Bleach: I Love Making Friends

However, he didn't forget the main reason he was here.

After asking a young member of the Fourth Division about the location of the Ninth Division's injured, he made his way over.

Shūhei, being a high-ranking seated officer, wasn't in the general ward with the ordinary squad members but had a private room.

Haruki knocked on the door and entered only after hearing a "Come in" from inside.

As soon as he stepped in, he saw Shūhei lying on the hospital bed.

Shūhei was indeed seriously injured, with most of his body wrapped in bandages and a strong medicinal smell emanating from him.

Haruki placed some fruit on the table and sat down by the bed.

"Even though I heard the news that you were alive, seeing you walk in safe and sound..."

Shūhei said softly, "It's really good."

"Almost didn't make it," Haruki said sincerely. "I was almost dead, but Captain Aizen showed up at the last moment."

"You're lying, aren't you?" Shūhei glanced at him, then looked away. "I heard it was you who took down that Hollow."

"Just luck," Haruki shook his head.

"Honestly, I'm no match for him."

"Being able to do that much is still impressive. You... did well."

At this point, Haruki noticed that Shūhei's favorability toward him had risen to 80, which meant he had permanently acquired the Black Sun ability.

He couldn't help but chuckle softly. "I might even get promoted to vice-captain because of this."

"Is Vice-Captain Gin going to the Third Division?"

"Yeah, he's had the skills to be a captain for a while now. There just wasn't an opening before."

Haruki said casually, "You'd better recover quickly. These past few days have been way too intense. I feel like drowning myself in alcohol right now."

"Making a patient drink alcohol... isn't that a bit too much?"

"Mr. Hisagi..."

Suddenly, a voice came from the door, and a short Shinigami walked in.

He seemed surprised to see Haruki and quickly lowered his head.

"Mr. Hisagi, it's time to change your bandages."

"Hey, Hanatarō, we're both seated officers. No need to be so formal, right?" Shūhei said.

"Th-That's not okay," Hanatarō waved his hands nervously. "I'm just from the Fourth Division..."

"What's wrong with the Fourth Division?" Haruki asked him.

"Uh..." Hanatarō became even more flustered when Haruki spoke to him, momentarily at a loss for words.

"Doctors and frontline fighters aren't that different. In fact, doctors might even be more important," Haruki said to Hanatarō.

He took the opportunity to check Hanatarō's soul ability.

Healing Wave: Can release a wave of healing light that can pass between multiple people. Those touched by the wave will rapidly recover from injuries.

So it's a group healing ability, similar to Kaidō. Perfect, you're definitely someone I want to be friends with.

"Personally, I find it quite strange that the Gotei 13 pays the Fourth Division so little."

It's not unusual for combat officers to earn more than medics, but the Fourth Division isn't just underpaid—they're also treated as low-status, sometimes even doing janitorial work.

"N-No, don't say that," Hanatarō seemed startled and quickly said, "We don't have the talent for combat. If we can't fight on the frontlines, it's normal for our pay to be low. This is a decision made by the Central 46!"

"Be careful with your words," Shūhei also advised.

"You guys are way too cautious," Haruki clicked his tongue, then turned to Hanatarō. "By the way, isn't it time to change Shūhei's bandages?"

"Ah, right!" Hanatarō quickly took out some medicine from his bag, then glanced at Haruki.

Haruki stood up politely.

"Alright, I'll leave you to it. I'll head out now."

Haruki stood up and walked out of the room.

After leaving the ward, he didn't leave immediately but wandered around, chatting with a few seated officers from the Fourth Division.

The people in the Fourth Division were quite easy to befriend. Perhaps it was because they were usually treated so poorly that when seated officers from other divisions showed them respect, they immediately felt a sense of goodwill.

What surprised Haruki was that, aside from Hanatarō, the other seated officers in the Fourth Division all had combat-related abilities.

For example, Chain Lightning, Blizzard, Heavy Strike, Flame Storm, Dust Storm...

It seemed like these people were all frustrated by their lack of combat talent. No wonder they were so respectful when they saw members from other divisions—they probably wished they could fight on the frontlines too.

Unfortunately, he didn't get to see the captain or vice-captain of the Fourth Division. He wondered what abilities Isane and Unohana might have.

Thinking about it, there might be a benefit to becoming the vice-captain of the Fifth Division under Aizen.

It would give him more opportunities to interact with the captains and vice-captains of other divisions.

The Gotei 13 had something called the Captain's Meeting, where captains and vice-captains would gather at the First Division for discussions.

Of course, it was the captains who did the talking, while the vice-captains waited in another room.

This would give Haruki more chances to interact with people from other divisions.

Another important point was that becoming a vice-captain would elevate him to a "captain-level" status in the Seireitei, making him a big name.

He might even gain a lot of admirers.

Heh, Haruki fantasized about his future and couldn't help but grin.

"What a silly smile."

Someone in front of him commented.

Haruki snapped out of it and saw the blonde, busty woman standing before him. "Rangiku-san, what brings you here?"

"What do you mean, 'what brings me here'?" Matsumoto Rangiku said. "I heard you guys got injured on your mission, so I came to check on you. But the first thing I see is you grinning like an idiot."

"I'm fine," Haruki sighed. "Shūhei's the one who got seriously hurt. I just came from his room."

"That guy... really has bad luck."

"By the way, I heard you killed the captain of the Third Division. Is that true?"

"What?! That rumor's already reached you? And it's getting more exaggerated by the minute!" Haruki couldn't help but complain. "Next thing you know, they'll say I one-shot a captain!"

"So, what really happened?"

"The captain of the Third Division was parasitized by a Hollow. His soul was fighting against the Hollow, and then Captain Aizen severely wounded him. He barely managed to escape."

"That's when I took him down. I just got lucky. There's no way I could beat a captain in a real fight!"