“Sorry!
Did I keep you waiting?”
“It’s fine.
I only just got here.”
“And it’s not even past the time we agreed on, so there’s nothing to worry about.”
Sachie-san came hurrying over, and Kosuzu-san and I greeted her gently.
I’d almost called her Ayase-san again.
Still, maybe Sachie-san didn’t like being the last one to arrive, because she looked a little apologetic anyway.
Today was a day off.
Normally I’d spend a day like this doing combat training on my own, training with Captain Unohana, or massaging—well, fondling—my seniors.
But the other day, Sachie-san had asked, “Why don’t the three of us get together once in a while?”
And that was how the three of us ended up here.
It’s already been at least three years since we graduated from Shin’ō Academy.
Maybe it was the effect of actually working in the field, but both of them looked noticeably more mature than they had as students.
“So, do we actually have any plans for today?”
“What!?
Did we need plans!?
I just thought it’d be nice for all of us to get together and have fun again for once…”
“W-Wait, no!
That’s not what I meant at all!”
At Kosuzu-san’s question, Sachie-san somehow looked even more apologetic.
She must have taken it as being scolded for not planning anything.
Time to throw her a lifeline.
“Come on, there’s nothing wrong with having no plan.
Central District One is busy enough that we could make a game out of discovering shops we’ve never seen before.
Doesn’t that sound fun?”
“Y-Yes, Kosuzu-san!
I think that sounds fun too!”
“…I suppose you’re right.”
Looks like everyone climbed aboard my boat.
Now then.
I wonder how many people hear the name Central District One and immediately know what I’m talking about?
I think I’ve mentioned before that Seireitei is divided into districts under the jurisdiction of the thirteen divisions.
The First Division’s territory sits in the centre, and the jurisdictions of the remaining twelve divisions surround it.
The Fourth Division, where I work, has the Fourth District.
Kosuzu-san’s Sixth Division has the Sixth District.
That sort of thing.
Each district tends to contain plenty of facilities that reflect the character of the division responsible for it.
Central District One in particular—also known as the Shin’ō District—contains the First Division barracks, of course, along with a large number of administrative facilities.
And plenty of other businesses and establishments have gathered there to take advantage of all that traffic.
When people from different divisions want somewhere easy to meet, Central District One is often the simplest choice.
There are all sorts of shops too, so “when in doubt, go to Shin’ō District” is apparently a fairly common approach.
That said, wandering around with no goal and hoping to stumble across a good shop was harder than it sounded.
“We’re not finding many good places, are we?”
After walking around for close to an hour, we stopped at a nearby teahouse for a break.
“We don’t have any actual goal, so I suppose that’s only natural.”
“Maybe we should’ve met in the Sixth District instead.
There are lots of good shops there.”
“Sorry, but the shops in the Sixth District are a little much for me…”
Now it was my turn to look apologetic.
The Sixth District is the area under the Sixth Division’s jurisdiction.
One part of it is home to nobles.
Naturally, plenty of merchants gather there too, hoping to benefit from those nobles—
or, to put it less politely, hoping to make a lot of money off them.
There are plenty of excellent shops.
They’re just expensive.
The quality and value usually match the prices, sure, but they’re so high-class that they’re beyond me in several different senses.
The threshold is too high.
So are the prices.
“See, the Fourth Division doesn’t exactly pay much…”
“Huh?
Really?”
“I think our base pay is probably about the same.
But you two are already fighting Hollows, right?
You get hazard pay for that, so your take-home pay ends up higher…
At least, that’s what the seated officers in our division are always complaining about.”
It’s fair enough, I suppose.
If there’s hazard pay, though, I’d really like a skill allowance too.
“O-Okay, then!
Why don’t we just close our eyes and pick somewhere at random!?
Erm…
that shop over there!!”
Sachie-san pointed at random.
At the end of her finger was a kimono shop.
“Oh, that looks rather nice.
Shall we take a look?”
“Yes!
Let’s go!”
Not bad for a completely random choice.
We’d already paid at the teahouse, so we left and headed straight over.
“Oh?
I wasn’t expecting much, but this is actually quite…”
“Wow, this is cute!
I love it…”
Once we actually started looking around, maybe because our expectations had been so low, the shop made a surprisingly good impression.
There was a wide selection, plenty of colour, and the quality was good too.
This was a proper shop.
“They’re all lovely…
but I probably can’t fit into any of them.”
“…”
“…Ah.”
Oh no!
We were finally getting excited, and I went and killed the mood again without reading the room!!
But I can’t help it!
When it comes to clothes, size comes first!
Before design, before anything else, you have to ask whether your size even exists!!
…I’m making myself sad just saying this.
“Oh!
What about this!?”
Sachie-san picked up a tegara, a ribbon-like hair accessory.
“This should be fine for you too, Airi-san!”
“Oh…
yeah.
You’re right…
This would work.”
I took it and checked it myself.
It was a lovely piece.
Size wasn’t an issue, and even a poverty-stricken Soul Reaper like me could afford it.
“Yes, but maybe something a little more…
Wouldn’t this colour suit you better?”
“Y-You think so?”
Kosuzu-san held out the same design in bright red.
I lightly held it up against my hair to see how it looked.
“Does it suit me?”
“Yeah!
This one is much better!!
Nice choice, Kosuzu-san!”
“Fufu.
Well, this much is easy.”
She’s in a good mood now that she’s been praised.
“All right, then I’ll pay for—”
“Ah!
No!
We’re paying for this!”
“What!?
But…”
“This much is fine.
We get allowances too, so let us cover it this once.
All right?
Think of it as a little commemorative gift.”
I hadn’t expected them to buy it for me.
“Then…
I’ll take you up on that.
But it’s so nice, I almost feel like it’d be a waste to actually wear it…”
I looked down at the ribbon in my hands again.
It really was a lovely piece.
Was thinking it was too nice for everyday use just my poor-person mentality showing?
“No!
You have to wear it properly!!”
Sachie-san’s sharp ears caught my mutter.
Before I could argue, she firmly tied it into my hair.
Well.
I didn’t mind.
The next day, my new ribbon was a hit with my coworkers.
Author’s Note
A flag…
maybe?