"Alright then, that concludes this morning's class! This afternoon, all students are to report to Training Hall No. 14 on time for Kidō combat drills!"
As Saitō Jūshirō spoke, he tucked his textbooks and pointer under his arm and left the classroom.
"Hah… finally over!! Still, I really admire you, Saitō-sensei..."
Fūjin Taichi snapped out of his thoughts and looked at the blackboard, already crammed full of Kidō theory. He couldn't help but feel impressed.
I only spaced out for a moment, and the old man dumped all of this on us?
Good thing I've already studied this stuff—otherwise I might actually fail the course someday!
"Hey! Fūjin, time to eat!"
Kasumioji Hoko nudged Fūjin Taichi's arm and called out.
Tsunayashiro Tokio glanced at Fūjin Taichi's notebook and saw that there wasn't a single word written on it—only a drawing of a strange-looking blade.
He sneered inwardly.
So typical of someone from Rukongai. He talked big before, claiming he'd already released his Zanpakutō…
And yet half a year has passed, and that Asauchi of his hasn't shown any sign of awakening.
Hmph. Does he really think forging a Zanpakutō is that easy? Idiot.
"Yeah… okay."
Fūjin Taichi closed his notebook, tidied up briefly, and followed Tsunayashiro Tokio and Kasumioji Hoko out of the classroom toward the Shin'ō Academy cafeteria.
It was early March, the beginning of spring. The academy grounds were filled with pale pink cherry blossoms, glowing softly under the bright sunlight. Petals drifted through the air like a gentle rain of sakura.
"Hmph. Those four really are the academy's oddballs,"
Tsunayashiro Tokio muttered as he looked at Rukia, Abarai Renji, and the others playfully fighting over a rice ball beneath a cherry tree.
"I heard that except for Kira Izuru, the other three are all from Rukongai,"
Kasumioji Hoko sighed and shook her head.
"So they don't really understand Seireitei's etiquette and customs."
"They're all classmates. Is it really necessary to care so much about nobles versus Rukongai?"
Fūjin Taichi frowned.
"There's no helping it—that's the rule. And besides…"
Tsunayashiro Tokio stole a glance at Kasumioji Hoko and hesitated before continuing,
"Even hanging out with you puts a lot of pressure on us."
"Oh, right. Because of some 'ironclad' rule, I assume?"
Fūjin Taichi knew Tokio was telling the truth, so he didn't get angry. He replied casually, then looked back at the lively group beneath the cherry trees, feeling a deep sense of envy.
They didn't fit in.
They were constantly looked down upon, scorned, and ridiculed by others.
So what?
As long as you have true friends by your side, even if the entire Soul Society were to abandon you, there would be no bitterness or resentment in your heart—
you could still live freely and happily, just like they were now…
Fūjin Taichi thought of Urahara Kisuke, Yoruichi, Tessai Tsukabishi, the Visoreds, and Shiba Isshin (Kurosaki Isshin) quietly living in Karakura Town
(the protagonist's misunderstanding).
All of them were labeled "traitors" by Soul Society—
yet with their bonds intact, who among them truly cared about Soul Society's judgment?
"Fūjin! You're actually different from them. You have a presence that doesn't feel like Rukongai at all. Don't let it get to you—"
Seeing the strange look on Fūjin Taichi's face, Kasumioji Hoko thought Tsunayashiro Tokio's words had hurt him and quickly tried to explain.
"It's nothing. I'm just hungry. Let's go."
After saying that, Fūjin Taichi turned and slowly headed toward the cafeteria…
...
Soul Society was originally a world where Shinigami and ordinary souls coexisted.
But at some point in time, a cold and rigid class hierarchy emerged, dividing Soul Society into two regions:
Seireitei and Rukongai.
Seireitei lies at the very center of Rukongai and is home to noble families and Shinigami.
Ordinary souls, on the other hand, live in the poorest and most chaotic outskirts—Rukongai, which is divided into 80 districts in each of the four cardinal directions.
District 1 has good security, livable conditions, and plentiful food.
District 80, however, is barren and famine-stricken—souls survive through killing and plunder.
This means that the higher the district number, the worse the security and living conditions become. Murders and arson occur almost daily.
The root cause of this phenomenon lies in how souls arrive in Soul Society:
When a soul (Plus) dies in the World of the Living and is sent to Soul Society through Konsō, they receive a registration slip.
They are then randomly assigned—based on sequence—to a district in East, West, South, or North Rukongai.
Even souls who died in the same place at the same time in the living world have an extremely low chance of being assigned to the same district.
Thus, they must seek out new companions in unfamiliar lands, living uneventful lives much like in the living world—
until they die once more and are reincarnated back into the World of the Living.
Generally speaking, most souls in Rukongai lack spiritual power, so as long as they can drink water, they are able to survive normally.
Because of this, whether they die from illness, old age, or are killed by others, there will be no changes in their height or weight.
However, among the small portion of souls who do possess spiritual power, more than half of them die before ever becoming Shinigami—
due to hunger, poverty, abuse by others, or being preyed upon by Hollows…
Only a very small remainder, blessed by sheer luck, manage to pass through the chaos of Rukongai, reach the Shin'ō Academy within Seireitei, and then survive the even harsher examinations—
stricter than those faced by Seireitei's local nobles—before they can officially become Shinigami.
So that's how it is…
In the end, nobles really only care about "matching status," don't they?
If I keep getting tangled up with those two nobles like this…
it'll only bring everyone unnecessary trouble.
Even though, according to Bleach's setting, Shinigami from Rukongai tend to be stronger!
Those so-called nobles only benefit from being born in the right place—
they enjoy priority admission in Soul Society's "advanced examinations"! But still…
Fūjin Taichi thought gloomily to himself:
According to an unwritten rule in Soul Society,
anyone who attains the rank of seated officer or higher within the Gotei 13 is considered a newly risen noble,
standing above ordinary Shinigami and Rukongai residents alike.
Although these "new nobles" are further divided into hierarchies depending on their position within a division,
their status and authority are earned through strength—
which is precisely why they never see eye to eye with Seireitei's old noble families.
The old nobles, for their part, remain proud and aloof,
constantly looking down on these so-called "lowborn nobles" from Rukongai.
As a result, ever since the founding of the Gotei 13, the two sides have been locked in hostility—
to the point that even their subordinates frequently fought and brawled right under Captain-Commander Yamamoto's nose.
In order to safeguard noble interests, the Five Great Noble Houses demanded that Central 46 establish a special noble-exclusive division within the Gotei 13:
Thus, Sixth Division was created—
staffed entirely by members of upper- and middle-class noble families,
with its captainship entrusted to the Kuchiki Clan, the foremost of the Five Great Noble Houses.
On the surface, tensions between the "new" and "old" nobles within the Gotei 13 appeared to ease,
but in reality, resentment only continued to fester beneath the surface—
Until more than sixty years ago, when Aizen took advantage of the situation and carried out his Hollowfication experiments,
causing devastating losses on both sides.
Only then did the conflict finally subside—if only slightly.
Back to the present.
After Fūjin Taichi left, Kasumioji Hoko shot Tsunayashiro Tokio an annoyed glare.
"This is all your fault! Why did you have to say something like that out of nowhere?!"
"I wasn't wrong!"
Tsunayashiro Tokio scratched his tousled hair, looking completely innocent.
"My family wrote to warn me to reduce contact with Rukongai and not damage our noble standing…"
"But still," he continued,
"Fūjin did save our lives. I think he's someone worth befriending. It's just that the clan elders…"
"The Kasumioji family is the same…"
Kasumioji Hoko shook her head slightly and spoke in a low voice.
"I don't know why, but I keep feeling that Fūjin has changed…
like he's become a completely different person."
"When did you notice?"
"That day when Senior Hisagi led us on the simulation mission to the World of the Living… I realized—"
"Realized what?"
"The current Fūjin… Taichi…
he's cautious and timid, yet sharp and adaptable…
nothing like his former arrogance and self-importance."
As she spoke, a trace of uncertainty flickered in her eyes.
"Maybe that disaster forced him to grow up."
Tsunayashiro Tokio said casually,
"Anyway, he at least helped us escape danger using his instincts.
I've got a much better impression of him now—
I guess I'll count him as half a friend."