Restricted Death

Chapter 162 Cheap Liking

The weekend happened to be Xin's day off.

Looking at the crowd gathered at the door, Xin said with a hint of helplessness, "Do you guys really think my house is a public place?"

Standing at the front, Hinamori Momo said with a grin, "President, we came here especially to congratulate you on your promotion to captain. It's not easy to get the news right away at the Spirit Arts Academy, and we also had to find a time when everyone was available!"

Hinamori, Kira, Renji, and Ganju each brought a small gift with them.

As for Xiubing, Xieze, and Qinglu standing behind them, they were empty-handed.

"Did you come empty-handed?" Xin asked Xiubing.

Xiu Bing rolled his eyes upon hearing this: "Didn't I already congratulate you before? Just coming here is already giving you enough face. What other gift do you want?"

Although Shin is now the captain, they still treat him the same way they always have.

Everyone rushed into the living room and unceremoniously found a place to sit down.

Seeing that one of them seemed to be missing, Shin asked, "Isn't Rukia here?"

Kira explained, "The student council is busy, Rukia doesn't have time today."

Renji pointed to the gift box on the table next to him and said, "Rukia also prepared a gift and brought it with her."

Xin nodded slightly.

He understood that Rukia's absence was probably not solely due to student council matters.

It's better not to meet. I don't want so many things to break out at this time.

What should we eat for lunch?

"It will be all right."

"Is there any wine?"

The people in the living room started talking all at once.

Xin went to the kitchen and saw that there wasn't enough food left. He then looked at the people in the living room who were acting like royalty and couldn't help but sigh.

As a captain, I have to serve this bunch of guys!
"We're out of food and wine. Anyone want to go out and buy some?" Xin asked loudly.

"President, you go ahead."

"That's right, Xin. We're guests, there's no reason for us to be busy."

"Senior, please go and return quickly."

letter:"……"

hateful!

After a moment's thought, Xin finally summoned a Hell Butterfly and asked it to deliver a message to the members of the Tenth Division, asking them to go to a restaurant outside and get a table of food and drinks.

As a team leader, it's not unreasonable for him to exercise some privileges, is it?
Not long after, two members of the 10th Division delivered the food and drinks as instructed by Shin. Their speed was astonishing, suggesting they acted immediately after receiving Shin's order. This made Shin sigh with admiration, thinking how good life was for the privileged class.

“It’s so rich!”

"This will cost a lot of money, right?"

"Xin, did you just use your position to get some things for your subordinates? That's not good!" Xiu Bing criticized.

Xin glared at him: "Just eat yours!"

During the gathering, everyone toasted each other, reminiscing about events from the past and the current state of the student union.

Kira began complaining about Hinamori to Shin, saying that Hinamori had been not taking her work seriously lately, which made Hinamori feel embarrassed and annoyed.

"President, don't listen to Kira's nonsense! I'm not like that at all! He's just being lazy and trying to push all the work onto me!" Hinamori argued in her defense, then turned her gaze to Ganju beside her: "Ganju, you be the judge, am I telling the truth?"

The eagle simply buried its head in its food, pretending not to hear anything.

"Renji?" Hinamori looked at Renji again.

Renji said, "I don't know. I don't know anything about student council matters."

Xiubing and Qinglu watched this scene with smiles on their faces. Having become Grim Reapers, they now felt a special kind of emotion.

Kira and Hinamori argued about their attitudes toward work. Kira seemed to be in the right, but Hinamori was also sharp-tongued. Neither could convince the other for the time being. The others just watched the show and didn't take sides.

However, Kira then changed the subject and talked about his plans for choosing a squad after graduation.

"What if I joined the 10th Division?"

Xin glanced at Hinamori out of the corner of his eye; it was easy to understand why he had this idea.

Shin is now the captain of the 10th Division, and Kira wants to work under him. After all, he was once the student council's superior. Kira is probably not the only one in the student council who has this idea. It is estimated that many students in the student council want to join the 10th Division after graduation and rely on the student council as a link to get special treatment from Shin.

Xin also naturally hoped to have more capable subordinates under his command.

However, he still said, "What I mean is that I don't recommend you come. Kira, you are currently the top student among your peers and should have a better future. Becoming a Shinigami and reaching the rank of senior officer in a few years is not difficult. You also have the potential to become a vice-captain in the future. But in the 10th Division, you can't even become a third seat. Although you can apply to change divisions later, it is definitely not as good as starting from scratch in a division from the beginning."

Toshiro Hitsugaya, the current third seat of the 10th Division, is a position that probably no one can shake, unless Shin insists on having someone replace him.

Although Hitsugaya is making rapid progress and may be able to master Bankai in a few years, he will only be able to stay in the position of seated officer and wait for the position of captain to become vacant.

Shin had considered that if everything followed the original historical trajectory, it would take several decades before any changes occurred in Soul Society. Hitsugaya might have to serve as the third seat for several decades, or he might want to be transferred to another division as a vice-captain.

Kira looked troubled: "I see... My teacher has talked to me and said that with my current grades, there is a high probability that I can graduate early, but I still have no idea about choosing a squad in the future."

Renji looked up, still chewing his food, and asked, "Why didn't the teacher talk to me?"

Hinamori Momo bluntly stated, "Your grades in Kido and theory classes are terrible; there's no way you'll graduate early."

Renji retorted, "But I'm number one in both kendo and hand-to-hand combat!"

"What's the use? The assessment for graduating early is much more difficult, and it's not just about practical skills."

"Hinamori, are you looking down on me?"

"I didn't say that, so don't take it personally."

"what!"

Renji seemed a bit frantic, which made everyone burst into laughter.

After a moment's thought, Shin said, "Third Division, Kira, you can consider it."

"The Third Division?" Kira asked in surprise. Ganju looked up at the same time, seemingly surprised that Shin would give such an answer.

"But the vice-captain of the Third Division is Captain Shiba's wife... It's not that she's not good enough, but I'm afraid my development in the Third Division might not be so good?"

Realizing that Ganju was present, Kira quickly changed his mind halfway through his sentence.

Not only Shiba Miyako, but also Togakushi Riku, the third seat of the Third Division, a person who has devoted countless efforts to the Third Division. The members of the Third Division should not want to see him being squeezed out by others.

Shin chuckled: "Precisely because the vice-captain of the Third Division is Kaien's wife, the two of them are very likely to have a child in the future, right, Ganju?"

Yanjiu nodded. "My elder brother did say that, and my uncle did too." "So, if your sister-in-law gets pregnant, she will take a break from the team for a while, and after she has the child, Haiyan will most likely not let her take on any important positions anymore."

Kira seemed to be deep in thought upon hearing this.

The Third Division seems like a worthwhile place to go. Before Shiba Kaien became the captain, the Third Division had been without a captain for decades, and there may have been many internal problems. It's time for the new captain, Shiba, to start doing his job. If this period passes, he may be promoted because of his abilities.

Kira is quick-witted and has thought about this very deeply.

"Brother Xin, what about me?" Yanjiu asked, raising his hand.

"Aren't you going to the Third Division?" Shin asked curiously.

"My older brother won't let me go."

Upon hearing this, Xin pondered for a moment. The current captain and vice-captain of the Third Division were a married couple. If the captain's younger brother were to go as well... Haiyan probably didn't want others to gossip.

The Third Division is different from the Second and Sixth Divisions, and the Shiba family's current status is incomparable to that of Shihouin and Kuchiki.

But if he doesn't go to the Third Division, where can Shiba Ganju go?
In the original story, Ganju did not become a Shinigami, but is now a promising student. Among the thirteen divisions, aside from the third and fourth divisions, Ganju actually has many choices.

"You're ready to join our Ninth Division," Shuhei said.

“You can join our 8th Division too,” Kani Sawa also said.

"Come join our Fourth Division!" Aoshiro said defiantly.

Ganju's talent was actually not bad, but in the two years since he enrolled, the Spirit Arts Academy had produced two outliers, Shin and Hitsugaya, which made him seem less outstanding.

Xiubing and Xieze both understood this clearly.

“Brother Xin, I want to join the 10th Division. I don’t care about being a seat commander or anything like that.” Ganju said, “I want to continue following you under Brother Xin’s command.”

“You’re still a long way from graduation, there’s no need to worry about this,” Xin said with a smile.

Renji then asked timidly, "Has no one asked me which squad I want to join?"

Hinamori Momo nodded very seriously: "Nobody cares."

"Hinamori! You bastard!" Renji got angry again.

He suddenly stood up, patted his chest, and said loudly, "You guys are all right. I'm going to join the Eleventh Division after graduation! Although I know I'm excellent, you don't need to waste your breath trying to recruit me into your division. My determination will not change."

"..."

The room suddenly fell silent. Renji glanced at everyone and blinked.

Xiu Bing nodded first: "I understand, I won't poach you."

Qinglu also said, "Don't worry, I have absolutely no such plans."

Kani Sawa was even more blunt: "I feel good about myself."

Hinamori sighed, "How embarrassing."

The meal lasted a long time, not ending until four or five in the afternoon. Everyone was slightly tipsy and then left.

Xin had just finished cleaning up the mess at home and was about to lie down on the sofa to rest for a while when he suddenly heard a short knock on the door.

Thinking that someone might have left something here, Xin glanced at the sofa and other places, then went to the entrance to open the door.

Rukia was standing outside the door.

"President...it's been a long time." Rukia said softly.

A hint of surprise flashed in Shin's eyes, and after a moment's thought, he smiled and said, "Have you finished with the student council matters? Hinamori Kira and the others have already left."

Rukia pursed her lips and said, "The president should know why I didn't come."

"..."

It seems that this girl has also learned to be as aggressive in her words as Hinamori.

Xin made way for him and said, "Come in."

A faint smell of alcohol lingered in the air. Rukia looked around and found that everything was the same as when she last came.

Xin poured her a glass of water and asked, "So, what brings you here now?"

"I do not know either."

Rukia held her teacup and spoke with her head down.

Her posture was very similar to the one Hinamori had taken not long ago.

"When Kira told me to come to your place, Chairman... my mind was in a mess."

Rukia paused, then mustered her courage and said, "It's all the president's fault."

Xin chuckled lightly: "So you want me to apologize to you?"

"..."

Rukia then asked Shin something unexpected: "Will the president apologize?"

Xin sat down opposite her and said, "If you want to hear it, you can, but it will only be an apology."

"..."

After a moment of silence, Rukia spoke again: "I heard from Momo that the president and vice-captain Kotetsu broke up."

"That's what she told you?"

"Isn't it?"

The letter stated, "We haven't officially broken up."

Rukia tightened her grip on her water glass and said, "If we haven't officially said we're breaking up, then it doesn't count as breaking up, right...? So if we haven't officially said we're together, then we're not really together either."

She suddenly stared intently at the letter: "President, don't you think you've gone too far? You know how much I... Hinamori and I feel for you, yet you still treated us like that. What were you thinking when you chose to be with Vice-Captain Kotetsu? Did you think we were just easy targets, that you could take advantage of us without taking any responsibility? Is that it?"

She was usually very reserved, unlike Hinamori who was outgoing and cheerful, yet she seemed to have more courage than Hinamori to say such things to Shin.

"President, I used to respect and admire you so much. Before you said you liked me, I never thought, nor dared to think, that anything could happen between us in a romantic way. But you just said it anyway. Is your 'liking' so cheap? Any girl could easily and irresponsibly say it to someone and then..."

As Rukia spoke, she slowly lowered her head again.

Xin looked at her quietly. He had thought that his attitude towards relationships with girls might lead him to face such a situation one day.

There will always be people who can't accept it, who will hate themselves for what they did, and who will hysterically curse him in front of him...

However, perhaps due to Rukia's gentle and kind nature, she didn't make the situation too awkward. She even chose to face him alone after everyone else had left.

I felt a bit uneasy. No matter how many times I told myself to be ruthless, I couldn't really do it when faced with this situation.

"I'm sorry, Rukia."

(End of this chapter)