Restricted Death

Chapter 161 Hitsugaya Abandons His Duty

Squad 10.

"Hey, Vice Captain."

Hitsugaya found Matsumoto Rangiku resting on the lawn behind the team's quarters.

"You're really taking it easy. You're starting to resemble Captain Shiba more and more."

Matsumoto Rangiku opened her eyes groggily, as if she had just woken up, stretched, and straightened her impressive figure. "What brings you here?"

“The captain needs to talk to you. The way you are now, the captain has given me all the work that should have been assigned to you,” Hitsugaya said. “I’m telling you, if you don’t plan to be the vice-captain, then step down and give it to me as soon as possible.”

"You wish," Matsumoto Rangiku pouted, then lay back down, contentedly squinting her eyes.

"You're not going?"

"Didn't you just say that the captain can delegate all the work to you? Besides, he's only been the captain for a short time, and he's already thinking about handing over all the team affairs to his subordinates. We can't let him have this bad habit."

Hitsugaya paused for a moment, then looked at her with suspicion: "You talk bad about the captain all day long, are you just trying to find a legitimate excuse to slack off?"

Matsumoto Rangiku immediately felt a little guilty: "What nonsense are you talking about? No way!"

Hitsugaya looked speechless: "I've already delivered the message. Whether you go or not is your own business. Besides, our current captain isn't stupid. Good luck."

As Hitsugaya's footsteps faded into the distance, Matsumoto Rangiku, who had been lying on the ground, finally sat up.

She tidied her hair a little, patted her forehead, and said, "This is really troublesome!"

The office of the captain of the 10th Division.

After knocking and entering, Matsumoto Rangiku asked directly, "You were looking for me?"

"Huh?" Shin looked up and saw her come in, then immediately smiled. "It's really not easy to see you. Is our Vice Captain Matsumoto too busy with work to have time?"

Matsumoto Rangiku turned her head to the side. "I'm quite busy."

When Xin first took office, she handed over all the work she had accumulated to him, indeed hoping that she would be able to relax in the future.

A newly appointed team leader should be ambitious and dedicated to her work, but unexpectedly, the letter seemed to have seen through her thoughts and didn't buy into her act at all.

“Since our Vice Captain Matsumoto is so busy on weekdays, he probably doesn’t have time to rest. How about I give you a few days off?” Xin Youyou said.

Matsumoto Rangiku sensed the sarcasm in his words and immediately glared at him, saying, "What are you being sarcastic about? Speak up!"

Xin couldn't help but say, "I'm your captain, can't I even say a few words to you?"

Upon hearing this, Matsumoto Rangiku was immediately displeased and said, "So you do know about hierarchy? Am I not your senior? Wasn't it me who brought you into the Spirit Arts Academy? Did you ever show me any respect before?"

"How did I disrespect you? Didn't I keep calling you 'sister' before?"

Hearing that name again, Matsumoto Rangiku shuddered and said with disgust, "How disgusting!"

Xin spread his hands innocently: "Look, I respect you, but you don't appreciate it."

Matsumoto Rangiku was furious: "You!"

She angrily turned her head to the side: "What do you want from me?"

"The First Division sent someone to ask why a document wasn't submitted. The Vice Captain of the Sparrow Division specifically reminded us about it at the last Vice Captain's performance review meeting."

Matsumoto Rangiku was taken aback upon hearing this, and then quickly left the captain's office.

It seems she really forgot.

Xin couldn't help laughing when he saw this.

The job of the captain of the 10th Division was much more boring than he had expected. He could do some field work when he was in the 4th Division, but the daily work of the 10th Division was just patrolling.

Furthermore, the patrol area under their jurisdiction is only a part of Rukongai. They don't go to areas further away at all because there aren't enough people. Rukongai has a total of eighty districts, and the main work area of ​​the Tenth Division is within Seireitei.

Shin doesn't actually like a life that's always the same. Life can get boring if it's too comfortable for too long. It would be fine if it were just a few years, but it might be decades before the time when things change in the Soul Society.

For such a long time, is he going to be a dutiful captain of the 10th Division forever?

Moreover, Shin often considers the question: even if he successfully resolves all situations in the future, what happens after that?
Having captain-level spiritual pressure makes it easy to live for several hundred years, but Shin's spiritual pressure will continue to grow in the future, possibly reaching second-class spiritual power, or even first-class spiritual power. At that time, he will have a lifespan of thousands of years. Even if he dies, he will go to a place called "Hell".

This is a period of time that seems to stretch on forever, a time so long it's frightening.

Unlike people in this world, Xin doesn't have any obsessive or unwavering ideals that he absolutely must achieve. Without such support, Xin doesn't know what he will gradually become in the future.

Through the window, Shin saw Matsumoto Rangiku hurriedly come out of her office, call Hitsugaya over, and say something to him.

After Hitsugaya left, Matsumoto Rangiku seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, and turned around to meet Shin's eyes.

He responded with a smile, but Matsumoto pretended not to see it.

The effect of a vice-captain who always wants to slack off meeting a captain who isn't so diligent is: let's make things tough for the three seats!

Hitsugaya is not very satisfied with his current life; as a third seat, he does many things outside of his job duties.

Originally, when Shiba Isshin was around, he was supposed to help Shiba Isshin clean up his messes along with Matsumoto Rangiku.

Now that Shiba Isshin has been replaced by Tachikawa Shin, Captain Shin may not be as lazy as Captain Shiba, but it's Matsumoto Vice-Captain's turn to slack off.

After delivering the documents for Matsumoto Rangiku, Hitsugaya came out of the First Division looking rather grumpy. The vice-captain of the sagabe immediately launched into a tirade of criticism upon seeing him. Hitsugaya felt wronged, as it was clearly his vice-captain's carelessness that had led to him being blamed.

Damn it, how come I always get to experience all the good things in life!
His dedication to his duties in the 10th Division involved dealing with various problems left over from the inaction of his superiors, which greatly displeased Hitsugaya.

"Hitsugaya?"

A voice called out to him from the entrance of the First Squadron's barracks.

Hitsugaya followed the sound and discovered that it was Kani Sawa, who was currently in the 8th Division.

"Kishizawa-senpai," Hitsugaya greeted. He was now the third seat, a higher rank than Kishizawa, but he had always respected Kishizawa for his serious work ethic back in the Spirit Arts Academy.

I wish Kani-senpai was my superior.

"You've come to the First Division for something?" Kani Sawa asked casually.

"I delivered a document for our vice-captain and got a scolding from the vice-captain of the saga," Hitsugaya said helplessly.

Kaniwa immediately pictured Matsumoto Rangiku in his mind.

Matsumoto Rangiku is now Shin's adjutant...

When she graduated from the Spirit Arts Academy, Shin asked her why she didn't choose the 10th Division, and her answer was that she didn't like it.

"What happened?" Kani Ze inquired.

Hitsugaya then briefly recounted how Matsumoto Rangiku had forgotten important things due to laziness, and mentioned that there was probably some conflict between his captain and vice-captain, which was making him very tired every day.

Kani Sawa's expression turned slightly strange upon hearing this. She suddenly said, "I have a suggestion that can cure them both. Do you want to hear it?" "What?" Hitsugaya asked hastily.

"Why don't you just ignore everything and not ask any questions?" Kani Sawa said.

Hitsugaya paused for a moment upon hearing this, then said, "How can that be? If I don't pay attention, who will take care of the team affairs?"

Crab Ze said, "Don't worry, your current captain isn't an irresponsible person. If he feels he can't rely on you in this area, he'll definitely find a way to deal with your vice-captain and make her work obediently. He has a lot of tricks up his sleeve when it comes to this."

Hitsugaya seemed to be deep in thought.

He didn't think his current captain was an irresponsible person. After all, he had spent a year with him at the Spirit Arts Academy. When Shin was the student council president, he handled everything very well and gave people the impression that he was very adept at it. Hitsugaya had learned a lot from Shin back then.

"Alright, I'm going in now."

"okay."

Looking at Kani Sawa's back, Hitsugaya thought that the other person was his captain's classmate for six years, and must know his captain better than he did.

He stood at the entrance of the First Squad's barracks for a long time before finally making up his mind.

We don't care, so what! Who's afraid of who!

Hitsugaya first went back to the 10th Division, but instead of visiting Shin and Matsumoto Rangiku, he randomly asked an ordinary member to ask for leave for him, explaining that his grandmother was unwell and needed him to go back and take care of her.

At first, Hitsugaya felt a little guilty, but the gloom in his heart was quickly swept away after he left Seireitei.

He did indeed return home, otherwise he had nowhere else to go. After Hitsugaya became a Shinigami, he was able to freely control the spiritual pressure released from his body and no longer had to worry about his spiritual pressure harming ordinary people.

However, every time he saw his grandmother, he would think of how she had been unwell because of him. Fortunately, it was discovered early, and he was grateful for the captain's kindness.

Hitsugaya felt a pang of guilt, but it was only a little.

"Toshiro's back!" Grandma smiled kindly at him.

Hitsugaya then met someone at home who surprised him.

"Hinamori?"

"Shiro?" Hinamori Momo also seemed a little surprised. "You... are you on vacation today? Why are you back?"

"I... I'm taking a couple of days off, what about you?"

“It’s Saturday today. There are no classes at the Spirit Arts Academy, so I came back to visit,” Hinamori Momo said. “Grandma is home alone, and there’s no one to take care of her. I’m telling you, can’t you come back to visit more often? It’s been a long time since I last saw you back.”

The two are neighbors, and Hinamori Momo would always come back to help visit Hitsugaya's grandmother.

"I'm back today, aren't I?" Hitsugaya said. His grandmother's health is much better than before, and she can live alone without anyone to take care of her.

And indeed, he has been busy with his work ever since he became the Grim Reaper.

Grandma just watched the two of them with a smile.

"Are you going to take a few days off?" Hinamori Momo asked again.

Hitsugaya gently scratched his chin with his fingers. "Many days, I suppose."

"How many days?"

"Three...one week."

"So long?" Hinamori Momo asked, puzzled. "Do you guys get such long vacations?"

"Special circumstances."

"So you're free tomorrow? Come with me to the chairman's house," Hinamori said with a smile.

President... Captain?
Hinamori Momo then told them that a group of them were going to Shin's house to congratulate him on becoming the captain.

"I've already congratulated you, so I won't go." Hitsugaya declined, since he had just taken leave and needed to make his act convincing.

"What's the big deal? Hisagi-senpai, Kanazawa-senpai, and Aoshika-senpai will all be there, and they've already given their congratulations in advance, haven't they? It'll be more lively with more people, and we're all in the student council! It's been a long time since we've all gotten together."

"I have other things to do tomorrow."

"what?"

"Um...it's not convenient to talk about, but it's something very important, so I can't go tomorrow."

Hitsugaya didn't care about the party.

Hinamori's eyes darted around, then suddenly lit up: "Ah, I know!"

"what do you know?"

"Hehe, it's nothing, you can go do your thing." Hinamori said with a smile, and reached out to pat Hitsugaya's head, "Our little Shiro has grown up too."

This annoyed Hitsugaya, who slapped her hand away: "What nonsense are you talking about? It's not what you think."

Hinamori Momo had an "I understand" look on her face. "I get it, I get it. You don't need to explain further."

Hitsugaya sighed helplessly, "Think what you want."

Hinamori Momo wasn't about to give up, and couldn't help but lean closer to ask, "Who is that person? Have I seen them before? Are they a member of the 10th Division? What do they look like? What's their personality like?"

A barrage of questions left Hitsugaya with no desire to answer a single one; he simply stared at her with lifeless eyes.

Seeing that she remained silent, Hinamori Momo thought for a moment, then walked to her grandmother's side and said, "Grandma, you're going to have a granddaughter-in-law!"

"Hinamori!" Hitsugaya finally couldn't help but shout.

However, Grandma's expression didn't change much upon hearing this. She just smiled and looked at Hinamori Momo: "I think you've misunderstood. Toshiro wouldn't easily fall for another girl."

Hinamori Momo was taken aback by what she heard, and then glanced at Hitsugaya.

For some reason, Hitsugaya glanced away when she looked at him.

"Oh, right." Hinamori Momo suddenly changed the subject, "I have something to tell you. I plan to graduate next year and join the 10th Division."

"Our squad?" Hitsugaya was taken aback. "Didn't you say you were going to the Fourth Squad?"

"I suddenly don't want to go anymore," Hinamori Momo said casually.

Hitsugaya was silent for a moment: "Why...did you suddenly change your mind?"

Hinamori Momo patted his shoulder with a smile: "Of course, it's so I can be with our little Baitian every day. You're the third seat in the 10th Division now, you can definitely take good care of me, right?"

"..."

Hitsugaya fell silent again, simply turning his head to the side.

(End of this chapter)