Entering Shin'ō Academy

Rangiku's arrival made Ten Unohana very happy.

This was another reason Ten had sought out several people from the original story: to recruit talent. Of course, Ten's requirements were that he would only recruit a woman who would also obey him. And Ten only intended to find one, because with the series of events to come, he wouldn't be able to keep up if he recruited too many people.

Now he had settled on Rangiku. After all, she was the best candidate in his mind, so there was no need to keep searching.

So Ten promptly took Rangiku back to the Seireitei.

"Lord Unohana, is this where you live?" Rangiku asked, staring blankly at the Seireitei, which was worlds apart from the Rukongai.

Ten nodded and said, "You'll live here from now on too."

Rangiku gazed longingly at the Seireitei and murmured, "I'll be living here from now on too?!"

Ten took Rangiku's hand and said, "Let's go!"

"Young Master Unohana, bringing a child inside is against the rules, isn't it?!" The guard blocked Ten's path and spoke awkwardly.

But Ten simply walked past him. Only after entering the Seireitei did he say, "You shouldn't meddle in my affairs."

With that, he walked away without looking back.

The guard was left at a loss.

At the Fourth Division,

Retsu Unohana looked at Rangiku beside Ten and asked him, "Who is this?"

Ten said casually, "My future right-hand assistant. I picked her myself."

Retsu asked calmly, "What about her parents?" Ten said, "She doesn't have any."

He immediately added, "Don't worry, Mom. There's nothing wrong with the person I picked."

Retsu said helplessly, "Little Ten, honestly..."

Ten chuckled but said nothing.

Retsu continued, "Then hurry and arrange a place for her to stay."

Ten nodded and said, "I'll go do that!" With that, he left.

Retsu was left deep in thought. It seems Little Yoruichi's actions have upset Little Ten. If nothing is done to make up for it, Little Yoruichi and Little Ten will only grow further apart. But how can we make up for it? Little Ten's situation can't be revealed carelessly.

But what Retsu didn't know was—

Yoruichi was already searching everywhere for a way to repair her relationship with Ten, and had even met Kisuke Urahara, who was always with Yoruichi in the original story.

That said, this approach would only make things messier, but Yoruichi, who knew little about love between men and women, didn't realize she was adding fuel to the fire.

Time flew by,

and a few months later,

"Shin'ō Academy is recruiting students!"

"Hurry up and go!"

"Yeah!"

"I hope I can become a Seated Officer someday."

Ten looked at the Seireitei, which had grown lively because Shin'ō Academy was recruiting students, and said helplessly, "What a hassle! I clearly don't need to go to school, but I still have to."

Behind Ten, Rangiku said, "Don't complain, Brother. This is Mama Hana's order!"

Not long after Rangiku arrived, Retsu had told her to call her Mama Hana, so Ten had no choice but to make Rangiku change how she addressed him again, this time to Brother.

After listening to Rangiku,

Ten pressed a hand to his forehead and said, "It's a hassle precisely because it's Mom's order! I can ignore anyone else's orders, but Mom's are the one thing I have to obey!"

Rangiku looked at Ten and said, "How about I go ask Mama Hana?"

Ten said, "It's no use, silly! Don't you know why Mom is making me attend Shin'ō Academy? It's to give Old Man Yamamoto face. That's also why the children of the Four Great Noble Clans are sent to Shin'ō Academy even though they have private tutors. After all, Old Man Yamamoto founded the academy, and it has the support of Central 24. If we didn't go, wouldn't Old Man Yamamoto lose face?"

Rangiku put her index finger to her lips, widened her eyes, and said, "Oh! That's true! Brother really is smart, just as I'd expect."

"All right, all right, you little fangirl, let's go. Hurry up."

"Oh."

Shin'ō Academy registration office

Ten ignored the long line and went straight to the front. This was a noble's privilege in the first place. After all, if they gave the academy face, the academy had to make things a little easier for them in return, right?

But someone thought he was pretty damn impressive, or at least more impressive than Ten,

because Ten only had the body of a twelve-year-old,

so—

"Hey, kid, you know it's dangerous to cut in line when you don't have the strength to back it up?"

Nobody paid him any attention.

"Hey, pretty boy."

...Still nobody paid him any attention.

Finally, the man couldn't save face anymore. He stepped forward, grabbed Ten's clothes, and shouted angrily, "Kid, I'm talking to you!"

This gave the examiner quite a fright.

He knew Ten, who was quite unlike his mother, Retsu. If Retsu was an angel, then Ten was definitely a devil.

He knew Ten had slaughtered so many people in the last few districts of the Rukongai that they had become uninhabited.

And because of Retsu, the matter had easily been swept aside. But the last few districts being left empty had once prompted Captain-Commander Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto to consider abolishing them.

That showed how many people Ten had killed. And worst of all, it seemed someone had offended him now. It was said that Ten was the sort to draw his sword and kill over a disagreement. No, even that wasn't right. To be precise, Ten would slaughter anyone he couldn't stand.

Seeing Ten put his hand on the Zanpakuto at his waist, the examiner panicked and hurriedly said, "Young Master Unohana, are you here to complete your enrollment?"

Ten lowered his hand and said impatiently, "Mm... yes. What a damn hassle."

The examiner forced a smile and said, "It's all right. It'll be quick. We won't keep you waiting, Young Master Unohana."

But—

"Kid, move aside and let me go first," the man said, giving Ten's clothes a hard tug.

Ten's face went cold. "Let go, and then apologize."

Only then did everyone notice that the man had been holding on to Ten's clothes the whole time.

The man laughed. "I won't! Why should I, just because a wet-behind-the-ears kid like you says so? Let go? And apologize?"

The examiner closed his eyes, unwilling to watch the tragedy that would follow. Ten put his hand on his Zanpakuto and smiled coldly. Then a flash of silver swept past.

After a moment of silence,

"Aah—!"

"Murder!"

Everyone screamed in panic.

"Bastard!" Just then, Yoruichi appeared from who knew where

and glared at Ten. "You're killing people indiscriminately again."

Ten said indifferently, "He brought it on himself. Offending a noble is a serious crime!"

Yoruichi said in a low voice, "Damn it, what's wrong with you? Stop killing people, okay?"

A trace of hesitation flashed in Ten's eyes, but when he recalled the ability of his Zanpakuto, Blade of Slaughter, his gaze slowly grew firm again. Unable to agree, Ten ignored Yoruichi and turned to the terrified examiner. "I can attend Shin'ō Academy now, right?!"

The examiner hurriedly said ingratiatingly, "Yes, yes!"

Ten smiled at his answer. "Mm, is that so? Very good."

With that, he left. Yoruichi stared blankly at everything for a long time, speechless.

Yoruichi, you'll understand why someday! But not yet. Following me now is too exhausting, Ten thought.

Shasha's voice also came from within Ten's heart. "It's all right, Master. Don't you still have us? We'll stay with you." Lewd Princess's voice followed. "Why don't you give up your plan, Master?!"

Ten shook his head and said firmly, "Thank you for staying with me, but I still won't give up my plan. The Hollow power inside me isn't tolerated by Soul Society. If nothing major happens in Soul Society, I'm bound to die. Even if I don't die, nothing good will come of it. I don't want to hide for nearly a hundred years. Besides, a single mistake during those hundred years would undo everything. And as long as my plan can be carried out smoothly, every problem will be solved, and it'll be the best solution. So why should I give up my plan?"

"Little Ten, what are you muttering to yourself about?" Retsu's gentle voice interrupted Ten's thoughts.

Without realizing it, Ten had already arrived at the Fourth Division's headquarters.

Ten answered, "Just a small matter. When I went to register at Shin'ō Academy, I ran into someone who talked back to me, so I killed him."

Retsu sighed softly and nodded, then said, "Let's go inside first. I have something to ask you."

With that, she walked gracefully into the room.

"Little Ten, how is your Zanpakuto? By my reckoning, you killed the people in two districts of the Rukongai, and with the others, you've killed nearly three districts' worth of people. Has your Zanpakuto still not been restored?"

Retsu looked at Ten as she spoke. Ten said, "Mm, it just recovered. Next comes the prelude to the plan."

Retsu said, "Then what is your plan, Little Ten?"

Ten pondered for a moment and said, "Mom, what would happen if I killed nearly half the captains in the Seireitei?"

A glint flashed in Retsu's eyes. "You'd be sentenced to death."

Ten said, "Even a noble?"

Retsu nodded, but what she said was the exact opposite. "But not you."

Ten asked in confusion, "Why?"

Retsu said, "Because I won't let them kill you, Little Ten, even if I have to betray Soul Society."

Ten said, "There's no need. I have a follow-up plan for when the time comes. It's just that you'll have to bear the disgrace of your son being betrayed."

Retsu smiled and said, "That's not much of a problem."

Ten nodded and thought, That's true. After all, everyone else just thinks I'm a child Mom picked up in the Rukongai.

At that thought, Ten looked up at Retsu and said, "Then I can carry out my plan without worrying."

Retsu said, "Speaking of which, Little Ten, did anyone stop you when you went to Shin'ō Academy?"

Ten said, "Those were all minor matters. The only one I'm worried about is Yoruichi. He doesn't know about my situation, and I can't tell her about it, so..."

Retsu sighed softly and said nothing.

And what about Yoruichi, whom they were both thinking of now?