This Shore, That Shore

"This Shore, That Shore..."

The teacher in charge of recording muttered the sword's name as he wrote it down, then suddenly chuckled. "It sounds like the name of two swords."

"And its ability?" another teacher continued asking.

Xin put on a thoughtful expression and said with a light laugh, "I haven't figured out its exact ability yet, but... it should count as a healing type."

This Shore, That Shore (Half-Release)

Rule-Type

They were indeed the names of two swords: This Shore was a katana, and That Shore was a wakizashi.

In Buddhism, this shore referred to the mortal world of birth, aging, illness, and death.

The other shore referred to nirvana and attaining Buddhahood.

Xin's sword differed from those of ordinary Soul Reapers. It had not been formed from an Asauchi, but condensed from his own spiritual pressure.

"A healing type?"

All the teachers present, including Nanda Hidezawa, looked exceptionally surprised.

The reason was that healing-type Zanpakutō were far too rare. The only well-known one was Minazuki, belonging to Unohana Retsu, captain of the Fourth Division. Even within the Fourth Division, a healing division, there were only a handful of members with healing-type Zanpakutō.

Nanda Hidezawa was surprised because Kaido had clearly been Xin's weakest subject.

Of course, that was only compared to Xin's other grades. Among students of the same year, his Kaido results were still exceptionally good; they simply were not as far ahead as his other subjects.

Nanda Hidezawa's eyes filled with concern. In his view, Xin's Zanpakutō ability might greatly restrict his future path. His swordsmanship was clearly so outstanding...

"Can you demonstrate it?" the teacher in charge of recording asked again.

Xin nodded.

He called his Zanpakutō a healing type because, after giving it careful thought, that seemed to be the most fitting classification.

He drew the Asauchi at his waist, then, under the watchful eyes of the three teachers, cut open his own palm without hesitation.

Blood immediately welled out.

Then spiritual light lit up along the black Asauchi, and the wound in Xin's palm instantly vanished as though it had never existed.

"This..."

"That healing power is truly impressive!"

One of the teachers could not help but praise it. Not a single trace of injury remained on Xin's palm; only high-level Kaido could achieve that. If properly developed, it would become an extremely powerful healing ability!

And Tachikawa Shin was a genius as well. For Soul Society, that would be a fortunate thing.

The two teachers proceeded to ask many more questions and had Xin demonstrate it several more times. Whenever he encountered a question he had not decided how to answer, he simply said that he had only just awakened his Zanpakutō and did not understand it well enough yet.

Only after all the Zanpakutō information had been recorded did the two teachers leave.

Xin unceremoniously sat down in Teacher Nanda's seat, let out a long breath, and said, "What a hassle."

He looked toward Nanda Hidezawa again. "What is it, Teacher Nanda? You still don't seem very happy."

Nanda Hidezawa stared intently at Xin. "Xin, do you know what your Zanpakutō's ability means?"

Xin gave a soft laugh. "What?"

"Once it is registered, your information will become known to every Division. When you graduate, there is a high chance you will be assigned directly to the Fourth Division. No, I should say you will definitely be assigned to the Fourth Division."

Healing-type Zanpakutō were simply too rare. You might not find even one among a thousand people.

Soul Society never lacked powerful Soul Reapers, but having one more doctor capable of saving lives was obviously more important than the former.

"What is wrong with the Fourth Division?" Xin asked with a smile.

Nanda Hidezawa's expression stiffened. He spoke earnestly, "Your swordsmanship, Kido, Hakuda, and Shunpo are all among the best students of your year. Your swordsmanship in particular—I have worked in education for so many years, yet I have never seen a student more gifted in that respect than you. Xin, your future is limitless. You should become a more well-rounded Soul Reaper. One day, becoming a Lieutenant Captain—or even a captain—is not impossible. Joining the Fourth Division would not be a wise choice for you."

Leaning back in his seat, Xin said lazily, "But my Zanpakutō happens to have this kind of ability. What can I do about that, Teacher Nanda? You make it sound as though my future has already been decided."

Nanda Hidezawa merely sighed. It was not that he looked down on doctors; he simply felt that Xin's talent for swordsmanship should not be wasted, while the Fourth Division was, unfortunately, a medical division.

"Alright, Teacher Nanda. Thank you for worrying about my future, but I am not in any hurry myself. There is no need for you to be so concerned either. Who can say what the future holds?" Xin began comforting his own teacher, then rose from his seat.

"If there is nothing else, I'll be leaving. Goodbye, Teacher Nanda."

As he left, he held the Asauchi in his hand and thought that he should make some sort of mark on it when he got back. Otherwise, if it got mixed up with someone else's, that would be a real mess.

At the entrance to the boys' dormitory, Xin found Kanazawa and Hisagi Shūhei waiting for him.

"Yo! Waiting for me?"

He walked over with a beaming smile as he greeted them.

Both of their gazes were mainly fixed on the Asauchi in his arms. Once Xin reached them, he directly handed it over for them to inspect closely.

"Xin, your Zanpakutō... looks so ordinary. It is no different from the Asauchi we usually use," Shūbīng could not help saying.

Xin rolled his eyes at that, thinking, That is the Asauchi we usually use.

Kanazawa asked softly, "What is it called?"

"This Shore, That Shore."

"This Shore, That Shore..." Kanazawa gently stroked the blade, her eyes flickering uncertainly.

"It has such a nice name."

To students of the Spirit Training Academy, Zanpakutō were still novel things. The two examined Xin's sword for a long time, seemingly hoping to learn something from it and awaken their own Zanpakutō sooner.

But they were destined to be disappointed.

No matter how they looked at it, it was just an ordinary Asauchi. There were countless identical swords in the sword storage room.

"Xin, you are getting farther and farther ahead of us," Shūbīng suddenly said with emotion.

Xin laughed. "Aren't I always right beside you?"

Shūbīng smiled as well.

"Still, don't walk too slowly, or I'll leave you behind."

The following morning.

Student Council headquarters office.

The new first-year Student Council members had all arrived early to wait. Today marked their first official day in the Student Council, and every face carried some degree of excitement.

Xin arrived a little late, though fortunately he was not tardy. The moment he entered, cries of "Good morning, President!" filled his ears, waking him up considerably.

Hisagi Shūhei began speaking in Xin's place. "Welcome, everyone, to the Student Council. The Student Council is the link between the Spirit Training Academy and its students..."

"Next, we will announce the departments assigned to each first-year member. I hope you will treat your work seriously, live up to the trust the Spirit Training Academy and its students have placed in you, and be worthy of the responsibility you bear."