Chapter 11

Shunpo was standard for captains and lieutenants. Looked at another way, it could also be considered "an ability even Seated Officers can't fully master."

Before battles reached the sci-fi extremes of captain-level combat, the saying "speed conquers all" still applied pretty well to Soul Reaper fights.

Haruto didn't think Mitarai would be any match for Mutsuki.

"..."

That thought brought Haruto to a sudden realization: his teacher could move up in rank, but there wasn't much room for advancement.

"The Fifth Division, huh..."

Haruto couldn't help sighing.

As a student at the Shin'ō Academy, he normally wouldn't have known much, but Haruto had his own sources.

He could always dig up information that seemed unimportant but was actually crucial.

"Captain Seigen Kyōshiba, Lieutenant Ika Kyōshiba."

"Names I've never heard before..."

Haruto sorted through the little information he had in his head, which could be called "foreknowledge."

The good news:

Haruto was a transmigrator from China. Bleach had been one of the Big Three manga at the time, and he had gone through a chuunibyou phase, so he had read it from beginning to end.

The bad news:

A lot of time had passed, so he could no longer remember many details of the plot. Add the memory problems caused by his transmigration...

He had even forgotten his own name.

The soul from Rukongai that he had transmigrated into was in exactly the opposite situation: he knew nothing except his name.

So.

He simply took the name "Haruto" for himself.

On a side note.

Though he had no system or anything like that, Soul Society seemed to have treated him rather well:

The soul Haruto occupied had an exceptional aptitude for Kidō, particularly an extraordinary talent for controlling spiritual pressure. And perhaps because two souls had merged, Haruto also had about Yi(?) times as much spiritual pressure as the other students in his year.

As for which soul was more talented...

They were both dead and had become indistinguishable anyway, so Haruto couldn't be bothered to dwell on it.

"But starting with the Third Seat..."

"Shinji Hirako, Sōsuke Aizen."

Shinji Hirako looked like a hoodlum, but in reality he was just a chatterbox, so he wasn't too bad.

Aside from potentially having to do more work as his subordinate, there was little else to worry about. Shinji Hirako's fighting power spoke for itself. After all, he was someone who didn't even need Bankai to fight captain-level opponents, so safety was well assured.

The problem was...

The man named Sōsuke Aizen.

As the most imposing villain in all of Bleach, Aizen could kill Haruto for any reason at any time, and Haruto couldn't be sure when.

After all.

It was only after Aizen became the Fifth Division Captain that he learned to hold back and avoid stepping on ants. And if Haruto remembered correctly, when Aizen took Gin under his wing, the person Gin killed to test his blade was the Fifth Division's Third Seat.

Seen that way...

"Sorry, Mutsuki!"

Mutsuki Shōkaku had taught him for so many years, so naturally, joining the Fifth Division after graduation would be the most fitting choice.

But!

Although Haruto thought he was talented, he couldn't guarantee that he would surpass Shinji Hirako someday.

Much less measure up to Aizen.

If he ended up becoming that nameless Third Seat killed by Gin—

"Fuck!"

A long-unheard master's final... no, a long-unheard Chinese curse slipped out of Haruto's mouth.

"What a Fifth Division, full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers!"

Haruto had no idea who the two Shusuha were.

But based on the information he had obtained about the captains and lieutenants of the other Gotei 13 divisions, his assessment of the time period should be correct.

"Time to go."

His real-sword match with Munechika was over.

However lively the discussion at the venue had been, it was time for everyone to calm down.

The sixth-years' graduation exam wasn't over yet. Once Mitarai collected himself, he would probably start clearing people out. But after watching a real-sword match, the younger students probably wouldn't be impressed by the graduates' performances, no matter how outstanding they were.

Before the crowd came pouring out, Haruto decided it was best to leave first.

"They're really stingy with the vacation time."

The Shin'ō Academy's "summer vacation" lasted only fourteen days, and classes for the new school year would begin as soon as it ended.

As for students who failed their exams, almost all of them, with very few exceptions, ended up going back wherever they came from.

For those from the outer districts far from the Seireitei, there might not even be enough time to make the trip one way, let alone there and back.

It wasn't that Haruto wanted a vacation. He already felt he didn't have enough time to train.

"Rukongai..."

"It's about time I went back for a visit."

In this unfamiliar world, a person needed to hold on to some warm memories.

Haruto headed toward the fifth-year dorms.

There weren't many students on the road. Those who hadn't finished their exams were still lined up at the training grounds, while most of those who had were off somewhere relaxing or celebrating.

The Shin'ō Academy might have been a school, but it was still located inside the Seireitei. It was far more prosperous than the middle and outer districts of Rukongai.

Even Rukongai's inner districts, with their comfortable living conditions, were mostly no match for the Shin'ō Academy, aside from the first few districts.

Most students who failed to graduate were unable to exercise self-control in some respect. The Shin'ō Academy's standards weren't particularly high, and according to the requirements Shigekuni Yamamoto had established, students qualified to enter should all have been able to complete their studies.

"A-Qing!"

But no matter how few people there were—most of the people Haruto associated with were nobles who had residences in Rukongai's inner districts or even in the Seireitei and were more likely to go straight home after their exams—it was impossible for him not to run into anyone he knew.

Sure enough.

Just after rounding the corner of the wall separating the fourth- and fifth-year dorms, Haruto ran into a girl in his year whose figure was a little lacking but whose cuteness was undiminished...

Most importantly, her legs were perfect in both length and proportion.

"What a coincidence. Going out to celebrate?"

Haruto instantly dropped the practiced smile he had prepared, and the smile at the corners of his mouth became a little more sincere.

Three followers trailed behind the girl. They looked rather ordinary without makeup, but were dressed up quite elegantly.

Cosmetics in the Seireitei were made with quality ingredients but were expensive, and they certainly wouldn't produce such a modern look. That meant the "equipment" on their faces could only have been brought back from the World of the Living...

Bringing things back from the World of the Living was no easy task.

"A-Qing, want to come with us?"

The girl in the lead was named Ayaka Kurumadani.

Haruto had once wondered how she had gotten such a distinctive name, but she had brushed him off every time he asked.

"No, I need to go back to the dorm and pack."

Haruto smiled and declined Ayaka's invitation.

"Go on, then. If you have time, you can come find us here~"

Ayaka waved it off casually and tore a slip of paper with writing on it from the pocket on her chest, handing it to Haruto. The standard kariginu provided by the Shin'ō Academy had no pockets, and Ayaka's uniform, with its distinctly modern look, was clearly the product of alterations.

Her followers, however, looked quite disappointed when they heard Haruto turn her down.

"Sure."

The two sides passed each other.

"See you~"

"See you."

"..."

The straight stretch around the corner was only so long, and the voices, somewhere between noisy and airy, soon faded into the distance.

Haruto lowered his head and unrolled the thin slip of paper in his hand.

"Well~"

A pale blue flame rose and quickly burned the slip to ash.

Released at full strength, it would have been a standard Sōkatsui, and Hadō had always been easier to release on a large scale than a small one. One look at Munechika's palm after casting it showed that Sōkatsui wasn't easy to learn, yet Haruto had summoned flames of equal intensity without even using an abbreviated incantation.

His fellow students lacked the talent, while Haruto simply thought it wasn't worth the effort.

"Now I owe her two more favors."

Haruto chuckled and walked straight into his dorm building.

Ayaka had helped him twice: with the sweets he gave Nanao, and with information about Munechika's family Zanpakuto. The former had been supplied by her brother, who was active in the Thirteenth Division, while Juzu Izumi had let the latter slip to her while boasting.

Even before the two became friends, Haruto had found the surname Kurumadani vaguely familiar. It took him over a year to finally remember where he had heard it:

Zennosuke Kurumadani.

That was "Mr. Imoyama," who had trapped Hōgyoku Aizen with his Shikai for a full five seconds during the battle of Karakura Town.

There wasn't the slightest mockery intended.

A Soul Reaper capable of using Shikai deserved Zennosuke Kurumadani's self-description as an elite. Karakura Town was the foremost Jūreichi in the eastern World of the Living, and as a member of the purification team, Zennosuke Kurumadani had to have been at least a high-ranking Seated Officer of the Thirteenth Division to qualify for responsibility over the area.

Besides.

The Kurumadani Clan name might not have sounded impressive, but the family were mid-ranking nobles. The second favor Ayaka had given Haruto might well have been information Juzu Izumi deliberately leaked to show off his standing in front of her.

So...

Friendships between girls were just that interesting.

"Clatter."

Haruto knocked on the dorm room door.

After repeating this twice and waiting three seconds, Haruto waited no longer and promptly opened the sliding partition door.

Come to think of it, for something made of paper to provide such good soundproofing, there might have been some Kidō applied to it.

"Thud."

The door closed.

The approaching midday sun shone into the room, making the delicate-looking boy with a single ponytail look especially dashing.

A Zanpakuto lay horizontally across his crossed legs.

This was a form of seated meditation that had existed in Soul Society for a long time, used to communicate with one's Zanpakuto. It was called "Jinzen." The meditation Ichigo Kurosaki used to master "Mugetsu" in the Dangai was a time-enhanced version of Jinzen.

"..."

Haruto stared for quite a while at the boy occupying the entire entryway.