"Instructor Shihouin, I got into Squad 5!"
"Congratulations."
"I-I'm in Squad 11! I can't wait to go all out!"
"I look forward to seeing what you can do."
In the crowd, Kōe was all smiles. Today was the graduation ceremony for the Shin'ō Academy's class of 1988, and as an instructor, it gave him a sense of accomplishment.
Yeah, right. He didn't know what others thought, but he had literally been counting the days all these years. Spending most of his time at the Academy occasionally reminded him of the terrifying days in his past life when he was utterly dominated by work.
Accomplishment? Have you ever seen someone feel a sense of accomplishment from serving time in prison? According to the punishment handed down by Central 46 back then, he was supposed to teach at the Academy for seventy-two years. Later, thanks to Kenpachi causing a scene, those seventy-two years were rounded straight up to a neat one hundred.
Kōe looked up at the banner reading "Class of 1988." Given the Academy's six-year curriculum, that meant it was currently 1994, and he had returned to the Seireitei in 1961...
He still had sixty-seven years left on his sentence. What a depressing number. Perhaps looking at it from another angle would make him feel better? Thirty-three years had already passed!
Thinking of this, the gloom in his chest finally escaped as a long sigh, which actually made him feel quite a bit better.
"Instructor Shihouin doesn't look too happy."
"Hmm?" Kōe turned his head. "Oh, it's Hinamori. Have you finished recruiting the new members for Squad 5?"
Compared to her time at the Academy, Hinamori Momo hadn't changed much. She had merely tied her usual twin tails into a bun, losing a bit of her youthful, energetic aura and looking much more mature and composed. This was only natural; after all, she was now the lieutenant of Squad 5 and needed to be steady.
"Thanks to Instructor Shihouin's teachings, this batch of students is excellent," Hinamori Momo replied with a closed-eye smile.
Kōe waved his hand, signaling that such flattery was unnecessary, and said with a face full of mock shame, "I've only produced two lieutenants and one captain, and that was over twenty years ago. It's nothing to be proud of!"
Hinamori Momo covered her mouth, giggling non-stop as she said between breaths, "So that's what you were sighing about just now."
"What else?" Kōe spread his hands, feigning innocence while shamelessly boasting. "Starting off too high isn't good either. It always gives people this twilight feeling of constantly going downhill. It makes me lament that I'm getting old, that I'm getting worse with each passing year."
Hearing this, Hinamori Momo laughed so hard she couldn't speak. Thinking back to Tōshirō pulling a long face and complaining that it was Instructor Shihouin's torture back then that stunted his growth, her stomach cramped from laughing.
Two stubborn people—one always pushing the blame onto others, and the other taking it all upon himself. It should have been an annoying trait, but on Tōshirō and Instructor Shihouin, it was actually somewhat endearing.
July was truly a season filled with laughter and joy. However, at this very moment, somewhere in the World of the Living, the people there couldn't quite bring themselves to smile.
Karakura Town, World of the Living. Karakura General Hospital was the largest comprehensive hospital in the area. Sitting in front of one of its operating rooms was a young man who looked to be only in his early twenties.
The man looked up; the "In Surgery" sign was still lit. He then checked his wrist. *Has it only been fifteen minutes? Am I really this anxious already?*
He reached into his inner coat pocket, but just as his fingers brushed against the square box inside, he realized he couldn't smoke here. With no other choice, he stood up and began pacing back and forth.
In truth, the man could have been a bit more relaxed. His name was Ishida Ryūken, and he was the director of this very Karakura General Hospital. The person currently inside the operating room was his fiancée—or rather, his former fiancée.
"So why did that bastard insist on bringing her here? Isn't he a doctor himself?!"
If the man currently inside the operating room could hear Ryūken's inner thoughts, he would have immediately retorted that yes, he was indeed a doctor, but not an obstetrician! If he owned a general clinic instead of a comprehensive hospital, did Ryūken really think he would have come running here?
But now was not the time to dwell on such things. What mattered was his wife, who was currently in pain on the operating table—the young woman with beautiful orange hair who had saved him after his brief yet agonizingly long journey.
Not to mention that in the past, even before his wife was born, he had caused her immeasurable suffering. Even now, she was still enduring pain for his sake, yet she viewed it as a kind of happiness...
"Masaki, you..." He had wanted to say something like, "If you can't bear it, just hit me," but meeting his wife's gentle gaze, the man found he couldn't voice the words. The only thing he could do was press her hand against his forehead, silently repeating apologies in his heart.
"The head is out! Keep pushing, you're almost there!"
The nurse's excited words didn't bring him joy; in fact, he barely even heard them. He just kept smoothing his wife's messy hair, doing whatever little he could to help.
Accompanied by a powerful cry, a loud and clear wail rang out. A new life was thus born amidst pain and happiness—so real, so tangible, in a way the man had never experienced before.
"Congratulations! It's a..."
The doctor's congratulations failed to capture his attention in the slightest. His ears were filled entirely with his wife's weak voice. "Let me see."
"Let's see!" The man glanced around, then clumsily wrapped his hands around the newborn little guy's waist, lifting him up with a firm tug to bring him in front of his wife.
Such rough handling left the little life, who was already struggling to adapt to the world, feeling somewhat desperate, and he vented his displeasure with a piercing cry. The doctor was also startled and loudly warned, "Sir, you can't hold a baby like that, Mr. Kurosaki!"
But the man didn't care at all. With a face full of smiles, he boasted to his wife, "Look how happy he is to see you, Masaki." His right hand pinched a lock of the little guy's hair. "It's orange. She's definitely going to be a beautiful girl just like you!"
"Wait!" The man lifted the baby in his hands to double-check. "Uh, he should be a handsome boy. Let's just hope he doesn't turn out to be a stinking playboy..."
"Hehehe, it's okay. Just like you, he will definitely be a brave and kind-hearted person." The woman smiled, her eyes curving into crescents. "Why don't you give him a name?"
"Well..." The man scratched the back of his head, his mind completely blank. Just as he was about to suggest discussing it later, he met his wife's expectant gaze.
"Ichigo. Someone who will see you as the one and only thing he must protect."
"Ichigo? That's a wonderful name," his wife said with a smile, before changing her tone. "But he shouldn't protect me. I hope that in the future, he'll find something worth protecting forever."
*Compared to you, my love is always far too small,* the man thought, shaking his head with a bitter smile. Gradually, the smile on his face turned into one of peaceful relief.
*But this is fine, too. You love all the beautiful things in this world, and I just need to love the beautiful you...*
"Then his name is Ichigo. Kurosaki Ichigo!"