I absolutely cannot reach Bankai. Only time is passing by.
Well, it took me one hundred and fifty years to achieve Shikai. There is no point in rushing.
I give Captain Unohana a massage once a month. I train with Nubatama, or give massages to female squad members.
Years passed, and amazingly, I have now been promoted to the 14th Seat!
...I haven't even reached the halfway point of the seated ranks yet...
It feels like I am advancing one seat per century... Normally, one's heart would break...
As usual, various things happened, and various things happened in the Fourth Division too.
Emergency patients were carried in, we went to support other squads that started large-scale battles, or we were borrowed to support during a major internal rebellion—
Captain Ukitake collapsed and Captain Kyoraku came to skip work under the pretense of visiting him—before I knew it, those people had become Captains in the blink of an eye—
New recruits joined and I instructed them; some got rotten saying 'this isn't what I signed up for' and submitted transfer requests to other squads; I comforted regular squad members who kept blaming themselves for not being able to save the lives of the critically wounded—
...I had already experienced it all. I haven't been a Shinigami for hundreds of years for nothing...
"Yukawa-senpai! An emergency patient!"
"Emergency!? From where?"
I returned to my senses at my subordinate's words.
"The Sixth Division! They say the Lieutenant there collapsed..."
"The Lieutenant of the Sixth Division is—"
Among the various divisions of the Gotei 13, the Sixth Division is a unit with deep ties to the nobility.
And it has become a custom that the Captain there is served by a member of a certain house among the Five Great Noble Houses for generations.
"Yes. Apparently, he is a member of the Kuchiki family."
"...That is why the matter was passed to me."
As mentioned before, even if I haven't been promoted much, my history as a Shinigami is pointlessly long.
It isn't just once or twice that I have handled the response when such VIP patients arrived. In a sense, it means 'she has plenty of experience, so let's make her do it'.
...Eh? Sell myself to the Kuchiki family and get promoted?
Impossible, impossible, that is impossible.
The Kuchiki family is famous for valuing discipline, even among the Five Great Noble Houses.
If I poorly attempt something like a drama where the doctor shows a muddy underbelly, my head might literally fly off.
...That is why the role has come around to me.
"Well, understood. Call a few people and prepare the highest grade private room. I will prepare the examination room and arrange the detailed acceptance system."
"Understood!"
He is one of the Five Great Noble Houses, after all.
Putting him in the general ward by mistake would be a bit...
Even if the person himself said 'I do not mind at all', who knows what the surrounding nobles or those related to the Kuchiki family would say... So, I must prepare a room for VIPs.
"Once that is done, strictly warn everyone verbally just in case. Tell them that a member of the Kuchiki family is in the special ward, and that they should not treat him with weird special treatment... unless they actively want to get involved, that's a different story... or do you want to go try?"
"N-No, that is... it is a bit too heavy of a burden for me..."
The general squad members react like this.
...It seems my worries will increase for a while.
After that, I accepted the patient who arrived and performed relief work in the treatment room.
However, the treatment itself was not that difficult; rather, since the patient himself had a weak constitution, being careful about that was more difficult.
It was a very troublesome treatment where being too fast or too slow was no good.
The patient has finished being transferred to the hospital room and is currently sleeping on a fluffy futon.
"Wh... Where is this...?"
Oh, it seems he just woke up.
"This is the Fourth Division's General Relief Station. I heard you were seriously injured during a mission..."
"Is that... so...? My memory is somehow..."
"No, no, please rest slowly for now. The treatment was completed perfectly, so you are fine now."
"Thank... you..."
He tried to force his body up, so I hurriedly stopped him.
"Ah! Please stay sleeping. The effects of the medicine haven't worn off yet, so resting your body is your job right now."
"Hahaha... thank you very much..."
"Just so you know, there seem to be many visitors outside, so I will inform them that you have woken up. It might get a little noisy, but please forgive us."
When I said that, he nodded silently.
"Then, I will excuse myself for a moment. Lieutenant."
I left the hospital room.
As soon as I left the hospital room, I was surrounded by visitors who had arrived.
So I told them: "The treatment is perfectly finished", "He has regained consciousness and is currently resting quietly", "You may visit, but you must remain quiet", and "Do not force the patient to speak".
Since the 3rd Seat of the Sixth Division and servants of the Kuchiki family were there, I told them to observe the aforementioned warnings and emphasized that they could visit if it was only for a short time.
About two hours passed since then.
Estimating that the visitors would have finished by now, I visited the hospital room again.
"Lieutenant Sojun Kuchiki, may I enter?"
"Ah, I do not mind."
When I called out to the door, that voice returned.
I quietly opened the door, and realized it as I entered while bowing.
"Excuse m... Ah! Captain Kuchiki!"
The person there was the current Captain of the Sixth Division, Ginrei Kuchiki. He is a very, very important person who also serves as the head of the Kuchiki family.
He is also Lieutenant Sojun's father.
Well, both of them are younger than me though... Ahaha... tears are about to come out...
"I apologize for the late introduction. I am Airi Yukawa, the attending physician for Lieutenant Kuchiki."
"I see, so you are the one who saved my son. I wanted to convey my thanks directly, so I was waiting."
"Th-That is... I apologize for making you wait."
"No, it is something I did on my own. Do not worry about it. And, thank you for saving Sojun's life."
Saying that, he bowed in a practiced manner.
Hmm, as expected of the head of the Kuchiki family.
Captain Ginrei has the appearance of an elderly gentleman, and the dignity he exudes is truly impressive. Majestic, or perhaps seasoned.
Lieutenant Sojun is still young.
He is handsome but feels somewhat frail. Compared to Captain Ginrei, he feels somewhat unreliable.
But both of them are younger than me! My years working as a Shinigami are far greater than theirs!! Because I saw both of their enlistments in the Seireitei Communication!
...Can I cry?
"Then Sojun, I will return now. Recuperate slowly."
"Yes, Captain Ginrei."
As if all business was concluded, Captain Ginrei left the room. The only ones left were Lieutenant Sojun and one man who seemed to be his attendant.
"That was Captain Kuchiki..."
"Hahaha, were you surprised?"
"Yes... ah, no! It was my first time meeting him directly, and I was surprised that he thanked me! More importantly, how is your condition?"
I inadvertently nodded.
"The wound still hurts, but it feels much better. Rather, dealing with the visitors and the gifts was more tiring."
As if to demonstrate those words, flowers and gifts are placed in the room to an excessive degree. They are gathered in the corner, but it is quite a prominent amount. To have dealt with enough people to bring this amount in that short time means—
"Sigh... I did ask them to be quiet, but..."
I guess for the noble lot who want to improve their standing with the Kuchiki family, such words are like wind in a horse's ear. Prioritizing wagging their tails to power, is it?
"I apologize. I asked them to refrain as much as possible, but we also have social obligations..."
"No, no, I didn't mean it like that..."
My muttered words were heard, and the attendant bowed his head to me.
"M-More importantly! Visiting hours are already over. As Captain Kuchiki said, please rest slowly."
"I will do so. There is rarely time to rest one's mind..."
Lieutenant Sojun, who said that, showed an expression containing some sorrow.
"It is quite difficult, as my worries never cease..."
"I can sympathize with you."
Two days after Lieutenant Sojun was carried in.
Perhaps because the visitors had settled down, he was finally able to spend peaceful days. In addition to his naturally weak constitution, the Kuchiki family had various things happen a little while ago.
Maybe because of that commotion, Lieutenant Sojun seems to be burdened with expectations from those around him.
Those expectations are weighing heavily on him as pressure, and it seems that was the cause of his significant decline in condition.
"When you are injured or your body is weak, your heart gets dragged down and becomes weak too. At such times, you need a place or a person where you can vent your complaints, someone who will listen silently."
So like this, parallel to the treatment, I have set up a place where he can vent his stress.
"If you are fine with me, I will keep you company as much as you like. After all, I am in the Fourth Division, a different unit, and a low-ranking officer from Rukongai. I have no influence."
The only ones who can hear this conversation are me and the attendant. And even I know the importance of confidentiality.
In addition to the aforementioned self-deprecation about having no influence, I told him to rest assured that I would take what I heard to the grave, and finally, Lieutenant Sojun vented his complaints.
Now, he trusts me completely.
"Hahaha, thank you for every day. Thanks to you, I feel my heart has become much lighter."
"That is good."
"My sister had been depressed for a long time too, but recently she finally regained her spirits. As the next head of the Kuchiki house, I must do my best."
"No, no, if you try too hard, you will just spin your wheels. A thread pulled too tight breaks easily. It is important to have room in your heart."
...Huh!? Talking to him, I just realized now, but could this person be...
Byakuya Kuchiki's—
—Grandfather!?
'(Close!!)'
Oh? I felt like I heard something just now...
"...-san? Yukawa-san?"
"Y-Yes!"
"What is the matter? You were spacing out..."
"No, I just remembered it was almost time for lunch."
"Is it that time already? The food here is delicious, so I look forward to it every time."
"Oh my! It isn't something that can be compared to the Kuchiki family's meals—"
"It is simple, but somehow warm and tastes nostalgic."
"Is that so? Then, I will tell the cooking staff later. I'm sure they will be happy."
Like that, after engaging in exchanges mixed with idle chatter for several days.
Lieutenant Sojun completely recovered and was discharged.
Perhaps thanks to my completely different position unrelated to the Kuchiki family, he got along with me very well.
I even heard about his future prospects.
He was a very kind person.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]