Chapter 31: A Good Plan
Masatsuki Aozaki nodded and shifted his gaze away from Jūshirō Ukitake.
Looking at Shunsui Kyōraku, as if something had just come to mind, he asked directly,
"Master is busy. Do you have time, Kyōraku-senpai? I remember Master mentioning that you also learned Sōkotsu."
"You mean that move..." Shunsui Kyōraku chuckled but then suddenly straightened up and said with complete seriousness, "Actually, I don't know it!"
Masatsuki Aozaki and Jūshirō Ukitake froze at the same time.
Ukitake thought back carefully, confirming that his memory wasn't mistaken—Kyōraku had learned Sōkotsu. He turned to look at him in confusion.
"Shunsui, no need to keep secrets from our junior, is there?"
"I'm not hiding anything—I really don't know it," Kyōraku insisted.
"What do you mean?" Ukitake still didn't understand.
Kyōraku had studied for years and even passed Yamamoto's tests. How could he suddenly claim he didn't know it?
"Well, to be honest, I never really put much effort into learning it," Kyōraku admitted, lazily waving his hand. "Basic Hakuda was fine, but Ikkotsu and Sōkotsu were way too much work. So I just practiced the stances, faked my way through it, and tricked the old man into thinking I'd learned it."