When Shuichi walked into the door of the Shin'ō Academy, the sun was just right, and there were classes today.
There were students in twos and threes on the playground. Some were leaning under the trees and turning over textbooks, some were squatting on the edge of the track pulling grass and playing, and some waved towards the door from a distance.
"Oh, Captain Shuichi!" A sharp-eyed boy shouted out first, raising his arms and waving vigorously.
Shuichi turned his head and raised his hand in response. The movement was not big, but it was enough for the other party to see. The companion next to the boy immediately poked his arm, whispered something, and the two of them laughed together.
On the steps at the entrance of the main building, several girls were squatting in a circle holding textbooks and chatting. When they saw Shuichi walking from the playground, they stood up almost at the same time, with the textbooks bouncing in their arms.
"Shuichi Captain."
"Yeah" Shuichi nodded without stopping.
The students' attitude towards the captain has changed from the initial curiosity to the current habit. After so many years, Shuichi's reputation in the Spiritual Arts Academy is still good.
Shuichi himself has become accustomed to the Spiritual Arts Academy's teaching time. His teaching ability has improved significantly, and he occasionally gets to mingle with the students.
"Shuichi Captain, hello!"
"Shuichi Captain!"
"Hello, Captain!"
The sounds came from different directions. Some shouted loudly, some shouted softly, and some shouted again and again. Shuichi didn't count, but he heard it. He nodded once, twice, three times, four times, five times. The frequency of nodding was the same as the frequency of "um", not hurriedly nor slowly.
The light in the corridor is much darker than in the playground. The window is opened on the east side of the corridor. The sunlight cuts in diagonally from the window panes, drawing strips of light and dark on the floor.
A first-grade student stood at the corner of the corridor, holding a half-opened textbook in his hand, with the cover facing outward and the four words [Kidō Basics] printed on it. He was memorizing the chant of Hado silently, his lips moved slightly, and he didn't notice anyone walking from the other end of the corridor.
It wasn't until the shadow of Shuichi fell on his textbook that he suddenly raised his head and saw the white Yuori. The overload of information suddenly flooded into his brain, rushing his thinking to pieces. He instinctively took a half step back, and the textbook in his hand fell to the ground with a clatter.
"Kidō Basics, which chapter is it?" Shuichi asked
The student's mouth opened and closed again. He lowered his head and turned to the catalog page. His fingers traced several lines on the catalog before finding the position. "Chapter... Chapter 5, Hado."
My voice was a little shaky, but I managed to make it through.
Shuichi nodded. "Study hard."
The student squatted on the ground, holding the textbook, and watched the back of the white feather fabric walking farther and farther along the corridor until it disappeared around the corner. He lowered his head and glanced at the textbook in his hand.
Shuichi continued to walk forward, and when he passed the corner of the corridor, he happened to meet Tsunayashiro Tokinada who was coming downstairs. When he saw Shuichi, he stopped and bowed slightly.
"Captain Shuichi." Tokinada's voice was smooth, polite and impeccably respectful.
Shuichi looked at him and nodded. "Tsunayashiro Tokinada, you're fine."
"That's it"
Tokinada straightened up, with a faint smile hanging on the corner of his mouth, and his eyes looked particularly dark in the shadow of the corridor. "Don't worry, Captain Shuichi, Yi Liang will be safe and sound in the Spiritual Arts Academy."
After saying that, he walked sideways past Shuichi, neither fast nor slow, and gradually disappeared at the stairwell at the other end of the corridor. Shuichi turned around and watched Tokinada's back disappear around the corner.
The corridor on the second floor is quieter than the first floor. The classroom doors on both sides are closed. Only the glass windows on a few doors reveal the figures of teachers on the podium and the dense writing on the blackboard.
Sunlight shone in from the window at the end of the corridor, dyeing the entire corridor a warm light golden color. Shuichi's white feather fabric was particularly conspicuous in the dim corridor. Several students in the window seats saw him through the glass and secretly poked the backs of his deskmates.
The door of this classroom is open and there is no one on the podium yet
This class is Zanpakutō theory class. Some of the students are flipping through the textbooks, some are chatting quietly, and some are lying on the table to catch up on their sleep.
Yi Liang was sitting in the third row by the window. She tilted her head and looked out the window. The trees outside the window were gently swaying their branches and leaves in the breeze. The sunlight passed through the gaps in the leaves and cast several irregular light spots on her table. Her eyes fell on those light spots, and seemed to pass through the light spots and fall farther away.
The moment Shuichi walked into the classroom, several students in the front row sat up straight almost reflexively.
"Shuichi Captain!"
Someone shouted, followed by sounds of greetings one after another
"Hello, Captain"
"Shuichi Captain, hello"
A few people chatting in the back row also stopped immediately and turned to look at the door.
The white haori of Shuichi is too conspicuous. It attracted a lot of attention the moment he walked in. His Zanpakutō is too conspicuous. The rose red color scheme is unique and the publicity is in place. The students recognized it immediately. Captain's Haori plus this Zanpakutō is Shuichi.
Yi Liang turned her head when she heard the noise and met Shuichi's eyes. She was stunned for a moment and her lips moved.
"Sir Shuichi" Her voice was very soft, almost covered by the greetings of the surrounding classmates.
She was indeed distracted just now, which made her feel a little guilty. Her head unconsciously shrank into her collar, as if she had been caught by the teacher for deserting in class.
Shuichi walked to her desk, took off a small cloth bag from her waist, and placed it on her desk. The cloth bag was not big. After opening it, there were some dried meat inside, cut into uniform small pieces, with a light caramel color on the surface.
"Yi Liang, are you okay in the Spiritual Arts Academy?" Shuichi asked.
Yi Liang looked up at Shuichi, reached out to take the cloth bag, rubbed his fingers on the edge of the cloth, and then nodded slightly. "It's okay, Master Shuichi."
Her voice was a little louder than before, and there was a hint of shyness on her face that she was not used to being cared about in public. It was completely different from the stubborn look she had when she faced Ise Clan before.
Shuichi glanced at her to make sure she was not trying to be brave, then turned and walked towards the podium.
He stood behind the podium, took off Zanpakutō from his waist, and placed it across the edge of the podium. The rose-red color of the scabbard stood out in front of the blackboard.
The classroom gradually became quiet. The sounds of students flipping textbooks, whispering, and moving chairs were all stopped. A few students in the front row straightened their backs, and someone in the back row lifted his head from the table and rubbed his eyes.
Shuichi glanced from the first row to the last row, and then spoke. His voice was not loud, but it could be heard clearly in every corner of the classroom.
"Today's course is Zanpakutō. Let me explain what Zanpakutō is. This is the first thing you need to remember when you enter school."