Forget the undercurrents stirring in Soul Society. Forget the dozens of private schemes hatching in shadows.
The world still turned. Order still held.
Three months had passed, smoothing over most of the scars Soul Society bore.
Hueco Mundo had taken grievous damage—at least, that's what Soul Society believed.
And for three straight months, recorded incidents of Menos intrusions hit an all-time low: only a single case in South Rukongai's District 58.
But "most" did not include one woman: Shiba Kūkaku.
"Damn it! Damn it all!"
Today was the official enrollment day for Daymoon Class—a specialized enhancement course at Shin'ō Academy, established by Higashi Shuuichi himself.
He arrived early at the classroom he'd fought to get approved by Kamiyada Tokihara, only to find an unexpected guest waiting: Kūkaku.
"What now? Who pissed you off this time?" Shuuichi pulled up a chair for her.
"Who else? Kyōraku Shunsui! Ise Nanao!
I gave them a perfect description of the Arrancar that killed my father—and they have the nerve to say there was no such Arrancar among Barragan's invading forces!"
She slapped the table.
"You said it yourself! None of the Hollows from that invasion made it back to Hueco Mundo!
Then what—did that bastard just put on a Shinigami uniform and settle down here like some back-alley Rukongai citizen?!"
At first, all she'd wanted was to see that Hollow's corpse, scatter his ashes, and give her father peace.
But three months had passed, and Shunsui insisted—that Arrancar never existed.
Bullshit.
Clearly, some elders from the Kyōraku clan were pressuring Shunsui to stonewall her while the Shiba family was still licking its wounds.
Yeah. That had to be it.
The longer she stewed, the angrier she got.
"Uh…" Shuuichi scratched his head.
Truth was… that Arrancar had indeed slipped into Soul Society disguised as a Shinigami.
Tōsen Kaname… yeah, not someone Kūkaku was going to find. Not in this lifetime.
"What do you mean 'uh'? You think they're faking it too, don't you?" she snapped.
Shuuichi deflected. "Shunsui might pull that, but Nanao? Nah, she wouldn't lie like that."
Then, swiftly changing topics: "Anyway, forget that Hollow. If it didn't return to Hueco Mundo, it probably died in some wilderness and hasn't been found yet.
More importantly—what's the status on that cannon to the Royal Palace? It's been three months."
After confirming Aizen had no interest in hitching a ride to the Soul King's realm, Shuuichi had told Kūkaku he'd go alone.
She'd contacted the Zero Division and confirmed his clearance.
But she claimed the old cannon had been used when Ōetsu Nimaiya ascended, and with the Shiba family weakened, rebuilding it was a massive pain.
"You think building that cannon's easy?!
Three months? Try three years!
I'm the only one who knows the blueprints—it's all proprietary tech! One person, building a damn Royal-class cannon?! Get real!"
She rolled her eyes and grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds from the snack tray he'd set out for the recruits.
"Well," Shuuichi said slyly, "if you trust me, I could help out. Imagine it—a Blade Hunter Chief lending you a hand."
"You? Hell no." She gave him a look of pure scorn.
"You think I forgot last time? You tried making a simple firework and nearly blew my whole workshop to hell."
He winced.
She wasn't wrong.
He'd tried a dozen times. Every one ended in premature explosions or malfunctioning launches.
No talent for it whatsoever.
Not exactly something Aizen knew—so Shuuichi kept it that way.
While they chatted, the first two applicants arrived at the gate.
"Hah! Shuuichi! I'm here, just like you asked!"
Ikkaku Madarame, grinning bald and loud, bared his teeth.
Next to him, Ayasegawa Yumichika gave a graceful bow.
"Blade Hunter Chief Shuuichi, thank you for extending this invitation to us. It is an honor to join your Daymoon Class, founded for the future of Soul Society."
Shuuichi liked Yumichika.
If not for him, Ikkaku would've probably punched a wall by now.
Technically, Daymoon was outside the Gotei 13's chain of command. But still—Ikkaku, a mere 11th Division grunt, talking to him like that?
Were it not for their potential, Shuuichi wouldn't have touched these two with a ten-foot Zanpakutō.
"You're still the 13th and 15th Seats of Squad Eleven, right?"
Shuuichi turned to Yumichika, pointedly ignoring Ikkaku.
"Yes, sir," Yumichika answered smoothly, still wondering why they'd been chosen.
After all, they were nobodies. Ikkaku had even pissed Shuuichi off more than once.
Shuuichi had every reason to wipe them off the map the moment he stepped down as Blade Hunter Chief.
Instead, he wanted to train them?
This couldn't be the same man from the rumors—the one who hunted rogue Shinigami with no mercy.
Shuuichi didn't waste words.
"Do you want to become Captains?" he asked.
Crunch.
Kūkaku shattered a sunflower seed—with the shell still on.
"Hah? Did I hear that right?
Did you ask them if they want to be Captains?"
She shot upright. "Oi, Shuuichi—CAPTAINS?! You sure you didn't mean Lieutenants?"
Even Yumichika looked shocked.
"Chief… we're just lower-seated officers. Becoming Captains… that's a dream, but with our qualifications... it feels impossible."
But before he could finish—
"CAPTAINS?!" Ikkaku lit up.
"You mean, if I train under you… you'll fight me?!"
Kūkaku and Yumichika both wanted to shove him into a sack and toss him in the river.
That was your takeaway!?
Shuuichi smiled. "I said what I meant. Captains."
He glanced at Kūkaku, then back to Yumichika—
Still ignoring Ikkaku.
"This class is open to all Shinigami on paper.
But in truth, it's invitation-only.
And I only invite those I believe can one day become Captains.
Because below Captain... everything else is just ants.
If you can't reach that level, you're not worth my time."
The room went dead silent.
Even Ikkaku shut up.
They hadn't expected Shuuichi to hold them in such high regard.
Kūkaku finally broke the silence. "You serious?
Captain-level strength isn't something you just 'get'."
She remembered how her father had obsessed over producing a Captain-level successor.
He'd never lived to see Isshin ascend.
But to Shuuichi, it sounded like a walk in the park.
"For most Shinigami? Maybe not.
But you two? I believe in my instincts."
He stared them down, reading past Kūkaku—knowing she was voicing their doubt.
Ikkaku beamed, thumb jabbed at his own chest.
"Damn right! I'll be Captain, just watch!
And when I am—I'm coming for you, Shuuichi!"
Still rude as hell. But now? Shuuichi smiled.
Finally, the right fire.
He nodded. "Then I'll be waiting, Ikkaku.
Don't make me wait too long."
"Hah! I'll do what even our own Captain never did!
I'll beat you, Higashi Shuuichi!"
Pure confidence. Zero fear.
That was the way he lived—
Believe it, and it becomes real.
Beside him, Yumichika remained frozen.
He couldn't believe it.
Had everything he'd been taught about the Gotei been wrong?
Captains—through all of Soul Society's history—could be counted on one hand per century.
And yet this man looked at him and said, you could be one?
What Yumichika didn't know… would shock him more.
Because moments earlier, Kūkaku had snatched the signup sheet from the desk.
The one where Shuuichi had checked their names in red ink.
One… two… three… four…
She slammed the paper down.
"You bastard!
You dare say you 'believe' in them?
You've got how many names on this list?!
Don't give me that crap!"
Shuuichi only shrugged, hands raised.
"I mean it. Every one of them… will reach Captain-level one day."
And thirty minutes earlier, elsewhere in the 4th Division barracks—
Kotetsu Isane, the division's lowest-seated officer, stood nervously outside her Captain's door.
She knocked, heart hammering.
"He invited you?" Unohana Retsu asked with a smile.
The kind that turned steel into water.
Isane nodded, trembling.
She'd admired Shuuichi from afar for years—defending his name, supporting him in forums, leading cheers in the Women's Shinigami Association.
But now that he'd noticed her?
Now that he'd written to her personally?
She panicked.
Would joining this Daymoon Class make her look like a traitor?
Would the Gotei brand her disloyal?
She didn't have Unohana's confidence. She wasn't even a Vice-Captain like her sister, Kiyone.
She was just… a low-ranking nobody.
But Unohana only smiled again.
"Go. Don't overthink it.
Shuuichi was my Vice-Captain.
He has many flaws, but he never acts without reason.
If he said you have potential, then he's already investigated you thoroughly.
Ignore the flattery in his letter—that was just his humor."
Isane's eyes widened.
"You really think so… Captain?"
Unohana nodded.
And in that moment, Isane finally stood straight.
And in rooms across the Gotei—other Captains, other Lieutenants—would witness the same conversation, the same invitation.
The Daymoon Class had begun.
And its students… would reshape Soul Society.