Byakuya walked out of the room, leaving Rukia alone.
At this moment, Rukia discovered a serious problem: she didn’t know how to put it on!
In a dirty and chaotic place like Rukongai, there was no such luxury as a furisode kimono; she was lucky to have anything to wear at all.
“Hey, System!”
“Host, I am here.
Is there anything I can help you with?”
“Come on, System, tell me how to wear this thing.
I know you must have a way, right?”
“Given the host’s current situation, I recommend exchanging for Master-level Dressing Skills.
This will allow you to fully master how to wear your current clothing, and you will not be restricted by it during combat.
The exchange requires 500 World Points.”
“That expensive?”
“Of course.
The dressing skill itself is not important; what matters is that it prevents the host from being hindered by clothing during combat.”
“Emmm, alright, exchange it then.”
After thinking it over, Rukia exchanged for this skill.
Although she could ask someone for help, it wasn’t appropriate to always have others help her dress.
Besides, who knew if some emergency might arise where she would need to fight while wearing this kind of clothing?
She couldn’t just say: “Wait, let me change my clothes before we fight.”
Closing the system interface, Rukia was no longer unfamiliar with the outfit.
After skillfully putting on each part of the clothing, she walked out of the room with small, graceful steps.
Byakuya, who was resting with his eyes closed in the main hall, opened his eyes upon hearing the sound.
He turned around and was stunned.
“Too alike.” Byakuya said blankly.
At this moment, it seemed as if Byakuya had remembered something; he stared straight at Rukia, muttering to himself, “Hisana, your sister really looks just like you.”
Seeing Byakuya staring at her, Rukia felt a bit strange.
She immediately walked up and waved her hand in front of Byakuya.
Seeing that he still didn’t react, she was puzzled.
What’s going on?
Why is he frozen?
Helpless, she had to grab Byakuya’s shoulders and shake him hard.
Byakuya, lost in memories, was jolted awake by the sudden shaking.
Seeing his sister standing in front of him with a helpless expression, Byakuya was a bit dazed, but then, realizing something, he quickly said:
“I’m sorry, I lost my composure.
Rukia, you and Hisana really look too much alike; it’s as if your sister has come back to life.
When your sister was still alive, we often watched the cherry blossoms in the courtyard together.
Unfortunately, Hisana was just like these cherry blossoms, withering and falling in the prime of her life.”
Afterward, Byakuya told Rukia the story of himself and Hisana, from when they met and married, to the very last moment of Hisana’s life.
After listening, Rukia’s heart felt very complicated.
At first, she didn’t care about this sister she had never met.
To her, all the plot characters were just NPCs, so from the very beginning, she held an arrogant attitude toward everything here.
This was also why Renji felt like Rukia was a noble when he first met her.
Rukia always held a sense of detachment from everything around her.
After all, if you knew everyone’s fate, would you still put yourself on the same level as them?
At this moment, Rukia realized she was wrong.
She was actually just the same as them; there was no difference between her and others.
She was still human, unable to face everything with absolute calmness.
She would feel happy, sad, helpless, and afraid.
Facing Byakuya, who cared for her, and her sister, who had sought her out even while gravely ill, she could no longer view them as NPCs, but as true family.
Just as Byakuya said, there are some things we are powerless to stop, but we can try to change them.
Especially since she had the ability to prevent those tragedies from the original work.
Only now had Rukia truly integrated into the world, no longer acting as an outsider.
Afterward, Byakuya took Rukia to the memorial hall.
After Rukia bowed to Hisana’s portrait, the two began to talk about serious matters.
Byakuya said:
“Rukia, first go to the Spiritual Arts Academy to study for a year and build a good foundation.
I will speak with the old headmaster.
The following two years, I will teach you personally, and finally, you will take the academy’s graduation exam.
I believe you will definitely be able to graduate.
After graduation, I will arrange for you to join the Thirteenth Division.
How does that sound?”
“I think that’s fine,” Rukia said with a shrug.
“Good, then we shall…” Byakuya hadn’t finished his sentence when Rukia suddenly interrupted him and said:
“Daga, Kotowaru.”
“Uh, didn’t you say it was fine?
Why are you refusing?” Byakuya was choked by this sudden refusal and asked in confusion.
“I, Rukia, just like to say ‘no’ to those who are self-righteous.
Ahem, sorry, mixed up my lines.
I mean, I refuse because I have a better way.
The Spiritual Arts Academy just teaches the four arts: Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Kidō, and Hohō, along with things like Tōzen.”
“I don’t think they teach them as well as you do, Brother.
Besides, I can already perform Shikai.”
“Nani?!” Hearing this, Byakuya originally wanted to persuade Rukia that while self-confidence is a good thing, it’s better to be grounded.
But after hearing that Rukia had already completed Shikai, he exclaimed in surprise:
“Didn’t you just receive your Zanpakuto today?
You were able to perform Shikai in just one day?”
“Not having a Zanpakuto doesn’t mean you can’t talk to the Zanpakuto spirit.
I knew her name a long time ago.
As soon as I got the asauchi, I could immediately perform Shikai.” Rukia shrugged and said nonchalantly.
Is there such a thing?
Being able to enter the spiritual world and talk to the Zanpakuto spirit before even receiving a Zanpakuto?
How high must one’s talent be to achieve that?
It seems there hasn’t been such a case in Soul Society until now.
Although shocked, Byakuya was Byakuya after all.
He quickly calmed his emotions and said, “Although you have already completed Shikai, I still hope you can build a foundation at the academy.” Then he thought for a moment and added:
“How about this: we will spar, and your skill level will determine whether you need to attend the academy for further training.”
Rukia agreed; she also wanted to test the results of her many years of practicing the Ashina Style and see exactly what level her skills had reached.
The two arrived at the dojo, and Byakuya handed Rukia a wooden sword.
Byakuya asked:
“Don’t you need to change your clothes?
There are clothes in the changing room next door.”
“Wait for me a moment.”
Although she could maintain her peak performance without being restricted by these clothes, she preferred not to wear them for combat if possible.
After all, they were her sister’s mementos, and it wouldn’t be good if they got damaged.
As for the quest system, it didn’t say she couldn’t change into an identical set; she could just have Byakuya find someone to make another set later.
In the changing room, she found a small-sized kendo uniform and put it on.
It couldn’t be helped; Rukia’s height was barely 1.5 meters.
Rukia felt helpless about this; her 1.8-meter height from her previous life had been reduced by thirty centimeters here, and looking at the original story, Rukia seemed to stay this height forever.
Rukia hoped she could grow a bit taller—even 1.6 meters would do.
Shaking her head to stop thinking about her height, she focused on the most important thing: the sparring session with Byakuya.
After changing her clothes, Rukia returned to the dojo.
“Are you ready?” Byakuya said flatly.
“No problem at all!” Rukia responded.
At this moment, Byakuya stood casually with his sword in one hand, his entire aura becoming calm.
It was like the silence before a storm; once he struck, the inevitable gale-like onslaught would be hard to withstand.
Facing Byakuya, Rukia did not dare to underestimate him and stopped holding back.
Although the Ashina Style was exquisite, almost every powerful person in the Soul Society had lived for hundreds of years.
With the accumulation of time, even the most ordinary swordsmanship would become incredibly refined.
There shouldn’t be any typos this time.
I checked it several times before posting, so there shouldn’t be any.
If you find any, just point them out in the comments.