Chapter 4: What High School Boy Can Resist a Big Toy?
Three days later, the entrance ceremony for the new academic year was held as scheduled in the Shin'ō Academy auditorium.
Needless to say, Sōma performed exceptionally, and Ichigo "as expected" also passed smoothly, ranking just below him on the honors list.
From the moment the results were posted on the bulletin board, the two became the talk of the town as prodigies.
Whispers about them even began circulating within the Gotei 13.
The academy director, brimming with pride, delivered his speech with extra enthusiasm from the podium.
Completely unaware that his two most prized students were hardly paying attention—one staring blankly into space, the other struggling to keep a straight face while fighting back a yawn.
However, Sōma wasn't actually spacing out; he was exploring his "golden finger."
[Great as you are, not only have you thwarted the Child of Destiny, but you have also broken the Shin'ō Academy entrance exam record with the highest score in history. You have obtained a "Compound Potion."]
「Compound Potion」: After consumption, restores a small amount of Reiatsu and stamina. Usable twice, resets daily.
Setting aside the accusation of murdering the Child of Destiny, Sōma had already begun to understand the mechanics of his golden finger over the past few days.
In short, it could be thought of as an "Achievement Catalog."
Completing a remarkable feat or triggering specific events would summon ink-wash style captions, reminiscent of a bard narrating an epic.
Then, whether as loot, fate's reward, or tribute to a legend—call it what you will—he would gain some benefit.
Thus, Sōma decided to name this golden finger "Machine Soul"—a fitting name for the Soul Society.
As for the second gift bestowed by Machine Soul upon his enrollment, he was quite satisfied.
After all, how much advantage one could gain from the miracle of transmigration and what the upper limit of talent might be remained unknown.
Although he had temporarily surpassed that stats monster beside him with slightly better results, it would still require two hundred times the effort to avoid falling behind.
A potion that could help grind training progress was truly worth its weight in gold.
"Phew, I'm alive again."
After the ceremony ended, Ichigo stretched his neck and shoulder joints while walking back to the dormitory.
"Just one hour, and yet..."
Sōma was nonchalant.
"If I could space out like you, I'd probably feel time passes quickly too."
Ichigo rolled his eyes.
The two chatted intermittently as they walked along the tree-lined stone path within Shin'ō Academy, eventually arriving at the dormitory.
Shin'ō Academy admitted at most around a hundred students per year.
Even if all of them resided on campus, it wouldn't be much of a burden for the academy.
The dormitory leaned toward the Taishō-era architectural style—essentially the kind of old wooden school building commonly seen in Japanese anime.
It had three floors in total.
The first floor housed public facilities like the courtyard, large dining hall, and communal baths for men and women. The second and third floors were the male and female student dormitories, respectively.
The interior decor resembled that of a hot spring inn.
It made one clearly aware this was a public space while simultaneously evoking the homely feeling of returning to one's own living room or hallway.
Shin'ō Academy assigned each student their own room.
A classic four-and-a-half tatami mat space.
"By the way, is the person in that room also in the same living group as us?"
Ichigo suddenly remembered something and pointed at the door adjacent to his.
"Correct."
Sōma glanced at the room number and the name written in brush calligraphy outside.
"Rindō Atau—I remember him. He was sitting behind you during the assembly in the auditorium earlier. I heard he's deaf and mute."
"What?"
Ichigo's face darkened.
"You could've at least told me! I don't want to be seen as someone who excludes their companions. I may not care much about my reputation, but this is one kind of reputation I absolutely refuse to have!"
Shin'ō Academy grouped three students into a living unit, essentially meaning roommates.
They were also neighbors. Whether it was cleaning or handling other trivial tasks, one or multiple living groups were often assigned together.
This was both convenient and helped students interact and grow together, so isolation was generally uncommon.
"Who said we didn't greet him? Turn around and look."
Sōma tilted his chin upward.
Ichigo instinctively turned and saw a delicate-looking, quiet young man standing there.
"Wh-when did he... I didn't hear a thing..."
The young man raised his hand and traced his finger through the air, forming a line of text with spiritual particles.
[Nice to meet you. I'm Rindō Atau.]
"Uh, I'm Kurosaki Ichigo, and this here is Shirogane Sōma... Ah, sorry, I forgot you might..."
Just as Ichigo flusteredly searched for pen and paper, Rindo wrote another line.
[I can sense others' emotions, so there's no communication barrier. There's no need to go out of your way to accommodate me. I'll do my best not to cause you any trouble.]
"..."
Ichigo felt a lump in his throat, unsure of what to say.
It wasn't because of the other's communication ability, but rather how calmly and comfortably he lived in his own way, shattering Ichigo's preconceptions about people with disabilities.
Soon, Ichigo showed a sincere smile.
"I understand. Let's get along from now on, Rindo."
[Let's get along.]
"By the way, how did you two greet each other earlier?"
"Just like when I reminded you."
With Sōma's explanation, Ichigo immediately understood.
"...I see."
The chin tilt could mean "look over there," "let's talk outside," or "follow me."
It was indeed more convenient than approaching someone directly.
Though doing this to a stranger might come off as overly familiar.
It must be said that in terms of interpersonal relationships, Sōma possesses a similarly precious "ordinary mindset" as Rindo.
However, this "ordinary mindset" completely vanished when faced with the Asauchi in his hands.
Time moved to the next day.
Shin'ō Academy uniformly distributed Asauchi to first-year students, far from what Sōma had imagined—leading a group to some pitch-black secret chamber to choose one that suited their preferences.
To put it bluntly, first-year students simply didn't have such privileges.
After all, the Asauchi were only temporarily lent out; they would only truly belong to the students after graduation and formal enrollment in a squad. This showed that Shin'ō Academy didn't place much importance on the compatibility between students and their Asauchi.
Sōma had reason to suspect that the relatively small number of elite Shinigami who had mastered Shikai might also be influenced by this factor.
But regardless, he held no prejudice toward his own Asauchi.
The way he stared at the blade could be described as "more affectionate than looking at a dog."
His hand caressed the scabbard gently, as if stroking a young girl's skin, yet it also twitched with an urge to draw the blade and swing it around a few times.
"Sōma, the way you're acting reminds me of those deranged samurai from the past who tested their blades on people."
Ichigo, sitting next to him, twitched at the corner of his mouth.
Although he was also excited, it was entirely due to his desire for Shinigami power. He didn't have many thoughts about the blade itself and even found it a bit too ordinary—without being told, he would have mistaken it for a traditional handicraft from the living world.
"Are you really a high school student?"
Sōma looked up, his face filled with deep suspicion.
"What do you mean?"
"Even elementary school students can't resist picking up a straight tree branch on the road and swinging it around."
"You said it yourself—that's elementary school students. High school students aren't that childish."
"Indeed, high school students are more realistic. They simply can't resist cool battles, the allure of possessing power that surpasses ordinary people, the passion to protect the world, and the admiration that comes with showing off."
"...Do you have to emphasize the word 'cool' so much...?"
"And one more thing."
"There's more?!"
Ichigo widened his eyes, completely unaware that besides Rindo behind him, there was also a curious blonde girl.
"Right."
Sōma looked seriously at the large toy in his hand, adopting the rigor of an academic discussion.
"Didn't you hear what Ōunabara-sensei said? The Zanpakutō shares a single soul with the Shinigami. You need to engrave the essence of your soul into it to resonate with it and help it grow. That's why they distribute the Asauchi as soon as possible, hoping for early achievements."
"But the key point isn't that. It's that the Zanpakutō has a soul. For a Shinigami, it's a partner who fights alongside you, never abandoning you."
"Now, what if this partner is a beautiful girl? What do you think a high school boy would think?"
Coolness, power, and a beautiful girl.
Gulp.
With these three elements combined, even Ichigo was deeply shaken.
Though not to the point of drooling.
The next moment, Sōma, Ichigo, and Rindo silently turned to look at the source of the noise.
The other party was quite sociable and didn't seem embarrassed at all. Wiping the drool from the corner of her mouth, she grinned and said:
"I'm Yuyu Yayahara. I heard the two top prodigies of this year just came from the living world. Coincidentally, I'm very interested in the gyaru culture there. If you don't mind, let's be friends!"