Author Note:
I originally wanted the headmaster to do the speech, but since there's no mention of the name of the headmaster in the canon prior to the LN WE DO knot ALWAYS LOVE YOU that mentioned the new headmaster, hence I decided to have a visiting Captain and his entourage to be there (while the captain does the speech). Also, I know this chapter is very sappy, but hey, no one ever mentions the inners of the heroes much, until it bursts out in a different form, i.e. White Ichigo for Ichigo, while Fray and Myste for the Warrior of Light.
And if I need to spill it out, yes, I DON'T OWN either Bleach or Final Fantasy XIV. All rights are reserved for their respective companies/individuals who made them. I simply own my character.

Chapter 3: Admission and Resolution

"Do not seek forgiveness, for it will not ease the burden. It weighs as it should." - Myste

If you are asking where Shugo has been living in the one-month period, he was given temporary residence within the Fourth Division's complex that has since been rebuilt halfway, courtesy of Captain Unohana and with Captain-Commander Yamamoto's blessings.

In the one-month time of his stay with the Fourth Division, he was given the very basics of knowledge on Reiryoku and Reiatsu under the tutelage of Unohana and Isane. He also found out about the name of the facility he was treated in, it is known as the Sogo Kyugo Tsumesho, or the Coordinated Relief Station.

He also got familiar with the many honorifics that the people use, and thanks to that, he was confident enough to use the similar honorifics he already knew from Hingashi, with only a few minor differences here and there.

In one of the sessions on the basics of Reiryoku and Reiatsu, Unohana had him meditate while she poured in some of her reiatsu to help jumpstart him in sensing reiatsu and capable of differentiating reiatsu.

"Now, feel the reiatsu I am pouring into you." She said as she held her hand behind his back.

"Understood." He replied shortly as he slowly feeling the reiatsu coursing into his body.

'Hmm… The energy seems to be… Blue? Compared to aether that's rather white, I suppose it's more distinct…' He thought before suddenly, massive surges of reiatsu were 'seen' by him.

He held his eyes in pain, despite it being closed. He screamed in pain, as he could detect every single reishi around him. Isane on the side looked shocked and was flustering with his current state.

"Captain, what should we do?!" She asked.

"Calm down, Isane. Everything is still fine." Unohana said as she casted Kaido onto Shugo's eyes, pain slowly subsiding from it, before he eventually calmed down in a cold sweat.

"Seven hells… Nobody told me that it was going to be THAT bad!" He swore out of pain as he sat back down.

He gasped for a moment before calming down in an instant. He stared at Unohana before asking, "Was that supposed to happen?"

"Normally, no. But from what I have just witnessed now, your ability to sense reishi can be considered as one of the highest within all of Soul Society." Unohana remarked.

'He might be equal to those in the Zero Division' She thought.

"And inferring from your words, it is a good thing?" He tilted his head.

"Of course! To be a Shinigami, you must possess exceptional reiryoku and train your body with it!" Isane beamed with a smile.

"What Isane says might gloss over the details, but yes, generally speaking, she is correct." Unohana nodded.

"And how does me being able to see reishi is relevant to becoming a Shinigami?" He raised his brow.

"To be able to see reishi, you must possess exceptional spiritual power to begin with! And this shows that you have a very high spiritual power!" Isane looked excited.

Someone who is not only tall (still a tad shorted compared to her, but still), but also possess spiritual talent that might become her junior! How can she not be excited! She would finally feel relieved with her height complex, seeing that she is no longer the only tall person in the Division!

Unohana, seemingly guessing her Lieutenant's thoughts, chuckled in amusement and a slight joy. Her tall Lieutenant might finally find someone that could relieve her of her height complex.

'I am glad for you, Isane.' She smiled at the thought.

Eventually, he was taught how to properly sense reishi, and after three days of training, he succeeded. After being able to sense reishi, he was then trained to sense his own reiatsu. After two days, he managed to sense it within his body. The day after, he was trained to release his reiatsu, which nearly caused an incident due to the massive amount he emitted the first time. After one day of grueling training, he was finally able to emit his reiatsu at a rather reasonable amount.

Of course, reasonable here being in comparison to his entire reservoir when he first tried, which has been noted by Unohana as 'might very well be bottomless'.

Soon, the one-month period passed, and it was time for him to participate in the entrance exam of the Shin'o Academy.

Contrary to what humans in the World of the Living would go through to enter an academic institution, in which they have to study for the entrance exam (and must meet the prerequisite academic requirements in higher levels of education), the Shin'o Academy, or the Shinigami Academy as most of the people living in the Rukongai knows it as, accepts people from all walks of life within Soul Society, ranging from the youngest of the noble houses to the oldest villager from the farthest outer regions of the Rukongai.

Not that Shugo would know of it, being from a completely different world. He has not had any access to information pertaining the current state of the World of the Living. He could not say he has 'higher education' per say, since in his previous life as Azem, he was more known for his practical exploits than academic prowess. He might understand how things worked, but if one were to ask him the theory behind it, he could explain it only on the levels that normal people could understand. Even after he became the Warrior of Light, it was still the same.

Though it's a bit debatable when it comes to healing knowledge, as he can be considered to be one of the most powerful White Mage with knowledge on healing spells and their many iterations, though granted it was because of the White Mage soul crystal that gave him the knowledge as he went on with his journey.

This was exactly what he saw as he entered the entrance exam area. He could see an old man who seems to be weirdly fit for his age, and there was even a very young kid who seemed pompous with that ridiculous clothes the lad wore.

'This is certainly… Something else.' He thought to himself.

He was currently wearing his armor, which has since been repaired, courtesy of the Twelfth Division. It was supposed to be done on the 15th day of his stay in the Fourth Division, however, Mayuri was fawning over how the armor/clothes were nothing like he had seen in the Human world: how it could strengthen the wearer's overall strength and defensive capability and made from materials that at one glance akin to that of the ones used in the Human world, yet remarkably different in sheer durability.

It took the 'persuasion' of Captain Unohana for him to finally give it back after being repaired on the 20th day of his stay.

The memory of that sent shivers down his spine. He did not want to imagine what kind of persuasion she did to move Captain Kurotsuchi to release his armor back to him after reparations.

He was also told to wear something that represents his supposed role as the sole survivor of his nobility clan, to help reinforce his image of being a noble in the eyes of the bureaucrats. His armor, in the meantime, was already sporting his clan's crest, a three petaled flower with three leaves under it, in the space between the petals.

He was standing in a line of applicants that wanted to join the Academy. The system here is that one lined up to receive their tickets, after they applied to join the Academy beforehand. And after that, they will be participating in a select number of tests given to them by the Academy, mostly practical things that does not involve academics, given that more likely than not, the applicants would be from the Rukongai, thus somewhat evening the field between the nobles and the commoners.

Or, so it goes according to both Unohana and Isane.

Regardless, he is the one that will be participating, and whether it is true or not will be presented to him by his own participation. And it will be tested as he was the next in line to receive his ticket from the examiner.

The man looked at him in curiosity. He sighed and shot him a glare that befits a noble, courtesy of his old mannerism training during his childhood. Even if his father neglected him more than even his father would like, he still spent time to train him in noble mannerism and etiquettes.

The examiner kept his professionalism, despite still somewhat cracking due to his nobility attitude.

"Please state your name and Soul Age, sir." He asked respectfully.

"I believe… This should be of use." Shugo said as he brought out the three letters that was given to him by the three captains.

The examiner took the letters in hand, before opening and examining the content. Shortly after, he paled before going back and talked with the other staff members of the academy. One of the staff then went away before the examiner came back to him.

"Please wait over here, sir. We will need to verify the contents of the letters." He said, bowing respectfully, pointing at an empty waiting seat.

"Very well. I trust that there will be no… Unexpected tests or any form of impeding, yes?" Shugo nodded and asked.

"Y-yes, sir." The man paled slightly, bowing to him before going back to deal with the line.

Shugo walked to the empty waiting seat and sat down in a way befitting that of a noble. Or at least, based on what his father had taught him.

It did not take long before the other staff member came back and whispered something to the examiner, before giving the three letters to the examiner, likely to return them to him. The examiner approached in an even more respectful manner.

"Kurenai-sama, you are examinee #096. Please make your way to the Assembly Hall." He bowed before giving back the letters.

"Good. Then I shall do so." Shugo nodded in satisfaction as he went to the Assembly Hall.

One of the other staff members, who looked a bit confused, went to the examiner for answers.

"Sir, why did you let that man go to the hall before he wrote down his name and soul age?" The other staff member, a female staff, asked.

"He… He was recommended by the F-founder, and by C-captains U-unohana and Sui-Feng as well… H-his details were already taken care of ahead of time." The examiner stuttered in pale before forcefully calming himself down.

The female staff was shocked. It was one thing to be recommended by a captain of a division, but for it to be by the Founder also, and not to mention the two other captains as well…

Soon after, the registry on list of examinees had been updated with his details.

Examinee number: #096
Name: Shugo Kurenai
Soul Age: [RESTRICTED]

The Assembly Hall was certainly built to impress. The place could house a lot of people, and it reminded him of the old courtyard of his clan's compound back in Kugane. Hundreds, if not thousands, of examinees were slowly filling the place, sitting down on the floor as more and more people entered the hall.

It did not take long for Shugo to find an empty seat. With his clothing, he was not exactly being approached by anyone. While he does not pay attention to the others around him, some of the girls that were nearby seemed to be talking about him. His eyes were probably the main attraction, being red instead of brown or black.

"Hey, look, that guy looks like a noble!"

"Don't you think he looks pretty nice?"

"Aw, I sooo want to marry him!"

Shugo only chuckled. If this was him as a child… No… Even as a child, he already had Yotsuyu as his romantic interest.

'Tsuyu…' He closed his eyes in remembrance.

Meanwhile, the guys near the girls were certainly not looking very happy. But when they looked at him, he seemed to scream something to the effect of 'Try anything, and you're dead before you blink.' That seemed to deter them from messing with him well enough, though it was not by his default intention.

Soon, the hall became quiet as a man soon came to the stage at the front. The hall had been filled with examinees; it was like a sea of people there. Thankfully, Shugo still had some space. The man in the front soon began his speech. He looked to the front and saw the man in question began his speech.

"G'morning, to all you new students. My name's Isshin Shiba, Captain of the Tenth Division. While I didn't exactly wanna do this, Old Man Yama wanted me to be here for today's entrance exam." The man, Isshin introduced himself, while scratching the back of his head in a rather carefree attitude at the last remark.

There were already murmurs amongst the students, some were regarding his rather carefree and somewhat lazy attitude, others were about rumors of him being some sort of a pervert.

'Well… That man certainly has a reputation…' Shugo sighed in his head.

"Simply put, you'll have to show me and some people here that you got some Reiatsu. If not, then you can try again for the next entrance exam. Pretty simple, right?" Isshin gave the basic explanation on the exam.

"Now, you can wait here, while others that are called should go to the exam room over there." He continued as he then left the stage and went immediately into the exam room.

He was soon followed by several more people, two were wearing Shinigami shihakushos, while two others were visibly identifiable as part of the academy's teachers.

The two Shinigamis… One seemed to be a woman with a long, blonde hair, and a rather… Well-endowed body if her posture was anything to go by. She had this armband on her left arm, like that of Isane's. The other one, in the meantime, looked like a young boy with white hair and a tad dark skin, though it seemed more like tanned than pure dark.

'I guess she's a Lieutenant then. But the other one… Well, I still have no idea how people age in this world. I supposed I will have to reserve my judgement until I understand it.' He thought.

The exam soon began, as one by one, people were called into the exam room to be tested. Some came out with beaming smiles, some came out with a deadpan face, others came out with tears or disappointment on their faces.

Seconds passed, and soon it became minutes. After almost an hour, his turn finally came as his examinee number and name was called.

"Examinee #096 Shugo Kurenai, please enter the room." The sound of a staff member spoke, likely on some voice-amplifying device.

He stood up as he walked over to the room. After walking several steps, he arrived at the door to the room. He opened the door, to see the five people sitting behind a table, with a sizeable open space for him.

"Next guy, eh… Let's see…" Isshin lazily said as he looked over the registry sheet.

Before long, Isshin raised a brow as he looked at Shugo's data. He then went back and forth between looking at the data and Shugo himself. The Lieutenant, seeing that her captain was too distracted and prolonging the test than necessary, smacked the man on the back of his head.

"Captain, what're you doing?! He's standing over there, waiting on you!" She scolded the man.

"Aww, Rangiku-chan, why you gotta hit me like that? Chill, I'll get onto it." He pouted before clearing his throat.

The seemingly young Shinigami next to the Lieutenant sighed.

"Putting aside the distraction being caused by the head of the panel… Examinee Shugo, feel free to display your reiatsu ability by pouring it into the device in front of you." The 'young boy' said.

The device in question was some sort of a glass ball. It was on a small table, cushioned with a small pillow.

Shugo only nodded as he slowly squints his eyes, unleashing at least a portion of the reiatsu within his body, channeling it through his hand and into the device in front of him. There was a BOOM as the reiatsu was emitted, so much so that the Captain and his Lieutenant immediately stopped their little skit and looked at him in shock. The two teachers were also shocked at the sight of the new student's reiatsu. The 'young boy' looked at him with wide eyes, clearly surprised.

This was not limited to the ones within the exam room. Aside from the three captains who bore witness to him waking up, the rest of the captains were immediately alarmed to the spike in Reiatsu. Before they could pinpoint the exact place, however, Shugo stopped his emission of Reiatsu.

"What… The fuck… Was that?" Isshin asked after calming himself down for a second.

"I was asked to show my reiatsu ability as part of the test, and I simply obliged. Or am I mistaken, seeing that I should have released all of it instead of just one-seventh of it?" Shugo tilted his head and asked.

The teachers were wide-eyed at his statement, while Isshin was visibly grinning. It was clear that the Gotei might just gain some monster to join their ranks. Other academy staff members immediately went into the room in a panic, before calming down to see that it was a new student conducting the entrance exam. Isshin then cleared his throat.

"I announce that Examinee #096, Shugo Kurenai, has passed the entrance exam!" He purposely shouted.

The Lieutenant looked amazed by him, while the 'young boy' kept his eyes closed, though the corners of his lips were curled upward, just a bit. The two teachers on the judge panel looked at each other before nodding and proceeded to stamp his registry form with something like an "approval" stamp or something to the effect.

The staff members who barged in then reported that most of the remaining students who had yet to do their entrance exam were knocked out. Thus, the examination for the remaining students was postponed for several hours. Having received his acceptance into the academy, Shugo left to return to his temporary quarters in the Fourth Division Complex.

As the remaining academy staff within the examination room looked upon the results from the device, it had several cracks on it. This shocked them, as it was meant to withstand high levels of reiatsu.

'Hehe, seems like the 10th will have a bright future… With Toshiro as the future captain, and him watching over both Toshiro and Rangiku, I won't have to worry about those two anymore.' Isshin smirked at the thought.

He then gave the excuse that he had something to do, so he left the examination to Toshiro and Rangiku, much to their horror. He went back to the Tenth's compound, and immediately write-up a letter requesting for the young man to join his division after graduation to the Captain-Commander himself.

'I won't let this guy join anyone else but my Division. Not even you, Old Man…' He laughed rather sinisterly at the thought as he continued to write the letter.

Meanwhile, over at the First Division's headquarters, Yamamoto looked over at the direction of Shin'o Academy, having easily pinpointed the source of that sudden Reiatsu burst. He smiled lightly as he recalled the young man that will join them soon, before sneezing lightly.

Thus, one of the most infamous tug-of-war between divisions that wanted this single young man began.

The day was dyed in orange by the time Shugo arrived at the complex.

Returning to the Fourth Division Complex, he found himself being surrounded by some members of the division. Living there for one month, he spends some of his time talking with some members who frequently would ask him of his old world, or knowledge related to healing from there. While it was short, they became rather fond of him. Despite of his rather 'explosive' arrival, he was nothing short of a polite, well-spoken and just overall a good person in the eyes of these members.

"Hey, Shugo-san! Did you pass?"

"How did it go? Tell us!"

He chuckled and responded with a thumbs up while bringing up his acceptance mark that was given to him just before he left.

They were overjoyed and brought him inside, intending to celebrate his entry into the academy. As they were being a bit rowdy, Unohana, accompanied by Isane, came out and gave them what he calls the 'death smile'. Suddenly, they became deathly silent, before she gave him a genuine smile.

"Congratulations, Shugo-kun." Unohana said, beaming with a happy smile.

"Thank you, Unohana-san." He bowed.

Isane looked very happy with his admission into the academy. This was a very real chance for her to get a junior who's close to her in height and to rid herself of her height complex!

"Come in, I'm sure you're tired for the day." Unohana said as she gestured him to follow her in.

"All of you, you can return to your duties now." Isane said as she clapped her hand.

The crowd dispersed, some of the murmuring in disappointment, while others kept silent. But overall, they know better than to anger Captain Unohana. Isane soon followed the two in.

The three walked to the back of the captain's office, where Unohana spends most of her time after finishing her task for the day, which is drinking some tea in peace. After arriving, she sat down on the Zabuton, or the floor cushion, before gesturing him to sit to the one next to the round table between their seats. Isane in the meantime, left to get the teapot and teacups.

"That reiatsu spike… That was you, wasn't it?" Unohana asked.

"Yes." Shugo replied nonchalantly.

"You certainly made quite the impression… Despite we already said for you to be careful." She sighed before giving him that 'death smile' at her last remark.

"Pardon me for that. I truly tried to show the smallest that I can that was still within reason. I only showed them one-seventh of my capacity." He raised his hand in forgiveness.

"What's done is done, I suppose… But once again, congratulations on the admission. I'm proud of you." She shook her head before smiling, congratulating him once again.

"Thank you. For everything." He smiled back, as he looks at the sky that was slowly turning dark from orange.

The sound of the bamboo fountain filled the air, as he closed his eyes. This moment… It was truly peaceful for him. Unohana, who watched him from the side, had a soft smile on her face as she too look upon the sky, and enjoyed the silence.

There was rarely anyone who could appreciate this silence, aside from her Lieutenant. Yet this young man showed such a thing. It was perhaps her best decision that she ever made to help the young man, instead of handing him over to the Omnitsukido, where more likely than not he would've been executed.

After ten minutes, Isane returned carrying a teapot and three teacups on a tray. As she put the tray on the table and sat down on her zabuton as well, which was placed behind the table (placing Shugo on her left and Unohana on her right), she picked up the pot to pour the tea into the teacups. Like most of what Shugo saw, the teapot and teacups were similar to the ones used by traditional shops in Hingashi.

The cool air was pierced by the steam from the hot tea being poured into the teacups using the teapot. As Isane slowly filled the first cup and then the second one, Shugo slowly opened his eyes. The waft of the green tea reminded him much of Hingashi. He remembered that on occasion, he would go to the Shiokaze Brewery near the port in Kugane and enjoyed the tea there.

"What brew is this tea? It has quite the fragrance, I must say." Shugo asked in a calm and serene tone.

"It's a Matcha brew, Shugo-san. Courtesy of our locally grown tea leaves." Isane replied with a smile, as she finished filling in the second teacup and went to fill the third one.

"I see… It reminds me much of my home country." He said in a nostalgic tone.

"Is that so? Then I hope it will be to your liking." Unohana said, smiling softly.

The third cup was filled. With that, Isane put down the teapot onto the tray. Shugo picked up his cup, while Unohana with hers, and Isane picked up the last one. He breaths in the aroma of the tea, savoring its fragrance as it calms his mind and heart down. He blew lightly into the cup, before sipping the aromatic tea.

'Bitter, but certainly enjoyable' He thought as he released a small breath of enjoyment.

He would then spend some more time speaking of his past to them. He would also speak of the betrayal of the Crystal Braves, the organization made by his friend to help his endeavors, and instead the Braves backstabbed him and his friends.

He would tell the story of a Haurchefant Greystone, the one who welcomed him after he and some of his friends escaped, following the betrayal of the Crystal Braves. He would tell of how Haurchefant perished due to the insanity of Archbishop Thordan VII who wished to keep the Dragonsong War continue, despite it started on their ancestors' own treachery and lies.

He would speak of how he first met Yotsuyu, how he was forced to leave her behind, the painful reunion where she does not remember him after twenty years had passed, and of their final goodbye, where for the first time, he held her dying body in his hands, he truly felt broken as she comforted him and sharing their first and final kiss, he screamed in anguish over her passing…

He then ended the tale with one of how he faced the manifestation of his darkness, of how it was tired of the people that have him do things for them, of the sorrows it felt over the many losses he suffered, of how he failed to save those closest to him, and of how he settled by accepting that he had failed and try to save those he could for the sake of those he failed.

"This peace… Is what I wish for my life now." He muttered.

Unohana and Isane looked at him as they heard his words. He had this look of a truly tired warrior, long since due his peace. Unohana understood his mind from that single sentence.

'He was exhausted, in heart and soul.' She remarked mentally.

They were not wrong to think of that. No normal person could do what he did. He shouldered the burden of saving the world countless times. No one human should ever have to bear that burden. The two then noticed him shedding some tears from his eyes.

'I can finally rest.' He thought as tears came down from his eyes, unconsciously.

And there it was. He had earned his peace. Even if momentarily, this was one of the few precious moments that he could say or think such a thing. The loss of his first love, his friends… Not many knew, but it weighed onto him heavily. While he had some closure before he arrived here, the feeling of that loss remained whenever he recalled the past.

"Shugo-san, are you okay?" Isane asked, looking worried.

He was silent before he realized his eyes were all watery. He wiped the tears from his eyes and the ones that dripped down his face and into his teacup.

Call it a moment of weakness. Call it whatever you wish. But to Unohana and Isane, the two knew that for all he is, he was still human. Even after hearing all his deeds, his original self, he was in the end still a human being who had a heart.

Isane, who couldn't bear to see him like that, immediately went to his side and embrace him. Shugo was certainly surprised at her action.

"Isane-san?" He asked before Unohana interrupted him.

"Just let it be, Shugo-kun. You've done more than enough." She said with an understanding smile.

That certainly broke the dam within him, as tears continued to fall from his eyes. For the first time, he could show his true feelings, and not forcing himself to remain steadfast and face his adversaries. He wailed for a long time, before he was finally silent.

Isane felt the pain from his voice when he was wailing, the untold sorrows that he was forced to swallow in order to keep moving forward. She too cried, but for him. Unohana remained silent, her eyes filled with sympathy for the young man.

'He may be strong, but as it has been said before, he was still human in the end. He had his limits, and for far too long he was forced to go over his limits. It was time to shed it from him.' She sighed softly.

"…Thank you, Isane." He said softly, his eyes reddened by his tears, his voice cracked by his wailings.

"You're welcome, Shugo-san." She smiled; her eyes also reddened by her tears.

"I believe you should go and rest, Shugo-kun. You still have some time until the welcoming ceremony for new students. Until then, we will do some more training." Unohana said.

"Very well. I shall be leaving for my quarters. Once again, thank you, Unohana-san, Isane-san. For everything." He smiled weakly as he finished his cup of tea that was cold now and tasted salty because of his tears.

He stood up and bowed before he left towards his temporary quarters. The next few days would not be an easy one.

Meanwhile, Unohana and Isane were the only ones left there. Unohana sighed, while Isane was cleaning up the empty teacups.

"It was a miracle that he lasted for as long as he did, from what he had told us." Isane remarked.

Unohana simply nodded, before pondering for a moment.

"Isane, can you please fill my cup? I wish to remain here for a bit." Unohana requested.

"A-ah, of course Captain! One moment, please." Isane stuttered for a moment before she poured another into Unohana's cup.

"Thank you, Isane." Unohana smiled.

Isane bowed, before she picked up the two empty cups and put it onto the tray, while leaving the teapot that still has a bit of tea remaining in it on the table. Seeing as Unohana wanted to be alone, she then left her until she was called once more.

After Isane left, Unohana took a sip from the tea. She looked upon the night sky that was littered with stars.

'He is strong, but he walks down a different path than mine. Perhaps, he can guide Isane when the time comes…' She mused under the night sky.

Only the sound of the bamboo fountain filled in the silent night.