Restricted Death

Chapter 135 The Flower Under the Moon

Chapter 135 The Flower Under the Moon
The battle between Shin and Kenpachi Zaraki caused quite a stir, eventually attracting the attention of the First Division.

After learning the specific reasons, the Captain-Commander criticized the Eleventh Division and demanded that the Eleventh Division take responsibility for the repair costs of the damaged dojo.

However, the commander-in-chief did inquire about the outcome of the battle.

Madarame Ikkaku did not hide anything.

The Fourth Division also quickly learned of this matter.

"Tachikawa won, right?"

After learning this from Kotetsu Isane, Unohana Retsu sounded somewhat surprised.

“Yes.” Yuu-on nodded and said, “Someone from the First Division came just now, saying they wanted to criticize Shin’s behavior, but Shin wasn’t in the barracks because he was leading a team on a field mission.”

Retsu Unohana fell silent for a moment upon hearing this, then suddenly asked, "Why...why would he go to the Eleventh Division to fight Captain Zaraki?"

Kotetsu Isane explained for Shin: "Actually, Madarame, the third seat of the 11th Division, has invited Shin several times. Shin had always made excuses to decline before, but this time he probably couldn't resist."

Unohana Retsu sat there silently.

If Shin is truly unwilling, then no matter how many times the Eleventh Division comes, it will be useless.

If that's the case, then why did he go?
Kotetsu Isane added, "I think this shouldn't be blamed on Shin. Captain Zaraki's temperament is well-known. If Captain Zaraki had forced Shin to spar with him after he went to the Eleventh Division, Shin wouldn't have been able to refuse."

"After Tachikawa returns, have him come to see me."

"……Yes."

Kotetsu Isane pursed his lips and replied, then bowed and prepared to leave the office.

"Never mind," Retsu Unohana said again.

"No need."

"..."

The office fell silent as the door closed.

The letter arrived in the afternoon.

I went to Kotetsu Isane's office and gave a brief report on the mission.

Yuune also told Shin about the attitude of the First Division, and Retsu Unohana also learned about it.

"What's the captain's attitude?" Xin asked.

Yongyin pondered, "I'm not quite sure either. He wasn't angry, nor did he seem indifferent... In short, it's very strange."

Xin chuckled: "I understand."

"What do you unserstand?"

Xin stepped forward and hugged her, saying only, "It's nothing."

Yongyin shyly tried to push him away: "What are you doing? This is the barracks!"

"I didn't do anything."

"And your hand..."

Inside the captain's office on the other side.

Unohana Retsu sat alone at her desk, the spring sunshine casting half the room in slanting light, making her figure appear as still as ancient ink.

She seemed to sense something and turned her head to look out the wooden lattice window.

The cherry blossom branches hanging from the eaves trembled slightly in the breeze, and a few petals brushed against the edge of the table before quietly falling into silence.

……

Kotetsu Isane finally broke free from Shin's embrace and gave him a reproachful glare.

She straightened her disheveled clothes and smoothed her hair.

"I still have something to tell you."

"what?"

Xin walked to the cabinet next to him and poured himself a glass of water.

"You really defeated Captain Zaraki?"

"It's just a friendly sparring match."

"That's pretty awesome too."

Yongyin pursed her lips and said, "I never expected you to be so strong, especially since you haven't been a Grim Reaper for long."

While drinking water, Xin said, "It's not enough."

He looked at Kotetsu Isane, thought for a moment, and said to her, "Come to my place tonight."

Kotetsu Isane blushed again: "I'm not going."

"I have business."

"I do not believe."

Xin said seriously, "I have a way to make you stronger too."

Kotetsu Isane looked doubtful: "Really?"

"When did I lie to you?"

"Then why did you say you wouldn't do anything, but your hands..."

Kotetsu Isane eventually agreed. In fact, even if Shin hadn't told her about a way to make her stronger, she wouldn't have been able to refuse.

However, fearing being seen, she didn't choose to leave the Fourth Division with Shin, but instead stayed in the office to handle some official business. She wasn't lazy and rarely let team affairs pile up; after a while, she had nothing to do and lay on her desk, lost in thought.

Should I go home first, take a shower, and change my clothes...?

If I go home, Qingyin will definitely tease me again.

She gently sniffed her sleeve, then her hair, and only felt relieved after confirming there was no odor.

After all, she had just started this relationship with Xin, and she was still very concerned about her image in Xin's eyes.

She thought again, "Xin's method of making her stronger is probably just a lie. Aren't there only a few ways for a Grim Reaper to become stronger? Is there anything else?"
I guess he just wants to... you know... with her.

As she thought about it, Yongyin's face started to flush again.

The sky outside the window had completely darkened, the bright moonlight streamed into the room, and it was completely quiet outside. I guessed that the rest of the team members had all left.

Yuon cupped her cheeks in her hands before getting up, picking up her Zanpakuto, and leaving.

As Yongyin closed the office door, she turned around and saw a figure sitting in the corridor of the team dormitory.

It's the captain.

The moonlight, like silk gauze soaked in ice water, silently covered the tiled roof of the Fourth Division barracks.

Unohana Retsu sat there quietly, with wine utensils beside her. Her slender hand held a white porcelain wine cup, which she paused in mid-air, about to drink but not quite. A smile seemed to linger on her lips, but it was fainter than the liquid in the cup. The sparse moonlight spilled over her dark hair, hiding the faint trace of melancholy in the depths of her wide sleeves.

"Yune."

Unohana turned her head to look at him, a gentle smile on her face.

Yongyin was momentarily stunned, then her cheeks flushed slightly.

The captain is so beautiful...

she thought.

"team leader."

Yuon sat down awkwardly beside Unohana and joined her in appreciating the moonlight.

"Captain, what brings you to such a mood today?"

"Why..." Retsu Unohana looked up at the full moon in the night sky and asked herself the question.

"I just suddenly realized that I might not have this kind of opportunity again in the future."

Yongyin asked, puzzled, "What does the captain mean by this?"

Unohana Retsu smiled gently and said in a slow voice, "There's something you don't know yet."

"..."

"In order to allow his nephew, Shiba Kaien, to become the captain, Captain Shiba of the 10th Division made a request to the Captain-Commander and the Central 46, and agreed to step down as captain of the 10th Division in three years."

Yongyin was stunned by what she heard. She didn't understand why the captain would suddenly say these things to her.

However, the captain's words cleared up some of her previous doubts, such as why Shiba Kaien was able to serve as the captain of the Third Division.

"Shiba Isshin did not serve as the captain of the 10th Division for very long. He was in his prime and his abilities were not bad. If that were all, the Captain-Commander and the 46th Chamber might not have agreed. Therefore, Shiba Isshin also put forward a condition."

Yongyin listened quietly to the captain's words.

"Three years from now, someone will take his place, and that person..."

Unohana Retsu paused slightly, her smile undiminished as she looked at Yuune.

"It's about Tachikawa. This matter was also an agreement between Tachikawa and Captain Shiba."

"..."

Yongyin stared blankly for a long time before opening her eyes wide.

Seeing her reaction, Unohana Retsu looked away and continued to gaze at the full moon in the night sky.

"That means that in three years... Shin will leave the Fourth Division to become the captain of the Tenth Division..." Yuune murmured softly.

"Ah."

Yongyin suddenly felt a bit confused. Why hadn't Shin told her about this...? Was it because it was a secret between the captains and they couldn't tell her?
Three years... only three years left, just three years...

Three years is too short for them, the Grim Reapers.

"This...this is a good thing for Xin, isn't it?"

After a long silence, Yuu-on slowly said, "Captain, I will not leave the Fourth Division, nor will I leave you."

Unohana Retsu smiled upon hearing this, "Isane, I know."

"..."

"But Yongyin, do you know why it's a three-year period?"

Yongyin shook her head, bewildered.

Unohana Retsu gently stroked the wine glass in her palm.

"Tachikawa told Captain Shiba that he still has some things to do in the Fourth Division."

"What is it?" Yongyin asked instinctively.

Unohana Retsu simply smiled and did not reply.

Yuon began to wonder if it was because of Shin's previous statement about changing the atmosphere within the Fourth Division.