Restricted Death

Chapter 129 The Rust of Compassion
When Qingyin returned home in the evening, she saw her older sister and her eyes lit up immediately. She quickly went over to her.

Yongyin was preparing dinner when she saw her younger sister return. She simply smiled at her and said, "You're back."

Kotetsu Kiyone had a strange smile on her face, her eyes darting around as she looked at her older sister without saying a word.

Yongyin felt uncomfortable under Qingyin's gaze. She naturally knew why Qingyin had that expression, and although her face flushed slightly, she still tried to remain calm: "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Qingyin chuckled and asked, "How did it feel last night?"

Yongyin's face immediately turned bright red. She glared at her sister reproachfully, thinking, "How could you ask such a question?"

But Qingyin wasn't about to let her sister off so easily. She grabbed her sleeve and continued to press, "Tell me quickly, what happened last night?"

Yongyin looked away and stammered, "What do you mean, how?"

"Aren't you just asking the obvious? You didn't come home last night, did you sleep on the streets?"

"...I, I slept in the barracks."

Qingyin looked at him with a "who would believe that?" expression.

Yongyin coughed lightly and said, "Don't ask anymore."

Qingyin immediately became dissatisfied: "Fine, sis! All that talking to you these past two days, and now that you've gotten what you wanted, you're just kicking me aside, huh?"

Yongyin was embarrassed and annoyed: "You little brat, why do you say such awful things... What do you mean I got what I wanted? I didn't expect... anything like that!"

Qingyin's eyes immediately lit up: "So, you slept together last night?!"

"..."

Yongyin realized she had spoken out of turn and was so embarrassed that she couldn't speak. She lowered her head and looked extremely awkward.

Qingyin kept asking, "What did it feel like? Did it hurt? How long did it last? How many times? Did you use protection?"

When Yongyin heard her ask such private questions, which were really too embarrassing to hear, her mind went blank.

How to answer this?

Am I supposed to describe every single word of how I felt last night?

Even now, just thinking about it makes Yongyin's heart tremble and her face turn red.

But Qingyin seemed determined to get to the bottom of things, which made Yongyin both embarrassed and helpless.

She muttered under her breath, "Don't ask such nonsense. How can you say something like that?"

Qingyin's eyes darted around, then she asked with a grin, "So, did you feel comfortable back then?"

"..."

Yongyin felt like tearing her younger sister's mouth apart. She glared at her, trying to assert her authority as an older sister: "Shut up!"

Qingyin tugged at her arm and pleaded, "Good sister, please tell me! I may never have this experience again in my life, and I'm really curious."

Yongyin's eyes trembled slightly. After a long silence, she finally uttered a very soft sentence: "It's... about the same as what's said in the book..."

"It's mentioned in a book?" Qingyin asked curiously. "What book?"

"It's one of those...books that depict that kind of plot..."

Qingyin said thoughtfully, "So, it feels pretty good then?"

"..."

Yongyin blushed and remained silent.

"Congratulations, sis!" Qingyin said with a smile, "I finally have a brother-in-law."

Yongyin seemed to remember something and then instructed her younger sister, "Don't go around telling anyone about me and... Xin."

Qingyin asked curiously, "What are you making a fuss about?"

She then paused, taken aback: "You two aren't planning on going public?"

Yongyin pursed her lips and said, "It's me... I haven't decided yet."

Qingyin couldn't understand: "You're in a relationship, you've already slept together, what else is there to think about? With your relationship like this, shouldn't the next thing to consider is marriage?"

"...Just don't tell anyone."

#
Another day has passed.

Fourth Division Barracks, Captain's Tea Room.

Kotetsu Isane met his captain, who was making tea, here.

"What's going on between you and Tachikawa?" Unohana Retsu asked her directly upon seeing her.

Kotetsu Isane was startled and stared blankly at his captain.

Could it be that the letter told the captain?
Unohana Retsu said calmly, "Isane, you're not good at hiding your feelings."

"..."

"Why did you choose him?" Unohana asked again.

Kotetsu Isane lowered her head slightly, feeling embarrassed and apologetic, and said, "Captain, I didn't mean to hide it from you... but I can't explain why myself."

Unohana Retsu looked at Isane for a while, then suddenly said to her, "Sit down." Kotetsu Isane obediently and docilely sat down opposite Unohana, watching the captain gently arranging the tea set.

"Yongyin."

"Yes, Captain!"

Retsu Unohana poured her a cup of tea and said slowly, "Over the years, you've been one of the closest people to me."

"..."

Kotetsu Isane was taken aback by what she heard. She thought that the captain was probably going to talk about the matter between her and Shin.

Captain Unohana is the person she respects most, and she has always treated her as an elder over the years.

However, the captain should wish them both well.

"The captain was very good to Yongyin, and Yongyin always remembers it."

"Is that so?" Retsu Unohana responded calmly. Her attitude today was a little strange, unlike her usual gentleness. She seemed to have something on her mind, and her gaze was deep.

“Over the years, I’ve had many vice-captains by my side, but Yongyin, you are the one I’m most satisfied with, or rather, the only one I’m truly satisfied with.”

Yongyin didn't know how to answer.

She said cautiously, "Yamada-senpai is also excellent; he has always been my role model."

She was referring to Seinosuke Yamada, the previous vice-captain of the Fourth Division.

Retsu Unohana said, "You don't need any role models, just be yourself."

"……Yes."

Retsu Unohana picked up her teacup, the tea inside remaining perfectly still without a ripple.

She then said something cryptic: "The peaceful days have lasted too long, and I've become a little dazed, thinking I've forgotten everything."

Yongyin carefully considered her words and cautiously asked, "Captain, what...do you mean by that?"

Unohana Retsu looked up at her and finally revealed a faint smile.

"If one day I leave you..."

Before she could speak, Yongyin exclaimed excitedly, "Captain, are you leaving?!"

Unohana Retsu tilted her head upon hearing this, a half-smile on her face: "Where to?"

Yongyin was stunned again, "Then you just said... said you wanted to leave..."

Unohana Retsu said, "That day will come eventually."

"..."

Yuune pursed her lips and said, "But what will happen to the Fourth Division if you leave? The Fourth Division can't do without you, and neither can the Soul Society, the Seireitei, or the Gotei 13!"

"In this world, no one is indispensable, and no one will stay with anyone forever."

Unohana remained calm, saying, "Even this Seireitei may turn into a wisp of smoke after endless ages."

Yongyin didn't understand why her captain suddenly had these feelings, so she asked again, "So, Captain, you're not leaving, are you?"

Unohana Retsu suddenly chuckled and asked, "Isane, do you think you understand Tachikawa well enough?"

"..."

Kotetsu Isane was stunned for a long time before she said, "I... like being with him, I didn't think too much about it."

“Then your feelings are truly pure.” Retsu Unohana seemed to let out a sigh.

Yongyin's thoughts were in turmoil. She didn't understand why the captain would suddenly say these things, mentioning the letter and making some sentimental remarks that she didn't quite understand either.

This made her feel that the captain didn't seem to support her being with Shin.

Yongyin picked up her teacup, a hint of worry in her eyes.

She lowered her eyes and remained silent for a long time before finally saying, "The captain is the person I admire most, and also one of the most important people to me."

Unohana Retsu simply smiled upon hearing this, "Is that so?"

Yuon continued, "Captain, your strength is immense and your mastery of the Dao is unparalleled. Even if I had another thousand years, I still couldn't catch up with you. You are also a gentle and kind person. You have saved countless lives, and the entire Soul Society remembers your compassion and benevolence."

Unohana Retsu didn't speak again. Her gaze swept over the teacup in her hand. The tea she had just sipped was rippling slightly, as if it were drowning countless unknown asagi.

She sat there, her captain's haori as white as snow, yet the deepest part of the piled-up folds of her clothes held countless souls that had not yet been redeemed.

She spoke as if to herself: "So-called compassion is nothing more than a withered petal between death and rebirth."

The soothing fingertips entwine with the breath of the living, while the blade of the soul-slaying sword is steeped in a thousand years of blood and dew.

So-called compassion, so-called compassion...

Those are not words to praise her.

Her real name had long been known amidst the suppressed cries that were even older than the Thirteen Teams.

(End of this chapter)