The outskirts of the Seireitei, in the area occupied by Squad Six.
The Seireitei could actually be divided into more than a dozen areas. The Thirteen Court Guard Squads guarded most of them, apart from special areas such as the Sōkyoku and the Central Underground Assembly Hall.
Rukia Kuchiki was currently imprisoned in the Sōkyoku, awaiting the judgment of the Central 46. Her crime was granting ordinary humans the power of a Soul Reaper—a grave offense that could result in either life or death.
Considering Byakuya Kuchiki's status as a great noble and his relationship with Rukia Kuchiki, the Central 46 wouldn't sentence Rukia to death unless they had rocks in their heads. That was only natural. At most, she would be imprisoned for several decades or even centuries. That was no light punishment for a Soul Reaper, but given their extraordinarily long lifespans, it wasn't really anything significant.
Byakuya Kuchiki was waiting for the result of Rukia's judgment. He looked cold and aloof, but was actually warm-hearted beneath the surface. He cared deeply about his adopted sister being imprisoned and had been secretly observing the situation these past few days.
Su Xiao walked along the street and gazed at the towering building in the distance. That was the Sōkyoku. If he remembered correctly, Rukia Kuchiki would be sentenced to death, because the entire affair had been arranged by Aizen.
The events were quite simple. Rukia, a female Soul Reaper, went to the World of the Living to purify Hollows and happened to encounter the "ordinary human" Ichigo Kurosaki, who could see her—the male protagonist. What followed was rather melodramatic. An accident occurred during Rukia's battle with a Hollow, and in desperation, she used her own spiritual power to transform Ichigo Kurosaki into a Soul Reaper. After that, Soul Reapers