"Hey, Toshiro, just how big of a 'high-ranking figure' is a 'Captain' anyway? You even have your own adjutant?" Karin continued asking.
Toshiro was quite dispirited by Karin's constant references to him as an elementary schooler, so he wasn't in the mood to answer her questions.
However, Rangiku voluntarily spoke up and explained some basic knowledge about Shinigami to Karin: "Well... generally speaking, Shinigami live in a place called the Soul Society. The organization that commands all Shinigami is named the [Gotei 13]."
"And as the name suggests, the Gotei 13 consists of thirteen divisions. Basically, when Shinigami graduate from the Academy and become full Shinigami, they choose one of these divisions to join. Captain is specifically the Captain of the 10th Division within the Gotei 13, and I am the Lieutenant of the 10th Division..."
"Eh? If that's the case... wouldn't that mean Toshiro is one of the thirteen strongest Shinigami?!" Karin exclaimed in surprise.
"That's not quite right..."
Rangiku shook her head, denying Karin's statement. Then she put her hands on her hips, striking a rather 'arrogant' pose: "Captain isn't just the Captain of the 10th Division. He is also the Vice-Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13!"
Karin: "Vice-Captain-Commander?"
"That's right. Although the Gotei 13 has thirteen divisions, each division has different responsibilities. The 1st Division is responsible for overall command, its status above all other divisions. Therefore, the Captain of the 1st Division is also the Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13, the Shinigami with the highest status and the most power."
"And besides being the Captain of the 10th Division, my Captain also holds the position of Vice-Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13. His status is second only to the Captain-Commander, above the other eleven Captains. You could say he's roughly... the number two figure among the Shinigami?" Rangiku said proudly.
"The number two figure among all Shinigami... that means 'one person below the top, above tens of thousands of others'... Th-that's really... amazing..."
Karin was genuinely shocked this time.
Initially, when Karin heard that Toshiro, as a Captain, had a dedicated Lieutenant, she thought the position of 'Captain' must be a pretty significant 'rank'.
For an 'elementary schooler' like Toshiro to hold such a rank at his young age was already impressive.
But after hearing Rangiku's explanation, Karin finally understood just how much power and status her so-called 'elementary schooler' truly possessed.
"Hey, Toshiro, why are you so amazing? According to Rangiku's explanation, your age and appearance would only be considered elementary school age in that Soul Society place, right? So how can an 'elementary schooler' be the Vice-Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13, with such immense power and status?" Karin asked, puzzled.
Toshiro holding such a high position among the Shinigami seemed utterly unbelievable to Karin. It would be like suddenly hearing that an elementary schooler had become the Prime Minister of a country in the Living World.
"Seriously, I told you to stop calling me an elementary schooler..." Toshiro explained with a frown: "The reason I can be the Vice-Captain-Commander, a Captain, all that, is of course because I'm a genius."
"Huh?" Karin looked completely dumbfounded, 'Calling himself a genius, and acting like it was only natural, wasn't that incredibly narcissistic?'
"Actually, Captain is right. He is a genius, the most talented Shinigami in the history of the Soul Society."
Rangiku continued: "Because Shinigami must protect the Soul Society and the Seireitei, fighting against Hollows and other hostile forces, a Shinigami's individual combat strength is undoubtedly very important."
"Just as a Shinigami who wants to become a Captain of the Gotei 13 must possess Captain-class fighting strength, a Shinigami's status is largely determined by their personal combat power."
"And Captain, as the most talented Shinigami in the history of the Soul Society, has had his strength advance by leaps and bounds ever since he awakened his Shinigami powers. In just a few decades, he has surpassed almost all other Shinigami. Only the Captain-Commander's strength in the entire Soul Society is on par with the Captain's."
"As for the others, whether ordinary Shinigami or the Captains of the Gotei 13, none are a match for my Captain. That's why the Captain can be the Vice-Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13, the number two figure among the Shinigami," Rangiku explained.
"Eh? Is that so? What about Ichigo? Ichigo is a Shinigami too, so how are his strength and status among all Shinigami?" Karin asked, clenching her fists, looking like a curious child staring at Toshiro.
"Ichigo? Ichigo's strength is pretty good, comparable to an ordinary Captain. But to surpass me... he's still a hundred years short," Toshiro said proudly.
"I see..." Karin looked visibly disappointed, then continued: "Well, whatever. Being comparable to a Captain is still amazing. There are only thirteen Captains, after all."
What Karin didn't know was that with Aizen and others having defected, there were only ten Captains left in the Gotei 13.
"So what position does Ichigo hold among the Shinigami? You said he has Captain-class strength. Does that mean Ichigo is a Captain?" Karin continued asking.
"Ah... Captain... you're thinking too much..." Toshiro explained with a helpless look: "Ichigo was originally just a human. He became a Shinigami only due to certain circumstances. His official position is 'Substitute Shinigami'. He's considered an external affiliate of the Gotei 13. Basically a temporary worker."
"Te-temporary worker? That feels... so lame..." Karin's mouth twitched.
"Well, it can't be helped. He lives in the Living World, after all. If he were willing to completely give up his human life, choose to live in the Soul Society, and dedicate himself to being a Shinigami, letting him be a Captain wouldn't be a big deal. But unfortunately, that's impossible," Toshiro said, shaking his head.
"Well, that's true..." Karin nodded.
If becoming a Captain meant abandoning his family to go to the Soul Society, then Karin and her family definitely wouldn't let Ichigo go be a Captain there.
After a few more exchanges between Karin, Rangiku, and Toshiro, Rangiku suddenly excused herself and left.
Rangiku still had patrolling duties, and on the other side, Karin's friends had recovered and were walking over.
Karin's friends were ordinary humans who couldn't see Toshiro or Rangiku in their Shinigami forms. If they came over, they would see Karin talking to thin air.
After Rangiku left, Toshiro put his Gigai back on.
"A Gigai... I just can't get used to wearing one..." Toshiro muttered with a frown.
"Hey! Kurosaki! Toshiro! Are you guys okay?" Karin's friends ran over at that moment.
"Yeah, we're fine. What about you guys?" Karin asked with concern.
"Everyone's safe too. But... come to think of it, that was quite an earthquake, wasn't it..."
Karin's friends thought what had just happened was an earthquake. Since they couldn't see the Hollow, they attributed the strong ground shaking to that.
Having just barely won the match against the middle schoolers, the group had planned to celebrate. But after the sudden 'earthquake', although everyone was fine, they weren't in the mood anymore. Besides, it was getting late, so they decided to head home.
"What's wrong? Aren't you leaving?" After the others left, Toshiro looked strangely at Karin, who was still standing there.
"Um... Toshiro, my leg is hurt. I can't move..." Karin suddenly looked at Toshiro pitifully.
"You can't move? You were injured before, but you could still play soccer. Why can't you move now?" Toshiro asked, confused.
"Well... if it was just the injury from the middle schoolers during the match, I could bear it and keep running. But when that monster you called a Hollow appeared and you pushed me down, I twisted my ankle. So now I really can't move..." Karin said with a tearful face.
"Then how are you going to get home?" Toshiro frowned.
"I don't know..." Karin pouted.
"How troublesome..." Toshiro's frown deepened.
"How about... you carry me... Toshiro?" Karin said softly, blushing.