At the Shin'ō Academy, during a Zanjutsu class.
"Kōe Shihouin, come up and demonstrate the technique I taught yesterday!"
During a Kidō class.
"Kōe Shihouin, tell the class about your experience casting Hadō #32!"
During a Hakuda class.
"Kōe Shihouin—no, wait, Yoruichi. Never mind, both of you come up. One will give a proper demonstration, and the other will serve as a negative example. Kōe, you're the negative example..."
Days passed like this, one after another. Before they knew it, Kōe and his two friends had spent six years at the Shin'ō Academy.
Life at the Academy was leisurely yet orderly. As one of the core students, Kōe thoroughly enjoyed his time here; it was destined to be one of the most nostalgic periods of his life.
Today was the day the trio would graduate. No matter how reluctant they were, it was time to bid the Academy farewell. Six years was the maximum permitted duration of study. Whether a student had mastered the curriculum or not, they had to leave once the six years were up. It was the rule.
However, Kōe was the only one actually feeling reluctant. Yoruichi and Urahara had never planned on attending the Shin'ō Academy in the first place. Over the past six years, Yoruichi had requested early graduation almost annually. It was a miracle she had managed to stick it out until today.
"Kōe-senpai, congratulations on your graduation! Please accept these flowers!"
"Haha, thanks! When you join Squad 1 in the future, I'll cover for you!" Kōe accepted the bouquet from his junior, tossing in a smiling word of encouragement that left the girl—who had just enrolled last year—absolutely thrilled.
Over the past six years, thanks to their high aptitude, formidable strength, and the fact that they had shed their childhood roundness for rather handsome features, the trio had been absolute stars within the Academy.
Among them, Kōe was the most popular. Yoruichi was far too domineering; her intense, heroic aura kept people at bay. As for Urahara, although he always wore a smile and seemed easy to get along with, his grin always gave people the creeping suspicion that they were being calculated. Consequently, even fewer people dared to approach him than Yoruichi.
Only Kōe had an open and easygoing personality. He interacted with others without a shred of arrogance. In the eyes of their peers, he was the most approachable of the three, and practically every student in the Academy had interacted with him at some point.
"Your hands are awfully empty. Here, help me share the load." Having dealt with his final admirer, Kōe noticed Yoruichi and Urahara standing there empty-handed and quickly shoved a few of his bouquets into their arms.
"You really have too much time on your hands!" Yoruichi rolled her eyes, asking in exasperation, "When did you even meet all these people?"
"Actually, I don't know all of them. I don't even know some of their names..." Kōe replied, twitching his mouth. He had spent the vast majority of the last six years with Yoruichi and Urahara, so out of all those people who seemed so familiar with him, he actually remembered very few.
"I didn't think it was possible, but you're even more bored than I thought. What's the point of wasting your time on these people?"
"Kōe-senpai, the people from the Gotei 13 have arrived at the Seirei Pool!" a young boy shouted from afar.
Kōe nodded, thanked another admirer, and turned back to Yoruichi. "See? It just came in handy. So I didn't waste my time."
The Academy's entrance ceremony might have been dispensable, but the graduation ceremony was of monumental importance.
The Shin'ō Academy was founded specifically to funnel fresh blood into the Gotei 13. Therefore, whenever a graduation ceremony was held, the Gotei 13 would dispatch figures of Lieutenant rank or higher to scout out outstanding talents for their respective squads.
Thus, the graduation ceremony could also be considered a simple enlistment ritual. Every year, graduating students had to first test their Reiryoku levels at the Seirei Pool before submitting applications to their desired squads.
Arriving at the chamber housing the Seirei Pool, the graduates stood neatly in front of the water. They gazed at the Shinigami standing before them—twelve dressed in standard Shihakushō, and one wearing a white sleeveless overcoat. These thirteen individuals were the current Lieutenants of the Gotei 13.
They said "Lieutenant rank or higher," but every year, it was always just the Lieutenants who showed up. Kōe scanned the lineup. Aside from the uniquely dressed Lieutenant of Squad 1, Sasakibe Chōjirō, this was his first time seeing any of the other Lieutenants.
"The Reiryoku level testing will now begin!" Seeing that everyone had gathered, the instructor in charge announced the start of the test. "First up, Shikaon Susumu."
Shikaon Susumu had been waiting by the Seirei Pool bright and early today. His white kimono was completely free of wrinkles, and his hair was combed immaculately. It was clear he had put a lot of effort into preparing for today.
"Level six and a half!" The testing instructor looked at Susumu with a beaming smile. "It seems you'll be able to join the squad of your choice."
Susumu didn't reply. He merely glanced toward Sasakibe Chōjirō's position, making no secret of the fact that the squad he wanted to join was Squad 1.
"Great job, Susumu!"
"Don't forget about me when you become a Lieutenant!"
"That peasant actually reached level six. Lord Yamamoto never should have allowed commoners to set foot in Seireitei!"
After six years of systematic study, Shikaon Susumu had raised his Reiryoku level directly from level four to level six. Aside from a small fraction of noble students, the vast majority of people were willing to cozy up to him. After all, in a place like Seireitei, strength reigned supreme.
"This guy actually has some skills," Kōe said, pointing at Susumu's back. "Did we misjudge him?"
"Character and morality have no direct correlation with strength. The best example of this is your old man Yama..." By this point, Urahara was already starting to give off the vibe of his future mad-scientist self, his speech always methodical and deadpan.
"Could you watch your phrasing? What do you mean, 'my old man Yama'?" Kōe sweatdropped, turning to Yoruichi. "What's your take?"
"Urahara is right," Yoruichi nodded, before her tone took a sharp turn. "However, a selfish, reckless bastard like him is going to die by my hands sooner or later!"
"Uh, are you trying to vent on my behalf?"
"The duty of the Executive Militia is to eliminate Shinigami who break the law. I'm just following the rules. Of course, there's a part of me that wants to vent for you, but that's just a convenient bonus."
Kōe's mouth twitched uncontrollably. *'Is this what it feels like to be a kept man?'* Kōe's eyes darted downward slightly. *'They aren't even that big, so why does she always want people to lean on her? Isn't she afraid of bruising someone?'*
Over the past six years, the relationship between Kōe's trio and Shikaon Susumu had never thawed. In fact, it was even worse than when they first clashed in the dojo.
Truthfully, Susumu only had a grudge against Kōe; Yoruichi and Urahara were just innocent bystanders who got dragged into it. However, the two of them didn't mind at all. By now, they were even more hostile toward Susumu than Kōe was.
Setting aside what he did to Kōe in the dojo, Susumu had continuously targeted Kōe throughout their six years of study. It wasn't fair competition, either—it was underhanded, dirty targeting!
During Zanjutsu sparring, he would relentlessly thrust at Kōe's throat. In Hakuda practice, he would either gouge at the eyes or go for the groin. He exclusively used cheap, lethal moves meant for life-and-death struggles, acting entirely as if he were trying to murder Kōe. In Yoruichi's words: "The fact that I haven't killed him on the spot means I've been incredibly restrained, alright?"
Who knew when this hatred, sparked by Kōe, would finally end? Or perhaps it would only end in death. After all, who could say for sure what the future held?
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