Rukia had a strange, inexplicable feeling. She looked at the upperclassmen seated before her, and finally, her eyes landed on Tachikawa Shinichi.
Aside from briefly glimpsing him during the entrance ceremony, this was technically their first proper meeting.
Yet the way he looked at her—almost as if he already knew her—made her uncomfortable. She quietly lowered her gaze and bowed respectfully.
Hisagi Shūhei spoke with the usual formality, "Please start with a self-introduction..."
"Hello, upperclassmen. I'm Rukia from Class B, Year One. I come from District 78 of South Rukongai, Inuzuri. I don't really have any special hobbies. I hope to become an excellent Shinigami through my studies at the Spiritual Arts Academy. If I can join the student council, I'm fine with being assigned to any department."
Compared to Hinamori Momo earlier, Rukia's performance wasn't particularly noteworthy. Shin even noticed Kazamaji Mitsugorō giving her the lowest possible score.
Coming from Rukongai and being a Class B student—Mitsugorō probably dismissed her from the start.
"Please answer the first question."
"I would choose to stay and help the upperclassman fight the Menos Grande."
"Explain your reasoning."
Rukia pressed her lips together before answering, "I just feel that, in that kind of situation, it wouldn't be right to abandon a senior and run away. Even if it means dying… having someone there with you would at least bring a bit of comfort, right? I'm not an outstanding student. To Soul Society, losing a senior would definitely be a bigger loss than losing someone like me. If I stay, I can at least lessen the danger he's facing."
After hearing her answer, Shinichi raised his eyebrows in surprise, then suddenly spoke up:
"Beautifully said."
Everyone present looked at him, slightly stunned.
Shinichi continued, "For a new student to have such awareness already… that's quite rare."
Kazamaji Mitsugorō, sitting beside him, frowned silently. He glanced again at this girl named Rukia. Aside from being somewhat pretty, she was nothing special in his eyes—and still just a Class B student.
But after hesitating for a moment, Mitsugorō slightly adjusted the score he'd written for her.
So far, not many students had passed the interview. Half of the new member spots were already prearranged for noble students—something Shinichi couldn't change. As for the remaining ones, he was free to do as he liked.
And after Shinichi spoke, the other student council members seemed to catch on and began adjusting their notes as well.
Shinichi smiled faintly. Hisagi then said, "Please continue with the second question."
Regarding the two remaining questions—Hinamori Momo had given textbook responses. Her answer to the second question was very practical, while the third cleverly involved deferring to the president's opinion.
Rukia, however, didn't fare as well in those answers. Even so, the council members didn't immediately score her—they waited to see how Shinichi would react.
Seeing him continue to smile supportively, they resumed writing down their evaluations.
Finally, Hisagi announced, "After our assessment, Rukia, congratulations—you've passed the interview."
Rukia was surprised she had passed at all. She herself thought her answers had been pretty weak near the end. Her eyes lit up with unexpected joy.
"Thank you, upperclassmen!" she said, bowing repeatedly.
"You should be especially thankful to our president here. He's being very generous with you," Mitsugorō sneered sarcastically.
Shinichi, however, wasn't upset. He simply chuckled and replied, "We've got to give the younger students more chances. I don't think I've misjudged her."
Even someone as dense as Rukia realized what had happened. It seemed the president's encouragement had swayed the others' evaluations. She couldn't help but feel deeply grateful.
Shinichi, noticing the subtle shift in her demeanor, smiled even more brightly.
"Alright, make sure you report in on time tomorrow."
"Yes!"
After Rukia left the interview room, Shinichi threw a glance at Mitsugorō, still grinning, while Mitsugorō silently cursed him: What's wrong with this guy? I was literally mocking him just now.
What he didn't know was that his jab had directly raised Rukia's affection level:
[Spiritual Pressure Level: 17]
[Zanpakutō Unlock Progress: 10%]
Rukia exited the interview room and found Hinamori Momo waiting in the corridor.
"Rukia!"
"Momo…"
"Well? How'd it go?" Momo asked eagerly.
"I passed too!" Rukia said with a smile.
"Really?! That's amazing!" Momo couldn't contain her excitement and gave Rukia a cheerful hug!
Even though the two had only just met, Momo's enthusiastic nature didn't make Rukia uncomfortable—in fact, it made her feel like Momo was a genuinely good person.
"It's thanks to your encouragement," Rukia said sincerely. "I honestly thought I was going to fail."
Momo grinned. "No need to thank me! You passed because you're capable—it had nothing to do with me."
Rukia still seemed a little rattled. "When I first walked in, I was so nervous. The upperclassmen looked terrifying."
"I know, right?" Momo agreed. "They were all so serious—it was nerve-wracking. But the president, he was super kind, don't you think?"
Rukia recalled Tachikawa Shinichi's demeanor and nodded. "Yeah, he really is a good person. I didn't do that well, but he encouraged me, and I think the other upperclassmen eased up on me because of that."
"Right?! You think the president is a great person too!" Momo said excitedly. "Did you know? It was his idea to form the student council in the first place! And he's also a famous prodigy in the academy! He's so skilled in swordsmanship that even his own instructor can't beat him anymore!"
"You know a lot about him, huh?"
Momo replied proudly, "Of course! I did my research ahead of time. I figured we'd meet the president during the interview, so learning about him would help me prepare."
Rukia thought to herself how thorough Momo had been. Meanwhile, she had passed more out of luck than anything.
All thanks to President Shinichi's kindness.
As they chatted, they walked together out of the school building. Momo asked Rukia which department she wanted to join in the student council.
"I haven't thought about it yet. I don't know much about the departments."
"Wouldn't it be great if we got assigned to the same one?"
"Yeah, it would."
There were still many interviewees left, so Shinichi and the others spent another hour or two wrapping everything up.
In total, 19 freshmen passed the interview.
They would be evenly assigned across six departments: Discipline, Organization, Finance, Public Relations, Academics, and Culture.
Each department would receive three new members.
After completing the final assignments at the student council's headquarters, Shinichi leaned back in his chair and stretched.
"Ugh, I'm exhausted. That was brutal."
Kazamaji Mitsugorō and his group had already left.
"Want to grab dinner?" Hisagi asked. Kanie also looked over.
"You guys go ahead. I've got something else to do."
"What is it?" Hisagi asked, surprised.
Shinichi just smiled. "Secret."
Hisagi gave him a strange look. "Don't tell me you're going to see one of the freshmen girls?"
Shinichi rolled his eyes and didn't bother to reply.
After Hisagi and Kanie left for the cafeteria, Kanie suddenly asked, "Do you think Shin actually likes one of the girls from the interview?"
Hisagi scratched his head. "That girl Hinamori was really cute… So maybe he does, yeah."
Shinichi left the student council office. It was now dinner time, and classes for the day were over.
He made his way to the kendo dojo, using his student council privileges to enter freely.
Next to the dojo was the weapon storage room, filled wall-to-wall with neatly arranged black practice swords, each labeled with a serial number.
Students weren't allowed to carry Asauchi (soul-less zanpakutōs) around casually. They were only allowed to use them during kendo or combat training classes. That's because during the six years of academy training, very few people awakened their own zanpakutōs. 99% only did so after graduation, once they were formally issued an Asauchi.
In fact, most Shinigami never awakened their own zanpakutōs in their lifetime. But for those who did, it marked the beginning of their path toward becoming a seated officer.
A zanpakutō was forged from the very soul of its wielder. After being given an Asauchi, a Shinigami had to pour their spirit energy into it over time, forming a spiritual bond that would eventually awaken its true power.
Shinichi moved slowly between the countless Asauchi, stopping at the serial number of the blade he'd always used in kendo class. He reached out and gripped the sword.
Nothing.
No sensation. No reaction.
After a moment of silence, he placed it back in its rack.
[Zanpakutō Unlock Progress: 11% (Half-Shikai)]
[Zanpakutō Unlocked – Speak its True Name to Reveal its Form]
Speak its true name…
Shinichi scanned the rows of weapons in the storage room. None of them gave him that feeling—none seemed to resonate with his soul.
So it's not here?
He frowned, staring at his system interface again and again. Suddenly, something clicked.
[Spiritual Pressure Level: 18]
[Spirit Energy Reservoir: 15%]
This so-called "spirit energy reservoir" was exactly as it sounded—his internal spirit energy was never at full capacity. He constantly kept it leaking, like a ball with a pinhole.
The leak was small—barely noticeable.
He did this deliberately. His spiritual pressure was already far beyond that of his peers, and he didn't believe traditional concealment techniques could truly fool someone stronger than him.
But by keeping his reservoir not full, it looked like his total spirit energy was simply low—nothing to raise suspicion.
He returned to the kendo dojo, sat cross-legged in the center of the room, and slowly closed his eyes.
[Spirit Energy Reservoir: 16%]