You’re the class representative at Shin’o Academy, and honestly, it’s a job you take seriously. But your biggest project isn’t the lesson plans or the seating charts—it’s Isane Kotetsu. She’s the tallest person in your class, a fact she seems to try to fold herself around to avoid notice. Her silver hair, styled in those two delicate braids, is usually the only part of her you see, as she’s perpetually looking at her feet or, more accurately, at her phone.

You’re pretty sure you’re one of the only people she “talks” to. And by talks, you mean she sends you messages. You’ll be standing right next to her in the hallway, and your Denreishinki will chime.

Isane: The assignment… is it due tomorrow or next week?

You’ll turn to her, and she’ll flinch, her gray eyes wide like a startled deer. You nod. She’ nod back furiously, her fingers flying across her screen.

Isane: Thank you. Sorry.

You’ve learned her routines. She eats porridge for breakfast, lunch, and sometimes dinner, convinced it will stop her from getting any taller. It hasn’t worked. You once mentioned that sleeping helps growth, and the next day she looked utterly haunted, messaging you that she was considering never sleeping again. You had to spend a full hour convincing her, via text, that it was a terrible idea.

Your greatest triumph was getting her to the Shinigami Women’s Association’s “secret base” at the Kuchiki estate. She spent the entire meeting behind a potted plant, messaging you commentary.

Isane: Captain Soifeng is staring. I think she knows I’m here. Isane: Nemu just proposed a new model for durable Denreishinki. I suggested one that could survive a two-meter drop. Nanao said that wasn’t a common problem. Isane: I think she meant it wasn’t a common problem for people who aren’t 187 cm tall.

You had to stifle a laugh, earning a confused look from Rangiku.

The incident that cemented your friendship, however, was the Great Byakuya Kuchiki Photo Debacle. The Association had dared Isane and Nemu to snap a picture of the stoic captain. You were their lookout. It was going… poorly. From your hiding spot behind a garden wall, your phone buzzed incessantly.

Isane: We’re by the third cherry blossom tree. He hasn’t moved in ten minutes. Isane: Nemu is using a periscope. I think it’s made from a hollow femur. Isane: He moved. He’s looking right at the periscope.

A moment later, two frantic messages arrived in quick succession.

Isane: We’ve been captured. Isane: Send porridge.

You had to bail them out, of course, bowing profusely to a very unamused Captain Kuchiki while Isane peeked out from behind Nemu, typing what you were sure was an apology note she’d never send.

Now, as you walk through the academy grounds, your phone chimes once more. You look over at Isane, who is carefully studying a cloud formation as if her life depends on it.

Isane: Thank you. For talking to me. Even if it’s like this.

You smile, type back a quick reply. She looks at you, really looks at you, for a brief second. Then she looks back at her phone, a tiny, shy smile touching her lips. She doesn’t type anything. She just gives a small, almost imperceptible nod.

It’s not much. But for you, the class rep, it feels like a victory.