Students arrived one after another until the lecture hall was packed. No matter what status a soul had held in life, every newcomer to the Shino Academy—the academy that trains Shinigami—arrived brimming with hope for the future. After all, the Death Gods they usually saw were awe-inspiring figures. Whether you joined the Gotei 13 or were lucky enough to catch the eye of some great noble family, you could look forward to a decent future—at least in these peaceful times.
The chatter in the room died abruptly. After about five seconds, a stern-looking middle-aged man stepped inside, set his teaching materials on the lectern at the front, and turned to face the class.
Sure enough, students everywhere seem to have a spider-sense for when a teacher's about to appear… Jie Chengxian quietly grumbled to himself as he watched the man write "Inoue Toshiki" in large characters on the blackboard.
"From today on, I'll be in charge of your basic Shinigami training—all aspects of Zan, Kaku, Ho, Gi. You may call me Teacher Toshiki. The standard course here lasts six years, but outstanding students may apply to skip grades or even graduate early."
Teacher Inoue swept his gaze across the sea of excited faces below him, and—apparently feeling the excitement wasn't quite high enough—paused briefly before dropping another bombshell.
"Students who manage to graduate early always draw the attention of the Gotei 13's captains. At worst, you'll become a high-ranking Sekikan. Of course, that rosy future depends on one thing: you must be a true genius. And the measure of genius is the density of your spiritual pressure—your "Spiritual Class.""
Inoue Toshiki ran through the levels in brief. Most new students started at Class 20; reach Class 5 and you could serve as a Lieutenant; Class 3 qualified you to be a Captain. Everything else meant Sekikan rank or grunt work.
"All right, everyone—follow me to the training ground. Today we start Zanjutsu."
Zanjutsu is the most fundamental of a Shinigami's four arts. You can be hopeless at the other three, but you must master the sword—no Shinigami fights without a Zanpakuto. The style taught at the Shino Academy resembles kendō, but with plenty of lethal additions. After all, this is an academy that trains soldiers to battle Hollows; pretty forms won't keep anyone alive.
"Pay attention! If you can't even handle basic sword work, you'll never be a proper Shinigami—so snap to it!"
While demonstrating the fundamentals, Inoue Toshiki barked at the students swinging bamboo swords not to let their minds wander. Most of them were handling a blade for the first time in their lives, and their performance was predictably awful; the teacher's brows knit of their own accord.
"Enough. Next, you'll spar with me—let me fix the mistakes in how you apply force."
Toshiki really was an excellent instructor; if only he'd change that name. Basic Zanjutsu offers little flashiness—the key is how you drive power through the blade. Consequently, the lessons moved quickly, and before long it was Aizen's turn.
Nothing interesting ever happened when Aizen took the floor: give three percent effort and he'd never give four. He moved like a precise machine, occasionally making a deliberate mistake for the teacher to correct.
"Very good. You've real talent with the sword. Keep at it and you'll at least make Sekikan."
Teacher Inoue clapped Aizen on the shoulder and offered a few words of encouragement. Aizen gave a gentle nod, thanked him, and returned to the line, catching the barely suppressed grin on Yūki's face beside him.
"Yukei-kun, is something amusing?"
Pfft… nothing. Just picturing you as an Sekikan, that's all.
Truthfully, Yūki had never seen Aizen as an Sekikan—Aizen had stepped straight in as Hirako Shinji's Lieutenant.
"Is that supposed to be funny?"
Not really. I just think Teacher Toshiki's underestimating you. In my book, you're Lieutenant material at minimum."
"Heh. If I do become a Lieutenant, I'd want my Captain to be you, Yūki."
Yūki's low choking laugh died halfway; he looked as though he'd bitten into half a fly. The guy's definitely up to something—maybe all the dirty tricks he used on Hirako are coming my way next. A shiver ran down his spine.
"Jie Chengxian, you're up."
Coming, coming, Teacher Toshiki!
Luckily, the venerable Inoue saved him, yanking him away from Aizen's orbit. Aizen watched Yūki's retreating back, lost in thought.
Why is he so certain I'm Lieutenant-class? Can he sense my Class-5 pressure? Unlikely—when you hide your reiatsu, others can't read it clearly.
More and more intriguing.
Aizen watched Yūki spar with Inoue, a faint anticipatory smile on his lips.
For Yūki, the Shino Academy curriculum was child's play; his talent sat at the very ceiling of Soul Society. Half a year ago, when he'd vowed to become the strongest Shinigami, the "Hōgyoku" inside him had granted him that genius. Since then, the orb had gone silent—whether from lack of energy or for some other reason he didn't know—but raw talent alone was plenty to keep him safe.
Inoue Toshiki noticed how quickly Yūki moved from clumsy to polished. Convinced he'd uncovered a diamond, he began cranking up the difficulty, to Yūki's groaning dismay. What's with this guy? Everyone else finished ages ago—why's he torturing me? Could one little nickname really trigger such petty revenge?
Fortunately, Toshiki wasn't a demon; he'd only pushed hard to test Yūki's limits. After a final appraising look, he clapped for the class's attention.
"Remember the corrections I just gave you. Practice them tonight. Class dismissed!"
He strode off the field in a hurry, as though his wife were in labor. Ignoring the chorus of praise around him, Yūki swaggered over to Aizen, striking such a cocky pose that even Aizen's lip twitched.
"So, Sōusuke—how'd I do? If Toshiki hadn't run off, I'd have smacked him flat on his back, eyes wide and gasping."
With his nose in the air and "I'm the best" practically tattooed on his forehead, Yūki looked so ridiculous that Aizen had to rub his brow; maybe his earlier impression of unfathomable depth had been pure mirage.
"If you're fishing for compliments, then yes—you were impressive. Let's go."
Go where?
Back to the dorm.
Walking beside this strange creature who kept shooting him odd glances, Aizen itched to pry open his skull and see what was rattling around inside. And to think he still had to share a room with him—Aizen felt weary for the first time in his life.
Yūki, meanwhile, was gauging Aizen's current strength. He'd clearly shown those "flaws" on purpose; without a Zanpakuto yet, Aizen was high-Sekikan tier—probably Class 8 or better.
Which meant… right now, he himself was above Aizen?
"Haha—looks like I really could end up your Captain, Sōusuke!"
Aizen Sōsuke said nothing; he simply walked on toward the dormitory.