Chapter 26 Persimmons and Strawberries Part 3
Near noon, Kurosaki Utsuki, who rarely wore a dark long skirt, boarded the train from Beika City to Karakura City.
Kuroneko Yoruichi had already left, seemingly because he had other matters to attend to. She felt that was reasonable. After all, for ordinary people to be empowered by the garrisoned Shinigami was likely a violation of Soul Society's rules. She'd better find out what was going on in Soul Society as soon as possible.
Not to mention that this resident Shinigami who broke the rules is also the princess of the Kuchiki family, the leader of the four noble families in Soul Society.
The above information was told to her by Yoruichi. After that, she spoke to Urahara Kisuke on the phone. The other party seemed to have guessed that she would visit today and said that as long as she went home, she would understand everything.
She had actually roughly guessed the situation at home, but what puzzled her now was why the princess of the Kuchiki family had ended up stationed in the real world.
...It can’t be said to be the “end”, it’s just not what she imagined.
Even if the Shinigami named "Kuchiki Rukia" wasn't a high-ranking figure within the family, even if she was the princess of a lesser-known branch, the family wouldn't want her to be in the human world, right? Could it be that she'd committed some crime and been sent to the human world by the family to hide temporarily?
...Those are not that important. No matter what the reason or situation is, as long as Urahara Kisuke is there, she believes that any problem or trouble can be solved.
"What will happen..." The orange-haired girl murmured softly, leaning her head against the car window beside her.
·
When Kurosaki Utsuki returned home, she was shocked by the scene before her.
It’s not that she hasn’t seen buildings destroyed by Hollow before, but when this building becomes her home, her mood is of course completely different.
There was a big hole in the wall on the first floor, and from the outside you could see the remains of the damaged tables, chairs and benches in the kitchen.
She felt something unusual before she even got close. There was still some Hollow spiritual pressure in the air around her, and of course it was also mixed with some Shinigami spiritual pressure. One of them belonged to her brother, and the other probably belonged to Kuchiki Rukia.
The situation was probably like this: a powerful Hollow attacked her family, most likely targeting her brother, Ichigo Kurosaki, who was the most powerful. Realizing she couldn't defeat the Hollow, the local resident shinigami, Rukia Kuchiki, passed her shinigami power to her brother, allowing him to become a shinigami and protect her family.
…She unconsciously sensed the spiritual pressure again.
Instead of going home, she went to the hospital on the first floor to say hello to her father, who replied, "I wasn't home last night, and I didn't expect a truck to crash into our house," and that explained the situation clearly. It seemed that Urahara Kisuke had already taken care of the aftermath, so her sisters didn't need to worry.
As she was about to leave, she was stopped by Kurosaki Isshin who popped his head out of the clinic: "Utahiki, are you going to Urahara's place? By the way, Ichigo has already gone to school."
"Yes." She replied, then waved her hand in understanding, "I will bring the amulet back."
Amulet refers to a disposable defensive item produced by Kisuke Urahara.
So Kurosaki Isshin said "Bon voyage" and went back to work.
But before going to Urahara Shoten, she took a detour to Karakura High School, where her brother attended.
It was lunchtime, and when Kurosaki Utsuki passed by the school gate, she happened to see Ishida Uryu from afar - he was Ishida Ryugen's only son. Although he looked very similar to his father, their relationship was quite bad, and she had only met him a few times when they were children.
From Ishida Ryugen, she had heard that the young man claimed to be the last Quincy and occasionally worked to eliminate Hollows. She didn't know the details, and of course, she had no intention of greeting him.
Not seeing her brother, Kurosaki Ichigo, or any of her other junior high school acquaintances, Kurosaki Utsuki shrugged regretfully and prepared to leave, continuing towards the Urahara shop. However, after taking a few steps, an explosion of spiritual pressure not far away caused the corners of her mouth to twitch uncontrollably.
Although this is in the real world and there are no Shinigami around, and the fluctuation of spiritual power will not be detected by the detection machines that may or may not exist in Soul Society, isn't this spiritual pressure too conspicuous?
but……
Although she was complaining in her heart, a smile spread across her face, a joy that was difficult to conceal.
"That's really his style."
She really wanted to see her brother's fighting posture.
However, she obviously couldn't make it this time. Considering that her brother would definitely return to school, Kurosaki Utsuki did not leave immediately, but hid behind a nearby tree, feeling the approaching and unrestrained spiritual pressure of the Shinigami, and secretly glanced at the two people who had just finished their work and were talking and laughing as they approached.
Her brother in a Shinigami uniform, and the petite, girlish-looking Shinigami—
My heart suddenly started beating wildly.
She couldn't tell if it was an emotion or a burning sensation; a subtle, indescribable feeling of being captivated spread rapidly throughout her body. She couldn't find the source of this burning sensation, only her breathing became increasingly rapid, her cheeks heated, and her gaze towards the petite Death Girl gradually became unsettled.
This feeling...could she be falling in love at first sight?
The sudden vibration of the phone gave Kurosaki Utsuki a start. She quickly shrank behind a tree guiltily before answering the call.
It was Kenji Hagiwara calling.
The boy opposite was also on his lunch break, and the purpose of calling was to confirm whether she was in good health, and also—
"Actually, I called Kurosaki-chan's brother last night."
Huh? When did they exchange contact information?
"……Then what?"
"I wanted to tell him yesterday that something was wrong with your health, Kurosaki-chan, but he didn't answer the phone."
Hearing this, Kurosaki Utsuki felt a little relieved. She also knew that her brother could not answer the phone at that time.
But the boy hadn't finished speaking yet: "He sent me an email this morning asking what was going on. I just saw it."
Kurosaki Utsuki gasped softly, the backs of the two people, one orange and one black, still in her sight: "How did you reply?"
Hagiwara Kenji said with a smile: "Don't worry, Kurosaki-chan, I just told you that you started raising a cat."
...That's about right.
"By the way, Kurosaki-chan, are you really okay? If you're still feeling uncomfortable, don't force yourself—"
"I'm fine... No, there's something wrong." Kurosaki Utsuki looked at the petite girl from afar, the heat surging in her heart still not subsiding, "I think I'm in love."
“Eh…eh?!!!”
"Why such a big reaction... Is it weird for a Shinigami to fall in love? No one says Shinigami have to live alone, right?"
"No, that's because—ah, it's because Kurosaki-chan actually said it so bluntly, it's a little surprising."
...She herself found it incredible.
"So it's just a 'seeming' thing. I need to figure out why she attracts me. The last person who attracted me this much was Urahara-san... For now, I'm going to Urahara-san." Kurosaki Utsuki said, "I'll leave Matsuda-san to you."
There was a strange silence on the other side for a while before he finally spoke: "Leave it to me."
·
As if they had calculated the time of Kurosaki Utsuki's arrival, when the orange-haired girl pushed the door of Urahara's store, the store manager in a striped hat who was sitting cross-legged on the tatami immediately waved his empty hand - the other hand held chopsticks, and there were only a few clean bowls on the table.
"Miss Utahi, please come and eat with us."
As a "regular customer", Kurosaki Utsuki was not polite and went straight to the low table. After greeting everyone in the store, she joined the group eating.
The somewhat serious conversation took place after that.
In reality, Kurosaki Utsuki didn't need to explain her feelings. Urahara Kisuke, who had dealt with her over the years, could easily understand her feelings, and she could also more or less guess at his attitude.
"Mr. Urahara wants me to continue being a Shinigami, right?"
The person on the other end acquiesced to her answer, his voice sounding a bit frivolous, his open folding fan obscuring the lower half of his face: "After all, it's hard to find an employee as dedicated and responsible as Ms. Utahi~"
The real reason, of course, had nothing to do with the work in Rice Flower City.
"I know Urahara-san has some plans for me." Kurosaki Utsuki refused to play along. She lifted her teacup, the steam rising from it clouding her expression. "My brother is some kind of 'undetermined possibility,' and I, should have already been 'part of the plan.'"
"Over the years, I've consciously avoided entering my brother's spiritual world, but I still remember everything I saw at the beginning. I described it to him back then, and Mr. Urahara should remember it too."
While her brother would grow to be even more powerful than she was with the borrowed power, the abilities of his Zanpakutō were completely different from hers.
"My brother's sword is a direct attack sword, but mine..."
She paused, a small smile on her face.
"It has the ability that Urahara-san wants to use when fighting someone."
The room fell into a brief silence. Jinta, a red-haired boy working in the store, poked his head out from the back room, but was pulled back by the others in an instant.
"Ms. Kashi."
Across the low table, Urahara Kisuke straightened his posture, appearing serious and formal. He didn't treat the person before him as an inexperienced underage girl, nor did he act like a seasoned veteran or an elder. He simply calmly and nonchalantly addressed his equal.
"Ms. Utahiki, how much did you hear from your father, Mr. Kurosaki?"
Kurosaki Utsuki shook her head.
"Not much. Dad doesn't want me to get involved after all." She said softly, "I just know that the reason Urahara-san is here, the reason Dad stayed in the living world, and one of the reasons why my mom died, are all related to someone in Soul Society."
But she had no idea who that person was or what he had done to cause the situation to become like this.
The person on the other side didn't say anything, as if agreeing with her statement.
"If I can avenge my mother," Kurosaki Utsuki took a deep breath and said solemnly, "then I am willing to devote everything I have to Mr. Urahara's plan."
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