[Reaper Lanping] Dark River

"Ah, Chizuru's craftsmanship is amazing!"

Inoue first picked up a piece of takoyaki and put it in his mouth, then instantly showed a happy expression, and said while chewing the small octopus: "Ah, it's delicious! Chizuru is really amazing!"

"As long as Senior Orihime likes it!" Qianzuru wiped his hands with his apron, and smiled at Orihime, "I also thank Senior Orihime for allowing me to live here!"

She untied her apron and put it aside, and walked over with two bowls of miso soup.

The girl with the big hairpin that looks like a blue flower pinned on her head has now become a mature and attractive girl.She looked at Amanda Chizuru, thinking of her past with some emotion.At that time, I loved Ichigo, and I fought for my friends. Although I was in danger many times, I must admit that those memories are very precious.

Besides, it seemed that this girl was in the same distress as she was at that time.

"But today you seem to be very lethargic, Chizuru, did something happen?"

After putting away the soup bowl, Qianhe pulled out a chair and sat opposite her. After hearing this, she shook her head lightly: "It's nothing. I was distracted during class today and was dragged away by the teacher to talk."

"Oh, that."

With chopsticks in her mouth, Zhi Ji made a voice between sympathy and exclamation: "Which class is which class, which teacher is it?"

"Well, Mr. Fuzong who teaches history."

Zhi Ji thought hard for a while, looked at the ceiling, and finally lowered her head: "I don't know you!"

"Ah, it's the new teacher. He's very handsome. The girls like him very much."

After finishing speaking, Chizuru also smiled softly: "Indeed, he is a very gentle teacher. Maybe because he and I have just arrived at this school, so he encouraged me to adapt to school life as soon as possible. He said that he is Karakura-cho A local, he just came back recently. Compared to the metropolis, Karaza Town is also very good and very suitable for living, and he doesn’t want to travel between the two places, so he just came back and settled here.”

The senior on the opposite side stopped chopping the rice, looked up at her, puffed up his cheeks, and nodded seriously, because the food was stuffed in his mouth, and he still slurred his words: "Yes, yes! The empty seat here is better than those The big cities are not much different—Qianzuru is from Kyoto, right? I really want to go to Kyoto once! But speaking of living, I really like Karaza Town more.”

Even with this image of Orihime, she looks extremely cute.

"Yes, I also think Karakura-cho is very good."

As if thinking of something, she quietly picked up a piece of takoyaki without saying a word.

"But since the teacher is so good, why do you still look so unhappy?"

Facing Orihime's question, Chizuru still held the vegetables mechanically, but tears dripped down.

"Eh, eh—??!! Sorry! I, I..."

Orihime hurriedly stood up, while Chizuru put down her chopsticks and explained while wiping her tears.

"No, it's not because of senior...it's me..."

Ever since she passed out because of Xu's scream that day, and woke up to see the scarred and exhausted Hitsugaya-kun, and Xia Li who was frightened and wanted to protect her, guilt has always haunted her.

"Mr. Urahara said that if I don't learn how to use the power of the god of death to defeat those ghosts, because of my physique, everyone around me will be in danger..."

Xia Li is a proof.But he, who could draw out his knife to resist, fainted first.If he hadn't passed out, maybe he could still be of some help.But such a timid and useless self, after bringing danger to others, became unconscious.

"...Aizan teacher said, because there is nothing on my sword, and because I am still deceiving myself, that's why I lost, let alone fighting..."

Tears flowed from her eyes and across her cheeks like broken beads, Chizuru wiped her tears carelessly, but the more she spoke, the more sad she became.

Even if you go back now, it will bring danger to those around you.If you don't go back, it will implicate everyone here again.Xia Li, who originally agreed to come back with her, was also rejected by herself with the excuse of watching club activities after she thought of the danger she had brought to her that day.

"I can't protect the people around me, and I can't protect myself..."

Before she finished speaking, she was wrapped in a warm embrace.

Orihime squatted down, hugged Qianzuru tightly, raised her head and showed a bright and gentle smile.

"It doesn't matter, Chizuru-san."

With a soft voice, Orihime stroked her back with the other hand, comforting her.

"I know that feeling."

I can't protect myself, and I can't protect the people around me. I didn't know what I was fighting for, and I didn't know how to improve my strength; I was at a loss because of fear, and I couldn't let go of the people around me.Such a time, I have experienced it myself.

"But, the current Zhihime-senpai is very strong, isn't he?"

Chizuru choked, looking at Orihime as if she was begging for help.However, Orihime just smiled faintly: "No, I just do what I can. Compared with Ishida-kun, Kurosaki-kun and others, I am far behind, let alone Hitsugani-kun."

"But, speaking of this, Aizen's words seem to make sense."

Orihime thought of the tall figure in the white uniform, trying to remember, while saying: "Although I don't like him very much, it is often difficult to refute what he said. If you wield a sword to deceive yourself, such a sword , You can’t protect others, and you can’t protect yourself.”

She looked at Qianhe, slowly stroking her back, desperately looking for words to comfort her, and organized them into sentences: "I am very stupid, so I can't make any sense... Qianhe, why did you become the god of death?" where?"

Speaking of this, Qianhe's tears, which had been stagnant, poured down again: "I was possessed by Xu, and Teacher Aizen cut off my chain of cause and effect. I said I didn't want to die, and then Teacher Aizen said Give me part of his death power."

It was also under inexplicable circumstances that she was suddenly stuffed with special abilities. However, unlike her, Qianzuru had never really fought, so she didn't know what kind of mood she should have in order to win.

"In that case, the situation between Chizuru and I will be different..."

Zhi Ji could only hug the crying Qian He thoughtfully: "It's just, if it's not for protection, if you just wield a knife just to survive, would you like that?"

Swing a knife to survive.

Chizuru suddenly opened his eyes wide.That's right, at the beginning it was also because "I didn't want to die", so I accepted the power of the god of death.Before Aizen-sensei came back, Mr. Urahara also asked her if she wanted to go to the World of Souls, and explained to her what kind of existence the World of Souls is.

But she was unwilling, because of this, knowing that she would attract more ghosts to approach her if she became a god of death, she also said the words of accepting the power of the god of death, Aizen also gave her the power of the god of death without hesitation. Power.

It's not just to protect anyone, she never thought of protecting anyone from the beginning.The feeling of guilt is only incidental, if it was just a feeling of guilt, she would not be able to raise the knife in her hand.

Because he knew that he was being protected, although he might be injured, he would never die, so when he was on the rooftop, he didn't swing his sword with all his strength—maybe Aizen also saw this, so he said that he wanted to change the teaching method .

"But, isn't that too selfish?" She asked Zhi Ji, sobbing.

"how come!"

Zhi Ji shook her head, and softly but resolutely refuted her: "To protect others, you must first base yourself on the basis of being alive!"

So you can't deceive yourself, why don't you say those unnecessary words in order to protect the people around you.

Aizen seemed to appear in front of his eyes with regretful eyes.

Swing the knife for yourself, not for anyone else.

The moment Qianhe thought this way, it seemed that something subtle had been quietly changed.

Aizen's voice still echoed in his ears.

Mako-kun.

Usually being called by his companions is used to his own name. Even Ichigo switched from "Hi" and "Hirako" to "Mako" when calling him. Urahara is always very casual when calling him by his name. The honorific title is always indispensable.

Aizen, on the other hand, used to put on a show when he was in the world of souls. When he rebelled, he would call him by his full name, except for the habitual "captain".

To be honest, being called by name, and added honorifics... Even though I understand that it is absolutely impossible for Aizen to have any special feelings for herself...

Hirako Mako put the quilt on her head, feeling her face was a little hot.Maybe it's because he fell asleep for too long during the day, but now he can't fall asleep at midnight, and he can't help but think wildly.

Before he imagined himself in the world of mind, why did he exist in the world of mind?As long as I think of this matter, I can't help but feel a little happy, and feel very complicated.In that case, when it comes to feelings, it is not absolutely impossible, right?

"That guy, what are you thinking..."

I too, knowing that he lied to me, and then wounded my companions, maybe I'm lying to myself now, why did I mess up like this, it's such a failure.He was completely huddled under the quilt, his eyes were closed, and his brows were furrowed.

Maybe it's just being ambiguous to yourself, and then you will cheat yourself of trust, and then do some excessive things.Thinking of this possibility, he frowned, but when Aizen's confused expression flashed past in the darkness, he felt that it was not fake.

He sat up impatiently and lifted the quilt.Next to it is his own knife, Ni Fu, and another knife stands at the door, which is like a mirror.

Wearing only unlined clothing, he got up and opened the door, walked through the corridor to the backyard of the Urahara store.The bright moon can be seen in the small backyard.The sakura trees outside protrude into the soft branches, and the cherry blossoms are just about to bloom.

"It hasn't bloomed yet."

Complaining, he sat down on the floor and looked up at the bright moon.

Compared to the fact that Aizen might have lied to him, his renewed feelings made him feel more panicked.Even because of the influence of that memory, it is impossible for him to fall in love with the same person again so quickly.

There is nothing more childish than feeling happy when your name is called.

"Captain, what's wrong?"

Aizen, wearing a white uniform, came out of the house.He held the haori in his hand and gently put it on Hirako.

Hirako looked at him helplessly.

"Flowers in the mirror, moon in the water, is that you?"

When her name was called, "Aizen" was surprised for a moment; the next second, a little girl wearing black sleeves was standing on the corridor.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Hirako." She was a little uneasy, and tried her best to smile, "I just think Mr. Hirako will be very happy if he can see the master, right?"

Pingzi nodded first, then shook his head.He looked at the bright and unfulfilled moon again, thinking about something.Kyoka Suigetsu carefully sat beside him, looking up at Hirako's profile.As the breeze blew, his short blond hair was gently raised, and his brown-red eyes did not know where to focus.

"Mr. Pingzi..."

She made a sound timidly, and Pingzi looked down at her and smiled: "What, am I that scary, with that expression... What's the matter?"

"Mr. Pingzi, how did you tell the difference between me and the master?"

"Ah, this."

He couldn't help but let out a chuckle, as if laughing at himself, and gently closed his eyes.Aizen who was walking towards him with a knife, and Aizen who called his name in a confused voice appeared in front of him, and they were indeed the same person.

"It should be... well, I don't know too well."

It was because I suddenly felt that I had obtained something.Although it is only my one-sided lovesickness, and I will be very angry when I think of the past.

But he couldn't deny that whether it was in the past or now, there were a few moments where he felt real happiness.

"Forget it, you're like this again!"

Jinghua Shuiyue sat next to him angrily: "You are also the master, and you have such complicated feelings. If you don't tell me what's going on, I won't understand if it continues for hundreds of years!"

Sure enough, he was still like a child.He didn't intend to continue talking about this, but turned around and asked her: "You were at the door just now, why didn't you stop me? Maybe I just ran away."

Jinghua Shuiyue blinked, and instantly forgot about her depression just now, and replied seriously: "Because I didn't think you could run... It's just that I'm in the same room with your knife, I feel a little strange."

Indeed, my knife trembled when I saw Aizen, so it was unreasonable that Jinghua Shuiyue didn't respond.

"Ah, when he saw you, he did remind me that you are very similar to her." However, in Aizen's explanation, Jinghua Shuiyue's ability to control the five senses is far superior to Nifu's ability to merely reverse the senses.

"It is indeed. It should be said that we have already seen it when we were in the Phoenix Palace."

Jinghua Shuiyue whispered: "It's not that I'm afraid, the master misunderstood, I'm not afraid of him."

The Phoenix Hall is the Hall of the Soul of the Sword where the gods of death gather.After digesting the amount of information in it, Pingzi continued to ask: "Did you know each other before?"

"Well, it's just that in the Phoenix Hall, only Lord Ermeiwu knows our names." Jinghua Shuiyue continued to state slowly in her delicate voice, "We have only met a few times."

"and after?"

"Later..."

Speaking of this, Jinghua Shuiyue seemed to think of something, lowered her head, and stroked the wavy dark lines on the cuff of the other hand with one hand.

What flashed in front of my eyes was a soft light, the figure of the man's back, the dancing cherry blossoms, and the falling winter snow.

"...In the end, it was just a few meetings." She lowered her head and said in a low voice, "I probably went to find you, and I never saw him again until the master took me to the graduation trial when."

Graduation trial?

Hirako remembered that he had indeed seen Aizen at that time, but he didn't remember it very clearly, only the flash of ambition under his lens reminded him when he saw him for the second time.

Aizan, who was wearing a student uniform off the field, tried hard to recall the situation that day.It should be that he skipped work when he went to Zhenyang for inspection not long after he became the captain.When Kenxi was teaching white fighting in the dojo, he sneaked away by himself.Hearing that there was a graduation trial today, he ran to the trial ground.The lecturers didn't dare to say anything, so that afternoon, he was in a daze of boredom, seeing that there were no beautiful female graduates who could be recruited to the fifth team.

The result is to see some girls, although they are very beautiful, but they don't meet his standards at all.Maybe because he is also a master of ghosts, he will shake his head and sigh when he sees students who are proficient in Shunpo but ordinary in ghosts.

"The ghosts of this year's graduates are so weak." He sighed like this.

The lecturer next to him heard him speak, and hurriedly explained: "Students with excellent grades in ghosts have all passed the assessment test of ghosts yesterday, so..."

"Ah, I know, I know!"

He was idly waving his hand to tell the lecturer to shut up, and continued to read while resting his chin.If he goes back now, he will be scolded by Quan Xi, and if he returns to the team, all the players will know that he has missed work.For him who just became the captain, he was also a little nervous about whether he could make a good impression on the players.If Aizen knew about it, he would definitely scoff at his actions.But at that time, Aizen happened to have just graduated.Until the sun went down, it seemed that the graduation trial was coming to an end.

"Next, Aizen Soyousuke, get ready!"

That time was their first encounter.What happened next?He had almost forgotten it himself.

When I saw Aizen again, several years had passed. When he was inspecting the chief officer, the brush on his waist rustled uncomfortably when he passed a certain chief officer.

The footsteps did not stop at all, but he glanced behind him from the corner of his eye.An officer with brown hair and black-rimmed glasses stood there with a gentle smile on his lips.

Gee.

He continued to patrol while listening to Ni Fu's explanation.

Does his knife resemble his own?Not at all.Is it dangerous?If he had a knife like Ni Fu, such a person would not know what he would do.Thinking like this, Mako Hirako completely ignored herself and guessed secretly.Since then, he has cared about the young Reaper.He is gentle and kind, helpful, and can get along well with each other wherever he goes, gaining the trust and goodwill of the other party.His Zanpakuto is said to be of the flowing water system, using the reflection between the water mist to create illusions to hurt people.Because it has something to do with confusion, Pingzi also acquiesced in Ni Fu's words of "very similar to himself".He has seen it himself, and it is indeed the Zanpakuto of the Flowing Water system.

In the end, I didn't expect to be completely deceived in the end. It was just an illusion created by Aizen's domination of the five senses.

"We can talk, chat, and have fun with each other..." Jinghua Shuiyue continued, "Otherwise, Daopo's life will be very boring. But, if you have been waiting for the master, and the master never calls you, no matter what it is, it will change. get bored."

So one day she didn't plan to wait any longer.

Pingzi walked out of the memory, looking at Jinghua Shuiyue's little face full of disappointment.

"Mr. Hirako, between Zanpakuto and Zanpakuto, it is possible to exchange the master's thoughts and feelings."

It seemed that after adjusting her thoughts, she continued: "When I came into contact with Brother Yihu's knife, the master's feelings and Brother Yihu's feelings exchanged with each other once."

The blond man nodded knowingly, and also believed what Urahara said later, what Ichigo learned about "this man is lonely".Seeing him looking at her, Jinghua Shuiyue seemed to be interested, lowered her head again, and pinched the satin of the kimono with both hands.

"When the blades are in contact, if both parties have strong feelings for each other at that time, Zanpakuto will resonate... But there are exceptions, such as knives with similar abilities, because they perceive the existence of the same kind, they will be separated from each other by their masters. When they get close to each other, they resonate."

For the first time, because one was on the high platform and the other was present, they didn't really resonate. It could only be said that they vaguely sensed the other party's existence.

"Ni Fu-jun and I, that's it." She stopped talking and was silent for a while.

Hirako looked at her complicatedly, and stretched out his hand, his hand with well-defined knuckles covered the hand of Kyoka Shuigetsu who looked white and tender, and was cold after touching.

"Thank you."

He said so suddenly.Jinghua Shuiyue looked up, looking very confused.Her confused expression was so similar to someone that Hirako couldn't help but laugh.

"...Why did you say that suddenly?"

While smiling, the man didn't intend to explain, but just stood up and walked towards the house.The white singlet was worn loosely on his body, because of the movement of sitting down and standing up just now, the waistband and neckline were a little loose, and the shoulders and collarbone illuminated by the moonlight, because of his movement, disappeared into the darkness again.

"Ah, wait for me, Mr. Hirako!"

Kyoka Shuigetsu also stood up, picked up the hem of her kimono and chased after her.Before entering the house, she turned her head, glanced at a corner of the courtyard, and then closed the door.

Someone is there.

But not her master.

It was just because there was no malice, so she just glanced at it and didn't do anything.

The one who hid, after they disappeared, stood there thinking.

Immediately, his breath disappeared into the courtyard.