Restricted Death

Chapter 189 Punish Me
When Ise Nanao returned to Matsumoto Rangiku's house, she found her asleep on the floor, which calmed her previously complicated emotions considerably.

Maybe it's true, as Gin Ichimaru said, that she'll be fine once she sobers up.

She carried Matsumoto Rangiku back to bed, tidied up the house for her, and poured her a glass of water, placing it beside her bed.

After doing all this, Qixu left.

Instead of returning to the 8th Division, she went straight to the 10th Division barracks, and the person on duty did not stop her when they saw that she was the vice-captain of the 8th Division.

The corridor of the 10th Division barracks was exceptionally empty in the afternoon. Sunlight slanted in, cutting large patches of bright light on the polished floor, intertwining with deep shadows to form geometric patterns. An almost stagnant silence filled the air, with only the soft sound of her footsteps on the floor.

Ise Nanao walked through the fairly familiar corridor and headed straight for the captain's office. The corridor was unusually quiet, and the afternoon sun slanted through the high windows, cutting through the space and casting long, distinct shadows on the polished wooden floor.

"Enter."

After knocking, a calm voice came from inside.

The young captain of the 10th Division, Nobuo Tachikawa, sat at his desk. His handsome and clean-cut face made Nanao Ise doubt Rangiku's accusation of being a "scumbag" once again.

"Vice-Captain Ise?"

Xin seemed quite surprised to see that it was her, but he also gave a friendly smile.

"Is there a problem?"

Xin put down his pen, leaned forward slightly to show his attention, his posture natural, without any defensiveness or strangeness.

By all accounts, Captain Tachikawa doesn't seem like a person of low character. What on earth happened...?

Ise Nanao was momentarily stunned. After a brief silence, she spoke calmly and casually, "Excuse me, Captain Tachikawa, I'm looking for Rangiku. Isn't she in the barracks?"

"Looking for Matsumoto?" Shin's expression remained unchanged as he casually replied, "I gave her a few days off. She's either at home or out having fun during this time."

"..."

Qi Xu's heart stirred slightly, but a faint smile appeared on her face at just the right moment: "It's really rare that you would give her a day off. What excuse did she come up with this time? Aren't you afraid that she just made up an excuse to slack off, or does she really have something to do?"

Xin said, "It's nothing. We had a fight, and seeing that she wasn't in a good mood, I let her rest for a few days."

Ise Nanao was taken aback by his words, and she continued to ask, "Arguing?"

Xin nodded gently: "Didn't she tell you? We often argue."

Ise Nanao remained silent, but Rangiku had indeed told him something similar, about her "grudge" with Captain Tachikawa.

"You and Rangiku... just had a fight?"

As soon as she said it, Qi Xu felt a pang of regret; she seemed to have revealed something.

As expected, Xin paused slightly after hearing this, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

The room fell silent for a few seconds.

"How is she?" Xin asked.

Now that she had spoken her mind and her purpose for coming had been guessed, Ise Nanao decided to stop hiding her intentions and took a deep breath, saying, "Captain Tachikawa, I didn't mean to conceal anything or try to trick you into revealing information... As Rangiku's friend, I want to know what happened between you and Rangiku."

The letter countered, "Didn't she tell you?"

Looking at the young captain before her, whose features were clear and whose temperament was gentle and calm, Ise Nanao pondered for a moment and then said, "When she came to our squad to find me today, I wasn't there. When I got to her house, she had already drunk a lot of alcohol and looked terrible... In addition, she also said some things about you."

“It’s not exactly a nice thing to say,” Xin said.

Ise Nanao remained silent.

Xin leaned back in his chair, looked at the intelligent and beautiful woman, and said, "The conflict between her and me this time is indeed quite significant, but it's a matter between us."

This also means that she should not interfere anymore.

After all, the other party was the captain. Unless Ise Nanao had conclusive evidence that the other party had done something disgraceful to Matsumoto Rangiku, she could not possibly question the other party under any circumstances.

The laws of Soul Society are extremely strict in their constraints on Shinigami, and Ise Nanao didn't want to cause trouble for her captain.

Ise Nanao's gaze shifted several times before finally settling into a calm clarity. She bowed slightly and took her leave.

After the vice-captain of the Eighth Division left, the office fell silent again.

Shin maintained his reclining posture, his gaze fixed on the closed door, as if he could see Ise Nanao's departing figure through the door panel. After a moment, he casually propped his legs up on the wide desk, sinking into the large chair in an extremely relaxed, even somewhat languid, posture, his fingertips unconsciously tapping the armrests.

These past few days, with Matsumoto Rangiku and Hinamori suddenly absent from the team, the quietness has indeed made him feel somewhat uneasy.

Although everything in the 10th Division continued to operate as usual without these two people, Shin inevitably felt a little bored.

Fortunately, Hinamori should be back soon.

The reason Shin felt this way was that he had been paying attention to the changes in the system interface; Hinamori's favorability rating, which had dropped considerably, had actually risen back up on its own.

The girl seemed to have convinced herself all by herself.

Am I considered to be favored and therefore fearless?
As for Matsumoto Rangiku, her popularity plummeted after that incident, and it's unlikely to recover in the short term.

the next morning.

As Tachikawa Shin stepped into the 10th Division barracks, the air still carried the cool scent of morning dew.

He went straight to the captain's office, ready to start his day's work. Matsumoto Rangiku's absence directly resulted in many documents and tasks that originally fell under the vice captain's purview piling up on his desk. Without the adjutant who often slacked off but did indeed share a lot of trivial matters, Shin had to do everything himself, and his workload increased significantly.

He had just sat down behind the large desk, his fingertips barely touching the cold files, when the heavy office door was suddenly flung open with a loud crash!

A petite figure, bathed in the bright sunlight and slightly panting from running, instantly brightened the somewhat somber space like a lively fawn bursting into a tranquil forest. "Captain! I'm back!"

Hinamori Momo's face was beaming with a radiant smile of reunion after a long separation. Her eyes curved into crescents, and her cheeks were flushed with a healthy blush from running. She looked like a plump, juicy peach, radiating youthful vitality.

"Captain, have you missed me these past few days?"

Hinamori Momo asked playfully, her hands behind her back, leaning slightly forward. Sunlight streamed through the window, bathing her in a warm golden glow. Her smile was as bright as ever, as if the unpleasantness of the past few days had never happened.

"Maybe," Xin replied casually.

"Eh?" Hinamori's bright smile froze for a moment, then a hint of naive dissatisfaction appeared on her face. Her small mouth pouted slightly, and her cheeks puffed out in anger. "I've been thinking about the captain the whole time!"

"You think I've been out playing for so long?"

"hey-hey."

Hinamori seemed to have her secret thoughts exposed, and immediately put away her dissatisfaction, replacing it with a flattering, playful expression. She gracefully walked around the large desk and stood next to Shin's chair. In a few steps, she was right next to Shin's chair, so close that she could almost feel his presence. She reached out her slightly cool hand and naturally grasped Shin's wrist, which was resting on the armrest, and said with a hint of coquettishness, "Don't you know why I didn't come back, Captain?"

Xin raised an eyebrow slightly upon hearing this and glanced at her sideways.

Hinamori paused, seemingly sensing Shin's displeasure. She immediately abandoned the idea of ​​continuing the topic, quickly leaning forward slightly, getting even closer to Shin's body, a scent mixed with sunlight and a girl's unique fragrance wafting over her.

"I know I was wrong, Captain..." she admitted softly, her voice even softer, with a hint of cautious flattery, her long eyelashes trembling slightly.

Seeing that the letter seemed unmoved, she pursed her lips, suddenly leaned close to his ear, and whispered, "How about you punish me?"

Her voice was very soft, with a sweet, cloying tone at the end, like a feather brushing against the heart. She pouted slightly, but her eyes were bright and staring straight at Xin. There was no fear in her eyes, but rather something that Xin couldn't quite figure out.

punish?

This word, like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, created ripples in Xin's heart.

He inexplicably recalled Matsumoto Rangiku's humiliated and resentful gaze, and Rukia's broken sobs... But the Hinamori Momo before him was like a fawn offering its neck to a hunter, with complete trust and a sacrificial passion.

Xin shifted his posture somewhat uncomfortably, frowned slightly, and feigned displeasure, saying, "What nonsense are you spouting? Don't you know when and where this is!"

Seeing him like this, Hinamori's smile deepened. She held the letter in her hand, while her other hand casually lifted a corner of the hem of her shihachi uniform at the waist...

For some reason, Shin thought of the time a few days ago when Matsumoto Rangiku was tied up. These were two completely different feelings; the former excited him, but now it gave him a different kind of pleasure.

She is right here; she "belongs" to him.

He easily succumbed to temptation.

"team leader……"

Hinamori Momo's voice rang out again, with a slight, almost imperceptible tremor and a deeper longing, like the softest sigh, calling for the mercy of the one in control.

Xin pulled her completely into his arms, letting her sit against him.

Hinamori Hidemi frowned slightly, but a dreamy look quickly appeared in her eyes.

#
At noon, Toshiro Hitsugaya finished his morning patrol and returned to the 10th Division barracks, still smelling faintly of dust. Just as he turned the corner of the corridor, he saw a familiar figure carrying a stack of documents that almost blocked his view, walking briskly towards him.

He immediately went to greet you: "When did you get back? Where have you been these past few days? I didn't see you when I went back to Rukongai."

Hinamori Momo stopped and saw Hitsugaya. A relaxed smile appeared on her face, and she replied casually, "The captain gave me a few days off, so I just wandered around and relaxed." She adjusted the position of the documents in her arms to get a better view.

Hitsugaya seemed quite speechless: "You bastard, don't think you can do whatever you want just because you're close to the captain. The captain is too lenient with you. How can he just give you a day off to go out and have fun like that?"

Hinamori replied happily, "I'm just close to the captain, what's it to you!"

She even made a face at Hitsugaya.

Hitsugaya crossed his arms and said, "Don't get cocky. I'm your boss, too. If you upset me, I'll make sure you don't get any vacation for the next few months. Your recent days off are just a way to make up for your future vacation days. I don't think the captain will say anything."

Hinamori glared at him and said, "You dare!"

"Why don't I dare?"

Hinamori was so angry that she raised her foot to kick him, but Hitsugaya nimbly dodged it.

After the commotion, Hitsugaya said again, "Fine, I'm magnanimous, I'll let you off the hook."

Hinamori suddenly remembered something and asked, "By the way, I haven't seen Vice Captain Matsumoto all day. Where is she? Did she skip work again?"

Hitsugaya said helplessly, "It's strange, you just went on vacation and she went on vacation right after you left. And now my workload has increased dramatically. I'm a third seat officer doing the work of a vice captain every day. If the captain is good at recognizing people, he might as well just promote me, the adjutant, to the head position."

Hinamori asked in surprise, "Vice-Captain Matsumoto also took leave. Why?"

Hitsugaya shrugged and pondered, "I don't know. The captain didn't elaborate, and Vice-Captain Matsumoto didn't mention it when he left either."

He stroked his chin and analyzed, "However, since the captain approved her leave, she must have something she really had to deal with, right? It can't just be that she's being lazy."

In his view, if Vice Captain Matsumoto simply wanted to take a break and asked the captain for leave, the captain would never approve it.

"Oh."

Hinamori nodded thoughtfully.

Or just after I left...

She quickly shook her head, trying to dispel the absurd thoughts in her mind; she felt herself becoming quite easily frightened.

"I've gone to deliver some documents."

(End of this chapter)