The Situation

In the blink of an eye, a month had passed. Besides attending classes, Ichiro had spent the entire month sweeping floors in Squad 4, and he had made little progress with Alchemy...

But Ichiro wasn't discouraged. He knew very well that this was a necessary step to get into Squad 4.

What were Squad 4's main duties?

Routine cleaning, treatment, general healthcare, and emergency aid.

Most emergency aid required them to go to the front lines themselves. At times like that, knowing Seireitei well could save them a lot of time on the road.

But today would be his last day sweeping. The application he had submitted to his superiors a few days ago had been approved, and starting tomorrow, he would be transferred to the Medical Squad to formally learn from Squad 4's veterans.

That was one of the advantages of not skipping grades. If you skipped ahead, then unless you were exceptionally talented, you would have to start from the basics no matter which squad you joined. And given the Soul Reapers' sense of time, making you slog through ten or eight years was perfectly normal.

Only students doing internships received preferential treatment. Unfortunately, too many people failed to see that. After all, making a big show of your talent could bring both fame and fortune, especially in a noble society like Seireitei. You never knew when some noble family might take a liking to you and ask you to become their adopted child or marry into their family.

For most commoners, that was a chance to rise to the top overnight. Seireitei's nobles were also keen to encourage that sort of thing, so every few years they would deliberately promote several outstanding talents. Even if no one met the standards, they would still pick the best of a bad lot.

Stepping into Squad 4, Ichiro glanced at the broom he had left in the corner yesterday and gave a scornful snort. Starting today, he would never touch a broom again!

His status had changed!

"Hey, you there. Don't leave your broom lying around. Take it back to the storeroom right away."

"Sure thing. I'll take it now."

All right, this really would be the last time...

After putting the broom away, Ichiro headed toward his destination: the Health Department.

Squad 4 was divided into several departments according to their duties. Each handled its own area during routine operations, but whenever an emergency arose, all members could be assigned to the emergency aid team.

Besides scheduled rotations, they would sometimes make sudden changes based on the captain's or vice-captain's mood, testing the members' ability to adapt. So as Ichiro walked along, he ran into several comrades who had swept the streets with him the previous month.

Ichiro greeted them warmly. Unlike at school, he got along quite well with people in Squad 4. He still did as he pleased, but Squad 4 had no real oddballs, and its overall atmosphere was quite good. He got along with them just fine.

"Senpai."

"Oh, Ichiro, you're here. Come on, I'll show you how things work in the Health Department." A female Soul Reaper in a black Shihakusho, with a dangerously styled fringe over her chest, pushed up her glasses, handed the things in her hands to her assistant, then turned around and smiled at him.

"Thanks for the trouble, Kiyone."

"Don't mention it. Let's go."

Amabane Kiyone was a Seated Officer in Squad 4. Her figure was 89... ahem... she ranked twenty-third, neither high nor low. As far as Ichiro knew, her Kido ability was around the fiftieth level, and she had not mastered Shikai. Judging by her combat strength, she seemed a little unqualified for her position, but that was understandable. This was Squad 4, after all, where medical ability mattered more.

Her combat strength was weak, but her medical skills were exceptionally strong. Her Kaido was very advanced, and so far, she had been able to answer every question Ichiro had about Kaido without hesitation!

That was no simple feat. Ichiro's talent for Kido was monstrously high; in just one year, he had mastered Incantation Abandonment for every Hado and Bakudo up to number thirty!

And he wasn't devoting himself entirely to studying Kido. Alchemy was still his main focus, and Kido was only a side pursuit.

So, quite often, even the teachers at school had to look things up before they could answer his questions. That included questions about Kaido.

But Kiyone could answer him at once. Though lately, she had started taking longer to respond, just like his teachers at the Academy, she had at least kept it up for a whole month. Now, only some of the sixth-year teachers could answer his questions about Kido.

That was why Ichiro had wanted to intern with Squad 4: the teachers at the Academy were nearly drained dry...

"The Health Department's work is simple. We give the members of the other squads physical examinations every day and record the results." As she spoke, she showed Ichiro the notebook in her hands. They continued walking inside, and she went on, "Occasionally, someone overdoes it during training and needs Kaido, but I don't think that'll be a problem for you. Most of the time, all we have to do is record the results."

"Every day? Are there that many?"

"Mm. Squad 13 trains to some extent every day, and some of them go on dangerous missions, so examinations are fairly frequent. They usually come in for a checkup once a month, unless they have other duties, and they arrive at different times."

"Got it." Ichiro's eyes lit up. This was exactly where he wanted to be—a natural database!

Squad 4 really was the best place for him!

Following Kiyone, Ichiro recorded examination results while also gathering the data he needed, committing it to memory. From time to time, he watched Kiyone use Kaido and learned by observing her.

And so, Ichiro settled into a three-point routine in the Soul Society: classroom, dormitory, Squad 4.

He spent very little time at Squad 4 each day, but he gained a great deal. His eagerness to learn also made many Seated Officers willing to instruct him after work, which greatly improved his Kaido. By extension, his progress in Bakudo and Hado also accelerated considerably.

But not everything was good news. As Ichiro's strength rapidly increased, he could clearly feel that the atmosphere in the Soul Society had grown increasingly tense...

For instance, among the patients recently treated in Squad 4, the proportion of members from squads other than Squad 11 had risen sharply.

There were more patrols on the roads, too. Everything pointed to the situation growing more serious. Perhaps it wouldn't be long before fighting broke out...

But, just as he had said before, none of this had anything to do with him, a second-year student. Ichiro continued training at his own pace.

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

At dawn, Ichiro slowly opened his eyes and turned to look at the Zanpakuto beside him, his gaze complicated. A whole semester had passed, but he had only heard two more characters from his Zanpakuto. Shikai still seemed a long way off...