No school trip. No Golden Week.
But mercifully—there was a long summer break.
In the heat that made iced watermelon a necessity, the Academy opened its gates so Rukongai-born students could go home to their districts.
Only a few electives ran each day, and club activities kept the campus lively.
Past midsummer, the first day of July.
Hotter than before.
Dawn came earlier.
So early that the night watch, about to hand over, saw someone running the main loop.
"Is that…?"
A guard squinted.
"New here?"
"Y-Yes! Senpai, I just transferred from Squad Ten to Squad Seven!"
"Then it's normal you don't know."
The veteran yawned.
"That's the strongest prodigy in Academy history. He's bound to be a pillar of Soul Society—in your lifetime, your kid's lifetime, and their kid's.
"He's out almost every morning, running the main road around the Academy for two hours, like he doesn't need sleep.
"I don't think running itself is special—but he probably has a unique training method. And for some reason, seeing him every day makes night watch feel worth it.
"Makes you feel a tiny bit part of the Gotei's great mission. Give it time, rookie. You'll get it. As his 'senior,' show some spirit. Don't let him look down on you."
"…Yes!"
'Senior' in seniority, sure.
Even so,
the guard couldn't help the look of admiration he gave.
Shinomiya had no idea he was a topic of conversation.
Still—
A gray tracksuit unlike Soul Society's aesthetic.
Zanpakutō strapped across his back.
Out at first light, circling the Academy.
Hard to ignore, all told.
"—Hah…"
After two hours of steady pace, his stamina was nearly gone. He stopped, hands on knees, sucking air.
Muscles trembled. Sweat streamed.
He looked like he'd been hauled out of a river.
Normally, with Fairy-Tale Dragon blood, his stamina wasn't this fragile.
But—this wasn't normal.
Tap, tap.
He lifted a hand and gently tapped the hilt over his shoulder.
His body lightened at once.
This was a regimen Aizen had crafted after Shinomiya's Shikai, built around its properties.
In short:
Have your Zanpakutō pressure you.
"Spiritual power," as Urahara put it, "is force exerted on things that possess spirit."
Shentaya-mi excelled here.
Not "reiryoku emission,"
but injecting reiryoku into the wielder's body and triggering a fearsome reishi phenomenon.
So—keep the blade on him.
Let the spirit in the blade release power in open defiance.
And instead of forcing it down by brute strength, let that power flood his body.
Maintain that constant "failed Shikai" state—
and the body feels like it's been filled with mercury.
Endure it—adapt—and not just the body but reiryoku itself hardens. Growth accelerates.
"Time to head back."
He wiped his face and cut through a side lane toward the Academy.
His days ran like clockwork:
Morning run. Class. After school, either mooch Fifth Squad's Reiryoku Recovery Room or drill swordwork. Eat well, drink well, no skimping. At "bedtime," swap sleep for blade meditation. Wake. Run…
That strict loop was the only reason the greatest prodigy in Academy history hadn't been completely outstripped by the strongest outlier in a million years—Ichigo.
But as Ichigo's pressure rose to captain-class and his baseline climbed, Shinomiya—who never said it—felt the squeeze.
Everyone knew: talk big only if you've got the power.
He had no desire to mouth off and then—when he pissed off some Soul Society–destroying monster—have to yell, "Ichigo, save me!"
What dignity would a future Head Captain have?
"—That's the situation. So I'm asking for guidance, Sensei. Help me grasp Bankai as quickly as possible."
Fifth Squad, Captain's office.
Shinomiya sat upright on the sofa, facing Aizen.
"Mm…"
Aizen's expression was… complicated.
Still within normal.
Hinamori Momo—the "tiger of paperwork"—sat nearby, jaw slowly dropping.
To be clear, Shinomiya didn't go around bragging about his "future Head Captain" bid. He simply said he wanted to master Bankai in secret—to surprise Ichigo and spur him to work even harder.
He even stressed: this was an obligation of friendship.
Hinamori's brain shorted.
Something felt off—and yet, it also made perfect sense.
So which was it?
She didn't have time to solve the paradox.
Her attention snapped to her Captain's next words—and envy swallowed her whole.
"Bankai, is it… You're qualified. No—this is the right time for you to approach the blade's ultimate tactics. Come."
Shinomiya rose to follow.
"Um… Captain, I think I might also be ready—!"
"Hinamori, stay and handle the paperwork. For you, this is still a bit early."
"…"
She watched the two leave—close together, speaking in low voices—with a strange harmony that felt almost like father and son. Her face froze.
Then she slumped across the desk like a fish that had lost its dream.
An Academy student—not even a year in—was training Bankai.
She—a vice captain of over forty years—had paperwork.
Maybe that first paradox had a point. This one? Absolutely not.
Outside, Aizen led Shinomiya to a broad, shaded lawn within Fifth Squad's compound.
"Here will do… Odd. Not a training hall?"
"No. I don't know the proper method for Bankai, but the greater the power, the calmer the heart needs to be. That's what my Shikai taught me. I'm sure it applies to Bankai."
He gazed over the sun-blazed green, its vigor and stillness. The ripple in his chest at the word "Bankai" eased.
"A fine insight."
Hands folded in his sleeves, Aizen looked over the same green—and beyond.
"Truth is, even if you hadn't asked, I planned to bring it up in a few days."
"Because the first step in Bankai training… already started months ago."
-------
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