Restricted Death

Chapter 169 God

Unohana Retsu still held an untrimmed camellia flower between her fingers, its crimson buds hanging between the dark brown branches like a drop of blood suspended on a knife's tip.

Xin's gaze swept over her body, over the flower branches, and over the light-colored sword.

During his time in the Fourth Division, he often saw Retsu Unohana practicing flower arrangement and tea ceremony in her spare time. It seemed to be her personal hobby, which was indeed very consistent with the image she had presented to the public.

It can also be interpreted as her doing things that she is not actually interested in at all.

Her loose, jet-black hair was as black as ink.

She looked at Shin as he slowly walked towards her. Her gaze was strange, a sight Shin had never seen before. He had seen something similar in Hinamori's eyes, but compared to Hinamori, it lacked many things, many things that bothered him.

There were some more things, but they seemed purer, those things that thrilled him.

Shin stopped beside her, while Unohana Retsu remained kneeling there. She looked up at Shin with a large tilt of her head, making her look less composed than usual, revealing more of her chin and the area below her chin.

The tea room was warm and bright, shining directly on her face, and her eyes trembled in the shadow of her eyelashes.

Looking at her looking up at him, Shin suddenly felt sorry for her. He had done a lot and told Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni that it was to save her.

She has indeed been brought out of one cage, but she has entered into another.

Perhaps there's nothing to regret; this world is a prison, and even death offers no release.

Retsu Unohana's original vision was destined to be unfulfilled. In this world, no one is truly awake, including people like Yamamoto and Aizen. They are destined to be slaves to something. You could call it ignorance, but ignorance is better than numbness.

He firmly believed in himself and indeed did a good deed.

#
Rukongai, Runlin An.

As soon as Hitsugaya stepped out of his house, he ran into a familiar figure in front of his own door.

"Vice...Vice Captain?"

Matsumoto Rangiku, carrying a gift box, said with a smile, "I heard your grandmother isn't feeling well, so I came to visit her."

Hitsugaya's heart pounded wildly. "This is too much trouble... Why did you come all this way in person?"

Matsumoto Rangiku said, "Junrin An and Seireitei are right next to each other and not far apart, isn't it convenient to come here?"

"..."

Hitsugaya's mind raced. He hadn't expected Matsumoto Rangiku to suddenly come to his house. The reason he gave for taking leave from the team was just a lie, and if she found out, who knew what the consequences would be.

"Where's your grandma? I'll go in and say hello," Matsumoto Rangiku said, and started to go inside.

Hitsugaya quickly stepped forward and blocked her path.

"Well, it's very late... Grandma has already gone to bed."

"So early?" Matsumoto Rangiku narrowed her eyes. Hitsugaya's reaction made her even more certain that her original guess was correct.

“It’s already late, and Grandma is getting old, so she goes to bed early.”

Matsumoto Rangiku, her smile gone, said, "Alright then, it is getting late, and I'm too lazy to go back. I'll stay at your place tonight. Do you have any spare rooms?"

"This won't do!" Hitsugaya raised his voice.

"Why not?"

"What I mean is, it's not very convenient, especially for a woman like you..."

Matsumoto Rangiku didn't hold back and started ruffling his hair.

"You're overthinking it. I don't see you as a man."

Although Hitsugaya was not entirely convinced by these words, that was not the key issue at the moment.

"It's really inconvenient, and you still have to go to work tomorrow, right? You should go back. I'll thank you on behalf of Grandma. I'll go back once Grandma is feeling better," Hitsugaya said very quickly.

Matsumoto Rangiku's smile slowly faded. She looked into the room, placed the gift box in his hand, and seemed to intend to leave.

"OK then……"

But as soon as she finished speaking, she suddenly crossed Hitsugaya and rushed towards the house.

Hitsugaya's eyes widened; he wanted to stop it, but it was too late.

"Wait a moment……"

Matsumoto Rangiku's figure stopped abruptly at the doorway, staring blankly as a trembling figure walked out from inside.

"Toshiro, do we have guests? Ahem, who is it?"

With a hoarse cough, Hitsugaya's grandmother walked out with extremely slow steps. The old woman was already thin, and her gait made it seem as if she might fall at any moment.

Hitsugaya was dumbfounded by what he saw.

"grandmother……"

After a moment of stunned silence, Matsumoto Rangiku quickly stepped forward to help the other person up.

"Hello, I am Matsumoto Rangiku, Hitsugaya's friend in the 10th Division. I heard you were not feeling well, so I came to see you."

"Oh, thank you so much. It's nothing, just an old ailment."

Hitsugaya watched his grandmother's superb acting skills silently, and fell silent for a moment.

After Matsumoto Rangiku escorted Grandma Hitsugaya back inside, she came out, looked at Hitsugaya, and sighed heavily.

"Given the old lady's condition, you shouldn't rush back. Spend more time with her."

"..."

Hitsugaya bit his lip, afraid he wouldn't be able to hold back, and replied in a very low voice, "Mmm."

Matsumoto Rangiku patted her forehead.

"I'm really pathetic."

These words made Hitsugaya feel a little sorry for him. He thought to himself that he had gone too far by abandoning everything without caring about anything, so he said, "Thank you for your hard work."

"It's just a tough life."

Matsumoto Rangiku looked at him and chuckled softly upon hearing this.

As she spoke, she sighed heavily again: "If you really think I'm working hard, then wait until you've taken good care of Grandma and come back quickly to help me with more of the team's work. Do you know how our team leader treated me before you left?"

Hitsugaya couldn't help but argue, "The captain... is actually a very reasonable person. I don't think he would cause trouble for others at work."

"Yes, yes, you are all good people, and I'm the only bad one," Matsumoto Rangiku said with a pout.

"Alright, go back now, I'm leaving too."

"..."

#
The Kuchiki family.

As soon as Rukia returned home, the butler greeted her with a broad smile.

"Lady Rukia, you're back."

Rukia looked somewhat tired. Recently, she had been taking on more and more student council work. She now needed to be a good president while also keeping her grades from slipping, which was making her feel quite overwhelmed.

However, Rukia was quite content with her current life. "Hmm, has my brother returned?" Rukia asked casually.

"Lord Byakuya is waiting for you."

"Wait for me?" Rukia was slightly surprised. Even though they lived in the same mansion, her interactions with Byakuya Kuchiki were almost entirely limited to her daily greetings.

Apart from that, the two were like strangers, and her older brother never interfered with anything she did at school.

"Lord Byakuya is in the main courtyard's living room. We have guests today. Please go ahead."

Rukia nodded slightly upon hearing this, and then, without even taking a break, quickly walked towards the living room.

Besides Kuchiki Byakuya, who was sitting in the main seat, there were two other people in the hall. One of them was someone Rukia had seen before, the third seat of the sixth division, Saito Hisaya.

The Saito family is a subordinate noble family of the Kuchiki family. Every generation of this family members joins the Sixth Division after becoming a Shinigami.

The captain of the sixth division of the first Gotei 13 was a member of the Saito family.

"Brother," Rukia greeted him first.

Kuchiki Byakuya simply nodded slightly without speaking, but Saito Hisaya spoke up after Rukia took her seat.

The person next to him was a young member of the Saito family, who was to be sent to the Spirit Arts Academy.

The reason for bringing him along was to inform Rukia in advance and ask her to take care of him.

This is not a big deal. Since entering the Kuchiki family, Rukia has also gotten to know some nobles, and these people are all very respectful when they are with her.

However, Saito Hisaya's next words implied that he hoped Rukia would groom this junior of the Saito family to be the next student council president.

"..."

Rukia fell silent upon hearing this.

The student union today is very different from the one when it was first established.

At the beginning, the student council was just an organization responsible for helping the Spiritual Arts Academy with some odd jobs. However, as the past two years have passed, the students sent by the Spiritual Arts Academy to the Thirteenth Team have all performed exceptionally well and have been trained as elite team members. Some higher-ups have vaguely realized the importance of the student council.

Perhaps in a few decades, the student council will become an important part of the resumes of members of the Gotei 13.

From the perspective of the history of Soul Society, apart from the captains, the Shinigami of the Thirteen Divisions have actually been iterating quite quickly.

All members of the student council are qualified to become executive officers after graduation. When most of the executive officers of the thirteen teams are members of the student council, the president of the student council will enjoy a high reputation in the thirteen teams.

Rukia looked up at Byakuya Kuchiki sitting there. Was this also her brother's idea?

She now enjoys a comfortable life in the Kuchiki family, and the aura of being an adopted son of the Kuchiki family has brought her great benefits. She really can't find any reason to refuse.

However, she has already chosen Shiba Iwasamu as the next student council president.

Although this junior member of the Saito family was a few years behind Shiba Ganju after joining the student council, he was still able to take over as student council president after Shiba Ganju graduated.

But the problem is that Rukia had already graduated by then, so would she still be able to get involved in student council affairs?
Even if she agrees now, there's no guarantee what will happen in the future.

Moreover, whether this person truly possesses the corresponding qualifications and abilities is another matter. There are quite a few aristocratic members in the student council, and while these individuals generally excel academically, they exhibit many character traits that Rukia dislikes.

Unless, of course, this person is directly replaced by Shiba Ganju.

But this was something Rukia didn't want to do. Since Ganju became her assistant, he had always been diligent and serious in his work, and he was also a very talented person, ranking first among his classmates.

Rukia felt that once Shiba Ganju became the student council president, he would definitely do a better job than her in the future.

but now……

Just as Rukia was lost in thought, Byakuya Kuchiki, who was sitting there, suddenly spoke up: "If he has the ability to become the student council president, he will naturally feel at ease doing what he should do, but if he does not have the ability, outsiders will not agree to it."

Rukia was taken aback.

Upon hearing this, Saito Hisaya couldn't help but speak up: "Captain..."

Kuchiki Byakuya glanced at him indifferently, which immediately silenced Saito Hisaya. Although he was unwilling, he could only reply, "I understand, Captain. We'll take our leave now. We've also disturbed Lady Rukia."

"..."

After Saito Hisaya and the other left, Rukia finally mustered up the courage to say to Kuchiki Byakuya, "I'm sorry, brother."

"Why apologize?"

Rukia lowered her head and said, "The Saito family is a great help to the Kuchiki family. It's a good thing for the Kuchiki family that someone from the Saito family has become the student council president, but I..."

Kuchiki Byakuya remained silent for a moment before saying, "These things are not as simple as you think."

"..."

"There's no need to do things that are unreasonable."

"Yes, brother."

In any case, if you don't do it, you won't be in a difficult position.

At most, I'll just keep an eye on that Saito family junior after he joins the student council. He's got a lot of potential, so I can nurture him properly.

Kuchiki Byakuya added, "Captain Ukitake of the 13th Division told me that he is very interested in you and that you can join the 13th Division after you graduate."

"The Thirteenth Division?" Rukia was extremely surprised.

"You don't want to go?"

Rukia shook her head repeatedly: "No, it's just... just a little unexpected."

Kuchiki Byakuya was silent for a moment, then asked, "Do you have a squad you'd like to join?"

Rukia pursed her lips slightly, and in an instant, many things came to mind.

"I thought I'd go back to the Sixth Division after graduation."

"The Sixth Division is not suitable for you."

"..."

"I understand, I will go to the 13th Division."

"Ah."

Kuchiki Byakuya didn't say anything more. He knew that Rukia must have many thoughts in her mind at the moment, but since she had agreed, it meant that her thoughts probably weren't that important.

Rukia left the living room, her thoughts somewhat jumbled.

She never expected that her older brother would assign her to the 13th Division. She had always felt that she should go to the 6th Division after graduation, and she had struggled with this decision for a long time.

Not long ago, she even considered graduating next year.

However, this idea was abandoned after seeing the letter for the last time.

The Thirteenth Division... seems pretty good too.

Every squad is fine, she doesn't need anything special, everything is fine.

Rukia lowered her eyes in thought.

(End of this chapter)