"Head Captain, are we getting too involved in the affairs of the Zero Division? They are, after all, directly under the Royal Family."
"Don't worry. They're clever. No one can interfere with the Zero Division's power structure. I'm just giving them a little push."
"Giving them a push?" Captain Unohana looked at the Head Captain in confusion, not quite understanding.
"Right. What do you think of the Mimicry Zanpakuto?"
"Worth remembering for the ages. Head Captain, do you mean...?" The captain looked at him in surprise.
"Exactly. If I don't give them a push, how will they ever apply for Ichiro's candidacy? You can't stay on guard against thieves forever. Don't underestimate your enemy's intelligence, but don't overestimate it, either. Only by making Ichiro a candidate for the Zero Division can we put an end to those nobles' schemes.
"As for whether Ichiro will join the Zero Division or remain in the Thirteenth Division... Heh. Didn't we already have our answer when he gave you this?"
"..." Captain Unohana fell silent, then sighed. "No wonder you can be the Head Captain."
What a schemer.
The Head Captain smiled but said nothing.
Compared with how smoothly things were going with Captain Unohana, Kiyonosuke, who was helping Ichiro practice swordsmanship, was having a much harder time. He'd lived for hundreds of years, and never had he seen anyone so hopelessly clumsy!
Ichiro's individual moves were textbook-perfect, but the moment he tried to string them together, he just waved his sword around like a man swinging a stick!
He had never seen anyone so foolish!
"Ichiro, why don't you just give up on swordsmanship?"
"...I already gave up. The captain's the one who told me to take it up again."
"..."
"..."
The two stared at each other in silence, then sighed.
But Ichiro didn't give up. Even though a whole morning of practice hadn't made him feel any better, he kept at it. The reason was simple.
He believed in the captain!
Time slowly passed as Ichiro practiced. His sword forms still didn't flow smoothly when linked together, but with so many repetitions, he was getting the individual moves down.
Even so, it took Ichiro until around ten that night to finish all five thousand basic sword forms.
"Clap, clap."
As Ichiro finished, a leisurely round of applause came from nearby. He turned and saw the captain standing beside a pillar, clapping softly. He hadn't noticed when she'd arrived.
"Not bad. You finished all five thousand. Keep practicing the basic forms every day from now on, but do fewer—five hundred a day will be enough. And remember, that doesn't count toward those two hours."
"..." Ichiro still couldn't understand why the captain insisted that someone with no talent for swordsmanship learn it. But she had guided him all this time, so he chose to trust her.
So, even though it didn't sound very reasonable, Ichiro nodded with a pained expression.
Sheathing Zanpakuto World, Ichiro walked over to the captain and asked, "Captain, how are things going with the Mimicry Zanpakuto? Do you need any help?"
"Not for now. Just focus on getting stronger. By the way, what are your plans for Flame Sparrow? I need to know whether to change your swordsmanship training."
"Flame Sparrow? I don't think that'll be necessary. I'm leaning toward developing Flame Sparrow along the lines of Kido and bringing its fire abilities to their full potential. That would fit with my current research. If I use fire to support my swordsmanship, I'll have to spend extra effort on it, and that doesn't seem worth it."
The captain thought it over, then nodded. "That's true. All right, I understand. It's getting late, so stay with the division tonight. You'll have to get up early to practice tomorrow."
She turned to leave, but Ichiro called out to her.
"Captain, um, there's something I wanted to ask you. Could you arrange a leave of absence for me? I have a research project that'll take some time, and I'd like to use one of the division's facilities."
"Research? Sure. How long do you need?"
"A month, at least."
"That long?" Captain Unohana looked at Ichiro in surprise, then asked, "All right. Do you need any other help?"
Ichiro quickly shook his head. "No. Just let me use the empty warehouse behind the division. Um... and please don't let anyone else in besides you, Captain!"
"Is that wise?" The captain frowned. "A secret is only a secret when one person knows it. Once a second person finds out, it's no longer a secret."
"It's fine. I trust you, Captain. And this research is... a little problematic. If I don't tell you beforehand, it might cause some unnecessary misunderstandings. I don't want to put you in a difficult position."
The captain gazed at Ichiro in silence. After a long moment, she turned and left, saying only, "All right. I'll make sure no one goes in. I'll bring your food myself."
"Um..." Ichiro froze, then hurried after her. "Captain, you don't need to bring me food. My abilities let me make it myself."
"What nonsense. Put all your energy into the research!"
"Actually, I don't need to..."
"Hmm?"
"Oh, I understand."
At midnight, after treating the injuries of several critically ill patients, the captain finally had some time to herself.
To return to her office and handle paperwork.
Back in her office, the captain was just about to sit down when she noticed a document on her desk. Seeing the familiar Kido barrier around it, she smiled.
"That boy. Didn't I tell him he didn't need to say anything?" She casually dispelled the Kido barrier and opened the document. But the moment she reached the beginning, her smile disappeared.
By the time she'd read it all, her brow was tightly furrowed.
She closed her eyes, seemingly lost in thought. A few striking words from the document kept drifting through her mind. After a while, she let out a deep breath, opened her eyes, and made up her mind.
"Whoosh!"
A flame suddenly appeared in the delicate hand clutching the document, burning it to ashes. Through the blazing fire, a few words could just be made out.
Alchemy.
Human Transmutation
Another Possibility for Zanpakuto...
Before you continue