After some casual banter, the group went to the Cafeteria.
Mikami Yu bought two rice balls, a bowl of miso soup, and a plate of pickled radish, placing them in his mess kit one by one.
Yamada Seinosuke and Aizen also quickly chose their lunch. The three of them carried their mess kits and sat down around a table in the corner of the Cafeteria.
Kuchiki Sōjun was already sitting there. In front of him were several beautifully crafted food boxes filled with various delicacies.
Unlike Mikami Yu and the other commoners, he was a proper high-ranking noble, the eldest son of the Kuchiki family. Every noon, someone would come to the Shino Academy specifically to bring him food.
By the way, many years later, he would have a somewhat famous son, whose name would be Kuchiki Byakuya...
Looking at the luxurious lunch in front of Kuchiki Sōjun, Mikami Yu showed a pained expression.
"Degenerate, so degenerate!"
"Teacher Sojun, as a swordsman, the most important thing is to have a strong heart. How can you resist the temptation of this colorful world if you eat such good things every day?"
Kuchiki Sōjun said expressionlessly, "Take whatever you want to eat."
"You are truly a real swordsman!"
The sadness on Mikami Yu's face instantly disappeared, replaced by a smile. He didn't skimp on words of praise.
He quickly reached out with chopsticks that hadn't been used yet and took a grilled fish and several pieces of fried egg from Kuchiki Sōjun's food box.
Kuchiki Sōjun shook his head amusingly and looked at Aizen, who was sitting next to Mikami Yu.
Seeing the simple tea-soaked rice in Aizen's bowl, he shook his head and said:
"Sosuke, you should share some too. With your talent, it's difficult to grow if you only eat this little."
As he spoke, he picked up a fish from his food box, preparing to give it to Aizen.
But Aizen politely lowered his head and moved his bowl back.
"Thank you, I don't need it. Eating this is already..."
Before he could finish speaking, Mikami Yu interjected, "Sosuke, why are you being polite with Teacher Sojun? In the eyes of a big shot like him, money and dung are no different."
"If you really feel bad about it, just help him out when he encounters trouble in the future."
Saying that, he took the fish from Kuchiki Sōjun and put it in Aizen's bowl.
Looking at the fish in his bowl, Aizen showed a somewhat helpless expression.
Because of his special talent, the speed at which he absorbed spiritual particles from the air far exceeded that of normal Soul Reapers, so he didn't really need to rely on food to obtain energy.
In fact, near the Seireitei, he wouldn't be affected even if he didn't eat for several years.
The reason he came to the Cafeteria every day was just to avoid being noticed.
However, there was no way for him to say these words.
He raised his head and looked at Mikami Yu and Kuchiki Sōjun.
Under their gaze, he nodded slightly:
"Thank you."
Mikami Yu grinned: "Eat more, practice more, work harder, and strive to live up to the cultivation that Teacher Sojun and I have given you."
Aizen glanced at him with a calm gaze.
He was suddenly a little curious about what kind of reaction this guy would have if he revealed his true strength to Mikami Yu now.
Maybe it would be very interesting.
Imagining this scene, Aizen slightly raised the corners of his mouth.
After eating, Kuchiki Sōjun put down his chopsticks.
"Yu, Seinosuke, Sosuke, I plan to apply for early graduation at the end of this year."
As soon as these words came out, the three of them were stunned.
Yamada Seinosuke said with some surprise, "Only studying for one year?"
The Shino Academy is originally a six-year system, but students are allowed to apply for early graduation.
Many talented Soul Reapers apply for early graduation in their third or fourth year and enter the Gotei 13 to hone their skills.
But... like Kuchiki Sōjun, who is preparing to graduate in his first year, there haven't been many in the entire history of the Soul Society.
Kuchiki Sōjun nodded: "Yes, although it's a bit early, the current situation in the Soul Society doesn't allow for any more dawdling."
"I must graduate as soon as possible and join the 6th Division to do my part for the Kuchiki family, so that I can live up to my father's cultivation of me."
Mikami Yu suddenly thought of something and said to Kuchiki Sōjun, "Isn't your brother-in-law very powerful? It is said that he is invincible on the battlefield, and the rebel army changes color when they hear about him."
"With him helping your father, the rebel army should be easy to deal with, right?"
Hearing this, Kuchiki Sōjun smiled bitterly: "My brother-in-law is indeed very powerful, but..."
At the end, he shook his head and stopped.
Not to mention that his brother-in-law's situation was special and not suitable for discussion outside, he himself was unwilling to speak ill of others behind their backs.
Seeing that Kuchiki Sōjun didn't want to go into details, Mikami Yu didn't continue to ask.
...
...
The first class in the afternoon was Zanjutsu, which is Kendo.
Teacher Kinoshita held a bamboo sword in his hand, gesticulating back and forth, while loudly explaining the key points of the movements to everyone.
Mikami Yu and the others lined up and knelt on the wooden floor, with bamboo swords in front of them.
Yamada Seinosuke leaned over—
"Mikami, have you heard that a big shot seems to be coming to the Shino Academy in a few days to be a special lecturer and teach us?"
"A big shot? How big?" Mikami Yu said in a low voice without looking sideways.
"I heard it's a captain from the Gotei 13."
Hearing this, Mikami Yu looked at Yamada with some surprise.
It's not uncommon for captains of the Gotei 13 to come to the Shino Academy to give lectures, but they usually give lectures to students in their fourth year or above.
What virtue and ability do they, the first-year students, have to have a captain come to teach them...
Could it be a newly appointed captain who is coming to use them to gain experience?
Seemingly hearing the voices of the two talking, Kinoshita stopped his movements and looked over here.
Seeing Mikami Yu, he was slightly stunned, and then suddenly remembered something, and suddenly raised his eyebrows.
"Mikami Yu!"
"You brat, get out here!"
Mikami said without hesitation: "Teacher, it was Seinosuke who asked me to talk. I was persuading him not to talk and listen carefully!"
Yamada Seinosuke: "?"
Before he could do anything to Mikami Yu, Kinoshita roared: "Who's talking to you about this... I went to the infirmary before class just now, and they said you weren't there at all!"
"You brat, you dare to skip my class. I'll break your legs!"
"That's good, you come up and assist me in the demonstration. I'll use you as the teaching material for today's Zanjutsu!"
Hearing Kinoshita's words, Mikami Yu's face froze.
Yamada Seinosuke grinned, revealing a happy smile.
"Go quickly, Mikami, don't let everyone wait for you!"
In an atmosphere of joy, Mikami Yu clicked his tongue, picked up the bamboo sword, and walked towards the front of the Kendo Hall.
Kuchiki Sōjun gave him an encouraging smile.
Aizen didn't react much.
He wasn't interested in the swordsmanship that Kinoshita was talking about, and he wasn't interested in the teacher punishing the student's skit.
After the recent few days of cultivation, his strength was about to usher in another breakthrough.
Anyway, there was nothing to do now, so he simply slowly closed his eyes, began to circulate the spiritual pressure in his body, and prepared to directly break through to a new stage!