A week passed quickly.
Sombravida and Momo waited at home.
When the Academy's results were scheduled to be announced, Momo stood at the doorway since early morning, staring in the direction of Seireitei.
"Momo," Sombravida said lazily from inside, "you're going to wear a hole in the sky if you keep staring like that."
"I'm nervous!" she snapped.
"Even if you didn't pass, you could try again in three years. And you have two division recommendations already. That alone puts you ahead of most applicants. You should be worrying about dorm roommates, not admission."
"Big brother!"
She stomped her foot.
But she didn't move from the door.
Sombravida spoke calmly.
"Nearly twenty thousand applicants across all eighty Rukongai districts. Add in lesser noble families and retainers. Roughly one in ten are accepted. Your evaluations were above average or excellent across the board. Two division seals. Statistically speaking, you are very safe."
She turned slightly.
"…You passed almost everything at the highest level."
"Except Kidō aptitude," Sombravida corrected dryly.
"But you have four seals!"
Sombravida closed his eyes.
"Let's hope they balance that failure."
Sombravida's Thoughts During the Week
During the waiting period, Sombravida's mind had not been idle.
Two matters occupied him.
First — Kira Izuru.
Kira's Academy admission was nearly guaranteed.
Given his noble lineage and demonstrated control, he would likely excel.
Sombravida knew that in canon, Kira would later serve under Ichimaru Gin in the Third Division.
But at this stage, Aizen was still operating in shadows.
Intervening prematurely would be reckless.
Sombravida could not assume he understood the full structure of Aizen's long-term manipulations.
Second guessing Aizen without power was suicide.
However…
If Kira's family regained commercial stability, it might allow Grandma and Tōshirō to move goods legally into Seireitei in the future.
Not as smugglers.
As merchants.
That required careful timing.
Second — The Illusion Device.
The Twelfth Division chamber.
The reishi neuro-feedback construct.
The humanoid Hollow suspended in solution.
Sombravida had seen worse in Mayuri's canonical underground facilities — Adjuchas specimens, experimental Hollows, biological modifications.
That alone did not surprise him.
What unsettled him was the illusion system's precision.
It reconstructed memory patterns with near-perfect emotional amplification.
Not hypnosis like Kyōka Suigetsu.
Not sensory inversion like Shinji's Sakanade.
This was neural stimulus extraction using reishi resonance mapping.
Scientific.
Engineered.
If refined, such a device could interrogate, destabilize, or even rewrite mental conditioning.
But pursuing that line now would be fatal.
Without status inside Seireitei, curiosity would look like espionage.
The Messenger Arrives
As dusk approached, a Shinigami messenger in uniform arrived at their door.
He bowed politely.
"Notification from the Shin'ō Academy."
Momo nearly snatched the envelope out of his hands.
She tore it open.
Silence.
Then—
"WE PASSED!"
She jumped into the air.
Sombravida allowed himself a small smile.
The messenger handed over dormitory assignment tokens and left.
Momo rushed toward Shiro's house, shouting the news before she even reached the gate.
Sombravida looked down at the wooden dorm badge in his hand.
"So it begins."
Celebration
That night, they celebrated at Grandma and Tōshirō's home.
Tōshirō smiled quietly.
Happy.
But a faint loneliness lingered behind his eyes.
After Sombravida and Momo entered the Academy, his daily life would grow quieter again.
"Grandma," Sombravida asked casually during dinner,
"how many melons are we producing now?"
Grandma thought carefully.
"About one hundred every three months."
Sombravida calculated.
That meant roughly one per day.
Given Rukongai's soil conditions and limited irrigation, that output was actually stable.
Unlike the Human World, Soul Society agriculture relied on reishi density in soil.
Crops grew well in spiritually enriched earth.
But over-farming drained reishi concentration.
Sustainability mattered.
After Sombravida began supplementing the household with game and protein, Tōshirō's spiritual development accelerated noticeably.
Before that, he had been nutritionally stunted.
Now, his reiryoku fluctuations were gradually stabilizing.
"Grandma," Sombravida continued,
"before we enter the Academy, I want to convert our entire yard into reishi-enhanced soil plots. Expand production. Then, if possible, establish a sales route into Seireitei."
Grandma looked concerned.
"Would that cause trouble for you inside?"
"It's only cultivation," Sombravida replied gently.
"Connections depend on opportunity. Even without Seireitei access, doubling production strengthens the household."
Tōshirō rested his chin on his hand.
"With the irrigation system you built, two fields are manageable."
Sombravida nodded.
"Exactly."
Grandma agreed.
Tōshirō added quietly:
"Lately… I feel my spiritual perception has grown stronger."
Sombravida studied him carefully.
Not yet awakening.
But closer.
"You're still young," Sombravida said evenly.
"Don't force it. Learn to feel it first. Control comes before power."
He paused.
"If we learn something valuable in the Academy, we'll teach you during breaks. Build your foundation slowly."
Momo perked up.
"Can we graduate early?"
Sombravida nodded.
"If a student masters the curriculum ahead of schedule, early graduation is possible. Awakening a Zanpakutō before completion accelerates placement into the Gotei 13."
That explained the age variation among seated officers.
Momo's eyes sparkled.
She was already thinking ahead.
Late Night Work
After dinner, Sombravida prepared to head out.
"Going to the forest again?" Momo asked softly.
"Yes. We need soil."
She hesitated.
"Can I come?"
"You rest. Tomorrow you'll handle planting and watering."
She reluctantly agreed.
Sombravida left quietly.
He borrowed a flatbed cart from Uncle Kuraki in Rukongai and headed into the forest.
Soil gathering.
Maybe small game.
Routine.
As he dug—
A familiar spiritual signature approached.
Soft.
Refined.
"Tsukishiro-nii?"
Sombravida relaxed slightly.
"Kira."
"How did your results go?" Sombravida asked.
"I passed."
Relief was evident in Kira's voice.
"Congratulations."
Kira hesitated.
"I received recognition from the Sixth and Eleventh Divisions."
Sombravida understood immediately.
Sixth Division — noble alignment.
Eleventh Division — combat display.
Kira's sword aura slash must have drawn attention.
"Well done," Sombravida said simply.
"But why are you here?"
Kira looked around the forest.
"This place… it's where I trained. Where I killed my first Hollow. Where I gained confidence. I felt compelled to return."
Sombravida nodded.
Memory anchors.
He understood.
"And you?"
"Digging soil," Sombravida replied plainly.
"For watermelons."
Kira smiled faintly.
"So that wasn't a joke."
Sombravida shrugged.
"Repayment."
Kira thought for a moment.
"Perhaps… we truly can cooperate."
Sombravida paused.
"Cooperate?"
"If your neighbors produce high-quality melons infused with stable reishi, and if my family's textile trade route stabilizes… perhaps we can establish a secondary trade line."
Sombravida didn't respond immediately.
Kira continued.
"May I see the field?"
Sombravida lifted his head slightly.
"Oh?"
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