Bidding farewell to Rukia and the other, Ishikawa, after a long time, stepped into the Comprehensive Relief Station.
After the Ryoka invasion, peace had once again returned to the place. The hall was no longer as crowded as it was during the invasion period, with only a few Squad Members here and there attending to customers with minor illnesses.
"Mr. Ishikawa."
The Squad Member on duty today was Nena. Upon seeing Ishikawa, she immediately brightened up. "You haven't been here for a while. The last time I saw you was at the girls' dormitory, when Captain Kogetsu was helping you away. I was right there."
Hearing this, the gentle smile that had just appeared on Ishikawa's face instantly stiffened.
However, he then hesitated for a moment and asked, "Did I say anything when I was drunk last time?"
"Huh?"
Nena was slightly startled. She frowned and thought for a long time before saying, "You only said you wanted to challenge Captain Unohana... And also, when Captain Unohana wasn't there, you refused to leave no matter what, and just sat on the steps in front of her door, saying you wouldn't leave until she returned."
"Hahaha—"
At this point, Nena couldn't help but burst into laughter. "When Mr. Ishikawa is drunk, he seems particularly cold, completely different from his usual self. But after getting used to your usual demeanor, suddenly seeing another side of you feels incredibly fresh... Ah, I'm not saying your usual demeanor is bad."
"It's just that even Captain Kogetsu, who has spent the most time with you, said afterward that you felt quite fresh at the time. She said that usually, every time she sees you, you habitually have a smile on your face, as if, besides smiling, you don't show any other emotions when interacting with others."
"Once you get used to it, that smile can actually make people feel a sense of deliberate distance."
"But when you're drunk, although you're cold, you'll be disappointed because Captain Unohana isn't there, you'll get angry when people try to persuade you, and you'll even sit stubbornly in front of Captain Unohana's door, refusing to leave... Well, it's just very strange, but also more real..."
Nena finished speaking, sticking out her tongue. "Hehe, Captain Kogetsu said these things. Don't let her know I told you."
"I actually still like the way you are now, Mr. Ishikawa. You give off a warm and trustworthy feeling. However, when you're drunk, that cold and dominant feeling is also liked by many people. Many people came forward to talk to you at that time."
"And although you look dangerous, when people talk to you, no matter how impatient you are, you will respond, which made everyone come forward to chat with you."
"Some even pulled you, wanting to take you to their rooms to chat all night..."
As one of the first Fourth Division Squad Members to meet Ishikawa, Nena felt no restraint in front of him. In fact, once she started talking, she couldn't stop.
Seeing her like this, who would have thought that when she was at the Shin'ō Academy, she was a complete social phobic? In the past decade or so, the timid and cowardly feeling she originally had was completely gone. Ishikawa had put in a lot of effort to make her more cheerful.
However...
More than a decade ago, although he was fundamentally a bit different, he was also somewhat socially anxious. One could say they grew together.
Nena's words made Ishikawa shake his head slightly.
The reason they thought he wasn't dangerous and was easy to communicate with when drunk was entirely because all—yes, all—the female Squad Members of the Fourth Division were firmly imprinted in Ishikawa's mind, so subconsciously, he wouldn't harm them.
In reality, when he was drunk, he acted entirely on instinct and desire, focusing solely on fighting strong opponents, without any self-control or consideration for the consequences.
Even Ishikawa himself felt that he was very dangerous in that state. Rather than being cold, it was more like a disregard for all life.
However, it didn't reach the point of being bloodthirsty; it was just that killing an opponent directly felt infinitely easier than communicating with them.
But the fact that he could still communicate was, to be honest, somewhat beyond Ishikawa's expectations.
It seems that after more than a decade, he has also changed.
Speaking of which, what about that version of him could have changed Isane's impression of him?
After so many years of interaction, Ishikawa understood Isane quite well. Although she sometimes sounded like a boy when speaking, her personality was actually indecisive, timid, and introverted, giving off a very shy impression.
She would even be afraid to sleep alone after a nightmare and would run to the Thirteenth Division to sleep with her sister, Kiyone.
Because of this, she had always strongly disliked the chauvinistic Squad Members of the Eleventh Division.
Therefore, when interacting with her normally, Ishikawa never showed any domineering presence. Instead, to accommodate her emotions, he habitually put himself in a submissive position, cooperating with her words and actions as much as possible.
After interacting like this for over a decade...
Her impression of him hadn't changed, yet it changed specifically for his drunk self?
He still couldn't figure it out.
The number of women Ishikawa had interacted with could be described as 'innumerable.' It was even difficult for Ishikawa's powerful memory to keep track of everyone on the favorability panel.
Sometimes, he even needed to review them repeatedly to avoid mistaking people or names.
To prevent this, Ishikawa had put in a lot of effort.
He not only remembered their appearance and names but also their measurements, voices, habits, interests, favorite foods, favorite animals... In short, any characteristic that could distinguish a person, Ishikawa would firmly store in his mental database.
And with this information, he would analyze it to find the most suitable way to interact with each person!
But even so, Ishikawa still found it very difficult to grasp their thoughts.
Sometimes Ishikawa even felt that...
Their thoughts were more complex than Aizen's.
Shaking his head slightly, Ishikawa asked Nena, "Which medical Squad is on duty at the Comprehensive Relief Station today? Is Isane there?"
"Today, the advanced relief Squad on duty is Squad Seven, the intermediate Squad is Squad Sixteen, and the two junior Squads are Squad Six and Squad Eight."
Nena paused, then continued, "And the person in charge is Third Seat Iemura, who is always secretly writing a diary and doesn't let anyone see it."
Ishikawa couldn't help but smile at this. "Since he's writing a diary, he naturally doesn't want others to see it."
Nena pouted, looked left and right, then whispered, "Anyway, I think he's quite strange. What decent person writes a diary?"
...Ishikawa.
However, if he remembered correctly, he was also the Vice-Captain of the Shinigami Men's Association.
Iemura had once invited Ishikawa to join the Shinigami Men's Association, saying that as a man, one should join the Shinigami Men's Association...
Then Ishikawa refused, citing that he was already a member of the Shinigami Women's Association.
Ishikawa didn't want to squat with them in a public restroom to discuss policies for improving the status of male Shinigami... At least in Ishikawa's opinion, they should at least move their association's headquarters out of the public restroom before they could even talk about improving the status of male Shinigami...
But, Isane isn't here?
Ishikawa couldn't help but sigh inwardly. He should have gone to see Captain Soi Fon earlier.
"Is Isane not here today?"
"Captain Kogetsu should be with Captain Unohana right now."
Nena paused, then said with some confusion, "I heard that Captain Unohana will be doing other things for a while, so before she leaves, she needs to brief Captain Kogetsu on her work. That's why the Vice-Captain didn't come to the Comprehensive Relief Station today."
So that's how it is.
Ishikawa nodded. That made sense.
Captain Unohana was different from him; she had many responsibilities and had to make sure everything was in order before leaving.
As for himself...
Hisagi was in the Ninth Division, so all matters could be handled by him. Ishikawa only needed to say he was going to cultivate, and there was no need for any extra instructions.
Thinking of this, Ishikawa hesitated whether to leave.
If Isane wasn't there, he wouldn't gain much by staying at the Comprehensive Relief Station.
Just then, a commotion suddenly erupted outside.
Turning his head, he saw a group of people carrying stretchers running towards the Comprehensive Relief Station. When Ishikawa saw these people, he couldn't help but roll his eyes.
—Eleventh Division!
Whether in times of peace or turmoil, these people always managed to be regulars at the Comprehensive Relief Station.
Normally, they would cut each other, but when enemies invaded... these people were always at the forefront. When Ichigo and others invaded, other Squad Members suffered almost no casualties, but only the Eleventh Division, including their Captain, were all sent to the Comprehensive Relief Station.
"Get me a set of clothes."
No sooner had Ishikawa's words fallen than Nena came running with a white lab coat.
Taking off his black work uniform, Ishikawa casually put on the white lab coat and got up to meet the swarming Eleventh Division.
"Oh, Ishikawa-sama, you're here too!"
"You guys are lucky. Last time I was cut by Brother Ikkaku and sent here, I couldn't find Ishikawa."
"Ishikawa-sama, when are you coming to visit our Eleventh Division?"
"Our Captain keeps talking about you."
"He also said to tell you when we see you, that he wants to invite you for a drink."
"..."
Upon seeing Ishikawa, the Eleventh Division Squad Members carrying the wounded greeted him one after another.
Ishikawa ignored them, went straight to examine the wounds of the Squad Members who had been brought in, and couldn't help but ask, "What kind of madness has your Captain gotten into now?"
"What do you mean 'madness'? Even if it's Ishikawa, insulting our Captain is absolutely unacceptable!"
"Exactly, exactly! This is just a daily sparring session. It's just that this time, a few more people got cut."
...Ishikawa.
Sparring to the death?
Too lazy to communicate with this group of battle-crazed individuals, Ishikawa's gaze swept over the injured, then he spoke to the relief Squads who had come to greet them: "The first five rows, and also the ninth and eleventh rows... send all of these to the light injury area for bandaging. The rest go to the suturing room and the Operating Room..."
"...I'll handle these severely injured ones."
"Have the dispensing Squad prepare. Third Seat Iemura, you take charge of the suturing room, and lend me your assistant, Ogido Harunobu. Have him come with me to the Operating Room."
Ishikawa made the arrangements with extreme proficiency, and everyone executed Ishikawa's instructions with great smoothness.
Even Third Seat Iemura, who was in charge today, carried out Ishikawa's orders without hesitation.
Because in the eyes of the Fourth Division, Ishikawa was essentially the Vice-Captain of the Fourth Division. Not only did he treat patients at the Comprehensive Relief Station, but he also took on the responsibility of guiding the Fourth Division Squad Members in Kaido. His mastery of Kaido earned him great respect from the Fourth Division.
When Ishikawa dispelled the purification barrier and exited the Operating Room, the sky outside the window had already darkened.
He had spent most of the afternoon treating the Eleventh Division Squad Members.
"Hehe, Ishikawa-sama, thank you for your trouble this time."
The Squad Members waiting outside came forward upon seeing Ishikawa. "If I had known you were here today, I would have fought even more freely."
"Tell me, why did your Captain suddenly use such heavy hands this time?"
"Huh?"
The middle-aged man who was asked was startled. "Isn't this the same as usual?"
Slap—!
"You idiot, Ishikawa-sama isn't asking about that."
The young man next to the middle-aged man slapped him on the back of the head and said with a laugh, "Ishikawa-sama, what he said isn't entirely wrong. It's just that usually, when Brother Ikkaku and Kiyone are here, they would step in to stop the Captain once the sparring reached a certain point, to avoid unnecessary casualties."
"But you also know..."
The young man chuckled, "Both of them have been dispatched to the Human World now, and as for the Vice-Captain... as long as the Captain is happy, she's happy. She doesn't know when to stop... So we got excited and ended up like this."
So you guys also had a good time fighting, huh?
Ishikawa's mouth twitched slightly upon hearing this. Indeed, only madmen would follow madmen.
However, upon closer thought.
The reactions of these people were quite normal. Due to Zaraki, most of the current Eleventh Division members were villains from the lower-numbered districts.
One could say that each of them had a fierce appearance, looking like a motley crew... If you picked out any Squad Member and put them in Ishikawa's bar, other villains wouldn't even think they were members of the Gotei 13.
After briefly explaining the follow-up precautions, Ishikawa walked towards the cafeteria of the Comprehensive Relief Station.
The people in charge of explaining things simply couldn't remember, and the Eleventh Division Squad Members, like the villains in his bar, were tough and resilient. As long as they received proper treatment, there was no need to worry about them developing any lasting ailments.
"Is the treatment finished?"
Just as he stepped out of the Operating Room, a figure walked towards him. "I apologize for being a bit late. I just finished the work in the suturing room before rushing over."
"It's fine, it's already done."
Seeing the person, a gentle smile immediately appeared on Ishikawa's face. "I was just about to go eat. Speaking of which, Nena said that Captain Unohana took you to hand over work. Is it done?"
The person who arrived was Kotetsu Isane. She nodded, "The affairs within the jurisdiction, as well as the handover with the Shin'ō Academy, are all complete. As for the remaining internal Squad matters, Captain Unohana told me to handle them myself."
Shin'ō Academy?
A thoughtful look flashed in Ishikawa's eyes. Although he had always worked at the Comprehensive Relief Station, he had never had any contact with the Shin'ō Academy.
This was because the Shin'ō Academy had always only served nobles and was located in the noble district. Ishikawa originally had no qualifications to go there, and even after gaining qualifications, he had no interest in the place.
Ishikawa's understanding of the Shin'ō Academy was limited to the fact that their director was Kotetsu Isane's predecessor as the Fourth Division Vice-Captain, and also Yamada Hanatarō's elder brother.
Ishikawa did not delve into the specific details of the handover between the Fourth Division and the Shin'ō Academy, instead asking:
"I'm going to the cafeteria to eat. Do you want to come along?"