Chapter 003: Get Me Aizen Sosuke!
"Allow me to introduce myself first."
He raised his right hand, one slender arm sliding out from his sleeve.
Facing the gaze of over a hundred students, he tilted his head slightly and spoke in an unhurried tone.
"I am the current captain of Squad 3, Rojuro Otoribashi."
Who the heck is this guy? You've got to be kidding me. Get me Aizen Sosuke!
Not that he'd actually say that out loud, of course.
Rojuro Otoribashi. In the original story, this guy didn't show up until the Visored arc. He was a former captain who'd been subjected to Aizen Sosuke's hollowfication experiments, and ultimately expelled from Soul Society as a result.
His role in the manga wasn't huge, but you could piece together a few concrete things from what was there.
For instance...
He's still at least a captain, right?
Common knowledge: the difference between strong and weak is clearest when you have something to compare it to. Up against the top tier, this man wouldn't stand a chance. But measured against everyone below him, a captain's title was still an intimidating thing to put on the board.
To stand out from the entire population of Shinigami and be counted among the thirteen strongest, the pillars of the Gotei 13...
Whatever anyone said about him, Rojuro Otoribashi was a named character.
"I'm sure you're wondering why I'm the one up here today."
The hollows beneath his eyes carried a fatigue that went beyond words. He swept his gaze across the room, then spoke without any particular expression.
"Aizen Sosuke had some unexpected business to handle and couldn't make it to today's session. He asked me to fill in, so here I am."
Nobody in the seats said anything.
But plenty of faces made the opinion very clear.
This guy going to be any good...?
Calligraphy was hobby content to begin with. Dragging in someone who was just here to kill time was worse than canceling the class entirely.
"That's what you're all thinking, isn't it."
Rojuro Otoribashi leaned forward slightly, both hands pressing down on the podium, tone shifting into something a little more playful.
"But I've actually done quite a bit of study in this area. I have a thing for beautiful things, in any form."
He said that, then rose to his full height and lifted his right hand high above his head like an orchestra conductor about to bring in the strings.
Five slender fingers pressed together, then fanned open in a sweeping gesture. Rojuro Otoribashi's expression settled into one of profound self-satisfaction.
"Then let us begin. This is my first time teaching here at the Academy, everyone. Please be kind to me!"
[Rojuro Otoribashi's Calligraphy Class]
[Profile: A man who has dedicated himself to art will naturally explore it in all its forms. But... can someone who has mastered music truly figure out calligraphy? I have my doubts.]
[Rewards: Patience +1]
What the hell?!
Matsushita Yusuke almost laughed from sheer irritation.
If you can't teach it, don't teach it. Patience +1? Are you serious? You're a captain. You couldn't spare even a sliver of reiatsu for me? Stingy!
He really wanted to just roll up his mat and walk out to catch a different class.
But looking at Rojuro Otoribashi already fully in his element up there, Matsushita Yusuke thought about it for a moment and let it go.
Being that obvious about it wouldn't look great. A little basic courtesy went a long way.
And honestly, when he thought it through, the reward wasn't entirely without logic.
What was the single most important trait for a Shinigami?
Patience. You needed patience. An enormous amount of it.
One class period later.
The students had spent the hour thoroughly lost in the clouds, and Rojuro Otoribashi wrapped up what could generously be called his performance art piece.
He crossed his arms over his chest, chin tilting upward at a triumphant angle, looking exactly like a man surveying the room through his nostrils.
"Hm hm, I'd say I did rather well... so this is what teaching feels like. No wonder Aizen Sosuke is so attached to it. Perhaps I should go put in a request to run a music course."
He'd sunk entirely into his own world.
What should have been an internal thought had drifted out as full-volume muttering.
Extremely self-absorbed people tended to work this way. You could understand it, even if you couldn't explain it.
There is absolutely no world in which I would ever take that class.
Matsushita Yusuke kept that firmly in his head and nowhere else.
Rojuro Otoribashi was in the middle of gathering his notes when he suddenly paused.
Like something had just occurred to him, he half-raised his head, voice sliding back into that lazy, offhand register.
"Oh, right. There's a student in this class called Matsushita Yusuke. Are you here today?"
"...?"
Wait, this has something to do with me?
Matsushita Yusuke looked up from his bag, mildly thrown.
He hesitated for a second, then went ahead and raised his hand.
"Here!"
"Once you've packed up, come find me."
Rojuro Otoribashi turned and headed toward the faculty office. Matsushita Yusuke followed.
The two of them ended up at the familiar desk. Rojuro Otoribashi half-turned and made a loose open-handed gesture in his direction.
"Aizen Sosuke specifically mentioned you. Something about an assignment he'd given you... if you've finished it, I can take it off your hands and pass it along the next time I see him."
Aizen actually remembered that?
Honestly...
That was a little unexpected.
But Matsushita Yusuke didn't hesitate for long. He nodded, pulled out the copybook practice he'd prepared in advance, and handed it over with both hands.
Rojuro Otoribashi glanced at the cover naturally, didn't open it to look at the contents, and gave a quiet little laugh.
"I see... a homework assignment, essentially. So you and Aizen get along pretty well?"
Matsushita Yusuke scratched the corner of his mouth.
"Aizen-sensei has taught me a lot..."
That was just the honest truth.
The man was directly responsible for his reiatsu going up. You could absolutely call that teaching a lot.
"Alright, I'll make sure it gets to him. Once Aizen shows up himself next week he'll probably have something to say to you. That's all from me."
Matsushita Yusuke gave a small nod. The [Quest Complete] notification appeared in his vision, and he couldn't help feeling pretty good about it.
So quest completion wasn't tied to a fixed format.
Even without Aizen Sosuke physically present, handing the finished copybook to someone acting on his behalf still counted as completing the task.
He had to hand it to whatever developer built this System in 2025: the whole setup was just genuinely player-friendly.
Absolutely zero unnecessary obstacles.
Let's go. Time to collect those rewards.