Chapter 36 Psychic Detective 5
When Kurosaki Utaki and Hagiwara Kenji returned home with their lunch, Matsuda Jinpei, who was left at home, no longer had the tired look on his face as when they left. He was sitting cross-legged on the sofa, petting two cats on both sides at the same time, looking like a winner in life.
Seeing the two people come back, he slowly moved down from the sofa, as if he would not do anything and would just wait for his friends to feed him.
"It seems that you have reconciled?"
Kurosaki Utsuki was stunned for a moment before she realized that Matsuda had deliberately asked his friend to accompany her to buy lunch, hoping that they could talk about something when they were alone and solve any possible problems.
"...You two have a really good relationship." She complained coldly, but she didn't feel angry at all.
The curly-haired boy raised an eyebrow, "Yeah, Kurosaki, are you jealous?"
"Not really. On the contrary, you should envy my achievements."
"……hateful."
The atmosphere became harmonious again.
It's fine to continue like this, Kurosaki Utsuki thought as she munched on a burger. As an ordinary high school student, carefree and focused on her studies, she could temporarily forget about her part-time job as a Shinigami agent, forget about the possible troubles her brother might have, forget about Rukia Kuchiki, who made her heart flutter...
She sincerely hoped that if trouble from Soul Society ever came, it would be after the final exams.
Also, in the evening, when the study session ended and the two boys left her house, Matsuda Jinpei's bold words really sounded like the youthful spirit, making her deeply feel what it meant to have a dream that anyone could be great, and she felt that it was unrealistic.
"Just wait and see, Kurosaki, my total score on the exam will definitely be higher than yours!"
She'd wait and see, but she wasn't about to lose to him.
And what Hagiwara Kenji whispered almost to her when he passed by her—
"I won't let Kurosaki-chan down."
Thursday, July 16
The final exam results are out.
In order to encourage top students to keep working hard, Kurosaki Utsuki's school makes the list of the top 50 students and their scores public. Printed copies of the lists are posted on the bulletin board, and the results are published even before the test papers are returned.
Although Kurosaki Utaki usually doesn't join in the fun, this time, she went to take a look with the eager Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji when there were fewer people around.
Kurosaki Utaki, who felt good about herself when answering the questions, successfully made it onto the list as she had roughly estimated, and was in a very high position, which made Matsuda Jinpei, who was at the bottom of the list, grin.
"Now, no matter how many times you skip classes next semester, the teacher will only care about your health."
Kurosaki Utsuki returned a sincere smile: "Thank you, I know you are subtly showing weakness to me, I understand and accept it, but with this score, I probably won't be able to get into the University of Tokyo."
"……hateful."
Kenji Hagiwara's grades were comparable to Jinpei Matsuda's. Although he was at the bottom, he was at least at the bottom of the top fifty. Considering that there were nearly four hundred students in the entire grade, this result was already pretty good - especially for him who always skipped classes with Utsuki Kurosaki.
"I can see you've been working really hard." In stark contrast to her attitude towards Matsuda, the orange-haired girl smiled with great satisfaction when she met Hagiwara's gaze. "And to make next semester easier, I suggest you prepare for the upcoming classes during the summer vacation."
Before Hagiwara Kenji could say anything, Matsuda Jinpei, standing beside him, spoke up for his friend: "Could it be that Hagi was responsible for taking you to the infirmary every day for all three years of high school?"
"Hey—Xiao Zhenping, are you envious?"
"Huh? Hagi, whose side are you on?"
Being glared at by his friend, Hagiwara Kenji smiled and said, "I'm sorry, Jinpei-chan, Kurosaki-chan has been protecting us in a place no one knows about. I also want to provide some support for her."
Matsuda Jinpei curled his lips and said, "I see. I wish you success soon."
Although she felt that the word "success" had some underlying meaning, and since the two people in front of her didn't seem to be on the verge of a conflict, Kurosaki Utsuki took the initiative to explain, "If Hagiwara's grades suffer, he'll lose his job."
After saying that, she turned around and went back to the classroom. She heard the sighs and teasing voices of two teenagers behind her. She quickened her pace a little, but unconsciously raised the corners of her mouth.
·
This afternoon is the last club activity held by the Paranormal Research Department this semester, and all members will attend.
That being said, the number of activities held by the Spiritual Research Department this semester was very limited. Even the club activity room was only open once a week, simply because the weekly activity report submitted by Deputy Director Kurosaki Utsuki to the instructor needed to be stamped with the official seal kept in the activity room.
For Kurosaki Utsuki and most of the newcomers who joined the Spiritual Research Club this year, this was their first time meeting the club leader, Rokudo Mukuro, after an entire semester.
The handsome boy with a single red contact lens and a strange pineapple-like hairstyle doesn't look like someone who is diligently preparing for the college entrance exam. Instead, he looks like a middle school student who just wandered into a card game set, and from time to time he can synchronize his movements and exceed the speed of light.
However, the look he gave his sister was very gentle, which made Kurosaki Utsuki think of his brother for a few seconds.
In order to prepare for the final exams, she hadn't been home in a while, and she hadn't even called her sisters. But every night when she met with Geto Suguru, she would hear him as if to reassure her that nothing had happened that day, and that Soul Society hadn't sent anyone to take Kuchiki Rukia back.
However, how long will this peaceful state of “nothing happening” last?
Or maybe she asked Urahara Kisuke to help Kuchiki Rukia fake her own death? He'd faked her father's death before, so he should be pretty familiar with this kind of thing...
The theme of this club activity wasn't an outing, but rather an end-of-term review, a sort of farewell to the old and a welcome to the new, a celebration of summer vacation. After gathering in the club room, the six of us headed to a fast food restaurant near the school. The club leader, though seemingly immature, was generous enough to offer to treat us, and the younger students readily agreed, quickly warming up the atmosphere.
It seemed that Yuji Itadori's grandfather had been discharged from the hospital not long ago. The cherry-haired boy vowed solemnly and energetically that he would attend all the club activities next semester - and then Utsuki Kurosaki unceremoniously handed over the important task of stamping the weekly documents to him.
The boy took the key from her without complaint and said doubtfully, "I'm fine with that... but the Vice-President won't become a ghost member like the President, will he?"
Kurosaki Utsuki said simply: "Not as long as my grades don't drop."
But the "ghost" seems to change every day.
·
It had been a while since she had come to the balcony of Hagiwara Kenji's room after dark.
Kurosaki Utsuki, dressed in a black kimono, sat on the edge of the balcony, happily swinging her legs. The room behind her was empty; its owner seemed to be chatting with his parents downstairs. She could occasionally hear laughter in the distance.
As summer approached, the days grew longer, and she was used to going out after dark, so today she could only sit for a while and reminisce about the good times she had spent watching the cats here before she had to go about her patrol duties as a Death Agent.
The orange-haired girl clasped her hands together and prayed from the bottom of her heart that she would not encounter a murder scene again today.
Ever since Geto Suguru encountered three cases in one night last time, the frequency with which she encountered cases has increased significantly - this directly caused her to waste a lot of precious study time and go to the Metropolitan Police Department to meet with Detective Mori. Otherwise, she might have been able to improve her ranking by two more.
...Otherwise, she should find a different way to report the clues she has learned in the future.
She initially chose to deliver the message face-to-face because she didn't want to indirectly interact with the other person's colleagues. Also, because he was the breadwinner of a family with a wife and daughter, she didn't want to accidentally interrupt the little, if any, rest time he might have with his family.
But... sure enough, she would still send an email to inquire about the situation first and then call to report. She felt that this way she could save the time of an exam paper at a time, which might be equivalent to a tutorial book in a semester.
The phone vibrated.
Kurosaki Utsuki frowned.
Of course, it was Geto Xiayou's call, but she was about to join him, so there was no reason for him to call at this time, unless there was some extremely urgent news -
"Today we have some particularly explosive news."
It is true.
"You said 'today'? Not what just happened?" asked Kurosaki Utsuki.
Could it be that there was movement in Soul Society, and his noble friend had just passed the news to him through a communication device with a poor signal?
"It's been a while, and the news has already reached my friend," replied Geto. He didn't intend to keep the suspense and went straight to the point. "Killian appeared in Karakura Town today—you know what Killian is, right?"
Kurosaki Utsuki was stunned: "Low-level Hollow?"
Even if it is low-level, it is a rare Hollow that can evolve after eating hundreds of its own kind. It is an existence that ordinary Death Gods cannot deal with, and of course it should not appear in the world.
"Yes, but a Hollow of this level was repelled shortly after appearing. Can you imagine the reason?"
Kurosaki Utsuki bit her lip.
"……perhaps."
What else could it be? Isn't it just that her brother has become a little stronger?
"The person in charge of that jurisdiction is the missing Kuchiki, but she did not easily defeat the Hollow's power."
The voice on the other end of the phone paused before continuing.
"While we don't know the reason for the Hollow's appearance, Hueco Mundo isn't under Soul Society's control. But repelling a Hollow of this magnitude would surely terrify the old man above and take it very seriously. And considering Kuchiki's disappearance, it's easy to imagine that some powerful individual has taken her power and is controlling her."
That being said...
He concluded, "According to normal procedures, Soul Society will send people to Karakura to search for Kuchiki at the latest the day after tomorrow. Those who come this time will definitely not be easy to deal with."
Still here.
"Why are you telling me?" Kurosaki Utsuki asked subconsciously, "Don't you want me to avoid doing something stupid?"
He couldn't possibly think that she could remain indifferent to this matter, right?
"I don't want you to lose something important because you're late." The gentle voice of the resident death god came to my ears, "Even if I don't want you to go, I can't take away your opportunity."
"……Thanks."
"Ge Xi, you must come back." He said seriously, his voice sincere as if asking the only colleague in the company who could help not to resign, "Mihua still needs you."
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