Five years.
The walls of Seireitei were still the same walls, gray boulders stacked atop one another. Moss grew in the cracks, withered in winter, and sprouted again the following spring.
The plaque of Shin'ō Academy had endured wind and sun for five years. The wood had darkened by several shades, and the five characters "Shin'ō Academy" were no longer as glossy black as when they had first been written. They had become a somber, dark color like an old ink stick. The edges of the strokes had faded slightly, but their framework remained, firmly embedded in the wood.
The first class of students had graduated.
Four hundred people, all of them passing the four basic disciplines of Zan-Sō-Haku-Ki.
Shuichi's Thirteenth Division had gradually stabilized over the past five years.
Seven hundred stationed Soul Reapers had been distributed throughout the World of the Living. The purification process had become standardized, and he no longer needed to watch over it every day.
Third Seat.
No, he should now be called Vice-Captain. Third Seat had officially been appointed Vice-Captain of the Thirteenth Division half a year ago.
Shuichi's signature on the appointment letter was much neater than it had been five years ago, though it was still ugly. The vice-captain stood in the pavilion, holding the letter in his hands. There was little expression on his face as he merely gave a faint bow.
The Thirteenth Division needed a vice-captain, and he was currently the most suitable candidate.
Of course.
The most boring division, the Sixth Division. Naturally, the boring one was the captain himself.
Furoufushi Saito's "noble management" duties had been practically useless for the past five years.
It was not that she refused to work. There was simply nothing to do. She had a list of the nobles, knew the