Restricted Death

Chapter 213 Marry her?

In the courtyard of the Shiba family home, Shin lay leisurely on a deck chair, basking in the sun. He was dressed in casual clothes and looked quite relaxed.

In the center of the courtyard not far from him, a little boy was sweating profusely, holding a wooden sword as tall as him.

"Teacher, I'm exhausted. Can I rest for a while?"

"Have you achieved today's goals?" Xin asked, his eyes still closed, his voice steady yet unquestionable, as he sat on the recliner.

Upon hearing this, the black-haired boy's face instantly scrunched up. He pouted resentfully, but dared not argue any further, and could only continue repeating the monotonous knife-wielding motion.

The little boy was none other than Ichigo, the son of Kaien Shiba.

Ichigo Shiba.

After his safe birth, Shin became his teacher as promised and began to teach him to become a Grim Reaper.

What impressed Shin was that Ichigo, at such a young age, had already displayed astonishing talent, and his body, still that of a child, already contained incredibly powerful spiritual energy.

This talent is probably no less than that of Hitsugaya back then.

A young and pretty woman appeared in the corridor, carrying a fruit platter.

"Ichigo, come and have some fruit." Kukaku beckoned to Ichigo.

Ichigo's eyes lit up with surprise, and he was about to run over.

Xin spoke softly, "Have you completed your mission?"

Ichigo frowned, his face full of reluctance.

Seeing this, Kukaku glared at Shin and said, "Never mind him, I'm letting you come over and rest for a while!"

Ichigo felt as if he had been granted a pardon, and ran over to Kukaku's side with a joyful smile, looking up at her with his little face and saying, "Thank you, Aunt Kukaku."

Kukaku affectionately ruffled his hair and pinched his cheek: "My Ichigo is so good."

Xin said helplessly, "Always thinking about slacking off, how are you being well-behaved?"

Kukaku immediately said unhappily, "Are those training tasks you assigned to him something a child should be doing? Ichigo is at an age where he should be carefree and playing, don't use him to satisfy your perverted desire for control."

Arguing with Kukaku was clearly not a wise choice, so Shin sighed and said, "You're right, I'm the one exploiting Ichigo, okay?"

He also got up and walked to the edge of the corridor, reaching out to grab a bright red watermelon slice from the plate. "Smack!" With a crisp sound, Konghe slapped his hand back without any mercy.

"This is for Ichigo. Go cut it yourself if you want to eat it."

letter:"……"

He gazed at the bright red flesh of the melon and silently withdrew his hand.

Kukaku ignored him, turned around and put on a bright smile, gently coaxing Ichigo, "Let's not practice swordsmanship anymore, how about your aunt goes to play with you?"

Going out with your aunt?
Ichigo, who was eating watermelon, was taken aback when he heard this. Then, as if recalling some bad memory, he shook his head like a rattle drum.

"Aunt Konghe, I haven't finished my goal for today yet. I need to practice swordsmanship with my teacher. I can't let him down! Thank you for the fruit, Auntie!"

Xin couldn't help but chuckle. This little rascal truly lived up to his reputation as Haiyan's son; he was incredibly clever.

Since he could remember, there was an accident when Kukaku was playing with fireworks and he was blown to bits. Since then, he has avoided Kukaku's hobbies like the plague.

Konghe then glared at Shin, angrily saying, "Look what you've done to the child!!"

Shin's lips twitched slightly. He glanced at Ichigo, only to see that the brat had already lowered his head, acting as if nothing had happened, and picked up another slice of watermelon, intently munching on it.

Kukaku then tried to persuade Ichigo: "Listen to your aunt, you can practice swordsmanship tomorrow, and there's nothing good about being a Shinigami."

Upon hearing this, Ichigo immediately raised his small face, his expression unusually serious, his bright black eyes shining: "Aunt Kukaku, I must become a Shinigami! And I want to be the captain!"

Looking at his nephew's determined eyes, Kukaku could only sigh helplessly and poked Ichigo's forehead with his fingertip: "It's all your unreliable father's fault for instilling these things in you since you were little."

Unable to get any watermelon, Xin could only dejectedly lie back down in his comfortable recliner, casting a slightly resentful gaze at the cloudless blue sky.

After resting for a while and finishing two slices of juicy watermelon, Ichigo picked up his wooden sword again without anyone urging him. He returned to his familiar spot in the center of the courtyard and continued his tedious but fundamental sword-wielding practice, meticulously and methodically.

Meanwhile, with nothing to do, Sora sat on the wooden edge of the corridor, resting her chin on her hand, watching the small figure sweat profusely with a helpless yet indulgent smile.

To an outsider unaware of the details, the scene might seem like a happy family of three.

A demanding father, a doting mother, and a smart and sensible son.

【Shiba Kukaku】

【Favourability: 72】

To help care for and teach Ichigo, Shin frequently visited the Shiba family mansion, and his interactions with Kukaku grew increasingly closer. As time passed, their relationship was no longer as distant as when they first met, and they made considerable progress. Kukaku's straightforward and fiery personality was indeed difficult to approach at first, but after their relationship "thawed," they became more familiar with each other and things became more natural.

However, perhaps it is precisely because of the boundary of "friends" that their mutual affection remains around seventy points.

As Ichigo continued to sweat profusely, a series of staggering footsteps and an unrestrained loud voice came from the depths of the corridor. Ganju and Kira, arm in arm, staggered into the courtyard, drunk and unsteady on their feet.

Kira was dressed in a Shinigami uniform, with an armband on his arm symbolizing his adjutant.

He is now the vice-captain of the Third Division. Kira was the first among them to become a vice-captain, a few years earlier than Shuhei.

The main reason is that Shiba is on leave, and the position of vice commander of the Third Division cannot remain vacant for long.

As for Shiba Miyako, as Ichigo grew older and more sensible, she was mainly taken care of by Kūkaku on weekdays, with Shinya often taking time to come and teach her. She only returned to the Gotei 13 this year and currently holds the position of Fourth Seat Officer, ranking after Third Seat Ryūkaku Togakushi.

Ganju joined the 10th Division and served as the fifth seat officer under Shin.

Rangiku Matsumoto remains the vice-captain of the 10th Division, Toshiro Hitsugaya remains the third seat, and Hinamori has been promoted to the fourth seat. It's not that Shinichi is entirely nepotistic; Hinamori and Ganju are both exceptionally capable.

When Kukaku saw the two people who were completely drunk, her face immediately darkened. This made Kira, who was always good at reading people's expressions, feel a little uneasy. As the vice-captain of the Third Division, he would occasionally visit Captain Shiba Kaien's house, so he naturally knew Kukaku and was familiar with the temperament of his captain's sister.

Ganju, however, seemed oblivious. He first grinned foolishly at Shin on the recliner and mumbled "Brother Shin" indistinctly. Then, he rushed over and, without saying a word, picked up Ichigo, who was concentrating on swinging his sword, and held him tightly in his arms.

"Ichigo, have you missed your uncle?"

Ichigo didn't like the smell of alcohol on him, and his little face showed a uncomfortable expression.

Konghe jumped up and, without saying a word, rushed over, grabbed Ganju by the collar, and slapped him across the face.

Snapped!
Kira jolted awake, the lingering effects of the alcohol instantly dissipating. Almost reflexively, he straightened up and bowed ninety degrees to the direction of the letter on the recliner: "I've brought the rock eagle back, so I'll head back now."

However, Ganju, who was completely drunk and had lost his sense of pain, was not completely stunned by the slap, but he was still not fully awake. Then, Kukaku's fists rained down on him, making the defenseless Ganju scream and cry. The scene was quite cruel.

Having finally escaped, Ichigo jogged back to Shin's side, still shaken. He even picked up a slice of watermelon from the fruit plate and handed it to Shin, who had sat up. Then, with a look of complete familiarity, he blinked his big eyes and watched his aunt "scolding" that unreliable uncle.

"Teacher, it would be so pitiful if you married Aunt Konghe," he whispered.

Xin spat a watermelon seed in his face: "Marry her? Am I crazy?"

After saying that, she couldn't help but reach out and pat his head: "You little devil, do you even know what marriage is?"

Ichigo hugged his head, which had been hit, pouted pitifully, muttered a couple of things, and then fell silent.

Over there, the bruised and battered Ganju, almost unrecognizable from being beaten, was finally dragged back to his room like a sack by the still furious Kukaku, and could only let out muffled groans.

After finishing their day's duties, Shiba Kaien and his wife Shiba returned home together. As usual, Shin stayed for dinner without any hesitation, as if he had already become a member of the family.

After it got completely dark, Xin went home.

As soon as I opened the door, I saw Hinamori sitting on the sofa in a thin nightgown, seemingly waiting for me.

Xin thought about how often she had appeared at his house this month, and it seemed to be happening more and more frequently.

She's really losing her sense of boundaries; she's completely acting like the lady of the house.

When Hinamori saw Shin push open the door and enter, a bright smile immediately bloomed on her face. She lightly jumped off the sofa, walked barefoot to greet him, skillfully took the coat Shin had taken off, carefully patted off the fine dust, and then bent down to help him put away the shoes he had casually taken off.

"Has the captain been drinking?" she asked with concern, her voice sweet and gentle.

"I had a couple of drinks with Haiyan during the meal."

"I haven't seen Ichigo for quite a few days. Shall we go see him with the captain tomorrow?"

As the son of Shiba Kaien, Ichigo was the apple of everyone's eye from birth, enjoying endless pampering.

Shin raised an eyebrow and said, "What are you going to do? Don't you dislike Sora?"

Hinamori pouted upon hearing this: "I didn't say I didn't like Kukaku-san... It was just a misunderstanding before."

Hinamori's dislike for Kukaku stems from an incident when she accompanied Shin to the Shiba family home, where she overheard Ichigo saying, "The teacher is going to marry the aunt."

Then she added quietly, "Who told you, Captain, that you wouldn't even bother to explain back then..."

"You're just jealous for no reason, and now you're blaming me?" Xin pinched her chin, making her look up at him. "You jealous woman!"

"How could I blame you, Captain?" Hinamori's smile was as sweet as honey.

Over the years, her appearance has not changed at all, and her figure is as delicate and slender as a newly blossoming flower bud, soft and extremely cute.

Xin initially thought that if he saw the same thing every day for such a long time, he would definitely get tired of it.

However, reality is not like that.

Hinamori didn't resist Shin's hand pinching her chin. Instead, she tilted her head slightly and obediently nestled her cheek in his warm palm. Then, her soft, boneless little hand gently grasped Shin's wrist that was pinching her chin, guiding his fingers little by little into her mouth, the warm, moist touch of his tongue lightly brushing against his fingertips.

She raised her eyes, which seemed to melt the entire night, and looked at him. Her gaze was both like gentle ripples of water and a burning flame, captivatingly alluring.

"Captain..." Her voice had a silky, viscous quality, almost imperceptible.

"Want to take a shower?"

#
The office of the captain of the 10th Division.

Matsumoto Rangiku walked in carrying a stack of papers and neatly placed them on the letter's desk, her movements simple and efficient.

"This year's list of graduates from the Spirit Arts Academy also includes a list of volunteers who have volunteered to join our squad."

Xin picked up the document and glanced at it briefly. As in previous years, the number of graduates willing to join the 10th Division was not the highest, but there was one very special thing about it.

Every year, the vast majority of members of the Shinigami Academy student council, especially the student council officers, choose the 10th Division as their first or second choice. These people represent the top level of each graduating class. Over time, the 10th Division has almost formed an implicit monopoly advantage in the allocation of outstanding graduates.

Therefore, in recent years, every time this crucial period of graduation and assignment arrives, there are always vice-captains from other squads coming to the 10th Squad's barracks to plead with Matsumoto Rangiku, hoping that she can "transfer" some of the outstanding graduates on the roster to their squads to replenish fresh blood.

The names on the list, including the top student and the first few, were already known to Shin. Shin marked some names on the list with his pen and said to Matsumoto Rangiku, "Those circled are definitely going to be recruited into the 10th Division. As for those marked with a checkmark, if the 3rd Division comes to ask for people, give them to them. If the other divisions come to ask for people, just pick from the remaining people. You can decide for yourself."

Matsumoto Rangiku nodded gently: "I understand."

This has been the case every year.

Years have passed, and the once-cold barrier between Shin and Matsumoto Rangiku seems to have melted away on the surface. Their communication at work is smooth, and their efficiency is much higher than before.

However, the invisible barrier still stood firmly there. Apart from necessary official business, the two almost never interacted in private. The only slight improvement compared to the past was that if they met in private, Matsumoto Rangiku would at least no longer pretend not to see him.

But that's about it.

(End of this chapter)