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As usual, Ishikawa stepped into the Surveillance Division of the Supervisory Team.
"Boss."
"Good morning, Ishikawa-sama."
"…"
Although it was just dawn, the Squad Members of the Surveillance Division were already busy, sitting in front of various instruments, eating snacks while operating them.
Ishikawa nodded in response to each of them, then came over to Kiyohara Tsumugiya and asked, "How is Rukia doing?"
"She's still receiving commands normally, but we can't track her current location."
Kiyohara Tsumugiya shook her head: "Regarding this matter, we and the Shinigami Research and Development Institute have separately submitted reports. But the Central 46' response was to have us constantly monitor the Human World and search for Kuchiki Rukia's whereabouts, instead of sending people to the Human World to investigate as usual, or treating her as a defector."
"After all, she's one of the Four Great Noble Clans. The Central 46 probably don't want the news to spread."
"Indeed, if the news gets out, even if she's an adopted daughter of the Kuchiki family, she would definitely be punished."
"But what if something unexpected happened to her?"
"The Shinigami Research and Development Institute said that Kuchiki Rukia's Denreishinki has always been receiving commands issued by the Shinigami Research and Development Institute, and she has been actively contacting the Shinigami Research and Development Institute, showing no slack in her Hollow purification work. This means that her connection with Soul Society has not been interrupted, only the surveillance and tracking of her person have been blocked."
"Perhaps that young lady of the Kuchiki family doesn't want people to pry into her privacy."
"It's very possible. We can't even determine her location, let alone the Shinigami Research and Development Institute, only maintaining contact with her through her Denreishinki. To be able to do this, who would believe that no one is helping her? Although that young lady herself claims not to know why she can't be tracked, and for some reason, it's inconvenient for her to reveal her location."
"If all Shinigami sent on missions do this, what will happen to our work?"
"After all, she's a member of one of the Four Great Noble Clans; she has that much privilege."
"…"
Listening to everyone's discussion, Ishikawa's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
If there were no accidents, the person helping Rukia obstruct the Supervisory Team and Shinigami Research and Development Institute's surveillance should be Urahara Kisuke, and there might even be some secret cooperation from a certain hair gel user.
If the dispatched Shinigami were someone else, even if they maintained constant contact with Soul Society, in the event of interrupted surveillance, the Central 46 would send Onmitsukidō to the Human World to investigate and immediately re-establish the surveillance circuit for the dispatched Shinigami.
But Kuchiki Rukia is different; even as an adopted daughter, she is still a member of the Four Great Noble Clans, so the Central 46 have not taken further action, merely continuing to monitor, which is barely reasonable.
No one would have thought…
The real Central 46 are probably gone now!
The one issuing orders during this period is not the Central 46, but someone who slaughtered the Central 46.
Ishikawa didn't care at all that the Central 46 were gone; those inflexible old-fashioned individuals dying could even be considered a good thing.
But what Ishikawa was afraid of was…
The person secretly impersonating the Central 46 and issuing orders, using such authority to target him.
"Just as they said."
Kiyohara Tsumugiya didn't notice Ishikawa's abnormality and continued: "Regarding Kuchiki Rukia's matter, the Shinigami Research and Development Institute has been following up, hoping to find Kuchiki Rukia's whereabouts in the Human World. They have now captured the Reishi residue after she used Kido."
"It has been confirmed that she only somehow blocked Soul Society's surveillance of her and has not defected or encountered any mishaps."
Kiyohime Orihime frowned slightly at this point: "But one thing is very strange: neither the Surveillance Building's surveillance circuit nor we and the Shinigami Research and Development Institute can capture Kuchiki Rukia's figure. We can only extract Kuchiki Rukia's Reishi residue after a Hollow is purified."
"Also, her one-month dispatch period has actually ended, but the Central 46 rejected the Thirteenth Division's application to send someone to replace her, stating that her dispatch time would be temporarily extended until her whereabouts could be re-tracked."
Kiyohara Tsumugiya looked at the pensive Ishikawa. Kuchiki Rukia avoiding surveillance, combined with her identity, wasn't really surprising.
But Kiyohara Tsumugiya always felt that something was amiss. The Central 46' handling was also very strange; the usual Central 46, even if the other party was a member of one of the Four Great Noble Clans, would never let her act so recklessly.
Even if they didn't arrest her, they should send Onmitsukidō to confirm, instead of doing nothing as they are now.
"Oh, right."
Kiyohara Tsumugiya seemed to remember something and said: "Kuchiki Rukia has been applying for additional pay." He said, flipping through a document on the adjacent desk: "So far, she has eliminated many Hollows, code-named 'Fishbone D,' 'Hexapodus,' 'Acidwire,' 'Shrieker,' etcetera…"
"Most of these Hollows didn't have additional pay, but for the few that did, such as 'Shrieker,' she preemptively withdrew the additional pay using her Denreishinki. It feels less like she's living in the Human World and more like she's living in Soul Society."
"Also, some items she used, such as gigai and soul stabilizers, have been collected. According to my investigation, they were also not provided by the Shinigami Research and Development Institute."
"So I suspect she may have had contact with someone. In the Human World, and able to provide these items, according to our archives, there is only one…"
"That is the former Twelfth Division Captain and founder of the Shinigami Research and Development Institute… and, when I was a Squad Member, the Supervisory Team Captain, Urahara Kisuke." At the end, Kiyohara Tsumugiya seemed to think of something and couldn't help but glance at Ishikawa.
After he had this suspicion, he immediately reported it to Soi Fon Captain.
Soi Fon Captain took this extremely seriously, but when she applied to the Central 46 for a deeper investigation, it was rejected, and she was told to focus on tracking Rukia… yet, Onmitsukidō was not allowed to send anyone to investigate.
As a result, Soi Fon Captain returned with a dark expression and issued an order to the Supervisory Team.
That was…
To monitor Ishikawa's movements and report his every action to her at all times.
Soi Fon Captain didn't provide an explanation for this, only saying that Ishikawa might know Rukia's whereabouts.
But combining his own conjectures, Kiyohara Tsumugiya came to a conclusion: Ishikawa and Urahara Kisuke very likely had a connection.
Actually, he wasn't very familiar with Urahara Kisuke, because besides going out, that person basically stayed holed up in his room every day, doing who knows what.
Kiyohara Tsumugiya had been there once; the not-so-large room was piled with all sorts of instruments, and the Supervisory Team Captain was deeply buried among a pile of them.
He certainly had ability, but his attitude towards work was far inferior to Ishikawa.
As for guiding Squad Members in cultivation?
He wasn't familiar with the Squad Members and spent every day delving into various things, so how could he have time to guide them?
The most outrageous thing was…
As the Captain of the Supervisory Team, what he thought about every day was not how to apprehend unstable elements, but how to release the unstable elements from the Maggot's Nest so they could use their talents.
Although this led to the establishment of the Shinigami Research and Development Institute in Seireitei.
However, the Shinigami Research and Development Institute has caused no small amount of trouble over the years, with some extremely cruel and excessive behaviors; yet, Kiyohara Tsumugiya also had to admit… what they did could bring great benefits to Seireitei as a whole, and even the Central 46 turned a blind eye to their actions.
"It's already been a month?"
Ishikawa nodded, choosing to avoid discussing Urahara Kisuke.
Upon hearing this, Kiyohara Tsumugiya didn't press further.
No matter what, he didn't believe that Ishikawa would betray Soul Society like Urahara Kisuke.
Not only him, but this was a unified consensus within the Supervisory Team; even Soi Fon Captain, who ordered him to monitor Ishikawa, didn't believe Ishikawa would betray them.
"Regarding Rukia's matter, have there been any new discoveries… Hmm, if it needs to be confidential, then never mind, but please tell me as much publicly available information as possible." Ishikawa said, then added, somewhat worriedly: "Your work comes first. Never violate rules by revealing any confidential information to me."
"Yes!"
Kiyohara Tsumugiya responded respectfully.
"I'm going to the Maggot's Nest to take a look; I won't disturb your work."
After bidding farewell to each of the Supervisory Team Squad Members, Ishikawa left the Surveillance Building and walked towards the Maggot's Nest.
However, passing by Soi Fon's office building, Ishikawa stopped.
After a moment of hesitation, Ishikawa did not go to visit but walked straight past.
He naturally knew about the Supervisory Team's surveillance of him. Although no Squad Member had reported it to him, the Squad Members secretly monitoring Ishikawa were actually less than ten meters away from him.
Even when Ishikawa came out of the Everything Store in West 38th District, the Supervisory Team Squad Members responsible for 'secretly monitoring' him would stand across from the bar, wave and greet him, and then hide again…
Aside from having more bodyguards, it didn't really affect Ishikawa.
And as for Soi Fon, the Supervisory Team also reported conscientiously, detailing Ishikawa's every move.
Soi Fon's purpose in having the Supervisory Team monitor him wasn't to find anything on him but to constantly keep an eye on Ishikawa's movements.
Ishikawa naturally cooperated fully, reporting to the Second Squad every day, no matter how busy he was.
He actually hoped…
Soi Fon Captain herself could always follow him.
However, Soi Fon paying attention to his movements indicated that she was already convinced he was hiding something from her, which was why she used this method to warn him.
But from her attitude, it didn't seem like she suspected him of betraying Soul Society, nor did she think that the interruption of Rukia's surveillance and tracking had anything to do with him.
While this was partly due to Ishikawa always being jointly monitored by various departments, Soi Fon's trust still made Ishikawa very happy.
…
Human World, Karakura Town.
Kurosaki Clinic.
"Hey, wake up, Ichigo!!"
Accompanied by soft nudges, Ichigo slowly opened his eyes. What came into view was a lion doll.
However, this doll was speaking in human language and constantly bouncing on him.
Squeak—
The sound of cotton being compressed came out, and then with a 'whoosh,' the doll on him was directly thrown out by Ichigo.
"How many times have I told you not to bounce on me!!"
Yawning, Ichigo threw off his blanket and got out of bed, but he didn't get dressed because he was already wearing clothes.
More strictly speaking…
For over a month, he hadn't taken off his clothes when he rested at night.
The reason was simple: a woman had moved into his closet, a woman who claimed to be ten times his age.
Creak—
The closet door was pulled open, and Kuchiki Rukia said with a displeased expression: "Do you two have to be so noisy every morning?"
"Someone who secretly moves into someone else's closet probably doesn't have the right to complain, does she?"
Ichigo smoothed out the wrinkles on his clothes and said irritably: "Has your Reiatsu not recovered yet? Didn't you say it would recover very quickly?"
"How would I know? I've never given Reiatsu to a human before."
Kuchiki Rukia casually replied, but her heart couldn't help but feel anxious, because the Shinigami Research and Development Institute had been contacting her. If her Reiatsu didn't recover soon, the news of her giving Reiatsu to a human would definitely reach Soul Society.
At that time…
She wouldn't be the only one punished.
Fortunately, Onmitsukidō had not been dispatched from beginning to end, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to keep it a secret until now.
"Oh, right, Rukia."
Ichigo suddenly said, as if he had thought of something: "Can I take a day off tomorrow?"
"Huh?" Rukia was stunned, and asked somewhat confusedly: "A day off from what?"
"Shinigami work."
"What!?"
Rukia's expression immediately changed: "Of course not! Hollows don't take breaks. Once we receive a command, we must rush to the Hollow's location immediately. Only then can we prevent anyone from being devoured by a Hollow."
"Tomorrow is June 20th…"
Ichigo paused, a strange look flashing across his face: "It's the day my mother passed away."
The day his mother passed away?
Rukia opened her mouth upon hearing this, but ultimately said nothing.
Although she hadn't deliberately inquired about Ichigo's mother, she had heard about it from his family's conversations.
His mother had passed away two years ago from an unknown illness.
It was said that she contracted this illness when Ichigo was nine. The illness was extremely strange; although she was normal most of the time, she would often suddenly faint, until two years ago… when Ichigo was 13, she passed away in the hospital.
"Rukia…"
Ichigo hesitated, then asked: "Is it possible for a Hollow to devour a person's life force? To make a healthy person occasionally faint, and eventually… die?"
"Are you saying…"
Kuchiki Rukia's gaze flickered with a strange light as she looked at Ichigo, then her face showed a pensive expression: "As far as I know, Hollows shouldn't possess this kind of continuous damage. Anyone targeted by a Hollow only has two outcomes: either their soul is devoured on the spot, or they are saved, and it doesn't affect their later life."
"However, there are records in Soul Society about pregnant mothers surviving a Hollow attack, which might affect the fetus, but that doesn't apply to your mother's situation."
"I see."
Ichigo nodded and didn't continue to ask.
"Why are you suddenly asking such a question?" Rukia frowned: "Could your mother's strange illness have appeared after encountering a Hollow?"
"Nothing, just curious."
Ichigo shook his head and didn't answer.
He still remembered the memories from six years ago very clearly, even now.
It was precisely after that Hollow attack that his mother suddenly developed symptoms of fainting, and this symptom grew stronger day by day.
Regarding this symptom, both his father and mother seemed to know something, only constantly reassuring the three of them that Mom wasn't sick.
At his pleading, his mother went to large hospitals for many detailed physical examinations, but no matter how many times she was checked, the results always showed everything was normal, with no illness whatsoever.
It was as if it were truly as Mom said: she wasn't sick.
After his mother passed away, Ichigo asked his father what illness Mom had. He always felt that his father seemed to know something.
But his father's helpless and desperate look at the time made him unable to press further.
However…
Besides his father, there should be one more person who knew what happened to his mother.
That…
The perverted older brother whom everyone said didn't wear clothes.
Although Ichigo really wanted to remember other things, the deepest impression that person left on him was this, and also black clothes, black hair, black high boots, a long sword, and a momentary eye contact…
The person's appearance in his memory had long been blurred, making it impossible for him to describe what they looked like.
But as long as he saw him, he would definitely be able to recognize him.
He had searched the riverside countless times, but no matter how he searched, he never saw that person again.
And Rukia's appearance gave him a feeling that even if that person wasn't a Shinigami, he must have some connection with Shinigami.
As long as he found him, he could definitely unravel his long-standing doubts!
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