Taking Tōshirō to School

He was already short on cash, and he'd thought he'd have to pay the bill himself again today.

Who knew Gaoyu would be so generous!

Wonderful! In the cold society of Seireitei, he'd finally felt a little human warmth.

Wonderful, wonderful!

Shūhei was nearly in tears. Whenever they went out to eat and drink, he was always the one getting picked on. At last, someone had stood up for him.

Gaoyu had only paid the bill, but Shūhei's favorability had shot up to 77. It startled him.

Gaoyu was astonished inside, but said aloud, "It's really nice to go out for a drink once in a while. Next time we drink, make sure to invite me!"

"Don't worry, I'll definitely invite you!"

Gaoyu was still hoping Shūhei's favorability would reach eighty. Then he'd be able to obtain Black Sun permanently, giving him a reliable way to attack.

Waving goodbye, Gaoyu walked out of the little tavern. The cool breeze outside cleared his head, which had grown a little warm from drinking.

This body could really hold its liquor.

Although he'd joined them partway through, he'd only drunk a little less than Rangiku and Shūhei. The other two were already a bit tipsy, while he was only slightly buzzed.

Walking home against the cool breeze, Gaoyu continued to pour Spiritual Power into Black Sun.

Without Spiritual Power, Black Sun didn't have much power.

It was a skill meant for building up strength. If he saved up for a few hundred years, pouring in the full Spiritual Power of a Captain-level Soul Reaper every year, could its explosive power at that instant kill Yhwach in one blow?

Heh, my future looks bright!

Gaoyu's lips curled up slightly as he returned home.

He'd poured about half his spirit particles into Black Sun. Pouring in any more would start to affect him, and he had to get up early tomorrow, so he didn't want to tire himself out too much.

The next day, he got up while it was still dark.

He'd had a little to drink the night before, and slept especially well.

After getting up, Gaoyu stretched, washed up, and headed for Rukongai feeling refreshed.

Thinking about Tōshirō, he moved even faster than he had the day before. By the time the sky had just begun to lighten, he had already reached the White Road Gate.

There, he saw Toshiro Hitsugaya carrying a bundle.

Gaoyu felt relieved. It seemed nothing had changed; Toshiro had still decided to become a Soul Reaper.

He appeared in front of Toshiro with a Flash Step and greeted him with a smile.

"Looks like you've made your decision."

Toshiro was startled when Gaoyu suddenly appeared in front of him, but he seemed like a rather detached person, so he put on a cool expression and said,

"Yeah. I've decided to become a Soul Reaper!"

"That's the right choice," Gaoyu said happily. "It's not the start of the school year, but once I take you there, the teachers will see your talent and be glad to accept you."

As he spoke, Gaoyu couldn't help reaching out to touch Toshiro's silver hair.

Toshiro wriggled free of Gaoyu's hand and asked, "Didn't you say you were going on patrol? Isn't taking me to Shino Academy a dereliction of duty?"

"What do you know? How can a little thing like patrol compare to discovering a genius?" Gaoyu said. "All right, you've already talked it over with your grandmother, right? Then let's go!"

"Yeah, we've talked it over." Toshiro took a deep breath and looked at Gaoyu with a resolute gaze.

Gaoyu took Toshiro through the White Road Gate, where they saw Jidanbō. Jidanbō wasn't a Soul Reaper, but one of Rukongai's renowned fighters selected by the Soul Reapers to guard the White Road Gate.

Soul Reapers could come and go through the gate without any trouble, of course, but Toshiro was just a little Rukon resident. That made this a matter of Jidanbō's responsibilities.

Gaoyu also saw Jidanbō's Soul Ability.

"Gatekeeper: Designate a gate and become its gatekeeper. No one can enter until they defeat you."

Very fitting for Jidanbō's role as a gatekeeper, but I don't have anywhere worth guarding right now.

Besides, Jidanbō's favorability toward him was very low, still far from sixty.

Of course, this ability was actually very good and powerful.

The other person could only enter by defeating him. So if he hid or refused to fight, wouldn't they be unable to enter forever?

He still wanted to get this ability, then. It seemed he'd have to visit the western gate more often in the future. It would be great if he could befriend Jidanbō.

"I'm taking this kid to Shino Academy to enroll. I'll leave the paperwork to you when I get back."

Gaoyu said this to Jidanbō.

Jidanbō was a giant nearly ten meters tall. He studied Gaoyu and Toshiro seriously, making Toshiro feel a little uncomfortable.

"That guy..."

Toshiro couldn't help saying, "He's so tall."

Gaoyu couldn't help laughing at that.

"Don't worry."

"Not everyone in Seireitei is a giant like that. There are only four people as tall as Jidanbō in all of Seireitei."

Toshiro was short, so he had a particular fascination with tall people.

After studying them for a while, Jidanbō said, "All right, you two can go in."

Gaoyu nodded and led Toshiro into Seireitei.

With Toshiro along, he couldn't move as fast, so by the time they reached Shino Academy, it was almost noon.

Gaoyu hadn't wasted their time on the way, either. He'd chatted with Toshiro, taught him some things he needed to know about Seireitei, and shown him how to use Spiritual Power.

Toshiro really was a genius. With Gaoyu's ability influencing him as well, he'd made great progress in the short time they'd spent walking.

Gaoyu stared in astonishment. Damn, what a genius!

All he could do was lament that comparing people was enough to drive you mad. The gap between people was damn well bigger than the gap between people and dogs!

Once they arrived at the academy, Gaoyu took Toshiro straight to see Dainaihara Gen'ichirō. He was very interested in this teacher's ability, after all, and hoped to raise his favorability above eighty as soon as possible.

Dainaihara Gen'ichirō was a little surprised to see Gaoyu. Gaoyu was already a Soul Reaper, so surely he couldn't keep coming to the academy to study with him?

Seeing the surprise on his face, Gaoyu hurriedly said,

"Teacher, I came this time because I found an absolute genius in Rukongai. It would be a terrible waste of his talent for him to stay there, so I'd like to bring him to Shino Academy to become a Soul Reaper."