Teacher Kaede's Bill Tally

Aizen had no idea what had happened to Kisaragi Akira.

But he was quite sure of one thing.

If that guy didn't come out of his ritual state and return to normal soon, he was going to tear down the entire Central Male Dormitory.

His heavy heartbeat rumbled like thunder, matching the pulse of the earth. Howling winds swept through the area, walls shuddered and collapsed, and everything was overturned as if an earth dragon were thrashing beneath the ground!

Heavy Reiatsu erupted in layer upon layer, like lava bursting from the planet's crust. Endless waves of heat rolled through the gale, swallowing everything around them.

In just a few seconds, the room where Kisaragi Akira stood had been completely destroyed, with only a few intact planks left behind.

And the destruction showed no sign of stopping. Like a hurricane, it continued to spread until it engulfed the entire Central Male Dormitory.

The violent commotion soon drew the attention of the students and teachers.

The Shinigami stationed at the Spiritual Arts Academy arrived at the scene at once. They stared in shock at Kisaragi Akira, standing at the center of the hurricane.

With their limited experience, they had no idea what was happening.

But bound by their duty, they tried to approach the area where Kisaragi Akira stood, hoping to wake the boy from his dazed state.

Yet as soon as they stepped across the shattered floor, another overwhelming wave of Reiatsu suddenly pressed down on them.

Bzz—

The heavy Reiatsu crashed down, and the earth shuddered beneath its weight.

When they tried to approach again, the resistance grew even stronger, as if the air itself had become thicker and stickier.

"What the hell is happening to this kid?"

One of them gritted his teeth. "With Reiatsu this powerful, even the lieutenant might not be able to match him, right?"

"Damn it, we can't get close. Evacuate the nearby students first."

"Before anyone gets hurt..."

The stationed Shinigami soon realized that when they moved away from Kisaragi Akira, the pressure on them suddenly lifted, as if it had never been there.

Their nerves were on edge, but they didn't give it much thought. They blamed every strange occurrence and problem on Kisaragi Akira.

After all, the culprit behind the scene before them was standing right there.

It was only natural to pin a few more things on him.

In the shadows, Aizen watched the squad members leave, his expression impassive and utterly calm.

He hadn't intervened for any other reason.

He simply didn't want those reckless people disturbing Kisaragi Akira.

That was all.

His gaze shifted back to the center of the hurricane, settling there, deep and intent.

Communicating with an Asauchi through a ritual, engraving the essence of the soul into it, and creating the first Zanpakuto.

Your path is unlike anything seen before...

Interesting.

Aizen suddenly realized that greeting him when he'd first enrolled might not have been a mistake after all.

In the empty world,

Kisaragi Akira stared blankly at everything before him.

Is this my Zanpakuto Inner World?

Based on what he knew about Zanpakuto, and his memories of watching anime in his previous life, if nothing unexpected happened, someone who looked just like him would soon appear.

Then the other guy would claim to be his Zanpakuto and start talking about kings, mounts, and other things no one could understand.

Finally, he'd explain the difference between the two of them: instinct!

And then...

Kisaragi Akira stood right where he was and waited for the character who claimed to be his Zanpakuto to appear.

But after crouching there like an idiot for several minutes, he suddenly realized that relying on past experience could lead a person astray.

"Looks like I'm not going to get a Zanpakuto."

Kisaragi Akira stood up and looked around. "By the way, are other people's Zanpakuto Inner Worlds this abstract too?"

A familiar sight filled his view.

He had lived here for several years.

He'd been beaten until his head bled over a little water, and he'd fought several vicious stray dogs over a stinking fried fish...

This was District 76 of the East Rukon District: Nikotsu.

Rukongai was divided into four large districts—east, south, west, and north—and each was split into eighty smaller districts, making three hundred and twenty in all.

The higher the district number, the harsher the conditions.

In District 80, for instance, grass often refused to grow, famine was rampant, and souls killed one another to decide who deserved the right to survive.

And Nikotsu District, which came before it, was clearly no better.

Kisaragi Akira had struggled there for a long time before reaching the turning point of his fate.

He remembered it clearly.

That day, Ise Shizune had smiled like a flower...

Kisaragi Akira walked slowly along the familiar road until a building he knew all too well came into view.

A solemn and imposing shrine.

He quickened his pace, eager to confirm his suspicion.

But when he entered the shrine, he didn't see the familiar statue of the One-Eyed Great Deity. Instead, he saw a figure who was unfamiliar, yet somehow a little familiar.

"I've been enshrined as a deity?"

Kisaragi Akira stared, baffled, at the statue that looked exactly like him. Even his sharp mind couldn't make sense of what he was seeing.

Could his Zanpakuto's very nature have changed when he used a ritual to communicate with the Asauchi?

Kisaragi Akira tried to make sense of the scene before him.

But the moment he attempted to touch the statue, the entire world began to collapse.

His consciousness wavered, and he found himself back at the Spiritual Arts Academy. The first thing he saw was a pair of eyes filled with countless bloodshot veins.

Kisaragi Akira instinctively stepped back, only to discover that beneath those eyes was a pale face, worn down to the extreme.

"T-Teacher Kaede?"

"Ah, you're still alive. That's wonderful."

Kaede Junya delivered the words without expression, like a dried-up corpse.

"Now, let's settle the bill."

Kisaragi Akira's heart gave a sudden thump.

"You destroyed the entire male dormitory with all that commotion. Not counting the damaged land, the buildings alone will cost three hundred and eighty-nine thousand, six hundred and fifty-four Kan to replace."

"Since you're a student, I'll wipe off the change. Let's call it three hundred and ninety thousand Kan."

Kisaragi Akira's eyes widened as if he couldn't believe what he'd just heard.

"Three hundred and ninety thousand Kan? You might as well kill me!"

"And rounding up? You old crook—were you a swindling merchant in your past life or something?!"

Kaede Junya understood what Kisaragi Akira meant, but the boy had recently driven him to the brink of a complete mental and physical breakdown.

He had no desire to explain anything further.

"That's the amount of the damage. If you have any questions, you can discuss them with the headmaster."

Kaede Junya sighed. "There's one more thing I should tell you. The headmaster is away on a mission for the time being, so Captain-Commander has temporarily taken over the position."

"After all, he founded the Spiritual Arts Academy himself. He wouldn't trust just anyone to run it."

"That's all I have to say. Good luck."

Kaede Junya let out another long sigh and walked away, hunched over.

Kisaragi Akira drew a deep breath and looked toward a patch of shadow in the ruins. Someone hidden there felt his heart give a sudden thump.

But before he could react, a familiar wail rang out across the entire ruin.

"Sosuke, save me—!"

Thanks to the generous tips from Lin Zhong Dairuike and Middle-Aged Dead Fat Househusband, and thanks to everyone for your support with monthly and recommendation tickets!