Kotsubaki Kotone

Hinamori Momo's home was located in Junrinan, West Rukon District's first ward. Compared to many at the Spirit Academy, her background was considered quite good.

The environment here was second only to the Seireitei, with no worries about public safety or food supplies.

Taking advantage of the Spirit Academy's day off, Hinamori Momo returned home and took the chance to visit the boy next door.

"Anyway, the Spirit Academy is really a great place. Our Student Council President gets to interact with Lieutenant Captains and Captains in his daily work, and he's a wonderful person too—no airs at all toward his subordinates or juniors. If only I'd become his assistant back then... Hey, are you listening, Shiro-chan?"

On the wooden porch, the silver-haired boy was focused on demolishing the large slice of watermelon in his hands. Hearing the girl beside him call him by that nickname again, he unceremoniously spat watermelon seeds onto her.

"Haven't I told you not to call me Shiro-chan? Why do you come back every break? Is the Shinigami school really that idle?"

"I'm making a rare visit to see you, you know. The Student Council has work to keep me busy every day." Hinamori Momo was a bit displeased with his attitude.

Tōshirō Hitsugaya set aside the rind of the watermelon he'd finished and picked up another slice.

"You've already praised your president to me plenty of times."

"Because he's genuinely great!"

Hitsugaya's expression soured slightly, as if he couldn't care less about what Hinamori Momo was saying.

Hinamori Momo then added with a wistful tone, "Too bad I was assigned a task and missed it when the Fifth Division Captain came for an inspection. I heard he's also a very easygoing person. Shiro-chan, Shinigami aren't what we imagined before—there are so, so many good people."

She turned to persuade him, "Shiro-chan, why don't you give the Spirit Academy a try? I think you'd definitely pass the entrance exam, and then you could make lots of new friends too."

Hitsugaya kept his head down, eating his watermelon.

Hinamori Momo continued, "And if you could join the Student Council, we'd get to be together often again."

Hitsugaya wasn't swayed. "What's so good about being together with you often?"

"Shiro-chan, saying that really hurts my feelings."

"Stop calling me Shiro-chan, Bedwetter Momo!"

The main reason Tōshirō Hitsugaya didn't plan to go to the Spirit Academy was that he had to take care of his grandmother at home. Her health had always been poor, and he felt he couldn't abandon her—he had to stay by her side.

The summer heat was a bit oppressive, and the cicadas in the trees chirped without end.

Hinamori Momo ate her watermelon slowly, her dangling legs swinging back and forth. She gazed at the clear sky and daydreamed, "I have to work hard and become an excellent Shinigami."

#

Because Xin had skipped class a few too many times, he was called in for a talk by Nanda Hidezawa again.

"You little brat, have you forgotten everything you promised me before? The Student Council isn't an excuse for you to run wild! And since you're the Student Council President, you should be setting an example!"

"But the Student Council's daily workload really is heavy. I'm making sacrifices for the Spirit Academy too!" Xin explained with an innocent look. "Teacher Nanda, even if I miss some classes, I still make time to train—I won't let my grades slip!"

"Save it!" Nanda Hidezawa wasn't buying it. He knew his student's nature too well.

"Good grades don't mean you can do whatever you want. Do you realize that this repeated truancy of yours will be recorded in your file? When you graduate and your assigned Division sees your record, what do you think they'll think?"

Xin chuckled lightly. "Naturally, they'll see me as a rare talent and invest heavily in training me."

Nanda Hidezawa glared. "Get serious! I'm warning you—starting today, attend every single class properly. If you dare skip again, I'll report you to the Principal. I don't think he'll tolerate such sloppy behavior, and he might even strip you of your Student Council President position!"

Xin sighed helplessly. "What if the Student Council really has important business to handle?"

"Come to me for leave. I'll approve it based on the situation."

"..."

That afternoon, Xin surprisingly showed up in the classroom, which struck many of his classmates as novel—how long had it been since the President attended class?

"Teacher Nanda talked to you?" Hisagi Shūhei glanced at the listless Xin beside him and asked with a faint smile.

Xin gave a lazy "Mm."

It wasn't that he was too lazy to come to class. The fifth-year curriculum at the Spirit Academy no longer offered him any improvement; the teachers didn't teach anything deeper. In Xin's view, rather than sitting through these lessons, he'd be better off in the library looking up advanced Kido texts to improve himself.

The fifth-year courses leaned more toward practical exercises. Soul Burial internships in the Human World were noticeably more frequent than in previous years, sometimes even involving lower-grade juniors.

Xin had gone too. Back when he was a first-year student, his first trip to the Human World had been exciting.

But now, decades before the era of Kurosaki Ichigo in the original timeline, the technology level was far from advanced—nothing worth exploring. After two trips, he'd lost interest.

That afternoon's class was the Healing Arts Class. Because they'd joined the Student Council, Hisagi Shūhei and Kanazawa had stepped down as class representatives. The new rep was a vaguely familiar classmate. Just before class started, he stepped up to the podium and announced, "Teacher Oizumi isn't teaching today. Our substitute will be Lieutenant Captain Kotsubaki Kotone of the Fourth Division."

The Fourth Division?

Xin was a bit surprised. A Lieutenant Captain from the Thirteenth Divisions substituting for a fifth-year class was fairly rare.

"The Fourth Division—that's the Division you're headed to, isn't it?" Hisagi remarked in surprise.

Xin neither confirmed nor denied it, but he perked up.

When the bell rang, the classroom fell silent. A tall figure slowly entered through the front door of the lecture hall.

"She's... so tall!"

Seeing her, many students couldn't help but let out low exclamations, and some whispered among themselves.

Kotsubaki Kotone's height—enough to intimidate even the male students—instantly stunned most of the class. A woman nearly 190 centimeters tall; the entire Spirit Academy probably couldn't produce another like her.

She wore a black Shinigami Robe with the Fourth Division's Lieutenant Captain armband, yet she was a strikingly beautiful woman.

Kotsubaki Kotone listened to the murmurs from below and could guess what they were whispering about. It made her a bit awkward—being the center of attention like this essentially exposed what she considered her height flaw for everyone to discuss.

But she still slowly walked up to the podium and addressed the students: "I am Kotsubaki Kotone, Lieutenant Captain of the Fourth Division. I'll be taking today's class temporarily. Hello, students."

As she spoke, her gaze swept across the students in front of her, quickly and precisely locking onto Xin's figure among the not-so-large group of students. As it happened, Xin was also looking at her.

Kotsubaki Kotone

Affection: 9

And there's more.