After visiting her dormitory, Rukia returned home.
Indeed, as Kaien Shiba had said, it wasn’t as comfortable as living in the Kuchiki manor.
Although the Thirteenth Division barracks were much better than the conditions in the Rukongai, they were still not as luxurious as the home of the head of the noble families, the Kuchiki Family.
She then flipped through the rules and safety instructions for garrisoning the Human World that Kaien Shiba had given her.
Things like: any Hollow encountered must be purified, every Plus soul seen must undergo Konso, and one must not transfer their power to ordinary humans.
Rukia’s head began to throb as she read.
She stopped looking at the long list of rules and instead checked the area she was responsible for.
“The southeastern part of Kyoto?
That’s a really wide range.
No wonder they need a Seated Officer to guard it,” Rukia thought, looking at the large red circle on the map.
“Leaving in a week?” At that moment, a cool voice came from behind Rukia.
Turning around, who else could it be but Byakuya?
“Big Brother, why are you here?”
“To give you something.”
As he spoke, Byakuya took out a small box from his robes.
“What is this?” Rukia asked curiously as she took the box.
“You’ll know once you open it.” Byakuya uncharacteristically played it mysterious, which made Rukia even more curious.
Opening the box, she found a silver-white cylindrical object lying quietly inside, but it was only a half-cylinder, as if it had been cut vertically down the middle.
Looking at the cylindrical object in her hand and comparing it to the kenseikan on Byakuya’s head, Rukia said somewhat uncertainly, “Is this…
a kenseikan?”
“Correct.
It is a gift for you to mark your formal entry into the Thirteenth Division,” Byakuya said in a soft tone.
He was only like this when facing Rukia; toward others, he remained as cold as ever.
*This…
where do I wear it?* Looking at the kenseikan in her hand, Rukia couldn’t help but feel a bit troubled.
After all, she couldn’t wear it on the top of her head like Byakuya; that would look too strange.
After thinking it over, she realized she could only wear it on the hair hanging behind her ear.
“You just joined the Thirteenth Division; why are you being sent to the Human World so soon?” Byakuya asked.
“It’s like this…” Rukia recounted the events that happened in the Squad today to Byakuya.
“Since it’s a mission for the 6th Seat, there’s no helping it.
With your strength, there will be no problem at all.
However, be careful of the Juryu and Kutotsu in the Dangai.
Especially the Kutotsu; do not touch it under any circumstances.
The consequences are not something we can bear.”
“I understand.
I saw all of that in the safety instructions; I’ll be careful,” Rukia nodded.
“Good.
Then I shall take my leave; there are still matters in the division I need to handle.” After saying that, Byakuya left Rukia’s room and headed for the Sixth Division barracks.
Time quickly reached a week later.
After checking once more to ensure she hadn’t left anything behind, Rukia entered the Senkaimon and arrived in the Dangai.
The Dangai is located between the Human World and the Soul Society, surrounded by a torrent of time.
The flow of time inside is two thousand times faster than the outside world.
Although Shinigami have long lifespans, they can’t afford such a drain.
Furthermore, the Dangai is filled with Juryu that hinders the movement of spiritual bodies, and the cleaner, Kutotsu, appears at intervals.
One must absolutely not linger there for long.
Following the guidance of the Hell Butterfly, Rukia quickly arrived at the area of the Human World she was assigned to guard: Kyoto, Japan.
At this point in time, the Shinigami could be said to be extremely busy; the two “poached eggs” from across the ocean had killed an unknown number of people.
There were a large number of Plus lingering in the Human World who needed Konso, as well as Hollows needing purification.
Fortunately, Rukia was not responsible for those two specific areas, so she was relatively lucky; she offered them a silent moment of mourning.
However, Kyoto was not having an easy time either.
As a major gathering place for factories during the war, Kyoto had been a focus of attention; the number of deaths in Kyoto, which had been bombed multiple times, was not small.
Arriving in the Human World, Rukia stood in the air and observed her surroundings.
Kyoto at this time was very desolate, with very few pedestrians on the streets.
Many dilapidated buildings had not yet been repaired, and Plus who had not yet received Konso could be seen everywhere.
“Where is the Shinigami who was previously in charge here?
Why have so many Plus been left without Konso?” Seeing this scene, Rukia felt somewhat angry.
Setting aside other issues, just these Plus scattered everywhere would keep her busy for a while.
‘But it’s alright, I’ll be leaving soon anyway.
I’ll let my Ice Clone handle things here for now.’ She split off an Ice Clone to stay behind and perform Konso, while her main body headed to the Soul Society’s base in the Human World to complete the mission handover.
Subsequently, Rukia arrived at an unremarkable restaurant.
It was currently mealtime, and Rukia walked in openly, yet the people eating ignored her as if she were invisible.
And indeed, that was the case.
Humans with normal Reiatsu cannot see spiritual bodies.
People born with naturally high Reiatsu like Kurosaki ichigo are, after all, a minority; not everyone is a cheater.
It was strange to say, but in the Bleach World, both Hollows and Shinigami are spiritual bodies yet can be touched by normal humans, while ordinary Plus cannot.
Following the Hell Butterfly, Rukia finally arrived in front of the general manager’s office.
Pushing open the door, she saw a middle-aged man sitting inside.
Upon seeing that the visitor was a Shinigami, the middle-aged man also popped out of his gigai with a “bang,” transforming into a Shinigami.
“Hello, I am Rukia Kuchiki, the Shinigami here to take over the guarding of the southeastern part of Kyoto.
Please register me.” Seeing the person before her turn into a Shinigami, Rukia directly stated her purpose.
The middle-aged Shinigami efficiently pulled out a notebook and said, “Thirteenth Division, Rukia Kuchiki, correct?”
“Mhm.”
“Alright, let me look…
Oh, found it.
The new 6th Seat, Rukia Kuchiki, replacing the former 6th Seat Haruki Yamashita to guard the southeastern part of Kyoto.”
“Alright, I’ve registered it here.
If you need anything else, just come here and find me.
We provide some tools developed by the Department of Research and Development, like gigai and such,” the middle-aged Shinigami said after finishing the report to the Soul Society for Rukia.
“Mhm, I don’t need anything for the time being, but I will come to trouble you if I have needs in the future.
By the way, do you know where the Shinigami originally guarding the southeastern district of Kyoto went?
I saw too many Plus who haven’t received Konso; what’s going on?” After declining the middle-aged Shinigami’s suggestion, Rukia asked about the reason.
“Eh?
You didn’t know?
The previous Shinigami guarding the southeastern district of Kyoto has been missing for several days now.
But since he was just an ordinary member, the Soul Society didn’t pay much attention to the matter; they just marked him as missing and ignored it.
If there is no news of him for another month, he will be confirmed as dead.”
“I see.
Then what was the reason for the disappearance?”
“It’s precisely because the reason is unknown that he was classified as missing.”
“Fine, let’s leave it at that for today.
I’ll be going now.
I saw many Plus needing Konso on the way here, so I’ll go get busy.” After bidding farewell to the middle-aged Shinigami, Rukia found an uninhabited house.
The reason she concluded it was uninhabited was that the household items were covered in dust, and this house was also one of the few that had not been bombed.
Let me say this here—did you guys misunderstand something?
I didn’t say Shiba Isshin is dead right now; he is still the Captain of the Tenth Division.
It will be decades before he marries Kurosaki Masaki.
In the previous chapter, I meant that the Shiba Family has not yet declined because of Shiba Isshin’s disappearance and Kaien’s death.
It might be that I was a bit lazy and wrote a summary that caused you to misunderstand; I’ll change it again to make your understanding clearer.
It might not seem tempting right now but who knows what the future holds?
“And If you’re enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!”