Enrollment at Shin'ō Academy (I)

After leaving the Fourth Division's medical room, Liu Ziyun was passing through a corridor lined with medicinal herbs when a light bulb suddenly went "ding" in his little head.

Wait... that isn't right! He stopped so abruptly that Tazawa Kentarō, who was walking ahead of him, nearly bumped into him. Didn't Captain Unohana say Shin'ō Academy wouldn't be recruiting students for another year? Why did she just say a few days?

Damn! They were putting on an act for me! Liu Ziyun felt like a fool who'd been kept in the dark. First they said I had to wander around outside for a year and wait to die, then they waited until I'd latched onto a powerful backer and bawled my eyes out to say, "Oh, actually, a few days will do"?

He hurried a couple of steps to catch up with Tazawa Kentarō and cautiously sounded him out. "Um... bro..."

"Who are you calling bro? Call me senior." Tazawa Kentarō didn't look back.

"Okay, bro senior," Liu Ziyun readily agreed. "About Captain Unohana saying you'd take me to Shin'ō Academy in a few days... am I going in as a transfer student?"

He tilted his head, wearing an expression that said, "I'm very innocent, so don't lie to me."

"Uh..."

Tazawa Kentarō's steps noticeably faltered.

Oh no, the captain did just fool this kid into thinking the academy wouldn't recruit until next year... The thought flashed through his mind, but as the Fourth Division's Fifth Seat, he was still capable of handling something like this.

He cleared his throat and spouted nonsense with a perfectly straight face. "You could say that. Captains have the authority to let people they have high hopes for enter the academy early. Make sure you work hard, okay? The captain has high hopes for you."

Even he felt a little guilty saying that. The captain had high hopes for him? She just thought he was "interesting"! And those hopes were most likely the "worth studying" kind!

"Oh..."

Liu Ziyun drew the word out, his eyes narrowing to slits.

Damn, doesn't this guy even rehearse his lies? he grumbled furiously to himself. Just listen to what you're saying. You sound unsure and look guilty as hell. Like I'd believe a word of it! You obviously made that up on the spot!

But... He reconsidered. Forget it. I finally managed to stay, and I'm already lucky they didn't cut me down. Lying low in the Fourth Division from now on sounds pretty good. It's not like I'm the protagonist, and those two freakish bosses won't come making trouble for the Fourth Division later anyway...

At that thought, he couldn't help letting his mind wander again.

It's just a shame about Huajie. She died such an unjust death, all to unseal that brute Kenpachi Zaraki. "There can only be one Kenpachi in an era," my ass! Who made that lousy rule? Once I'm strong enough, the first thing I'll do is get rid of it!

A scene from the future seemed to appear before his eyes: he stood before Old Man Yamamoto, wearing a Captain's Haori—the Fourth Division's, of course—and declared righteously, "I oppose this rule!" Then the whole room burst into thunderous applause...

Anyway, Huajie isn't called Kenpachi anymore, so from now on she'll be my little Retsu... hehehe...

At that thought, an obscene, smug smile spread across his face, the corners of his mouth almost reaching his ears.

"What are you thinking about now?" Tazawa Kentarō's voice pulled him back to reality. "Every time I see you smile like that, I have this urge to cut you down."

His tone was so serious that Liu Ziyun shuddered.

"Huh? Nothing!" Liu Ziyun instantly put on his purest, most innocent expression. "I was just a little excited about becoming a Soul Reaper! Saving lives, healing the wounded, protecting Soul Society—what a glorious calling!"

As he spoke, he warned himself, Damn, I have to be careful from now on! Fuck, I can't let it show on my face when I'm having dirty thoughts! Otherwise, I won't even know why someone cuts me down!

"Not every student becomes a Soul Reaper," Tazawa Kentarō said blandly, shattering Liu Ziyun's pleasant fantasy. "Some get kicked out for failing their classes at the academy. Others die on training missions—literally 'die.' A second death in Soul Society, and there's really nothing left."

He paused, then added, "There are also students who drop out for other reasons... but those students almost never appear in Soul Society again."

He said it casually, but Liu Ziyun felt a chill run down his back.

Students who drop out... don't appear in Soul Society again... A thought struck him. Wait, doesn't that mean they were judged a threat to Soul Society and locked up in the Maggot's Nest?!

He remembered that detail from the manga: the Stealth Force's Second Division, a place specifically for holding dangerous individuals!

"Then how do you get judged unqualified?" Liu Ziyun asked cautiously, deciding to find out the rules first.

"Let's see." Tazawa Kentarō thought for a moment. "Usually, you just have to pass at least two of the four disciplines: swordsmanship, hand-to-hand combat, movement, and Kidō. You can't fail all four, can you? What kind of Soul Reaper would you be then? You'd just be throwing your life away."

"Those four disciplines?" Liu Ziyun blinked. "Zanjutsu, Hakuda, footwork, and Kidō?"

"Oh, you know about them?" Tazawa Kentarō was somewhat surprised.

Of course I do. I've read the manga! Liu Ziyun felt smug, but said, "Uh... I think I heard those terms somewhere before. I don't remember."

Looks like I'll have to watch what I say from now on. I can't reveal too much of what I know... he cautioned himself.

The two returned to the little room assigned to Liu Ziyun at the Fourth Division Barracks. It was a standard single dorm room. Small as it was, it had everything: a tatami bed, a low table, a wardrobe, and a window that slid open to reveal the courtyard outside.

"You must be hungry by now, right?" Tazawa Kentarō took some food from the cupboard: a few rice balls, a bowl of miso soup, and a small dish of pickles. "Eat first, then get some rest. Once your injuries have healed, I'll find you something to do."

"Oh... okay!" Liu Ziyun's eyes lit up. "Thanks, bro! I would've forgotten if you hadn't mentioned it. I've been starving this whole time!"

He wasn't exaggerating. He really hadn't eaten a single bite since he "woke up." He hadn't noticed before because of his nerves and fear, but the moment he saw the food, his stomach let out a loud rumble.

He grabbed a rice ball and stuffed it into his mouth, wolfing it down like a refugee who hadn't eaten in three days. Grains of rice stuck to his face, and he drank the miso soup so fast that he choked, coughing until his face turned red.

Watching him eat, Tazawa Kentarō couldn't help putting a hand to his forehead. "Uh... watching you eat, I can't help feeling you starved to death in your sleep."

"Uh... I don't think so." Liu Ziyun stuffed a second rice ball into his mouth and mumbled, "If you were hungry, you'd wake up... right?"

Only after saying it did he realize that Tazawa Kentarō was mocking his table manners!

Damn! He rolled his eyes inwardly, but didn't stop eating. I'm starving to death. Who cares how I look! Besides, I'm a kid now. It's perfectly normal for kids to have bad table manners!

"I'm leaving, then. There's work to take care of in the division." Tazawa Kentarō turned to go, but looked back at the door to remind him, "Don't run around the division. Once your injuries heal, we'll find you something you can do—cleaning, sorting medicinal herbs, things like that."

"Yes, yes, yes! I promise I won't run around!" Liu Ziyun mumbled through a mouthful of food.

The door closed.

Liu Ziyun was alone in the room. He slowed his eating and looked around the little room as he chewed.

So this... is my first "home" in Soul Society? He felt a little dazed. It wasn't a dream. I really did transmigrate...

He looked down at his little hand and pinched his arm hard.

"Ah—ow!"

The pain couldn't have been more real.

All right, I accept my fate. He sighed, but soon perked up again. Since I'm here, I might as well make the best of it. At least I survived, and I've latched onto Huajie as my powerful backer. Next up... scrape through Shin'ō Academy, become a Soul Reaper, and then...

His thoughts drifted somewhere they shouldn't have again. Then I'll find a way to stop Huajie from sacrificing herself for that brute Kenpachi Zaraki! To hell with that stupid Kenpachi succession! Huajie has to live for a thousand years!

A few days passed like that.

Liu Ziyun's injuries had mostly healed. It had to be said that Soul Society's medical care was excellent—or perhaps souls were simply very good at healing themselves. But a scar remained on his face, running above and below his left eye, all the way from his forehead to his cheekbone.

The first time he saw the scar in the mirror, he froze.

Damn! Isn't this pretty much the same as the scar on Kenpachi Zaraki's face?! He touched the uneven scar, wanting to cry but having no tears. I was such a handsome young man—all right, I'm a kid now—but with a scar like this, how am I supposed to pick up girls in the future?!

He made a few faces in the mirror and found that the scar made him look much fiercer. His smile looked like a vicious grin, and when he frowned, he looked ready to kill.

It's over. My handsome image is completely ruined. He slumped onto the tatami, wearing a miserable expression all day, as though he had lost his reason to live.