Completely unaware that his fate had already been sealed by the captains, Shirō Emiya continued his daily routine as usual. The only addition to his schedule was a new task: "expanding territory" in the secret training ground.
And so, the days quietly passed as his graduation from Shin'ō Spiritual Arts Academy drew ever closer.
That day, someone he hadn't spoken to in a long while suddenly approached him, Soi Fon.
"Hey, Little Bee! Did you finally realize how much you missed me?"
Shirō greeted her with a cheeky grin.
"Little Bee?! Call me that again and I'll rip your mouth off," Soi Fon replied darkly.
Shirō's eyelid twitched. Great. Just as I feared, Yoruichi's raised another little monster.
First Yoruichi, now Soi Fon, and even Captain Unohana… all terrifying women in their own right.
Was it too much to ask for one normal girl in the whole Soul Society?
He thought bitterly of Kaien Shiba, that lucky bastard whose division just happened to include a soft-spoken, graceful, and beautiful young lady.
Of course, this was just Shirō being sour.
"So? What do you want from me?" he asked, finally sobering up.
Could Yoruichi have sent her? But that didn't make sense, Yoruichi always came herself. She was never one to act like a noble.
"The academy has made arrangements," Soi Fon said simply.
"Arrangements? We're about to graduate, what arrangements are left?"
A party? That felt way too early. Or maybe a talent show?
"We're taking a few first-years to the Human World. Let them get a look around," she explained, unconcerned.
"Wait, what? To the Human World? They let us do that?!"
Shirō's eyes lit up. While he'd already been to various districts in Rukongai, he'd never been to any of the high-numbered sectors, let alone the Human World itself.
He'd always wanted to see what it looked like nowadays, he had assumed he'd need to join a Gotei squad and file a special request just to visit. But now? The academy was taking them early?
"Don't tell me... you've never been taken out before?" Soi Fon asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Wait, that's a thing?!"
Shirō's mouth twitched. If these trips had always existed, then when he was a first-year, someone should have taken him too, right?
"Why didn't I ever hear about this?!"
Turns out, the tradition had always been in place.
He thought back to that moment in the anime when 6th Squad's Lieutenant Hisagi and others took Hinamori and her classmates to the Human World for training, and then got "rescued" by Aizen. But that was only possible because the Shinigami Research and Development Institute already existed back then.
Those hollows weren't real, they were artificial, with no actual danger. The exercise was for rookies to see a Hollow, kill one, and get over their fear.
But this was different.
There was no R&D division yet. Sending rookies out now was like leading lambs to the slaughter.
So Shirō had always assumed the academy wouldn't risk it this early.
He'd guessed wrong.
After all, how could a new Shinigami graduate without ever seeing a Hollow? Or even fighting one?
Of course there had to be field training.
Granted, the structure now was a little different.
In later years, first-years would go out to kill Hollows directly, while sixth-years provided support. But now? First-years were just along for observation. The sixth-years were the ones doing the fighting, and real Gotei members would act as backup.
When Shirō was still a first-year, the academy must've skipped over him either because:
< They couldn't be bothered to round everyone up,
< They figured he'd already fought real Hollows and didn't need the experience,
< Or maybe because grades were based on total scores anyway, and this one didn't matter much, like how Renji's abysmal kidō still didn't stop him from ranking high.
Still, it was a missed opportunity to visit the Human World.
Now, as a sixth-year, Shirō and Soi Fon's class were expected to not only fight, but protect the three first-years assigned to them.
This was their final test.
Failure didn't mean expulsion, but performance was still scored. Even if they couldn't kill a Hollow, as long as they showed courage, they'd pass.
"Anyway, message delivered. If you don't want to go, fine, just stay behind and repeat next year," Soi Fon said flatly, turning to leave.
"Go?! Of course I'm going!"
Shirō grabbed her by the arm and took off toward the academy.
"Hey! Let go, you bastard! I can walk on my own!" Soi Fon yelled, her face flushed.
Due to limited support from the 13th Division, the setup was as follows:
Each sixth-year student was assigned to protect three first-years.
They could kill Hollows solo or team up with other sixth-years. Heck, ten people ganging up on one Hollow was fine too.
The goal wasn't strength.
It was courage.
Of course, going solo scored higher than working as a group, but either way, as long as they showed spirit, they'd pass.
That said, the 13th Division's "protection" was more like observation.
They'd try to intercept the stronger Hollows and leave the weaker ones for the students.
But if something unexpected happened?
Well, there was no guarantee anyone would be there in time.
The death rate was low… but not zero.
Thus, Shirō's long-awaited "field trip to the Human World" finally arrived.
He drew his assignment number.
"...Number 44?"
He nearly bit his tongue.
"Well, uh… four plus four makes eight. Eight's lucky, right?"
"Excuse me, senpai. Do you have tag number 44?" a voice asked from behind.
"Yep," Shirō turned around with a smile.
"Looks like we'll be spending some time togeth, huh?"
His sentence trailed off as he laid eyes on the three people standing in front of him.
He tilted his head. Blinked. And blinked again.
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