A Name

"Ichiro, my name is... Call my name... Ichiro, my name... Call my name... I've been waiting for you all this time... Ichiro..."

As a ray of sunlight streamed into the dormitory, Ichiro slowly opened his sorrow-filled eyes. At that moment, the voice in his heart vanished completely.

Ichiro knew very well that it was the voice of his Zanpakuto spirit. According to the academy, reaching this stage meant he wasn't far from releasing his Zanpakuto. But "not far" was only relative to not hearing it at all. There had been no shortage of Soul Reapers in history who had been stuck at this stage for decades, even centuries.

Ichiro gently stroked the Zanpakuto he had taken off and placed beside him, murmuring, "What do I have to do to hear your name clearly?"

"Ohhh~" Urahara stretched and asked, "You can hear your Zanpakuto now? Has it told you its name?"

"Yeah, it did, but I couldn't make it out. What do you think I'm missing?"

"I don't know. It's different for everyone. When I heard mine, I heard its name too. But in your case, could it have something to do with Alchemy?"

Ichiro froze, then lowered his head in thought. Urahara's words brought to mind an original storyline from the source material that seemed to fit his situation rather well: Kuchiki Koga. After he stopped trusting his Zanpakuto, neither he nor Muramasa could hear the other's voice.

So... does that mean I don't trust you? Or maybe you haven't truly accepted me...

Ichiro didn't know the answer. It could be his fault, or his Zanpakuto's—or perhaps both...

He shook his head and stopped dwelling on it, then immediately got up to get ready. It had been three days since they'd returned from the World of the Living.

They'd taken care of a few things for the new semester over the past three days. Now Ichiro was about to begin an entirely new course of training!

He was joining Squad 4!

The option to intern with a division had never been used at Shino Academy. Students with sufficient talent could apply to intern with certain divisions, gaining an early taste of division work while remaining students.

In practice, no one had ever used this option since it was introduced. Getting permission to intern required a certain level of talent, but most talented students skipped grades. Those who couldn't skip grades usually weren't good enough to qualify.

So the rule had become little more than decoration. Skipping grades sounded impressive, but it left no time for anything else. How could someone finish in three years, or even one or two, what everyone else learned over six?

Only Ichiro and the other two slackers met the requirements.

So when Ichiro spotted the provision in the library, he acted at once. Squad 4 was practically a paradise for researching Body Transmutation!

Body Transmutation was naturally geared toward healing. Its use for enhancement was just a deviant offshoot. In Squad 4, there were countless experiments—er, patients—for him to lavish his attention on every day.

There couldn't be a better place!

More importantly, unlike in his previous life, where medical institutions tended to regard Alchemists' activities with suspicion and made many things difficult, things were different in this life. Heh heh heh...

"Pfft!"

Seeing Ichiro suddenly let out an evil laugh, Urahara smacked him with a pillow.

"What are you thinking about? Showing up late on your first day won't make a good impression."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm going—damn, why are you so quick today?" Ichiro stared, dumbfounded, at Urahara, who was already fully dressed. They'd woken up at about the same time.

Normally, they'd have squeezed in at least two more rounds of sleep!

"Oh, Yoruichi and I have to head back for a while. Something seems to be going on in the Soul Society. Be careful on your own. If you run into an enemy, release all your spiritual pressure immediately. We'll come as fast as we can."

"Got it. Take care." Ichiro got to his feet. The disturbance Urahara had mentioned gave him a few ideas, given what had just happened with his Zanpakuto.

Ichiro remembered that, in the original story, Kuchiki Koga was described as a genius Soul Reaper from several centuries ago who had mastered Bankai while still at the academy. After graduating, he earned merit in several battles against rebel Soul Reapers and rose through the ranks.

That was about all Ichiro remembered. The important part was "rebels"—and there had been several incidents. The Soul Society was clearly far from peaceful, and judging by the timing, he might even run into Kuchiki Koga.

Ichiro wasn't particularly worried, though. No matter how chaotic things got, they had nothing to do with a student at Shino Academy. Besides, his strength was about on par with an average Seated Officer. Add in his considerable Kido skills, and he was even stronger than most. As a student, he had nothing to fear.

There were quite a few Seated Officers—roughly thirty to fifty in each division, with more seats in divisions that had more members, though the minimum level of strength was the same. But most of the Thirteenth Division's members were still nobodies, which meant Seated Officers were already part of the Soul Society's second tier of combat strength.

And the Shihoin Clan was there too, so Ichiro wasn't worried at all. Unless they sent a Captain-level fighter specifically after him!

But if that happened, he'd accept his death.

After tidying himself up, Ichiro left Shino Academy and headed straight for Squad 4.

The patrolling Soul Reapers kept glancing at Ichiro in his white school uniform, speculating about who he was.

But none of that bothered him. Following the map his teacher had given him, he made his way to Squad 4, took his hands out of his pockets, straightened his clothes, and walked inside.

Before entering Squad 4, Ichiro had imagined all sorts of scenes. Captain Unohana might personally welcome him, then teach him Kido and Kaido one-on-one. Or the other members might line up to greet him, with warm-hearted "big sisters" eagerly showing him around.

Maybe they'd deliberately ignore him and make him do filthy, unpleasant work to temper his character, all while secretly observing him.

Or perhaps they'd recognize his swordsmanship talent... Yeah, that fantasy didn't get any further...

In short, after feasting his imagination on an entire Peach Banquet, Ichiro walked into Squad 4 only to discover that things were nothing like he'd pictured.

A middle-aged man with a white shoulder bag was the only one there to receive him. The man seemed a little surprised that Shino Academy had such a rule, but he registered Ichiro just like any other member, handed him a matching white canvas bag and a broom, and that was it...

That was it!

Only then, after the man reminded him, did Ichiro remember that Squad 4 also handled routine cleaning!

I'm the first... second... third most talented student at Shino Academy, and all you've got for me is janitor duty? No wonder no one ever signed up! Damn it!

How was he supposed to put up with this?

The more Ichiro thought about it, the angrier he got!

"Hey, newbie! Go a little easier. You're kicking up dust!"

"Sure thing~"

Thanks to the adorable Little Renzi for the monthly ticket.