CH 53: HONEY TRAP?

Life in the Soul Society was hard to define.

Even though Gojo had only lived here for five years, he could already feel his perception of time slowly changing.

Perhaps it was because he was already used to living with a perception of time different from other people, so the transition wasn't hard for him.

Still, at the end of the day, time passed and each day resembled the previous one. So much so that after a while, you wouldn't know how many days had passed.

All that philosophical bullcrap allowed one to reach one simple conclusion, 

'Life in the soul society was fucking boring.'

So, what would happen if more entertainment was developed? Gojo did not know, and honestly, he didn't care either.

But since it was necessary, he would give it his all. What's more, imagining the first shinigami idol groups was quite interesting.

After all, no matter which era, there was never a lack of simps that would spend thousands upon thousands for a group of girls that did not even know of their existences.

For now though, he had to visit the 13th division.

---

[13th division.]

Walking alone in the district of the 13th, Gojo had to admit that despite his misgivings about the captain, the order in the division was well maintained.

Of course, he understood that this was only possible thanks to the vice-captain of the division, Kaien Shiba.

"Good morning, 3rd seat Gojo. I hope you had a good day."

'Speaking of the Devil.'

Turning to face the speaker, he gave a faint smile and waved his hand, 

"Yo!"

Kaien was not surprised at Gojo's nonchalant answer, nor was he angered.

In the first place, the members of a division only had to respect the superiors in their own division.

Outside of it, not even a captain could punish a member of another division without extremely good reasons.

Moreover, Kaien liked people with direct personalities.

Even though he had to admit that his confident personality was sometimes a problem.

"Follow me. The captain is resting currently, we will have to wake him up."

Nodding, the two began to walk in silence.

Even though they had met a few times, they had no common interest and their personalities were completely different.

The fact that they did not feel disgust or indifference to each other was mostly thanks to the fact the two of them were people who minded their own business.

Walking out of the Seireitei from the west gate, the two of them walked through the Rukongai.

This was something that had surprised Gojo when he learned about it.

The captain wasn't from a big noble house, but rather from a very small one. So small in fact that the only proof of their nobility was their title. 

Because of this, they could only live in the Rukongai, albeit the 1st district.

Looking at the back of Kaien, he knew that the Shiba family was also a minor noble family.

In the soul society, most captains and vice-captains were either from the Rukongai or from low-level noble families.

In fact, aside from Soi Fon, Byakuya and Shunsui, all the other captains were of low backgrounds.

This was something that could never happen in his world.

After all, the power of jujutsu techniques was related to the bloodline.

While some outliers could appear, they were so incredibly rare that they could be counted on one hand.

Of course, Gojo could not dismiss the possibilities that some nobles disdained entering the army.

But such reasoning seems flimsy.

If the Kuchiki and the Shihoin family could enter the army for generations, then no family was too good for the Gotei 13.

---

[Rukongai 1st District.]

Even though they were walking, it didn't take them long to reach their destination,

"Let's wait here, please."

Sitting under the shade of a tree, the captain, Jushiro Ukitake could be seen gently reading a story while some kids of the Rukongai listened to him, their eyes full of sparkles.

It was well known that Jushiro loved children. Be it because of his nature or because he had four little brothers, either way, it was rather admirable.

Even though Gojo did not really like the man, he had to give him respect where it was due.

Though, the concept of 'children' in the soul society was pretty complicated.

After all, since those children were from the Rukongai, there were high chances of them being tens of years old. 

This was something Gojo was still slowly coming to grips with.

Thankfully, it didn't take long for the story to end, and Jushiro invited the two of them to his home.

----

[Seireitei, 12th division]

While Gojo was discussing with Jushiro, in the 12th division, a man whose face was painted in black and white, giving him the appearance of a skeleton, and wearing a white cloak over his shinigami uniform could be seen furiously typing while facing strings of data.

On the back of his cloak, the number 12 could be seen. 

He was Mayuri Kurotsuchi, current captain of the 12th division and an ex-criminal.

"This is impossible! No, how is it possible!?"

Mayuri was a scientist. As a scientist, he knew that nothing was impossible in this world. 

On the screen, a picture of a silver-haired man fighting a group of Gillian could be seen.

What was infuriating, was that from time to time, even though he was fighting, the man would pause while facing the cameras that should have been hidden.

Clearly, he knew that he was being observed.

"His Shikai makes no sense!"

He growled with frustration. Even after years of study, he still did not even have the start of an hypothesis.

No matter how Mayuri tried to explain it, he could only feel stumped.

Shinigami were unable to control Reishi.

Even their ability to walk on Reishi footholds was only possible on earth, where the concentration of Reishi was incredibly low, allowing it to be pulled towards them.

Since Shinigami could not do so, then their Zanpakuto should not be able to either.

But this man.

"I need to experiment on him!"

Hitting his keyboard with frustration, Mayuri couldn't help but curse.

He hated this feeling of not understanding something. At the same time, he felt his will burning more than he could ever imagine.

To this day, he had experimented on hundreds of Quincy souls.

It could be said that no one knew Quincys more than himself.

But even then, he had never been able to replicate their power.

"Nemu!"

"Yes."

A slender, but well-endowed black-haired woman walked out of the shadow.

Her clothes were basically the same as the normal Shinigami's uniform, but the large pants were replaced by a short skirt that barely reached her knees. She also wore a pair of white gloves on her hands and a red choker around her neck.

All this while, she had been standing in the corner in silence while observing her captain and creator, her face betraying absolutely no emotions.

She was Nemuri Kurotsuchi, the vice-captain of the 12th division.

If there was one eye-catching thing about her, aside from her rather revealing clothes, it would be that despite being a shinigami and a vice-captain at that, she had no sword on her hips.

Looking at his masterpiece, Mayuri advanced toward her then began to walk all around while observing her with a sharp look.

Sometimes he would nod his head while other times he would shake it.

"As I thought. I have taken into account the appearance department when I created you. Now it will finally be useful."

Inhaling deeply, Mayuri finally took his decision.

"Nemu."

"I am listening."

"I want you to seduce Satoru Gojo."

"...Yes?"

For the first time in a long while, Nemu showed an expression other than indifference or melancholy on her face.

She was quite perplexed.