In the blink of an eye, thirty-seven years had passed since Jun came to Soul Society.
Jun had grown up bit by bit. Thanks to his training, and perhaps also to genetics, he was around 1.6 meters tall at fourteen years old (one hundred and forty years old). He looked like a big boy now.
It was another graduation year. In May, Aizen came to the academy again to work as an instructor, and Jun found him in his spare time. The two had some drinks together.
Aizen taught for two of the three months of April, May and June every year. Whenever the Fifth Division had a teaching assignment, Aizen was always the one sent, and he stayed for two months each time. Jun was used to it by now; those two months were when the two of them caught up each year.
"Your senior still hasn't graduated?"
"Ah~" Jun looked away.
"You're impressive~~" Aizen looked at Jun with an amused glint in his eyes.
"Uh, I guess so."
Jun knew that Isuzu Takasugi had already been studying at the academy for seventeen years when he enrolled. With another thirty-seven years gone by, Isuzu had now studied for fifty-four years. In another six, she would be forced to graduate.
Isuzu had a real talent for Kidō. Before she had even spent thirty years at the academy, she had already been able to cast Bakudō No. 73, Tōzanshō. That was a level many people might not reach even in sixty years.
She had long since met the requirements to graduate, whether she wanted to join the Kidō Corps or the Research and Development Institute.
But she was still staying with Jun. The fourth girls' dormitory was now home to just the two of them. Jun and Isuzu had seen the occupants of the neighboring dormitories come and go more than once, but no one had ever moved out of the fourth dormitory, and no one new had moved in. It was as if it had become completely out of place among the others.
"Heh~ Are you two involved?"
"Hey~ I never knew you were such a gossip."
"Haha, all right, I won't pry. Here, have another drink." Aizen laughed as he poured Jun another cup.
"Please."
The two drained their cups, and Aizen poured Jun another. They were drinking a little fast. Sake might not be very strong, but drinking together had never been just about the alcohol, and neither of them was a drunkard.
"Did something happen? Why are we drinking so fast today?"
"I'm fine. All these years, I've had two-month teaching assignments and one-month postings to the World of the Living. My father has arranged things well for me, so I don't have to worry about my safety."
Jun had a pretty good impression of Aizen as he was now. At this point, Aizen was really just an angry young man, not yet on the level of a boss. He had ideas but lacked the ability to act on them, which was actually pretty good.
But after thinking over Aizen's words, Jun stopped with the cup in his hand just as he was about to drink. "What do you mean?"
"Exactly what you think. Something happened to you."
"How could anything have happened to me?" Jun scoffed. He was about to drink, but his hand shook, and the cup fell to the ground. His whole body trembled slightly. "Did something happen to Yuzu and Nana?"
Jun felt his breathing catch. He stared fixedly at Aizen, who looked calmly back at him. But Jun really didn't want Aizen to be so calm right now, because it meant he wasn't joking.
"Yuzuki Samidare, forty-fourth seat of the Thirteenth Division, went to the World of the Living on a Soul Guidance mission in early March this year. She encountered a special Hollow, suspected to be an Evil Spirit, and was killed in battle."
"..." Jun didn't know what he was doing. For an instant, his mind went blank. Then scenes from the time he had spent living with Yuzuki Samidare began to flash through it. A soul's memory was excellent, and the passage of time in Soul Society wasn't obvious. For an instant, it all seemed like yesterday, but now...
Aizen pressed all the alcohol he had brought into Jun's hands. "I thought you might need this, so I brought extra. Take it back and drink it at your own pace. Try to take it in stride."
Jun looked around, his eyes feeling uncomfortable. To him, Yuzu had been an older sister and half a mother, caring for him wholeheartedly like a mother. It was a special bond, and Jun was deeply, deeply grateful to the girl, even though he was much older than Yuzu mentally.
Now, hearing the terrible news so suddenly, Jun felt utterly miserable, but he wasn't surprised by Yuzu's death. As he had said before, given Yuzu's strength and the state of Soul Society, she was cannon fodder. Without some special encounter on the level of a protagonist's, she would be used up sooner or later.
But now it seemed a little too soon. Thirty years was both a long time and a short time. Jun had only just begun to get used to the feeling of a long life, and just as he had begun to feel that time didn't matter so much, this had happened.
"Haah~~ Thank you." Jun stood up, clutching the alcohol. "Sorry we couldn't have a proper drink together."
Aizen raised his cup in a toast from where he sat. "It's all right. I attended her funeral in your place. If you want to know more about her life, you can come see me again once you're feeling better. I met Onibe from the Tenth Division at the funeral. She'll probably take a teaching assignment and come see you later."
Jun put down the alcohol, went over to Aizen and knelt, bowing deeply. "Thank you so very much~!"
Aizen nodded, and Jun got up and left.
Just like that, Jun heard the second piece of terrible news since coming to Soul Society. Unlike the first, the death of both his parents, which hadn't affected him much, this felt more like losing a mother.
Jun's return took Isuzu, who was resting in the dormitory, by surprise. Jun had been drinking with Aizen for many years, so Isuzu naturally knew about it, and he had come back far too early this time.
"Jun, you're back?" Isuzu came out of the bedroom and saw the desolate look on his face. "What's wrong? What happened?"
Isuzu came over, took the alcohol and supported Jun. They were about the same height now, and Isuzu's small face came close to his as she led him to a seat in the little dining room.
After putting the alcohol away, Isuzu came back and sat across from Jun. They looked at each other, and the girl had a faint sense that something was wrong.
"What happened?"
"Phew~~~ Heh." Jun let out a long breath, his chest tight. He hardly dared look at Isuzu. "Prepare yourself."
Isuzu had spent longer in Soul Society than Jun, and she already had some idea. She half rose to her feet and cried out, trembling, "Tell me! What happened!?"
"Yuzu died."
Isuzu dropped into her chair as though the bones had gone out of her. Her arms fell onto the table with a thud, but there was no other sound in the room. After quite a while, quiet sobbing began.
Jun moved over and took the girl in his arms. "Go ahead and cry. You'll feel much better if you let it out."
Isuzu began to cry loudly, and her tears soon soaked Jun's clothes. His eyes were red, but no tears fell. A man had to hold them back.
She cried for a long time. When she finally stopped, the girl pulled away from Jun's arms, her eyes swollen and her voice hoarse.
"When did it happen?" A few more tears fell as she spoke.
"In March."
"Did Senior Aizen tell you?"
"Yeah. There's no way I could have heard it from anyone else."
"The funeral..." At that, Isuzu began sobbing again. "We didn't even go to her funeral. Wuu~~ Yuzu~~ Ah~~~"
"Yeah~" Jun reached out to wipe the girl's tears, his own voice somewhat choked. "There was no way for us to go. Senior Aizen went in our place, and he saw Nana there too."
Isuzu nodded. "Mm~ Then thank Senior Aizen for me the next time you see him."
"All right, I will."
"Jun, in the future, I..."
"No! I won't let you die."
"Mm~"
Just like that, Jun suddenly had a girlfriend.
But nothing else changed between them. After so many years, their relationship had already been little different from that of a couple. As the saying went, keeping someone company was the longest-lasting confession of love.
After resting for a few days, Jun went with Isuzu to see Aizen, effectively telling him about their relationship. Aizen congratulated the young couple, then told them about Yuzu.
There wasn't actually much to tell, and Aizen didn't know much either. From other members of the Thirteenth Division, he had learned that Yuzu was very dedicated. After becoming a Soul Reaper, she had always done her work without complaint. Though she wasn't especially talented, she was hardworking and willing, taking part in the division's affairs both big and small, and she was a good person too.
In every respect, she fit the mold of a Soul Reaper, and she had risen steadily through the seats. It was just an accident; there was no one to blame. Or rather, Yuzu could only blame herself for not being strong enough.
Yuzuki Samidare came from Rukongai District 27. Like many others from Rukongai, she was a human soul brought there by a Soul Reaper. After an unknown number of years in Soul Society, she applied to Shin'ō Academy and was accepted. She graduated after thirty-six years of study and was selected to join the Thirteenth Division as a member.
Now all that remained was a stone marker in a cemetery.
"Funerals aren't common in Soul Society, but over the years, there have always been people who privately put up memorial stones for their friends and relatives. I don't know where Samidare's grave is, but Onibe should be able to tell you when she comes in a few months."
"Thank you, Senior."
"Mm. Then I won't see you out. Come by often."
"All right. Sorry to have disturbed you. Goodbye."
Yuzu's death made Jun feel for the first time just how close death was to him. At the same time, the feeling he had suppressed in his heart could no longer be held down. Jun felt that the wild beast inside him could break free at any moment, turning him into another person who would tear apart everything in Soul Society.
Fortunately, Jun still had his reason, and he wouldn't change himself so easily. After that, he simply stopped hiding what he had concealed from Isuzu all along and let his girlfriend know his true strength.
After that, Isuzu changed. She became a little woman, especially clingy with Jun. She deferred to his wishes in everything and did everything she could to help him train. If her support before had been a ten, it was a hundred now.
In mid-September of the same year, Nana Onibe arrived at the academy as a Hakuda instructor and went straight back to the fourth dormitory. The two girls held each other and cried all night.
For the rest of her stay, Nana completely monopolized Isuzu. The tsundere girl was more sensitive than Jun and took Yuzu's death harder. Jun and Isuzu could lean on each other, but Nana had no one, so Jun let her have Isuzu.
Nana dragged things out for three months before finally completing her assignment and leaving. A few days later, another new year arrived.
As a year passed, Yuzu's death was no longer on their minds every moment. People still had to look forward, and so six years flew by. At last, it was time for Isuzu to graduate.
"Join the Twelfth Division. There aren't many assignments there, so it's very safe."
"Mm~ I'll listen to you." Isuzu leaned against Jun's shoulder and asked softly, "What about you?"
"Me?" Jun thought for a moment. "I want to join the Tenth Division."
"To see Nana? Hmm~~?"
"Hmm~~ what? Why are you being so sarcastic?" Jun pinched the girl's little nose. "I'm not going to see Nana. I'm going to keep an eye on her."
"Hee-hee~ All right, then." The girl bashfully nuzzled against Jun and said with a smile, "I really want to see Nana's face when she finds out you were this strong all along. It's such a shame I won't get to see it~ Hee-hee-hee."
"Why can't you? If it comes to that, I'll just ask you to come watch my seat challenge."
"How could I? Outsiders aren't allowed to watch seat challenges within a division, you dummy. It's not the 11th Division."
"All right, all right. That really is a shame."
"Exactly. Such a shame."
The two nestled against each other, neither speaking for a long time. When the night bell rang, the girl suddenly called out.
"Jun~"
"I'm here."
"I want to marry you."
"All right, I'll marry you."
As he spoke, Jun picked the girl up and carried her back to the dormitory. Only this time, they didn't part and go to separate rooms.