"Who am I..." Rukia Kuchiki looked around, her expression dazed. "What's going on here?" "Rukia, are you finally awake?" When Rukia her eyes, in front of her stood a voluptuous woman holding a scythe, smiling at her.
"You are..." Rukia. She looked at the woman in front of her with a hint of confusion in her expression. She vaguely remembered that she should have seen the woman in front of her before, but she just couldn't remember.
"Rukia, it's me!"
Don't you remember me?
"We've been together since we were little..."
There was a hint of longing in the girl's eyes as she looked at Rukia.
"I'm sorry..." Rukia shook her head, "I really don't think I can remember."
"Damn it..." Rukia rubbed her forehead. "My head hurts so much."
Rukia tried her best to remember, and she felt that she should remember the person in front of her, but for some reason, she just couldn't recall it.
"Rukia, don't think about it anymore." Seeing Rukia's pained expression, the girl felt a pang of pity. "Since you're in pain, don't think about it anymore. Whether you remember me or not, as long as we're together forever from now on, that's enough."
After the girl finished speaking, she grabbed Rukia's hand.
"Um..." Rukia looked at the girl in front of her and fell silent. She felt like she shouldn't stay here any longer; she had things to do, but unfortunately, she couldn't remember them. "Okay."
In the end Rukia agreed with the girl in front of her; Rukia simply didn't want to betray the tenderness in the girl's eyes.
"Hehe~" The girl laughed upon hearing this, her laughter was bright and cheerful, and she grabbed Rukia's hand. "Rukia, let's go shopping!"
"Okay!" Rukia agreed with the girl, and the two of them walked along the bustling street.
"Welcome to visit again..."
A man holding his latest Jump manga slowly walked out of a convenience store, just as a girl brushed past him.
"Huh!?" The man had silver-white hair, wore a jet-black tracksuit, and sported stylish sunglasses. When he saw Rukia beside him, he was startled, quickly hiding the latest adult game he'd bought in Akihabara, and exclaimed in shock, "Rukia!? Did Little Fon send you to ambush me? Damn it, I miscalculated!"
The man seemed never to have imagined that he would be besieged at the door; he looked utterly shocked.
"Hello..." Rukia looked at the man, her eyes filled with confusion, "Do I know you?"
"What do you mean by 'knowing each other'..." The man felt a little strange. "It's me!? Sōgo Shihoin! Is it because I look too handsome today that you don't recognize me? By the way, what are you doing in the World of the Living? Are you here for a mission?"
"The World of the Living? A mission?" Rukia muttered to herself, seemingly unaware of what the man was talking about.
"Rukia, you're acting strange?" Sōgo Shihoin looked at Rukia with a hint of oddness and subconsciously reached out to touch Rukia head.
Rukia!
"Don't talk to this man! He's a bad guy!"
"Let's go!"
However, just as Sōgo Shihoin's hand was about to touch Rukia's head, a voice rang in Rukia's ear. From Rukia's perspective, a voluptuous woman was pulling her hand and running forward.
"Huh!?" Sōgo Shihoin stared in surprise at Rukia Kuchiki, who had started running forward without saying a word. "What's wrong with this kid!? Why is she running around like that all by herself? Oh well, let's go back to playing games."
Ignoring the rapidly advancing Rukia Kuchiki, Sōgo Shihoin held Jump in one hand and Yellow Game in the other, walking forward. Suddenly, a door, invisible to the naked eye, opened in front of him, Sōgo Shihoin stepped inside.
Meanwhile, in the Second Division Captain's room.
"We need to know the motive, to know why the enemy is targeting Rukia Kuchiki, in order to understand the threat the enemy poses to Soul Society and resolve the problem as soon as possible!"
"Ichigo Kurosaki, you need to understand that this matter has escalated to a threat to the entire Soul Society, not just the Kuchiki Clan or Rukia Kuchiki!"
"If we act rashly, it might cause irreversible consequences. Can you, Ichigo Kurosaki, bear those consequences?"
Shaoling Fon's attitude was very firm; she believed that the investigation had been carried out gradually.
"What we need to do now is not to search for Rukia Kuchiki, but to prove Rukia Kuchiki existence, and then hold Captains' Meeting to get all the Soul Reaper in Soul Society to work together to find Rukia Kuchiki!"
"Ichigo Kurosaki, the Soul Society is truly enormous! It's far larger than you can imagine."
Shaoling Fon continued to persuade Ichigo Kurosaki.
"But what if Rukia gets into danger while we're wasting time here!?"
"Am I supposed to keep waiting?"
"Captain Soi Fon, we have absolutely no idea how safe Rukia Kuchiki is right now. I don't think we can continue like this. Every second we waste here increases the danger to Rukia."
Ichigo Kurosaki looked intently at Soi Fon. He had his reasons. He was afraid that while he was discussing things with the other captains, they might miss the best opportunity to save Rukia Kuchiki, thus causing Rukia Kuchiki, who could have been saved, to perish.
"You're right!" Shaoling Fon Ichigo Kurosaki's assessment. "Therefore, I think the best course of action right now is to split up our forces!"
"Split into two groups?" Ichigo Kurosaki was taken aback by this.
"That's right!" Shaoling Fon. "That girl named Rukia Kuchiki, I remember she looks a lot like Captain Byakuya Kuchiki's deceased wife, right? Using a photo of Byakuya Kuchiki's deceased wife should work. We can distribute that photo to our subordinates and have them search for Rukia Kuchiki's whereabouts, while you and I will search for evidence of Rukia Kuchiki's existence and report it to Captain-Commander Yamamoto."
"Good!" Ichigo Kurosaki's eyes lit up after hearing Shaoling Fon's words. "As expected of Captain Soi Fon, she's definitely much more thoughtful than I am."
"Nonsense!" Shaoling Fon said, walking towards the outside of the team's door. "If I've lived all these years and am still not as good as a little kid like you, then I'd be a laughingstock."
"Execution Force, listen to my command!" Shaoling Fon stood outside the captain's room and summoned Execution Force.
"Everyone! Go to the archives and get Hisana Kuchiki's photo. Then, using Seireitei as the boundary, go find a girl named Rukia Kuchiki! The girl's appearance is about 80% similar to Hisana Kuchiki! Understand?" Hōshō Ryo explained to the group of Execution Force.
"Yes, sir!" Execution Force wouldn't question whether his commander's orders were wrong; they would simply obey.
As Rukia Kuchiki finished speaking, the entire Execution Force vanished from their spot.
"Next, we'll search for evidence of Rukia Kuchiki's existence." Shaoling Fon turned to Ichigo Kurosaki, "Do you know of any good spots?"
"This..." Ichigo Kurosaki was somewhat troubled. "It's a problem. Right now, besides you and me, I can't find anyone else who knows about Rukia Kuchiki's existence. Even Kūkaku- nee has forgotten about Rukia Kuchiki, who was Rukia's vice- Captain Kūkaku, you know."
"Wait a minute..." Shaoling Fon paused, taken aback by Ichigo Kurosaki's words. "You mean Rukia Kuchiki is the lieutenant of Captain Kūkaku Shiba's Thirteenth Division, right?"
"Yes." Ichigo Kurosaki. "Captain Soi Fon, didn't you know?"
"It's not that I don't know, it's that I don't remember!" Shaoling Fon shook her head at Ichigo Kurosaki. "I don't remember Rukia's identity. I only remember that such a person does exist. After all, the power of Sōgo within me isn't as great as the power within you."
"Haha..." Ichigo Kurosaki chuckled upon hearing this, sensing a sour jealousy in the air. "Indeed, Sōgo's power was all poured into my body back then..."
"..." Shaoling Fon did not intend to speak.
"Let's not talk about that!" Ichigo Kurosaki interrupted the awkward silence. "You tell me, what's wrong with Rukia Kuchiki being a vice-captain under Kūkaku?"
"If it's the vice-captain, then it's simple; he's recorded in the First Division's roster," Rukia Kuchiki said softly. "We'll just go directly to Captain-Commander Yamamoto."
"Is that so?" Ichigo Kurosaki's eyes lit up. "That's wonderful!"
"Let's go!" Rukia Kuchiki waved to Ichigo Kurosaki and led him towards the First Division Barracks Ichigo Kurosaki.
Inside the First Division Barracks.
A kind-faced old man, holding a cane, squinted and quietly watched Ichigo Kurosaki and Shaoling Fon in front of him.
"Captain Soi Fon, and Ichigo Kurosaki, what brings you two here?" the old man asked Ichigo Kurosaki and Shaoling Fon.
"Yama-jii! Do you know Rukia Kuchiki?" Ichigo Kurosaki didn't waste any time and asked the old man in front of him, who was known as the strongest Soul Reaper in a thousand years Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai.
"Rukia Kuchiki!?" Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai said, slowly opening his eyes. "When did the Kuchiki Clan gain another girl? This is truly a joyous occasion."
"It's not that the Kuchiki Clan suddenly gained another member."
"This person has always been with the Kuchiki Clan, but some special circumstances arose that we are unaware of, causing us all to forget about her."
"Yama-jii, I hope you will convene Captains' Meeting all the captains of the Gotei 13."
Ichigo Kurosaki spoke excitedly to Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai.
"..." Upon hearing this, Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai remained silent, simply looking at Ichigo Kurosaki. "Ichigo Kurosaki, I hope you remember this: the First Division Captain's office is not a place for you to fool around, and the Captains' Meeting is not something you can just hold whenever you want. Don't make such ridiculous jokes. If there's nothing else, you may leave!"
"Yama-jii!" Ichigo Kurosaki, his expression filled with excitement.
"Ichigo!" Shaoling Fon grabbed the shoulder of the impulsive Ichigo Kurosaki. "Let me explain."
"Captain Soi Fon!?" After hearing Shaoling Fon's words, Ichigo Kurosaki nodded slightly and said nothing more, obediently standing beside Shaoling Fon and waiting patiently.
"Captain-Commander Yamamoto," Shaoling Fon said earnestly, looking at Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai, "To be honest, when I first heard Ichigo Kurosaki's words, I also found them unbelievable. But somehow, a voice in my ear reminded me that Ichigo Kurosaki was right!"
"How is that possible!?" Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai shook his head. "If even I have forgotten about Rukia Kuchiki's existence, isn't it too strange that Ichigo Kurosaki remembers Rukia Kuchiki? Do you have any explanation for Ichigo Kurosaki remembering Rukia Kuchiki?"
"Perhaps it's because of Sōgo," Shaoling Fon explained.
"Oh!?" Upon hearing the Sōgo Shihoin, Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai's eyes widened immediately, and he became very serious. "Is this matter also related to Sōgo Shihoin?"
"Because Ichigo Kurosaki once lost his Soul Reaper powers, and then Sōgo Shihoin helped Ichigo Kurosaki regain them," Shaoling Fon explained to Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai. "Therefore, Ichigo Kurosaki actually possesses Sōgo Shihoin's power within him. As for me, I was influenced by Sōgo Shihoin a long time with him. Perhaps the enemy can erase all of our memories, but he cannot erase Sōgo Shihoin's memories."
"I see!" Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai slightly. "I understand now. If that's the case, it is indeed possible."
"Therefore, I hope Captain-Commander Yamamoto can check the Captain's Handbook. According to Ichigo Kurosaki, this Rukia Kuchiki is the Gotei Thirteenth Division, serving as the vice-captain under Captain Kūkaku Shiba," explained Hōshō Ryo. "So, we only need to check the Opponent's Handbook to find out whether Rukia Kuchiki Rukia Kuchiki exists, whether we've really forgotten about her, or whether she's actually Ichigo Kurosaki created himself."
"I see! I understand what you mean, Captain Soi Fon!" Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai nodded slightly. "In that case, we can indeed confirm whether this Rukia Kuchiki really exists simply by checking the opponent's handbook."
"Phew..." Shaoling Fon slowly breathed a sigh of relief. She realized that at this crucial moment, it was best to bring up Sōgo Shihoin. "Thank you for your understanding."
Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai didn't speak, but simply smiled slightly, "Come with me!"
As he spoke, he led Shaoling Fon and Ichigo Kurosaki into his study.
It was a huge bookshelf, filled with books.
"Let me see..." Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai looked at the bookshelf in front of him, searched for a while, and finally took down a book that was about ten centimeters thick. "Here it is."
As Yamamoto slowly flipped through the register, Shaoling Fon's heart began to pound. She wasn't really sure whether Ichigo Kurosaki's words were credible or not.
"Oh, the current captain of the Gotei Thirteenth Division, Kūkaku Shiba, no problem. The vice-captain is..." Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai began, then his eyes widened instantly, a sharp glint flashing in them. "Summon all the captains of the Gotei 13 for Captains' Meeting!"
On the roster, the name Rukia Kuchiki was clearly written in the list of vice-captains of the Thirteenth Division.
(End of this chapter)