Chapter 27 Persimmons and Strawberries 4
In response to Kurosaki Utahi's overly serious declaration of loyalty, Urahara Kisuke quickly played dumb and waved his small fan, giving a series of perfunctory responses such as "Your father will definitely make a fuss if that happens" and "I'm just a businessman."
But in the face of Kurosaki Utsuki's determined gaze, he finally relaxed his expression, put away his fan, and responded to her with the same seriousness, "I understand."
So the conversation came to a temporary halt. Kurosaki Utsuki lowered her head and took a few sips of tea. When she raised her head again, her expression was even more conflicted than before.
"Mr. Urahara, I have a... question."
Of course, the other party readily expressed his willingness to solve the problem for her.
"Well," she said hesitantly, "Is there anything special about the Kuchiki princess?"
"What are you talking about, Ms. Gexi?"
"...Body." Kurosaki Utsuki bit her lip, a slight heat rising on her cheeks. "I don't know if it's a spirit or a cyborg, or if it's because of her relationship with her brother, but anyway...her body seems to be attracting me."
"I see." Urahara Kisuke said.
He nodded in understanding, but said nothing more.
This was probably something she didn't need to worry about, Kurosaki Utsuki muttered to herself. If that was the case, she wouldn't delve into it.
"...By the way." She looked at the person opposite her again, this time with a look that said, "You must solve the problem." "Mr. Urahara, can you give me a few bottles of memory clearing spray that's not expired?"
But at this moment, the reliable and steady problem solver opposite her turned into a profiteer again——
"Hey—this is very expensive." Urahara Kisuke said as he stood up and handed a metal can to her after a while. "Ms. Utahiki, please be sure to use it sparingly."
“…I understand.”
Seriously! How could the God of Death be so stingy? Although, although in a sense it is kind of cute...
Sighing quietly inwardly, Kurosaki Utsuki temporarily put down the spray can and moved back a little. Urahara Kisuke's eyes shifted over, his hat brim deliberately pulled down to hide his expression.
Then, the orange-haired girl stretched out her left hand to the side, and the Quincy Cross pendant on her wrist fell down. Then, she grasped the red spiritual vein that had been hanging at her side, which could only be seen by carefully sensing the spiritual pressure - that was the color that represented the power of the god of death.
At the same time, he also grasped the scabbard of the Zanpakutō and the hand of the sword soul.
"Stupid Utsuki."
A voice came from her head, very similar to the mother in her memory, gentle and inclusive.
"…I'm sorry, Lianyue."
Kurosaki Utsuki, who had borrowed spiritual power again, murmured as she pulled out the Zanpakuto that was bound to her soul from the scabbard. A little bit of crimson light also dissipated into the air with her movement.
"Sorry to have kept you waiting."
Monday, June 1
Since the decision has been made to lend spiritual power again, Kurosaki Utsuki has to continue her part-time job.
The evil spirits in Beika City will not cause less trouble just because a new substitute Shinigami appears in Karakura next door, and she still has to get her salary from Manager Urahara.
"Don't bully the weak Hollow with no spiritual power." Kurosaki Utsuki said as she swung her sword towards the Hollow's mask. "Really, if you don't want to die, can you please not show up during my class in the future?"
With the blue spirit that the destroyed Hollow had transformed into as the background, she used her backhand to press the hilt of the knife against the head of the ghost that was previously chased by the Hollow and was panting, then turned her head to look at the black-clad Grim Reaper who was squatting on the tree with his arms folded.
"You just watch?"
Now that you're here, why don't you give me some help?
"You can handle it on your own anyway." Xia Youjie shrugged nonchalantly, showing no guilt for his inaction. He even felt a little resentful. "Why did you suddenly come home a few days ago?"
Kurosaki Utahi, who had skipped work for three days, put away his knife and said with equal confidence: "My house was hit by a car."
"……Home?"
"Yeah, there's a huge hole in the wall." She gestured with her hands to show how big it was, her tone a little helpless. "It was a hit-and-run accident, and there were no surveillance cameras. The police who came to investigate the case had no choice but to put up a notice nearby asking witnesses to contact us... Fortunately, it didn't affect the clinic's business."
The corner of Xia Yujie's mouth twitched: "That's really unfortunate... Is it true?"
Kurosaki Utsuki waved her hand and said simply: "It's fake, it's hollow."
The man in the tree jumped over to her side and asked, "Is everyone at home okay?"
"It's okay, thanks to the Shinigami stationed there." At this point, she casually changed the subject, "Kuchiki Rukia, is she on your team? With that last name, is she from the Kuchiki family?"
This was something she had forgotten to ask at Urahara's store two days ago.
"Yeah." Geto Suguru nodded, his tone full of sighs, "She's a celebrity in the team. After all, she's the younger sister of Byakuya Kuchiki."
"Byakuya...ah, Miss Yoruichi's toy? No, should I say little brother?"
She had heard the name "Kuchiki Byakuya" several times from Yoruichi Shihouin, along with a few stories related to it. In her imagination, he was a tsundere, brittle-haired tsundere who was inferior to others in skills but would never admit defeat verbally, full of youthful charm.
"puff--"
The boy opposite couldn't help laughing, and laughed for a long time before looking at the orange-haired girl with a puzzled look on her face.
"I'm not entirely sure of Shihoin-sama's relationship with that person. After all, Shihoin-sama left Soul Society a hundred years ago, before I even entered Mao," he explained. "But now, when people in Soul Society mention Byakuya Kuchiki, they only think of his titles: 'Head of the Kuchiki Clan' and 'Captain of the Sixth Division.' Incidentally, the predicate qualifier is 'serious.'"
For a moment, Kurosaki Utsuki's expression was blank. It was not because she turned into an icy face because of a tsundere monster, but because she was the noble princess of the Kuchiki family. Not only did she join the 13th Division out of interest and was sent to garrison in the real world, but she also violated the rules and passed her spiritual power to humans... The main character is a rebel.
Looking at her strange expression, Geto Xiayou smiled, his eyes almost narrowed into thin lines: "This Kuchiki on our team is different from the noble princess you imagine. She is not rebellious and has no airs. She is very popular in the team."
"Eh—is that so? That's quite rare." Kurosaki Utsuki raised an eyebrow. "But that still doesn't explain why she, a princess of a noble family, was sent to the human world—could it be that she secretly married a commoner, and her family sent her to the human world to stop her, or as a punishment?"
"...What you said seems to make some sense."
The opinion was confirmed, and Kurosaki Utsuki nodded with the same certainty: "As expected."
"No, it just makes sense." The black-haired, black-clad Shinigami sighed and squatted down against the tree trunk. "She was originally just an adopted daughter of the Kuchiki family... Although it's not nice to say such unfounded things behind her back, when she was adopted, about fifty years ago, there were many rumors that she looked a lot like Captain Kuchiki's late wife. I've never met the Kuchiki mistress, but I heard she was in poor health and passed away shortly after marrying into the Kuchiki family."
So there's a process for turning a tsundere into an ice-faced person? The aristocratic circles of this great family are even more chaotic than what's described in novels...
Kurosaki Utsuki's eyes lit up: "I understand! Rukia-chan must have chosen to escape to the real world because she would rather die than obey and rejected the substitute literature!"
"That makes her 'Rukia-chan'... That's right, you have a point."
It just “makes sense”.
Kurosaki Utsuki curled her lips at Geto Suguru's seemingly desperate response.
She had only said that, and she held no ill will towards the "Kuchiki family." Regardless of the truth, she was willing to trust the Shinigami who had been praised positively by Geto Suguru and who had previously protected her family.
…Not to mention she fell in love at first sight.
"By the way, Geto," Kurosaki Utsuki also knelt down, and approached the person next to him with a cautious look as if to whisper something, "Do you think there is any possibility that the adopted daughter of the Kuchiki family is with someone from our Shiba family?"
Her father, Shiba Isshin, was once the head of a branch of the Shiba family. The Shiba family was a declining noble family. Although they were in decline, they were at least once nobles.
Knowing this as well, Geto Xiayou showed a very skeptical expression: "...Which possibility?"
"That's right, that's the possibility." She blinked cutely and awkwardly placed the tips of her two index fingers together. "The kind where two people live together forever."
"I don't think so... who are you talking about? Your brother?"
"No, I'm talking about myself. I think I like her very much—Hey, Geto, why are you running?"
She was just joking... It's okay if you don't laugh, but she wouldn't run away, right?
Well, since we'd just chatted for too long, she had to get back to the infirmary as soon as possible. After all, there were people watching over her, anxiously waiting for her.
·
After school, Kurosaki Utaha thought her daytime job was over. She wandered around Reiken's activity room, and after finding no one else participating in the club activities, she walked briskly back, bag in hand, wondering what else she had in the fridge and what to make for dinner tonight.
Then the phone call came.
Of course it’s Geto Summer Oil.
"Xuan is a little distance away from you, but there is still some time, enough for you to rush over."
The intention to get her out was obvious, but before answering the phone, she glanced at the email she had just received. She could go to that place, but she really didn't want to go. "Are you far away?"
"It's far indeed." The Grim Reaper on the other end of the line was very confident, "I'm AWOL."
"Ah?" Where does your confidence come from?
"Sorry, sorry." Although he apologized, there was no regret in Geto's voice. "When I heard you ask about Kuchiki Rukia earlier, it suddenly reminded me that the captain asked me to look after her. Now that her term is almost up, I thought I should at least say hello to her."
Isn't this troublesome?
"...So you went to the empty seat?"
"Yeah, she's still on the way," said Geto. Then, as if suddenly realizing something, he asked, "Is there some inside story on her side that I'd better not know?"
Kurosaki Utsuki on this side was also straightforward: "Yes."
Although she felt that even if the other party knew the truth, he would be willing to keep it secret for them, she was more inclined to believe that the other party knew nothing from the beginning.
"Understood. I'll go visit Mr. Urahara instead." The person on the other end of the phone made a quick decision. He had no intention of causing trouble for himself or others. "Then the Hollow just now—"
He has cooperated so well, what other reasons does she have to refuse to go out?
"I'm leaving right away."
After hanging up the phone, Kurosaki Utsuki tried to cheer herself up and decided to end the battle quickly.
·
About fifteen minutes later, Jinpei Matsuda, who had strayed from his usual life to deliver something to the boss of the shop where he worked part-time, and was about to return to the train station, suddenly looked up.
Amidst the sudden roar of the giant monster, a petite, slender orange-haired girl descended from the sky. She drew her sword from her waist and, with a single casual swing, slashed the monster's mask and body in half, from top to bottom.
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