Kyoraku Shunsui and Unohana arrived slowly, but they left very quickly.
After taking the even-more-securely-bound Sui Feng, they left the Shiba household, leaving only Byakuya Kuchiki, who had arrived first.
"Captain Kuchiki, thanks for helping out this time."
Rosse looked at the always composed and noble captain and thanked him with a pleasant smile.
Even though he hadn't actually helped with anything.
But since he had come, a few polite words were necessary.
"It was my duty. Rather, I should thank Captain Rosse for taking care of my younger sister that day," Compared to Rosse's casual tone, Byakuya's thanks were proper and elegant, full of noble refinement.
As expected of a model noble, even his expression of gratitude had such standards.
"This was also my duty. But I heard your sister still hasn't recovered. Vice Captain Shiba's death really hit her hard at the time," Rosse nodded and casually mentioned Kuchiki Rukia.
"She will understand," Byakuya didn't speak further. He said what he needed to say, then took his leave.
He had rushed here, but when leaving he maintained noble elegance.
Rosse glanced at him for a moment, then lost interest and looked away.
People like Byakuya could at most remain acquaintances he nodded to. Rosse didn't even feel like trying to win him over.
Someone like that, granting him the honor of dying on the battlefield might be the most fitting answer to his pursuit of honor.
"Tsk! That kid who used to get so mad he'd jump around, now he's just like his grandfather, boring to the extreme," Shiba Kukaku folded her arms, squeezing the evil twins forward, and complained loudly.
She and Byakuya weren't especially close, but because her best friend Yoruichi used to tease him daily, she had also watched him grow up and grow crooked.
"Isn't that fine? The Kuchiki family style has always been like that," Rosse smiled.
"Tch! That's because you've never seen their daughter and son-in-law. Oh, by seniority they should be Byakuya's aunt and uncle. Both of them were total rule-breaking weirdos," Kukaku scoffed.
"Oh? You must mean Kuchiki Soujiro. I've heard the name. Supposedly he had a very strong Zanpakuto. But his wife, I haven't heard much about her," Rosse asked with interest.
He loved listening to noble gossip.
"Kuchiki's daughter was named Kuchiki Aozora. She used to get along pretty well with us. But she was forced by her family to marry Kuchiki Soujiro. Because of that, she completely broke with her family," Kukaku recalled.
"But didn't she marry him in the end?", Rosse raised a brow.
"Tch! Only in name. Kuchiki Ginrei was training Soujiro back then, but because of that, Soujiro felt the Kuchiki family looked down on him. He became uncontrollable and eventually rebelled and was suppressed."
Kukaku's tone carried schadenfreude. Although the Shiba family was now worse off than the Kuchiki family, their downfall was caused by outside schemes, not internal strife.
"So where is Kuchiki Aozora now? When Ginrei stepped down, she didn't come out and take over the family?", Rosse asked with interest.
Kuchiki Ginrei was Byakuya's grandfather, the former Sixth Division captain, now retired and serving as one of the Kuchiki family's captain-level reserves.
Since Aozora was difficult for the family to suppress, she must have had real ability.
"I don't know either," Kukaku shook her head, "After her marriage was announced, Yoruichi and I never saw her again. There were rumors she was quietly dealt with by the family, or sealed away."
"That's over a hundred years ago, isn't it? The Kuchiki family could seal someone that long and keep them alive?", Rosse said with some surprise.
"That's their specialty," Kukaku curled her lips and explained, "The Kuchiki family is best at Kido. Having sealing techniques like that isn't strange. I remember Yoruichi telling me their sealing method not only traps someone, but also absorbs surrounding reishi to keep the soul alive at the lowest level."
"In simple terms, it tortures someone endlessly, without letting them die," Rosse summarized.
"Exactly," Kukaku nodded.
"But what, you're interested in Aozora?", Kukaku gave him a teasing look. She didn't mind.
To be honest, she hoped Rosse would be a little more playful.
After all, Rosse had a proper girlfriend in Soul Society, who was also his vice captain. That closeness made it difficult for Kukaku to wedge herself in.
But if Rosse's heart wandered, the situation would be different.
Then she could slip right in and hold the advantage.
"I'm a little interested. Anyone who'd rather be sealed than obey the Kuchiki family sounds admirable," Rosse smiled faintly.
He didn't think much of Aozora. It was just something that came up.
Compared to a woman sealed for a century, the woman currently being investigated in Hueco Mundo attracted his attention more.
If not for the recent events in Soul Society, he would have already gone to see that woman from Squad Zero.
He had been waiting for her for two years.
"But back to the point, earlier you said you wanted to thank me. What did you mean by that?", At Kukaku's request, Rosse stayed at the Shiba household tonight. She said she wanted him to protect the house tonight, and that she would give him a thank-you gift he could not refuse.
"That thank-you gift."
After bringing Rosse to the guest room, Kukaku closed the door, turned around, and faced him. Under the glow of the oil lamp, her face carried a faint blush.
Rosse looked at her with interest, waiting for what came next.
He was not a good man.
And after being teased by Kukaku all night, he certainly wasn't going to pretend to eat plain vegetables.
"I am the thank-you gift, Rosse-kun."
Kukaku, though fiery in temperament, had never done something like this before. She couldn't help feeling a bit shy.
But remembering the man in front of her was her savior, she finally gritted her teeth and pulled at her belt.
In an instant, under the candlelight, her flawless figure unfolded before Rosse.
Rosse stepped forward with a slow smile, reaching out his hand unhurriedly.
Under the flickering light, the two shadows slowly overlapped, becoming one.
[T/N: Kuchiki Soujiro and Aozora are og charcaters but they were never named in the original franchise. The author just gave them names but the plot is og.]
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