Chapter 011: Squad 5's Duties
"The three duties of a Shinigami, huh. Hearing that actually gave me a lot to think about."
Five days had passed since he'd picked up the handout.
By now, the pattern was established. Every week, after Aizen Sosuke's calligraphy class wrapped up, the two of them would quietly make their way to the faculty office and talk for a while, by mutual unspoken agreement.
In the time they had, one of them always had a long list of things he wanted to ask about. The other was consistently happy to explain. Both sides got what they came for.
Aizen Sosuke smiled and set a cup of green tea down in front of Matsushita Yusuke, sliding it across the desk with an unhurried hand.
Yusuke thanked him quickly, settled back into his seat, rubbed his temple, and let a thoughtful expression settle onto his face.
"Aizen-sensei, you graduated from Shin'o Academy too, right?"
Aizen gave a small nod, smile unchanged.
"I did. And currently, among the seated captains and vice-captains of the Gotei 13, roughly half... no, it's probably closer to two-thirds, I'd say. Most of them are Shin'o Academy graduates."
More than he'd expected, honestly.
But it made sense when you thought about it. The Academy was the only institution of its kind in all of Soul Society. If you didn't go through it, you were basically unqualified -- no credentials, no path into the ranks.
Study, or stay a nobody forever. Those were the options.
He found himself thinking about Yamamoto for a moment. Spent his youth scorching people alive with Ryujin Jakka, and now in his old age he'd apparently settled into running an educational institution. Quite a career arc. Points for personal growth, he supposed.
Back to the point.
"Which area are you planning to focus on, Matsushita-kun?"
The three duties could technically be pursued in parallel, but almost nobody actually did that. Students only had so much energy, and these were practical job skills that could be developed gradually over time. No need to sprint through all of them at once.
Matsushita Yusuke nodded without hesitation.
"I'll take on the Call of Du— uh, I mean maintaining the balance of the three worlds."
Guiding the dead and soul burial both basically meant dealing with normal, cooperative souls for hours on end. That sounded exhausting in a way no reward could justify. Cut something down instead. Much more straightforward.
And direct combat was the fastest path to real improvement.
Compared to grinding through coursework step by step, going straight into live combat situations meant higher-level quests. Better rewards. Bigger drops. The math wasn't that complicated.
For someone in his position, the choice was obvious. Maximum potential, minimum detour.
Aizen Sosuke didn't look surprised. He gave a small nod, and his smile deepened just slightly.
"Somehow... I had a feeling that's exactly what you'd choose, Matsushita-kun."
He paused for a moment, then raised his right hand with a light wave, still smiling.
"That's not me saying you enjoy fighting for its own sake or that you've got a short fuse. It's more that... compared to theory work and routine administrative duties, I think your energy is genuinely better spent somewhere that actually challenges you."
After all --
"You really do have a kind of talent that sets you apart."
Getting a compliment from the greatest smooth-talker in all three realms. That never really got old.
Heh. Gonna let that one go to my head a little.
Matsushita Yusuke wrestled his internal smugness back under control, recalibrated, and dropped his voice.
"Aizen-sensei, there's actually one more thing I wanted to ask you about today..."
Aizen had just lifted his teacup and was blowing gently at the steam. He set it back down, turned toward Yusuke with an attentive look, and smiled.
"Of course. Go ahead."
"I heard in the general lecture that since all three duties involve actual fieldwork, the people who supervise us during the internship rotations won't be Academy instructors."
They'd be actual Gotei 13 members.
"I want to know... which squad is probably going to be assigned to take us out?"
"Ah. So that's what caught your interest, Matsushita-kun."
Aizen lowered his gaze, one hand working slowly at his jaw, expression shifting into something thoughtful.
He held it for a moment, then spoke quietly.
"Since we're on the subject... do you actually know what each squad in the Gotei 13 is specifically responsible for?"
Don't answer a question with a question.
Though if he was being honest, Matsushita Yusuke had never actually thought about it. Outside of Kurotsuchi's Research and Development Bureau, he had basically no idea what any of the squads did on a day-to-day basis. He'd had no particular reason to look into it before arriving in Soul Society, and since coming here his attention had been pointed firmly elsewhere.
He felt a small pang of guilt about that and gave Aizen a quick, honest rundown of the gap.
Aizen's expression stayed warm. He didn't seem surprised.
"Then let's use this as a chance to fill that in. It falls under basic working knowledge within the Gotei 13, so it's worth knowing."
He didn't say it outright. But the subtext was unmistakable.
Pay attention. You're going to want to remember this.
Squad 1: general affairs. Squad 2: the Onmitsukido. Squad 3: support operations...
It was all new information to Matsushita Yusuke, so he listened through the whole rundown in a kind of dazed fog, picking up the broad strokes without retaining much of the fine detail.
"Let me test you on one, Matsushita-kun... what are the responsibilities of Squad 5? The squad I belong to?"
Oh, this one I know.
"Emergency response."
Going by the nature of the duties and what the squad primarily handled --
"It's a specialized unit for exactly that. Rapid deployment when something unexpected happens. Goes in to assist and stabilize the situation."
"Correct. Well answered."
Aizen Sosuke gave a satisfied nod, then continued with a bit more detail.
"A lot of people assume Squad 5 and Squad 4 serve similar purposes, because both involve keywords like 'rescue' and 'aid.' But that's not quite right."
One hand came up and pushed his glasses slightly higher.
His tone was level, the kind of flat and steady voice someone uses when they're laying out a fact rather than making an argument.
"Squad 5's primary function is support. When the situation calls for it, yes, we do rescue work. But the core mandate is emergency response."
In other words.
"When something goes wrong, we go in. We fight if necessary, we stabilize if necessary, we hold the line if necessary. Think of us less like medics and more like firefighters. We're the reserve force that moves in behind the first wave."
That was a thorough answer.
And honestly, a little more than Matsushita Yusuke had expected.
He found himself turning over the image. This was a side of Aizen Sosuke that never appeared in the original manga. Not the villain running a multi-decade plan from behind layers of misdirection. Just a vice-captain who had clearly put real thought into what his squad did, what it meant, and how to articulate it to someone who asked.
Genuine engagement. Real care for the role.
It might still be performance. Matsushita Yusuke hadn't forgotten what he knew. But right now, between the two of them, there was no conflict of interest anywhere in sight.
"Anyway. I've been going on a bit. Let's bring this back around."
Aizen blinked behind his glasses, paused briefly, and then spoke in a quieter tone.
"Going by my understanding, the squad that would typically take on this kind of responsibility -- supervising the student internship rotations -- would probably be..."