Gusion's expression turned awkward for a moment.
"Isn't Shikai pretty exhausting? Sōsuke, maybe don't tire yourself out. Why don't you tell me more about your insights on increasing spiritual pressure?"
Aizen admitted he'd already learned Shikai and even wanted to show me his prized possession.
Gusion was willing to believe in the supernatural of the Endspace. Once he completed his mission and returned, the effects of Kyōka Suigetsu would be lifted, and Aizen wouldn't act recklessly in the academy. But he didn't want to be completely hypnotized by his roommate.
He came to play Speedrun Academy, not Hypnosis Academy.
Aizen was a little surprised by the refusal.
"Oh, then never mind. I thought you'd be very interested, Gusion-kun. If you have trouble resonating with your Zanpakutō later, I can Shikai for your reference."
Just then, lights out arrived. Once the dorm went dark, Aizen sat cross-legged and started acting like the ultimate overachiever. Gusion imitated him, but instead of absorbing spirit particles, he focused on sensing his Asauchi.
According to Aizen, resonance is a hard-to-understand concept. What he needed to do wasn't resonate with the Asauchi, since it didn't contain anything itself, but actually to resonate with his innermost self—his soul.
After reaching that point, the next step was to inject his soul into the Zanpakutō. That way, he could learn its true name and master Shikai.
In the pitch-black room, Aizen opened his eyes, watching Gusion across from him working on Shikai with a look of puzzlement.
Someone as studious as Gusion-kun refused to let him demonstrate Shikai? Did he somehow know his Zanpakutō's real ability?
Impossible...
…
Facing the morning sun, Gusion rubbed his brow.
He hadn't slept at all last night, intensely focused on meditation to sense the rhythm of his soul—but the result was... nothing.
He'd thought that, given his talent, the Zanpakutō resonance stage shouldn't be a problem. But to his surprise, it was this difficult.
Was Aizen right? Did Shikai require a high level of spiritual power?
In theory, a spiritual power of rank 17 shouldn't make Shikai impossible, but it was tough. Gusion simply couldn't touch his soul's depths. It was hard to describe—he didn't know what Aizen saw when examining his soul.
Using the Shinigami's Zanpakutō resonance method, he could only see... endless darkness within himself.
A night of this drained him. Normally, Gusion could go days without sleep while training martial arts, but he'd already used up a lot of soul source in yesterday's Kidō class, leaving him with only 30% left.
"Gusion-kun, you just started practicing. You should get some sleep at night,"
Aizen advised, seeming to notice his poor condition.
Gusion stretched and tried to perk up.
"You look pretty energetic, Sōsuke, even though you never sleep."
"I only got used to it after gradual training," Aizen replied. "And if you meditate correctly, it can be counted as a kind of rest. There are a few tricks to it—I'll teach you tonight."
Chatting as they walked, they quickly arrived at the first class of the morning: Shunpo.
Gusion had gotten a rough explanation about Shunpo from Aizen yesterday.
Shinigami's Shunpo is different from the Hollows' Sonído. It mostly relies on bodily strength, using advanced force techniques and pivot points to achieve rapid movement.
In the manga, he remembered Shinigami using Shunpo looking almost like teleportation—so cool. But Aizen's explanation revealed the truth: it's not really like that.
Most Shinigami, after learning Shunpo, can only... run a bit faster.
Gusion now understood Shunpo as a masterful footwork technique. Only with immense spiritual pressure—or high attributes—can it look like actual teleportation.
And even then, it's only good for crushing newbies. To experts, it's still just running very fast.
Only rookies can't see clearly, so to them, it feels like the expert is teleporting.
Also, if you want to look like you teleported, you have to maintain an elegant posture as you stop—like you're casually strolling, not rushed or making exaggerated movements.
Simply put: you need style. Fashion points matter.
Just like Kuchiki Byakuya in the original—after Shunpo, his clothes are neat, his hair just gently flowing, posture perfectly straight. That's a perfect Shunpo.
Gusion wasn't chasing a perfect Shunpo, though. He was interested in the principles behind it, believing it would greatly boost his mobility in battle.
The substitute teacher for this lesson was a noble from the Ōmaeda clan, currently the third seat of the Stealth Force, and a Shunpo expert.
As before, the teacher looked after Gusion—the now-famous transfer student—by not personally instructing him, but letting the student with the best Shunpo in class teach him.
"Gusion, what's with that face?"
Yoruichi walked over, her expression calm but her lively eyes barely hiding their teasing.
"Nothing. I just think Sōsuke could teach me too,"
Gusion replied, turning to look at Aizen.
Aizen just adjusted his glasses and smiled,
"No, no, no. Shihōin's Shunpo is easily the best in the academy—she should teach you."
Damn you, Aizen, selling me out!
Gusion knew Aizen was just watching for fun, but he was right. Standing before him was the future Flash Goddess Yoruichi. Even if she was still young, her mastery of Shunpo must be formidable.
Yesterday, he and Yoruichi had sparred in Hakuda. The proud girl hadn't started with Shunpo, and after being pinned down, she never had the chance to use it—so he'd won.
But today was different. She'd use her best Shunpo to teach him a lesson.
Wait, this is a Shunpo class. No matter how much she wants payback, she can't hit people, right?
Steadying himself, Gusion forced a smile.
"Then I'll be in your hands, Yoruichi."
"We're not that close, are we? You should call me Shihōin,"
Yoruichi shot back, rolling her eyes.
"Or call me Yoruichi-Oneesan~."
Gusion felt a little awkward. He'd overlooked this because, from reading the manga, he always remembered "Yoruichi" as her main name and didn't care much about her surname. Yoruichi felt more like a first name anyway.
Seeing Gusoin fall silent, Yoruichi smirked,
"How about this? I'll suppress my spiritual pressure to match yours and teach you seriously in this class. Afterward, we'll race—if you're slower, you have to respectfully call me Yoruichi-Oneesan whenever you see me."
"No way. You're from the Shihōin clan—you've trained Shunpo for years. That's not fair, and I'm not dumb. Plus, you only mentioned a penalty if I lose. What if I win?"
"Win?"
Yoruichi looked him up and down.
"You think you can beat me in speed?"
"Why not?"
Gusion figured footwork counted as a martial art, and he prided himself on his learning ability in that area. Winning today might not be realistic, but with practice, he didn't think it was impossible.
Yoruichi laughed melodiously,
"That's impossible."