Restricted Death

Chapter 200 Cruelty
The day after Shin returned to Soul Society, Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi of the 12th Division arrived with his lieutenant, Nemu Kurotsuchi.

"What a rare visitor."

Shin looked at Mayuri Kurotsuchi in front of him and couldn't help but tease him.

He had never had much interaction with the director of the Technology Development Bureau; they had almost never met outside of team leader meetings.

"Captain Nie, what brings you here?"

Mayuri Kurotsuchi's attire was quite peculiar and eye-catching. He wore a somewhat eerie black and white mask on his head, which, if one had to say, resembled a Hollow mask. The exposed skin under his sleeves was also unnaturally pale, giving him a cold and cruel feeling.

The adjutant beside him, however, was gentle, beautiful, and quite lovely; standing next to Mayuri Kurotsuchi, she seemed rather out of place.

“Captain Tachikawa.” Mayuri Kurotsuchi’s yellow eyes were fixed on Shin, his voice high-pitched, distorted, and slightly neurotic.

"You just returned from the mortal world, right? This field mission seemed to be to find a Hollow. I wonder if you found it?"

Xin spread his hands with some regret: "Unfortunately, that guy is too cunning, and this time it was all in vain."

"I see." Mayuri Kurotsuchi chuckled sinisterly. "My subordinates said they encountered Captain Tachikawa in the human world."

Upon hearing this, Xin gently scratched his chin with his finger and suddenly realized, "I remember now, those people were from the Twelfth Division. I thought they were from the Thirteenth Division."

Mayuri Kurotsuchi said, "Captain Tachikawa, there are some things I'm curious about regarding your trip to the human world."

"Oh, Captain Nee, please speak."

"I checked your fieldwork information, and there is no record of you applying for or using a prosthetic body. May I ask where the prosthetic body you are wearing in the real world comes from?"

"This?" Xin thought for a moment.

"Pick it up."

Mayuri Kurotsuchi: "..."

Mayuri Kurotsuchi and Nemuru Kurotsuchi were clearly not prepared for such a perfunctory answer. Mayuri Kurotsuchi's trip was indeed somewhat motivated by a desire to interrogate them. The remaining Quincy groups in the world have always been "rare specimens" closely monitored by the Twelfth Division, and he extremely dislikes others interfering with them.

"Found it?" Mayuri Kurotsuchi's gaze turned somewhat cold. "As far as I know, there are no artificial remains left outside in Soul Society. Every single one is registered. Where did Captain Tachikawa find that artificial remains?"

Xin waved his hand: "How could I remember such a thing? I've already forgotten about it. Did Captain Nie come here just to ask about something like this?"

The other party's obvious unwillingness to cooperate angered Mayuri Kurotsuchi; this young captain was even more arrogant than he had expected.

Asking about other things further wouldn't seem to yield any results.

“Captain Tachikawa,” Mayuri Kurotsuchi said, “do you know what you’re doing? As far as I know, there’s only one person in the world capable of providing you with a prosthetic body.”

Xin raised an eyebrow slightly. "I don't understand what Captain Nie means. Is Captain Nie planning to report me to the Commander-in-Chief?"

"..."

Mayuri Kurotsuchi was silent for a moment, then suddenly chuckled softly.

"No, associating with strange people never ends well, and I'd love to see how you play with fire and get burned."

After saying that, Mayuri turned around and left with Nemuru.

After the other person left, Xin pondered the flaws in this trip to the mortal world.

The unexpected part was that he encountered Ishida Sogen, which attracted the Twelfth Division. Although he knew that doing so would expose his whereabouts, his curiosity about the Quincy still made Shin take the risk.

This is, after all, about a guy who wants to destroy the world in the future.

Two more days passed peacefully. While Hinamori and Shin were working on some documents in the office, they suddenly started talking about the Twelfth Division.

"Captain, have you heard?"

"what?"

Hinamori said mysteriously, "I heard it from the senior members of the squad. The sixth seat of the 12th Division, Tsuchiya Kirito, is also dead."

"Sixth seat?" Xin was stunned for a moment. After thinking about it carefully, he didn't remember knowing this person.

Hinamori continued, "Yes, I heard he died in an experiment. This Rokusai Tsuchiya volunteered to be the subject of the experiment, but unfortunately lost his life. There were two other team members besides him."

Three people...

Shin frowned and pondered for a moment, recalling that there were also three people who had come to see Ishida Sogen the other day.

Could it be such a coincidence? Or did Mayuri Kurotsuchi do this on purpose?
Another day passed, and this time Shin learned the news clearly: the First Division Vice-Captain, Chojiro Sasakibe, came forward to convey the Captain-Commander's message to stop the Twelfth Division's experiment and severely reprimanded Mayuri Kurotsuchi for agreeing to let his subordinates act as experimental subjects.

But it was just a reprimand.

The Soul Society now relies heavily on the achievements of the Research and Development Bureau, which gives the 12th Division a respectable position among the Gotei 13.

Mayuri Kurotsuchi is an eccentric person who often skips captain meetings, but the Captain-Commander always turns a blind eye to it.

The deaths of those three members of the 12th Division, whether due to Mayuri Kurotsuchi's wrath or something else, did prevent Shin from being exposed in the human world.

Shin realized he had underestimated Mayuri Kurotsuchi's cruelty; his disregard for the lives of his subordinates made Shin feel uneasy.

However, I don't think I'm much better myself; haven't I also abused my subordinates before...?

People are indeed hypocritical.

Rangiku Matsumoto has been very well-behaved lately, not doing anything out of line. She stays in her office every day, rarely goes out, and leaves work on time.

Some of the team affairs sent to her were handled by her, while others were left unused, but she never contacted us again.

A few days later, Ise Nanao came again on her own initiative.

She also brought some documents with her.

"I heard that Captain Tachikawa went to the real world."

“Ah, it’s to investigate the whereabouts of a Hollow,” Shin said.

Ise Nanao nodded repeatedly: "I know, I didn't mean anything by it..."

She placed some of the documents she had brought on Xin's desk.

"These are some materials about the Hollow you were investigating, Captain Tachikawa. It's very easy for the Eighth Division to investigate these."

Xin took the documents and glanced at them. The first one was just a brief file with no useful information at all.

However, scrolling down further...

Ise Nanao pursed her lips and said, "What follows is all the useful information I compiled more than forty years ago. It is a copy I made myself. I think it should be useful to Captain Tachikawa."

"..."

Xin remained calm, closed the document, and said, "As I said, my trip to the mortal world this time was only to track down a Hollow."

Upon hearing this, Ise Nanao quickly replied, "I know, I didn't mean anything by it..." "If Vice Captain Ise has nothing else to say, you can go back now... I will take good care of the things you brought; they should help me track down that Hollow."

Ise Nanao's face lit up with joy.

"Yes, I understand!"

It was just a file, what use could it be? Of course, she understood the meaning behind the letter and bowed deeply to him.

"Captain Tachikawa, thank you for your hard work."

Just as she turned to leave, Xin suddenly called out to her, "Wait a minute."

Ise Nanao immediately asked, "Is there anything else I need to do?"

Xin pondered for a moment and said, "If possible, I would like to trouble Vice Captain Ise to notify me separately whenever someone goes to the human world for field missions in the coming period of time."

Given the special nature of the Eighth Division, they would be among the first to know if someone was on a field mission.

Ise Nanao was puzzled; she didn't understand Xin's actions, but after careful consideration, she nodded in agreement.

All field missions of Team Thirteen are always publicly recorded, and with the captain's authority, all of them can be accessed afterward.

"I understand."

"sorry to bother you."

After leaving the Tenth Division's captain's office, Ise Nanao breathed a sigh of relief. She felt that she had finally done something meaningful and hoped that Shin would find out everything soon so that she could know.

As she walked through the corridor, Ise Nanao suddenly felt someone watching her.

The window of the vice-captain's office was open.

She hesitated for a moment, then suddenly wanted to walk toward the house, but stopped herself as soon as she started.

Ise Nanao withdrew her gaze and ultimately left the 10th Division.

evening.

Matsumoto Rangiku left the 10th Division alone and saw a figure in front of her house. It was the same person she had seen in the barracks earlier that day.

"Rangiku..." Ise Nanao looked at her with complicated emotions and called out softly.

Matsumoto Rangiku walked over silently, stopped in front of her, and then pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Rangiku, you..."

Matsumoto Rangiku's grip was tight, and Ise Nanao initially tensed up, but quickly relaxed as he gently stroked her back.

"I thought you would never come looking for me again," Rangiku murmured.

Ise Nanao's eyes softened: "It's not as serious as you make it out to be. Nothing has happened between us that would force us to break off our friendship."

"..."

Matsumoto Rangiku released her, a smile that gave off a slightly unsettling feeling.

She said, "That's right, that's right."

"Let's go in first."

Once inside, Matsumoto Rangiku closed the door.

Ise Nanao asked first, "How have you been lately...?"

Matsumoto Rangiku bit her lower lip and looked away: "Ah, it's alright."

Perhaps out of fear of Xin's threats, she now goes to get off work and leaves work on time every day, and Xin has indeed stopped making things difficult for her. Life has suddenly become peaceful, as if nothing had happened. Her teammates who are familiar with her do not know what has happened and treat her the same way they used to.

Ise Nanao could tell that Rangiku hadn't been very happy lately, so she advised, "Rangiku, so much time has passed. Captain Tachikawa may have done something that offended you, but I think he definitely didn't mean it. Besides, the reason for this... Rangiku, your attitude towards work was indeed a bit problematic before. Didn't you always complain about how lazy the former Captain Shiba was? You should put yourself in Captain Tachikawa's shoes and think about it."

"..."

Matsumoto Rangiku's eyes trembled.

Put yourself in their shoes?

A bizarre feeling spread through her heart. Looking at Ise Nanao's gentle gaze, she could indeed feel the other's concern for her.

Now that things have come to this, who can we blame?
Nana is definitely right. She has done a lot for herself, but because she has been too shy to speak up, the two of them are now not on the same wavelength.

Should we blame Tachikawa Shin?
No matter how much hatred she felt in her heart, to outsiders, she was the one who was wrong, who was constantly sulking, and who was stuck in a rut.

Rangiku felt that saying anything more now would be futile. She gave a sad smile and said in a low voice, "You know, I'm a very slow-witted person when it comes to emotions... so I can't do what you're talking about."

Seeing her like this, Ise Nanao thought she had already repented, and immediately comforted her, saying, "It's okay, Rangiku. I think Captain Tachikawa doesn't mind. I talked to him before, and he doesn't really care about what happened back then. He's also willing to give you time... However, even so, Rangiku, you can't keep dwelling on your own thoughts. There's no conflict that can't be resolved. As long as you bravely take this step, everything will be the same as before."

"..."

Matsumoto Rangiku suddenly gave a bitter laugh: "You mean, he has already forgiven me, right?"

I found myself to be the one being forgiven?

Ise Nanao nodded: "Yes, Captain Tachikawa is actually a very good person. Moreover, the relationship between the two of you is not just a normal superior-subordinate relationship. Captain Tachikawa's success today is largely due to the fact that you found him in Rukongai. Captain Tachikawa must be grateful for this kindness. So Rangiku, now as long as you take the initiative to talk to him, everything will be over."

Matsumoto Rangiku opened her mouth, then remained silent for a moment.

"Do you think I should take the initiative to talk to him?"

Ise Nanao tilted her head and asked, "Otherwise what? Do you still hold a grudge against Captain Tachikawa?"

Rangiku remained silent.

There's no point in holding a grudge. She suddenly realized that she was indeed wrong from the moment she asked Nanao Ise to help her get transferred out of the 10th Division.

She shouldn't have involved Nanao Ise in this matter; otherwise, she wouldn't be in this situation where she has no one on her side now.

"Rangiku..." Ise Nanao wanted to say something more.

"Nanatsu, I understand."

Rangiku interrupted her, her expression unreadable: "I understand. Thank you, Nanao. Thank you for still caring about me like this."

Ise Nanao laughed and said, "It's good that you understand. Captain Tachikawa is so young, and he may be the captain for hundreds of years to come. You've only been the vice-captain for a few decades. Who knows how much longer we'll be together? We can't keep holding a grudge like this. In the end, won't you be the one who's unhappy?"

Rangiku twitched the corners of her mouth and gave a faint smile.

"Ah...you're right."

(End of this chapter)