“Big Brother, we’re almost home.
You should be able to put me down now, right?” Rukia said softly.
Earlier on the road, when Rukia asked Byakuya to put her down, she was refused on the grounds that her spiritual pressure was severely overdrawn and she shouldn’t move around.
Rukia didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but she also felt very happy; after all, the feeling of being cared for was really nice.
By the time the two had returned to the Kuchiki Family estate, Rukia asked again if he could put her down.
“I’ll put you down when we get to your room,” Byakuya replied indifferently.
Upon returning to the room and placing Rukia on the bed, Byakuya asked: “Tell me, what exactly happened?
Where did that Hollow come from?”
A Menos Grande with strength approaching an Adjuchas could not possibly have appeared near the Spiritual Arts Academy without a sound.
Moreover, Rukia had fought it for a long time, and not a single Shinigami had come to check the situation.
There was no doubt that someone had provided cover for it, allowing it to appear so brazenly near the academy.
Only Aizen could pull off throwing a Hollow into the Soul Society.
Of course, Rukia couldn’t mention Aizen at this moment.
After all, Aizen was still that “highly respected” captain of the Fifth Divsion, and no one would believe it if she said it.
“I don’t know how that Hollow came to be either.
I was eating with Renji and Izuru at the time.
By the time I sensed its spiritual pressure, it was already very close to us.
“Then it burst out from underground and began attacking the civilians nearby.
To stop it from continuing, I had no choice but to lead it to a sparsely populated area.
The rest is what you saw.
“But I find it strange.
Why did I fight for so long without any Shinigami coming to check?” Rukia said, puzzled.
“That’s because someone set up a barrier nearby, so no one noticed the fighting here.
“I was on my way home at the time.
Logically, if a Hollow appeared, I would have sensed it immediately, rather than relying on your red-haired friend to notify me.
Byakuya paused, then said in a serious tone: “Although I don’t know who it is, it is clear that someone has their eyes on you.
In a while, you should join this year’s students for the Konso internship in the Human World.
“After that, join the Thirteenth Division.
The captain, Jūshirō Ukitake, is a good friend of mine.
He is a kind person, and I believe he can take care of you within the division.
Furthermore, with many people in the division, it won’t be easy for that person to make a move.
Rukia thought about it and realized there didn’t seem to be any other options for now, so she simply agreed to Byakuya’s request and prepared to follow this year’s students to the Human World for the Konso internship.
“Alright, your spiritual pressure is severely depleted today, so get some rest.
As for the Kasumioji?
I will make them pay the price for daring to set their sights on my sister!” Byakuya said coldly.
Although the tone was cold, the concern within it could not be concealed by the icy delivery.
Immediately, he changed the subject and continued: “However, you did very well today.
Our Kuchiki Family has taken the protection of the Soul Society as our duty for generations.
Facing a Hollow for the first time, you were not afraid but instead stepped forward to engage it, and you knew to pay attention to your surroundings to prevent harming the innocent.
You have already accomplished what the vast majority of Shinigami cannot do.
He then exited Rukia’s room and spoke to the empty surroundings: “Rei, send a letter to the head of the Kasumioji Clan.
Tell him that Byakuya will come to bother him tomorrow morning, and tell him to be prepared.”
“Yes.”
A voice came from the darkness, and with a breeze, a figure appeared before Byakuya.
Byakuya ignored the figure after receiving the reply, instead summoning a Hell Butterfly, saying something to it, and then vanishing into the darkness.
At this moment, a figure appeared in Rukia’s room—it was the Ice Clone that had gone to evacuate the refugees earlier.
“Did anything unexpected happen?” Rukia asked.
“Everything is normal.
Those civilians ran for their lives the moment they heard there was a Hollow nearby; I didn’t even need to urge them.
It was just at the beginning—the people who were pinned down and unable to move by the spiritual pressure took quite some effort.
I almost exhausted my spiritual pressure and dissipated.
After finishing, the Ice Clone turned into a stream of spiritual pressure and returned to Rukia’s body.
Rukia recovered quite a bit, and at the same time, she received the memories of the Ice Clone while saving the people.
So, it’s possible to obtain memories?
However, it doesn’t seem to be usable for cultivation like the Shadow Clone, because the way these memories are read is equivalent to watching a movie, using a third-person perspective rather than a personal experience.
For example, it’s like when you play LoL and see someone use Yasuo to pull off an EQ-flash.
You know the method, but you still have to practice and accumulate experience yourself to be able to use it in actual combat.
The same applies to the Ice Clone; even if she learns something, it belongs to her, not to oneself.
Even if you obtain the memories, it’s just getting a more detailed tutorial.
But then again, the Ice Clone doesn’t seem to be as useless as she thought?
Rukia recalled what happened today and thought.
According to the Ice Clone, she can also recover spiritual pressure on her own.
Moreover, when the Ice Clone was dispelled, the spiritual pressure she had recovered did indeed return to her own body.
The Ice Clone has half the strength of the original, which means half the spiritual pressure.
She could use the Ice Clone as a battery!
In the future, before fighting someone, she could create an Ice Clone.
After her spiritual pressure is mostly depleted, she could dispel it.
Hey, she’d recover half of her spiritual pressure instantly.
The opponent would surely be so angry they’d vomit blood.
Just imagine: both parties have exhausted most of their spiritual pressure, and suddenly one of them recovers half of it.
How is that supposed to be fought?
The spiritual pressure consumed by the Ice Clone isn’t much, only about one-tenth.
The pity is that for now, she can only create one.
To create more, she would need a system upgrade or to develop it herself.
Time came to the next day.
Rukia was in the courtyard practicing the moves of Sode no Shirayuki as usual, when a knock came at the door.
Rukia found it a bit strange; who would be looking for her at this time?
Byakuya had gone off somewhere early in the morning, and Renji and the others were at school, so it was impossible for them to come looking for her.
It wasn’t mealtime yet either.
Who could it be?
“Coming!”
With doubts in her heart, Rukia opened the gate and saw someone unexpected.
The person had long white hair, a kind appearance, and was wearing a captain’s haori.
The person was none other than the Thirteenth Division captain, Jūshirō Ukitake.
Rukia was certainly no stranger to this “King of Slacking Off”—one of the only three pairs of dual-wielding Zanpakuto in existence, though at the moment, it was still just two blades.
Most of what he did every day was stay in the Ukitake residence to recuperate, and every time he fought, he would fall ill and enter a state of slacking off.
He could be called a role model in the world of slacking off.
“Um, who are you?” Since the two were meeting for the first time, she naturally couldn’t know Ukitake’s name, so she could only pretend not to know who he was and ask.
“My name is Jūshirō Ukitake, Captain of the Thirteenth Division.
Your elder brother mentioned he wanted to arrange for you to join my Squad, so I came by early to take a look.
After all, we’ll be in the same division from now on,” Ukitake said with a gentle smile.
“Please, come in and sit,” Rukia said, stepping aside to let Ukitake in after hearing his purpose.
After entering, Ukitake looked at the Zanpakuto in Rukia’s hand and asked, “Were you practicing your swordsmanship?
If so, I won’t disturb you.
Byakuya said your skills are quite good, so there’s no need for me to make a fool of myself by interfering.”
“It’s fine.
I’m mostly done for the day anyway, and a little time won’t hurt,” Rukia replied nonchalantly.
“Actually, I came today to tell you about the situation within the division.
Our Thirteenth Division is primarily responsible for purifying souls in the Human World, so most of our members are stationed there.
My health isn’t great, so divisional affairs are usually handled by Vice-Captain Kaien.”
“He’s a very good person; you’ll see once you join the Thirteenth Division.
However, even though arrangements have been discussed, you’ll still have to earn your position within the Squad through your own strength.”
Ukitake paused as if remembering something, then pulled a token engraved with a ‘bamboo’ pattern from his robes.
“This is my token.
If you ever need to find me, just give this to Vice-Captain Kaien, and he’ll bring you to me.”
“Well then, that’s all for now.
I need to head back and rest.
I’ll see you later in the Thirteenth Division.
Bye!” After saying this, he stepped out of Rukia’s courtyard and left.
“Yeah, see you in the Thirteenth Division!”