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Second Division Captain's Office.
Ishikawa stood in the Captain's Office, looking at Soi Fon behind the desk with apprehension.
Ganju had been sent away. Not only was he sent out of Seireitei… his life was almost sent away too.
It wasn't Ishikawa who sent him; rather, it was Ganju's own older sister who 'sent' him after Ishikawa brought him back to Shiba.
The bloody scene made Ishikawa, who had originally planned to teach Ganju a good lesson, feel unbearable.
Finally, after some struggle, he put aside their past grievances, became exceptionally kind, and stayed overnight at Shiba, warming their hearts. Whenever Ganju was on the verge of collapsing, he would heal him like a 'saint'.
Although…
This led to Ganju's screams still being full of vigor when Ishikawa left Shiba in the morning.
However, Ishikawa couldn't care less whether he lived or died now.
Soi Fon, behind the desk, had made him stand there for a long time.
There was no reprimand, no punishment; she just left him there, completely ignoring him.
Playing 'placement'?
Ishikawa's mouth twitched slightly. If that was the case, was he the one being 'trained'?
Ishikawa had no interest in cultivating such a peculiar hobby, but if it could increase his favorability, that would be another matter.
Pa—
Soi Fon, behind the desk, tossed the approved documents aside, looked up at Ishikawa, and said, "Has the Shiba boy been sent away?"
"Yes."
Ishikawa's spirits lifted upon hearing this, and he quickly said, "I'm sorry, Captain Soi Fon. My carelessness has caused you so much trouble. I will accept any punishment."
"I'm not qualified to punish you."
Soi Fon sneered, "You're not my subordinate. As you said, you're just a temporary worker. At worst, you'll just quit. Anyway, only our Onmitsukidō will be held responsible in the end."
"…"
Ishikawa chuckled, "Whether I'm a temporary worker or not, I'm a member of Onmitsukidō, and I will definitely take responsibility."
Regarding Ishikawa's words, Soi Fon snorted noncommittally, her tone icy:
"I will help you cover up this incident and will not report it to Central 46; but this is only for this time. If there's a next time, I will arrest you on the grounds of endangering Seireitei's safety."
Ishikawa immediately breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.
Soi Fon then gave Ishikawa a deep look. The commotion Ishikawa caused this time was both big and small.
It was big because with just this incident, Central 46 had reason to imprison him in 'Muken'. When she first heard Kiyohara Tsumugiya's report, she even thought this matter would inevitably be exposed.
However…
The subsequent development of the incident far exceeded her expectations.
The Supervisory Team began clearing traces without notifying her, the Golden Seal Association assisted throughout the process in secret, and afterwards, a group of nobles and Ukitake pleaded for him…
Only now did she realize.
Unbeknownst to her, Ishikawa had already gained such great prestige within Seireitei.
If all of this had been done without her knowledge, even if Central 46 was kept in the dark, Soi Fon would not have kept Ishikawa in Onmitsukidō.
But the fact that Ishikawa immediately had the Supervisory Team Vice-Captain report the incident truthfully to her made Soi Fon very satisfied.
Moreover…
She personally also preferred to keep Ishikawa.
The reason was simple, just two words — useful!
Since Ishikawa came to Onmitsukidō, in addition to his main job of managing the 'Maggot's Nest', he also took on many tasks that he wasn't supposed to do.
Cleaning and repairing cells, perfecting Bakudo seals, helping to capture prisoners, teaching Squad Members how to cultivate, and even recruiting many new members for Onmitsukidō.
It could be said that aside from causing a major disaster every now and then, his work was so perfect that she couldn't find any flaws.
However, the Supervisory Team helping Ishikawa without her permission made Soi Fon hesitate whether to replace some of the Supervisory Team members.
But thinking about it carefully…
It seemed that all the members of Onmitsukidō held a great deal of goodwill towards Ishikawa.
Even Soi Fon herself could frankly admit that she admired Ishikawa's diligent attitude towards work.
After some hesitation, Soi Fon gave up the idea of replacing the Supervisory Team members.
She only suspended Kiyohara Tsumugiya, who personally helped Ishikawa clear the traces, but this suspension only meant no work compensation. The Supervisory Team was still managed by him, because there was no one in Onmitsukidō who was as familiar with the Supervisory Team's procedures as him.
Getting back to the main topic.
Actually, compared to Kiyohara Tsumugiya, another scoundrel infuriated Soi Fon even more, because after that scoundrel found out, he didn't report to her immediately. Instead, he turned around and ran home to eat, and only reported to her after he finished eating.
Ōmaeda Marechiyo!!
Just thinking of that scoundrel made Soi Fon's face subtly darken, yet she also felt a sense of helplessness.
Because she didn't know how to punish that scoundrel.
Deduct salary?
He didn't care at all.
Punish with vacation time?
He hadn't had a vacation in at least ten years.
Dismiss him?
More than half of Onmitsukidō's operating expenses were sponsored by the Omaeda Residence, and it had been a customary practice for members of the Omaeda Residence to serve as the Vice-Captain of the Second Division for generations.
In the end, she could only order him to be confined for three days on the grounds of dereliction of duty, and also deducted another 20 years of his vacation.
"You may leave."
Soi Fon sighed, waving her hand at Ishikawa.
After leaving the Captain's Office, the smile on Ishikawa's face turned serious.
The commotion caused by Ganju this time was barely resolved.
But…
The real challenge was yet to come.
Ishikawa had actually thought about going to Hueco Mundo for a long time, but he had always hesitated whether to do it.
He wanted to go for the future in his memories, to prepare some contingencies in advance.
He didn't go because Ishikawa couldn't be sure whether that person was in Soul Society.
Nearly two years had passed since he last met Kurosaki Masaki in the Human World, which meant there were only about four years left until that person's defection; rashly going to Hueco Mundo could very likely lead to a direct confrontation with him, and he could easily be trapped there forever.
So, before going to Hueco Mundo, he had to find a way to confirm whether 'he' was in Soul Society.
But how to confirm?
The option of observing with the naked eye could be directly discarded, because even if all Reiatsu was concealed, the feeling of being watched would still be impossible to hide when watching others.
Furthermore, he hadn't seen his Shikai, so he couldn't confirm it at all. Although Ishikawa had been in Seireitei for some years, he had always avoided contact with him, except for the last Captain's meeting.
Logically, he shouldn't have seen his Shikai, but the other party was not someone who could be described by common sense. To be cautious, it was better not to trust his five senses.
And having people from the Fifth Division, such as Kazuki You, observe from the side, that option could also be discarded; the other party left Soul Society not once or twice, but frequently. If the Fifth Division Squad Members could detect anything unusual, they would have noticed it long ago.
Unconsciously, Ishikawa had already walked out of the Second Division.
"Uh…"
Ishikawa paused. He had originally planned to visit Vice Captain in prison, as Vice Captain had indeed helped him bear a lot of pressure this time.
But as he was thinking, he left the Squad barracks. After a moment of hesitation, Ishikawa didn't go back but walked straight towards the Comprehensive Relief Station. Anyway, it was only three days of confinement, so it didn't matter whether he visited or not.
Pushing Ōmaeda out of his mind, Ishikawa felt a bit helpless.
Helpless!
No matter how he looked at it, he had no capital to confront him. Even though his Reiatsu had reached Captain-level, based on Ishikawa's estimation, if he faced Aizen now…
He would probably be cut half to death with a casual slash, just like Captain Rangiku, that white-haired man.
…
Upon entering the Comprehensive Relief Station, Ishikawa looked at the front desk and found that Nao was on duty today.
"Ishikawa."
Nao's eyes lit up when she saw Ishikawa, and she scurried from the front desk to stand in front of Ishikawa: "I heard you caused a big commotion yesterday. Are you alright? Captain Kogetsu even asked me this morning with a worried look if you had come here."
"Nothing much. I just forgot my Spirit Entry Permit. It was fine after I explained it clearly."
Ishikawa smiled slightly at Nao. As they spent more time together, Nao was no longer as reserved and polite as she initially was. Although her words no longer held the original respect, they now had the intimacy of close friends.
Her address also changed from the original Teacher Ishikawa, Mr. Ishikawa, to now calling him by his name.
And Ishikawa was still very grateful to Nao. It was because of her that he was able to come into contact with the Fourth Division and eventually become a member of the Comprehensive Relief Station.
"Is that so?"
Nao immediately breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, then, as if remembering something, she smiled and said, "Oh, Captain Kogetsu asked me to inform you earlier that you must make time the day after tomorrow to attend the Floral Arrangement Society. Many Captains will be invited to this Floral Arrangement Society."
"It is said that the Captains of the Second, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Squads, as well as the Vice-Captain of the First Division, are all on the invitation list. While appreciating the flower arrangements, they will also discuss association matters and cooperation between associations. Hmm… for example, Captain Sasakibe's Tea Ceremony Association, Captain Kucihki's Calligraphy Association… I never knew there were so many associations."
"Wait a minute?"
Ishikawa's eyes lit up: "Are those Squad Captains you mentioned all on the invitation list?"
"Yes."
Nao's face showed anticipation: "And this Floral Arrangement Society will be fully covered by the editor-in-chief of Seireitei Communication and published in the next issue of Seireitei Communication. We will all appear in Seireitei Communication!"
"And… and Captain Aizen's column 'matsuba ura' in 'Seireitei Communication' is also said to be discussed at the meeting. If the layout could be larger, that would be great… Compared to 'Teach Me Quickly! Teacher Hisagi', I think Captain Aizen's 'matsuba ura' is more meaningful. That space can completely be given to Captain Aizen."
"That seems to be a section managed by the editor-in-chief of Seireitei Communication. In my opinion, he is definitely abusing his power…"
Ishikawa didn't listen to Nao's subsequent words but fell into deep thought.
Was this a case of searching high and low only to find it effortlessly?
Earlier, he was still struggling with how to confirm Aizen's presence in Soul Society, but now it seemed his previous struggles were truly unnecessary.
With so many Captains present, and it being a meeting organized by Captain Unohana, if Aizen attended, he would absolutely not be a substitute!
However…
This guy really likes to do such things.
Upon realizing this, Ishikawa's expression became somewhat strange. As an old fan of Seireitei Communication, he was naturally familiar with the so-called 'matsuba ura'.
The content was nothing more than some short stories he wrote, somewhat similar to inspirational essays… Although Ishikawa didn't like reading them, they had a considerable audience.
However, Ishikawa's strange expression wasn't because of this, but because he recalled something from not long ago…
Aizen had once contacted the Shinigami Women's Association, wanting to publish his photobook, and shamelessly named it 'Smile of the Sun'. At that time, his request was approved by Ishikawa.
Later, Ishikawa didn't follow up, and it was said to have been suspended for some reason.
Although he didn't know why, Ishikawa kept the 'Smile of the Sun' project.
Because linking it to matters in the Human World…
Ishikawa realized that photobooks, such things, he could completely exploit!
He wouldn't say he was better looking than him, but at least he was younger; he had a better physique, and a warmer smile. The five words 'Smile of the Sun' were simply too suitable for him.
Although he couldn't accept it like in the Human World, showing his back, covering himself with a blanket, and displaying his physique, as long as it could earn him favorability, Ishikawa could still accept it.
He, however, mistook the photobook for some kind of publication…
"What time does the Floral Arrangement Society start the day after tomorrow?"
Ishikawa interrupted Nao's various contemptuous remarks about 'Hisagi' and instead asked, "Is the estimated end time set?"
"The start time is 9 AM the day after tomorrow, and the end time hasn't been set yet. It will probably go on for a long time."
Ishikawa nodded, then said with a regretful expression:
"Actually, I came today to ask for leave. My elder sister Kukaku thinks I still have many shortcomings in Kido, so she's preparing to give me special training during this period. Both the Everything Store's work and the Comprehensive Relief Station's work will have to be temporarily suspended."
"Ah?"
Nao was a little disappointed to hear this, but she still nodded understandingly and said, "I see. Then I'll help you tell Captain Kogetsu. After all, training is more important, but it's a bit of a shame. If you could be there too, this Floral Arrangement Society would definitely be very lively."
"Yes, if I had known, I would have asked Sister Kukaku to postpone it for a few days, but it was already agreed upon and preparations for the special training have been made, so I really can't spare the time."
"…"
After chatting with Nao for a while, Ishikawa took his leave.
According to Nao, Isane had already been dispatched by Captain Unohana to deliver invitations to various Squads.
He just needed to contact her and confirm once she returned tonight.
Of course, it was also necessary to confirm whether Aizen was present when the meeting began, to avoid the possibility of him being absent due to other matters.
But no matter what, he had to prepare an 'alibi' beforehand.
From today onwards, the Everything Store's business would cease, and at the same time, he would announce that he was undergoing special training at Shiba.
With the concealment of Ōkaku Training Hall, as long as he was inside, no one would know that he had secretly left Soul Society.
This Floral Arrangement Society was undoubtedly the best time for him to go to Hueco Mundo!
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