Bleach : I Need To Rizz To Become Stronger ?!-Chapter 59: I Won’t Stop for Anyone

Evening in the kendo training hall.

Hisagi was getting thrashed again.

With a harsh clang of metal clashing, his Asauchi went flying from his hands and clattered onto the wooden floor.

He looked down at his trembling right hand, sore from the impact, then at the weapon lying at his feet.

From across the room, Shin said lazily, "Pick it up. We're not done."

Hisagi crouched down, trying to grasp the Asauchi again, but found his fingers numb and useless. The sword slipped from his grasp once more.

Slumping down onto the floor, he exhaled in frustration. "Let me rest a bit."

"You're weak, Hisagi. At this rate, you'll be lucky to qualify for a Seated Officer role."

Hisagi was used to this by now. Every time Shin beat him down, he'd get an earful of mockery. Early on, it fired him up. These days, he just tuned it out.

At that moment, someone stepped into the hall.

"Kaizawa?" Hisagi blinked in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

Shin, too, recalled the tension between her and Hinamori. He paused, then asked, "What brings you here?"

Kaizawa glanced at the exhausted Hisagi slumped on the floor, then slowly walked over. She stooped down and picked up the dropped Asauchi, weighing it in her hand.

Shin raised an eyebrow.

"I felt like testing myself," she said.

Hisagi quickly stood up and retreated to the side.

Shin chuckled. "I won't go easy on you."

Kaizawa raised the sword in front of her, a cold gleam in her eyes. "I wouldn't want you to."

With a flash, she launched forward, her blade slicing through the air like liquid silver.

Shin stepped back two paces, narrowly avoiding the arc, then darted in close with a sharp twist of his blade. His angle was impossibly precise—Kaizawa had no time to parry or dodge. She could only watch as his blade stopped against her chest.

Defeated...

In a single strike.

She wasn't surprised. Shin's skill was monstrous. One blow was all it took.

He smiled, spinning his blade lazily in one hand. "Want to go again?"

Kaizawa gritted her teeth and took her stance once more.

Clang!

Her weapon was knocked from her hands. The clash of blades had sent a shockwave through her arms, leaving them numb, her palms stinging with pain.

"I did say I wouldn't go easy," Shin said, still smiling.

Kaizawa huffed and bent to retrieve her sword. She could now understand why it had been lying on the floor when she entered—Shin's strikes weren't just fast, they were devastatingly heavy.

She lunged again.

Another clean deflection. His blade came to rest at her throat.

"Again!"

"Again!"

"Again!"

Over and over she charged, and over and over she was stopped in a single move.

Eventually, Kaizawa stood, panting, barely keeping herself upright with her blade.

Sweat clung to her forehead, sticking strands of hair to her skin. Shin, meanwhile, looked unbothered, casually strolling in a slow circle, sword at his side.

"You always beat me with just one move," she snapped. "Can't you at least let me go a few rounds?"

Shin replied coolly, "When your first strike is full of openings, what's the point of a second?"

She bit her lip. Since she'd first met Shin at the academy, she hadn't won against him in anything.

And worse—she'd fallen for him.

Kaizawa raised her blade again and charged with what strength she had left—but her body was done. The swing was wild, unbalanced. Shin sidestepped with ease.

Kaizawa stumbled, her own momentum sending her tumbling forward—

—straight into Shin's arms.

She gasped for breath, cradled against his chest.

"Hisagi's still watching, you know," Shin teased lightly.

From the sidelines, Hisagi raised a hand over his eyes—only to peek through the fingers.

Kaizawa's cheeks flushed, maybe from exertion, maybe not. She pulled herself upright.

Shin tossed her his water flask.

She fumbled the catch, barely grabbing it in time. "Yours?"

Hisagi coughed loudly.

Shin turned and glared at him. "What are you trying to insert yourself into now?"

Hisagi looked wounded. "You two treating me like I'm invisible..."

Then he pointed accusingly at Kaizawa. "I was here first, okay?!"

Kaizawa tilted her head back, gulping the water.

Shin watched the delicate column of her neck, the sheen of sweat over her skin, how the damp fabric of her uniform clung to her body, how a trickle of water escaped the corner of her mouth and slid down into the collar of her shirt.

"Ahem!" Hisagi coughed again.

Shin didn't look away. "You done resting?"

"What?"

"Then get lost."

Hisagi growled. "You're such an ass."

"Then go be angry somewhere else."

Fine! With a huff, Hisagi grabbed his things and stormed out.

Kaizawa watched him leave, then asked, "Why'd you make him go?"

She turned her head to the side. As if she didn't already know.

Shin said, "Don't get any ideas. I just needed to talk to you."

"Oh."

He stepped closer. "Hinamori said some harsh things to you."

Kaizawa's gaze flickered. "So she told you."

Shin nodded. "She was crying. She said she messed up and wanted to apologize."

Kaizawa looked down, then murmured, "She wasn't wrong. I... I really did use your promise to force your hand."

Shin laughed. "Wasn't much of a threat. It's not like I lost anything."

She shot him a glare.

Shin sat down beside her. After a moment, she did the same.

"Hinamori likes you," she said suddenly.

"I know."

"...And?"

"I like her too."

Kaizawa stiffened. Her voice was small. "I see..."

Hinamori was beautiful, bright, and full of life. Of course Shin would like her.

But before she could fall too deep into thought, Shin added:

"I like you too."

"...What?"

"I like Rukia. I like Matsumoto. I like Kotetsu-senpai."

He turned to her, grinning. "I like any pretty girl."

Kaizawa choked on air. "You...!"

But then Shin's tone shifted. "But you're not like the others, Kaizawa."

She blinked. "What... what do you mean?"

You're not on the system list, Shin thought silently.

Rukia. Hinamori. They were designated. With the system in place, he was always going to become the kind of man who betrayed others for power.

If that was inevitable, then what was the point of guilt?

Apologies meant nothing if you kept doing the same thing.

Might as well embrace it completely.

On the system, no one was truly special.

"Shin... What are you saying?" Kaizawa asked, uneasy at his silence.

Shin stood, brushing his uniform.

"I'm saying I am who I am. I like many people. But I won't stop for anyone."

He looked back at her and smiled.

"Not for a single soul."