Shin'ō Academy's corridor is always quiet during lunch break.
Some students eat in the cafeteria, some lie down at the desk in the classroom and take a nap, and some sit in a daze under the shade of the trees in the playground.
The patrolling instructor had just passed the first floor of the main building. His footsteps stopped for a moment at the stairs, and then continued to the east.
A figure climbed over the low wall behind the main building.
The movement was very light, and there was almost no sound when it landed, like a cat stepping on tiles.
He is wearing a Shin'ō Academy school uniform, which is the standard for boys.
The school uniform is a bit too big for him
The young man crouched in the shadow behind the low wall, waited for a while to make sure no one noticed him, then stood up, patted the dust on his knees, and walked towards the main building as if nothing had happened.
He is not a student here, and the school uniform is borrowed
The young man walked east along the corridor, neither fast nor slow, with a natural expression. Occasionally he nodded to the students passing by, as if he belonged here. He met a teacher at the top of the stairs. The teacher glanced at him and then moved away.
The boy's heartbeat accelerated the moment the teacher passed by, but there was no change on his face. When the teacher's footsteps disappeared around the corner of the corridor, he exhaled softly and continued walking up.
The door of the dean's office was unlocked. He stood at the door and looked around. There was no one in the corridor. He stretched out his hand to push the door open, stepped in, and then gently closed the door.
The office was very quiet, the curtains were half-opened, and the afternoon sunlight filtered in through the gaps in the curtains, drawing a thin line of light on the floor. The desk was large, the desktop was neat, and the documents were neatly stacked. The pens on the pen stand were arranged in order of length. The ink in the inkstone was dry and it looked like no one had used it for a while. There were several bookshelves standing by the wall. Some of the words on the spines of the books he didn't recognize, and some he knew but couldn't understand. There was a painting hanging on the wall.
It is a large painting that occupies one-third of the entire wall. There is only one person on the painting, a figure whose back is wrapped in flames.
"Wow"
"Is this Flame Demon from Soul Society?"
He has never seen Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto. The elders of the Kyoraku Clan would occasionally mention this name, and the tone would be different every time they mentioned it. Shunsui Kyōraku pieced it together from those few words. An image emerged: a strong man, a man holding a flame in his hand, Flame Demon. He didn't know who invented this title. Maybe it was himself, maybe not, but standing in front of the painting at this moment, he felt that these four words were very suitable.
"Where did you hear that name?"
The voice came from behind
The boy's body froze
He thought too much, and these judgments only ran through his mind for less than a second, but one second was already too long.
A big hand fell on his head
"Shunsui Kyōraku! You little brat!"
He turned his head, raised his face, and saw a moon-shaped head and a mustache
"You... you know me?" The boy's voice was softer than before.
Yamamoto did not answer the question, and kept his hand on Shunsui's head. "Whose school uniform is it?"
"... Borrowed."
Yamamoto was silent for a moment, and then took away the hand on Shunsui's head.
"Take off your school uniform and return it. Wear your own clothes tomorrow."
Shunsui was stunned, tomorrow? Wear your own clothes? He blinked and chewed the sentence over and over again several times, and finally figured out the meaning.
"You... you let me come to school?"
Yamamoto had already walked behind the desk and sat down, picking up a document on the table as if he hadn't heard him speak.
"I... I am from the Kyoraku Clan" Shunsui was wondering what this sentence could explain.
Yamamoto raised his head and glanced at him. "I know."
"Kyoraku Clan does not need to go to the Spiritual Arts Academy" Shunsui said this in a weak tone, although Kyoraku Clan has its own way of cultivating talents, with private schools, teaching, swordsmanship and Kidō that have been passed down for hundreds of years
Noble children do not need to go to the Spiritual Arts Academy. This is not to look down on the Spiritual Arts Academy, but there is an invisible line between the nobility and Spiritual Arts Academy. After so many years, no one has crossed it. The first batch, the second batch, the third batch... Spiritual Arts Academy has been running for so many years, but not a single noble child has come. It is not that Yamamoto does not accept it, it is that they do not come.
Yamamoto didn't look at him "Are you coming or not?"
He didn't know that what Yamamoto said to him today was not just for him, but for all the nobles. The children of the Kyoraku Clan came to school at the Spiritual Arts Academy, will you come?
Shin'ō Academy's classroom is always filled with a special atmosphere before school starts.
Shunsui Kyōraku When he opened the classroom door, most of the seats were already occupied. It was not that he came late, but that others came too early.
Rukongai students are accustomed to getting up early, getting up before dawn, and going out at dawn. When they arrive at school, it is still early, so they sit and wait in the classroom. Shunsui stands at the door and glances at it, and quickly makes a judgment. The back row is by the window, which is the best position. The sun is not shining directly and will not dazzle the eyes. The window can see outside and will not be too boring. The back row will not be called on frequently by the teacher, so you can be distracted appropriately.
He walked over and sat down by the window. The table was a bit low. He crossed his legs out of habit, but felt it didn't fit so he put them down. The school uniform was new and he just took it apart this morning.
Some people in the classroom are talking quietly, some are flipping through books, some are lying on the table taking a nap, and they started taking a nap before school started.
Shunsui leaned on the back of the chair and looked at the playground outside the window. There were people running on the playground. I don't know whether they were senior students or teachers.
He got bored. He was never a person who could sit quietly. It was the same when he was at home. The teacher at the private school often said to the Kyoraku Clan, "This kid of yours is good at everything, but he has a nail on his butt."
He turned his head and looked to the right, there was a white-haired boy
His skin is also very white, but not a healthy white. The school uniform looks empty on him. He leans on the back of the chair with his eyes half-opened, as if he would fall asleep at any time, or as if he is just too lazy to open them. His face is not good, his lips are very light in color, and there are faint bruises under his eyes, giving him a very sick look.
Shunsui looked at him for a few seconds, then leaned towards him, resting his elbows on the table and resting his chin on his palms.
"Hey, what's your name?"
The white-haired boy opened his eyes a little, and slowly raised his eyelids as if he were lifting a heavy quilt. He looked at Shunsui, but did not answer immediately. He was looking at the person who suddenly came over to ask him his name, with an expression on his face that said, "Do I know you? I don't care if I don't know you."
"Ukitake"
Not loud
"Jūshirō Ukitake."
His voice and appearance match well, both have that unhealthy, somewhat weak quality.
Jūshirō Ukitake
Shunsui went over the name in his mind. The surname Ukitake was not common. He could not recall any noble family with the surname Ukitake, nor could he recall which district Rukongai had a settlement with this surname, but Rukongai is too big, and the surname is a dispensable thing. Many wandering souls don't even have a name, let alone a surname. Having a surname itself means something, indicating that this person's family has at least existed long enough to need a name that is different from other families, and this thing itself is very rare.
"I am Shunsui Kyōraku"
Ukitake's eyes moved, moving from Shunsui's face to the sky
"Hmm"
What does "um" mean? Shunsui is not very satisfied with this response. He is famous for "talking a lot and being dense" in the Kyoraku Clan
"My name is Shunsui Kyōraku. I'll say it again in case you forget."
Ukitake's mouth smiled slightly