A Letter from Yoruichi

Hell Butterfly—that was the name of the little creature in Hiroe's hand. The chime he'd heard just now had come from it, but only Hiroe could hear it at the time. That meant the Hell Butterfly had come to find him.

In Soul Society, Hell Butterflies served as messengers who carried messages between Soul Reapers. They also guided the souls of the dead, brought to Soul Society by Soul Reapers through Konsō from the World of the Living. They were one of the Soul Reapers' most important tools.

This one had clearly come from Seireitei. Hiroe had no doubt about that. After all, in the Plain of Slaughter, messages were more often sent with smoke signals or Kido. A slow-moving Hell Butterfly wasn't the best choice.

Who in Seireitei would send him a message? That was easy enough to figure out. Though plenty of people had said they'd keep in touch, the only ones who could actually contact him now were Old Man Yama and the duo of Yoruichi and Urahara.

Old Man Yama had said he wouldn't contact Hiroe of his own accord for a hundred and fifty years. As for the progress of the mission, Hiroe could manage that entirely on his own. So this Hell Butterfly was practically proof that Yoruichi and Urahara were concerned about him.

The voice carried by the Hell Butterfly sounded in his mind. Sure enough, it was Yoruichi's familiar voice. At least she had a bit of a conscience!

"Dead Fish Eyes! What on earth goes through your head all day?" There was none of the concern or consolation he'd expected, only Yoruichi's furious scolding. "Do you have thorns all over you? No, wait, thorns in your mouth? Can't you keep that foul mouth of yours under control?!"

"Damn!" Hiroe couldn't help swearing. She'd started by giving him a thorough tongue-lashing. This was nothing like he'd imagined!

As for why Yoruichi was yelling at him, Hiroe knew well enough. What he'd done at the temporary base had surely reached Seireitei.

Usually, the Soul Reapers in the Plain of Slaughter simply sent a brief report back to Seireitei about incidents like this. But now, it seemed the other party hadn't just reported what happened—they'd repeated every single thing he'd said. Were they children tattling on him?

The temporary base was the same one Kamisawa had taken him to when Hiroe first arrived in the Plain of Slaughter. And what had happened there was just another farce.

Someone had mocked him. The man had introduced himself, but Hiroe had already forgotten his name. All he remembered was that he was the Fifth Seat of the 5th Division. Besides looking down on Hiroe, the reason for his foulmouthed insults was that he wanted to stick up for Kao Susumu.

One person mouthing off wasn't a big deal. Having faced all kinds of pressure from his superiors in his previous life, Hiroe wasn't about to take it too seriously. But when everyone else present found out he was Diezuka Hiroe and learned what he'd done in Seireitei, they began ganging up on him. That changed things.

The problem still lay with that Fifth Seat. The strength of the crowd seemed to give him some inexplicable courage, and he grew more and more brazen. Spittle flying in Hiroe's face was one thing, but the man kept jabbing his finger at Hiroe's forehead, nearly poking him in the eye!

At that point, Hiroe had no intention of putting up with it. In keeping with the principle that a gentleman fought with words, not fists, he'd insulted the Fifth Seat a couple of times to make his feelings clear. But Hiroe's insults had been a bit much. He'd gone for a broadside, saying the 5th Division collected trash and was full of it, and that it was no wonder they called Seireitei the dumping ground for useless people.

"Do you sympathize with that piece of trash, Kao Susumu, because you're kindred spirits?" Hiroe had ended his tirade with a sarcastic jab. That was when things started to go wrong.

If he'd only insulted the 5th Division before, that last remark had offended every other division except the 1st and 2nd. The 11th Division might have been an exception, since Kamisawa and Yamagata had been too busy wondering whether they were too weak or the newcomer was too strong to sympathize with Kao Susumu.

In any case, the blast had been far more powerful and far-reaching than Hiroe had imagined. He'd only meant to target that Fifth Seat, but no one was willing to listen to an explanation. Or rather, he hadn't even been given the chance.

The Fifth Seat had immediately slapped at him, saying Hiroe didn't know how to respect his seniors and that he'd teach him a lesson on behalf of the Head Captain.

Hiroe had just laughed at that. Never mind whether the man had any right to teach him a lesson on Old Man Yama's behalf—if that slap had landed, Old Man Yama would probably have beaten Hiroe to death, or made him commit seppuku! Hiroe figured the latter was more likely.

Naturally, the slap never landed. Hiroe grabbed the man's hand and twisted it, accidentally using enough force to break his arm. That should have been the end of it, but the Fifth Seat still wasn't scared. He reached for his sword as if he meant to cut Hiroe down.

Seeing him go for his sword, Hiroe moved first. He swept the man's legs out from under him, grabbed him by the head, and slammed him into the ground hard enough to leave a crater. Then the Fifth Seat passed out, adding another casualty to the temporary base.

After that fight, there was no turning things around. The others weren't about to reflect on their own behavior. They just slapped labels like "bad-tempered," "disrespectful to his seniors," and "throwing his weight around" on Hiroe, then kicked him out of the temporary base.

Even as he was being thrown out, Hiroe had wondered, Throwing my weight around? Wasn't I simply proving my point with a show of force? Did they think they'd lost because they were afraid of the Head Captain? How had people with that mindset even survived this long? The Miracle!

But no matter how you looked at it, he was the one who'd been kicked out, and his reputation was the one that had been ruined. Hiroe didn't care all that much. This time, he'd been given permission to do as he pleased. Once the mission ended and the truth came out, his good name would be restored, wouldn't it?

The story of what had happened at the temporary base spread through the Plain of Slaughter at an astonishing speed—four ways at once! It also reached Seireitei, then spread throughout Soul Society.

Over the years, Hiroe had been ignored by passing Soul Reapers more than once while fighting Hollows. Even those who hurried over after hearing the noise would immediately turn around and leave, as if they were in a different world from him.

Even while he was recovering in Rukongai, the Soul Reapers stationed there refused to help him. He had to find somewhere run by civilians to recuperate on his own. He wasn't exactly a pariah whom everyone cursed at, but he was like a filthy beggar nobody wanted to go near. That was Hiroe's situation now.

But Yoruichi's next words made him realize that his remarks hadn't simply been repeated word for word. The rumors in Seireitei had added a whole lot more! Things like, "I'm Seireitei's crown prince," and, "It's a miracle that useless people like you can even become Soul Reapers." Hearing all of it made him want to slap himself.

No wonder those people had ignored him. So that was why!

Hiroe was dumbfounded. That guy had just made things up on the spot! The embellishments were wildly over the top. He'd thought those Soul Reapers who'd turned around and left were petty, but now that he thought about it, not teaming up with the Hollows to beat him up was already remarkably decent of them!

According to Yoruichi, plenty of people in Seireitei now believed that Diezuka Hiroe was unfit to be a Soul Reaper. If they kept letting him roam free, he would surely become a grave threat to Seireitei in the future!

People had been visiting the Head Captain's quarters in the 1st Division almost every day. At first, Old Man Yama had still received a few of them. But eventually, he'd heard the same thing so many times that it made his ears numb, and he stopped seeing anyone at all.

He hadn't said it outright, but Old Man Yama's behavior had already made his position clear. Or perhaps what Hiroe had expressed was actually Yamamoto's position.

If Diezuka Hiroe was the crown prince, then what did that make Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni? Everyone could guess, but no one dared say it aloud.

"The atmosphere in Seireitei is so oppressive now. It all started with you, and then people began guessing at Old Man Yama's intentions. Everyone's on edge."

As she said this, Yoruichi sounded deeply troubled. Hiroe even heard a hint of anxiety in her voice, though he couldn't tell if he was imagining it.

"My father, and that old man from the Kuchiki Clan, and..." Yoruichi listed a few names without much context, then shouted as if she'd had enough. "Can't you just come back and explain things properly? You were just being foulmouthed; you didn't have any ulterior motives! No, wait, you did get into a fight! This is so annoying!!!"

Listening to Yoruichi's anguished cries echoing in his mind, Hiroe couldn't help smiling wryly. Are they afraid the worst might happen and I'll end up crossing swords with them? Could they have a little faith in me?

"Forget it. You'd better not come back right now. Let Old Man Yama handle the mess himself!"

After a short silence, Yoruichi's voice sounded in his mind again. "As for you, reflect on how stupid you've been! Do you know what opportunity you've lost because of this? The Royal Palace! The Royal Palace! You could've gone with us, and now you can sit in Rukongai and think about that!"

The Royal Palace was the residence of the Soul King, the creator of Soul Society. It was said to float above Seireitei, though another account placed it in a separate space of its own. Wherever it was, it was a sacred place in the eyes of every Soul Reaper.

As a sacred place, the Royal Palace wasn't somewhere Soul Reapers could visit whenever they pleased. Generally, only those promoted to Squad Zero were granted entry. The other possibility was a personal summons from the Soul King, usually intended for talented Soul Reapers in Seireitei.

That said, the geniuses who received personal summons were usually heirs of the Five Great Noble Families—and only those who were exceptionally gifted.

But from what Yoruichi had said, it seemed he'd originally been among those summoned this time. He hadn't expected that. Still, it was no big deal. He'd seen the Royal Palace in his previous life, after all.

"Even though I can't see your face right now, I bet you're gritting your teeth and regretting this like crazy! Hahaha!"

He wasn't exactly gritting his teeth, but Hiroe really did regret it now. That was the Royal Palace! Sure, he'd seen it in his previous life, but he'd never visited it in person! He wanted to go. He really wanted to! But now he had no chance.

At that moment, Hiroe had almost forgotten that he'd come to the Plain of Slaughter not as punishment.

As it happened, Yamamoto had been the one to turn down the Soul King's personal summons. Naturally, the reason was that Hiroe had a mission to carry out and was an indispensable part of Yamamoto's grand plan for the future. So whether or not that incident had happened, he wouldn't have been able to go to the Royal Palace.

"Urahara and I don't know how long we'll be staying at the Royal Palace. Maybe you'll be back in Seireitei before we are, so there's no need to write back to us~"

Hiroe patted his chest and let out a breath. I can't get worked up over children. I'm a man with great things to do. Great things.

"Oh, right. Urahara's here too. Is there anything you want to say to him?" Yoruichi's voice vanished from his mind for a while. When it returned, it was replaced by Urahara's chipper voice. "Nothing much to say. Hiroe, you should turn over a new leaf and become a better person!"

Well, at least Urahara hadn't picked up much from him, except the jokes from his previous life. Still, the line did suit Hiroe right now.

The problem was, Hiroe suspected that the two of them had no idea what "turn over a new leaf" meant. Fine, that was his fault too. He'd explained it to them as meaning to train hard and emerge with a whole new level of strength!

Before Hiroe could scowl, Yoruichi's voice sounded again. "You heard him! Turn over a new leaf and become a better person! Since you're already out there, stop hanging around in Rukongai. Take the initiative and go hone yourself in the Plain of Slaughter!"

The corners of Hiroe's mouth twitched violently. Just how low do they think of me? Why do they think I'm on vacation just because I'm stationed in Rukongai? What happened to trusting each other? Has that completely gone out the window?

"But be careful, too. Don't get careless and end up beaten to death by a Hollow. We're going to train at the Royal Palace, so our strength will surely skyrocket, but don't worry. We won't abandon you! If you can't become a captain, there's always the 2nd Division's vice-captain seat for you! Don't stress too much~"

He'd almost been touched, but then she'd added that teasing little remark. That was just too much! Hiroe barely caught the rest of their farewells before flicking the Hell Butterfly away.

"Going to the Royal Palace doesn't make you so special!"

Well, it did make them pretty special, especially people like Yoruichi and Urahara. They'd surely gain plenty from going to the Royal Palace.

But even if they went to the Royal Palace, it didn't mean they were guaranteed to surpass him, did it? Hiroe was baffled. Did those two really have no idea how big the gap between them was?

Thinking it over, Hiroe realized that Yoruichi and Urahara might genuinely not know. After all, he'd put on quite a show at his graduation ceremony.

But that wasn't the point. The point was, why did they think a Hollow might beat him to death? He'd just beaten eleven of them, for crying out loud!

By now, Hiroe's thoughts had begun to wander. He regretted missing out on the Royal Palace, and he was indignant at being looked down on by his friends. He needed to let off steam. He wanted to beat ten more Hollows and show those two who really needed to be careful!

Perhaps heaven had heard his thoughts. A sharp whoosh came from the distance. In the eastern sky, a green ball of light slowly climbed, trailing a long tail behind it.

It was the Soul Reapers' distress signal. This was the first time he'd seen one in years. Hiroe's lips curled into a grin, and he vanished from the spot in an instant. Beneath the setting sun, a black figure flickered in and out of sight across the plain, racing eastward at an astonishing speed.

Talk about speaking of the devil. Hiroe couldn't help feeling smug. No, better yet: your Hollow order had arrived!

Coach, I want to fight ten more! No, twenty!