A brief yet memorable exchange of words ended quickly. After discovering Arima Shinya's purpose, Aizen helped explain the situation to the teacher in charge of the class.
After all, he was a member holding an official position in the Fifth Division.
Compared to an ordinary academy instructor who merely spent his days idly teaching, that position naturally commanded a certain level of respect.
Moreover, with such polite and subtle words, once the facts were clear, who could possibly remain dissatisfied?
The other party could only accept, albeit somewhat reluctantly, Arima Shinya's apology.
"Although the process was a bit troublesome, the result was good. Shinya-kun, next time, please balance your life and studies better."
Deeply grateful for Aizen's help this time, the young man solemnly responded to his advice.
As they parted ways, Aizen seemed to recall something, suddenly stopped, and added with a smile:
"Ah, and tonight there will be a special lecture that I personally arranged. Don't be late."
Speaking of which…
Yesterday, Aizen hadn't presided over the class meeting—probably because of this.
"Did Aizen-sensei specially invite someone important for this?"
He merely smiled modestly, then nodded slightly and said in a somewhat showy tone:
"It's probably someone that even Shinya-kun will find surprising. Well, think of it as a new experience; meeting certain people is necessary."
If someone received such high praise, what kind of expert could the guest possibly be?
Although curious, the afternoon classes couldn't be neglected.
As time passed, his basic training gradually began to show some progress.
That feeling of seeing tangible results through solid effort was addictive.
Arima Shinya felt like a sponge, eagerly absorbing all the knowledge and energy around him.
As for his curiosity about Aizen…
The answer came a few hours later, in the form of a lazy-looking man standing at the podium.
The man stood there casually, raising his right hand and gesturing with his pinky finger, his expression clearly one of fatigue.
"What a drag… Me, a captain, giving a lecture to freshmen? Don't you think that's kind of beneath my dignity?"
With straight bangs and long yellow hair, the man wore a strange grin and a lazy gaze, standing casually at the front.
His previous words were directed at Aizen, who merely smiled awkwardly and replied:
"Well, it's also my first time as an instructor, so I'm afraid my words might be inadequate and leave a bad impression."
Then Aizen adjusted his glasses and slowly added:
"I believe that, in times like these, only someone at the level of the Captain of the Thirteenth Division could provide a fair and helpful answer."
A flawless response.
Unfortunately, the person before him was far from conventional.
"Tch, but even if these kids graduate, not all of them will join the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, right? And even if they do, they wouldn't choose the Fifth Division—it's neither stylish nor exciting. Rescue work is boring, so this lecture is basically just training someone else's subordinates…"
"Captain, please don't say your inner thoughts out loud like that."
"What's the harm~? It's not like anyone outside is going to hear."
The two on the podium conversed casually, yet everyone seated below sat stiffly upright—because the man with yellow hair was wearing the white haori marked with the number of the Fifth Division.
And the person Aizen called "Captain" naturally held an obvious status.
"Ah, almost forgot to introduce myself."
The yellow-haired man gave a sarcastic smile.
"As you can see, I'm a bit frivolous and not very reliable, but I'm the current Captain of the Fifth Division."
"I'm also your instructor's superior, Aizen Sōsuke."
"To be honest, we're short on people in the Fifth Division, so I came here today to introduce myself as well."
"If any of you plan to join the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, please… consider joining our Fifth Division!"
"Oh, my name…"
He turned slightly and wrote his name on the board:
Hirako Shinji
The handwriting looked strange, as though it had been mirrored backward—writing like that smoothly by hand required a lot of practice.
The sarcastic expression on his face also reflected that.
"Nice to meet you all."
The audience maintained tense expressions, as if wanting to say something…
But before the authority of a captain—and given it was their first meeting—none of the freshmen dared to even breathe loudly.
Except for one.
"Excuse me, about that…"
The voice came from the back of the room.
Everyone turned to see Arima Shinya sitting in the last row, wearing a hesitant expression.
It was clear he had thought about it a lot before speaking:
"Captain, your name… isn't it written backward?"
At such a moment, saying something like that would have seemed rude coming from anyone else.
But the yellow-haired man on the podium merely smiled, intrigued.
He raised his right hand, lightly pointing at Shinya with a grin as he said:
"Oh~ you've got a sense of humor! You caught on to the point of my mirrored writing, huh? I practiced that for a long time! You… a genius too, maybe?"
He spoke seriously while wearing a casual expression.
Without waiting for an answer, he continued:
"Anyway, I'm not the strict type. Feel free to be relaxed, it's fine. The Fifth Division's a laid-back bunch."
Aizen adjusted his glasses and carefully interjected:
"Captain, that might give the freshmen the wrong impression about our rescue team…"
"It's fine~ no one likes boring divisions anyway, that's why we're always short-handed!"
"No, no, no, even if you complain, this isn't the place for that."
Shinya watched as the atmosphere gradually relaxed, though his face showed a strange expression.
Who would've thought that these two, so harmonious now, would become what they were a hundred years later… ah, time really is a sharp blade!
The lecture ended quickly.
Just as Hirako Shinji said, his talk wasn't serious at all.
Total duration: forty-five minutes.
He merely, as a former student, complained about the cafeteria food, the incompetence of the teachers, the poor class organization…
Everything was filled with grumbling and heavy sarcasm.
Listening to him was the kind of experience where "whether you listen or not, it's uncomfortable either way."
Then, suddenly, he changed his tone:
"Even though they're unpleasant memories, they're unforgettable experiences."
"Train hard, rest well. Don't waste your time, and don't end up regretting after graduation thinking, 'ah, I should've tried harder.'"
"That sounds stupid, doesn't it?"
It wasn't consolation nor encouragement, but rather a kind of provocation that left the deepest impression.
Time passed, and evening study came to an end.
In the end, Hirako Shinji gave another sarcastic grin:
"I've talked quite a lot, huh? When you get older, you can't help but become talkative."
"As a former student, I'll leave this as my summary."
"Freshmen, work hard—that's all."
He had come without ceremony, and left just as casually.
Just like during his introduction, the lazy-looking man simply stepped down from the podium.
Almost at the door, he seemed to recall something, stopped, turned around, and pointed at Aizen with mock annoyance:
"Also, you kids should feel grateful to this instructor of yours. If he hadn't taken time yesterday for the Fifth Division's sake, I wouldn't have come to this boring event at all."
The Soul Society's territory was vast.
Back when he had only read the manga, Shinya had no sense of the scale.
After living there for years, he had come to know every path and rule by heart.
If one were to walk from here to the Thirteenth Division's quarters and back, it would take an entire day.
Considering the distances and responsibilities between each division's barracks, they were long journeys.
No one knew how Aizen had managed to travel, but his effort had been evident to everyone.
If one were to speak of the perfect example of a responsible instructor, Aizen fit the role flawlessly.
But he didn't want any trouble.
Faced with the "accusation," he merely smiled and replied with a careful, resigned tone:
"Captain, please… try to keep that hidden for me next time."
Hirako Shinji smirked and brushed it off, casually patting Aizen on the shoulder.
"Act generously, kid~."