Soul Society, Seireitei, Sixth Division.
At the easternmost edge of the Sixth Division lay a district packed with aristocratic residences.
This was where the barracks of the aristocratic command unit, the Sixth Division, were located.
As one of the Four Noble Families, the head of the Kuchiki Clan had, for generations, always served as captain of the Sixth Division.
Many long-established shops patronized by the Kuchiki Clan had gathered here, drawing in nobles with refined tastes who relocated one after another. Over time, it became a residential area for the wealthy, commonly referred to by ordinary Shinigami as the [Noble District].
A tram rolled past a platform topped with tiled roofs, weaving through streets lined with antique architecture. Rather than carrying people into another world, it felt as though the tram itself had slipped back into an ancient age.
Most of the buildings along the street were plastered structures with straight gabled roofs. Compared to the heavy, storehouse-style constructions, their thinner exterior coatings gave them a cleaner, more uniform look.
The street-facing walls rose straight up, with no balconies or ornamentation in sight, as if every building in the district embodied the Sixth Division's guiding principle: austere, rational purity.
Those who served in the Sixth Division were mostly nobles, with only recent years seeing Shinigami from Rukongai join their ranks.
At this moment, one such Shinigami walked barefoot down the corridor. His vivid red hair was tied upward in a spiked knot, resembling a crimson pineapple. Broad blue tattoos stretched above his eyebrows, nearly covering his entire forehead and filling the space left by his M-shaped hairline. His white robes patterned with cherry blossoms stood out sharply against the Shinigami passing by.
A Shinigami greeted him politely. "Ah, good morning, Lieutenant Abarai."
Renji Abarai answered with a brief grunt without even turning his head, striding straight toward his destination. Stopping before a dark red door marked with [6], he took out a black, puzzle-like object and slid it into a narrow slot in the wooden frame.
White spiritual light rippled, and the door opened.
"Oh no! They got away again!" A short-haired Shinigami boy chased after a black butterfly fluttering through the air. "Don't run! Don't run! Seriously! If you all escape, I'm done for!"
He somehow produced a butterfly toy and shook it lightly. "Ooh come back, come back! There's a cute girl here"
Renji Abarai kicked him squarely. "What do you think you're doing?!"
"Renji-san, that hurts~" The Shinigami boy wailed, his eyebrow tattoo twisting along with his expression. "Why'd you kick me?"
Renji Abarai barked back, his split eyebrows bristling. "They're just a few Jigokuchō. Learn to take care of them yourself, idiot!"
"Huh?" The boy blinked in surprise. "Aren't you on duty today, Renji-san?"
"I came to see the prisoner. How is she?"
"You mean Kuchiki-san..." The boy sighed. "Same as always. Just sitting there."
Renji Abarai walked further in and caught sight of a slender figure seated on a chair, so slight she looked as though a gust of wind might carry her away.
"Are you really going to stay this stubborn, Rukia?" Renji Abarai leaned against the black iron bars. "The verdict's already been handed down. You're to be executed."
Rukia Kuchiki turned her head. "I'm not being stubborn, Lieutenant."
"Huh?" Renji Abarai ground his teeth. "What's that supposed to mean? Got a problem with me being your Lieutenant?"
"As if I'd dare," Rukia Kuchiki said with a cold smile. "While I was gone these past few months, you worked yourself to the bone and finally made it. I admire you, Lieutenant."
"Huh?"
"Your eyebrows are certainly distinctive, Lieutenant."
"I'll cut you down!"
"How impressive, Lieutenant."
"Come out here!"
"I'd love to, Lieutenant."
"Grr..." Renji Abarai clenched his jaw, gnawing on the iron bars twice before finally calming himself. "So you really were with him back in the World of the Living."
Rukia Kuchiki suddenly fell silent.
"Ever since he was imprisoned, you've been miserable. Forget arguing like this, you barely even talk anymore." Renji Abarai clenched the railing. "Is he doing well?"
Rukia Kuchiki's eyes softened with nostalgia. "He sleeps in every day, and pretty girls cook for him. He's doing incredibly well."
"That sounds just like the Shin'ō Academy," Renji Abarai let out a short laugh. "Figures."
"Nothing compared to you, though. Climbing the ranks step by step, Lieutenant. Such a promising future, Lieutenant."
"Grr..." Renji Abarai gnawed on the bars a few more times. "I'll go to the World of the Living with Captain Kuchiki and bring him back. When that happens, your execution will be revoked."
"Still so naive," Rukia Kuchiki said, tilting her head. "Lieutenant."
"Say 'Lieutenant' one more time and see what happens!"
"When have you ever heard of the Central 46 Compound overturning a ruling once it's been issued?"
Renji Abarai froze. "But Captain Kuchiki is your brother. If he spoke up..."
"He won't," Rukia Kuchiki said quietly. "In the forty years since I was adopted into the Kuchiki Clan, he has never once truly looked at me."
...
"Mmm, that was delicious~" Muten Natsu set down his bowl and chopsticks, thoroughly satisfied. "Orihime, I'll be going on a long trip soon."
"Oh~" Orihime Inoue tilted her head. "How long before you come back?"
Muten Natsu avoided her gaze. "I don't know."
"That sounds kind of troublesome. Do you need help?"
"It's fine. I can handle it on my own."
"On your own..." Orihime Inoue reached out and cupped his face, making him look at her. "Are you sure you really can?"
Muten Natsu opened his mouth, but no words came out.
"Let me tell you a secret," Orihime Inoue leaned forward slightly. "I'm actually a bad person."
"Huh?"
"It's not just Rukia. Every time you hurt yourself without thinking about the consequences, I get angry too. But you're always injured because you're helping someone else. If I got mad, I'd just seem unreasonable." Orihime Inoue stuck out her pink tongue playfully. "But Rukia gets angry. Seeing you troubled because she's upset makes me feel like I've vented my own anger too. Then I help you make up, and that way I get to let off steam and still be the good one. Pretty awful of me, right~"
"Orihime..."
"Now that Rukia isn't here, if you do something that makes me angry..." Orihime Inoue lowered her eyes slightly. "I'd have to keep it all to myself. But I don't want to be angry at you. If you lie to me, even if I notice, I'll have to pretend I didn't."
Her aggrieved face was right in front of him. Muten Natsu swallowed. "Rukia... she's been sentenced to execution. I'm going to Soul Society to save her."
Orihime Inoue looked up. "Can I come with you?"
Muten Natsu warned her, "Soul Society is dangerous."
Orihime Inoue's gaze hardened with resolve. "Then I have to go."