Chapter 5 Kurosaki Utaha Five

Thursday, April 2

Kurosaki Utsuki blinked, and a hint of confusion appeared in her dark brown pupils.

"Teacher Gao Ming?"

Hey...the person she had planned to meet actually came to see her first.

"Could it be that what Dad's friend said is..."

That shouldn't be the case. She originally thought that it would be Urahara Kisuke or Shihouin Yoruichi who would come to pick her up, and she was wondering if those two could produce valid identification. But the person who came turned out to be Morobushi Takaaki - her tutor when she was in middle school.

The young man standing beside her bed had a faint smile on his face, his raised eyebrows full of concern. "Yesterday when I went to Kurosaki Hospital, I accidentally heard about Utahi's situation. I happened to have no classes until this evening, so I asked Dr. Kurosaki to help Utahi arrange for a transfer."

Kurosaki Utahi was stunned: "Is Mr. Gao Ming sick? Or injured somewhere?"

"No, I just happened to see a child who fell, so I took him to a nearby clinic."

"I see. That certainly sounds like something Mr. Gao Ming would do."

Her young governess was as gentle as ever.

"Originally, Ichigo-kun was supposed to come along today, but Dr. Kurosaki said that Utsuki wouldn't want me to interfere with his daily routine, so he could visit after school."

"Dad wouldn't be so polite in trying to persuade my brother..." She waved her hand, "It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter whether he comes or not. I don't care at all."

She really didn't care much. She was not a poor little girl who was abandoned by everyone and had to find a way to go home alone with injuries. Now she had Zhu Fu Gao Ming by her side, and she loved listening to Teacher Gao Ming quoting from classics!

The smile of the person next to him widened: "Once they see how energetic you are, Dr. Kurosaki and Ichigo-kun will probably feel relieved."

Kurosaki Utsuki gave a vague response, then rolled out of bed, her movements as nimble and agile as ever. Though she hadn't deliberately tried to heal herself, the spiritual energy coursing through her body spontaneously assisted her recovery—a fact that her attending physician, who would be transferred to another hospital shortly, was well aware of.

Zhu Fu Gaoming frowned disapprovingly: "A fractured rib shouldn't be—"

She shrugged and said indifferently: "Teacher, you also know that I am not an ordinary person."

"...Ah." After responding, Zhufu Gaoming smiled gently again, "Indeed."

"Then I'll leave the paperwork to Mr. Gao Ming. I'm just packing my things. Did you drive here?"

The other party nodded slightly: "Dean Ishida lent me the car."

The Dean Ishida or Ishida Ryugen he mentioned is the director of Karakura General Hospital, Kurosaki Utsuki's attending physician in the past few years, and also her master as a Quincy.

The corner of Kurosaki Utsuki's mouth twitched.

Although she knew that his ears would definitely be reached about her injury, she still felt a little guilty when she actually heard it from someone else... She had to be mentally prepared to be ridiculed by him from now on.

·

It was a warm morning filled with the strong scent of spring. Kurosaki Utsuki rolled down the car window, took a deep breath of the fresh air outside, which had almost no Hollow or Earthbound Spirit scent, and squinted her eyes in satisfaction. The air around her was so pleasant that it didn't seem like she was on the way to transfer to another hospital, but rather skipped classes to go out for a spring outing.

After taking several deep breaths, the orange-haired girl turned to the man beside her who was concentrating on driving. "Has Mr. Gao Ming's career path been decided?"

Zhu Fushigaki is a senior in college this year. According to the usual schedule of college students and his good grades as the head of the Faculty of Law at the University of Tokyo, he should have received many offers from companies or law firms by now - or he may have other plans such as continuing his studies or taking the civil service exam.

Morobushi Takaaki replied, "I will return to Nagano as a police officer."

"So it's the civil service exam—the goal is Nagano Prefectural Police Headquarters?" Kurosaki Utsuki tilted her head. "Local civil service? But with your ability, the comprehensive exam shouldn't be a problem. You could end up in the Public Prosecutor's Office or the National Police Agency."

He shook his head: "Not a bureaucrat."

Eh? Does that mean he's not going to become a police officer as a professional or semi-professional, but is going to give up his educational advantage and start from scratch?

"It always feels like a waste... but since Mr. Gaoming has decided, I fully support him!" Kurosaki Utaha, who is always respectful and well-behaved towards most of her seniors, clenched her fists and said, "Mr. Gaoming will definitely become the youngest chief of the First Investigation Division."

The people around him couldn't help but laugh: "Let me borrow your good wishes." He then asked in return, "Are Ge Xi's plans for the future still the same as before?"

"Yes, I still want to go to the medical school." Kurosaki Utsuki replied, "I also know that it is not easy to get into the third category of science at the University of Tokyo, but it is always good to have a dream."

Now that she's used to seeing the souls of the deceased, she feels even more deeply how important it is to be able to save lives. Although becoming a police officer is a good option, being able to see souls is very helpful in solving cases...but it just so happens that the hospital where her master, Ishida Ryugen, works, has no one to inherit it.

By the way, the weather is really nice. Why not take advantage of the holiday and invite everyone from Urahara Shoten to go on a spring outing together?

I was just thinking about my spring outing when I heard someone next to me ask, "How was your spring break?"

"Well, I got a part-time job and I'm so busy I feel like I'm going to die from overwork."

This suddenly reminded her of the phone call from Geto Suguru in the morning, and Kurosaki Utsuki couldn't help but laugh out loud - while the other party was chopping the Hollows, he was complaining on the phone about how dangerous Beika City was and how hard it was to sleep without her.

I don't know if he was holding the phone in one hand or if he bought a Bluetooth headset that could be compatible with the Shuttle God Machine from Manager Urahara.

But she had only been working at Mihua for half a month, and before that he had been working alone, and working overtime all night was probably the norm. Is this what they call "it's difficult to go from extravagance to frugality"?

They happened to stop at a red light. The person in the driver's seat turned to her, his upturned cat eyes flashing with a light that had seen through everything. "Is that part-time job related to your injury?"

"Wow, you're really worthy of being a teacher." Kurosaki Utsuki's eyes lit up, but then she made a gesture to silence him, "'Those who know don't speak, and those who speak don't know.'"

The other party knew her peculiarity, although she never said it explicitly. But with his observation and intelligence, it was not difficult for him to deduce the truth that was difficult for ordinary people to accept.

She thought for a moment and said, "I did find some time to read some books in Chinese. My Chinese has improved a lot, but of course it's limited to reading."

She spoke casually, but between the lines, she hinted at a desire for praise. "But it's not classical Chinese, the kind that only Mr. Gao Ming can easily understand. It's just modern fiction. There are stories about dragon slaying and tomb raiding. The books have characters I really like, and the stories are very interesting."

Art comes from life, and the excitement in her life can't be much worse.

Zhu Fu Gao Ming smiled gently, "It's good that you can find pleasure in the text." After a pause, he encouraged, "Keep up the good work. I look forward to Ge Xi becoming my junior in college."

"Um!"

There is just one premise.

...As long as she, the agent of the god of death, had not gone to college, she would have been tormented to death by overwork in the underworld ecology of Mihua because of her part-time job.

·

In Karakura General Hospital, Kurosaki Utaha has many acquaintances, and many doctors and nurses have watched her grow up.

As a child, she was frail and constantly ill, often needing hospitalization. It wasn't until her mother passed away that she fully recovered. When she returned to the hospital for a follow-up check a few days later, everyone was happy for her health while being as cautious and protective of her feelings as possible.

After that, because of her master-disciple relationship with Ishida Ryugen, she often came here - so much so that when she transferred to another hospital, she inexplicably felt like she was back home.

It is normal to hide one's true nature in front of elders who are not so familiar with her. When she was admitted to the hospital, Kurosaki Utsuki was as well-behaved as a doll, but as soon as her attending physician Ryugen Ishida arrived and Takaki Morobushi who brought her there left, she changed her sickly appearance, jumped off the bed neatly, and ran barefoot to Ryugen Ishida, who had no expression and no idea what he was thinking. She crossed her fingers and rested them on her chin, raised her head with a burning gaze, and her expression was as sincere as if she was making a wish to the candles on a birthday cake.

"Long Xian, I'm sure you can understand that this is an unfortunate accident."

It wasn't that she was careless and didn't take good care of herself, nor was it possible that her skills were inferior to Xu's. Instead, there was a big problem with Xu's refresh point. The fault lay with the game mechanism, not her as the player.

"According to the assessment of Mihua Central Hospital, you will be hospitalized for three days," the person opposite said calmly, his face still expressionless. "In addition to the three meals, there will be a nurse making rounds at 5 pm."

Kurosaki Utsuki was stunned for a moment. She had lived here for so long before, so of course she remembered the ward rounds. After a few seconds, she realized that the other party was reminding her to return to the room before five o'clock.

"So now..." She blinked and asked tentatively, "Can I move freely?"

"Whatever you like." After leaving these words, the doctor who was supposed to check on his patient turned around and left.

A girl's cheerful voice of thanks came from behind.

·

Since the hospital director had already provided the conditions, Kurosaki Utsuki felt that she could not waste his kindness. After lunch, she found an opportunity to change her clothes and slip out of the hospital, her destination being Karakura First High School.

That was her brother's school, and also the school where her few friends attended - one of them was Zhufu Takaaki's younger brother.

School classes would last until 3:30 in the afternoon. She didn't know whether the two had joined the club and started activities, but since she was there, she had to say hello to the two people whom she hadn't seen since graduating from junior high school.

…and also find a way to avoid her brother and his friends.

"I'm really lucky today."

As Kurosaki Utaki was muttering to herself, the cell phone in her pocket suddenly vibrated when she met Morobushi Keimitsu and Furuya Rei, who were wearing the same school uniform and walking side by side.

A bad feeling came over me.

It shouldn't be Geto Suguru. She remembered him saying that girls would be annoyed if a man was too clingy, so after calling her in the morning, he probably wouldn't come to disturb her again today.

"Could that be... Long Xian?"

Ishida Ryugen, who is both the dean and a doctor and is extremely busy, actually contacted her on his own initiative. Could it be that the nurse made a surprise inspection and found that the patient was not in the room, so she reported it to the dean who is the attending physician?

After she answered the phone, the other party's words were quite concise -

"Miyano's little daughter has been kidnapped."

This is the reason for contacting her.

"I have an operation coming up."

This was the reason why he couldn't come forward to help.

The Miyano mentioned by Ishida Ryugen refers to the couple Miyano Atsushi and Miyano Elena, who used to run a private clinic and later jumped to Karakura General Hospital. They, along with their two daughters, have a close relationship with Kurosaki Utsuki.

"I know." The orange-haired girl responded cheerfully. She waved to the two approaching boys, but her expression slowly darkened. "I'll be back soon."

Before the young men who had just stopped in front of her and were about to ask her why she was there could speak, she hung up the phone and shrugged with great regret.

"Jingguang, and Furuya-kun, it looks like my luck is not very good. I have to go." She put her phone in her pocket and spoke a half-truthful excuse, "It seems the attending doctor found out that I sneaked out of the hospital."