[Quincy Archer Hates You Arc] Part 53: Accepting lessons

#Soul Society | Seireitei - 6th division's barracks #

Renji Abarai was walking at fast pace and quickly greeting the division members passing by. He was wearing a flowered kimono instead of his usual black shinigami kimono.

Halfway there he sees a shinigami having problems with the hell butterflies.

Rikichi: "Aaah! Flying away again!? Get back here! You're going to get me in trouble!" - He shouted trying to capture one of the butterflies but when he saw that he wasn't succeeding, the shinigami changed tactics and caught a colorful butterfly apparently a toy. - "Look! A sexy lady butterfly! Hi, handsome! I'm Jennifer! Pisces, blood type A with E cups!"

Renji: "What are you doing?" - He asked kicking the other shinigami.

Rikichi: "What was that for, Renji?!"

Renji: "You should be able to handle the hell butterflies by now, fool."

Rikichi: "But…I thought today was your day off."

Renji: "I'm just checking on the prisoner. How is she?"

Rikichi: "Miss Kuchiki? The same…until last night…"

Renji: "Huh? Did she say something?"

Rikichi: "No…it's just…"

Rather than wait for Rikichi to finish speaking, Renji decided to go to Rukia's cell to see what was going on. As he approached the cell, Renji heard a low sound that he was initially unable to identify what it was, but as he faced Rukia's cell, he realized that the sound was coming from the prisoner herself, who was sitting with her back to the cell, humming.

Renji: "Hey, how long are you going to sulk, Rukia?" - It was the first thing that came to mind, wondering about her behavior. - "You better eat something or you won't survive to be executed."

Rukia: "I'm not sulking. I'm just not hungry…Mr. Lieutenant."

Renji: "Huh!? Does my rank bother you!?"

Rukia: "Not at all. You must have worked hard to get promoted during those two months I've been gone. Really impressive. Good luck, Mr. Lieutenant! You're strong, Mr. Lieutenant! Your eyebrows are weird, Mr. Lieutenant!! - She mocked.

Renji: "You're dead! Come out!!" - He shouted grabbing the bars of the cell, irritated with the provocations.

After those minutes of teasing, Rukia's voice changed again.

Rukia: "Am I really going to die…Renji?"

Renji: "Of course you will! You could be executed any day!"

Rukia: "...I see. Why wouldn't I be?" - She said in a weak voice.

Renji: ".... Come on! I'm just kidding!"

Rukia: "And how would I know!?"

Renji: "Captain Kuchiki is on his way to headquarters. He'll probably have your sentence reduced. He's your older brother. He won't stand by and let you get killed."

Rukia: "....You're right…he would kill me himself. I know very well…the type of person he is…In the forty years since the Kuchiki family took me in…Not once has he…even looked at me ." - She said while rubbing her left hand.

She went back to staring at the cell wall, thinking about something totally different from the conversation they had.

Rukia: 'They really can't see this…' - She thought as she looked at the ring that was still on her finger. - 'Urahara had put this ring on my gigai to reinforce the story that Yato and I were engaged. It was just an ordinary ring…but when they confiscated the gigai this ring materialized on my finger…but only I can see it.'

Feeling uncomfortable with the turn the conversation had taken, Renji decided to leave quietly, leaving Rukia alone.

Rukia: 'Before they took me away I thought I heard Yato say he was going to come after me…and now I'm humming songs that I don't remember ever knowing…' - She looked again at the ring that was on her finger. - "Yato…"

# World of the Living | Karakura Town #

Yato: "Achoooo!" - He rubbed his nose. - "Did I catch a cold in such heat…?" - He wondered as he looked out the window of the house just to confirm that the weather had not changed.

The boy had just trained a bit with Ōkagetsu in his inner world to get a better understanding of his abilities and was taking a break to drink some water.

Cheshire: "You're pretty chill…you don't even look like someone with a fiancée about to be executed." - Said the red cat in a mocking tone.

Yato: "I'm not really worried. I already know what's going to happen. The difference is that this time Tatsuki and I are going to be in the rescue group and that just means that the shinigami are going to get beaten a lot more than in the original version."

The cat intended to continue the subject but suddenly he looked quickly at the door of the house.

Cheshire: "Oh… looks like we have visitors…" - He commented while his body was dissolving into red strings and returning to the shape of a ring on Yato's finger.

Yato could feel Chad, Inoue and Tatsuki's reiatsu outside, however, if this group was gathered there at that exact moment, it means that Yoruichi was probably with them.

When he went to answer the door, he bumped into his three classmates who were wearing very casual clothes and also noticed that Tatsuki had a backpack on her shoulders.

Tatsuki: "Hey, Yato!"

Orihime: "Hello, Yasakani-kun!"

Chad: "Hmm…"

Yato: "Hey there. Come in, you can make yourself comfortable." - He said politely.

The three colleagues entered and sat on one of the sofas in the room that had space for the three of them.

Orihime: "Your house is very cozy, Yasakani-kun!"

Yato: "Thanks. Do you want something to drink? I only have coffee, tea or water at the moment…" - He said a little embarrassed while scratching his hair.

Tatsuki: "No, I'm good."

Orihime: "No thanks."

Chad just shook his head to indicate that he didn't want anything either, so Yato sat down on another couch to hear what his friends had to say.

Yato: "What's the reason for your visit anyway?"

Orihime: "We're getting some lessons before we go to Soul Society! Want to join us?!"

Yato: "Lessons? From who?" - He asked already knowing who would appear next.

Chad and Tatsuki were hesitant to answer the question until Inoue pointed to Yato's side.

Orihime: "Well…It's not really a who…Actually, our teacher's right beside you…"

Yato looked to his side and saw that had a black cat sitting on the arm of the couch.

Yoruichi: "It is I." - Answered with a male voice.

Yato: "Oh, hello. What's your name?" - He asked casually.

Yoruichi: "I'm Yoruichi."

Tatsuki: "You reacted...quite well…"

Yato: "....Are you going to tell me that a talking cat surprises you…?"

Chad: "Hmm…well…It is a little unusual…"

Yato: "Correct me if I'm wrong…All of us here apparently have supernatural powers and in addition to seeing spirits, we've had to deal with monstrous evil spirits called Hollows…"

The three nodded as Yoruichi watched the conversation curiously.

Yato: "And we're going to train to go to the Soul Society, like…the afterlife, to save my supposed fiancée who…is also a shinigami."

Again the three nodded positively.

Yato: "And after all that…a talking cat is what surprises you…? It could very well be the soul of an animal or someone with powers to transform into an cat."

Yoruichi: "Oh…"

Tatsuki: "Now that you mention it…it actually seems kind of silly…Hehe" - She scratched her head.

Yoruichi: "Now, let's get to the reason we're here, shall we?"

Tatsuki: "So, Yato. Would you like to come train with us?"

Yato: "Hmm…yeah. When do we start?"