Look, look, look!
Look at them!
Didn't I save her?
After I saved his sister, the brother's favorability shot from single digits to over seventy in an instant!
Now look at you two old-timers: one's been stuck below sixty forever; the other, even after I saved his life, only went up a little over sixty.
Heh, old folks are really hard to please these days.
Even though Kuchiki Byakuya's favorability toward Yoshio reached seventy-two, he still maintained a stern facade and didn't say a word, just coldly walked past him.
Tsk.
Yoshio didn't say anything either; after all, the most substantive benefit—the favorability—was already in his hands.
He muttered under his breath and headed for Rukia's ward.
Rukia was still unconscious.
"Hanatarō."
Just as Yoshio was about to enter, he saw Yamada Hanatarō walking from the other end of the corridor.
He went up to him and asked, "How's Rukia now?"
He'd met Hanatarō before when visiting Shuhei at the Fourth, and after a few encounters, he and Hanatarō were on familiar terms.
Otherwise, the favorability wouldn't be over sixty.
And Hanatarō's favorability is relatively easy to raise—Yoshio hadn't been to the Fourth many times and hadn't spent much time with Hanatarō, yet it still went up.
"Miss Kuchiki, she..."
Hanatarō still seemed a bit nervous around Yoshio. He said, "It's strange—her body's fine, but she hasn't woken up. The Captain suspects her spirit has been shocked and injured."
"Probably her first time seeing such a brutal battle," Yoshio offered as an explanation for Rukia.
"That's possible."
"Can I go in and see Rukia?"
"Well... in theory, yes," Yamada said, then hurriedly added, "But Captain Kuchiki just stopped by and said unrelated personnel shouldn't disturb Miss Kuchiki's rest."
"Oh? Captain Kuchiki cares a lot about Rukia."
"Yes, they're siblings." Hanatarō clearly didn't grasp the internal Kuchiki Clan dynamics and simply assumed they were siblings.
In fact, most people think so. Not many understand the Kuchiki Clan's internal situation; even Renji, who later becomes a Lieutenant, didn't really know how Rukia and Byakuya get along within the family.
Yoshio naturally wouldn't elaborate.
"Forget it. Since Captain Kuchiki said so, I won't disturb Rukia's rest."
Yoshio continued, "Have you eaten? I got up too early and haven't had breakfast yet."
"Ah, yes," Yamada said quickly.
"That's a shame. I was just about to invite you out for a bite."
"How about you take me with you?"
Suddenly, Kyōraku Shunsui's voice came from behind.
"Captain Kyōraku?" Yoshio turned and, seeing Kyōraku, asked curiously, "Weren't you with Captain Ukitake?"
"Ukitake just needs rest now; there's nothing for me to do there," Kyōraku said. "I haven't had breakfast."
"Alright, let's go grab something."
Yoshio rubbed his stomach.
…
Outside the Fourth, they found a bun shop.
Yoshio ordered two baskets of buns, one meat and one veggie.
"Wow, you can really eat," Shunsui said in surprise.
"If you're not proactive about eating, your thinking's got issues," Yoshio said, popping a bun into his mouth. "Besides, I just went through a big fight last night—I need the calories."
"That being the case..."
Shunsui looked at Yoshio and said softly, "I've basically heard everything from Ukitake about last night."
"That Hollow... why did it attack Rukia Kuchiki?"
"..." Yoshio chewed his bun, a bit puzzled as well. "Maybe because Rukia was the weakest?"
"I don't know if Captain Ukitake told you—this Hollow is very strange, unlike any we've seen before."
"Its intellect is high. If not for the spiritual pressure it emits clearly being that of a Menos Grande, just from the way it fights, I'd even think it's... a Shinigami."
"...Ukitake mentioned that as well," Shunsui said. "Last night, the Captains convened an emergency meeting to discuss this."
"Huh?" Yoshio was surprised. "There was a Captains' meeting last night? How did I not know!"
"We wanted to bring you to ask a few questions, but Captain Aizen said, 'Lieutenant Yoshio just went through a battle and is too tired, he needs rest,' so we didn't bring you."
"In any case, you and Ukitake already briefed Captain Retsu Unohana on the basics, so it wasn't absolutely necessary for you to be present as a firsthand witness."
"Captain Aizen is so considerate," Yoshio sighed. "It's a great honor to serve as Lieutenant of the Fifth Division."
Shunsui chuckled. "Aizen is indeed an excellent Captain; otherwise I'd be trying to poach you to the Eighth."
"Forget it, I'm a Lieutenant in the Fifth. If I came to your Eighth, would you let me take Nanao's place?" Yoshio muttered, then added:
"Let's talk business. What did the divisions decide to do about that Menos Grande?"
"No resolution yet," Shunsui said. "However, a Hueco Mundo expedition is likely, especially given Lieutenant Shiba's strong request."
"Going to fight in Hueco Mundo..." Yoshio frowned. "That's not our turf."
"Yes, very dangerous—so it's still under discussion," Shunsui said. "But I think it's likely to pass."
"If there's a dispatch team, who would be on it?" Yoshio asked.
This was what he really cared about.
He hoped they wouldn't send him somewhere like Hueco Mundo.
There are tons of people in the Soul Society whose favorability he still needs to raise—why go to Hueco Mundo?
He'll go eventually, but only after Aizen has dealt with Las Noches and established order.
Hueco Mundo right now isn't fit for a dog!
In any case, Yoshio absolutely won't go.
"Besides Lieutenant Shiba, probably people from the Eleventh Division," Shunsui speculated.
Yoshio secretly sighed in relief. Eleventh Division is fine—those berserkers love fighting, let them go.
After finishing breakfast with Shunsui, he returned from District 4 to the Fifth and started the workday.
Five minutes after sitting down in the office, Renji hurried in.
"Lieutenant Yoshio!"
Renji burst in and asked, "Rukia—she's okay, right?"