The afternoon sunlight slanted across the wooden floorboards of the engawa, casting sharp boundaries between light and shadow.
Tsukasa Suō leaned back in the shade, clutching a handheld console he had bought in the Living World. He appeared quite idle, his fingertips moving nimbly over the buttons with light, rhythmic clicks as colors and shadows flickered across the screen. The glow from the handheld was reflected in his eyes, mirroring the patterns formed by simple blocks of pixels.
The paperwork on the table had long since been neatly gathered and placed at the corner of Shiba Kaien's desk. His work efficiency was high; he had finished the day's administrative duties in a single morning. As long as no emergency orders arrived, this afternoon interval belonged entirely to him.
A breeze swept through the courtyard, stirring the bamboo wind chime hanging above Tsukasa's head, producing a few scattered notes.
"Tsukasa, playing with that handheld of yours again."
Kotetsu Kiyone's voice, laced with a smile, drifted over from his side. She strolled leisurely toward him and crouched down, peering at the screen with great interest.
"Is this thing fun?" she asked curiously, watching the shifting patterns and the rising numbers in the corner of the display. Although she was the one who had helped bring the little gadget back, she was quite unfamiliar with it.
"It's alright. Good for passing the time," Tsukasa replied without looking up, his hands never stopping. "This can also help train control and reaction speed a bit."
Though handheld games at this stage had limited playability, they were still useful for relaxing the mind. It didn't require complex thought; it only required the fingers to maintain a nearly instinctive, rhythmic movement. By following the simple changes on the screen, the brain could gradually drift into a state of emptiness within that rhythm.
"Oh—I see." Kotetsu Kiyone nodded, only half-understanding.
"Want to try?"
"No, I'll just watch."
While the two were chatting, a booming voice rang out from outside the office door.
"I'm back!"
The door was slid open, and Shiba Kaien strode inside. Everyone in the office looked up at the sound.
"Kaien, welcome back. Good work today," Shiba Miyako greeted him naturally, her voice gentle. "How was the Lieutenant's meeting?"
Kaien replied with a look of helplessness. "The meeting? Same as always. Nothing new, mostly just going through the motions. Where's Tsukasa?"
"Right here!"
Tsukasa flicked the power switch to turn off the console, tucked it into his robes, and stood up with a raised hand.
A moment later, the group sat around the square table in the center of the office. Kaien's expression turned serious.
"Regarding the abnormal hollow activity Tsukasa mentioned previously, I brought it up at the meeting, and the Lieutenants had a discussion."
"Nemu Kurotsuchi, the Lieutenant of the Twelfth Division, gave the following opinion: The active movement of hollows is a normal periodic phenomenon, and there is no abnormality beyond conventional understanding."
"Some Lieutenants believe the rise in casualty rates is simply a standard occurrence, suggesting at most that some members of the Thirteenth Division are lacking in daily training or have become lax in their combat resolve."
"A normal phenomenon? Lax resolve? That's far too dismissive of a conclusion!" Kotsubaki Sentaro slammed the table, making the teacups rattle. "Our division's casualty rate only dropped after we adopted new tactics. Tsukasa's report clearly pointed out such obvious issues!"
"Whose mouth is so foul? It makes my blood boil!" Kotetsu Kiyone's face was flushed with anger.
Shiba Kaien shook his head, his expression grim. "I raised an objection at the meeting as well. To address it, Lieutenant Nemu sent a message back to her division and presented the statistical data from the Spiritual Wave Measurement Research Department during the meeting."
"The interaction between Hueco Mundo, the Living World, and the Soul Society isn't constant. From a long-term perspective, a short-term increase in hollow numbers can indeed be viewed as a normal fluctuation. From the professional standpoint of the Research and Development Division, her conclusion is logically sound."
"As for those Lieutenants who attributed the issue to individual differences between hollows or Shinigamis... while that is the most direct and effortless inference, one cannot say it is entirely wrong. After all, most divisions only keep statistics on those killed in action. Very few people, like Tsukasa, bother to specifically track injury rates."
A death was an irreparable loss and thus recorded in detail. But injuries—especially non-fatal ones—were often seen in traditional thinking as an unavoidable cost of battle.
The injury rate was a line Tsukasa Suō had set for himself to maintain constant vigilance. He wasn't sure of the exact timing of Metastacia's appearance, only that it occurred after Rukia Kuchiki joined the division. It was also possible that it might attack members of other divisions instead of the Thirteenth. West Rukongai was under the joint jurisdiction of several of the higher-numbered divisions. If possible, Tsukasa hoped there wouldn't be too many casualties before he dealt with it.
"It's fine. My intention was only to give the other divisions a heads-up," Tsukasa said calmly. He didn't feel frustrated that his meticulously written report had been overlooked.
Let alone questioning his report—to him, even if others thought he was just seeking attention, it didn't matter. He was simply doing what he wanted to do, nothing more.
Shiba Kaien smiled and encouraged him in a warm tone, "Tsukasa, don't be discouraged. At least the Lieutenants of the Eighth and Tenth Divisions acknowledged your report and said they would take the issue seriously. They also agreed after the meeting to share casualty rates from hollow missions with our division periodically so we can monitor the situation together."
"That's enough."
Tsukasa Suō wasn't harboring any "savior" complex. He was simply trying his best to do what he could within his capacity. The average division members might just be ordinary soldiers within the vast system of the Seireitei, but behind every name, there was usually a life. After spending so much time with the members under his command, they had already gained weight in his heart. He couldn't remain indifferent. He would rather waste a bit of time than face the grief of others. Even if these recent anomalies were just him overthinking things, it wasn't like he had anything better to do.
"We don't care about what other divisions do; the Thirteenth Division will do things our own way," Kaien stated firmly, his eyes full of trust. "The division supports you! It's just that you'll have to work a bit harder than usual, Tsukasa."
"That's right, Tsukasa. We've all seen your hard work," Shiba Miyako added with a gentle nod and a soft smile. "Trust your own judgment."
"Same here!" Kotsubaki Sentaro and Kotetsu Kiyone shouted almost simultaneously, raising their hands.
"Guys, stop it. This is getting cheesy!" Tsukasa laughed and waved them off. "I'm really fine!"
"You brat, what kind of attitude is that?" Kaien raised an eyebrow. "You're not going to appreciate people being nice to you? Take this!"
Kaien's large hand reached out toward Tsukasa's head.
"Too slow!" Tsukasa reacted instantly, jumping up and easily dodging the swipe.
However, a moment later, his body was flanked and pinned by two people wearing mischievous grins. That originally smooth black hair was ruffled into a mess in the blink of an eye, losing every bit of its usual neatness.