North District 68
"Master Amakusa, there is no one here"
The person who went in first to explore came out of the mine, breathing a little heavily and with dust on his face.
The air in the mine tunnel is colder, humid, and smells of rust than outside. There are pits at regular intervals on the wall, which are used for inserting torches. There are no torches now, and there are only black ashes in the pits.
"Where's the mine?" Amakusa looked at the man and asked, with obvious impatience in his tone.
The man who went in to prospect first was said to have worked in a certain mine before. He ran away because he didn't have enough to eat, and later moved to Eternal Silence. He wiped the ashes on his face with his sleeves, pointed to the depths of the mine and said
"Sir Amakusa, there are several newly dug pits in the mine. No mine has been seen, but there are many places marked with paint. The paint is new. Maybe it is an area to be explored. If you dig there, there may be a mine."
Amakusa stared at him for a few seconds, as if judging the credibility of this sentence: "There is a mine to dig!"
"Master Amakusa... we..." the miner hesitated.
"What?" Amakusa was a little irritated
"Master Amakusa, we have no tools..." The miner finally spoke out, his voice getting smaller and smaller, and he almost swallowed the last word.
"..." Amakusa was silent. He stood there and moved his lips as if he wanted to curse, but then swallowed it back.
"Master Amakusa, there is one more thing." Seeing that he did not have an attack, the miner quickly added
"Huh?" Amakusa's eyes that were originally looking at the mine were focused on the miners again, and his eyes were full of "If you have anything else to say, please tell me quickly."
"There is a big hole in the deepest part of the mine. There are some strange symbols drawn in it, but there is nothing else." The miner said while gesturing with his hands, probably trying to describe the appearance of the symbols, but after gesticulating for a long time, he could not figure out the reason.
"Don't worry about it! Go fix the tools! Then start working!" Amakusa turned his head and closed his eyes and waved his hand, obviously impatient, drawing talismans? What kind of talisman? He is here to dig, not to do archeology. The ghostly talismans left by the nobles have nothing to do with him.
So Amakusa's people began to build a simple camp around the entrance of the mine tunnel.
Someone picked up wood and thatch from nearby ruins and built several crooked sheds. The thatch on the roof of the shed was spread unevenly, and a few grass roots flew up when the wind blew; someone moved gravel from the mine tunnel and dug a shallow ditch at the entrance for drainage; someone went to find a water source further away, and when he came back, he held an earthen pot in his hand. The earthen pot was filled with turbid water, and there were a few dead leaves that fell from an unknown tree floating on the water.
Amakusa watched them busy, without helping or directing. He leaned on a stone half a man's height, arms crossed, and his eyes fell on the dark shadow at the entrance of the mine tunnel.
Mine, he just wants the mine. With the mine, Eternal Silence can exchange for better weapons, and can buy medicines and cloth sold from the first few districts of Rukongai in the market, so that children who are literate in private schools will not have to be like him in the future, who can't even understand Seireitei's enrollment brochure.
He didn't know if there was anything he wanted in this mine, but he was already here and had brought people here
Kagamino City's shrine is very quiet in spring
The ginkgo tree in the yard has faded away from the winter decay, and new green leaves are sprouting from the branches. On the roof of the main hall, a few sparrows are squatting in the gaps between the tiles, tilting their heads and looking at the people on the porch.
Suzuko couldn't get used to the bland taste at first, but after three months, she had learned to boil a pot of water by herself after training in the afternoon, and sit on the porch to slowly brew a cup. Ukitake stood in the yard, facing the direction of the main hall, watching the witch sweeping the fallen leaves. The rustle of the broom across the stone slabs mixed with the chirping of sparrows on the roof, making it soft and warm by the afternoon sun.
In three months, Ukitake, Suzuko and Kagura have become close acquaintances.
Suzuko spent more time sitting in the corridor than Ukitake. She began to get used to World of the Living's life. She would deal with it when it came, come back after it was done, and come back when Soul Burial was done.
In the past three months, they have cleaned up more than a dozen scattered Hollows, but none of them can be considered a strong enemy. Kagamino City is originally a low-intensity area, and the biggest threat is just a slightly larger Thunder Lizard Hollow.
In addition, when seniors Soul Burial and Honda were here, there were an average of about five Soul Burial missions every month. After they took over, the frequency was similar. Most of them were old people, and occasionally young people died of illness.
After the patrol, she came back. The miko ate the meal she had prepared. After eating, she washed the bowl and put it back. The days passed like this day by day, so fast that Suzuko felt like she had just arrived yesterday.
Senkaimon opened at the shrine door
Honda came out of Senkaimon. His skin is a healthy color. He was exposed to the sun after staying in World of the Living for a long time.
Honda walked from Senkaimon to the entrance of the shrine, stood there, looked up at Torii, then at the roof of the main hall, and then at the ginkgo tree in the yard.
"I'm back" Honda's loud voice sounded
Suzuko stood up from the corridor and placed the tea cup in his hand on the corridor edge. His movements were neither fast nor slow. Ukitake walked from the center of the yard and stood next to Suzuko. The two of them looked side by side at Honda from Senkaimon walked to the door of the shrine. This person was the person they replaced three months ago. He was their senior colleague at Thirteenth Division. He was the 'Senior Honda' that Lieutenant mentioned in the document when they first came to World of the Living.
The two of them don't know Honda, but they know it's probably him.
The witch walked out of the main hall. She heard the voice of Honda and saw Honda from behind the window of the main hall. She walked out of the door of the main hall with a broom in her hand. She looked at Honda, and Honda looked at her.
"Mr. Honda, welcome back." The witch's voice was not loud, just like when she first met Suzuko and Ukitake three months ago.
Honda nodded, his eyes paused on Kagura's face
Honda walked into the courtyard of the shrine, walked to the corridor, put the bundle on the ground, sat down, and looked at the ginkgo tree in the courtyard.
"Thank you for your hard work these three months." Honda looked at Suzuko and Ukitake
"It's not hard Honda senior" Suzuko clenched his fists and raised his arms, which is the action of cheering up.
Ukitake also nodded as Suzuko said
After that, the three ghosts started chatting alone in the corridor, from daily chatting to Soul Reaper's work to Suzuko Ukitake's Spiritual Arts Academy life
dusk falls
After the three ghosts enjoyed a sumptuous dinner
Suzuko, Ukitake bid farewell to Kagura Honda
The two used a temporary Senkaimon prop, opened the temporary Senkaimon and notified Kidō Corps
"Goodbye~" Suzuko waved to Honda and Kagura. Ukitake also turned around, bowed slightly, and then followed Suzuko into the white light curtain. Senkaimon's light gradually closed.