บท 23: 23 - Aftermath
First, Rumi thought about the consequences of telling them her doubts. She was basically chased by a group of hollows and that kind of perfect timing of their appearance and order, Rumi suspected that there was someone controlling these hollows. And since it happened shortly after she found out about the truth of the barrier unit's death, Rumi suspected that she was targeted because she found out about the truth.
However, that also brought the question of why they let her leave and go back to her friends. By the swift Zanpakuto slash on the corpse, Rumi could see that the muderer was much stronger than students so it might have been possible to kill her if the murderer showed himself to do it.
'Were they concerned of being seen? or is there anything they're after?' Rumi couldn't help but think. While she trusted that Kazehime was strong and her potential was great, Rumi also knew that the possibility of her taking on all the hollows and the murderer at once and surviving was slim.
But, one thing was sure, Rumi couldn't tell them all the details. If Soul Society were to find out about the slash injury, at least it wouldn't be from Rumi's words.
She still had a mission to accomplish by finding out the truth of this incident and it would simply be better if no one knew what she suspected. Not to mention she didn't know who was the insider so there was a possibility that the insider could use their power to bury the truth.
It could also bring her more danger if she spoke and the ones she told what she found today to could also be involved, in addition to the difficulty in completing the mission. In anyway, it wouldn't bring her any benefit.
"They're all likely killed by those big hollows. I, myself, encountered a few on the way back." Rumi decided to leave out the slash injury and the fact that she was chased by hollows after the investigation. While she wished she could've warned her friends, she figured that it was better to not say anything.
Just as Rumi was about to add a bit more detail to make it seem like she wasn't hiding anything, she heard a voice coming from behind her.
"Sorry we're late. We're here to rescue you but when we got here, we saw one of you unleashing your Shikai. It's impressive for a student like you to hold your own like that. What's your name?"
Turning around, Rumi saw where the voice came from. It was a captain wearing a white haori, he had brown hair and was wearing glasses, and his demeanor was kind. Behind him was his lieutenant, with his lieutenant badge. Rumi remembered them to be Captain Aizen and his liutenant, Ichimaru Gin.
"Captain Aizen, it's a pleasure to meet you. I am Fujiwara Rumi from first year, Class One." Rumi introduced herself formally.
"Fujiwara Rumi? A first year? I have heard about your talent in the academy." Aizen said, "I didn't expect to see you unleash your Shikai today on top of that. I must say it's a pleasant surprise."
"It was a lucky coincidence." Rumi replied.
Aizen chuckled, "Luck is also a skill. So, what about joining our Squad Five after graduation? With your talent, it might be possible to get you a seated position at once."
Rumi didn't expect to get an invitation to join Squad Five of Gotei 13 from the captain himself. None of her friends or Hisagi did either so they were all shocked with their mouths in the background.
Rumi replied, "Thank you for your invitation, Captain Aizen. I will be sure to think about it in the mean time."
Aizen nodded, his face expression was gentle and he looked like a gentle captain. Rumi had to admit joining Gotei 13 after graduation sounded like a good idea, and the potential seated position was another plus. While she had a great talent in Kido, Rumi knew she just didn't want to rely on Kido, especially after just getting her Shikai. As for the secret division, Rumi didn't know much about them so she didn't really want to come to a decision yet.
'I still have time, right? It's not like I'd graduate in a month or something.' Rumi thought. Even with the more accelerated program, it should take at least a year, right?
So, Rumi just replied that she would think about it in the mean time to Captain Aizen. After that was reporting the incident in detail and Rumi made sure to leave out the details she had found just as she decided a while ago.
Captain Aizen was extremely understanding and encouraging, Rumi noticed everyone was in a better mood and in admiration for the said captain by the end of the encounter. Momo was the most obvious because she kept saying she envied Rumi because she got invited to Squad Five directly and that Momo wanted to join Squad Five as well.
Rumi just smiled at Momo's apparent admiration for Captain Aizen. It seemed that Momo had found her goal to achieve after graduation.
Meanwhile, Kira and Renji looked extremely envious of Rumi getting an invitation to join Squad Five and Renji kept saying things like he'd be sure to get into Squad Five too.
"You guys...I haven't even decided if I wanted to join yet." Rumi shook her head and said so that the guys would take a chill pill. The whole matter about the direct invitation was quite a shock but after a while, Rumi also realized that she could potentially join any Squad she wanted with her current feats.
After all, she heard from the instructors since the entrance day that she was apparently the one with highest reiatsu for a first-year in many years, and later from the system that her spirit class was 5-6 at her maximum by the time of the entrance exam. She didn't pay much attention to it at the time because she knew this was almost like her starting point, and there were room for growth. Then, her talent for learning Kido spells was on another level with the boost from Sloth's efficiency. It was outrageous to the point of learning 70 Hado and Bakudo spells in total in two months.
And finally, she even unleashed her Zanpakuto and achieved Shikai after two months and a week of being in the academy.
With such outrageous feats, Rumi had a feeling that she could join any Gotei 13 squad if she wanted. Of course, attitude and acting a bit to make sure the captains like her enough to let her join was another matter but she believed her talent wasn't a problem. Maybe her personality and lazy attitude was, but then again, Rumi didn't really want to join a squad where she couldn't slack off either.
Meanwhile, Renji and Kira were speechless when they heard Rumi hadn't decided, "Wait, Rumi, you realize that's a seated position in Gotei 13, right?" Renji asked.
"Yeah, but there's still time before I graduate. Maybe there'll be more invitations, who knows? And I can join the squad I like most." Rumi said with a smug face just to mess with Renji and poor Kira, he looked like he was questioning his life choices.
"As if," Renji scoffed, "What do you think Gotei 13 is? Do you think their captains are so free?"
Rumi shrugged, "What? I'm just stating the possibility here."
"Alright," Hisagi decided to interrupt a potential chaos, "We need to get back to the academy and report. Let's get moving."
With Hisagi's intervention, Rumi and the three went back to Soul Society. Because Aoga and the other first years escaped the hollows while Hisagi and Renji's group defended, they were the first ones to be back at Soul Society.
Once Rumi was back, she found that she was summoned by Ounabara sensei again.
"Ounabara sensei" Rumi greeted him as she went into the office.
"Fujiwara, you're here." Ounabara nodded, "Sit."
Rumi nodded and sat in the chair.
"I heard that you already unleashed your Zanpakuto and achieved Shikai state." Ounabara stated.
Rumi nodded in reply, "Yeah, it was quite fun."
Ounabara had a strange look on his face when he heard Rumi referring unleashing Zanpakuto to a fun thing but he decided not to comment on it, instead, he moved on to a more serious topic.
"You know the requirements for graduation are to get to at least practitioner rank in each of the Zankensoki. So far, I would say your Zanjutsu and Kido are more than qualified to graduate. But, I don't know about your Hoho progress and Hakuda progress." Ounabara said.
"Oh, I can already use Shunpo." Rumi replied.
"You can already use Shunpo?" Ounabara was surprised, that meant Rumi was only a step away to fulfill all the criteria to graduate and it wasn't even three months since the start of the academic year.
"I think I'm doing okay in Hoho, but Hakuda, I don't really have much interest in it." Rumi said, "Like why do I need to fight with my bare hands like a savage?"
Ounabara coughed at Rumi's description of Hakuda, "Hakuda is not the way of fighting like a savage." He found himself saying sternly.
"Oh.." Rumi had a feigned curiosity on her face and Ounabara almost shouted at the fakeness but he had to control himself.
"Since you only need a bit of a progress in Hakuda, let's focus on Hakuda training sections for a month after you get back from holidays for your accelerated program. Then, we will cram a few theories and let you sit your final test to graduate." Ounabara said, "With that schedule, you should graduate in another three to five months."
"Wait, you're letting me graduate that early?!" Rumi exclaimed, "I haven't even thought about my future plans yet because I thought I had time until the end of the year!"
Ounabara felt his eyebrows twitch, "Then, figure it out quickly!"
Rumi didn't look that happy and said, "And why do I have to do Hakuda for a whole month, sensei? I just told you I hated it."
"You can't just skip a whole combat technique because you don't like it." Ounabara said.
"I know," Rumi replied, "But I should be able to complain as much as I want."
"Then, go and complain in your room." Ounabara said. He just hoped this Fujiwara Rumi would graduate quickly and out of his hands.
'It's not easy to be an instructor these days...' He thought.
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