"Lord Azashiro, wake up! The entrance ceremony is about to begin. According to the traditions of the Shin'ō Spiritual Arts Academy, today Captain-Commander Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto himself will be attending! "
Outside Azashiro's bedroom, the petite Hōshō Aya knelt respectfully at the door, raising her voice to remind him.
"Hah?"
"Who in their right mind would wake up early just to listen to some thousand-year-old fossil give a speech? "
"Not going! Absolutely not going! "
Sprawled lazily on his tatami mat, Azashiro yawned and waved his hand dismissively. Unlike the hot-blooded kids who got all worked up the moment they heard the Captain-Commander was coming, he had no interest whatsoever in the so-called academy entrance ceremony.
"But, Lord Azashiro! "
"After the ceremony there's the placement exam. If we don't attend the ceremony, what are we going to do about the test later? "
Aya asked anxiously.
"Got it~"
Sliding the door open, Azashiro stepped out, now face-to-face with her.
"You're thinking about it all wrong."
"Skipping the ceremony has nothing to do with skipping the test. We could totally just skip the boring speeches and show up right on time for the exam, right? "
He explained to her calmly.
"That… does make sense! "
"So, what Lord Azashiro means is—we just need to show up right before the exam starts? "
Aya tilted her head, thoughtful, then asked again.
"Nope."
Azashiro replied instantly.
"Eh?!"
"Why not? "
Had she misunderstood him?
"I only said skipping the ceremony doesn't mean skipping the test. But I never once said I was going to take the test."
Azashiro clarified, watching her face pale in shock.
"But… if we don't take the test, how will we be placed into classes? "
"That's easy. We'll just give the academy advance notice. They'll put us in the best class anyway, so relax."
He yawned lazily, brushing it off.
"This… is that really okay? Isn't that going too far? I mean—doesn't that count as pulling strings? "
Aya's cheeks flushed bright red as she stumbled over her words. A good girl like her had never even imagined relying on underhanded means.
"No. With our talent, ending up in the best class is inevitable. I'm just skipping the unnecessary steps. Besides, with our noble status, even if we flunked, we'd still end up in the noble class anyway, wouldn't we? "
"Since it's already a sure thing, why waste time taking the exam? "
"Wouldn't that just be wasting my time? "
His words were logical, leaving no real room to argue.
"But still…"
Aya's expression was full of hesitation.
"Relax! "It's decided," Azashiro declared, dragging a futon to the doorway. He flopped inside, slipped a black blindfold over his eyes, then pulled on a second blindfold printed with giant cartoon eyes. "Keep an eye on the door for me. If my sister shows up, wake me. I'm going back to sleep…"
"Lord Azashiro? Lord Azashiro! "
Aya watched him fall asleep again, completely helpless.
—
Meanwhile, at the Shin'ō Spiritual Arts Academy, Captain-Commander Yamamoto—head of the Gotei 13 and hailed as the strongest shinigami in a thousand years—glared at the two empty front-row seats. Veins bulged on his forehead.
"Chōjirō Sasakibe, you handle the ceremony."
"Yes, sir."
The longtime lieutenant of the First Division bowed and stepped forward to preside over the opening ceremony.
—
Back at the Azashiro residence, Aya was still staring blankly at the peacefully sleeping boy when a deep, elderly voice spoke from behind her.
"Excuse me, is this the residence of Azashiro? "
"Huh?"
Aya froze, then turned—and went completely rigid.
"C-Captain-Commander!"
She quickly spun around and bowed low to the kind-faced but imposing old man before her.
"Mhm."
Yamamoto nodded with a gentle smile, then let his gaze fall squarely on the boy wearing the ridiculous giant-eyed blindfold, snoring inside his futon.
"Lord—" Aya began, ready to wake Azashiro, but the old man's hand stopped her.
"Shh…"
With a single gesture, Yamamoto hoisted up both futon and sleeping boy together and flash-stepped straight toward the academy.
"Captain-Commander?!"
Aya panicked, rushing after him at full speed.
"Who's that kid? "
"No idea."
"But judging by the look, he must be a noble's son."
"First day of school, and the Captain-Commander personally carries him in? That's insane! "
"Talk about prestige! "
"Bet he's already got a division lined up—he'll be a shinigami the moment he graduates! "
The students whispered excitedly, staring at the bundled-up boy laid out in front.
"…Didn't I tell you to wake me if something happened? "
"And why is it so noisy here? "
Azashiro stirred, crawling out from the futon.
"Where is this? "
Blinking beneath the eye-blindfold, he looked around at the crowd of unfamiliar faces.
"Lord Azashiro… this is the academy's main hall…"
Aya's cheeks burned red as she whispered to him.
"I know this is the academy hall. I can tell that much. I'm asking—how did I end up here? "
He demanded in confusion.
"Cough, cough…"
Behind him, Yamamoto cleared his throat, making his presence known.
"Oh! So it was you, old man! You're a real menace! "
Azashiro turned, instantly understanding the situation the moment he saw Yamamoto.
"…Hmm?"
Yamamoto's ever-present smile froze.
"Hadō #31—Shakkahō! "
Without another word, the old man launched a crimson blast of kidō straight at him.
"BOOM!"
"He's dead! "
The students gasped in unison as Azashiro took the Captain-Commander's Shakkahō right to the face.