After some casual banter, the group headed to the cafeteria.
Yu Mikami bought two rice balls, a bowl of miso soup, and a dish of pickled radish, placing them on his tray.
Yamada Senosuke and Aizen quickly selected their lunches as well. The three carried their trays to a corner table in the cafeteria and sat down together.
Sōjun Kuchiki was already seated there, with several beautifully arranged food boxes in front of him, filled with various delicacies.
Unlike Yu Mikami and the others, who were commoners, he was a legitimate noble, the heir of the Kuchiki Family, and someone was dispatched daily to bring him lunch at the academy.
Incidentally, many years later, he would have a somewhat famous son named Kuchiki Byakuya...
Looking at Sōjun Kuchiki's lavish lunch, Yu Mikami put on a hurt expression.
"Indulgence, such indulgence!"
"Teacher Sōjun, as a swordsman, the most important thing is to have a strong heart. How can you resist the temptations of the material world if you eat like this every day?"
Sōjun Kuchiki replied expressionlessly, "Help yourself to anything you like."
"You are a true swordsman!"
The sorrow on Yu Mikami's face vanished instantly, replaced by a smile, showering him with praise.
He quickly used a pair of unused chopsticks to snag a grilled fish and several pieces of fried egg from Sōjun Kuchiki's lunch.
Sōjun Kuchiki shook his head in amusement and looked at Aizen, who sat beside Yu Mikami.
Seeing Aizen's simple bowl of rice with tea, he shook his head and said, "Sōsuke, take some as well. With your talent, eating so little will make it hard to grow."
Saying this, he lifted some fish from his lunch box, intending to give it to Aizen.
But Aizen politely declined, bowing his head slightly and pulling his bowl back.
"Thank you, but I'm fine. Eating this is already enough…"
Before he could finish, Yu Mikami interrupted, "Sōsuke, why are you being polite with Teacher Sōjun? To someone as wealthy as him, money is no different from dirt."
"If you really feel bad about it, you can help him out in the future when he needs it."
Saying this, he took the fish from Sōjun Kuchiki and placed it into Aizen's bowl.
Looking at the fish in his bowl, Aizen showed a slightly resigned expression.
Due to his unique talent, he could absorb the spirit particles in the air far more efficiently than a normal Shinigami, so he didn't really need food to gain energy.
In fact, in the vicinity of Seireitei, he could technically go years without eating without any adverse effects.
The only reason he regularly ate at the cafeteria was to avoid drawing attention.
However, these were things he could never say out loud.
He looked up at Yu Mikami and Sōjun Kuchiki.
Under their watchful gazes, he nodded slightly, "Thank you."
Yu Mikami grinned and said, "Eat more, train more, work hard, and strive to be worthy of the support from Teacher Sōjun and me."
Aizen gave him a calm glance.
He suddenly felt curious; what would Yu Mikami's reaction be if he revealed his true strength right now?
It might be quite interesting.
Imagining this, Aizen slightly lifted the corners of his mouth.
After they finished eating, Sōjun Kuchiki set down his chopsticks.
"Yu, Shinjirō, Sōsuke, I'm planning to apply for early graduation at the end of this year."
The remark took the three by surprise.
Yamada Senosuke said somewhat unexpectedly, "Only after one year?"
Shin'o Academy is a six-year program, but it allows students to apply for early graduation.
Many talented Shinigami choose to graduate early in their third or fourth year to enter the Gotei 13 and hone their skills.
But... it was rare in all of Soul Society's history for someone like Sōjun Kuchiki to plan for early graduation in their first year.
Sōjun Kuchiki nodded, "Yes, it is a bit early, but given Soul Society's current situation, there's no room for delay."
"I have to graduate soon and join the 6th Division to contribute to the Kuchiki Family, as a way to honor my father's expectations."
Yu Mikami seemed to remember something and said to Sōjun Kuchiki, "Isn't your brother-in-law quite formidable? They say he's invincible on the battlefield, and the rebels tremble at the mention of his name."
"With him assisting your father, dealing with the rebels should be manageable, right?"
Hearing this, Sōjun Kuchiki gave a wry smile, "Indeed, my brother-in-law is strong, but…"
He trailed off with a shake of his head.
Not only was his brother-in-law's situation too peculiar to discuss openly, but he also didn't want to speak ill of others behind their backs.
Seeing that Sōjun Kuchiki didn't want to elaborate, Yu Mikami refrained from pressing further.
…
The first class in the afternoon was Zanjutsu, or swordsmanship.
Teacher Muneyoshi held a bamboo sword in his hand, demonstrating back and forth while loudly explaining the key points of the movements to everyone.
Yu Mikami and the others sat in a row, kneeling on the wooden floor with bamboo swords placed in front of them.
Yamada Senosuke leaned over—
"Mikami, did you hear? Apparently, a big-shot is coming to the academy as a guest lecturer to teach us."
"A big-shot? How big?" Yu Mikami asked quietly, keeping his gaze forward.
"I heard it's one of the Captains from the Gotei 13."
Hearing this, Yu Mikami gave Senosuke a surprised look.
It wasn't unheard of for a Gotei 13 Captain to come and lecture at the academy, but it usually was reserved for the fourth-year students and above.
For their first-year class to be taught by a Captain... perhaps it was a newly appointed captain looking to gain experience.
Muneyoshi seemed to hear their conversation and stopped his demonstration, turning to look in their direction.
Spotting Yu Mikami, he paused, then seemed to remember something, his eyebrows shooting up suddenly.
"Yu Mikami!"
"You brat, come over here!"
Mikami responded without hesitation, "Teacher, Shinjirō was the one who spoke to me. I was just advising him to be quiet and pay attention!"
Yamada Senosuke: "?"
Before Yamada could act against Yu Mikami, Muneyoshi shouted angrily, "Who's talking about that… Before class, I went to the infirmary, and they said you never even showed up!"
"You little brat, you dared to skip my class. I'll break your legs!"
"Just right, come up here and assist me with the demonstration, today's Zanjutsu will use you as the example!"
Upon hearing Muneyoshi's words, Yu Mikami's face froze.
Yamada Senosuke grinned, showing a happy smile.
"Go on, Mikami, don't keep everyone waiting!"
Amidst the cheerful atmosphere, Yu Mikami clicked his tongue, picked up his bamboo sword, and headed toward the front of the dojo.
Sōjun Kuchiki gave him an encouraging smile.
Aizen, on the other hand, showed no reaction.
He had little interest in the swordsmanship Muneyoshi taught or the little show of punishing students.
With the recent days of training, his strength was about to break through once again.
Since there wasn't much else to do, he simply closed his eyes and began circulating his Reiatsu, preparing to directly break through to the next stage!
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