Hello, My Name Is Sōsuke Aizen

Only Rukongai souls of at least twentieth rank were eligible to apply to the academy.

Misao joined the line without being asked, and soon it was his turn.

Smiling confidently, he placed his hand on the spiritual pressure testing orb.

A moment later, the characters for "nineteen" appeared on its surface.

The two instructors exchanged a look, seemingly communicating in silence. After a moment, they turned to Misao and said:

"Register first, then report to the Shin'ō Academy of Spiritual Arts in three days."

Misao picked up the pen and wrote Tokoyo Misao on the registration form with a flourish.

In front of him, the instructor added a note beside his name: Rei'i, nineteenth rank.

Smiling, Misao said, "Thank you, instructor."

After thanking him, he turned and left, his posture straight.

Chapter 2: Hello, My Name Is Sōsuke Aizen

Tokoyo Misao changed into the uniform he had received from the Shin'ō Academy of Spiritual Arts.

It was a loose-fitting outfit with the academy crest on both sides of the chest.

He followed a path toward the academy, only to find himself in a graveyard.

A quick glance told him it was on the outskirts of the academy.

Looking closely at the inscriptions, he discovered that these were the graves of former academy instructors.

Not far away, a blond new student knelt before a gravestone, seemingly murmuring something.

The gravestone bore the name "Kira," but his head blocked the remaining characters.

This kid should be Izuru Kira.

Misao thought as he walked over to him.

Just then, a figure suddenly fell from a branch beside the grave and slammed into the gravestone.

"Whoa!" Izuru Kira screamed and sprang to his feet.

"I told you not to sleep on a branch. You fell, didn't you?" A small figure suddenly emerged from the nearby bushes and spoke mockingly to the figure who had fallen onto the gravestone.

"Who are you people?" Izuru Kira was nearly scared sick, backing away again and again.

Suddenly, he bumped into someone.

He spun around and saw a handsome, gentle face in the morning light. He hurriedly apologized. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

"It's all right, classmate." Misao smiled and patted him on the shoulder, then asked the figure who had just climbed down from the gravestone and the one beside the bushes:

"Judging by your clothes, you must all be new students in this class. We'll be classmates from now on, so we should get along."

"My name is Tokoyo Misao. What about you?"

When he finished, the three students didn't answer. They all stood there, eyes wide.

A moment later, the red-haired man parted his lips and grimaced. "How can this guy be so handsome?"

"Seriously!" The short, black-haired figure beside him nodded repeatedly, eyes sparkling.

"Ah! H-hello, my name is Izuru Kira." Kira immediately put some distance between himself and Misao, then bowed and introduced himself.

That drew the attention of the other two back to them.

The red-haired man pointed a thumb at his own chest and said loudly, "I'm Renji Abarai."

The short, black-haired girl raised her right hand high, fingers spread. "I'm Rukia, just Rukia."

Misao patted Kira on the shoulder again and said with a smile:

"We're all classmates now, so don't be so stiff."

"From now on, I'll call you Lemon."

Before any of them could react, he turned to Renji Abarai and Rukia.

"And I'll call you two Red-Haired Baboon and Onion!"

Misao planted his hands on his hips, straightened his back, and continued with an upturn of his lips:

"Oh, right. You can call me Lord Misao from now on."

"You bastard, don't go giving people nicknames the first time you meet them!" Renji Abarai took two steps forward and roared at the top of his lungs. "And why am I the only animal?!"

"Idiot, why are you hung up on the animal nickname?" Rukia rushed over and shouted at Renji, then held out a slender arm toward Misao and clenched her fist.

"What do you mean, Onion, huh?!"

She realized she was just tall enough to reach Misao's waist. A wicked grin appeared on her face, and she punched straight at him.

Given her height, her punch was aimed squarely at Misao's most vulnerable spot.

If it landed, it would hurt for a long time at the very least.

It was a move Rukia often used against tall thugs in Rukongai.

It could be said to work every time, taking effect in a single punch.

Misao reacted quickly, grabbing Izuru Kira with both hands and pulling him over.

The little fist struck him squarely in the chest.

"Argh!" Izuru Kira wailed and slowly turned his head, the corners of his mouth drooping. "Why?"

Misao let go and said solemnly, "Thank you, Lemon. If it weren't for you, I'd be hurt by now."

"I won't forget you. Rest in peace."

"Boo-hoo, how could you do that?" Izuru Kira pouted, clutching his chest with both hands, tears welling in his eyes.

"Pfft!" Rukia laughed out loud beside them, her hands on her hips.

Apparently feeling that wasn't quite right, she immediately turned away and pressed a hand over her mouth, but her shaking body gave her away completely.

"Hahaha, you're actually crying!" Renji Abarai laughed loudly too.

Smiling, Misao walked over and helped Izuru Kira up, patting him on the back with a series of smacks.

"Let's go. It's almost time to report in."

Izuru Kira moved his lips a couple of times without making a sound, then followed listlessly behind Misao.

Rukia looked ahead, rubbing her chin with her right hand as she whispered, "I've got to come up with a nickname for this guy."

She raised her head and looked at the tall, upright figure ahead of them, clicking her tongue. "Tsk, this guy doesn't seem to have any weaknesses."

Renji Abarai nodded repeatedly beside her. "No, we've got to find a way to discover his weakness!"

A little farther ahead, Izuru Kira, who was walking a step or two in front of them, also turned and whispered in agreement:

"Right, let's do our best together!"

In that short span of time, the three had formed an alliance for a single purpose.

They had to find a suitable nickname for Tokoyo Misao.

The four arrived at the first-year classroom, only to find a mere handful of people in the spacious room.

The entire classroom had only four columns of seats, with six seats in each column.

That meant that even if every seat was filled, there would only be twenty-four students in total.

But even counting the four of them, there were only eight people present.

It seemed there weren't as many Soul Reaper recruits as he had imagined.

Tokoyo Misao walked straight to the second-to-last row by the window and sat down.

"Why did you have to pick a seat so far back?" Rukia sat down in front of him and turned around to ask, a little puzzled.

"Hey, I really want to become a Soul Reaper. I'm sitting up front." Renji Abarai went straight to a seat in the front row.

Izuru Kira thought it over, then simply sat down behind Misao.

He also thought it would be better to sit somewhere quieter in the back.

Misao looked at Rukia seriously, meeting her eyes.

His serious gaze made Rukia shift a little uncomfortably.

She asked again, "So why do you want to sit so far back?"

Misao parted his lips slightly and said, word by word:

"This seat is the king's homeland."

"Huh?" Rukia tilted her head, her eyes wide.

"By the window in the back row, the king's homeland. Plenty of works have shown that this is the male protagonist's seat."

Misao folded his arms and explained with an air of importance.

"Whoa." Rukia let out a long sigh. "Is there something wrong with your head?"

"Incidentally, that seat of yours belongs to the female protagonist," Misao added with a smile.

"You..." Rukia immediately wrapped her arms around herself and shrank back a little.

She had just opened her mouth—

When a loud roar burst from Renji Abarai's mouth: "What the hell are you talking about, you bastard?!"

Still smiling, Misao looked at the furious Renji Abarai. "Oh, right. Your seat belongs to the childhood-friend losing heroine."

Then he turned to look at Izuru Kira behind him.

"Your seat should be reserved for the transfer student."

"Pfft, losing heroine..." Rukia suddenly burst out laughing.

Renji Abarai's face instantly turned bright red. He raised his right hand and clenched it into a fist, baring his teeth like a stray dog preparing to fight an enemy.

"Hahaha, you're all really funny. What about my seat?" A black-haired girl walked over and pointed to her own seat, the first one in the front row, as she asked Misao.

"Oh, right, my name is Momo Hinamori."

Misao took a couple of looks at the seat and said with great seriousness, "That's the tragic heroine's seat. You'd better be careful."

"The tragic heroine? A life like that might be nice too." Momo Hinamori replied with a cheerful smile.

"Everyone, take your seats!" a booming voice rang out.

A bald man wearing clear glasses walked straight from the doorway to the lectern.

He slapped both hands on the lectern, opened his mouth wide, and declared in a powerful voice:

"I am your homeroom instructor, Ōunabara Gengorō!"

He surveyed the nine students sitting neatly before him.

"The academy is divided into the special advanced class and the regular class. If you perform well on the assessment in one month, you can move up to the special advanced class."

"In the regular class, it takes six years to complete all the courses before you take an assessment. If you fail, you'll have to repeat a year."

"In the special advanced class, you can apply for the graduation assessment at any time after one year."

"That's enough talk. Everyone, follow me to the training ground."

Without waiting, Ōu turned and headed straight out the door.

"Hmph, the special advanced class? With my talent, it'll be a breeze." Renji Abarai spoke with his arms folded.

"Renji, you should thank your lucky stars if you can graduate normally." Rukia immediately cut him down.

"Everyone who gets into the special advanced class is a genius. Their Rei'i has to be at least twelfth rank. If I remember right, you were fifteenth rank on the test."

Rukia planted her hands on her hips as she spoke. "My Rei'i is eleventh rank, you know. If anyone's going to the special advanced class, it's definitely me."

"Damn it!" Renji Abarai didn't argue, baring his teeth again.

Rukia turned to Izuru Kira and Momo Hinamori beside her and asked, "What about you two?"