Not far from the 13th Division, there was a small restaurant. Since it was nearby, Haruki took Rukia there.
"The young lady of the Kuchiki family probably doesn't often eat at places like this, right?"
Haruki smiled and ordered two servings of dessert.
Rukia liked sweet things, and so did Haruki.
Among the five flavors—sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, and salty—Haruki avoided sour, couldn't handle spicy well, disliked bitter, tolerated salty, but sweet was his absolute favorite.
High-sugar foods are the key to happiness!
Fortunately, as a Shinigami, his body didn't easily gain weight no matter how much sweet food he ate, since his daily activity level easily burned off the sugar.
"Vice-Captain Haruki, please don't tease me," Rukia said with a bitter smile. "I'm not some noble lady. Before my brother adopted me, I was just a poor girl from the Rukongai."
"I've heard from Renji that you two grew up together in the South Rukongai. He also mentioned that your cooking wasn't great."
"What?!" A vein popped on Rukia's forehead as she retorted, "It's already a miracle that I cooked for him, and he still complains? That idiot..."
"But..."
Rukia looked at Haruki and couldn't help but ask, "I heard that Renji went to Hueco Mundo... Why?"
She had only recently learned about this.
Since being adopted by the Kuchiki family, she had lost contact with Renji.
They hadn't spoken a word to each other in years.
So she only knew that Shiba Kaien had gone to Hueco Mundo, but she didn't know the other members of the expedition team.
She thought only members of the 11th Division had gone, and since Renji was from the 5th Division, she never imagined he had voluntarily transferred to the 11th Division to join the mission.
She had learned about it yesterday while on a mission to the Shin'ō Academy, where students were talking about it.
They spoke in admiring tones about how Renji had transferred from the 5th to the 11th Division, knowing full well the dangers of Hueco Mundo, yet still chose to go without hesitation.
So today, Rukia wanted to ask Haruki what had happened.
At the same time, she also wanted to express her gratitude to him.
After all, since the last time she had fainted, she hadn't seen Haruki again and hadn't even had the chance to say thank you.
"That's true, yes," Haruki said as he took the tray from the waiter and nodded at Rukia. "Renji has a lot of potential. I believe he'll come back stronger after his time in Hueco Mundo."
"But...!" Rukia became agitated. "Hueco Mundo is too dangerous! Why would he go there?!"
Haruki didn't respond, just looked at her calmly.
His gaze made Rukia uneasy, and she stammered, "Why... why are you looking at me like that?"
"Renji probably wants to grow stronger quickly and make a name for himself. That way, he can become a Vice-Captain sooner."
"As for why he wants to become a Vice-Captain so badly, that's his personal motivation. Who... can really say?"
In truth, everyone knew why Renji wanted to become a Vice-Captain so quickly.
Only as a Vice-Captain would a Shinigami have the status to engage with the Five Great Noble Families on equal footing—or at least, close to it.
Of course, in the eyes of some arrogant nobles, no matter how capable a commoner was, they would always remain a commoner. Acknowledging equality with them was out of the question.
So Rukia understood this too, and she froze for a moment.
A look of conflict crossed her face.
Renji...
Was he trying to become a Vice-Captain for her sake?
Was that why he went to such a dangerous place?
Having lived with Renji in the Rukongai for ten years, Rukia knew him too well. Once he set his mind on something, nothing could stop him.
But the thought that Renji had put himself in danger because of her filled Rukia with guilt.
However, in front of Haruki, she took a deep breath and pushed those feelings aside. Then she sincerely said, "Thank you, Vice-Captain Haruki. If it weren't for you, I might have died the last time we encountered that Hollow."
"No... there's no need to thank me," Haruki said softly. "We're all on the battlefield, all Shinigami, and that makes us comrades. Helping each other is just what comrades do."
"More importantly, how is your body now?"
"With my brother's care, I've been fine for the past six months," Rukia said, but then a hint of hesitation appeared on her face.
Haruki, who had been observing her closely, immediately noticed and asked, "What is it? You seem like you have something else to say."
"Vice-Captain Haruki... I want to ask you a question," Rukia said, her expression serious.
Haruki nodded. "Go ahead. If it's something I know, I'll answer."
"That Hollow from back then..."
Rukia paused for a moment, then finally gathered the courage to ask, "Did it really leave?"
During that battle, Haruki was the only one who had seen White's final movements.
Ukitake Jūshirō had been severely injured by White during a bout of illness and had passed out.
Shiba Kaien was also no match for White and had lost consciousness.
When Rukia had stepped forward, she had seen the aftermath, and then White had attacked her.
In an instant, she had lost consciousness, and only Haruki knew what had happened afterward.
According to Haruki, after battling Ukitake and Kaien, White had been severely weakened, so under Haruki's intervention, it had no choice but to retreat to Hueco Mundo.
But...
Had that Hollow really returned to Hueco Mundo?
Rukia felt ashamed bringing this up. Haruki had saved her, yet here she was, doubting his words.
But...
She had to ask!
If she didn't, she wouldn't be able to resolve the doubts in her heart.
Lately, Rukia had been having the same dream.
In the dream, she felt as though she was falling into an endless abyss of darkness, with only a single voice echoing in the void.
As the voice grew louder, a massive demon seemed to loom in the darkness, threatening to devour her.
Every time she woke from this dream, Rukia felt as though something in her body had changed, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was.
...
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