The Blade Meditation Chamber.
Incense smoke curled upward in the corner of the quiet room.
A gentle fragrance lingered in the air, bringing peace and serenity to all within.
The Asauchi had already been distributed. The students sat cross-legged in orderly rows on the chamber floor, immersed in their Blade Meditation practice.
"Calm your hearts and empty your minds. Use your spirit to feel the power that resides in your soul," Nanatsuki paced back and forth through the room, checking to see if any students were losing focus during the meditation.
"Your Asauchi is on the floor," he said as he knocked the head of a drowsy student with his wooden sword.
"Ack—sorry, sensei!" The half-asleep student quickly picked it up.
"Don't apologize to me. You're doing this for yourself."
Nanatsuki glanced toward Chijō Kana. Her performance caught him off guard—she had already slipped into a meditative state.
'Maybe it's because she doesn't have too many complicated thoughts bouncing around in her head,' Nanatsuki mused.
He continued his rounds.
Though he sounded like he knew exactly what he was talking about, Nanatsuki himself had never successfully completed Blade Meditation.
He couldn't enter his inner world through the practice.
Once a Shinigami reached a certain level of proficiency in Blade Meditation, they could step into their inner world and communicate with their Zanpakutō.
If they could learn its name, they would unlock Shikai.
But even after years of practice, Nanatsuki had never managed to enter that space.
He could feel that the step of forging the Zanpakutō had already been completed, yet for some unknown reason, he was still unable to enter his inner world—unable to communicate with it at all.
Suddenly, something stirred within him. He sensed an unusual fluctuation in Reiatsu.
He turned—Chijō Kana was the source.
That meant she had already entered a deeper level of Blade Meditation, one where the essence of the soul was being etched into the Asauchi.
"She's progressing fast…" Nanatsuki was surprised by her growth. At this rate, she would soon possess her own Zanpakutō.
He continued checking the room. Muguruma Kensei and Hirako Shinji had also entered a meditative state, though there were no signs yet of that same unusual Reiatsu fluctuation.
It wasn't until right before the session ended that those two also began emitting the same distinct Reiatsu signature, indicating that they too had reached deep levels of meditation.
Today, only three students with S-rank talent evaluations successfully entered the Blade Meditation state. The others had yet to reach that point.
Nanatsuki dismissed the rest of the students for free activity while he stayed behind to watch over the meditating trio, just in case anything went wrong.
He ended up waiting until evening.
"I'm starving!"
Chijō Kana was the first to awaken, clutching her stomach.
Fortunately, Muguruma Kensei and Hirako Shinji soon snapped out of their meditation as well.
Nanatsuki checked their Status Interfaces. For a first-time Blade Meditation session, the gains weren't bad—their Reiatsu had all increased slightly.
Just then, a new prompt appeared in Nanatsuki's view.
The reward summary for the Blade Meditation lesson had come in.
[Class Completed — Rewards Calculated]
[Reward Obtained: 10 Blade Meditation EXP]
[Thanks to your attentive guidance, the students were especially focused during their training. Three of them successfully entered a meditative state. Bonus reward granted.]
[Reward Obtained: 30 Blade Meditation EXP]
[First-time Completion of Blade Meditation Lesson — Bonus Reward Granted]
[Item Obtained: Asauchi]
This was Nanatsuki's first time receiving Blade Meditation EXP.
When practicing Blade Meditation, consuming this EXP could strengthen the bond with one's Zanpakutō.
The extra bonus reward for completing the lesson was even more surprising—it had directly given him a new Asauchi.
Since the students were still present, he decided not to take it out just yet.
And that wasn't all. Rewards also came in from the disciples who had completed their meditation:
[Disciple Chijō Kana completed a Blade Meditation session under your guidance. Reward Calculated.]
[Reward Obtained: 40 Blade Meditation EXP]
[Disciple Muguruma Kensei completed a Blade Meditation session under your guidance. Reward Calculated.]
[Reward Obtained: 20 Blade Meditation EXP]
Combining the academy's lesson rewards and disciple feedback, Nanatsuki had earned a total of 100 Blade Meditation EXP.
However, this experience could only be used while actively practicing Blade Meditation, so he couldn't try it just yet.
"You're all hungry, right? Let's go grab something to eat. It's too late to prep dinner now, so I'll take you to Granny Jiang's place," Nanatsuki said to the three of them.
"I'll pass," Hirako Shinji replied instinctively.
"Hirako, the cafeteria's been closed for hours. Are you planning to starve all night? You're in your Reiatsu growth phase—don't go to bed on an empty stomach," Nanatsuki said with a smile. "Come on now, don't be shy with your teacher."
Hirako hesitated, but Muguruma Kensei slung an arm around his shoulders. "Hey now, don't act like a stranger. Katori-sensei's one of the rare good ones. Don't brush off his kindness!"
"...Alright. Thanks, Katori-sensei," Hirako rubbed his stomach. After all, Blade Meditation had left him famished, and skipping dinner would probably keep him up all night.
Before long, the four of them arrived at Granny Jiang's izakaya. It wasn't far from the Katori-ryu Dojo, and the Spiritual Arts Academy wasn't too far either.
The izakaya was small—just a few tables inside—and you could see straight into the kitchen from the entrance.
Granny Jiang was a kind old lady. Her hair was gray, her face wrinkled, and she'd shrunk with age. She wore a neatly kept kimono.
"Granny Jiang, we're here!"
"Katori-kun! It's been a while since you last dropped by."
Back then, Nanatsuki's cooking skills were just average, so he'd occasionally come here to treat himself.
"I've been busy lately. Took on some students," he said with a smile.
Hirako silently confirmed what he'd been suspecting—the two classmates did, in fact, share a deeper bond with Katori-sensei.
"Oh? So the Katori-ryu Dojo is back in business again? Wonderful news!" Granny Jiang beamed. "And these are your students? Come in, come in. Tonight's on the house."
She greeted the three behind him with enthusiasm, then called into the back, "Lisa-chan, we've got guests. Come tidy up the tables!"
Hirako opened his mouth to clarify that he wasn't actually a disciple, but seeing Granny Jiang's cheerful face, he couldn't bring himself to say it.
"Lisa's helping out again?" Nanatsuki asked.
"Winter's coming," Granny Jiang replied.
When the forested mountains grew cold, hunting became difficult. Every year before winter, Granny Jiang would have Lisa come help out at the izakaya—at the very least, it meant she'd have a full stomach.