The Humble Teacher

Ichiro gave them a brief summary of what happened a week ago, omitting some details; it was enough for them to know that Kaido was undergoing reform.

"You really are... a freak!" Urahara shook his head after listening, unable to help but exclaim once more.

The others nodded silently in agreement. They were all second-year students, so the gap in talent was starting to feel a bit ridiculous.

"Wait, does this mean we'll have to memorize even more incantations in the future?!" Issho suddenly glared at Ichiro, looking as if she wanted to tear him to pieces.

"Why are you looking at me? I'm not the only one who thought of this; the captains have already started researching it."

"Oh, wait, wouldn't this be very disadvantageous for Suzuran? If incantations are required."

Hearing this, Yoruichi, like Issho, looked at Suzuran Yue with concern.

Rustle, rustle.

It's fine, I can still use my Zanpakuto.

"Don't be so nervous, it won't have much of an impact. The preliminary classification of Kaido is based on categories—essentially organizing existing techniques. So, even if you only know the current Kaido, it won't affect you much, not to mention you have a healing-type Zanpakuto, which is already superior to most Kaido techniques."

Buzz, buzz.

As he spoke, Ichiro flipped through his notebook. With a flash of electrical sparks, several pages of notes appeared in his hand, which he handed to Suzuran Yue. "These are some of my insights on Kaido. You should find them useful. Once you master these, even if incantation-based Kaido becomes the standard, you can choose to use them with Incantation Abandonment, though it won't be as effective as a full chant."

Rustle, rustle, rustle.

Suzuran Yue didn't take the paper immediately; instead, she began writing rapidly in her notebook, her movements clearly hurried.

No! This is too precious. I cannot accept it. I appreciate your kindness, but I must decline.

After reading it, Ichiro glanced at Suzuran Yue, placed the paper on the table, and said, "Just take it. It's not that valuable, and it's not without a price. If you accept this, you have to choose Squad 4 when you graduate, or the captain will kill me."

"Just take it. It really isn't important to a guy like him. With his talent, this might be obsolete in a while," Urahara added from the side.

Suzuran Yue hesitated for a moment, but eventually, unable to withstand their persuasion, she bowed to Ichiro and accepted it, etching the favor firmly into her heart.

Urahara wanted to say something else, but the bell rang. With no other choice, he swallowed his words and sat back in his seat. This was a Kido class, so Ichiro opened his notebook as usual to continue his own research.

Just then, a note was tossed over. Ichiro paused, glanced at Urahara sitting next to him, and opened it. It read:

I remember you saying that in your era, there was something called sign language. You should teach her; it would make communication much easier.

Ichiro stared blankly at the note, then looked at Urahara, then back at the note, and finally at Yoruichi. After a moment of hesitation, he wrote:

Why are you so concerned about her? Don't tell me it was love at first sight.

Urahara: What are you thinking? I'm doing this for your own good. If you teach her more, won't communication improve? You have too few friends.

Ichiro: Quality over quantity. Besides, I get along well with people in Squad 4. Don't play matchmaker; she isn't my type.

Urahara: Hm? Didn't you say before that petite girls are cute?

Ichiro: Yeah, but the thing is, cuteness is worthless in the face of sexiness. I prefer "big" sisters! I'm a pervert, thank you!

Urahara: She's still young, there's still room for growth!

Ichiro: No, no! According to my research, she's already fully developed. There won't be much more growth.

Urahara: Oh? You even researched that? Ahem, I just remembered, I have a friend who is quite interested. Tell me more.

Ichiro: Is "asking for a friend" really your best move?

Just as the two were lost in their conversation, they didn't notice that the entire class was watching them pass notes back and forth, having the time of their lives!

Seeing Urahara and Ichiro still immersed in their own world, the teacher's mouth twitched. He inhaled... exhaled... and said in a deep voice, "Tianxin, Urahara, keep it down! Don't disturb the other students!"

"Uh... yes, teacher." x 2

Looking at the humble teacher, Ichiro and Urahara both shrank their heads and quieted down. Ichiro, having had his train of thought interrupted, looked at the new note filled with writing and fell into deep thought. After a long while, he wrote a question and handed it to Urahara.

Ichiro: What were we talking about again?

Urahara scanned the previous topics, feeling a bit dazed, and began to ponder as well...

What was I saying just now?

Urahara: I remember now. Teach her sign language. Writing notes is too inconvenient.

Ichiro: It's useless. Learning sign language takes time. You and the others, you all need time, but she doesn't have any. She can't learn Kido, so she'll likely be promoted soon and graduate rapidly. Squad 4 is the only place for her.

Urahara: That doesn't change anything. She can use sign language in Squad 4 too.

Ichiro: It's unnecessary. Her situation is one of two things: either she hasn't used her voice for a long time since she was alive, causing her to forget how to speak—though from what I've seen, that's not it—or it's a congenital physical defect. We just need to fix that.

Urahara: ...That won't be easy.

Ichiro: No, it's actually not that hard. My alchemy will be able to do it later. Besides that, Kaido can also be used for fine adjustments. It's just a matter of the vocal organs. It's a huge problem for the living world, but here? It's a piece of cake.

Urahara: Is that the point? You're just going to give up such a good opportunity to get close to a young girl? Wait... you don't like Captain Unohana, do you?

Ichiro: ...What are you thinking? I'm not used to that kind of thing. Let nature take its course; it's still too early.

On the podium, the teacher looked at the two shameless students and sighed. There was nothing he could do about them... Forget it, as long as they weren't bothering the other students, he would let them be.

Sighing again, the teacher continued to explain the points to watch out for during Kido practice.

And so, even though a new student had arrived, it didn't disrupt Ichiro's study plan. To him, Suzuran Yue was no different from anyone else. There might be interactions in the future, but certainly not at school, because he couldn't skip grades, while Suzuran Yue had to. Curing her aphonia would require a significant price; she had no choice but to become a genius.