Kirio Hikifune's Cooking

The next day, Uchiha Yato was awakened by Hiyori Sarugaki's noisy voice.

"Hey, hey, hey, get up! Yato!"

"...Could you not stand on my bed?" Yato said with a yawn.

"You're a girl, at least try to mind your image once in a while, Vice-Captain Sarugaki."

"Ugly bastard, none of your business!" Hiyori was as unreasonable as ever.

"Assembly!"

After getting dressed and splashing some water on his face, Yato followed Hiyori into the captain's office.

Inside the spacious room, the high-ranking Seated Officers of the 12th Division sat on the floor.

Kirio Hikifune's pretty face seemed somewhat listless.

"Little Hiyori, little Yato, you're here."

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"Captain!" the vice-captain and Third Seat answered respectfully.

Kirio Hikifune picked up a towel, soaked it in cold water, and slapped it onto her face, her voice becoming muffled.

"The expeditionary force in Hueco Mundo has run into unexpected trouble. Over the next few days, most of the 11th Division will pass through the Senkaimon to reinforce them. Strong fighters will need to be transferred from other divisions to take over the 11th Division's duties."

"Uchiha Yato, report to the 11th Division barracks tomorrow."

"As for when you'll return... that's uncertain for now. It may be several months."

Uchiha Yato had no objections and respectfully accepted the order.

Beside him, Hiyori Sarugaki wore a miserable expression—the Third Seat was going on assignment, so her workload would definitely increase by a lot!

"Also, all of you should be careful lately." The purple-haired captain's tone turned serious.

"Since a large portion of the 11th Division has gone to Hueco Mundo to fight, many bugs have slipped into Soul Society. Over these past few days, there have been reports of division members, even Seated Officers, disappearing. Try to travel in groups."

"That's all. Dismissed... Oh, right, Yato, stay behind."

The Seated Officers filed out one after another, leaving only the boy behind.

"Captain." After more than half a year, Yato had grown fairly close to Kirio Hikifune, and he asked curiously.

"What trouble did the 11th Division run into in Hueco Mundo? It couldn't be that King of Hueco Mundo..."

"Damn it, what King of Hueco Mundo? Isn't he just that fat pig?" The purple-haired woman cursed without reservation.

"The dignified captain of the 11th Division, the current Kenpachi, ignored the plan and expanded the battle zone on his own, forcing the Seireitei to send reinforcements."

"This battle is getting bigger and bigger. Who knows how many Soul Reapers will have to die."

"Remember this, little Yato. Every Kenpachi is insane. Stay far away from them!"

"Don't be angry, Captain." Seeing the big boss like this, Yato instinctively tried to comfort her.

"After all, the dead can't come back. Those Soul Reapers who sacrificed themselves..."

"That's not what I'm angry about." The purple-haired woman stretched lazily, her graceful curves faintly visible beneath her Soul Reaper uniform.

"The balance of souls among the Three Realms can't be broken. If too many Soul Reapers die, then an equivalent number of Hollows must be eliminated. We may even need to reduce the number of souls in the World of the Living... What a pain."

Yato suddenly froze. As he carefully studied the beautiful captain before him, who looked so uninterested in everything, he caught a glimpse of Kirio Hikifune's way of thinking for the first time.

Nine hundred years ago, when Yhwach led the Quincy into Soul Society, Kirio Hikifune had already been a rising star.

Though she had not been chosen as a captain of the First-Generation Gotei 13, she had become vice-captain of a division and followed the Seireitei's strongest fighters into bloody battle.

After that came the annihilation of invading enemies, the slaughter of the entire Quincy clan, and countless suppressions of Ryoka and rebel forces...

She had occupied a captain's seat for eight hundred years. She had simply seen too much life and death.

Kirio Hikifune might have been a good person, but in her eyes, Hollows, Soul Reapers, and the World of the Living had long since become "tools for balance."

In the original story, when the Quincy invaded Hueco Mundo and killed a large number of Hollows, Mayuri Kurotsuchi ordered the "complete purification" of Rukongai residents in a certain district to preserve the balance of souls. Though the method was cruel to the extreme, it had received Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's tacit approval.

It could be said that the current state of the Three Realms standing apart while Hell remained hidden had maintained stability for a long time, but it had also spawned many twisted things.

Whether that was good or bad, Yato could not figure it out either.

Only an omnipotent god truly seated upon the throne could see such matters clearly.

"Enough about that fat pig." Kirio Hikifune let out a long sigh.

"Come with me, little Yato."

She pulled the towel from her face, opened the hidden door behind the office, and walked inside.

Yato followed her in. Before he had even reached the end, he could not help sniffing the air.

"Smells good, doesn't it?" The purple-haired captain turned sideways and displayed the things on the table.

"Beef bourguignon, creamy mushroom casserole, baked escargot, sea urchin sushi with gold leaf... Every dish is filled with my heart and soul." She paused, her smile meaningful.

"And my Reiatsu."

Yato's gaze swept back and forth across the delicious spread, and he understood why Kirio Hikifune had seemed so listless.

As the Soul Reaper who had invented Temporary Souls, Hikifune's understanding of souls stood at the pinnacle of Soul Society. She could even expend an enormous amount of Reiatsu and use unimaginable techniques to create dishes containing the essence of souls!

"Thank you very much, Captain Hikifune." Uchiha Yato thanked the purple-haired woman with the most formal etiquette before taking a seat.

One dish after another, each containing mysterious power, was consumed by him.

Though her limbs felt weak and her Reiatsu was nearly depleted, seeing someone devoutly eat the food she had carefully made still made Kirio Hikifune's lips curl upward.

"Eat slowly, little Yato." She sat beside him with a smile and spoke to her subordinate.

"My Reiatsu is different from everyone else's."

"The Head Captain's Reiatsu is like an eternally burning sun. Retsu Unohana's Reiatsu can almost make one fall into an endless prison of death. And Captain Saitō's—"

Kirio Hikifune's eyes seemed to dim for a moment, but the change vanished so quickly it was hard to catch.

"Oh, your generation may not know of her. She was the captain of the First-Generation Sixth Division nine hundred years ago. Her Reiatsu changed unpredictably, like a hurricane sea. As for mine, it can catalyze the souls of others."

"Through cooking, my Reiatsu is broken down into a peculiar sort of nutrient, something like organic soil."

"Your Reiatsu and mine will intertwine, eventually giving rise to new Reiatsu. As for how much stronger it'll be than before? I don't know. That depends on luck."

"The development of Temporary Souls was also inspired by the characteristics of my own Reiatsu."

Uchiha Yato sensed that the captain seated beside him seemed a little sad.

Though he did not know where that sadness came from, nor how to comfort her, Yato could at least eat with greater effort.

—There was no better way to win a cook's favor.

In the end, every dish on the table ended up in his stomach.

"Stay here today and adapt to this completely different Reiatsu." Kirio Hikifune patted the boy's shoulder.

"This meal was ordered by Head Captain Yamamoto. He seems to think highly of you."

"How strange. I've known him for nearly a thousand years, but I've rarely seen Head Captain Yamamoto take such initiative..."

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