Two days had passed since the entrance exam.
Gilgamesh, Renji Abarai, and Rukia had all passed the entrance exam without a hitch and been assigned dorm rooms.
The dorm rooms at Shin'o Academy were mostly doubles.
Gilgamesh naturally shared a room with Renji.
Rukia had wanted to room with Gilgamesh, but the boys' and girls' dormitories were separate, so there was nothing she could do about it.
Over the past two days, apart from Isshin Shiba and Kaien Shiba, who had approached him earlier, no other captains had come to see him.
Given how impressive his results were, the other captains should have taken an interest in him.
At the very least, Isshin Shiba should have continued trying to recruit him, since he had already made his intentions clear.
But no one had.
Gilgamesh knew that someone had ordered the captains not to approach him.
So who could give orders to all those captains?
The answer was obvious: Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto, Captain-Commander of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads!
As for why Yamamoto had done this—
Gilgamesh had a pretty good idea.
Late at night, in the student dormitories at Shin'o Academy.
Renji was fast asleep.
Gilgamesh was still awake. Holding Yoruichi Shihouin in her black cat form, he stood by the window and quietly gazed out at the sparse stars.
Yoruichi yawned lazily and asked, "Aren't you going to sleep? The entrance ceremony is tomorrow."
Gilgamesh didn't answer. Instead, he said something cryptic: "They should be here any moment."
Yoruichi was puzzled and had just opened her mouth to ask when a serious voice came from beside the window. "Gilgamesh, could we talk?"
Yoruichi looked toward the voice, her catlike eyes narrowing slightly as she wondered, Kaien, what's he doing here?
Yoruichi was friends with Kaien's younger sister, Kūkaku Shiba, so she knew him.
She just didn't know why Kaien had come to see Gilgamesh in the middle of the night.
Suddenly, Yoruichi thought of Gilgamesh's cryptic remark. Remembering how he'd stayed awake, standing by the window and gazing out, she froze.
Had he known all along that Kaien was coming?
But how could he have known?
Yoruichi had been with Gilgamesh the past two days and knew they hadn't had any contact.
The only time they had interacted was during the Kido aptitude test two days ago.
Gilgamesh had whispered something to Kaien then.
Yoruichi hadn't heard what he said, but she knew it hadn't been an arrangement to meet.
Otherwise, Kaien wouldn't have said what he'd just said when he arrived.
While Yoruichi's thoughts were in turmoil, Gilgamesh carried her out of the dorm and went to a large tree in a secluded corner outside the building.
Kaien appeared before Gilgamesh with a Flash Step.
Gilgamesh studied Kaien's solemn expression and said, "Looks like you believe what I told you."
Kaien replied, "Not completely."
I can see the future.
Those six words had been echoing in Kaien's mind, refusing to fade.
If anyone else had said that, Kaien would have taken it as a joke and laughed it off.
But Gilgamesh seemed to have some kind of power over him, making it hard not to believe.
What had truly shaken Kaien was Gilgamesh's battle with Miho Kano.
During that fight, Gilgamesh had somehow foreseen Miho's sword strikes.
That was why Kaien had reacted the way he did at the time.
Over the past two days, Gilgamesh's pitying gaze had kept resurfacing in Kaien's mind, leaving him so unsettled that he couldn't focus on his work.
Tonight, Kaien had finally given in and come to see Gilgamesh himself.
If not for Yamamoto's order, Kaien would have sought Gilgamesh out the day the entrance exam ended.
The talent Gilgamesh had displayed during the exam was terrifying. Yamamoto had wanted to protect him from outside interference so he could grow without being distracted.
After all, apart from the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, the nobles were another unpredictable force in Seireitei.
As for the squads hoping to recruit Gilgamesh, their captains could compete for him on their own merits once he graduated.
Yamamoto himself even intended to try to recruit Gilgamesh then.
It was impossible for him not to be impressed by a talent like Gilgamesh.
In Yamamoto's eyes, Gilgamesh had the potential to reach the level of the original captains of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, or even the Royal Guard.
With talent like that, it was as if the Soul King were spoon-feeding him.
At that moment, Kaien couldn't help asking, "Did you know all along that I'd come see you tonight?"
Kaien had started wondering that as soon as he saw Gilgamesh awake so late and noticed he hadn't seemed surprised by his arrival.
Deep down, Kaien already knew the answer. He just couldn't bring himself to believe it.
Yoruichi was curious about that too and turned to look at Gilgamesh.
Gilgamesh gently stroked Yoruichi and looked at Kaien with his handsome wine-red eyes. Smiling, he replied, "That's right. I knew you'd come tonight, so I waited for you."
At this, Yoruichi grew even more confused.
Kaien, however, was shaken to the core.
Kaien took a deep breath and asked again, "Then did you see my future?"
Yoruichi froze, unable to process what she'd just heard.
Gilgamesh nodded lightly. "That's right. I did see your future."
Kaien couldn't help asking, "What kind of future did you see? Why did you look at me that way?"
Gilgamesh didn't answer right away. Instead, he asked, "Are you sure you want to know?"
Kaien was consumed by anxiety and unease.
He'd already guessed that something terrible had happened to him in the future Gilgamesh had seen—something he might not be able to bear.
He was afraid to face that future, yet he had to know what it held.
Only by knowing could he have a chance to change it.
Without even realizing it, Kaien had come to trust Gilgamesh completely.
Kaien took a deep breath and nodded firmly. "I'm sure. I want to know."
Gilgamesh nodded and slowly began, "In the future I saw, your wife is devoured by a Hollow and dies a gruesome death. You try to avenge her, but a Hollow takes over your body, and in the end, you die too."
Boom!
Gilgamesh's words exploded like a bolt of thunder in the minds of Yoruichi, Kaien, and Isshin, who was hidden nearby!
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