Chapter 17 Letter File
After seeing Aizen and Ichimaru Gin off, Shin and Rukia returned to the Student Council office.
"Captain Aizen is truly kind," Rukia couldn't help but say. "I was a bit nervous at first, but being around him, I gradually relaxed."
Shin looked at Rukia, who was describing her impression of Aizen, and thought, "You may not be nervous, but I've been on tenterhooks the entire time."
However, thinking about it now, he felt his apprehension was a bit excessive. He was just a student at the Spiritual Arts Academy; what was there for Aizen to care about? Perhaps his initial overthinking was a bit much.
To appear normal, one should treat Aizen with an attitude like Rukia's.
The more apprehensive one seemed, the more likely it was to arouse the other party's suspicion.
"You've worked hard too, Rukia."
Rukia shook her head repeatedly. "No, I didn't do much, and I learned a lot just by listening to a class. Many of Captain Aizen's ideas are different from what our teachers teach."
She was referring to Aizen teaching in Class A. She was a student in Class B, and if not for the Student Council, she probably wouldn't have had such an opportunity.
Shin guessed what she was thinking and said, "If you work hard, you can enter Class A next year too."
"I will!" Rukia nodded seriously.
Renji and Hinamori were both in Class A, and she wanted to get into Class A too.
"If you have any questions about your studies, you can always ask me. I might not be as good as Captain Aizen, but perhaps I can still help you solve some problems."
"Really?" Rukia seemed pleasantly surprised.
"Favorability: 37"
Shin suddenly smiled and reached out to pat Rukia's head. Her petite stature only reached Shin's chest, so patting her head was effortless.
When Rukia saw Shin suddenly reach out, she instinctively recoiled slightly, but she didn't dodge, letting his hand rest on her hair.
"Of course, if you're willing."
"Favorability: 38"
It felt really good, Shin thought.
Fourth Squad barracks.
"Vice-Captain, these are student files that were suddenly sent over from the Spiritual Arts Academy."
"Spiritual Arts Academy?"
Kotetsu Yune, the Vice-Captain of the Fourth Squad, had just entered her Squad's barracks when she was stopped by a Squad member. Today was a holiday, but it was also the day for the Female Soul Reaper Association's team-building event, which happened to be held at their Fourth Squad.
Kotetsu Yune took the documents handed to her by the Squad member, feeling a bit surprised. She thought, "It's only been a month since school started, why are student files suddenly being sent now?"
"Alright, I understand."
She had a somewhat heroic appearance, but her brows always held a gentle expression. A few thin braids were woven into her silver-gray short hair, making her a very gentle woman.
However, this gentle and lovely woman was nearly 1.9 meters tall, standing out like a crane among chickens in a crowd. Most male Squad members were not as tall as her, which made her feel a bit self-conscious.
Kotetsu Yune carefully examined the document, which was a student's file from the Spiritual Arts Academy.
"Tachikawa Shin..."
She murmured the name, finding it somewhat familiar. Then she remembered seeing this name when their Fourth Squad was reviewing newly graduated students around the Spiritual Arts Academy's graduation season.
At that time, Tachikawa Shin was listed among the top students eligible for early graduation.
The Student Council that the Spiritual Arts Academy recently established is quite famous, and its President also seems to be named Tachikawa Shin.
The Fourth Squad is the medical Squad, responsible for emergency treatment and daily medical care. Their Squad has a natural disadvantage in recruiting new members compared to other Squads because a large portion of Shinigami do not choose the Fourth Squad when filling out their Squad preferences.
The Squad preferences filled out by graduating students are an important reference for assigning them to each Squad. Therefore, many members of the Fourth Squad are transferred based on their Koten class scores at the Spiritual Arts Academy.
But after Kotetsu Kiyone finished reading all of Tachikawa Shin's information, she suddenly froze.
Setting aside the impressive perfect scores in all of his Kido, Zanjutsu, Hakuda, and Hoho, the last record was information about his Zanpakuto.
"Specific abilities unknown, possesses healing abilities, temporarily presumed to be of the Healing Arts System..."
Kotetsu Yune suddenly snapped out of her daze and reread the file.
A Zanpakuto with healing abilities was extremely rare. Even she, as the Vice-Captain of the Fourth Squad, had a snow-and-ice type Zanpakuto.
Furthermore, this person was the top student of the Spiritual Arts Academy, with extremely excellent scores in all subjects, showing no weakness in any area. When would such a student ever be assigned to their Fourth Squad?
Kotetsu Yune quickly picked up the document in her hand and ran towards her Captain's resting room.
When she somewhat impetuously burst into the resting room, she quickly stopped herself.
Not only was her Captain in the room, but also Ise Nanao, the Vice-Captain of the Eighth Squad, Matsumoto Rangiku, the Vice-Captain of the Tenth Squad, and Kusajishi Yachiru, the Vice-Captain of the Eleventh Division, were all there.
One of Retsu Unohana's usual hobbies was flower arrangement, and these women in the room were essentially core members of the Soul Society's Female Soul Reaper Association. Each had a vase in front of them, and the floor was covered with various flowers.
"Yune, you're here."
Retsu Unohana didn't mind Kotetsu Yune's abruptness, just smiling gently.
"Captain."
Kotetsu Yune simply nodded to the familiar Vice-Captains. Ise Nanao was diligently following Retsu Unohana's flower arrangement, while Matsumoto Rangiku was casually sitting somewhat idly. She held a few bunches of daisies, occasionally tossing them towards Yachiru nearby, as if feeding a pet.
And Yachiru was continuously chewing on flower petals.
This scene was truly a bit strange. Kotetsu Yune averted her gaze and approached Retsu Unohana.
"I apologize for disturbing you. These are documents sent from the Spiritual Arts Academy. I thought you should take a look."
Retsu Unohana stopped her work upon hearing this, thoughtfully taking the file.
"Yune, you're really working hard," Matsumoto Rangiku, who originally had no great interest in flower arrangement, suddenly spoke up teasingly.
"Isn't today a holiday? Why do you still have work to do?"
"Is Miss Rangiku saying that I'm an unqualified Captain?" Retsu Unohana, who was reading the file, suddenly asked with a smile.
"...Absolutely not!"
Matsumoto Rangiku suddenly shivered, shaking her head repeatedly.
Kotetsu Yune explained, "I also just happened to meet the Squad member who brought me the documents on my way here."
Retsu Unohana calmly nodded after finishing the file. "A Zanpakuto of the Healing Arts System, how rare. This Tachikawa Shin can come to our Fourth Squad after he graduates in the future."
Matsumoto Rangiku was stunned upon hearing this.
"Who?"