The wind carried a fallen cherry blossom to Takashi’s face, but his gaze traveled up the hand on his own hand, finally taking in the face, more beautiful than late cherry blossoms, fully.
“Hello, Shinomiya-san.”
“…”
Takashi slowly reined in the sharp edge in his heart, calmed his spiritual pressure, and at the same time, naturally released his aggressive drawing stance.
Seeing this, the newcomer also withdrew her hand and said softly, “I came at an inopportune time; I apologize for interrupting your training.”
“It’s fine. Although it’s inopportune, Captain Unohana made a normal choice.”
Takashi didn’t take offense, only showing a fleeting surprise at the newcomer’s appearance.
As he spoke, he glanced at the source of the rustling sound.
Near a tree not far away, Fourth Division Lieutenant Kotetsu Isane, whose figure rivaled a European supermodel, stood there looking flustered.
“Let’s talk somewhere else.”
His training forcibly interrupted, Takashi picked up his water cup and towel and left the field.
Unohana and Isane followed behind.
“Captain, did I accidentally cause you trouble again?”
“No, it’s not trouble to protect my subordinates.”
“Captain…!”
Unohana’s words were like a warm spring breeze, soothing Isane’s unease and deeply moving her.
But the next sentence was not so pleasant.
“If I had allowed the other party to reflexively draw his sword and accidentally kill you, who made the noise, that would have been the real trouble.”
“Eh?!”
…
Dormitory No. 001.
Takashi tidied up a bit and poured a cup of coffee for both the Captain and Lieutenant of the Fourth Division.
“This is a drink from the Human World, isn’t it? I had the pleasure of tasting it at a tea party held by the First Division, but yours tastes even better.”
Unohana praised.
Takashi raised his teacup and blew on the hot liquid; the rich, sweet aroma filled his nostrils, and his mood couldn’t help but settle down.
This was mocha he specifically asked Yuyu to order from the Human World; it wasn’t high-end, just a casual drink to replenish sugar and relieve mental stress, but such inexpensive goods often gained widespread favor.
“By the way, Lieutenant Kotetsu has been restless since just now. Is she feeling unwell?”
“Ah? No, nothing, please don’t mind me!”
Isane quickly waved her hand, her expression very unnatural.
Takashi raised an eyebrow.
Just then, someone else pushed the door open.
It was Rindō.
Seeing two strangers sitting in the room, Rindō paused slightly.
It wasn’t hard to recognize their identities from their haori and Lieutenant’s armbands.
He nodded to them as a greeting, then came and sat beside Takashi.
“Let me introduce you, this is my friend Rindō Yū. I specifically called him here to be a third-party witness.”
Takashi said, pointing to Rindō.
“Witness… It seems I don’t need to explain my purpose too much.”
As the topic shifted, the atmosphere in the room subtly changed.
The elegant smile on Unohana’s face gained a hint of seriousness.
“It’s about the medicine, isn’t it?”
Takashi spoke bluntly.
“Regarding this, I don’t plan to play dumb, because Ōmaeda will mess things up sooner or later.”
“That being said, Lieutenant Ōmaeda, out of a sense of responsibility, will inevitably control the situation within an acceptable range, and since you only sold the medicine to him, it’s difficult to trace anything he did with the medicine back to you.”
“Furthermore, the medicine was initially defined as a laxative, a frivolous and vulgar nature that would hardly trigger others’ sensitive nerves, reducing the sense of crisis sparked by illegal drugs to a minimum.”
“That’s why you can sit here so calmly, facing me, the Captain of the Fourth Division, who holds supreme authority over medical affairs, without the slightest fear.”
Unohana took over the conversation.
Rindō and Isane, hearing the inside story for the first time, couldn’t help but look at Takashi.
The person involved, however, remained unfazed, only a flicker of a different light in his eyes.
The words he spoke next instantly made the atmosphere tense.
“Is this the result of discussions at the Captains’ meeting, or Captain Unohana’s own idea?”
Unohana smiled slightly, appearing completely unaggressive. Get faster updates on g.com.
“Regarding this, I also don’t plan to play dumb. This is my idea, but Captain Aizen used the reasons within it to persuade everyone, so it was finally decided that I would be responsible for handling this incident.”
“Are you going to issue me a formal business license?”
“If you’re willing to specialize in potion making, the Fourth Division can vouch for you. This would also grant you legitimate operating rights. In exchange, the potions you make can only be sold to the Fourth Division. If this is acceptable, we can sign the spiritual law contract document now.”
Saying this, Unohana took a document tied with a red string from Isane and placed it on the table.
Takashi curiously picked it up and glanced at it.
The content was indeed exactly as she said, but the price had plummeted.
“One hundred kan? Ōmaeda paid twenty thousand for one! Even at black market prices, it shouldn’t be cut by two hundred times in one go, right? Captain Unohana, I think you need a check-up to see if your heart has turned black.”
“For you to say such a thing, your heart isn’t the only thing that must be black. Even the blood in your veins must be black, don’t you think?”
Unohana sighed slightly, seemingly feeling genuinely helpless about being slandered as a bad person by a bad person.
“What kind of talk is that! To so belittle the future successor of the Seireitei, the pillar of the Gotei 13, this is not the magnanimity a senior should have!”
Takashi’s expression was stern.
“Do you know that the Shinigami Women’s Association has a weekly budget of only 250,000 kan, twelve million annually, while you’ve already earned at least five million kan from Lieutenant Ōmaeda?”
“Of course, that’s not the key.”
“The key is that your product is essentially water with zero cost.”
Unohana watched as Takashi subtly reined in his sharpness, putting on a nonchalant facade, and found it somewhat amusing.
“Though I don’t know where you found it, I know exactly what kind of water you’re using.”
“Honestly, Captain Zaraki was furious when he learned that his squad members were drinking someone else’s bathwater as medicine. He nearly fought Captain Soi Fon over it, and I think you know perfectly well who caused all this.”
“Hmm.”
Takashi took a sip from his teacup, then picked up the document and glanced at it again, his expression a little displeased.
“But this price is too low.”
“If you think it’s too low, there’s another option.”
“I’m all ears.”
“Sell the water source you discovered to the Fourth Division.”
Unohana’s smile deepened.