Knife

Rukia had a strange feeling as she looked at the senior students seated there, eventually fixing her gaze on Tachikawa Shin.

Aside from spotting him in the crowd during the entrance ceremony, this should have been their first formal meeting.

But the way he looked at her seemed as if he already knew her.

Feeling slightly uncomfortable, she lowered her eyes and bowed to the group.

Hisagi Shūhei went through the motions: "Please introduce yourself first..."

"Greetings to all the senior students. I'm Rukia from Class B, first-year, hailing from Inudari in District 78 of the South Rukon District. I don't have any particular hobbies, but I hope to become a skilled Shinigami through my studies at the Spirit Training Academy. If I can join the Student Council, I'm fine with any department."

Compared to Hinamori Momo just now, Rukia's performance wasn't particularly good. Shin had already noticed that Gorō beside him had given Rukia the lowest impression score.

Coming from the Rukon District and being a Class B student, in Kasumi Ōji Gorō's mind, she was probably already eliminated.

"Please answer the first question."

"I would choose to stay and fight alongside the senior student against the Menos Grande."

"Please state your reasoning."

Rukia pursed her lips and said, "I just think that in a moment like that, I shouldn't abandon the senior student alone. Even if it means sacrifice, having someone to accompany you would be a good thing. I'm not an outstanding student, and to Soul Society, losing the senior student would be a much greater loss than losing me. If I stayed, I could at least reduce the risk the senior student faces."

After hearing her answer, Shin couldn't help but raise an eyebrow slightly and suddenly spoke: "Well said."

Everyone present was taken aback as Shin continued, "For a new student like you to have such awareness is truly rare."

Gorō, sitting beside him, frowned and said nothing. He glanced again at this girl named Rukia. Aside from being passably pretty, there was nothing special about her, and she was a Class B student.

But after a moment's hesitation, Gorō still changed the score he had written for Rukia in his notebook.

So far, the total number of qualified candidates was small. Half of the first-year slots were already reserved for noble students, and Tachikawa Shin couldn't change that. As for the rest, he could do whatever he wanted.

After hearing Shin's words, the Student Council officers seemed to understand something, and some began rewriting in their own notebooks.

Shin had a smile on his face as Hisagi Shūhei said, "Please continue to answer the second question."

Regarding the remaining two questions, Hinamori's answers had been textbook-perfect. For the second, she laid out specific steps, and for the third, she cleverly said she would first seek the President's opinion.

But Rukia's answers fell short compared to Hinamori's. However, the officers didn't rush to score her; instead, they looked at Shin first.

Only after seeing that Shin still offered encouragement did they continue their evaluations.

Hisagi Shūhei finally said, "After our assessment, congratulations, Rukia. You've passed the interview."

Rukia hadn't expected to make it through. Even she felt her later performance had been poor, and for a moment, her eyes couldn't hide her surprise and delight.

"Thank you, all the senior students." She bowed repeatedly.

"You really should thank this President. He's been quite lenient with you." Gorō suddenly couldn't help but sneer.

Shin wasn't angered and replied with a light laugh, "I always like to give juniors more chances. I believe I won't be wrong about this."

Even as slow as Rukia was, she now realized that it was the Student Council President's encouragement that had raised her score in the others' eyes, and a surge of gratitude filled her heart.

Shin seemed to notice something and his smile widened.

"Alright, remember to report on time tomorrow."

"Yes!"

After Rukia left, Shin was still chuckling as he glanced at Gorō, making Gorō wonder if the guy had a screw loose—he had just been mocking him.

What Gorō didn't know was that his sarcastic remark had pushed Rukia's favorability up to 15 points.

Spiritual Pressure Level: Lv: 17

Zanpakutō Unlock Progress: 10%

Rukia walked out of the interview room and saw Hinamori Momo waiting for her in the hallway.

"Rukia!"

"Hina... Momo."

"How was it, how was it?" Hinamori asked eagerly.

"Ah, I passed too!" Rukia said with a smile.

"Really? That's great!" Hinamori was so excited she couldn't help hugging Rukia and cheering.

Even though they had only just met, Hinamori's warm personality made Rukia feel completely at ease, and she thought the other girl was a wonderful person.

"It's all thanks to your encouragement, Momo. I thought I was going to be eliminated." Rukia thanked her sincerely.

Hinamori beamed and said, "No need to thank me, no need. But you passed because of your own ability! It's not really about anyone else."

Rukia still felt a bit shaken and said, "When I first walked in, I was so nervous I thought I'd die. The seniors were really intimidating."

Hinamori agreed, "Right? I thought so too. All those seniors sitting there with straight faces was pretty nerve-wracking. But that President is a really kind person."

Rukia recalled Tachikawa Shin's face and said thoughtfully, "The President really is a good person. I didn't perform that well, but he encouraged me, and then the other seniors seemed to go easier on me because of his encouragement."

Hinamori said excitedly, "Right? You think the President is great too, don't you? I heard he was the one who first proposed creating the Student Council! And he's a famous genius student at the Spirit Training Academy. His specialty is kendo—even his Kendo Instructor is no match for him anymore!"

"You know so much?"

Hinamori said matter-of-factly, "I asked around beforehand. I figured I'd meet the President during the interview, and knowing more about him might help."

Rukia thought to herself that the other party had prepared thoroughly. In contrast, she had been incredibly lucky to pass this interview.

All thanks to President Xin being generous and kind-hearted.

The two chatted as they walked out of the teaching building. Hinamori even asked Rukia which department of the Student Council she wanted to join.

"I haven't decided yet. I don't know enough about these departments."

"I hope we both end up in the same department."

"Yeah."

#

There were still quite a few students left to interview. Xin and the others spent another hour or two finishing up.

In the end, a total of nineteen new students passed the interview.

These nineteen were to be evenly distributed among six departments: Discipline, Organization, Finance, Publicity, Academics, and Arts.

That worked out to three new students per department.

After finalizing the personnel assignments in the Student Council headquarters office, Xin leaned back in his chair and stretched.

"I'm exhausted. That was really tough."

Kōgorō left with his people.

"Going to eat?" Hisagi asked, and Kanazawa also looked over.

"You two go ahead. I still have things to do."

Hisagi was surprised. "What things?"

Xin just smiled. "A secret."

Hisagi looked puzzled. "It's not about going to see that new student from earlier, is it?"

Xin shot him a glare and couldn't be bothered to explain.

Hisagi Shūhei and Kanazawa left the office together. On the way to the cafeteria, Kanazawa suddenly asked Hisagi, "Does Xin really like that new student from today's interview?"

Hisagi was caught off guard by the sudden question. He scratched his head and said, "That girl named Hinamori is pretty cute... seems possible."

Xin also left the Student Council headquarters. It was now dinnertime, and the students' classes for the day had ended.

He went alone to the Swordsmanship classroom, using his Student Council privileges to get in without trouble.

Next to the Swordsmanship classroom was the sword storage room. The entire room was densely lined with countless black blades, each labeled with a serial number.

Students at the Spirit Training Academy couldn't carry Asauchi regularly—they could only use them during Swordsmanship and practical combat classes. Over the six years at the academy, very few awakened their Zanpakutō. 99% of people only awakened theirs after graduation, when they received their own Asauchi.

Still, the vast majority of Soul Reapers never obtained their own Zanpakutō in their lifetime. Having one was essentially the qualification to become a Seated Officer.

A Zanpakutō was forged from the Soul Reaper's own soul. After obtaining an Asauchi, the Soul Reaper would continuously pour their spiritual energy into it over time, eventually achieving a spiritual dialogue with it and gaining its power.

Xin walked slowly among the countless Asauchi. He stopped in front of the serial number of the Asauchi he usually used in Swordsmanship class. When he reached out to grasp it, he felt nothing special.

After a moment of silence, he put the Asauchi back in its place.

Zanpakutō Unlock Progress: 11% (Half-Release)

Zanpakutō unlocked. Call its true name to reveal its true form.

Call its true name... call its true name...

Xin swept his gaze across all the Asauchi in the storage room. To him, these blades were no different from one another. Not a single one gave him that so-called spiritual resonance.

Not here?

Xin frowned in thought, staring at his system interface again and again. Suddenly, he realized something.

Spiritual Pressure Level: Lv: 18

Spirit Energy Reserve: 15%

This so-called Spirit Energy Reserve was exactly what it sounded like. The spiritual energy inside his body was always in an incomplete state, because he was constantly releasing it outward. It was like opening a small leak in a ball that never stopped venting—so small that it went mostly unnoticed.

He did this because his current Spiritual Pressure level far exceeded that of his peers. He didn't believe that ordinary methods of hiding Spiritual Pressure could fool those stronger than him.

As long as his energy was always in an incomplete state, with only so much spiritual energy inside him, outsiders couldn't tell anything.

He returned to the Swordsmanship classroom, sat cross-legged in the center, and slowly closed his eyes.

Spirit Energy Reserve: 16%