Autumn and winter passed by peacefully.
Aigis spent her New Year's holiday (the only holiday that lasted longer than two days at Shin'ou) at Niijima's residence, out in the sixth district. She was adopted by an old couple soon after she arrived, and Niijima was close enough to them to call them Grandma and Grandpa. They wanted to adopt Aigis on the spot too, until she said that she was unofficially adopted by an orphanage director.
If possible, Aigis wanted to spend her New Year's with Unagiya and the orphans, but one week was simply not enough time to reach the thirty-fifth district and then go back to the Academy.
It was the first New Year's that she spent away from them. She suspected there will be many more in the future.
Shortly after her second year at Shin'ou began, Onabara informed her of a training trip to the Living World, a mandatory lesson for all students in their last year.
"You will be getting hands-on experience with moving about in the Living World, along with some Hollow slaying practice." Onabara said to a small assembly of students, all in their last year at the Academy.
He went on to explain the parameters of the exercise: to complete a small patrol route in the area, guide any Wholes encountered along the way to Soul Society, and cleanse any Hollows encountered.
"Us teachers will be on standby in case anything unexpected happens. I will now split all of you into small teams, so familiarise yourself with your teammates!" Onabara bellowed.
Aigis and Niijima were split into separate teams, which she suspected was intentional. Nevertheless, she knew that was to be expected, so she took the development in stride, and went to meet her new teammates for the trip next week.
Her group had been talking animatedly to each other, but fell quiet when she approached them, watching her movements with a mixture of awe and…mistrust, she decided, when she saw their eyes that darted around her body.
"Hello." Aigis said simply.
There was a moment of hesitation between her three new teammates, but they returned similar greetings soon enough. The team was evenly split with two women and two men, though that seemed to be just a coincidence as she saw other teams with uneven gender splits. Niijima in particular seemed to be trying her best to corral her three male teammates into taking the exercise seriously.
One of Aigis's teammates looked powerfully built, with his arm muscles visible even under the loose hakama and a messy mop of deep green hair. His friend, a young woman, had her long teal hair tied up in a high ponytail, but was of average height and build. The last man next to them was a wiry brunet who looked worryingly thin.
"Is there anything we need to do before next week?" The brunet (Sakiya, if she remembered correctly) asked. "Just pack some essentials?"
"Let's meet up sometime when we're free." Aigis suggested. "I'd like to gauge everyone's strengths and weaknesses before we start patrolling."
"Who made you leader?" The other man on the team snapped.
"Now now," their last teammate placated, placing herself between Aigis and the man. "Hoshiku-kun, Aigis-san has a point. It is a good idea for us to know what we're all good at before we patrol. How about in two day's time?"
Aigis nodded her agreement. Hoshiku turned away with a click of his tongue, but did not object further. Sakiya shrugged and nodded along.
"That's great!" The young lady (Izukino) clapped her hands together. "We can borrow one of the classrooms after class then."
Onabara's lecture had taken up most of the class time, leaving the students with no time to properly talk to their teammates. Aigis left the class, already starting to see potential problems in their little group.
They were lucky to find a classroom with a whiteboard when they met up again. Hoshiku and Izukino both looked sweaty, and Sakiya's eyes seemed to involuntarily close every now and then before he shook himself awake.
"So!" Izukino cheerfully started. "Is there anything you'd like to ask about us?"
Aigis put her hand to her chest. She had thought about the questions that she wanted answers to the day before, but what was the politest way to open with it?
"Maybe…everyone's strengths and weaknesses first?" She asked tentatively, eyeing the group. "Try to be honest about it — we're not here to judge you." She turned to the board and wrote everyone's names down in a row, with space left underneath for bullet points.
Izukino piped up first. "I'm pretty good at zanjutsu! And hakuda too, actually. Oh but I'm terrible at sensing reiatsu, and my kido skills are just so-so."
Aigis dutifully jotted them down.
Sakiya raised his hand as if he was in class. "I'm pretty fast, and I'm okay at zanjutsu and kido, but it's not as good as hohou or hakuda," he said in a flat monotone. She decided he must be pretty tired if his voice was even flatter than Kira's. Nevertheless, she wrote down what he said on the whiteboard.
She waited half a minute after she finished writing for Hoshiku's self analysis, but he was brooding in a corner, so instead Aigis started on her own strengths and weaknesses.
"I am excellent at hakuda," she began, writing down what she was saying. "And I'm decent at hohou and kido. However, I'm relatively weak at zanjutsu. I do not care at which range I fight my enemy, but I prefer to be able to have the flexibility to control my range if possible."
"Hmm…" Izukino regarded the whiteboard thoughtfully. "If you say that, put me as a close range fighter."
All eyes turned to Hoshiku, the only one who had not said anything yet. He frowned briefly, then thought better and smoothed his expression out.
"I'm very good at kido and I have good eyesight, but that's about it," he said.
"Aw, you're underselling yourself!" Izukino playfully slapped his back, which made him flinch. "This guy here can cast spells in the eighties range!"
Aigis's eyes widened. Most of the students she met were only able to cast kido up to the late fifties or sixties range, which was the graduation requirement. She herself was barely able to cast up to the early sixties, which was already an incredible achievement (according to Hinamori) considering that she only took a year to get to that point. A student being able to cast spells up to the eighties was practically unheard of.
"Asking for our strengths and weaknesses is all well and good," Izukino pointed out, "but what are you going to do with the information? We're just going out to patrol and do some konso, right?"
"It is still a venture into unknown territory to any of us." Aigis replied. Though technically she has seen all of Japan by this point and would be able to adapt to any place that they end up, Onabara did not specifically say where they would be sent to for the exercise, so many of the details were still unknown to her. "I would prefer for us to be prepared for any situation that arises, and to know what I can expect out of all of us."
"That's…a little overkill, isn't it?" Sakiya asked hesitantly through his sleepiness.
"How many students have died on such a trip?" Aigis shot back.
"Hasn't happened since four hundred years ago." Hoshiku unexpectedly spoke up. All eyes instantly snapped to him. "Heard that captains had to be involved to save everyone left." He looked slightly uncomfortable at the attention.
Aigis hummed thoughtfully. She had not expected to be validated — the most she had expected were serious injuries. But it did sober up the group.
"…Let's make sure we don't die." Izukino muttered.
Everyone agreed with a slight shudder.
"Anything else we need to discuss?" Sakiya asked, looking as if he wanted to be in bed already.
"Formations." Aigis answered as she regained her momentum. "A formation for us to patrol in that's convenient for all of us."
She was met with three blank stares, then belatedly remembered that the Academy did not teach strategy.
Which was a massive oversight, in her opinion.
"Ideally, those who are less mobile should stay in the middle." Aigis drew some dots on the whiteboard, ruminating on possible formations while she gave a very brief lesson on formations. "Assuming that our enemy will be in front of us, you would want any close ranged combatants at the front. There should also be someone strong protecting the back line if we get ambushed, so the formation does not fall apart. It is, however, a relatively loose guide. The absolute minimum is to not drift too far apart from each other."
She settled on two possible formations. "There are only four of us, so I think either a diamond formation or a reverse Y-formation will work for us," she said, circling two groups of dots. "Hoshiku-san, how good are you at sensing reiatsu?"
There was a brief pause as the man in question realised he was being asked directly, but he shrugged. "Pretty good, why?"
"Are you willing to be our primary lookout for the exercise?" Aigis suggested. "Essentially keeping your senses open the entire time we patrol, so we can minimise ambushes from Hollows."
"Sounds manageable," Hoshiku nodded his agreement.
"What's the difference between the two formations?" Izukino asked. "Apart from the positions, that is."
"The diamond formation is pretty standard," Aigis began. "It allows each member to take a vantage point relative to the team, which ensures that there are no blind spots. However, it also assumes similar abilities for each member in the team, which is evidently not the case with us."
She turned her attention to the other formation. "The reverse Y-formation is less used, as it means the person in the middle has to watch for two sides simultaneously, but it also makes it easier to protect the person in the middle, and with two people at the back it decreases the likelihood of ambushes. We can also modify it to have each person on the outside rotate positions every now and then to ensure that we can cover every weak spot."
She gave everyone a moment to digest the information.
"I vote for the second formation." Izukino said. "Sounds like a better fit for us."
Hoshiku shrugged, not giving his own opinion.
"I want the first one."
All eyes turned to Sakiya. When he failed to elaborate, Aigis tried to use her gentlest tone so as to not sound accusatory. "May I ask your reasoning?"
"It's less pressure on everyone involved," he reasoned, "with everyone being responsible for one direction at any point of time. And we can also modify that so we can rotate around every now and then, same as the other formation."
He picked that up fast, Aigis noted to herself.
"What would you personally suggest, Aigis-san?" Izukino asked. "You're the one with the most experience out of us."
Aigis reread the table of strengths and weaknesses that she compiled earlier, and considered everything carefully.
"I would go for the reverse Y-formation," she eventually decided. "We can have Hoshiku-san be in the middle, Izukino-san at the front, and Sakiya-san and me at the back. We are both relatively more flexible with range, while Izukino-san is a close-range fighter and Hoshiku-san is definitely a long-ranged fighter."
Sakiya shrugged. "If that's what you decide, I'm not gonna argue then. Hoshiku-kun?"
"Doesn't matter to me." Hoshiku grunted. "I'll only be casting kido most of the time anyways, so I don't want to move much at all."
"It depends, actually." Aigis corrected. "If you act as a sniper, it is best to move every time you fire a kido at long range, so enemies cannot pinpoint your position."
"I don't have kido with that much range," he snapped back. "I'll just be a turret."
She chose to not comment on that opinion.
"I think that's everything?" Izukino moved on. "Anything else we need to discuss or know before we head to the Living World?"
Aigis reviewed her mental checklist. "That should be all that we need to discuss," she agreed. "I will take notes of everything we talked about today." She brought out a portable brush set and a notepad.
It amazed her that Soul Society had developed technology for a portable brush set of all things, yet never seemed to come across the science behind a pencil or pen. She had instantly bought it upon laying her eyes on one, when she went out to the market by herself a few months prior.
Though if pens and pencils were practically non-existent here, how did Shin'ou Academy come to be equipped with whiteboards and projectors?
It was fortunate that the Academy provided everything needed for the exercise, in the form of a fanny pack that the teachers handed out to every single student. It had some dried foods, a first aid kit, and handily enough, a small communication earpiece. They had gathered at a gate some distance away from the Academy grounds, with a large courtyard before it. The gate had the outline of a torii gate, but its pillars were white instead of red, and there was a giant pair of red doors that blocked off the entranceway.
"Your earphones are connected to the teachers." Onabara instructed, tapping his own earpiece. "You can use it to call us if you run into any trouble."
He continued gesturing to the giant gate that spanned before the assembled group of students. "This is a Senkaimon. It connects Soul Society to the Living World, and you need a Hell Butterfly to pass through safely," he said, raising his hand where a small, black butterfly rested on his fingers. "Line up single file with your group members. Once I open the gate, move in until you reach the other side, where we will give you your patrol routes."
With a heavy groan, the doors opened, sending white light streaming through the area. Some students covered their eyes, though others looked barely fazed. One by one, the seventy-odd students stepped into the gate, disappearing into the glow. Aigis stepped in right after Niijima, followed by the rest of her own group.
When she stepped out of the other side of the gate, it was dusk, the scenery below awash in a soft orange glow. They had arrived at the outskirts of a large city, on top of a hill surrounding the area. Its centre was dominated by tall glass buildings, along with an almost dizzying network of roads that spanned a kilometre above ground. It stood in stark contrast to the suburbs, where low houses with tiled roofs dotted the narrow streets and alleyways, reminiscent of the homes that Aigis would see in the inner districts of Rukongai.
"Any idea where we are?" Sakiya asked once he got his bearings.
She did recognise the city.
"This is Kyoto." Aigis marvelled. "As expected of a traditional city, it has not changed much since the last time I visited."
'The last time' was a few years before her death. It was for a minor Shadow incident that was resolved in a single day, though she was not able to stay long beyond that.
The sound of clapping snapped her out of her memories.
"Have one person from each group come forward to take your patrol route." Onabara called, holding up a small stack of papers. "Your goal is to finish the patrol before midnight, and return here with all group members. Do not try to cheat, because your earpieces will also record your position, so we will know if you did not complete your patrol."
She heard some low grumbling within the students. Hoshiku, being the student closest to the teachers, was volunteered by Izukino to take the map, where afterwards Hinamori pointed out their starting point. Their route meandered through the Kyoto suburbs, never quite reaching into the city itself, with the start of their route at a large building.
It turned out to be a very familiar ryokan.
"Do all cities look like this?" Hoshiku asked, his sandalled feet pattering along the rooftops. They had originally wanted to walk on the roads, but Aigis pushed back, pointing out that it would be awkward if they ran into traffic, which then spiralled out into another conversation on how modern transport worked (yes, flying cars were a thing, but suburban Kyoto had a ban on them since a century ago to prevent pollutants from damaging the traditional buildings, so most transport still used roads from two or three hundred years ago outside of the city centre).
"Kyoto is fairly unique, actually." Aigis explained patiently. "Most cities in Japan have many more high-rise buildings made out of carbon fibre and glass."
"You sure know a lot about the Living World." Sakiya said, walking next to Aigis while he kept a lazy eye out for anything supernatural. "Where did you learn all this? I don't think the library has all that information."
She briefly contemplated whether or not to tell the truth, then decided that there was no harm in telling some of it.
"I died ten years ago." Aigis replied, her eyes fixed on the twilight sky above. "So I still have most of my memories from when I was still alive."
There was a moment of silence.
"Sorry, that was rude of me." Sakiya apologised. "I was born in Soul Society, so I never knew what the Living World looked like."
"All my memories are of my time in Soul Society," Izukino added as she skipped to another rooftop, still following the same formation they had discussed a few days prior. "I might as well be a native."
"Forgot most of mine," Hoshiku continued as he jumped behind Izukino. "I only have vague impressions now."
"The modern Living World is constantly changing," Aigis said. They stopped for a short while on a concrete rooftop with a view of the surrounding area. "Many buildings and roads can change in the span of a single year."
Sakiya gave a low whistle, impressed at the speed. "Soul Society barely changes. I would never get used to so much change."
Aigis shrugged in response. "It is a survival tactic for adapting to different needs that arise over time. I would say it is essential in modern society."
Her group stared at her.
"That sounds like a nightmare." Izukino seemed to voice everyone's concern. "One day you have a dirt path, the next day an entire road. You can never settle down because you need to constantly keep up with new things."
Aigis raised an eyebrow. "I find Soul Society to be incredibly slow," she pointed out. "What we have there are technology and items that were used in the Living World more than four hundred years ago. For me, it was…outdated, and inefficient."
It was now less of a patrol, and more of an intellectual discussion while following a path.
"But the system has been around for over two thousand years." Hoshiku argued. "It's worked for us, so why change?"
"Because everything can be improved." Aigis countered. "Perfection is not possible. To take an example, I never knew how to write with a brush in my lifetime, because when I was alive, people used a tool called a pen, which has a hard nib and its own supply of ink, so I never had to bring along separate ink blocks, or worry about how pressure would affect my strokes. It was smaller and easier to store than a brush too. However, even that is uncommon now, since paper has been largely eliminated as a necessity and regular people usually store their information digitally."
"What's 'digitally?'" Sakiya asked curiously.
So for the next twenty minutes, she found herself explaining the basic workings of modern computers and digital information, all the while they poked and needled her logic good-naturedly. Even Hoshiku, who was prickly during their first interaction, softened and slowly joined in the unconventional discussion topic. Aigis realised that rather than rejecting it, her group mates were fascinated by modern technology, except the concept was so alien they could not see how they could make use of it.
"So you're saying that anyone can find any information they want just by thinking about it, and a machine will magically give out the correct answer?" Izukino asked, landing lightly on a balcony. "And it's instant?"
Aigis nodded. "Modern technology is generally connected to the mind, so they are also able to predict a person's needs to an extent," she explained. "There is a choice to disconnect from your device if need be, though that is usually only enforced for people whose jobs cannot allow such devices."
"Why not?" Sakiya followed up.
"Because everyone is connected to the internet, it is possible for those skilled enough to follow that network, hack into your device and steal information." Aigis replied. "Nowadays, information is the most precious resource of any company, and for those with especially sensitive information, they cannot allow the risk of someone outside of it acquiring the information for unsavoury purposes."
Hoshiku hummed his acknowledgement. "It's night time now, right? Why is it still so bright out?"
The sky was indeed dark, and the area they were at was only lit by dim street lights. Aigis pointed to the side, towards the city centre. "What you're seeing is the light from the city centre over there."
Despite the dark evening, it was lit with a colourful array of neon lights, a bright beacon that washed its light over the city. She was sure that if she was in the city centre at that time, the place would still feel like daytime.
"That's much brighter than Soul Society ever is…" Izukino breathed. "Man, human technology is amazing!"
"Well of course it is – those lights were designed to last for fifty years without needing maintenance, you know?"
"You don't even need to maintain it and it's this bright? That's awesome!" Izukino's eyes glittered for a moment, then she paused, and the group collectively jerked their heads towards the source of the voice.
Because none of them had spoke just now.
There, on a balcony across the road, was an old lady reclining in a rocking chair. She had carefully maintained curly hair, comfortable woollen clothes, and a pair of fluffy slippers. The most prominent feature about her however was the short length of chain that dangled from a hole in front of her chest.
She was told what a Whole looked like, of course, but this was the first time Aigis saw a ghost — a Whole — herself. The old lady gave a feeble but friendly wave.
"What's a group of delinquents like you doing up there on the rooftop?" she asked.
"Wha- delinquents?!" Sakiya exclaimed, looking rather scandalised. Aigis was inclined to agree.
"We're on patrol!" Izukino cheerfully announced, blowing right past the delinquent accusations. "Obaa-san, you died not too long ago right?"
There was zero subtlety, but at least she managed to manhandle the conversation back to a relatively normal topic, or as normal as it could get when it involved ghosts.
Aigis idly wondered how Niijima fared. If she recalled correctly, wasn't she afraid of ghosts…?
About two kilometres away, Makoto shrieked when a Whole suddenly appeared behind her, startling her teammates.
"Didn't think the hardass honours student was afraid of ghosts…" one of them muttered under his breath, too afraid of the potential repercussions to voice them out loud.
"We're here to send you to the afterlife." Hoshiku answered the old lady's question. "If you stay here too long, you will turn into a monster."
"Been here six months, and I've seen no monsters, boy." The lady was somewhat defensive. "Mind just letting me enjoy this view a little more? I should be fine for a while more."
"I am sorry, but I do not think you have much time left." Aigis pointed out. "Your Chain of Fate is rather short, which means that you will likely turn within the next day, if not within the night."
"And what gives you the right to send me to the afterlife, you whippersnapper?" The lady rebuked.
Aigis did her best to not let the comment affect her, but being called a delinquent and a whippersnapper in short order was…not what she had expected from this exercise. Behind her, she heard a few snickers escape from Izukino. "We are shinigami, obaa-san," Aigis replied, trying to keep her voice even. "We are those to guide souls into the afterlife."
"Oh, so that's why you can see me!" The lady laughed, slapping her hand on her knee. "Been rambling to myself all this time cause I didn't think anyone could see or hear me, turns out I just wasn't seen by the right people!"
Despite everything, she seemed friendly, jovial even. There were no regrets in her words. "Would you allow us to send you on?" Sakiya asked, unsheathing his sword and holding it in a relaxed position. "Don't worry, this doesn't hurt."
"Before you go do that," the lady began, "how is the afterlife?"
"It is a peaceful place," he replied with a gentle voice. "You will not go hungry, and you will be safe to rest."
It was the standard reply for any souls asking what Soul Society was like, an answer to soothe over any lingering concerns and ease the transition.
It was also, in Aigis's opinion, a disgusting lie.
Logically, it was better for everyone involved to send souls to Soul Society before they turn into Hollows and become a danger to those around them, but it felt…wrong, to lie to someone for such an important journey. So before Sakiya could tap the lady with his pommel, she grabbed his arm.
"Soul Society is much like the Living World." Aigis informed the lady. "It is true that you will likely feel no hunger, but poverty is rampant, and your life may still be difficult."
"Aigis!" Hoshiku grabbed her shoulder, trying to pull her away.
"However, if you stay here, you will be a danger to yourself and those around you," she continued, heedless of the pressure. "Knowing all this, will you still go?"
There was a moment of silence, before it was broken by high-pitched laughter.
"Hahaha, finally an honest one!" The lady wheezed. "Thank you, girl, for telling me the truth. I will go — I'm not selfish enough to be stubborn about it."
Aigis nodded once, satisfied with the answer, and released her grip on Sakiya's arm. The man hesitated a moment, before he brought up his pommel again.
"Have a safe journey, obaa-san," he murmured.
The pommel gently touched the lady's forehead, leaving a glowing blue seal. She looked at peace as she sank into the ground, and from where she used to be, a Hell Butterfly flew out towards the sky, quickly fluttering out of view.
"Did you really have to tell her that?" Izukino asked softly. "Isn't it better for her to have something to look forward to when she arrives?"
"Not for this." Aigis argued back morosely. "Not for a place where you potentially spend the next few hundred years in."
Before anyone could argue further, a roar in the distance cut through the night.
Without a word, they agreed to keep the argument for another time, and set off towards the source of the sound. Two minutes later, and somewhat off their patrol route, they found the source.
Over an empty car park, a horizontal tear in the sky loomed, with the inside an inky black. It was her first time seeing one, but the foul reiatsu emanating from the portal was unmistakable.
What they had assumed would be a single Hollow turned out to be an entire Garganta, with dozens of Hollows pouring out at an alarming rate.
Izukino took one look at the scene, and summed up their reaction.
"Well, drat."
A/N: If there's anything I got wrong for the formations part, I apologise. I tried looking online for information on them and all I got was football formations -.-
It's Aigis's first trip into the Living World! Nothing much happening here, I promise :3 I tried to do some extrapolation on what technology can be like in 300 years, so a lot of what I'm describing here is based off my imagination. As for the ryokan that Aigis's group started at, it's the one Gekkoukan High went to for their Kyoto trip. I have a rough subplot planned for the next couple chapters, but I need to add some scenes with a particular character to properly set it up...
Anyway, if you like this story, please review! I may not reply to all of them, but I always appreciate them!