Chapter 2

After chatting casually for a while, the three of them made their way to the cafeteria.

Kaelith Yurei bought two rice balls, a bowl of miso soup, and a plate of pickled radish, placing them on his tray.

Seinosuke Yamada and Sōsuke Aizen quickly chose their lunches as well. The three of them carried their trays to a corner table in the cafeteria and sat down together.

Sōjun Kuchiki had already settled in at the table. In front of him lay several beautifully arranged food boxes filled with various delicacies.

Unlike Kaelith and the others, who were more like commoners, Sōjun was a true noble—heir to the Kuchiki family, receiving meals delivered to him every day at Shin'ō Academy.

By the way, years later, he would have a son who became somewhat famous—his name would be Byakuya Kuchiki…

Seeing the lavish lunch in front of Sōjun , Kaelith Yurei couldn't help but grimace.

"Such decadence! How can you, as a Warrior, remain resilient in a world full of temptations when you indulge in such fine food every day?"

Sōjun Kuchiki remained expressionless. "If you want to eat something, just take it."

"You truly have a great Warrior spirit!" 

Kaelith's grimace instantly vanished, replaced with a beaming smile as he showered Sōjun with compliments.

In a flash, he snatched an untainted piece of grilled fish and some fried eggs from Sōjun's box using a pair of chopsticks.

Sōjun shook his head with a smile and turned his attention to Sōsuke Aizen, who was sitting next to Kaelith.

Seeing the simple chazuke (tea rice) in Aizen's bowl, Sōjun shook his head and said, "Sōsuke, you should eat some of this too. With your talent, it's hard to grow strong on such little food."

As he spoke, he picked up some fish from his box, intending to offer it to Aizen.

But Aizen politely bowed his head and pulled his bowl back. "Thank you, but I don't need it. I've already…"

Before he could finish, Kaelith interjected, "Sōsuke, why are you being polite? To someone like him, money and dirt are basically the same thing."

"If you really feel bad about it, just help him out if he runs into any trouble in the future."

As he spoke, Kaelith took the fish from Sōjun and placed it in Aizen's bowl.

Looking at the fish in his bowl, Aizen showed a somewhat helpless expression.

Due to his unique talent, he absorbed spiritual particles in the air at a rate far exceeding that of normal Shinigami, so he didn't really need to rely on food for energy.

In fact, he could go for years without eating in the vicinity of Seireitei without any adverse effects. (T/n I tought he was avergae? is he hiding something?) 

The reason he came to the cafeteria daily was merely to avoid drawing attention.

However, these were thoughts he could never voice.

Lifting his head, he looked at Kaelith Yurei and Sōjun Kuchiki.

Under their gaze, he gently nodded. "Thank you."

Kaelith Yurei grinned widely and said, "Eat more, train harder, and strive to live up to the expectations that Sōjun and I have for you."

Aizen met his gaze calmly, suddenly curious about how Kaelith would react if he revealed his true strength right now.

Perhaps it would be quite interesting.

Imagining this scene, Sōsuke Aizen slightly curled his lips.

After finishing their meal, Sōjun Kuchiki set down his chopsticks.

"Kaelith, Seinosuke, Sōsuke, I'm planning to apply for early graduation at the end of this year."

Upon hearing this, the three of them were momentarily stunned.

Seinosuke Yamada, slightly surprised, asked, "Just after one year?"

Shin'ō Academy was originally a six-year program, but students were allowed to apply for early graduation. Many exceptionally talented Shinigami would apply for early graduation in their third or fourth year to join the Gotei 13 and hone their skills. However, it was rare to see someone like Sōjun wanting to graduate after just one year.

Sōjun nodded. "Yeah, it's a bit early, but the current situation in the Soul Society doesn't allow for any more delay."

"I need to graduate early and join the Sixth Division to contribute to the Kuchiki family; that's the least I can do to repay my father's training."

Kaelith Yurei suddenly seemed to remember something. He turned to Sōjun and said, "Isn't your brother-in-law quite powerful? I heard he's unstoppable on the battlefield, causing the rebels to tremble at his name."

"With him helping your father, dealing with the rebels should be easy, right?"

Sōjun Kuchiki forced a smile and said, "My brother-in-law is indeed powerful, but…"

He shook his head, stopping himself.

Not only was his brother-in-law in a special situation that wasn't suitable for public discussion, but he also didn't want to speak ill of others behind their backs.

Seeing that Sōjun didn't want to elaborate, Kaelith didn't press further.

...

The first class in the afternoon was Kenjutsu, the art of the sword.

Kinoshita held a bamboo sword, demonstrating movements while loudly explaining the key points of each action to the students.

Kaelith and the others sat in a row on the wooden floor, kneeling with their bamboo swords placed in front of them.

Seinosuke Yamada leaned closer and whispered, "Kaelith, did you hear? In a few days, a big shot is coming to Shin'ō to be a guest lecturer for us."

"A big shot? How big?" Kaelith asked quietly, keeping his gaze straight ahead.

"I heard it's a captain from the Gotei 13."

Upon hearing this, Kaelith glanced at Seinosuke in surprise.

It wasn't unusual for a captain from the Gotei 13 to teach at Shin'ō, but they usually only taught the fourth years and above.

What did they, as first-years, do to deserve a captain's lesson? 

It couldn't be that a newly appointed captain was just coming to gain experience from them, could it?

It seemed that Kinoshita overheard their conversation, as he stopped his demonstration and looked over.

Upon seeing Kaelith, he paused for a moment, then suddenly seemed to remember something, his eyebrows shooting up.

"Kaelith Yurei!"

"You brat, get out here!"

Without hesitation, Kaelith replied, "Teacher, it was Seinosuke who called for me! I was just trying to tell him to be quiet and pay attention in class!"

Seinosuke Yamada was taken aback. "Huh?"

Before he could react to Kaelith, Kinoshita shouted angrily, "Who told you to say that… Before class started, I went to the infirmary, and they said you never showed up!"

"You little brat! You dare skip my class? I'll break your legs!"

"Perfect! You can come up here to help me demonstrate; today's Kenjutsu lesson will use you as the teaching material!"

Hearing Kinoshita's words, Kaelith's expression stiffened.

Seinosuke Yamada grinned widely, showing his excitement. 

"Go on, Kaelith! Don't keep everyone waiting!"

In the cheerful atmosphere, Kaelith made a clicking sound with his tongue, picked up his bamboo sword, and walked toward the front of the dojo.

Sōjun Kuchiki gave him an encouraging smile.

Aizen showed no particular reaction. 

He had no interest in Kinoshita's sword techniques and even less in the teacher's little theatrical punishment of students.

After several days of training, his strength was on the verge of another breakthrough.

Since there wasn't much else to do, he simply closed his eyes, began to channel his spiritual pressure, and prepared to break through to the next level!