Restricted Death

Chapter 211 Catch the adulterer
Inside the Student Council Headquarters Office, Shinigami Academy.

The deep darkness outside the window had already seeped through the glass, making the white light emanating from the indoor lights appear even colder and more glaring.

"President, aren't you leaving yet?"

Shiba Ganju tidied up the things on his desk, looked at Rukia who was still sitting motionless behind the desk, hesitated for a moment, and finally asked her a question.

"I'll leave later." Rukia seemed to be in low spirits and replied casually. Her shadow was stretched long by the light and cast on the floor, making her look thin and tired.

After a moment's thought, Yanjiu stopped in his tracks and said with some concern, "President, you don't need to work so hard."

Rukia was taken aback by the words, as if she had just been pulled back from her wandering thoughts. She then moved her lips slightly and forced a smile, as if to cover up the heaviness in her heart: "I know, alright, you can go back now."

Ganju didn't say anything more. The office light became a lonely lamp in the campus late at night. Rukia sat by the window, leaning slightly forward, her arm resting lightly on the cool wooden table, her eyes calmly gazing at the deep night that seemed to devour everything.

Why do I feel like life is getting more and more tiring...?

Rukia chuckled self-deprecatingly, raised her hand to rub her stiff temples, and then heard a sound coming from the doorway, so she looked up.

She was distracted, thinking that Yanjiu had forgotten something and returned. "Is there anything else..."

She stopped mid-sentence, her pupils contracting slightly as her gaze fell on the figure standing in the doorway. Clearly, she hadn't expected it to be this person. Her eyes then lingered on the other person's calm face, and her already pursed lips tightened even more unconsciously.

"Why aren't you home yet, it's so late?" Xin asked, standing at the door, his tall figure blocking part of the light in the corridor.

"Why are you here?" Rukia didn't answer his question, but instead asked him.

I missed you, so I came to see you.

"Oh……"

"Want to come to my place tonight?"

"..."

An unbearable silence filled the office, as if even the air itself had frozen. Rukia neither refused immediately nor nodded; she simply lowered her head further, the stray hairs on her forehead obscuring her eyes.

The office lights, which had been on, suddenly went dark a minute later.

The streets were quiet in the dead of night, with only the whisper of the wind through the branches. Rukia followed silently beside Shin, her head down, her gaze fixed on her moving toes, her steps slightly hesitant.

Shin noticed her unusual mood but didn't say anything. He simply took her hand. On the way, Shin suddenly realized that someone was secretly following him. He ignored it and just held Rukia's hand tighter.

As soon as Shin stepped into the Shin family's entryway, the cold door closed behind him, shutting out the outside world. Just as Shin was about to turn on the light, Rukia suddenly reached out from behind and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, burying her face deeply in his broad back. Her slender arms were wrapped tightly, and her body was even trembling slightly and uncontrollably.

Sensing her dejected mood, Xin turned around, cupped her face in his hands, gently stroked her cheek with his thumb, and asked softly, "What's wrong?"

Rukia looked at him with her watery eyes, opened her mouth, and said, "You don't know?"

Her voice was muffled, as if it were through a layer of water.

"what do you know?"

"..."

Rukia suddenly felt unhappy, but she didn't say anything. She just let her emotions show. She lowered her head and loosened her arms from holding the letter.

Seeing this, Xin thought for a moment, and before she could gasp in surprise, he put his arm around her back, placed it against her waist, and with a sudden effort, easily lifted her up.

The feeling of weightlessness made Rukia instinctively cling to his shoulders, but then a surge of humiliation and indignation mixed with grievance welled up inside her: "Is this the kind of thing you're only thinking about?"

"No." Xin carried her inside, shaking his head in denial without hesitation. He could feel the tension and slight struggle in her arms. "I just thought that this kind of thing might make you a little happier."

As he spoke, he gently but irresistibly pressed her against the wall by the bedroom door, lowering his head to precisely capture her moist yet stubbornly evasive lips.

Rukia instinctively turned her head to dodge, but Shin firmly supported the back of her head with one hand, his thumb gently stroking the skin behind her ear with a soothing touch. This action made her body inexplicably weak, and at the same time, his other hand gripped her wrist, with just the right amount of force, neither hurting her nor allowing her to break free.

"Well……"

After a while, when the letter had slightly withdrawn, Lucia was already panting heavily. Having escaped from that dizzying vortex, her cheeks were flushed, and her moist eyes and slightly swollen lips made her look even more pitiful: "It's so unfair. We're like this now, and when I need you, you're never there."

She thought of Hinamori. Hinamori was able to stay by Shin's side every day. How happy and wonderful must the time they spent together be?

On the contrary, it was herself who, because of this unappreciated relationship, hid like a rat in a dark corner, and had done such a thing before, just like a clown who couldn't stand seeing others do well, she was despicable.

“I’ve always been here,” Xin said. “But there are some things I can only know if you tell me directly.”

“But what if I don’t want to tell you?” Rukia asked.

"I'm not a god, how could I possibly understand people's thoughts?"

"But if it were Peach, who was by your side every day, you would definitely know all her thoughts at a glance, right?"

"Why should I guess what she's thinking? She's the one guessing what I'm thinking." Xin said gently, reaching out to pinch her cheek. "What's wrong? Tell me properly."

After saying that, he carried Rukia and headed towards the bedroom.

Rukia struggled slightly and whispered, "I'm going to take a shower first. I had kendo class today."

"No need to wash today."

The night grew deeper and deeper, cool and still. Outside the window, the flowers quietly unfurled in the darkness, their delicate stamens glistening with a thin layer of dew, appearing as if covered with a hazy white frost under the faint starlight.

On the bed in the bedroom, Rukia was curled up in Shin's arms, touching her stomach with slight discomfort.

"Did you have a fight with your family?"

"It wasn't an argument." Rukia's voice was soft, hoarse with exhaustion, almost blending into the darkness. "It's just... I had some disagreements with Byakuya-nii."

Did he scold you?

Rukia gently shook her head. "Byakuya-nii is just a bit cold-hearted, but he has never actually said anything harsh to me... Last time I stayed here, Byakuya-nii-nii... asked a few more questions..."

Shin then asked, "So, what's this about you wanting to join the Third Division?"

Upon hearing this, Rukia snuggled even closer into Shin's arms. This time, she didn't give a direct answer but remained silent for a long time.

Just then, Xin suddenly realized something and slowly sat up.

Rukia was startled awake by his movement and looked up at him in confusion. By the moonlight streaming in from the window, she saw his solemn expression. "We have a guest."

As he spoke, he picked up the clothes that had been lying on the floor and put them on. At that moment, a knock sounded at the living room door.

Rukia suddenly felt a little nervous. She thought it was Shin's friend who had suddenly come to visit in the middle of the night, and she was also afraid that outsiders would find out that she had stayed overnight there.

Xin reassured him, "It's alright, you don't need to go out."

Xin walked to the entrance hall and opened the door to see a cold face.

"What a rare guest," Shin chuckled. "What brings Captain Kuchiki here all of a sudden?"

The newcomer was none other than Kuchiki Byakuya, the captain of the Sixth Division. Besides him, there was another member of the Kuchiki family standing on the street outside the Shin family's gate. That person was the one Shin had noticed following him on his way back.

Kuchiki Byakuya was expressionless. He was dressed in luxurious clothes and wore the Star-Piercing Clasp on his head. He was not wearing the Shinigami uniform and Captain's Haori, but a white casual outfit with a silver-white floral veil. Just standing there, he gave people a great sense of oppression.

"Where is Rukia?" His tone was quite cold and hard, and he asked directly.

Shin asked casually, "Why did Captain Kuchiki come here looking for Rukia?"

Byakuya Kuchiki's gaze seemed to grow even colder. His impression of Shin had always been quite ordinary; the two hadn't interacted much. If he had to pinpoint an impression, the only things that caught his attention were Shin's rapid rise to captain and his previously close relationship with Rukia.

"Rukia is a member of the Kuchiki family."

"I know," Xin nodded calmly. "So what?"

He had no intention of welcoming Kuchiki Byakuya into the house, and the two stood facing each other at the doorway, one inside and one outside.

"Let her out." Byakuya Kuchiki's tone was harsh and left no room for negotiation.

"Captain Kuchiki, this is my home." Shin didn't back down. "Don't you think it's extremely rude and excessive of you to suddenly come here in the middle of the night and make such a request to me?"

Kuchiki Byakuya suddenly realized that he had underestimated how thick-skinned Tachikawa Shin was. Despite being blocked at the door by him, he didn't panic at all, nor did he seem to have any intention of explaining himself.

He couldn't bring himself to argue with the other party, but seeing how confident they were, he found himself in a difficult situation.

To be honest, his behavior of suddenly blocking the door in the middle of the night was very out of character for him. After confirming that Rukia and Tachikawa Shin had an unusual relationship a few days ago, he had been very concerned about it. Tonight, he learned that Rukia had gone to Tachikawa's house, which made him act impulsively.

A sudden noise came from inside the bedroom, as if someone had knocked something over.

This made Byakuya Kuchiki's gaze sharpen as he stared intently at the letter.

"Captain Kuchiki, do you think what you're doing is appropriate?" Shin said slowly. "You're not the only one who's embarrassed, are you?"

Kuchiki Byakuya's main purpose in coming here was to confront Shin directly about his thoughts.

As the captain of the Thirteenth Squad, he believed that his status and position were fully qualified to marry a nobleman, but it should be done openly and honestly. If the two of them already had that kind of relationship, why did they have to do it so secretly?
He couldn't accept that Rukia was a subservient, potentially vulnerable being in this relationship.

In the end, Byakuya Kuchiki did not react or ask any more questions. He also felt that what the other party said made sense, and that what he was doing here might make Rukia even more embarrassed.

After staring at the letter for a long time, Kuchiki Byakuya suddenly turned his head and left.

Xin watched his figure disappear at the end of the road with the Kuchiki family member before closing the door.

When they returned to the bedroom, they found Rukia already dressed and standing there looking panicked. It seemed she had hesitated about whether to come out or not.

“They’ve already left,” the letter said.

Rukia's eyes instantly reddened: "I... I'm sure Byakuya-nii will be very disappointed in me like this..."

Xin sighed softly, walked over, and pulled her into his arms.

"Don't overthink it, it's not your fault. I'll go talk to him tomorrow."

Now that things have come to this point, if Xin doesn't step forward, he'll be completely irresponsible.

Rukia quickly shook her head: "You shouldn't go."

She was silent for a moment, then said, "I don't know what's wrong with me lately, I've become very strange... I've suddenly started to hate a lot of things..."

"I've never understood why the Kuchiki family would take a liking to me and adopt me. I asked Byakuya, but he wouldn't say anything..."

“I started to doubt, I started to resist… After I stayed at your place last time, Byakuya asked me a few questions, and I… I actually talked back to him and asked him a lot of questions… I was really out of my mind. Byakuya is actually very good to me. He changed my life and gave me many things I never dared to imagine before, and I actually… I even went against his wishes…”

As she spoke, tears streamed down her face.

Shin fell silent. Only then did he realize that Rukia's strange relationship with him had put too much pressure on her.

"Since you don't want to go to the 13th Division, then you don't have to go. Just do what you want to do."

Rukia shook her head: "I don't hate the 13th Division. I just... just... inexplicably hated a lot of things before."

Shin looked down at her and suddenly asked, "Do you want to join the 10th Division?"

Rukia paused, then suddenly looked up.

Shin said earnestly, "Come join the 10th Division."

"..."

But soon, Rukia lowered her head again.

"I... want to join the 13th Division."

She sniffed: "However, the fact that you're willing to let me go to the 10th Division... makes me happier than if you don't let me go to the 10th Division."

Rukia suddenly punched Shin hard in the chest: "You bastard! Why didn't you say so sooner?"

Shin quickly hugged her, resting his chin on her head: "I'm sorry, Rukia."

"..."

Lucia broke free from his embrace again: "I have to go back tonight."

Before Shin could say anything more, Rukia spoke first: "There are some things I want to say to Byakuya-nii."

(End of this chapter)