Chapter Summaries

After his parents died in battle, Jun Shimizu resolved to become a Soul Reaper and used their funeral to ask Captain Shunsui Kyōraku for a place at Shin'ō Academy. Kyōraku agreed to send Jun to school and offered to care for Jun’s younger sister, Kiyoshi, leaving the siblings with a path forward.

• Jun woke at his parents’ funeral, reflected on his new life in Soul Society, and decided he needed to become a Soul Reaper to survive.
• Uncle Imari explained that Jun and Kiyoshi could be taken in by friends of their parents, and Jun considered where they should go.
• The Tenth Division arrived to apologize after Uncle Imari explained that Jun’s parents had died fighting a Gillian-class Menos Grande while waiting for reinforcements.
• Captain Shunsui Kyōraku visited to pay his respects, and Jun asked him to let him attend Shin'ō Academy.
• Kyōraku agreed to send Jun to the academy and offered to look after Kiyoshi, and Jun and Kiyoshi thanked him together.

After his parents’ deaths, Jun entered Shin'ō Academy with Jing’s future secured through the Ise Clan and Shunsui Kyōraku’s help. Acting Head Takasu showed Jun around and assigned him to a detached dormitory with an unknown roommate, where Jun’s academy life began.

• Shunsui Kyōraku visited Jun and Jing as Jun mourned his parents, then arranged Jun’s admission to Shin'ō Academy.
• A month later, Kyōraku led the siblings away from their former home and took Jun to the academy, where Jing’s adoption by the head of the Ise Clan was explained.
• Kyōraku introduced Jun to Acting Head Takasu, declined to arrange special treatment for him, and left after Jun promised to find him once he became a Soul Reaper.
• Acting Head Takasu explained the academy’s rules and unusual instructor arrangements, then took Jun to a detached dormitory because there were no dormitory instructors.
• Takasu told Jun that his roommate would take care of him and vanished with Shunpo, leaving Jun uneasy about his new quarters.

Jun waited outside his assigned dormitory and met three older female students who discovered he was a ten-year-old boy. After hearing his story about his parents, the girls agreed to keep him in their room and protect him.

• Jun reviewed what he had learned about Soul Society and the Eighth Division while waiting outside the dark dormitory.
• Three girls arrived, and Nana pointed her sword at Jun until the others asked who he was and why he was there.
• Jun introduced himself as a new Shin'ō Academy student and said Acting Headmaster Takasudai had assigned him the dormitory.
• The girls questioned Jun about his age and enrollment, then became moved by his account of his parents' deaths and his resolve to become a Soul Reaper.
• The three girls agreed that Jun could stay in their room and promised to take care of him.

Jun settled into the girls' dormitory and began studying at Shin'ō Academy, where Instructor Hanazawa taught him the basics while he struggled to sense Reishi. After recognizing Reishi through eating, Jun learned he had surpassed even Aizen's record, and he wondered at the unexpected mention of Aizen.

• Jun learned that his parents' deaths fighting a Menos Grande had made them heroes and that the Tenth Division had been disciplined for its failure.
• Yuzuki Samidare explained Shin'ō Academy's enrollment, graduation, and division requirements while helping Jun find instruction outside the usual enrollment season.
• Instructor Hanazawa taught Jun writing and the arts, explaining that Reishi could be sensed through Kadō, Shodō, or Zanjutsu.
• After realizing that food and breathing involved Reishi, Jun focused on the sensations of eating and successfully sensed Reishi after five days.
• Instructor Hanazawa and Yuzu compared Jun's achievement with Aizen's half-month record and Kyōraku's seven-day record, while Jun wondered what he had heard about Aizen.

Jun completed Reishi Quality in nine days and learned that his combined times for Reishi Sense and Reishi Quality might make him the fastest in the academy’s history. He decided to seek out the student Aizen while trying to keep his own aptitude from attracting attention.

• Instructor Hanazawa explained Reishi Sense, Reishi Quality, Basic Spiritual Power, and aptitude to Jun, then dismissed him to begin seclusion.
• Jun spent five days in his room and completed Reishi Quality, but hid his success after Senior Yuzu told him that Ukitake had done it in five days.
• While recovering, Jun decided to look for the student Aizen and considered copying Aizen’s unremarkable path through Soul Society.
• After five more days, Jun ended his seclusion and told Senior Yuzu he had succeeded.
• Senior Yuzu told Jun that he completed Reishi Quality in nine days and that his combined record for Reishi Sense and Reishi Quality might be the academy’s fastest.

Jun struggled with unwanted fame and spent three months learning swordsmanship from Tachikawa Zan while missing formal Kidō lessons. With Isuzu Takasugi tutoring him in Kidō and Nana Onibe pointing him toward the Journal Hall, Jun decided to search the seniors’ journals for useful knowledge.

• Jun’s record-breaking Reishi Sense and combined completion time made him famous at Shin'ō Academy, while the Kyōraku and Ise Clans regretted not adopting Kiyoshi Shimizu.
• Tachikawa Zan defeated the other swordsmanship instructors and made Jun practice thousands of cuts and thrusts each day for three months.
• Jun’s new Kidō instructor held a class while Jun was away, then disliked him for missing it, so Isuzu Takasugi began tutoring him in basic Hadō and Bakudō.
• Jun’s modern perspective helped him think through Kidō’s principles, and Isuzu praised his talent and urged him to join the Kidō Corps.
• Nana Onibe told Jun about the dormitory area’s Journal Hall, where academy seniors’ old journals were kept, and Jun chose to go look through them.

Jun visited the neglected Journal Hall, organized its journals, and met Sōsuke Aizen, another regular reader. They struck up a friendly connection, while Jun recognized Aizen as the dangerous figure he knew from his previous life.

• Jun entered the Journal Hall, lit its spirit candle, and sorted the scattered journals into boxes labeled for interesting, useful, historical, and discarded material.
• After finishing the sorting, Jun left for lunch and returned to find a man reading inside the hall.
• Jun and the man spoke about the journals and discovered that the stranger was Sōsuke Aizen, whose record for awakening Jun had recently broken.
• Aizen politely explained that Jun’s achievement had lifted the burden of his long-held record, while Jun hid his unease at meeting the future enemy he knew.
• Jun and Aizen agreed on how to address each other, then returned to reading and established a friendly connection.

Jun followed an intense daily training schedule and successfully cast Hadō #10 without an incantation on his first attempt. He tried to provoke a revealing reaction from Aizen, but remained unsure whether Aizen was acting or had not yet become the person Jun feared.

• Jun trained in swordsmanship, Hakuda, Shunpo, and Kidō each day, sharing the Notes Hall with Aizen for quiet practice.
• Jun cast Hadō #10: Roar for the first time, startling Aizen with its power and prompting Aizen to tell him to practice higher-level Hadō at the training ground.
• Jun argued that incantations wasted time and began drawing on Reishi to cast Roar without one.
• Jun successfully cast Roar without an incantation, impressing Aizen and claiming he had only just learned the spell.
• Jun reflected that he had deliberately tried to make Aizen reveal something about his past, but Aizen's reaction gave him no answers.
• Aizen allowed Jun to keep practicing number ten in the Notes Hall, and Jun resumed training while planning to test Aizen again.

Jun used dinner discussions with Yuzu, Isuzu, and Nana to learn about Kidō incantations and the beliefs behind them. Isuzu’s account left Jun wondering whether Heaven and Hell truly existed, and he decided to ask Aizen what he knew.

• Jun returned to the dormitory and encouraged the girls to share their Kidō training insights, using his supposed progress as an excuse to challenge Soul Society’s secrecy around knowledge.
• At dinner, Jun revealed that he had mastered the sixth spell, astonishing Nana, who was still short of the graduation requirement after twenty-six years of training.
• Jun and the girls discussed the elemental Hadō and binding-focused Bakudō spells, then Isuzu explained the mythological figures and beings named in their incantations.
• Isuzu’s explanation led Jun to suspect that Heaven and Hell were real, leaving him unsettled about Soul Society’s place in the conflict between them.
• Jun wondered what Aizen knew about Heaven and Hell and decided to ask him.

Jun tested Aizen’s beliefs about the ancient war and found that they shared doubts about the Soul King’s divinity, bringing them closer as Aizen began giving him extra Kidō lessons. Jun left pleased with his probe, then hurried back to the dormitory, where Yuzu scolded him for being late but had saved him dinner.

• Jun asked Aizen whether he believed that an ancient war had taken place and that humans had won the Soul Society.
• Aizen scolded Jun for voicing heretical speculation, but agreed that they could discuss such ideas privately.
• Jun and Aizen theorized about the ancient war and agreed that humans had ultimately won; afterward, Aizen began giving Jun additional Kidō instruction.
• After nearly six hours of discussion, Jun left, privately pleased that he had uncovered Aizen’s hidden doubts, while Aizen wondered how Jun had seen through him.
• Jun returned to the dormitory late, and Yuzu scolded him before revealing that she had saved him dinner.

Jun and Aizen strengthened their relationship through Kidō practice, but a conversation about their mothers and dangerous Soul Reaper missions revealed Aizen’s resentment toward Soul Society’s leadership and system. Jun recognized how the system’s disregard for ordinary Soul Reapers could breed hatred, and resolved to focus on surviving until he had enough strength to change things.

• Over two months, Jun mastered Kidō spells through Hadō 22 and Bakudō 17, while discovering that Aizen shared his talent for controlling Reishi and skipping incantations.
• Yuzuki Samidare found Jun practicing with Aizen, accepted Aizen’s guidance, and left after the two reassured her about Jun’s circumstances.
• Aizen told Jun that his mother, Seirin Aizen, had died as part of a Fifth Division rescue team that was wiped out during a disastrous expedition to Hueco Mundo.
• Aizen questioned what Soul Reapers were meant to be and criticized the system that sent them on missions with a fifty percent death rate; Jun suspected this resentment would later lead Aizen to attack Central 46.
• Jun concluded that Soul Society’s treatment of less talented Soul Reapers and their loved ones created deep grievances, then decided to prioritize staying alive and gaining strength.

Yuzuki graduated, and Jun’s life at the academy continued through several years of training and changing friendships. After Isuzu discovered how much of his Kidō ability he had concealed, she agreed to help him train.

• Yuzuki signed up for the graduation exam, and Jun, Nana Onibe, and Isuzu saw her off, unaware that Jun would never see her again.
• Jun continued his Kidō training and became the journal library’s curator, while Nana Onibe graduated into the Tenth Division three years later.
• After Nana Onibe graduated, Aizen became Jun’s Hakuda and swordsmanship practice partner, and Jun and Isuzu settled into a quieter life together.
• Isuzu found Jun practicing Bakudō number fifty-one and confronted him about hiding his abilities; Jun explained that he wanted to keep some strength concealed.
• Isuzu revealed how she had bypassed Jun’s warning measures, then agreed to guide his Kidō training after Jun asked for her help.

Jun helped Isuzu master Tōzanshō and used her barrier to train his Kidō, while Aizen eventually left the academy for the Fifth Division. A year later, Aizen returned to teach swordsmanship at Shin'ō Academy, surprising Jun.

• Jun helped Isuzu identify Reishi nodes and coordinate them with her incantation until she successfully cast Tōzanshō after seventeen days.
• Isuzu enclosed Jun in Tōzanshō so he could train, and Jun began mastering instant Hadō casts while she exhausted her spiritual power maintaining the barrier.
• Jun continued afternoon Kidō training with Isuzu as his academy years passed, while Aizen avoided the Journal Hall to keep Isuzu from learning too much.
• In his sixteenth year at the academy, Aizen told Jun he was leaving and said he would join the Fifth Division, where his father served.
• A year later, Aizen returned to Shin'ō Academy as a Fifth Division swordsmanship instructor, and Jun was startled to see him teaching.

Jun learned that Yuzuki Samidare had died on a mission, and he and Isuzu grieved together before becoming a couple. Six years later, Isuzu graduated and planned to join the Twelfth Division while Jun chose the Tenth; they agreed to marry.

• Aizen told Jun that Yuzuki Samidare had been killed by a special Hollow during a Soul Guidance mission, and Jun left to share the news with Isuzu.
• Jun comforted Isuzu as she mourned Yuzu, and the two became a couple.
• Jun and Isuzu visited Aizen, who told them what he knew about Yuzu’s life and said Onibe could show them her grave.
• Nana Onibe visited the academy, and she and Isuzu grieved together; Jun let Nana spend her stay with Isuzu.
• Six years later, Isuzu graduated and chose the Twelfth Division while Jun planned to join the Tenth Division.
• Jun and Isuzu agreed to marry and returned to their dormitory together.

After spending decades at the academy, Jun reunited with her little sister, Jun, and trained her until she could graduate. As Jun prepared to graduate herself, her sister insisted on graduating alongside her, and the siblings submitted their applications together.

• Jun ignored rumors about her long enrollment and trained in Kidō at the Journal Hall until her little sister, Jun, arrived and found her.
• Jun welcomed Jun to the women's fourth dormitory, cared for her, and trained her in spiritual awareness, Hakuda, swordsmanship, and Kidō.
• Jun completed her spiritual awareness in seventeen days and formed her spiritual body in four sessions over eight days, then received private lessons from Jun and Aizen.
• Six years later, Jun said she planned to graduate, and Jun insisted she would graduate with her brother.
• Jun told Jun about the older sister she had never met, and the siblings submitted graduation applications together.
• Jun told the acting headmaster that Jun was a genius ready to graduate, and they left to begin their assessments.

Jun attended his graduation exam with Jing and stunned the gathered Soul Reapers with his combat skills and powerful Kidō. He passed and was immediately claimed by the Tenth Division, where he was told to attempt its Ninth Seat assessment.

• Jun greeted the captains, instructors, and acquaintances at the exam, received Shunsui Kyōraku’s encouragement, and reunited with Isuzu, whom he introduced to Jing as her sister-in-law.
• The examinees began their tests, and Jun announced that he wanted to join the Tenth Division.
• Jun defeated his first opponent with Flash Step, then impressed Sixth Seat Mizunami with his Hakuda and fought him in a lengthy swordsmanship match.
• Jun cast Hadō number eighty-three, Gaki Rekko, inside barriers raised by four captains, then revealed his high-level Kidō abilities without incantations.
• Shiba Ichigen accepted Jun into the Tenth Division and told him to take its internal assessment for a chance at Ninth Seat.

After graduating with exceptional results, Jun joined the Tenth Division and defeated its ninth seat, Asai Shinten, to earn the position. He then visited Isuzu at the Twelfth Division, where Captain Kirio Hikifune gave the couple a month together before Jun's next duty.

• Jun and Jing celebrated their graduation achievements, and Jun thanked the Ise Clan for caring for Jing while reaffirming that she would remain an Ise.
• Jun reported to the Tenth Division, where Lieutenant Isshin Shiba arranged a match for the ninth seat against Asai Shinten.
• Jun defeated Asai by binding her with a series of Kidō spells, including Soul Seal, and Isshin Shiba confirmed her loss.
• Jun returned to the Twelfth Division to see Isuzu, and Kirio Hikifune welcomed him with an embrace that prompted Isuzu to pull him away.
• Kirio Hikifune granted Isuzu a month of leave, and Jun carried his fiancée out of the Twelfth Division.

After visiting Yuzu’s grave, Jun returned to the Gotei 13 and began work as the Tenth Division’s ninth seat, where he chose Asai Shinten as his aide and learned that he had no regular duties. He joined Nana Onibe on patrol beyond Rukongai, and they began searching the woods for Hollows.

• Jun, Nana, and Isuzu visited Yuzu’s grave, then Jun took Isuzu back to the Twelfth Division and settled into his Tenth Division quarters.
• Jun chose Asai Shinten as his aide, though she was away on assignment in the World of the Living.
• Isshin Shiba explained that Jun had skipped ordinary duties and could use his time freely, but Jun asked to join a patrol.
• Jun and Nana left Seireitei for the Tenth Division’s patrol grounds, bickering as they went.
• Nana explained that their patrol was meant to find and eliminate Hollows beyond Rukongai, and Jun challenged her to show off her Shunpo.

Jun Shimizu and Nana Onibe encountered a group of Hollows during a patrol, and Jun led the responding Soul Reapers in defeating them. He captured five stronger Hollows for his fiancée’s research at the Twelfth Division, earning the other Soul Reapers’ respect.

• Jun used Bakudō #58 to detect twenty-four Hollows, and Nana fired a signal flare for support.
• Jun and Nana met a squad led by Nineteenth Seat Miyagi, who sensed only nineteen Hollows, and Jun guided the group toward the enemy.
• Jun killed eleven Hollows with Kidō while the other Soul Reapers defeated the remaining Hollows in their approach.
• Jun retreated with the group to meet reinforcements, then organized fifteen Soul Reapers to drive five stronger Hollows together.
• Jun immobilized the five Hollows with Bakudō and sealed their senses and spiritual power so they could be taken to the Twelfth Division for research.

Jun’s first day as a Soul Reaper ended with him earning praise and mission points after bringing five captured Hollows to the Twelfth Division. He returned to the Tenth Division and spent the night with Isuzu, pleased with his new life.

• Jun brought the bound Hollows through Rukongai, and Fourteenth Seat Taki reminded him to notify the Seventh Division before entering Seireitei.
• Lieutenant Kotetsu Bunta and the Seventh Division inspected Jun’s Kidō seals, praised his combat skill, and joked with him.
• Kuruyashiki Kenpachi teased Tachikawa Zan about Jun’s Kidō as the group passed the 11th Division.
• Captain Hikifune greeted Jun at the Twelfth Division, where Isuzu pulled him into an embrace and Hikifune took charge of the Hollows.
• Jun toured the Twelfth Division’s workshops, then returned to the Tenth Division and received Captain Isshin Shiba’s commendation and learned about mission points.
• Jun returned to the dormitory and spent the night with Isuzu, considering his first day a success.