Not far from the Thirteenth Division, there was a small restaurant. Because it was nearby, Lieutenant Yoshio took Rukia there.
"Miss Kuchiki probably doesn't eat at places like this very often, right?"
Yoshio smiled and ordered two desserts.
Rukia liked sweets, and Yoshio did too.
Sweet, sour, bitter, spicy, salty—Yoshio didn't eat sour things, couldn't eat too much spicy food, hated bitter tastes, was okay with salty, and only liked sweet things.
Only high-sugar foods could make people feel happy!
Fortunately, he was already a Shinigami now. No matter how much sugar he ate, he wouldn't easily gain weight, because his daily activity level completely offset the sugar.
"Lieutenant Yoshio, don't tease me." Rukia smiled bitterly. "I'm not some pampered young lady. Before my brother adopted me, I was just a commoner from Rukongai."
"I heard from Renji that you two grew up together in South Rukongai. He also said your cooking is terrible."
"What?" Rukia's forehead veins bulged, and she couldn't help but say, "I was already nice enough to cook for him, and he's still so picky. That idiot..."
"However..."
Rukia looked at Yoshio and couldn't help but ask again: "I heard Renji went to Hueco Mundo... Why?"
She had only learned about this recently.
After being adopted by the Kuchiki Family, she had lost contact with Renji.
They hadn't spoken a word in years.
So she only knew that Shiba Kaien had gone to Hueco Mundo, but not about the other members of the Hueco Mundo Dispatch Team.
She only knew that those who went were Shinigami from the Eleventh Division, and Renji was from the Fifth Division, so she never imagined Renji would voluntarily transfer to the Eleventh Division.
Yesterday, while on a mission at the Shin'ō Academy, she heard about it from the students there.
When they mentioned Renji transferring from the Fifth Division to the Eleventh Division, their tones carried a hint of envy. After all, not everyone would go without hesitation to a dangerous place like Hueco Mundo once they knew about it.
So today, Rukia wanted to ask Yoshio what exactly had happened.
It was also to express her gratitude to Yoshio.
After all, since she fainted last time, she hadn't seen Yoshio again, not even to say a word of thanks.
"This... is indeed the case." Yoshio took the tray from the waiter, nodded to Rukia, and said, "Renji has a lot of potential. I believe that when he returns from Hueco Mundo, he'll definitely become much stronger."
"But...!" Rukia got a bit excited upon hearing this. "Hueco Mundo is too dangerous! Why would he go to a place like that?!"
Yoshio didn't speak, just calmly looked at Rukia.
This made Rukia a bit flustered, and she couldn't help but say, "You... why are you looking at me like that?"
"Perhaps Renji did this because he wants to get stronger quickly, achieve results fast, and become a Lieutenant."
"As for why he wants to become a Lieutenant so quickly, that's just his personal thought. Who... could know?"
Actually, why Renji wanted to become a Lieutenant quickly was something everyone probably knew.
Because only by becoming a Lieutenant could a Shinigami have the status to converse with the Five Great Noble Families, even on equal footing with their members!
Of course, in the eyes of some arrogant members of the Five Great Noble Families, no matter how capable a commoner was, they were still a commoner. They would never acknowledge equality with commoners.
So Rukia naturally understood this, and she was stunned.
A struggling expression appeared on her face.
Renji...
Was he trying to her Lieutenant for her?
That's why he went to a dangerous place like Hueco Mundo?
Rukia and Renji had lived together in Rukongai for ten years; she knew Renji too well. At this point, it didn't matter what others said.
Once Renji set a goal, he would definitely achieve it.
But just thinking that Renji was putting himself in danger because of her made Rukia's heart ache.
In front of Yoshio, she took a deep breath, shook off those emotions, and sincerely said to Yoshio: "Thank you, Lieutenant Yoshio. If it weren't for you, I might have died when we encountered that Hollow last time."
"No... don't say thanks." Yoshio said softly. "We're all on the battlefield, all Shinigami, so we're comrades. Saving each other as comrades is only natural."
"But how is your body now?"
"Under my brother's care, there haven't been any abnormalities for over half a year."
A hint of hesitation appeared on Rukia's face.
Yoshio, who had been paying close attention to Rukia, immediately noticed this expression and asked, "What's wrong? It seems like you have something else to say?"
"Lieutenant Yoshio... I want to ask you a question." At this moment, Rukia looked at Yoshio with a serious expression.
Yoshio then asked, "Go ahead. I'll answer whatever I know."
"That Hollow from back then..."
Rukia was silent for a moment, finally mustering the courage to ask: "Did it really leave?"
In that battle, only Yoshio knew Hollow White's whereabouts in the end.
Jūshirō Ukitake was severely injured by Hollow White due to his illness and fell into a coma.
Shiba Kaien was no match for Hollow White and eventually passed out.
When Rukia went up, she saw this scene, and then Hollow White attacked her.
In just an instant, she lost consciousness, and only Yoshio knew what happened afterward.
According to Yoshio, Hollow White was already weakened after fighting Jūshirō Ukitake and Shiba Kaien. Under Yoshio's obstruction, Hollow White could only helplessly retreat to Hueco Mundo.
But...
Did that Hollow really return to Hueco Mundo?
When Rukia said this, she felt very ashamed in her heart. Yoshio had saved her, yet she doubted his words.
But...
She had to ask!
Because if she didn't, she couldn't resolve the doubts in her heart!
During this time, Rukia had been having the same dream over and over.
In the dream, she seemed to fall into bottomless darkness. In that endless darkness, there was only one voice.
As that voice rang out, in the darkness, a massive demon seemed to faintly appear, about to devour her.
Every time the dream ended, Rukia would feel some kind of change in her body, but she couldn't say what that change was.