"Yaaawn…"
"What's with you these days?" Ichigo squinted at the black-haired youth dragging his feet beside him on the avenue to Fifth Division. "Don't tell me you're up all night training again. You even have bags under your eyes."
"Forget 'up all night.' I almost skipped my morning run," Shinomiya said, flicking a hand. No energy even for sarcasm.
"So what did you do? You were fine until you dropped by Fifth Division the other day. Yayahara swears you've been sneaking off somewhere sketchy."
"…And your eyes tell me you're curious about where 'sketchy' is."
"As if!"
"Hate to disappoint you." He sighed. "But Yayahara's slandering me is duly noted."
"I said I wasn't expecting anything!"
Shinomiya didn't bother pushing him further; he really was spent. The darkness under his eyes looked like lost sleep, but it wasn't. He'd simply been blown up too many times during Phase One of bankai—manifestation of the Zanpakutō. The body was fine. The mind was cooked.
Still, it was working. At this pace he'd compress a decade of training into a month. Even if Phase Two—submission—lagged, his reiatsu alone would clear captain-class' floor.
They reached Fifth Division. Aizen and Hinamori were waiting outside.
"You sprang this 'tea at First Division' on us out of nowhere," Ichigo said, rubbing his neck. "What is it even? I'm getting nervous."
"It's not a grand affair," Hinamori smiled. "They call it a tea gathering, but it's really just the Head Captain whisking matcha for people to taste. That said… out of respect, mostly only captains and lieutenants attend."
That did not calm Ichigo down. "So, a private high-command thing. We're just students. If we tag along with you, won't someone mouth off at Captain Aizen? Kuchiki Byakuya, for example."
"Save that line for after we leave," Shinomiya yawned. "If you kick dust into the matcha, old man-yama will tan your hide. Actually, I'd enjoy that."
"You just want me to suffer, huh? We still haven't settled the bill for Shihōin glomming onto me all day because of you."
"How did you shake him?"
"I told him to pick a reunion gift his sister would actually like. He lit up and ran off."
"A reunion present? Not bad," Aizen said, amused. "You're not hopeless at people after all, Kurosaki-kun."
"…You didn't think I'd cause trouble too, did you, Captain?"
"I was merely bracing for worst-case scenarios as your introducer." Aizen's deadpan made Ichigo throw up his hands.
They chatted their way across Seireitei. First Division's compound rose in layers at the center of town, bridges strung between towers. The mass and gravity of it straightened Shinomiya's spine in spite of himself—felt a little like coming home.
The tearoom faced a sunlit garden, warm and simple—nothing like the stern faces of the outer buildings. The moment they stepped in, they felt it: a dozen strong spiritual pressures at rest in one room. One—even at absolute minimum—loomed like a sleeping volcano.
They slid the door. A broad tatami room. Plenty of famous faces.
The Head Captain needed no introduction. The lieutenants were largely present, led by Sasakibe. Only eight captains today: the elders—Unohana, Kyōraku, Ukitake—and the younger—Kuchiki, Komamura, Tōsen—and Aizen. No sign of Soi Fon, Gin, Hitsugaya, Zaraki, or Kurotsuchi.
Shinomiya was thinking that when Soi Fon strode in with Ōmaeda.
"Shinomiya?" She blinked. "You're here too?"
"What kind of line is that? It's the Head Captain's tea. Of course I'm here," she sniffed. "You—maybe. That yellow-haired brat next to you? Heh."
Ichigo's jaw ticked. "Heh what? And to think I almost felt bad for how Shinomiya played you."
"Don't just stand there," Shinomiya said, slipping past him to kneel. He could feel eyes on them from every direction. Ichigo felt flayed; Shinomiya sat like a stone in a stream, which drew more eyes and gave Ichigo breathing room.
By chance, Shinomiya ended up beside Soi Fon. She didn't react. On Ichigo's other side, a gentle voice: "You're Kurosaki Ichigo, yes?"
"Uh—yeah. And you are…?"
"Ukitake Jūshirō, Captain of Thirteenth. You've met my friend over there already."
Kyōraku leaned in with a lazy grin. "Yo, little brother Ichigo. Thought you'd lay low after we split at Second. Instead you made a scene in the living world and got gramps fuming. Says nobody's ever gone that wild in a city before—"
Ichigo winced and shot a look at Shinomiya.
Shinomiya closed his eyes like he meant to nap.
Ichigo inhaled to explain. "About the 'going wild'—Captain Kyōraku, I should—"
"Don't fret," Ukitake said, kind. "Captain Kyōraku, Captain Unohana, and your own captain convinced the Head Captain not to hold it against you."
Ichigo sagged with relief.
"By the way," Ukitake added, tone shifting, "after graduation—have you thought about a Division?"
It was a question Shibata Kūka had once asked too.
-------
Enjoying the story? Support the author and get access to early chapters by joining my Patreon!
Find me at My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
I, Herta's Fiancé, the Universe's Number One Male Fist (114 Chapter (Simulpub-Full) )
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (390 Chapter)
Reborn in Type-Moon, My Sister is Aoko Aozaki (254 Chapter)
MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (140 Chapter)
BLEACH: Blade of Purification (158 Chapter)
Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi (400 Chapter)
My Real Job is Spying on Konoha, but I'm Also its Hokage (140 Chapter)
The Pinnacle of the Navy! Starting from Being Captured by Garp (166 Chapter)
Watching Yu-Gi-Oh! short videos is making the veteran players lose...(80 Chapter)
Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live (200 Chapter)
Zenless Zone Zero The Random Kamen Rider (190 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: It All Began With Me Being Stepped On by Arlecchino (120 Chapter)
Naruto: I Can Synthesize Summoning Beasts (96 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: The Great Swordsman's System, Disciple of Yoriichi (140 Chapter)
My Wife is a General, but I'm an Emanator of Abundance! (160 Chapter)
Type-Moon: My Nine-Fold Path (140 Chapter)
Uma Musume: They're Peeking at My Diary, and All of Tracen is Panickin (Ending)
The Wild History of Type-Moon world (70 Chapter)
Reborn in Conan, But I Refuse to Be the Bad Guy (80 Chapter)
Ruan Mei is begging me to go back? But there's no going back anymore (140 Chapter)
Just a Slacker at Tracen Academy (165 Chapter)
Survival in Blue Archive (70 Chapter)
Kimetsu no Yaiba: Doma Wasn't Hated Today, Either (100 Chapter)
The Vibe of This Chat Group is a Little Off (100 Chapter)
Heartbreak Simulator: I Broke Them and Made Them Cry (80 Chapter)
The Talentless Trainer Doesn't Want to Restart (80 Chapter)
A Journey Starting as a Quincy (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: The Master of Romance Obstruction (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: You Can't Be a Hero Without a Little Chemical Enhancement (40 Chapter)
Honkai Impact 3rd Your Boyfriend is Really Amazing (40 Chapter)
Warhammer 40K: My Fiancée, Fulgrim (168 Chapter)
Classroom of the Elite: Trying to Capture Me! (120 Chapter)
Genshin Impact My Named Senji Muramas (150 Chapter)
A Chef, the Vice-Captain of the Rocks Pirates? (160 Chapter)
Naruto : My Uchiha Girlfriend is Too Tsundere (130 Chapter)
Type-Moon: Reincarnated in a Lostbelt, I Became the Alien God (90 Chapter)
The Way These Horse Girls Look at Me Is Terrifying! (160 Chapter)
Naruto: Tsunade's Deskmate (130 Chapter)
I Just Want to Live a Normal (50 Chapter).
Genshin Impact: A Hundred Confessions? It's Just a System Task (70 Chapter)
OnePiece : Starting as a Veteran of the Roger Pirates (60 Chapter)
Uma Musume : I Have Special Horse Taming Techniques (180 Chapter)
Uma Musume : My other self is a Horse Girl (110 Chapter)
Jujutsu Kaisen : All Affection Stats Maxed Out (170 Chapter)
Satou Kazuma's Decision to Live by Swindling, Starting from Re:Zero (60 Chapter)
Bleach : Ichigo! Take Over the Soul Society (68 Chapter)
Crossover Anime: The Master of Plagiarism with a 'Love Obstacle (110 Chapter)
Arknights Succubus Nurturing System, But I'm a Quiet Office Worker (60 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: Using My Personas to Break the Hearts of Players (50 Chapter)
One Punch Man : i am King? (90 Chapter)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it