Chapter 5

The referee clearly knew Munechika and Haruto. The way he addressed them in his thoughts also revealed his background and leanings.

His guess was just headed in the wrong direction.

"Graduating early..."

"Wait!"

When the two came closer and the referee saw the unmistakable hostility on Munechika's face, he finally realized what was happening.

"Are these two going to have a Live-Blade Match?"

Early graduation exams were uncommon, but they did occasionally occur among nobles studying at Shin'ō Academy. Most were conducted privately, however. Although they were recorded in the academy's files, they were not publicly announced.

Whether they wanted to keep a low profile or conceal their abilities, the referee was only responsible for his own work and had no curiosity to spare.

A Live-Blade Match, by contrast, would cause a very different kind of commotion. According to the instructions Shigekuni Yamamoto had left when he founded Shin'ō Academy, such matches were open to students and teachers of every year, so that students would take the consequences seriously.

There might even be...

Captains and lieutenants in the neighboring Grand Auditorium who were interested enough to come over and take a look on a whim.

"Sixth Seat Mitarai."

While the referee was lost in thought, Mutsuki Shōkaku had stepped up in front of him.

"Uh..."

"Seventh Seat Mutsuki."

The instructor acting as referee, Mitarai, served in the Fifth Division just as she did, and was even one seat above Mutsuki Shōkaku.

Yet when faced with Mutsuki, Mitarai was even more deferential:

Mutsuki Shōkaku was a noble of higher standing than Mitarai, who came from a commoner background. Not only was she much younger than the elderly Mitarai, but her actual combat ability also far surpassed his. Although Mutsuki had chosen to keep that secret for certain reasons, Mitarai had taught for so many years that his discerning eye could still see what set her apart.

His attitude was only natural.

"As for this Live-Blade Match..."

Mutsuki Shōkaku, who was usually easygoing with her colleagues, shed her customary laziness and asked very seriously:

"Would you mind letting me act as referee?"

As Munechika and Haruto's teacher, there was no reason she could not preside over the match. But the Grand Training Grounds were where graduation exams were held, after all, and she would be taking the place—and the spotlight—of a senior officer in her division, so she naturally had to ask.

"...Of course."

Mitarai answered without hesitation.

"Thank you, senior."

Seeing how agreeable he was, Mutsuki's manner softened considerably.

"Not at all, not at all!"

Mitarai hastily waved a hand.

"If you need someone, I can manage the Kaidō too."

A Live-Blade Match required a Soul Reaper proficient in Kaidō to stand by, and in that regard... it had to be said that Mitarai was an excellent choice. Even the headmaster of Shin'ō Academy was only the Fourth Seat of a division. Given Mitarai's status as the Fifth Division's Sixth Seat and the person in charge of the graduation exams—he had secured the easy job of overseeing Hakuda for himself—having him stand by could even be considered a waste of talent.

As the rescue division, the Fifth Division's Seated Officers were generally second only to those of the Fourth Division in their talent for Kaidō.

"Then I'm sorry for the trouble, Sixth Seat Mitarai."

Hearing that, Mutsuki took him up on the offer.

"Not a problem, not a problem."

Volume one: 004, old acquaintances

The main entrance to the Grand Training Grounds.

Munechika and Haruto walked inside side by side.

Haruto did not actually want to walk beside him, but whether he sped up or slowed down, Munechika changed his pace to match.

Just like a sulking child.

"Munechika."

Haruto looked straight ahead as he spoke to Munechika without turning his head.

Even though he had decided to teach him a lesson, Haruto's manner was still quite mild when he spoke.

He even addressed him by name in a very friendly way.

"What?"

Munechika's attitude, on the other hand, was openly confrontational.

"Having a Live-Blade Match here will delay the Spiritual Arts Academy's graduation exams... Aren't you afraid the seniors will come looking for trouble?"

The graduation exams and the employment selections that followed were held on the same day. The more time wasted on the exams, the fewer openings would remain in the divisions of the Gotei 13, the Kidō Corps, and the Stealth Force.

The match they were about to start might cause several graduates to lose the positions they wanted.

"Tch!"

Hearing Haruto's words, Munechika curled his lip in disdain.

"I'm the heir to the Mikazuki Clan. Do those good-for-nothing bottom feeders dare come looking for trouble with me?"

Although Munechika could not stand Haruto, he looked down even more on the students who had dragged things out until graduating in their sixth year.

There was no respect for his seniors in his words.

"Is that so?"

Haruto responded with a faint, ambiguous smile.

At that point, Munechika realized that Haruto seemed to have tricked him again:

Munechika had always spoken loudly.

Normally, those sixth-year graduates would never have dared provoke him. But after Munechika had drawn their resentment, they would surely hold it against him and might trip him up someday.

"Haruto, you bas—"

"Speaking of which."

Before Munechika could vent his anger, Haruto cut him off with perfect timing.

"Huh?"

Munechika's drawn-out tone betrayed his irritation.

"I thought you'd already given up. What made you dare accept my challenge today?"

Munechika was not stupid, but unfortunately, his emotions were written all over his face.

"What, you want me to let you in on my secret so you won't lose quite so badly?"

Hearing Haruto's question, Munechika grew even more arrogant.

"No~"

Haruto shook his head, his gaze casually flicking over the Asauchi at Munechika's waist.

"You wasted half a year and still couldn't get your Zanpakuto to achieve Shikai. What made you so arrogant?"

For a Soul Reaper, the greatest breakthroughs were the two releases of their Zanpakuto, each of which meant a multiplication of combat power.

From the look of him, Munechika clearly had not achieved his Zanpakuto's Shikai. Otherwise, he could not have backed down before Teacher Mutsuki.

"You bastard!"

Haruto had hit a sore spot:

While Haruto practiced Kidō, Munechika had been busy communicating with his Zanpakuto... After all, achieving Shikai would mean soaring to the top in a single bound.

Unfortunately.

Not only was Shikai nowhere in sight, but the gap between them in Kidō had widened further. On top of that, Munechika hated being called arrogant more than anything—

For a surname as elegant-sounding as Mikazuki, being described as "arrogant" was the greatest insult. It was also the kind of reprimand Munechika had heard most often from his elders since birth.

"Who gave you the nerve to mock a noble like this?!"

"Liang Jingru."

"???"

As Munechika racked his brains, trying to identify the noble surname Haruto had mentioned.

"Don't bother thinking about it."

Haruto's voice had imperceptibly moved away from Munechika's side.

The Mikazuki Clan was a fairly well-known mid-ranking noble family in Soul Society. Its only shortcoming was that it lacked the protection of a great noble family. Even if Haruto knew a higher-ranking noble who could easily deal with the Mikazuki Clan, Munechika could not possibly have failed to hear of them.

There were not many more families qualified to be called higher-ranking nobles than the four at the very top.

"Tap."

Haruto stopped, one centimeter before the line marking the boundary between the outside and inside of the Grand Training Grounds.

"The match..."

His long, narrow eyes quietly narrowed, concealing his excessively sharp gaze.

"Should begin."

Shin'ō Grand Auditorium.

"Th... thank you!"

Nanao solemnly accepted the thin sketchbook and immediately thanked her... though she stuttered a little out of nervousness.

"Tap, tap, tap."

Without looking back, Nanao trotted all the way toward the auditorium's main entrance... again because she was nervous.

"That girl really does like you."

"Click."

The cap covered the sharp tip of the fountain pen.

The bright red pen was tucked into her breast pocket, making it stand out against her pure black, cropped sailor uniform that exposed her midriff.

Together with her matching full-rimmed glasses and slender braid—

Eighth Division Lieutenant Lisa Yadōmaru.

A female Soul Reaper who perfectly combined elegance and sex appeal, displaying the appeal of contrast to the fullest.

Lisa Yadōmaru spoke as she watched Nanao's small figure recede.

"Oh?"

A richly magnetic voice sounded, tinged with puzzlement.

"That girl was clearly asking you for an autograph. What does that have to do with me?"

A casually worn straw hat, a somewhat frivolous pink woman's coat draped over his Captain's Haori, and his trademark chest hair and flirtatious eyes—

Eighth Division Captain Shunsui Jirō Sōzōsuke Kyōraku.

The culprit responsible for awakening countless girls' attraction to older men.

"But her eyes never left you for a moment."

Lisa Yadōmaru simply scoffed at her captain's explanation.

"And..."

Lisa Yadōmaru paused before continuing.

"She's from the Ise Clan, isn't she?"