Shimo let out a long breath as he slowly returned from meditation.
His body felt stiff, as though his joints had rusted over.
"How long… have I been sitting here?"
He turned his head toward the clock on the table—and instantly, his pupils contracted.
"One second?!"
His voice was filled with disbelief.
The Zanpakutō's inner world had no reference for the flow of time, but after walking endlessly along that Path of Time, he was sure he had spent a long while inside.
"Looks like… my Zanpakutō is hiding more secrets than I thought."
As he said this, the image of the crumbling world and the throne made of clocks surfaced in his mind.
"Who was that throne meant for?"
"And who could possibly have the right to sit on it?"
"There's still a long way to go…"
With a quiet sigh, Shimo stood from the cushion.
Aizen's attention had sparked a rare sense of danger within him.
If there was anyone in the Soul Society he needed to be wary of, Aizen Sōsuke ranked at the very top.
A man who orchestrated schemes spanning centuries.
Who brought down nearly half of Soul Society's upper combat force.
No matter how you looked at it, Aizen was dangerously formidable.
Which is why, to strengthen his self-preservation ability as soon as possible—
Shimo decided to act.
He tidied up his room and left in a hurry.
"If I remember right… Rukia walked in this direction."
He paused at his dorm's doorway, recalling the layout, then headed north.
Soon, he reached a more densely packed cluster of student housing.
"So many dorms…"
He took a sharp breath, brows furrowing.
All student dormitories were located in the same general zone, wooden rooms connected by long corridors.
Each door bore a number and nameplate.
But even with that, finding Rukia's exact room among so many… was no easy task.
That was until he spotted a Shinigami supervising the area.
"Excuse me, do you know which room Rukia is staying in?"
Normally, Shimo didn't use his noble status to pressure others.
But that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy the privileges that came with it.
The supervising Shinigami noticed the family insignia on Shimo's uniform.
Upon realizing he belonged to the Kyoraku clan, the man answered quickly and respectfully:
"Rukia… she should be over in Dorm Area Seven."
"I don't quite remember the exact room number, but I can—"
Before he could finish, Shimo had already vanished from sight.
The blur of movement made the Shinigami's pupils shrink in shock.
Gulp.
He swallowed hard, his throat still dry.
"That level of Shunpo… he's already faster than most seated officers…"
Shimo hadn't meant to show off—he was just in a hurry.
But the moment he used Shunpo, he realized something was off.
"My Shunpo… it's faster?"
"What's going on?"
He stopped, trying to sense the changes within himself.
"Spirit particle… Time…"
"Zanpakutō?"
He instinctively looked down at the Asauchi strapped to his waist. It rested quietly, unmoving.
"When I release spiritual pressure, time around me seems to slow…"
Shimo stood in the corridor, deep in thought.
"This has to be related to the inner world I just visited."
Only now did he recall what happened during his Asauchi selection.
The moment he first touched his time-based Zanpakutō, he had been pulled directly into its inner world.
Most likely, this was connected to the system's effect as well.
And ever since emerging from that world, he'd been subtly infused with the power of time.
"That's probably what Aizen noticed…"
Only someone at Aizen's level would even detect such a discrepancy.
Anyone else would likely assume his Shunpo had just gotten faster.
"So meditating and going in my inner world… makes me stronger?"
A strange gleam flickered in his eyes.
He had discovered a new path to power.
"In that case, I should definitely add Meditation to my daily training."
"Both sword and spirit… together will make me stronger!"
For the first time in a long while, Shimo felt a surge of pure excitement.
He quickened his pace, Shunpo carrying him effortlessly through the dorm corridors toward Dorm Area Seven.
After a quick sweep, he found it—a wooden nameplate etched with the name Rukia.
Ahem.
He cleared his thoughts and raised his hand, just about to knock—
BANG!
The door flew open suddenly.
A small figure ran straight into his chest with a soft thud.
The recoil knocked Rukia back a step, completely caught off guard.
Instinctively, Shimo reached out to steady her, one hand bracing her back as she fell into his arms.
Their eyes met—and for a brief moment, the air froze between them.
Her face flushed instantly, the crimson spreading all the way to her ears.
A flicker of panic shimmered in her eyes.
The second she realized what had happened, she scrambled out of his arms like a startled cat.
The stubborn strand of hair above her forehead twitched furiously, as if mirroring her emotions.
"Y-You! What are you doing here?!"