Hey there, doods! Last time, we went through our first Free Time, and ended right before Fujimaru and Matsuri’s first real fight! And now, we’ll finish off Chapter 2, and progress all the way to the Free Time of Chapter 3 before calling it a day! Now, let’s take a look at what the Kudo twins are up against, shall we?
- Player’s Side
- Matsuri, Power, LV 1, Asauchi LV 01, has the Byakurai skill
- Fujimaru, Speed, LV 1, Asauchi LV 01
- Aizen, Tech, LV 12, Kyokasuigetsu LV 01, has the Shakkaho skill
- Kaien, Power, LV 9, Nejibana LV 01, has the Keikatsu skill, knows Guts & Glory
- Hollow’s Side
- Familiar, Tech, LV 2 (3 of these are on the field)
- Familiar, Speed, LV 2 (4 of these on the field)
- Frog Head, Speed, LV 3
- Frog Head, Tech, LV 3
- Frog Head, Power, LV 3
So, everyone but Aizen is going to be unleashing special attacks left and right, and even then, there’s enough of a level advantage to make this a breeze. In addition, Aizen learned a skill since the introductory battle, and the twins will using the same type of sword until a plot point later in the game. Also, the game gives us a brief tutorial on Adjacent Effects. Even if two characters cannot use a Team Attack, they can still support each other if they are next to each other. The effect of a support depends on who’s supporting; for example, Matsuri strengthens another person’s attack, while Aizen can help an ally defend against an attack once per turn.
At the very simple battle’s end, Matsuri is now Level 3, and Fujimari is now Level 2. Aizen also levels up once, due to the experience he earned in Chapter 1. However, in the after-battle cutscene, it appears that there’s one major problem left to deal with: it’s Mad Eater! And he’s got an orange-haired girl hostage! One that’s loudmouthed and refers to herself as beautiful and young, to boot! Kaien wants to charge right in and ruin the Hollow’s day, but Aizen says to be careful due to the hostage. Mad Eater and the Kudos suddenly recognize each other, and Mad Eater decides to trade the hostage for the rare twin souls. Aizen says that their first priority is rescuing the hostage, and apologizes for what he has to ask the Kudos to do.
Aizen: “But first let me take a little insurance out on this deal. Shatter! Kyokasuigetsu!”
Aizen unleashes the power of his sword, causing a thick mist to appear. Mad Eater doesn’t care and asks his meal to hurry up, only to see three copies of himself approach. While Mad Eater’s confused at this development, Kaien gets the girl to safety, and then Aizen stops using his illusory powers. Realising he’s now done for, Mad Eater quickly gets the heck out of there, and Aizen decides that making sure the girl’s safe is better than chasing after Mad Eater.
Later, Matsuri learns that Aizen can create illusions by diffusing reflections from the mist, which is the power of Aizen’s Zanpakuto. Aizen again apologizes for putting the twins in a frightening situation, but the Kudos say that they knew this job would be dangerous.
Aizen: “I want you to know that Squad 5 never uses its men like disposable pawns. You can trust in that.”
Foreshadowing, perhaps? Now that everything here is okay, Kaien decides they should head back to HQ. Aizen reports their success, making note of how well the Kudos did. Ukitake, now feeling a bit better after resting for half a day, enters the scene and apologizes for the trouble he’s caused them. Matsuri’s surprised that Ukitake remembers their names, and Ukitake replies that he certainly won’t forget them anytime soon, especially after what they’ve done for him.
Back at the Suzunami mansion, the family has a slightly less grand meal than before, to celebrate the success of the Kudos on their first major assignment. Fujimaru worries that they weren’t all that helpful, but Matsuri’s glad that they at least didn’t get in the way. Suzunami tells them that staying cool under pressure is the first step, though he doesn’t specify to what, and Konoka’s just glad that the kids are safe. After dinner, the Kudo twins talk about Mad Eater, and realize that they still lack the strength to defeat powerful foes like him.
Fujimaru: “I guess we’ll just have to keep plugging away. I mean, there’s no magical way to get strong overnight, you know.”
Again, this kinda sounds like foreshadowing to me. Fujimaru also has the feeling that Mad Eater will come for them again some day, and Matsuri hopes that no more innocents get killed along the way. Chapter 02 now officially concludes.
The next bright and sunny day, Konoka has a bit of trouble waking up the still sleepy Fujimaru. Sweetly, she permits him to sleep for a few more minutes...and then Matsuri comes in and demands that her brother get his lazy bones out of bed. Konoka says that he’ll still make it to Squad 5 on time if he sleeps a little longer, but Matsuri doesn’t want Konoka to spoil him. Plus, Konoka probably has more important things to do...but it turns out that Konoka’s already made breakfast, done the laundry, and cleaned the house. Just like every other morning before Matsuri wakes up. Sounds a tad obsessive, doesn't it? Back to the plot, Konoka thinks that Fujimaru’s face when he sleeps is cute, but Matsuri’s willing to be violent to awaken her brother.
Konoka gives them lunches before they go, and hands them the lunch that Seigen forgot. They’re all rather nice, since Seigen’s meal has to be worthy of a captain, and it would be rude if the other two weren’t just as good. Seigen’s been at the station since dawn, and while Fujimaru thinks about how rough it seems to be a captain, Matsuri uses the thought as another reason why he should stop being so lazy. The twins then reach the station, and are told by Kaien and Aizen that groups of Hollows have been appearing across the Rukon District in great numbers. Squad 5 has decided to intensify their patrols until they find out what the Hollows are plotting, and Aizen asks Kaien to help the Kudo twins make rounds. We then have a choice of what division we want to head to, and since we have to pick all three options eventually, I’ll just summarize them below. By the way, I personally started from the bottom option and went up, even though I doubt it has any effect on things like difficulty.
- A safe division: We’re at the West Rukon District, Division 1, Junrinan. The twins run into a pigtailed girl who’s lost ‘Li’l Shiro’, and decide to help look for him. The pigtailed girl describes Li’l Shiro as little, with big eyes and white hair, and says he’s a sweetheart once you get to know him. Also, before the Kudos go off to help search for Li’l Shiro, the girl introduces herself as Momo Hinamori. Like the other five children we’ll be running into during this segment, she plays a major role in the main Bleach series. Anyways, after searching for quite some time to no avail, a small, white-haired boy comes up and tells Momo to knock it off. The twins are surprised that Li’l Shiro is a person, and the boy asks if they thought he was some kind of pet. Momo says that she was worried about him, but the boy didn’t want to respond to such a ridiculous nickname. When Matsuri tries to talk to him using the nickname, he loudly screams that his name is Toshiro Hitsugaya. Matsuri apologizes and says that Momo’s been looking for him all morning, but Hitsugaya reveals that he saw Momo sleeping a little before noon, and that she was supposed to hunt eggs with him since 6 AM. Back with Kaien, the Kudos tell him that they promised to visit Momo and Toshiro again, and bring something tasty as a form of apology.
- An average division: They decide to pick a division at random, and then split up to cover more ground. The Kudo twins find a gray-haired boy with constantly closed eyes collapsed in the middle of the road, and check to see if he’s okay. The boy’s hungry, and Fujimaru offers his lunch. The boy accepts it, but says that he’s going to save it for someone even hungrier than he is. He thanks them and leaves, but the Kudo twins decide to follow him. It turns out that the boy was saving the food for an orange-haired girl he identifies as ‘Rangiku’. When the girl wonders why the food is in such an expensive box, the boy suggests that they ask the Soul Reapers peeking in at the doorway. Caught in the act, the Kudos reveal themselves, and realise that this girl is the same one they saved in the last chapter. Later, the girl and the boy enjoy the meal, and Rangiku asks if they could bring more nice lunches some other time. Even though it sounds rude, the Kudos probably eat nice meals all the time...plus, she could get Fujimaru punished for spying on a young lady. Thankfully, that last bit’s just a joke. After the Kudos promise to come back some day, the kids introduce themselves as Rangiku Matsumoto and Gin Ichimaru. The Kudos then reunite with Kaien, and tell them about what they just went through.
- A dangerous division: We head to the South Rukon District, Division 78, Inuzuri, also knon as ‘Hanging Dog’. Remember this, viewers; it may prove important later! Kaien suddenly has to use a washroom, and it doesn’t look like there are any nearby, so he quickly scampers off. While he’s gone, the twins watch a big-eyed girl and a redheaded boy, the latter of which is called ‘Renji’ by the former, as they steal a couple of pots of water from a vendor. Since the vendor’s quickly catching up to them, they give the pots to Fujimaru and run for it. After dealing with the vendor, the Kudo twins catch up to the two kids, who are surprised that they’ve been caught and ask for mercy. Since the Kudos came from a similar background, they forgive the kids and reveal that they decided to buy some water pots and give them to the kids. Before they part ways, the big-eyed girl reveals that her name is Rukia, and her friend’s name is Renji. Kaien then returns, and they finish patrolling.
Now that all of those options have been picked, Matsuri wants to try a REALLY dangerous division. Kaien wonders if they’re ready for it, but when Matsuri asks if he’s scared, he decides that now they HAVE to go. Later, the gang’s at the North Rukon District, Division 80, Zaraki, AKA the most dangerous of all the divisions. An eerie man pops up, with a large vertical scar on one side of his face, messy black hair, clothes in tatters, a large sword on his back, and massive spiritual pressure. This man, who will become the Captain of Squad 11 at some point in the future, decides that the trio isn’t worth his time and heads off. After Kaien warns the Kudos not to get mixed up with anyone like that, they run right into another group of Hollows.
Before this next battle, we get to form our party! Here, we can select which items we want to bring into battle with us, set up what characters can use team attacks, have a Free Battle to earn some extra experience, and upgrade their swords using skill points, five of which are earned per level. You can also put points into stats, but I think that learning skills and abilities is more important that having an extra point or two in our Attack stat. Since Matsuri levelled up twice, she has enough points to upgrade her sword once. I give her the Gemstone ability, which boosts her initial spiritual pressure and lets her earn more experience in battle. I then put two of the Ointments in our pack, and alter the Co-op Settings so that Matsuri, Fujimaru, and Kaien can all use Team Attacks with each other. I suppose I could’ve done a Free Battle and give Fujimaru enough experience to earn Gemstone as well, but I prefer to level grind when I have more than three fighters available. With all that out of the way, it’s time to start this fight!
- Player’s Side
- Matsuri, Power, LV 3, Asauchi LV 02, now knows Gemstone
- Fujimaru, Speed, LV 2, Asauchi LV 01
- Kaien, Power, LV 9, Nejibana LV 01
- Hollow’s Side
- Familiar, Speed, LV 1
- Familiar, Speed, LV 2
- Familiar, Tech, LV 2
- Familiar, Power, LV 2 (2 of these on the field)
- Frog Head, Speed, LV 2
- Frog Head, Speed, LV 5
- Frog Head, Tech, LV 2
- Frog Head, Power, LV 5
This situation is easily dealt with by having Kaien head north to the LV 5 enemies, while the Kudo twins head south and take care of the creatures around their level. Neither of the Kudo twins are close to things they’re strong to, but the Familiars are so weak that it hardly matters. The numerous battles do wear down Matsuri and Kaien, but the latter heals himself, and everything dies before the former has less than a hundred HP. Fujimaru reaches level 3, Matsuri reaches level 4, and the LV 1 Familiar dropped another Ointment. After the battle, we’re given some bonus experience depending on how many survivors there were (3/3 in this case), how fast the battle was (4 turns), and how many support attacks were used (0). We receive seven experience points for this, and Kaien and Fujimaru’s affinity towards Matsuri rises. Kaien’s at 2/3 affinity, while Fujimaru maxes his meter and gives us a Squad 5 Emblem. Unlike the Squad 5 Manual, you have to take items like this into battle to gain their effects; in this case, an Evasion boost.
It seems like all the Hollows are gone, but a Power-type Screamer Hollow (you can tell because it’s red) suddenly pops up behind the twins! Thankfully, a mysterious girl dressed like a ninja takes it out before any harm can be done. She tells us to be more careful, and then vanishes. Kaien guesses that she was a member of the Punishment Force, AKA the 1st division of the Stealth Force, AKA the guys that assassinate Soul Reapers that break the law. Thankfully, it’s doubtful that she has an eye on the twins just because they used to live in a class-inappropriate setting as kids, and she was probably just passing by.
Back at the station, Aizen gives kudos to the Kudos (thank you, MFM, for inspiring that pun) for getting rid of so many Hollows. However, Seigen comments that such a large number of Hollows implies that they’re being commanded by a greater threat, and that we should be on guard. Aizen then gives us the day off, and before we part ways, Kaien says that he’s glad that he’s starting to get sick of our faces. After all, that means he’s spent a lot of time with them, and can definitely trust them. He then says that the Kudos can visit whenever he wants, and leaves.
And at last, we’ve reached the Free Time section of Chapter 3! I won’t specify where all the bonuses are, mainly because the whole street scrolls by really fast, but I can say that there is a new space that Kon can land on. It’s ‘Discount’, which reduces the AP of the next event you choose by a set amount (though never below 1), allowing you to see more events (or, if you’ve managed your AP badly, force you to drop into an Exit pit). As for what you wonderful viewers can vote on, while watching some of these scenes will open up new ones, here’s the seven that we’re presented with at the start:
- Seigen: A Zanpakuto’s Release (1 AP, !)
- Konoka: Household Chores (2 AP)
- Aizen: Aizen’s Work (1 AP)
- Kaien: The Pride of the Shiba Family (1 AP)
- Urahara: Urahara’s Research (1 AP)
- Ukitake: The Bonds Between Twins (1 AP)
- Young Rukia: A Delicious Encounter (1 AP, Affinity +)
From this point onwards, we won’t be able to see every single Free Time scene. So when you suggest which ones we view, be sure to choose wisely! Thank you, doods, and have a good day!
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