บท 67: CH 59: GATHERING
[4th division; main office.]
The next morning,
"...And this is what happened!"
"So. Not only did you join the mission of another squad without my permission, you also kidnapped the vice-captain of the 12th division after she tried to assault you?"
"When you say it like this, it seems sooo bad."
"In the first place, why would she try to assault you?"
"Because I am handsome?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Tehe?"
"Tehe, my ass! Satoru! How many times do I have to tell you!? When you want to wreak havoc, you are free to do so, but it shouldn't be tracked back to you! This way, even if everyone knows it's you, without proof, they can do nothing!"
"Hahaha! Stop frowning, you are ruining your beautiful skin."
Unohana dismissed his compliment with a wave of her hand.
"Forget it. Anyway, you aren't a kid, you deal with your own problems. I have only one question. Are you sure she won't rat you out?"
Unohana's eye flashed ominously. She had invested too much in this student of hers to simply let him get ruined because of a woman.
If necessary, she could kill her in a way so thorough, people would think she was eaten by a hollow or something of the like.
She was used to changing crime scenes. After all, during her time as a criminal, she would need such skills to not let her abilities be recognized when she was chased by bounty hunters.
You could say that she was a master in treating dead bodies.
Though, generally, when she got bored of running away, she would simply stop hiding her tracks and massacre them all.
Watching their expression of shock was always funny in her mind.
Ignoring the rather dark and bloody thoughts of his captain, Gojo simply shrugged, "I am simply keeping her with me because the structure of her body interests me. Even if I release her and she rats out my space technique, It doesn't really matter, does it? I will just leave if necessary."
Unohana simply nodded, not shocked at his words.
She was the closest one to him and knew basically all the secrets about his Zanpakuto.
Gojo trusted her quite a bit. After all, she did not really share the Soul Society's sense of justice.
Back then, when he asked her why she joined the Soul society and protected the world, her answer was pretty simple,
"In this world, only the strong can destroy or protect the balance. Hence, the best way to face strong people is either to try breaking the balance or protecting it. But—Destroying it would only lead to the elimination of all the potentially strong people rising in the future, Thus I merely decided to protect it."
Back then, Gojo could only raise a thumbs up at this convoluted way of thinking that was so much like her.
That's why Gojo knew. Whether he stayed or betrayed the soul society, it didn't really matter to her.
If he stayed, she would nurture him to surpass her and if he left, she would face him as an enemy and either die or kill him.
It was so straightforward it was refreshing.
"Anyways," Standing up, he stretched a little and walked away, "I have a job to do, can't afford to be late."
Unohana could only helplessly shake her head at his nonchalant attitude, "Take care."
Even though she said so, she was not really worried. It was impossible for a hollow powerful enough to threaten Gojo to enter the Soul society without being caught.
---
[Rukongai, 60th west district]
The Rukongai was divided into four great zones, West, East, North, and South. Each zone was composed of 80 districts.
The higher the number of the district, the farther it was from the Seireitei and the more lawless it was.
It was to the level where mass murder and the like were incredibly common around the confines of the 70-80th district.
Because of this, weak hollows that managed to enter the Soul Society undetected could kill a great number of Souls before anyone found out that something fishy was happening.
Following behind the 3rd seat of her division, Rukia could not help but feel complicated as she watched the situation.
After all, she was also from the furthest zone of the rukongai. The 79th district of the south zone.
For about one hundred years, she, Renji, and a few of their friends stayed there and survived as much as they could.
In the end, only the two of them survived and decided to enroll in the academy.
"Stressed?"
Raising her head, she looked at the worried expression on Miyako's face and shook her head.
"I am sorry, 3rd seat Miyako. This will not happen again."
Miyako gave her a reassuring smile and did not comment further.
Even though the two of them were close, this was currently an official mission and as such, the hierarchy had to be respected. Though because Miyako and Kaien had the same family name, they directly adressed her with her given name.
Initially, Rukia should not have participated in this mission.
After all, even though she had awakened her Shikai, in terms of experience, she was still a newbie.
Most did not understand why, but Miyako knew that it was because of the Kuchiki family.
Not only did they stop Rukia from participating in any dangerous missions, but they even stopped any attempts of advancement.
This was why, even though Rukia had the skill equal to a single-digit seated officer, she still had no official seat.
The same would have happened for this mission, but after it was made known that Satoru Gojo would follow, the Kuchiki family made no fuss.
It seemed that despite their rivalry, Byakuya Kuchiki trusted the skills of Satoru Gojo.
'Well, I will admit that I was also more relaxed after knowing he would join.'
The fame of Gojo was unprecedented.
If only the rumors about his womanizing ways and the fact that he was a troublemaker were not taken into account, he was pretty much the perfect soldier.
"Aloha! Everyone! What a good day, don't you think?"
Miyako shuddered at the sudden voice sounding from behind her.
She had to fight all her instincts to not just turn around and slash with her sword.
'I did not even feel him.'
If he had wished, he could have killed them all before they even understood what was happening.
Thankfully, the Soul Society was full of people that could kill her with a snap of their fingers, so she was used to it.
Bowing to Gojo, she said,
"Good morning, 3rd seat Satoru Gojo. Now that you are here, I can once again summarize the mission."
Even though the two of them had the same rank, Miyako was still extremely polite. But despite her polite attitude, Gojo did not miss the soft rebuke in her words.
"Hahaha! Sorry for being late. I was a little...Let's say busy."
"I understand. Now then."
Facing the other members of her squad, Miyako spoke.
"This is nothing more than a scouting mission. The number of civilians who vanished in this zone is abnormally high. The cause is an unknown type of hollow, as such, we must be careful.
We will move in teams of three and spread out. If anyone meets the target, then prioritize escaping. If you cannot escape, activate the flare, fight and gather as much information as possible before sending them with your hell butterfly."
Miyako gave those orders with a cold voice.
This was the soul society.
Death was so common that most were desensitized to it.
"""Yes!"""
No shinigami flinched at her declaration.
Information was precious. Using the life of one or two Shinigami to save a hundred more was definitely worth it in their opinions.
Even if this sacrifice had to be their own selves.
(AN: I honestly respect shinigami in general. It's just sad how most of them are basically Canon fodder. Also good news. Normally last chapter of the week should have been on Friday. But I decided to post a bonus chapter on Sunday. Have a good day.)
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