Rukia felt a strange, inexplicable sensation. Her gaze passed over the upperclassn seated before her, finally settling on Tachikawa Shin.
Aside from seeing him briefly during the entrance ceremony, this was technically their first formal eting.
Yet the way he looked at her—it was as if he knew her.
She lowered her eyes, slightly uncomfortable, and offered a polite bow to the panel.
Hisagi Shūhei spoke with professional detachnt: "Please begin with a self-introduction."
"Greetings, senpai. I'm Kuchiki Rukia, a first-year from Class B, originally from District 78, Inuzuri, South Rukongai. I don't have any particular hobbies, but I hope to beco an excellent shinigami through my ti at the Academy. If accepted into the Student Council, I'm happy to serve in any departnt."
Compared to Hinamori Momo earlier, Rukia's delivery wasn't particularly strong. Shin noticed that Kasugōri Mitsugorō imdiately marked her with the lowest score.
A Rukongai-born student, from Class B no less—in Mitsugorō's mind, she was already disqualified.
"Please answer the first question," Shūhei continued.
"I would choose to stay behind and fight the Hollow alongside my senpai."
"Your reasoning?"
Rukia pressed her lips together, then replied, "I just feel... in a mont like that, you shouldn't abandon soone to face death alone. Even if it ans sacrificing myself, I think it's better if soone is there with them. I'm not a top student—losing wouldn't be a huge loss to Soul Society. But maybe if I stayed, I could make things a little easier for them."
Shin raised an eyebrow at her response. Then, without hesitation, he spoke:
"Well said."
The panel looked toward him in surprise as he continued, "For a first-year to already have that level of resolve—that's rare."
Mitsugorō frowned. He glanced again at Rukia, unimpressed. Aside from a passable appearance, she was just another Class B nobody. Still, after a mont of hesitation, he altered her score.
So far, only a few candidates had passed. Half of the available Council seats for first-years were already unofficially reserved for nobles—Shin couldn't change that. As for the rest? He could ddle as much as he liked.
The other Council mbers seed to get the ssage. A few looked down at their notebooks and scribbled adjustnts.
Smiling, Shin gestured for the interview to proceed.
"Please answer the second question," said Hisagi.
Rukia's responses for the second and third questions were less polished than Momo's. Momo had given textbook-perfect answers; she'd even cleverly deferred the third answer to the President's judgnt. Rukia, by contrast, stumbled through hers.
Still, none of the panel scored her imdiately—they all waited to see Shin's reaction.
When he nodded in encouragent, they followed suit.
Eventually, Hisagi spoke: "Based on our evaluation, Rukia-san, congratulations. You've passed the interview."
Rukia was visibly stunned. She hadn't expected to make it through, especially not after her rough responses. Her eyes lit up with joy.
"Thank you, senpai!" she bowed again and again.
"You should really thank our President here. He's very generous when it cos to you," Mitsugorō muttered with a sneer.
Unbothered, Shin simply grinned. "It's good to give underclassn a chance. I believe I have good instincts."
Even Rukia, dense as she was, could tell what had happened. His encouragent had shifted the others' impressions. Her heart brimd with gratitude.
Shin's smile deepened.
"All right. Be sure to report to the Council HQ tomorrow morning."
"Yes!"
After she left, Shin shot Mitsugorō a cheerful glance—who imdiately thought the guy must be insane. Wasn't he just mocking him a second ago?
What he didn't know was that his sarcastic comnt had just bumped Rukia's affection score by 8 points.
[Spiritual Pressure Level: Lv. 17][Zanpakutō Unlock Progress: 10%]
Rukia erged from the interview room to find Momo waiting outside.
"Rukia!"
"Momo..."
"How did it go?!"
"I passed!" Rukia said with a glowing smile.
"Really?! That's amazing!" Momo threw her arms around her and cheered.
They hadn't known each other long, but Momo's warm personality made Rukia feel instantly at ease—she was a genuinely kind person.
"It's thanks to you, Momo. I really thought I'd get cut."
"Don't say that! You passed because you earned it. I didn't do anything!"
"I was so nervous I thought I'd faint. The upperclassn are terrifying..."
"I know! When they sit there all serious, it's really nerve-wracking. But the President is actually really kind, right?"
Rukia recalled Shin's face, the way he smiled so gently. "He really is. I didn't do very well, but he encouraged . After that, I think the others went easier on too..."
Momo bead. "Right?! Isn't he great? He's the one who proposed the idea of a Student Council in the first place! He's one of the top prodigies in the Academy, and his specialty is swordsmanship. He even defeated his swordsmanship instructor!"
"You know a lot about him."
"Of course! I did my research before the interview. I figured if we t the President, it might help to know more about him."
Rukia silently admired her preparation. She'd barely done anything herself—passing the interview felt like sheer luck.
She was just grateful the President was a good person.
As they walked and talked, Momo asked which departnt she wanted to join.
"I'm not sure yet. I don't really know enough about them."
"I hope we end up in the sa one!"
" too."
—
The interviews dragged on for another hour or two. In the end, 19 new students passed.
They were split evenly across the six major departnts: Discipline, Organization, Finance, Public Relations, Academics, and Arts—roughly three students per group.
After the assignnts were complete, Shin slouched in his chair at the Council HQ and stretched.
"Ugh, I'm exhausted."
Mitsugorō and the others had already left.
"Wanna grab food?" Hisagi asked. Kani looked over too.
"You guys go. I've got sothing else to do."
"Like what?"
Shin grinned. "Secret."
Hisagi raised an eyebrow. "You're not going to chase after one of those first-year girls, are you?"
Shin shot him a look but didn't reply.
As the two left, Kani turned to Hisagi. "You think Shin really likes one of the new girls?"
Hisagi scratched his head. "That Hinamori girl is really cute... Honestly, it's possible."
Shin left the Council HQ on his own. Evening had arrived, and classes were done.
Using his Council privileges, he entered the swordsmanship dojo without issue.
Next door was the blade storeroom—an entire room lined with racks of black training blades, each labeled by number.
Academy students weren't allowed to carry asauchi outside of training. Most students didn't awaken their Zanpakutō during their ti at Shin'ō. For 99%, it wasn't until after graduation that they were issued an asauchi—and even then, many never achieved a true Zanpakutō in their lives.
A true Zanpakutō was forged from the user's own soul. Once granted an asauchi, a Shinigami slowly poured their spiritual power into it over ti, eventually forging a bond and awakening the blade's true form.
Shin moved slowly through the room, pausing in front of the blade he normally used in class. He reached for it—but felt nothing.
No resonance.
He put it back in silence.
[Zanpakutō Unlock Progress: 11% – Semi-Initial Release Achieved][Zanpakutō Unlocked: Call its True Na to Reveal its Form]
Call its na... call its na...
He scanned the rows of asauchi. None of them resonated. No pull. No spark.
It's not here, is it?
Frowning, he reviewed his system window again and realized sothing:
[Spiritual Pressure Level: Lv. 18][Spiritual Energy Reservoir: 15%]
The reservoir was exactly what it sounded like—his spiritual energy never reached full capacity. That was by design.
He constantly released just enough spiritual pressure to keep himself "draining," like a balloon with a tiny hole. The leak was subtle—hardly noticeable to anyone.
He maintained this condition on purpose. His spiritual pressure was already far beyond his peers'. No amount of "concealing" it would fool stronger individuals.
But as long as it never filled completely, others couldn't gauge his true level.
Returning to the dojo, he sat cross-legged at the center of the room and slowly closed his eyes.
[Spiritual Energy Reservoir: 16%]
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