章 31: 12th Division

"Welcome back, Captain."

"Yeah."

"Good day, Captain."

"Yeah."

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As Hikifune Kirio entered the 12th Division's barrack, everyone who saw her coming welcomed her politely. It was clear that they deeply respected their Captain.

Meanwhile, Kimura Muyang was ignored even though some of them glanced at him while wondering who he was. However, what baffled them was the fact that the 3rd Seat, Suitaku Byakuya, was walking behind Kimura Muyang.

As they were right in front of the Captain's Office, Hikifune Kirio gave a certain instruction to Suitaku Byakuya: "Order all members to gather in the lounge within half an hour, I have an announcement to make."

One of Suitaku Byakuya's eyebrows raised. He realized that his Captain planned to introduce the new Lieutenant to everyone and immediately left to do as he was instructed.

"Now, you're up next, Kimura." Hikifune Kirio turned his head to Kimura Muyang and smiled.

"Me?" Kimura Muyang puzzled.

"Well, let's talk about it inside. I'd rather talk about it while sitting on a sofa, after all." Hikifune Kirio pushed open the door to Captain's Office and led the way.

Kimura Muyang followed Hikifune Kirio while wondering what she would tell him.

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At the same time, in the 12th Division's lounge.

"Huh? you're back, Byakuya. That means the Captain should be at her office now, right? I'll head over there real quick." Seeing Suitaku Byakuya appearing in the lounge, Hiyori immediately jumped up.

"Wait, Hiyori!" As Hiyori was about to run past Suitaku Byakuya, she was stopped in her tracks by Suitaku Byakuya: "That's... Captain and Lieutenant have something to discuss in Captain's Office."

"What?? Lieutenant??"

Everyone was shocked when they heard Suitaku Byakuya. Since the 12th Division's Lieutenant seat has been vacant for quite a while, they've always thought that Suitaku Byakuya was their substitute Lieutenant, and even if a new Lieutenant was appointed, it should be the 3rd Seat Suitaku. However that 3rd Seat Suitaku was obviously right in front of them, so who was the Lieutenant he mentioned? Everyone began to wonder whether Suitaku Byakuya hit his head somewhere.

"3rd Seat Suitaku, what do you mean by Lieutenant?"

"Yes, even if we have a new Lieutenant, it should be you."

"Ahaha… Haha…" Suitaku Byakuya scratched his head and smiled awkwardly, "No, it's the Lieutenant that Captain appointed today."

"What? Stop joking, 3rd Seat Suitaku. Didn't you go to Shin'ō Academy with Captain today to recruit new members? Then how did that lead to us having a new Lieutenant?" Tanaka Tatsui laughed and said teasingly: "It's as if you're saying that Captain appointed a student who just graduated today as our Lieutenant!"

The rest of them laughed as well. Becoming a Seated Officer right after graduation alone was already a rare case, but a Lieutenant? That was unheard of.

"Well, it's exactly as you said. Captain appointed picked Kimura who just graduated as Lieutenant." Suitaku Byakuya casually said despite everyone laughing.

The laughter immediately stopped, replaced by a look of disbelief. The silence was broken by Hiyori, who cursed and pointed her hands at Suitaku Byakuya out of nowhere: "baldy Byakuya, I've told you to stop Captain, right? Why would you let someone like that become our Lieutenant? We don't even know if he's capable enough to be one."

"Hiyori, give Suitaku-san a break. He mustered his courage to go against Captain's decision in front of everyone today, but Lieutenant, he… Hiyori, why did you hit me out of nowhere?"

"Did you say Lieutenant?! Idiot Yoshihara, you actually acknowledged that kind of guy as our Lieutenant!" Hiyori fiercely smacked one of the 12th Division's members, who referred Kimura Muyang as Lieutenant. "You're such a pushover. That's why you're still a 6th Seat."

"Pushover... No way. But he does deserve to be a Lieutenant…Hiyori! Why did you hit me again!"

"I'm gonna kick your ass If you call him Lieutenant one more time."

"Wait, Hiyori. Just ask the others if you don't believe me." Yoshiwara Fukasawa hurriedly shielded his head with his hands when he saw Hiyori was throwing a tantrum again.

Hearing what Yoshiwara Fukasawa said, Hiyori immediately shifted his gaze toward the other Division members who went along with Hikifune Kirio to the Academy today, and they all nodded immediately.

Seeing their response, Hiyori was getting confused. She began to wonder whether Kimura Muyang really deserved the Lieutenant seat when she saw the look on everyone's faces, especially Suitaku Byakuya, who was supposed to be the most plausible candidate for the next Lieutenant.

"What exactly happened today? Suitaku, Hiyori, can you explain in detail. We can't understand what you're talking about." Tanaka Tatsui finally asked the most important thing here on behalf of the rest.

"Yeah, 4th Seat Tanaka is right. We don't even know what the hell you guys are saying. We demand an explanation!"

Suitaku Byakuya was helpless. If he didn't explain what happened properly, the Division members would definitely nag him later. However, he couldn't just casually explain it because Captain hasn't introduced Kimura Muyang to everyone else. As he racked his brain, he saw Yoshiwara Fukasawa, and his eyes lit up, "Since you guys have gone said that much, 6th Seat Yoshihara here will have to explain everything to you guys. The rest of you who came to the Academy today will join me and notify other members to gather here within half an hour, Captain's order."

The rest of the Division members in the lounge immediately flocked around Yoshiwara Fukasawa, awaiting his explanation about the newly-appointed mysterious Lieutenant. Hiyori was no exception, but unlike others, she was a bit rough as she went ahead and pulled Yoshihara's ear.

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As Kimura Muyang put down the teacup he was holding, he couldn't help but be amazed by Hikifune Kirio's beauty! However, he immediately cast that thought away as they were in the middle of a discussion: "In short, we, the 12th Division, rarely needs to sortie to the battlefield. We're mostly responsible for monitoring Soul Society, Human World, Hueco Mundo, and Dangai to ensure the balance and stability of these worlds."

"Close. The three worlds are relatively stable overall. Everything should be okay unless something major happened, and even If something does go wrong, it's not necessarily our job to take care of the problem. Hollow did often appear in Dangai, and we may have to deal with that, but not all the time."

"Well, there are more little details, but you should be fine as you learn it along the way. You'll eventually get used to it, and there's no point going into details now."

Hikifune Kirio then stood up and said: "Okay, let's go to the lounge. I want to introduce you to everyone. We all will be comrades that work and live together, after all."

"Yes!" Kimura Muyang nodded and followed closely behind Hikifune Kirio. He was the 12th Division Lieutenant from now on, and this place would be his home for a while.

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"The new Lieutenant must be handsome."

"You haven't even seen him. What are you saying? But I do think the Lieutenant must be as handsome as me."

"Tsk, quit spouting nonsense. As if the likes of you guys can predict what kind of man the Lieutenant is." One of the members said arrogantly, and as his complexion suddenly changed, he said: "He didn't falter even when he faced the 5th Division Captain; he must have the nerve of steel like me!"

"Tsk! "

This time, the rest of them was put off by that guy's narcissism.

Hiyori herself was still wondering whether Kimura Muyang was truly that strong. He could see him being as strong as Love, but saying he was at the level of a Lieutenant might be too far-fetched. Even if he was, calling him Lieutenant from now on just didn't sit well with her.

"Shua~ "

As the lounge door was opened, the atmosphere became dead silent. Everyone immediately turned their heads to two figures standing at the door, but their focus was completely on the man who would become their Lieutenant, not their beloved Captain.