Chapter 55 Soul Society: Twelve
Kurosaki Utsuki bit her lip and said nothing.
At this time, she had left the second team and was wandering aimlessly on the street. She had been biting like this all the way. Ever since she met Gin Ichimaru and heard his terms of exchange, she fell into deep thought.
Gin Ichimaru said that he was willing to confess everything related to Aizen, on the condition that after Aizen was defeated, she would use the power of her Zanpakuto to do something for him.
No...it's not really a condition.
Because he just said that he hoped to get her help.
Why...what does he want?
Besides dealing with the god of death, what else can she deal with?
What he wanted to say when he was interrupted by Yoruichi was that the person her ability could affect should not be a Quincy or Hollow who also possessed spiritual power. She knew that herself, so Yoruichi would not react so strongly.
But what else exists... No, could it be "existence"?
"...Broken Jade?"
Kurosaki Utsuki, who had been lost in thought the entire time, suddenly raised her head, wanting to ask Yoruichi for confirmation. However, she looked around but couldn't see Yoruichi. She was stunned for a moment before she suddenly remembered that when she left the Second Division gate, she seemed to have heard Yoruichi say, "I have something to leave for now."
"Well, never mind. We'll find out eventually."
The orange-haired girl put her hands behind her back and skipped forward a few steps happily, stepping out of the shadow of the eaves into the warm sunshine.
She had already agreed to Ichimaru Gin's terms, and Shihouin Yoruichi hadn't explicitly objected. If she couldn't fulfill them, she could let Urahara-san find another way.
So, where should she go next?
There's no need for the 4th Division to go back, so we might as well go to Rukongai first.
·
One of the destinations is Gojoya.
Besides thanking him for the many times he had helped her, she also had to apologize for not being able to return the borrowed dress.
Of course, the head of the Gojo family, who was wealthy and powerful, didn't care about this small loss at all. The white-haired man was still lazily leaning on the couch where she had sat the last time she saw him, and asked her a few irrelevant questions with great interest, such as her thoughts on the destruction of the Double Killing Hill.
...She didn't really feel anything, and she didn't want to think about that kind of thing.
"Although I feel there is little hope, I hope it can be restored to its original state," she answered sincerely.
So the person opposite started laughing without any manners, almost falling down on the couch. After a while, he finally adjusted his mood, asked the housekeeper to take her to change back into the clothes she came in, and asked her to say hello to his friends on his behalf.
The destination after that was the Shiba family.
The timing was just right, so she had lunch at Gojo's house, and when she arrived at Shiba's house it was snack time.
Shiba Kūkaku sat on the wooden stand beside the cannon barrel, directing his younger brother Ganju to serve tea and water. Upon seeing her arrival, Shiba Kūkaku warmly invited her to sit down and directed his younger brother to fetch new tea and snacks.
"Ichigo was here yesterday," Shiba Kūkaku said.
Kurosaki Utsuki raised an eyebrow: "Is that so? I just woke up last night and haven't seen him yet."
He should be the one who is most looking forward to her waking up, but no one knows where he has hidden, just like her in the past.
Shiba Kūkaku smiled and said, "I asked him to try the Spirit Pearl Core again yesterday."
"How is it? Is the spiritual pressure stable?"
"It's more than just stable." She lowered her head and took a sip of tea, then looked into the distance. "I won't ask about the specific situation. It's enough for Yoruichi and Urahara to understand. Anyway, I just hope you're safe and sound."
Kurosaki Utsuki murmured, "Yeah."
The person next to her laughed again and put her arm around her shoulders. The feeling of a big sister was no different from that of Shihouin Yoruichi. "Actually, I was also at the Double Killing Hill at that time, but I was a step too late. I only saw your amazing sword strike from afar. By the time I landed, you were already seriously injured and unconscious. Ichigo was holding you nervously, and he looked like he was about to cry."
"...Then there's no need to cry. I'm not dead."
As she said this, a smile naturally appeared on her face.
When they parted, Shiba Kūkaku's last words were to say hello to her uncle on her behalf, and of course she gladly agreed.
The next stop is the Tenth Division.
In the morning, when Kurosaki Utsuki was doing the final check on the 4th Division, she heard that the captain of the 10th Division, who was seriously injured by Aizen's sword, left after waking up on the day of the injury, and visited her once after she was admitted to the hospital.
Now she also wants to visit him in return, and maybe he will ask her to say hello on her behalf.
...In the end, I finally met the person I wanted to meet but had never met on the road.
"Ah, brother."
Kurosaki Utsuki stopped in his tracks.
It was almost dusk, and the brother and sister's hair was reflected in the sunset, almost blending into the orange-red color.
She pointed to the gate of the 10th Division, which was visible just around the corner, and said in a provocative tone, "This is the direction to the 10th Division. Brother, why are you here?"
Ichigo Kurosaki looked at his sister across from him and hesitated for a few seconds before he made up his mind to tell the truth. He spoke directly: "I came to see you."
"Oh? It seems that you are already very proficient in sensing spiritual power." If he hadn't used his perception ability, which he was proud of, to find someone, it would not have been so easy for him to find the Tenth Division.
Feeling that his sister's words were a bit sarcastic, Ichigo Kurosaki couldn't help but frown: "Utahiki, how can I return these "experiences" to you?"
This was not the first time he asked this question. Long before Kurosaki Utsuki woke up, he had already asked several Shinigami including Shihouin Yoruichi, but the answer he got was always the same - "Who knows? Go ask your sister."
But he could guess the answer his twin sister might give, so he hesitated and did not appear in front of her the moment she woke up.
And his guess was obviously not wrong——
"Why are you giving it back to me?" Kurosaki Utsuki curled her lips. "I can no longer share my spiritual power with you. No matter how much experience I have left, I can't fight. I might as well lend it to you and make the best use of it."
This time the situation was completely different from the last time. She no longer relied on her own will to resist the sharing of spiritual power. As early as before the double death, she had forcibly severed the connection that her mother had given to her siblings.
"But--"
"There's nothing to worry about. It was Aizen who forced me to do this. If you have any objections, go talk to him."
Looking at his determined sister, Ichigo Kurosaki sighed deeply in his heart.
"If this is Gexi's wish," he said seriously and firmly, "I promise Gexi that I will use Gexi's power well."
She knows that kind of thing without any guarantee.
"...Yeah." Kurosaki Utsuki responded softly and turned her head away, "Stupid brother."
"Why... well, never mind." Knowing he wouldn't get an answer, Kurosaki Ichigo gave up asking why he was once again called an idiot. He finally told her why he was looking for her. "Inoue was looking for you," he explained. "Ishida made clothes for everyone to wear in the real world."
"Ishida? Is that what he's been busy with lately?"
"Yes, I heard that they borrowed materials and tools from the Fourth Division."
"Hey—well, I'll check it out later. I'm staying at Orihime-san's tonight."
It got a little darker.
"By the way, Rukia decided not to return to the human world with us."
"Yeah, I guess so." Kurosaki Utahi nodded, "After all, her home is here."
And her brother, dressed as a Shinigami and carrying a huge Zanpakutō, also smiled.
He never asked about the situation of "the father who was stabbed by Aizen" from beginning to end. He must have known that she was still hiding something, but he just rubbed her hair gently as before.
"Once Captain Ukitake opens the gate that allows humans to pass through, we can go home."
Kurosaki Utsuki lowered her eyes.
"……Um."
They saved Rukia Kuchiki and were able to return home together without anyone being left behind - their wish was successfully fulfilled.
·
Help, help...
"Captain Hitsugaya—help—"
She shouldn't have insisted on going to the 10th Division to visit Hitsugaya Toushirou! As early as when she met her brother, she should have turned back with him and thought about going out the next day, instead of dragging him to the 10th Division right then and there!
And I shouldn't have accepted Matsumoto Rangiku's invitation to dinner!
"So, we are still minors, Vice Captain Matsumoto, please put the wine away—"
He's still in the team dormitory, but the captain doesn't care at all!
"Please take your breasts away, my brother's first time is for the woman he loves!"
After struggling to break free, Ichigo Kurosaki consciously hid behind the highest-ranking white-haired boy present with a flash of his footsteps. He silently wiped the dark lines from his forehead, hesitated for a few seconds, and then weakly called out his sister's name: "Utsuki..."
Kurosaki Utsuki, who was being held in the arms of the drunken Matsumoto Rangiku, struggled to raise his eyes: "What?"
“…No, nothing.”
He just felt that what she said just now was a bit strange... but it was better to ignore it.
This chaotic dinner continued until Matsumoto Rangiku fell asleep drunk, and the seemingly young but very responsible captain Hitsugaya sent her back to the room as usual.
Kurosaki Utsuki took the initiative to help, but ended up hearing the name "Gin" from the woman's dream.
"Gin?" She couldn't help but repeat it, then looked at the Hitsugaya boy with a complicated expression, "Could it be Ichimaru Gin?"
The boy's low "hmm" confirmed her guess.
Then Kurosaki Utaki understood: "...No wonder."
No wonder he indulged himself like this when he should have been busy with team affairs.
The young man Hitsugaya put the person on the bed and left the room. Kurosaki Utsuki knelt down on the tatami and carefully helped the sleeping person tidy up his hair, but his thoughts gradually drifted away.
"Does that guy like you too?" she murmured, but a young man's figure emerged in her mind.
It's wonderful to be able to fulfill the promise I made to him and return to the real world.
【Friday, August 14】
It's finally time to leave.
At the Crossing World Gate, a Death God Proxy Certificate was handed to Kurosaki Utaha by the 13th Division Captain Ukitake Jushiro. And just a minute ago, her brother had just accepted one.
"Thank you, but I won't accept it. I don't think I'll be doing the Shinigami agent job again for a while." She glanced at Yoruichi, who had transformed back into a black cat, and refused seriously, "I can't be an effective combat force like this now. It's better for me to focus on my studies as a human."
She had originally become a "Death Agent" because it was a high-paying part-time job, but now... she might be on the verge of falling out with her employer.
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