Kurotsuchi Mayuri being the Captain of the Department of Research and Development definitely meant he had some real skills; it only took him a single morning to finish the item Kōe had requested.
"Not bad, it's perfect. Truly worthy of the highest standard." After leaving Squad 12, the corners of Kōe's mouth hadn't dropped once, showing his clear satisfaction with Mayuri's work.
However, looking at the black cat cradled in Kōe's hands, Rukia finally couldn't suppress her curiosity and asked, "Is there any difference between this cat and a normal one?"
*Even if it's just a cat, something personally crafted to the highest standards by the Captain of the Department of Research and Development couldn't possibly be as simple as it looks on the surface. No, it definitely isn't as innocent as I'm thinking!*
Rukia waited with full anticipation for Kōe's explanation, even readying herself to take notes. But as Kōe continued to explain, it seemed there was no need for notes at all.
"First of all, it's very cute!"
"Huh?"
"Secondly, its fur feels incredibly soft to the touch. Want to try?"
"What?!"
"Also, it won't get sick, and it has a longer lifespan!"
Kōe introduced it with a smug look, while Rukia just stared back with a helpless expression. At the end of the day, it was still just a cat. No matter how much technology was poured into it, it was still a cat, right?
"Finally, it's much more intelligent and in tune with human nature than other cats. It can trim its own claws and bathe itself, so I don't have to worry about it at all. Isn't that amazing?"
"Yeah, truly worthy of the highest standard!" Rukia said, forcing a smile and giving a thumbs-up in agreement. Then, without giving Kōe a chance to respond, she immediately asked, "We should be heading to special training next, right, Brother Chōzuka?"
Rukia was now a squad member capable of taking on missions. Although most missions required a seated officer to lead, her solid combat awareness allowed her to perform remarkably well. She could be considered a fully qualified member of the Gotei 13.
Right now, the Shin'ō Academy happened to be on vacation, and she didn't have any pressing assignments in Squad 13. So, after receiving Kōe's invitation, she had rushed over first thing in the morning. She was eager to grow faster so she could be of greater help to Lord Kaien.
Kōe finally stopped admiring the cat in his hands. Looking at Rukia, he said with an exaggerated expression, "Hey, hey, hey, when did my cute Rukia turn into a battle maniac? Should I recommend you to Squad 11?"
"R-Really?!" Rukia suddenly grew nervous, hurriedly fixing her hair and adjusting her uniform, seemingly very concerned about whether she was cute or not. "Is this a bit better, Brother Chōzuka?"
Kōe finally couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing. By now, how could Rukia not realize that Kōe had just been teasing her? Her small face flushed bright red. "You're such a child!"
In her heart, Brother Chōzuka's status was second only to Lord Kaien's. But when it came to childishness, Kōe won by an absolute landslide.
Actually, Kaien was quite childish too—like trying to look cool by drinking juice while doing a handstand, only to end up snorting it up his nose. But unfortunately, Kōe was even worse. No, it would be more accurate to say that no one was more childish than him.
Rukia sometimes felt troubled by this. Of her two older brother figures, one was so haughty he was unapproachable, while the other was so approachable it gave her a headache. If the two of them could just combine their traits, they would be an absolutely perfect existence.
"Alright, I'll stop laughing." Kōe rubbed his eyes. Seeing Rukia still puffing her cheeks in displeasure, he continued, "We aren't doing special training today. We're just going to stroll around. You've been going on missions frequently lately, so you need to relax properly."
Frequent killing and the constant passing of life could easily numb a person's emotions. Even for a Shinigami, setting aside some time to enjoy a warm, peaceful life was highly necessary.
Of course, not all squads in the Gotei 13 operated this way—Squad 11 being the most prime example. But obviously, Rukia's Squad 13 was not among them. Therefore, Kōe believed it was best to let Rukia live as happily as possible, which also served as a form of compensation to her.
"Then what are we going to do next?"
Rukia was indeed a little disappointed, but perhaps Brother Chōzuka had made this decision precisely because he saw through the anxiety in her heart. After all, the thing he told her most often was not to be overly eager for quick success.
"It's been a while since I went to see Miyako. I wonder if her illness has gotten any better. And Kaien, didn't I have someone call for him yesterday? Looks like he needs a bit of a push."
Kōe had barely offered a suggestion when Rukia immediately poured cold water on it. "Lady Miyako isn't in the Seireitei right now. She went out on a mission."
"Is her illness fine now? Wasn't it quite serious two months ago?"
"She suddenly got a lot better this month. Although there are still some lingering issues, it doesn't affect her daily missions," Rukia explained. She also found it strange why Shiba Miyako had suddenly recovered. It wasn't that she was taking pleasure in her misfortune, but rather that the illness itself had come about very bizarrely.
Over ten months ago, Shiba Miyako's Reiatsu suddenly began conflicting with itself. Even with Squad 4 Captain Unohana Retsu personally treating her, there was nothing that could be done at the time.
This internal conflict continued intermittently for nearly half a year. At its worst, Shiba Miyako couldn't even move normally, which had Kaien worried sick.
Because of this, Kōe had specifically gone to take a look. If this illness was caused by the special ability of some Hollow, then compared to Unohana, who specialized in using Kaidō to heal spiritual bodies, Kōe, who excelled in Reiryoku manipulation, might be better equipped to find the root of the problem.
The result was that there was no problem at all. There was no undetectable, abnormal Reiryoku inside Shiba Miyako's body, nor were there any physical abnormalities. In the end, they could only attribute it to some issue with her soul itself.
Even for Shinigami, the soul residing within the spiritual body was the most mysterious existence. This was also the fundamental reason why various diseases existed in Soul Society.
There were plenty of ways to treat the physical body—or rather, the spiritual body. Especially after the invention of Gigai technology, replacing a physical vessel was an extremely simple matter. But if a problem occurred within the soul, let alone intervening to treat it, even discovering the issue was incredibly difficult.
For Shiba Miyako, a problem with her soul was practically a death sentence. If this Reiatsu conflict continued to worsen, there would come a day when her spiritual body wouldn't be able to bear it, leading to the dissipation of her soul. In layman's terms, her life as a Shinigami would come to an end.
But what happened next was rather strange. The Reiatsu conflict neither worsened nor improved, remaining stagnant for two months. Then, it suddenly began to alleviate. By now, it no longer had much of an impact, and in another month, there likely wouldn't be any problems left at all.
How could this situation be explained? A soul that was damaged for unknown reasons had suddenly healed for equally unknown reasons? Did souls have a self-healing function?!
Ukitake didn't understand the answer to this question, Kaien didn't understand, and Unohana understood it even less.
As for Kōe? He had only just found out about Shiba Miyako's recovery. Could you really expect him to understand the reasoning behind it?
However, this was absolutely a good thing for Shiba Miyako. The exact cause didn't really matter. After all, there were far too many unsolved mysteries in the Seireitei, yet things had carried on as usual for the past two thousand years.
Wasn't that right?