The Soul Reapers had a dedicated monitoring organization in both Soul Society and the World of the Living: the Projection Hall, which was controlled by the Tsunayashiro Clan, the foremost of the Five Great Noble Clans.
In recent years, the nobles had grown accustomed to pleasure-seeking and had long since lost their original drive. Mayuri Kurotsuchi, captain of the Twelfth Division, had obtained the right to use the Projection Hall through an exchange of benefits.
Because he used it so frequently, the Projection Hall had practically become an institution under the Research and Development Institute, serving as the Reiha Observation Research Institute's base.
The research institute had added a new detection function to the Projection Hall's original monitoring capabilities.
By observing the state of the Dangai, they could deduce where Hollows would appear, then send the coordinates to the Soul Reaper's Denreishinki, notifying the Soul Reaper in charge of that area to deal with them.
When a Soul Reaper fell in battle or called for backup, they helped relay the message and selected people from the Third, Fifth, and 11th Divisions to provide support.
It sounded busy, but it really wasn't as busy as outsiders imagined.
Hollows didn't invade the World of the Living or Soul Society every moment of the day. Most of the time, the staff at the Reiha Observation Institute were quite idle and had time to do other things.
Like eating snacks.
Rin Tsubokura, an ordinary-looking man, sat before the monitoring screens in the hall. He silently tore open a bag of rice crackers and reached in to take one.
Crunch, crunch. The cracker broke apart, and some crumbs bounced into the keyboard. Oblivious, he kept his eyes on the surveillance footage to pass the time.
From the World of the Living to all 360 districts of Rukongai.
Different scenes appeared on the large screens: bustling villages full of people, beautiful mountain forests, and thriving cityscapes of towering buildings...
That looks nice.
Sometimes he wanted to go out and have some fun too.
But the moment he thought of his section chief's face, Rin Tsubokura dismissed the idea. If he hadn't failed the division entrance exam twice, he wouldn't have agreed to be assigned to the Twelfth Division without even looking after finally passing on his third attempt.
From then on, he had been deprived of any vacation, working all year round without a break. When he got tired, he was even injected with a strange drug called a pick-me-up.
A mistake at work meant a trip to the director's operating table. When he got off it, he couldn't even be sure whether he was missing any parts or had gained an extra organ.
The work atmosphere was terrifying.
Life outside work was quite a headache too.
"Rin-chan, I'm here to play~"
A childish voice, still carrying a babyish lilt, drifted in from beyond the door. It was as if all the traps the Research and Development Institute had set had stopped working.
Not one had been triggered.
A petite body, light as a sheet of paper, landed on Rin Tsubokura's shoulder. She bent down, slipped a small hand into the cracker bag as naturally as could be, and took one out, biting into it with her pearly teeth. "Crunch."
"Those are my snacks." Rin Tsubokura lodged yet another useless protest, earning only a clear, bell-like laugh. His expression grew even more gloomy. "Lieutenant Kusajishi, that's the konpeito I paid a fortune to order from Noble Street. How did you find it?"
"Hee-hee."
An innocent smile appeared on Yachiru Kusajishi's face. She raised her head and said, "I searched the whole Projection Hall and found it."
The Projection Hall covered a sizable area and was filled with complicated equipment. In such a short time, she had searched every corner and found the snacks he had hidden away.
He supposed that was what one would expect from the lieutenant of the strongest combat division, the 11th Division.
Rin Tsubokura lowered his head in resignation. He desperately wanted to transfer to a division in an area Yachiru Kusajishi couldn't casually visit.
"Beep, beep."
A clear alarm sounded, indicating that a Hollow was opening a Garganta.
Forgetting his snacks, Rin Tsubokura hurriedly looked up. His fingers flew across the keyboard as he searched for changes in the Dangai's spirit waves, pinpointing the target as it headed for Soul Society.
He checked the location. The Garganta was expected to connect to Soul Society in one minute, on a mountain five li west of Stone Village in West District 4.
Rin Tsubokura quickly pulled up footage of the site, filling the large screen before him, and sent the information to the Soul Reaper in charge of that area. "Send, send... Huh? Why won't it go down?"
Panic covered his face. He wanted to ask his colleagues for help, but he was afraid of being punished, so he pressed down harder.
"There are crumbs stuck inside," Yachiru Kusajishi kindly pointed out. She gave it a light tap, and her Reiatsu pulverized the crumbs without damaging the keyboard.
Rin Tsubokura managed to press send and breathed a sigh of relief. He wouldn't have to end up on the director's operating table. "Lieutenant Kusajishi, thanks for your help."
"Hehe, don't mention it. You usually give me lots of snacks, Rin-chan, and you play hide-and-seek with me too. It's only right that I help with something this small."
I never gave them to you! You took them all yourself!
Rin Tsubokura grumbled inwardly, but when he opened his mouth, all that came out was a helpless, bitter chuckle. "Heh heh."
Yachiru Kusajishi tossed a piece of konpeito into her mouth and said with a smile, "A small Hollow. It doesn't look very strong."
"Yeah. I hope that Soul Reaper can make it in time."
Rin Tsubokura replied casually, shifting his gaze from the konpeito to the screen. The small Hollow had vanished.
"???" His face was full of confusion. A Hollow that big had been on the screen just a moment ago. Where had it gone?
This is bad. His hands flew over the keyboard as he tried to track the Hollow down, but there was no trace of its Reiatsu. His heart sank as he asked, "Lieutenant Kusajishi, did you see where that Hollow went?"
"Someone killed it."
Yachiru Kusajishi gave a simple answer.
Rin Tsubokura froze. "But the Soul Reaper hasn't arrived yet!"
"It wasn't a Soul Reaper. It was a silver-haired man. He's really strong~ Even in that position, he managed to land such a fierce thrust."
A silver-haired man? Rin Tsubokura looked at the screen but saw no silver-haired man. His fingers tapped at the keyboard, rewinding the footage and playing it in slow motion: one times, two times, three times...
Down to fifty times slower.
A blurry figure appeared on the screen, along with a series of wild black lines.
Rin Tsubokura zoomed in again and again, enlarging the figure until he could see him clearly.
The man had long silver hair and regular features. He wore clothes from the World of the Living and carried a golden Zanpakuto.
"Shiraishi." Rin Tsubokura recognized him.
Yesterday, the Second Division had submitted a portrait of the culprit who had killed Hasegawa Taizo, their Fifth Seat.
They had instructed the institute to keep a close watch and notify the Second Division immediately if he appeared.
Yachiru Kusajishi asked curiously, "Do you know him, Rin-chan?"
"Yeah. He's a murderer wanted by the Second Division. I need to contact them."
Rin Tsubokura raised his hand.
Boom.
It was as if thunder had exploded in his mind. His limbs grew heavy as lead, and cold sweat streamed down his body.
Yachiru Kusajishi withdrew her Reiatsu and said with a smile, "You can't do that~ Ken-chan's been really bored lately. It's not every day we find such a strong opponent, so we can't let the Second Division have him."
"Our 11th Division is a combat division. There's no problem with leaving the murderer to us."
"...All right." Rin Tsubokura answered meekly, heaving a long sigh inwardly. Sigh, I really want to quit.
"I'll come by another day. Bye, Rin-chan."
Yachiru Kusajishi waved her right hand goodbye, konpeito in her left. Then she vanished with Shunpo and returned to the 11th Division's barracks.