “YOU JUST KNOW AVOID IT! SHOW ME WHAT YOU CAN DO!”
Hayato smiled, but didn't act. He avoided yet another swing and realized thanks to his perception that the latter had been excessively wide.
Posò la mano destra sul manico del suo bokken simile a una katana e afferrò la mano sinistra che teneva l'arma dal lato della lama. Ci volle solo un secondo, ma Hayato raccolse l'energia spirituale nella sua arma e alla fine sferrò un colpo così veloce e preciso verso il collo di Jack che il ragazzo dai capelli biondi si sentì come se stesse per essere decapitato.
L'arma di legno si fermò esattamente a un centimetro dalla pelle esposta del ragazzo, che sudava copiosamente, più per paura che per stanchezza.
Hayato sorrise e rinfoderò il suo bokken.
Poi si voltò e tornò al suo posto.
“Hakuhito, da domani sarai anche tu nel gruppo del secondo anno. Vai avanti…"