Kai once again woke up in that hospital bed in the squad 4 barracks. It was early in the morning, and surprisingly he wasn't covered in that many bandages.
He immedialty checked his wounds from the other night, and saw that they were completely healed, although they did ache.
Not even minutes after he woke up, someone immediately barged into his room. A person he was not expecting to see after all this time.
"I see you finally woke up. I came to check on you every hour, but it looks like you recovered quite well."
"Grandmaster Fujinishin!??
He had not spoken to her in person ever since that incident in the world of the living 3 months ago, so this was a great surprise.
"Why are you here? I don't recall doing anything wrong?"
"It's nothing like that if your worried. Your a student from class 1, so it's my duty as your head teacher that I came to check on you."
She kept examining Kai, who was sweating profusely. This situation was very uncomfortable for him, but he was too scared to ask him to leave. Eventually Kurenai flew in from an open window and landed on his shoulder.
"Kureno, your from the world of the living right? Tell me about your parents."
The question was surprising but Kai answered right away.
"My dad died in that earthquake 8 years ago, but I guess I have Yhwach to blame for that. My mom on the other hand wasn't in the greatest condition after I died. I don't know how shes doing now, but I'm sure she's fine."
The Grandmaster looked like she was in pain. Kai tried say something but the words couldn't come out of his mouth.
She got up out of her chair, But before she left, she told Kai that he could watch the games from his Soul Pager.
The second she left, Kai immediately started to search for games on his Soul Pager. Today would be the end of the third years matches, and the students selected to participate in 2nd part of the tekken event would be selected.
As he watched the fights for today, he was able to see all his 1st years friends watching from the crowd.
"Those bastards don't even know I'm in here! Why did that Quincy even attack me in the first place??"
A couple hours later
The last battle among the third years had finally come to an end, and the selection was just about to begin.
"Being a Soul Reaper isn't just about strength, but it's to have the approval of the people which we've sworn to protect. Which is why the selection for this years contenders will be done not by a vote, but a popularity contest!"
The students were a little outraged while others accepted the choice. This meant that the weak had just as much of an opportunity to enter just as much as the strong.
"It doesn't matter if you have complaints~ We carried out the votes this morning while you were all asleep~"
This only sparked a bigger storm of complaints, all while Shunsui was non-nonchalant through it all. He even looked happy.
"While your all shouting, can someone read out the winners already?"
"The most popular pick among Soul Reapers is, Yuki Tsubokoniri from class 1-1!"
The single good blow which she used to defeat Shinten had caught all the Soul Reapers attention. As a student who was very adept in two styles of combat, she was valued quite highly.
"The most popular pick for the strongest student is, Senjuro Takami from class 3-1!"
A student that won his battle overwhelmingly, as well and even stood up the the strongest Soul Reaper was no joke. When everyone though about the word strong, this person instantly came to their mind.
"The most popular pick among the girls is, Daihatsu Benamino from class 2-1!"
He was a mysterious man that won his battle never talking. He wore a large straw mask which covered his entire head, and even every inch of his body that wasn't wearing clothes were hidden away behind armour. As a result, all the girls that picked him were entranced by his mysterious yet dangerous aura.
"The most popular pick among the boys is, Yoko Shizagawa from class 3-1!"
Since Aikao had dropped out, and Yuki had already been nominated for another position, Yoko won by a landslide.
"The most unpopular student who got the least votes in all 7 other sections is... Ito!"
This wasn't a shocker. After that concerning display in his battle with Aikao, his favourability was abysmal.
"The most popular pick in general is, Kai Kureno from class 1-1!"
Kai cheered in victory as his chance to fight Yuki again had presented itself. Thanks to resurrecting the hype of the tournament, his favourability was high.
"The most popular pick among Souls from the Rukongai, is Shido Tatsuya from class 1-1!"
After his display in battle against Jinriyu, a noble. The Rukongai folk who had a strong dislike for them, flocked to Shido who was also from the Rukongai. His battle and victory was like a spear that would start a revolution in the Seireitei.
"The most popular pick for the most bland student is, Kitagawa Haruki from class 3-1!"
The battles would a bracket with the winner gaining the right to become a Soul Reaper. It was structed in the following,
Kai Kureno VS Daihatsu Benamino - Yuki Tsubokoniri Vs Senjuro Takami
VS
Ito VS Yoko Shizagawa - Shido Tatsuya VS Kitagawa Haruki
Upon seeing that he would have a chance to fight against Yuki again, Kai's heart trembled with excitement. All he had to do was defeat some random second year and the battle would be set in stone.
Meanwhile Shinten was crying at the arena since he didn't get elected. To rub salt in his wounds, he discovered that he came 2nd in the most popular among Soul Reapers category.
Grandmaster Fujinishin finally returned to the arena and took her seat next to Shunsui.
"There are an awful lot of 1st years this time, but I'm not at all surprised those three got in."
"If your back, why don't you tell me about Kureno?"
She was a bit hesitant to speak about him
.
"Why on earth would you do that to him? Even if it was just to check for a Quincy lineage, you hospitalised that boy? He's already been through so much!"
Shunsui apologized profusely.
"I wasn't the one in charge of this. I asked Mayuri for a favour but it seems like he took it too far this time. I'll make sure to discipline him."
She wasn't satisfied with this answer, but this was all that she could get out of the man.
"Anyhow, don't you have something for me too?"