"Rangiku-san, do you know this Tachikawa Nobu?"
Upon seeing Matsumoto Rangiku's reaction, Unohana Retsu asked the question directly.
The top student of Shin'ō Academy was always a person of interest to the Gotei 13, and as Vice-Captain of the Tenth Division, Rangiku's reaction had immediately caught Unohana's attention.
"Did you just say," Rangiku asked, "that Tachikawa Nobu's Zanpakutō is Kaidō-type?"
"That's right," Unohana replied. "It's been a long time since the Academy produced a healing-type Zanpakutō. For the Fourth Division, this is very welcome news."
"..."
Rangiku stood there frozen. Beside her, Kusajishi Yachiru didn't seem to care about the conversation—she was more concerned that Rangiku had suddenly stopped tossing flowers at her.
Tachikawa Nobu…
There's no way that kid's Zanpakutō is healing-type.
Rangiku couldn't believe it. Nobu just didn't come across as the "healer" type. Not that his Kaidō was poor—far from it—but compared to all his other talents, Kaidō was by far the least remarkable.
Just the other day, that kid had even said he was planning to prioritize the Tenth Division after graduation. But if his Zanpakutō really was Kaidō-type, then his only real destination would be the Fourth.
After all, only in the Fourth Division could a healing-type Zanpakutō reach its full potential.
Rangiku's thoughts were in a whirl. Based on the ability Nobu had shown, he was already operating at the level of a seated officer. Reaching vice-captain rank was just a matter of time—maybe even captain wasn't out of reach someday.
Was she really supposed to just stand by and watch a talent like that slip away?
She had already put in so much effort to recruit him!
"Rangiku-san?"
"I—it's nothing." Rangiku forced a smile.
If Nobu hadn't awakened his Zanpakutō yet, she might still have a fighting chance. But now that it was Kaidō-type, she knew any attempt to claim him for the Tenth was a lost cause.
Why… why did it have to be that kind of Zanpakutō…
What a waste, Rangiku thought, sighing as she tossed another flower in Yachiru's direction.
Ise Nanao glanced at her curiously.
Unohana, meanwhile, had guessed that Rangiku must have interacted with Nobu before—but she didn't dwell on it. A student with a Kaidō-type Zanpakutō? No other division had any right to contest the Fourth's claim.
She casually handed the file back to Isane and resumed her flower arranging.
Once the gathering ended, Rangiku headed straight back to the Tenth Division barracks.
As soon as she pushed open the door to the captain's office, she found her captain—unsurprisingly—napping with his face buried in paperwork. The sight ignited her frustration. She stomped forward and slammed her palm down hard on the desk.
"Captain!"
Shiba Isshin jolted awake, eyes wide as he looked around in confusion. "Huh? What? What happened?"
"Captain! They've stolen him right out from under us and you're still here napping! You might as well hand in your resignation!"
Listening to Rangiku's outburst, Isshin stretched lazily and yawned. "Did someone poach you? I thought every squad already had a vice-captain."
"I'm talking about Tachikawa Nobu!"
"Him?" Isshin blinked, surprised. "Isn't it a bit early to worry? It's not even graduation season yet."
"I was just at the Fourth Division," Rangiku said, "and I heard they've confirmed his Zanpakutō is Kaidō-type."
Now Isshin actually looked a little more serious. He rubbed his chin. "You're sure?"
"It came directly from the Academy to the Fourth Division. How could it be fake?"
"...I see." Isshin looked thoughtful.
"Well, if that's the case, there's not much we can do. The Fourth is where he belongs. Rangiku, it's out of our hands."
Rangiku groaned. "He was the first promising recruit I've found in ages. If you actually did your job, maybe I wouldn't have to go recruiting all over the Academy myself!"
Isshin looked mildly offended. "Rangiku, I do work hard as a captain, okay? You're the one off today—I spent the whole morning working. I only took a short break and you happened to barge in."
Rangiku didn't buy it for a second. If her captain ever actually worked diligently, the sun might as well rise in the west.
Isshin went on, "Anyway, Tachikawa Nobu's a gifted junior. If he joins the Fourth, he'll be able to thrive. Who knows? Maybe when we're injured on a mission, we'll be counting on him to patch us up."
At the end of the day, he was still just a student. There was a new top student every year. Maybe this one stood out a bit more than the rest, but it wasn't worth fretting over.
Helping Nobu establish the student council had been a worthwhile endeavor—and Isshin had no regrets about that.
But Rangiku had gone back and forth to the Academy countless times trying to recruit him for the Tenth Division. And now that her golden goose had flown off, she was far from satisfied.
Fine, she thought. I'll just find someone even better!
Someone like Kaien... or Gin!
---
Meanwhile, at the Fourth Division
Even though the team-building event for the Women's Shinigami Association had ended, Unohana and Isane hadn't returned home just yet.
"Isane," Unohana said gently, "take some time to visit Shin'ō Academy and assess this Tachikawa Nobu in person. Rangiku-san seems to care about him quite a bit."
If Nobu was as talented and upright as his file suggested, then he could be promoted to a high-seated position soon after joining.
In the Fourth Division, rankings weren't entirely dependent on combat power. A properly developed healing-type Zanpakutō could far surpass what ordinary Kaidō users could achieve.
Even in the Fourth, those with true healing-type Zanpakutō were exceedingly rare.
"Understood, Captain."
Unohana glanced once more at the file on the desk.
"This child even formed a student council, didn't he? They were quite the topic not long ago. He might be an interesting one. It's been a while since our division had new blood."
Shinigami lived long lives, and their sense of time tended to blur. When Unohana said "not long ago," she was referring to an event that had happened a month prior.
"Born in the 79th District of Rukongai. Excels in kendo. Even defeated his own kendo instructor…"
But what level of "excellence" are we really talking about?
A pensive expression came over Unohana's gentle features. Her eyes flickered, as if something had stirred in the depths of her memory.