Moriyasu Tokoyo changed into the uniform he’d picked up from Shin’ō Academy.
It was a loose-fitting outfit, with the school crest stitched on both sides of the chest.
He followed a path toward the academy, only to find himself at a graveyard.
A quick glance told him this was just the academy’s outer grounds.
Looking closer at the inscriptions, he realized these were the graves of former academy instructors.
Not far off, a blond first-year knelt before one of the headstones, murmuring something under his breath.
The headstone read “Kira,” the rest of the name blocked by the boy’s bowed head.
This kid must be Kira Izuru.
Moriyasu thought, and walked over.
Just then, a figure suddenly dropped out of the branches beside the grave and crashed straight down onto the headstone.
“Waugh!” Kira Izuru let out a shriek and shot straight up.
“I told you not to sleep in the tree.
Look, you fell.” A small figure popped up out of the bushes nearby, jeering at the one who’d just landed on the headstone.
“Who in the world are you two?” Kira looked ready to have a heart attack, backing away, step after step.
Then he bumped straight into someone.
He spun around and found himself staring at a handsome, gentle face lit by the morning sun.
He blurted an apology at once.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to.” “No harm done, classmate.” Moriyasu smiled and gave his shoulder a pat, then turned to the one climbing off the headstone and the figure by the bushes.
“Judging by your uniforms, you’re all first-years too.
We’ll be classmates from now on, so we should get along.” “My name’s Moriyasu Tokoyo.
And you two?” No one answered.
All three just stood there, frozen, eyes wide.
A moment later, the red-haired one’s mouth fell open, and he bared his teeth.
“How is this guy so good-looking?” “Right?!” The short, black-haired one beside him nodded furiously, eyes practically sparkling.
“Ah!
H-hello, I’m Kira Izuru.” Kira quickly stepped clear of the other two and bowed to introduce himself.
That snapped the other two out of it.
The red-haired one jabbed a thumb at his own chest and announced loudly, “I’m Renji Abarai.” The short, black-haired one threw her right hand straight up, fingers spread.
“I’m Rukia.
Just Rukia.” Moriyasu reached out and patted Kira’s shoulder again, smiling.
“We’re all classmates now.
No need to be so formal.” “I’ll call you Lemon from now on.” Before any of them could react, he turned to Renji and Rukia.
“And you two, Red Baboon and Onion!” Moriyasu planted his hands on his hips, straightened his back, and went on with a grin.
“Oh, and you can all call me Lord Moriyasu from now on.” “You bastard, don’t just slap nicknames on people you’ve barely met!” Renji stormed forward a couple steps, roaring at the top of his lungs.
“And why am I the only one who’s an animal?!” “Idiot, why are you hung up on the animal thing?” Rukia snapped at Renji, then rushed at Moriyasu, small arm drawn back, fist clenched.
“What’s with the ‘Onion,’ huh?!” She realized her head barely reached his waist, a wicked little grin crossed her face, and she swung her fist straight ahead.
Given her height, the punch landed dead-on at Moriyasu’s absolute weak point.
If that connected, it would hurt for a good long while.
It was Rukia’s go-to move back in the Rukongai whenever she’d had to deal with some hulking thug.
Tried and tested, worked every single time.
Moriyasu’s reflexes were lightning fast.
Both hands shot out and yanked Kira Izuru in front of him.
The small fist landed square in Kira’s chest.
“Ahh!” Kira let out a wail, slowly turning his head, mouth pulling down.
“Why?” Moriyasu let go of him, his expression turning solemn.
“Thank you, Lemon.
If not for you, I’d be the one hurting right now.” “I won’t forget you.
Rest easy.” “Uuu, how could you do this to me?” Kira’s mouth twisted, hands clutching his chest, eyes brimming with tears.
“Pfft!” Rukia burst out laughing, hands on her hips.
Realizing that probably wasn’t a good look, she quickly turned away and clapped a hand over her mouth, but her shaking shoulders gave her away completely.
“Hahaha, can’t believe you’re actually crying.” Renji burst out laughing too.
Moriyasu walked over with a smile, helped Kira up, and gave his back a couple of firm pats.
“Come on, it’s almost time to check in.” Kira’s mouth moved a couple of times, but no sound came out.
He trailed after Moriyasu, utterly drained.
Rukia stared ahead, rubbing her chin, muttering, “We’ve got to come up with a nickname for that guy.” She looked up again at the tall, straight-backed figure ahead of them and clicked her tongue.
“Tch.
This guy doesn’t seem to have any weaknesses.” Beside her, Renji nodded along.
“No good.
We have to find a way to figure out his weak point!” A step or two ahead, Kira turned his head back and chimed in quietly.
“Right, let’s do our best together!” In just that short span of time, the three of them had formed an alliance, united toward a single goal.
They would find the right nickname for Moriyasu Tokoyo, no matter what.
The four of them arrived at the first-year classroom, only to find just a handful of people scattered across the large space.
The whole room held only four rows of seats, six seats to a row.
Which meant even at full capacity, it could only hold twenty-four students.
And right now, even counting the four of them, there were only eight people total.
Seemed like Shinigami recruitment wasn’t drawing quite the numbers people imagined.
Moriyasu Tokoyo walked straight to the second-to-last row by the window and sat down.
“Why do you have to pick a seat so far back?” Rukia took the seat in front of him and turned around, puzzled.
“Hey, I actually want to become a Shinigami, so I’m sitting up front.” Renji went straight for a seat in the first row.
Kira thought it over and simply took the seat behind Moriyasu.
He figured the back row would be quieter, and that suited him fine.
Moriyasu turned to Rukia with a serious expression, meeting her eyes.
That earnest look made Rukia squirm a little, uncomfortable.
She asked again, “So why do you have to sit so far back?” Moriyasu opened his mouth slightly, and spoke slowly, one word at a time.
“This seat, right here.
It’s the birthplace of kings.” “Huh?” Rukia tilted her head, eyes going wide.
“Back row, window seat, the birthplace of kings.
Countless stories have proven it: this is where the protagonist sits.” Moriyasu crossed his arms and explained with total seriousness, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“Ugh.” Rukia let out a long sigh.
“Is something wrong with your head?” “By the way, your seat’s the heroine’s seat.” Moriyasu added with a grin.
“You—” Rukia immediately hugged her own arms and shrank back a little.
She’d barely opened her mouth— —when a booming roar cut her off, bursting out of Renji’s mouth.
“What the hell are you talking about, you bastard?!” Moriyasu kept smiling, looking over at the furious Renji.
“Oh right, your seat’s the childhood friend who never wins her over.” Then he turned his head to look at Kira behind him.
“And that seat of yours is reserved for the transfer student.” “Pfft, loser…” Rukia burst out laughing.
Renji’s face went red in an instant.
He raised a clenched fist, teeth bared, looking every bit like a stray dog that had just spotted an enemy.
“Hahaha, you guys are hilarious.
So what’s my seat, then?” A black-haired girl walked over, pointing at her seat in the front row, first seat, and asked Moriyasu.
“Oh, right, I’m Momo Hinamori.” Moriyasu studied the seat for a moment, then said, dead serious, “That’s the tragic heroine’s seat.
You’d better watch yourself.” “A tragic heroine, huh?
A life like that doesn’t sound so bad.” Momo replied with a cheerful laugh.
“Everyone, take your seats!” A booming voice rang out.
A bald man wearing clear-framed glasses strode in through the door and went straight up to the podium.
He slapped both hands down on the lectern, opened his mouth wide, and bellowed: “I’m this class’s homeroom teacher, Gengoro Ounahara!” He swept his gaze over the nine students sitting properly at their desks.
“The academy is split into the Advanced Class and the Regular Class.
In the exam a month from now, anyone who performs well enough gets moved up to the Advanced Class.” “The Regular Class takes six years to finish the full curriculum, followed by an examination.
Fail it, and you repeat the year.” “In the Advanced Class, you can apply for the graduation exam anytime after one year.” “That’s enough chatter.
Everyone, follow me to the training grounds.” Without waiting, Ounahara turned and walked straight out the door.
“Hmph.
The Advanced Class, huh?
With my talent, that’ll be a piece of cake.” Renji crossed his arms and spoke up.
“Renji, you should be thanking your lucky stars if you graduate normally at all.” Rukia shot him down immediately.
“Everyone who makes it into the Advanced Class is a prodigy, spiritual power rank twelve or higher, at least.
If I remember right, you tested at fifteen.” Rukia planted her hands on her hips as she said it.
“I’ve got rank eleven, myself.
If anyone’s making it into the Advanced Class, it’s me.” “Damn it!” Renji had no comeback, and just bared his teeth again.
Rukia turned and asked Kira and Momo beside her, “What about you two?” “I’m rank thirteen.” Kira scratched the back of his head.
“I’m rank thirteen too.” Momo replied with a smile.
After that, everyone turned to look at Moriyasu.
“Me?
Rank nineteen.” Moriyasu said it with a smile.
The other four just froze where they stood, staring at his back.
None of them had expected his talent to be this weak.
“Pfhahahaha!
And here you were wanting me to call you ‘Lord’?
I’ve got it.
From now on, I’m calling you Caboose!” Renji laughed his way over, circling around in front of Moriyasu to mock him properly.
He glanced up expecting to see some flicker of resentment on Moriyasu’s face, but there was none.
Moriyasu’s expression didn’t so much as twitch.
He just kept smiling, not the least bit angry.
That, for some reason, left Renji feeling oddly annoyed, like he’d lost another round.
Moriyasu answered him, “Spiritual power rank’s just a measure of Reishi concentration.
Real strength doesn’t need it.
If there’s a practical training exercise later, just watch what I can do.” “Don’t tell me you’ve given up on yourself.
I was only joking.” Hearing the strange thing Moriyasu had just said, Renji hastily tried to walk it back.
Before becoming a student at Shin’ō Academy, everyone came to understand that spiritual power rank was irreplaceable, the single most important thing for a Shinigami.
If someone tested at rank five or better, it would draw the attention of Lieutenants and even Captains from the Gotei 13.
And now here was this guy, actually saying “real strength doesn’t need spiritual power rank, just watch what I can do”?
In the face of an absolute gap in spiritual power, what good was any amount of “skill” supposed to do?
“I haven’t given up on anything.
We’re at the training grounds.” Moriyasu walked through the corridor and out to the training grounds, and immediately spotted a figure in white standing beside the homeroom teacher.
Brown hair, a pair of black-framed glasses, and a gentle smile that never seemed to leave his face.
A white haori draped over a black shihakushō, arms crossed over his chest.
The man carried an air that made people want to draw closer to him.
Out on the training grounds, every first-year in this year’s class had gathered.
Three classes in total, two Regular and one Advanced, added up to just twenty-six students.
Moriyasu Tokoyo thought it over for a moment and figured that was a perfectly normal number.
The Seireitei, in its entirety, was nowhere near the size of the Rukongai.
And a soul with the minimum spiritual power rank of twenty needed to even become a Shinigami was one in a million, easily.
For all anyone knew, twenty-six in a single year might already count as a lot.
Because that’s exactly what the man standing before them was about to say.
“Hello, new students.
Allow me to introduce myself.
I’m the captain of the Fifth Division of the Gotei 13—” “Sosuke Aizen.” *** heavily introducing major Canon characters just in the first two chaps, can’t say I hate it, we’ve all read a ton of bleach fics, a little bit of fast paced-ness in the “character relationships” is ok