The State of the World of the Living Leaves Rukia Dumbfounded

"Hey~ Sado"

I'll go get a job instead.

Sado Yūrei, it was just a routine thing, but Ichigo was different today; he patted Sado on the shoulder.

"I'm sorry, I have something to do tonight and can't go with you."

"Oh, you're busy."

Sado watched Ichigo run to the car and wave at him through the window, so Sado waved back. After watching Ichigo leave, Sado clenched his fist. "Well, let's go the North today."

On the other side, Ichigo looked at Rukia in the car and asked, "Dad, how is she?"

"We had some kind of contact, so I need to take you for a checkup now."

"Contact? Will there be any problems?" Ichigo to Rukia and asked, "Won't it interfere with your plans?"

Rukia initially thought Ichigo was referring to his own troubles, but it turned out he was worried about Ichigo, so she smiled and said, "It's nothing, nothing serious."

"Huh? Is something wrong or nothing?"

Haha~ It's alright.

Rukia's true personality isn't like this, but she's preoccupied with something—something serious, perhaps even something important—namely, the place she's heading to: that mysterious force in the World of the Living.

Therefore, she began to feel uneasy about Ichigo, Isshin, and even Urahara, because the more she learned about them, the more she realized the immense power this force wielded in the World of the Living, which conflicted with Soul Society!

The group eventually arrived at a Research Institute in the suburbs. Such places are usually deserted and have little connection to ordinary people, making them ideal for cover.

The group then entered the research institute, where Mingmo was already waiting. Aijima was also there; ever since performing surgery on Mrs. Ye Hui. Ishida Yee, Aijima had chosen to stay in the World of the Living, as the experimental data there was better.

The character of Aijima differs greatly from her portrayal in the original work, mainly due to drastically changed circumstances. When the woman was first found, she was just like in the original work, constantly reflecting on her sins and having a very detached attitude towards everyone.

But after learning that the Undead were doing well and even had a thriving population, Aijima slowly reverted to its old ways. As the saying goes, "It's easier to change mountains and rivers than to change one's nature."

Aijima is essentially a mad scientist, not much different from Urahara. The only difference might be their intelligence; their passion for scientific research is probably quite similar.

So don't be fooled by his gentle demeanor in the original work and assume he's a zen-like person at heart. Think about it: nine hundred years ago, he led an Undead research team, conducting studies on thousands of Dead Souls and hundreds of Soul Reaper. How could he possibly be zen-like? Therefore, the current Aijima, having reverted to his true nature, is extremely terrifying.

She took Urahara's test report and, while looking at it, had Ichigo get onto the machine—a machine similar to a hospital MRI. Once Ichigo was on it, Aijima looked at the monitor and roared...

"Who let him climb up there?! You can't detect anything from a living person! Give him Mod Soul!"

A group of Undead apprentices trembled under their scolding. Anyone who's done graduate school knows what it's like to have a difficult, short-tempered boss—that's exactly what it feels like to be an apprentice on Aijima. Rebellion? Forget about it. If you don't want to do it, there are plenty of others who will. Of course, this is the reality of graduate school.

However, the situation is similar on Aijima. The Undead are the most numerous in the organization, but also the most useless. It's fine if they just want to coast along and wait to die, but after over three hundred people have lived for hundreds of years, many feel this isn't sustainable and more are needed. This is the main reason why the Undead to spread all of Japan.

Having something to do brings happiness, and having dreams invigorates. These few who are learning from Aijima are definitely dreamers. At this moment, they quickly lifted Ichigo down, gave him the Mod Soul, and Ichigo, the Ichigo, Soul Reaper.

"Wow~! I'm out again!" Ichigo Soul Reaper form, jumped around excitedly, and then he heard a low pressure...

"Quiet! Time for your checkup!"

Ichigo, who was jumping around, immediately jumped onto the testing equipment and began his examination. Meanwhile, Aijima finished reading Rukia's report. "Urahara's machine is still the first generation, isn't it? It's a bit old. You! Go check it out after he comes down."

Rukia had recovered from her shock by now. She was silently observing the number of people in the research institute. Actually, there weren't many: Mingmo, Aijima, and the twenty-three Research Institute, making a total of twenty-five people.

Of course, this is Rukia's observation record. In reality, among these twenty-five people, Shark Sister is on duty here. This is one of the most important World of the Living bases, and the Arrancar take turns guarding it Tier Harribel.

Then there's Mingmo's Zanpakuto, along with six other Undead Zanpakuto. Two of the seven Shikai Fusion Warriors are here, as are the two most Fullbringers recently recruited. Their strength is comparable to Sado and Orihime's before and after the Arrancar arc in the original work.

This tiny Research Institute housed six Captain-level strength, Rukia couldn't possibly discern. Moreover, in her understanding, it was hard to imagine so many Captain-level in such a small place. Thus, she erupted...

Rukia suddenly kidnapped Aijima, placing her sword against Aijima neck. Aijima calmly continued reading the report, and even in this situation, asked with composure, "What are you doing? Playing a game?"

"You better behave yourself!" Rukia's blade drew even closer to Aijima's neck. "You're the highest-ranking person here, aren't you? Your life is in my hands now! Cooperate with my questions! If you cooperate, I won't hurt you!"

Aijima blinked. Everyone else was watching Rukia's antics, and Isshin awkwardly unsure how to comfort Rukia. Ichigo, having finished his examination, rolled off the bed and walked over to Aijima. Seeing the situation, he scratched his head.

What are you doing?

"This is none of your business! I'm interrogating these dangerous individuals!"

Aijima had reached her limit. "Rukia Kuchiki! Put away your sword! Go get checked out! Otherwise, you'll regret it!"

"Why are you yelling at me!? Do you even know your situation!?" Rukia was being extremely serious.

"Sigh," Aijima sighed, "That's why I hate you bumpkins from Soul Society, you have no manners at all. Tier Harribel, knock her out."

"Hi!"

"What?" Rukia was about to protest when she suddenly calmed down. From beginning to end, she had no idea who this Tier Harribel was.

Looking at Aijima 'Ichigo report, Tier Harribel placed Rukia on the machine. After reviewing it once, Aijima compared the two reports and then opened the report's graph on the computer screen.

The atlas was a human-shaped diagram, like a human anatomy chart, with bright veins on it. When the two images overlapped, Aijima said...

"Look, the vibrational amplitude of their Reishi core, especially their main Reishi core, is exactly the same. This is the source of their resonance."

Ichigo, who was also watching, asked, "What does this have to do with her changes? She said she's gotten weaker."

Aijima treated Ichigo exceptionally well, because he was the Child of Destiny, and there would be plenty of opportunities for further research in the future, so she explained in a gentle tone.

"Come and look, this one is yours, and this one is hers. Can you tell the difference?"

Ichigo carefully examined the two diagrams and discovered that his own had two types of vibrations, while Rukia's only had one. Furthermore, the amplitude and frequency of the smaller vibration in his own diagram were exactly the same as Rukia's.

"Do I possess the same power as her?" Ichigo asked hesitantly, after all, he didn't fully understand it either.

"That's right," Aijima said, pointing to the two diagrams. "Moreover, the power within you is far, far greater than hers. Although she activated your power, you already possessed too much of it yourself, which made her power merely a catalyst."

"Then, because your power was too great, you intercepted some of her power. Did something happen here? Never mind, it's pointless to discuss it. In short, she couldn't get it back on her own, but this power did indeed belong to her, and the power that triggered the Reishi core must also come from the Reishi core. So, this power within the Reishi core remained in your body."

"How can we change it back for her? It's not good for her," Ichigo asked with concern.

"Yes, that's definitely not good. If you can't take it back for too long, the power of this Reishi core will be assimilated by you, which will damage her Reishi core and could potentially shorten her soul's lifespan."

"Huh? Is it that cruel? It can even shorten her lifespan? No way! How can we give it back to her, Aunt Aijima?"

"Hmm, let's test it out. There are very few examples of Soul Reaper helping humans awaken. There was only one before, Kūgo Ginjō, but Kūgo Ginjō didn't have your strength and couldn't do this. So you are a special case."

"Go check if she's awake."

Rukia sat up on her own, rubbed her numb neck, and looked outside. Rukia realized she'd kicked a hornet's nest.

Rukia saw Aijima waving at her; she had to go there no matter what, she couldn't resist, could she?

What's the matter?

"Not bad, you two know when to back down. Hold hands."

"Huh?" x2, both looking completely bewildered.

"Put your hands together, ideally both hands together, palms touching, okay?"

Aijima insisted, Rukia had no choice but to face Ichigo with Ichigo four-handed exchange, waiting for the next step.

"Kuchiki, right? You just need to use your Spiritual Power to activate Ichigo's Spiritual Power. Just use your full Spiritual Power to vibrate."

Rukia began to let her Spiritual Power tremble, then Aijima ordered Ichigo to release his own Spiritual Power from any part of his body. Suddenly Rukia up with joy, and then they simultaneously cut off...

"I feel my power returning?"

Hi~

"Hmm, you two take off your shoes, hand in hand, foot to foot," Aijima thought to herself, "Actually, if you two were completely naked and hugging each other, it might be even faster."

Ichigo and Rukia exchanged a glance, then both turned into bright red apples, slamming their Isshin on the table with a loud bang, yelling, "Hey, hey, hey, you've gone too far!"

"Tch~", Aijima scoffed. "You people have no respect for science. You always think of things in a dirty way. This is just for the transfer of power, and it has nothing to do with any kind of filth between men and women! Do as you please."

Aijima said and left, "Anyway, you don't care about time, but I do. I have a lot of things to study, and I don't have time to play these childish games with you. Since you can regain your power by doing this, you can do it every day until Kuchiki feels that he has completely regained his power. Then come back to me. Go check on Urahara, and don't come back! Humph!"

"Is she angry?" Rukia still shaken by what had just happened.

"I don't know either, I'm not very familiar with Aunt Aijima," Ichigo, looking completely bewildered. This wasn't her attitude before.

Only Isshin sighed and nudged the two of them by the shoulders, "You two don't need to worry about that old woman. Rukia, you just stay in the World of the Living and wait until you get your powers back before returning to Soul Society."

On their way out, they ran into Mingmo. Mingmo was carrying a set of clothes and a card. Seeing them, he greeted them with a smile, saying, "I was just looking for you! Here, Rukia, aren't you going to live in the World of the Living for a while? This is your transfer certificate, your student ID and school uniform, and this too."

Mingmo handed Rukia a small gadget. "This is Memory Modifier. Just press this once at school, and it will make humans record your impression in their subconscious. Press it again after you leave, and they'll forget you. The next time you come to the World of the Living and need to live World of the Living, just press it again, and they'll remember you. It's more useful than your communicator. Alright, have a pleasant life in the World of the Living."

On the way back, Rukia looked at her school uniform, fiddled with her student ID, Memory Modifier, and Mod Soul, and asked in surprise...

"Captain Shiba, not Captain Kurosaki ~, who exactly are those people?"

"Hmm," Isshin pondered, "Tsk~ If you want to know, go investigate yourself. Don't worry, they won't care about your investigation or harm you, so do whatever you want. But how much information you can find out depends on your abilities. I can't tell you too much."

"Oh," Rukia became even more curious, secretly resolving to investigate the organization thoroughly before returning, as such an organization was far too dangerous.