Seireitei.
Management Zone of the Dongshao Bureau.
"Boom!"
Fire, smoke, and a chaotic crowd.
The combination of these three elements indicates that the annual explosion of the Soul Society has once again begun:
The incident occurred at the Shinō Spiritual Academy, also known as the "Shinigami School", where the Soul Society trains members of the Gotei 13, Kidō Corps, and Secret Tactics Squad.
Here, students can not only learn the professional skills of Shinigami, such as "Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Hohō, and Kidō" (swordsmanship, hand-to-hand combat, high-speed movement, and spiritual magic), but also gain knowledge about the World of the Living, Hueco Mundo, and even Hell.
As for the explosion that just rang out...
The Shinigami of the Gotei 13 would never dare to cause such a commotion within the Soul Society. Only training grounds, where students strive desperately to obtain better grades, could be the stage for such spectacular scenes:
The entrance exam for fifth-year students is taking place on the field.
Unfortunately, there weren't many spectators, apart from the candidates themselves:
Most lower-level students of the Shinō Spiritual Academy were currently in the Grand Auditorium Mao, observing the career choices of the graduates. There, not only could they meet official Shinigami, but, with luck, they might even have the opportunity to encounter the captains of the Gotei 13.
It should be noted that even ordinary members of the Gotei 13 are selected from thousands of souls in the Soul Society, an extremely rigorous process.
To be honest, the low number of spectators wasn't necessarily a problem.
Although the "seniors" had less visibility – to put it bluntly, fewer opportunities to boast while securing the right to choose a partner among junior members of the opposite sex – it indirectly reduced the pressure on students taking the field training exam.
After several waves of chaos.
"Oh Lord!"
"A mask of flesh and blood, a myriad of phenomena, that which takes flight, that which bears the name of humanity!"
A high-pitched chant resonated continuously.
Upon the examiner's instructions, the students at the exam site all assumed a unified posture: right hand raised, palm open, and left hand placed on the back of the fingers.
In front of the palm.
Accompanied by burning heat and light, bright red flames gradually appeared out of nowhere and quickly condensed into a ball under the user's control.
"Heat and conflict, rolling southward across the sea, advance!"
The final syllables were sharp and synchronized.
"Hadō no 31: Shakkahō!"
"Whoosh—"
Dozens of fiery balls of flame shot towards the targets in front of the students.
"Boom!"
---
That being said, it is actually quite difficult to make the Shakkahō hit the target stably.
To achieve good results in Kidō exams, strength and speed alone are not enough. Precision is of paramount importance – after all, no Shinigami wants to see their teammate's Kidō explode behind them while they are defenseless.
A certain man with red hair and extremely arrogant eyebrows could serve as a negative example in the future.
But when it comes to taking action, not only do few students meet the standards in terms of precision, but also in power and speed.
After the explosion.
"Grade B."
"Grade B."
The examiner glanced at the targets in front and recorded the scores one by one according to the list.
There was no doubt in their judgment. Most teachers at the Shinō Spiritual Academy were chief officers of the Gotei 13 – their rank may not have been very high, but evaluating the strength of a Kidō posed no problem for them.
By the way, the Shinigami currently holding the position of dean of the Shinō Spiritual Academy is the fourth seat of a certain division... just the fourth seat.
"First class, Nanao Ise."
In the monotony of "Grade B" announcements, this voice was particularly striking.
"Ise?"
"This noble lady?"
There were always many students in each promotion of the Shinō Spiritual Academy.
Even after five years of studying together, if you were not in the same class, it was rare to seek more information about the other classes.
However, some names, even if not very well-known, were at least familiar, and Nanao Ise was obviously one of them.
"No, I heard she comes from a family of priests—"
While most people whispered, some deliberately shouted:
"Isn't she always a noble?"
"Of course, it's different from us, ordinary people from Rukongai!"
As for the reason for this contradiction, it goes back too far.
---
"Phew."
The little girl calmed her breathing after completing the test.
Nanao paid no attention to the strange looks around her, or rather, she had long been accustomed to them: bearing the name of the Ise family of priests, it was not uncommon to receive piercing looks, even among nobles.
Although she was only a child who appeared to be seven or eight years old, she was no longer considered a member of the family.
Nanao, acting as usual, left the training ground with mixed emotions. Having received an A on the final exam of "Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Hohō, and Kidō", she had undoubtedly passed the entrance exam.
It was actually a challenging task for Nanao, who excelled in only three of the four techniques: the difficulty here was not in advanced studies, but in the fact that her grades would allow her to remain in "Class 1" after entering sixth year, the class of graduates.
"Hey!"
As soon as she stepped through the door, a soft and familiar greeting rang in Nanao's ears.
The strands of the girl's hair obscured the light in her eyes. As she adjusted her mood and prepared to raise her head to respond—
A large palm pressed against her forehead forced the little girl to tilt her neck back.
"Grade A in Kidō results."
"You did so well on the exam, why do you still look so gloomy?"
"Well, at your age, wearing thick glasses almost hides your beauty. If you keep frowning all day, you would completely ruin your charm."
The person's tone was as insistent as that of a mother.
Nanao didn't mind this concern, but—
"My neck is going to break!"
The other was too brusque.
The girl firmly grasped the wrist of her interlocutor, trying to remove the hand pressed against her forehead – a reaction that perfectly matched the tsundere character stereotype. However, coming from a little girl, there was no question of hesitation or not:
Lolis are the treasure of the world.
"Ah!"
"Sorry, sorry."
The tall man quickly released his arm.
The most adorable height difference between these two people did not exist at all. The man was 187 cm tall, compared to the childlike figure of Nanao, who was less than 130 cm...
Looking up was physical torture.
"A gift to congratulate you on your admission and also to apologize."
A small, refined packaging box was pulled out from behind the loose blue and white uniform.
Nanao didn't have a chance to refuse. The familiar size and sweet scent immediately won over the girl's budding taste buds through her sense of smell.
"So?"
"Hmm..."
Before she knew it, the box had been slipped into the girl's hands.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
The barely audible thank you received a warm and generous response.
"Aren't you going to open it?"
"I want to share it with my uncle and the others when I get home."
Nanao shook her head and asked cautiously:
"...Is that okay?"
"Since it's a gift, it's up to you to decide, Nanao."
A lover of sweets, Nanao particularly loved yokan. Her serious nature since childhood had driven her to study this dessert in depth:
The yokan offered by the man didn't come from the Soul Society.
Only the World of the Living used such "extravagant" packaging with paper boxes, and the visible "family emblem (brand)" in the supplementary books, prominently displayed, came from the famous Japanese confectionery "Toraya".
Even for an official Shinigami, receiving a gift from the World of the Living required building good relations with the "Soul Burial Squad" of the 13th Division, which regularly visited the World of the Living. This was even more difficult for ordinary students like them.
After all, it was a cross-border souvenir, involving the conversion of spiritual particles, making its transport particularly complex.
"Thank you, Haruto."
"This is the second time, I told you not to be so polite."
The tall student whom Nanao called "Haruto" responded with the same gentle smile as before.
Haruto.
A fifth-year student at the Shinō Spiritual Academy, whose full name is Haruto.
His body proportions were not exaggerated. Given his slightly above-average height, he could even be considered slim.