Shimiya Takeru was calm and composed.
"If I could zone out and daydream like you, I'd also feel like time passes quickly."
Kurosaki ichigo rolled his eyes.
The two chatted idly, making their way along the tree-lined stone path within the Spirit Arts Academy to the dormitory.
The Spirit Arts Academy recruits a maximum of about a hundred students per year.
Even if all of them lived on campus, it wouldn't be much of a burden for the Spirit Arts Academy.
The dormitory's architecture leaned towards the Taishō era style, which is to say, the common wooden old schoolhouse type seen in Japanese anime.
It had a total of three floors.
The first floor housed public facilities such as a courtyard, a large dining hall, and separate large bathhouses for males and females, while the second and third floors were dedicated to male and female student dormitories, respectively.
The interior decoration was very similar to a hot spring inn.
It clearly conveyed that it was a public space, yet also had a homelike feel, like returning to one's own living room or hallway.
The Spirit Arts Academy arranged single rooms for its students.
The classic four-and-a-half tatami mat room.
"By the way, isn't the person in that room also in our living group?"
Ichigo suddenly remembered something and pointed to the door next to his, mentioning it.
"That's right."
Shimiya Takeru looked at the room number and the name written outside with a brush.
"Rindo Yu, I remember him. He was sitting right behind you during the assembly in the great hall. I heard he's deaf and mute."
"What?"
Ichigo's face darkened.
"You could have at least warned me! I don't want to be seen as someone who ostracizes his companions. Although I don't care much about my reputation, this kind of reputation is something I'd rather die than have!"
The Spirit Arts Academy arranged three people per living group, which is equivalent to roommates.
They are also neighbors, and tasks like cleaning or other trivial chores are often assigned directly to one or more living groups.
This is both convenient and helps students interact and grow together, so generally, there isn't any isolation.
"Who said I didn't greet him? Turn your head and look."
Shimiya Takeru tilted his chin.
Ichigo instinctively turned around and looked back, only to see a delicate and quiet young man standing there.
"Wh-when… I didn't hear a thing…"
The young man raised his hand and traced his fingertips through the air, outlining a line of text with spirit particles.
"Nice to meet you, I am Rindo Yu."
"Uh, I'm Kurosaki ichigo, and this is Shimiya Takeru… Ah, sorry, I forgot you seem to be…"
Just as Ichigo was fumbling to find paper and a pen, Rindo Yu wrote another line of text.
"I can sense others' emotions, so there are no communication barriers. You don't need to specially accommodate me; I will try my best not to cause you any trouble."
"…"
Ichigo felt a lump in his throat, unsure what to say.
It wasn't because of the communication ability the other party displayed, but rather how calmly and naturally he lived in his own way, which challenged Ichigo's perception of disabled people.
Soon, Ichigo showed a sincere smile.
"I understand. Please take care of me from now on, Rindo."
"Please take care of me too."
"By the way, how did you two greet each other before?"
"Just like I just reminded you."
At Shimiya Takeru's words, Ichigo instantly understood.
"…I see."
The gesture of tilting one's chin could mean to look over there, or it could mean "let's talk outside" or "follow me."
It was indeed much more convenient than going up and greeting someone.
However, doing this to a stranger made him seem a bit too familiar.
One could only say that in terms of interpersonal interactions, Shimiya Takeru also possessed a kind of precious "equanimity" similar to Rindo Yu.
However, this "equanimity" vanished completely in front of the Asauchi he received.
Time came to the next day.
The Spirit Arts Academy uniformly distributed Asauchi to first-year students, not at all like Shimiya Takeru had imagined, where a group of people would be led into some dark, secret room to choose one they liked.
To put it bluntly, first-year students didn't have that kind of treatment.
After all, Asauchi are only temporarily borrowed; they only truly belong to the individual after graduation and official assignment to a squad. This shows that the Spirit Arts Academy doesn't particularly emphasize the compatibility between students and their Asauchi.
Shimiya Takeru had reason to suspect that this factor contributed to the relatively small number of elite Shinigami who could achieve Shikai.
But no matter what, he held no prejudice against his Asauchi.
His gaze on the sword could be described as more affectionate than looking at a dog.
His hand caressed the scabbard gently, like stroking a maiden's skin, yet also with a restless urge to draw the sword and try a few moves.
"Shimiya, you look like those ancient samurai who went mad and tested their swords on people."
Ichigo, sitting next to him, twitched his lips.
Although he was also excited, it was purely out of a desire for Shinigami power, and he didn't have many thoughts about the sword itself. Instead, he found it a bit too ordinary; if no one told him, he would have thought it was a traditional craft from the Human World.
"Are you really a high school student?"
Shimiya Takeru looked up, his face filled with deep suspicion.
"What do you mean?"
"Even elementary school students can't resist picking up and waving a straight tree branch they see on the road."
"You said it yourself, those are elementary school students. High school students wouldn't be that childish."
"Indeed, high school students are more realistic. They simply can't refuse cool battles, can't refuse possessing cool power that surpasses everyone else, can't refuse the cool passion of protecting the world, and can't refuse the cool image of being praised after showing off."
"…Do you really need to emphasize the concept of 'cool' so much…?"
"And also."
"And also?!"
Ichigo's eyes widened, completely unaware that besides Rindo Yu behind him, there was also a curious blonde girl.
"Yes."
Shimiya Takeru looked at the large toy in his hand seriously, with the rigor of discussing academics.
"Didn't Gengorō Ōnabara-sensei say? A Zanpakuto and a Shinigami are one. One needs to engrave the essence of their soul into it to resonate with it and grow. That's why Asauchi are distributed as soon as possible, to strive for early achievements."
"But the point isn't that; it's that Zanpakuto have souls. For a Shinigami, this is a partner who fights alongside them, never leaving their side."
"If this partner were a beautiful girl, what do you think a high school boy would think?"
Cool, power, and a beautiful girl.
Gulp.
With these three elements combined, even Ichigo was deeply swayed.
However, he wasn't so greedy as to drool.
The next moment, Shimiya Takeru, Ichigo, and Rindo Yu silently looked at the person who made the sound.
The other person was also very familiar, not feeling awkward at all. She wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth and said with a grin:
"I'm Hachihara Kumoru. I heard that the two top-scoring prodigies this year both just came from the Human World. Coincidentally, I'm very interested in Human World's gyaru culture. If you don't mind, let's be friends!"
Chapter 5: Ichigo's Tutor is That Man
The Spirit Arts Academy's student uniforms are standardized, a variation based on kimonos, with a distinct style that, when paired with the wooden school building, creates an atmosphere reminiscent of ancient private schools.
However, some individuals are destined to find it difficult to blend into this atmosphere and be ordinary students.
For example, Shimiya Takeru and Ichigo, and also Hachihara Kumoru.
No one would question her claim of liking Human World culture, because her appearance was too trendy. Not only did she apply light lip gloss and eyeshadow, and draw her eyebrows,
her beautiful long golden hair was tied into a side ponytail, and her delicate skin was tanned, giving it a smooth, chocolatey hue.
She looked exactly like a high school girl deeply influenced by Human World gyaru fashion.
So much so that Ichigo couldn't help but ask, "Did you also just come from the Human World?"
"No, I was born in Seireitei. My family runs a clothing store, and because they heavily referenced Human World's trendy culture, it became extremely popular. So I got curious and looked into it, and then I couldn't stop~"
Hachihara waved her hand with a smile like a beckoning cat, revealing her personal information without a care.
"I can tell…"
Ichigo's mouth twitched slightly, forcing himself not to comment further on her makeup. Anyone with normal aesthetics would probably find gyaru beauty a bit too sweet and hard to swallow, like coffee with too much sugar.
"Human World clothing, huh? It's different from Rukongai. Seireitei is more progressive than I thought."
Shimiya Takeru mused thoughtfully.
"Oh, this isn't good."
"What's wrong?"
Rindo Yu wrote on the desk.
"Nothing, just considering future living arrangements."
"What are you talking about?"
Ichigo habitually asked.
"Look, when you were in the Human World, you'd also take advantage of holidays to work part-time, right?"
"Hmm… I think I understand what you mean. You want to earn some money to live a rich life here, so you thought of commercial ideas by referencing Human World culture. No matter what you do, as long as one product succeeds, you won't have to worry about living expenses."
"Exactly, but Hachihara's words reminded me that Soul Society only appears backward on the surface. In reality, it might just be intentionally so. Some of those things already exist, and some lack market demand. Although this point needs further discussion, in short, money isn't that easy to earn."
Shimiya Takeru felt a bit regretful.
He had originally wanted to establish a Shigong Zaibatsu in Soul Society and show those nobles, who were obsessed with past glories, what a new-era capitalist was like.
"Now that you mention it, our living allowance is provided by the Spirit Arts Academy, which only covers basic food and clothing. We can't expect anything else, like buying a few sets of Human World clothes for changing at Hachihara's family store."
Ichigo scratched his head, realizing the seriousness of the problem.
"If you come, I can give you the lowest discount!"
Hachihara said with a smile, making a peace sign in front of her eyes and giving a cute wink.
"We'll talk about that later."
Seeing the teacher arrive, Shimiya Takeru proactively ended the conversation.
However, using this encounter as an opportunity, the two gradually became more familiar.
Mainly, Hachihara tirelessly sought them out in private to chat about topics from the Human World.
To outsiders, it seemed that after Rindo Yu, the "Prodigy Duo" had now drawn the "fourth-place" student from their year into their camp, thus forming the most eye-catching small group in the Spirit Arts Academy.
While other students were envious and wanted to join, they couldn't help but hesitate at the threshold of at least Seventh Seat-level spiritual pressure.
Unbeknownst to them, a week passed since the start of school.
Various subjects were introduced one after another.
Shimiya Takeru, with his high enthusiasm for learning, barely noticed the passage of time.
One afternoon, at the kendo hall.