Restricted Death

Chapter 251 You haven't fallen for me, have you?
The sky above Seireitei was overcast, with leaden clouds pressing down heavily on the towering white buildings. The streets were eerily tense. Members of the 3rd, 10th, and 11th Divisions, their Zanpakuto at their waists, marched in unison across the cobblestone streets in groups of three, their sharp eyes scanning every corner like hawks. An invisible tension hung in the air, as if a single spark could ignite a storm.

Shinto and Kisuke Urahara didn't do much else in the human world. After confirming that Urahara had returned to take the Hogyoku, the two went back to Soul Society.

As soon as they passed through the interdimensional gate, a heavy pressure hit them. Xin walked on the empty main road, the hem of his dark captain's haori rippling slightly with his hurried steps. The shadow of the Empire of the Formation was like a sword hanging overhead, casting a dark cloud over everyone's hearts.

After returning to the 10th Division's barracks, Shin continued to maintain the division's daily operations. The reports from the soldiers echoed in the empty office, and official documents were piled up like a small mountain. Shin sat behind his desk, his pen scratching across the paper as he signed dispatch orders.

As Shin predicted, the Quincy of the Wandenreich did not make any overt moves. This was because if the Shinigami were to forcefully open the gate to the Wandenreich using Sōya Azajo's abilities, they would inevitably retaliate immediately.

Since they are aware of the Shinigami's every move within Seireitei, they are also aware of Seireitei's current predicament. They are not the ones who should be worried now; they probably think that the Shinigami will focus their primary attention on Aizen and Hueco Mundo.

It is foreseeable that the Quincy are waiting for the Shinigami to reveal a weakness under internal pressure or external choices.

For the next two days, Shin also frequently took time to visit Shiba's house, instructing Ichigo on how to continue his training every day.

Because of the high level of security in Seireitei, both Ganju and Shiba are often away from home, while Shin is the one who is more relaxed.

Ichigo Kurosaki stood in the center of the courtyard, his black vest soaked with sweat, clinging to his increasingly muscular body. His lips were tightly pressed together, his eyes fierce and focused. Each swing of his heavy wooden sword carried an almost savage force, the blade tearing through the air and creating a whistling sound.

Seeing Ichigo sweating profusely, Kukaku came to Shin's side and said, "This kid has been acting a bit strange these past two days, like he's holding something back."

Xin chuckled upon hearing this: "You probably feel like you can't do much at a time like this. It's a child's mentality, which is normal."

He then gazed at Ichigo for a long time, and suddenly let out a soft sigh.

Let alone Ichigo, even if we added another captain-level fighter to Soul Society now, it wouldn't alleviate the predicament Soul Society is facing.

Konghe pondered, "Are the recent events very serious?"

Her voice unconsciously lowered a few decibels, carrying a hint of hesitant inquiry. She truly didn't know the full story. Ganju was so busy that he barely had time to breathe, and his sister-in-law's only brief return home was to visit Ichigo; she was in a hurry, and in the end, she couldn't bear to ask about the worries that even the captains were troubled by.

Xin nodded slightly: "This time, many people may die."

Konghe was taken aback, her bright eyes widening instantly.

Shin finally turned his head to look at her face, which was slightly pale from the sudden announcement, and said to her, "If you want to know, I can tell you, but you shouldn't tell Ichigo."

After a moment of silence, she lowered her head, a few strands of hair falling down her cheek, and asked in a dry and tense voice, "You... will all be alright?"

Nobunaga sighed: "Although I am the captain, I cannot guarantee anything, nor can Kaien. This time, the enemy we are facing is unexpectedly strong, perhaps... even stronger than the Captain-Commander."

"..."

The statement that he was stronger than the Captain-Commander was shocking enough, and for thousands of years no one had dared to question Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni's strength.

After hearing what the letter said, Shiba Kukaku was instantly filled with deep sorrow.

In this family, everyone except her and Ichigo is a Shinigami (death god), meaning that the vast majority of her family members cannot remain uninvolved.

Seeing her somber expression, Xin suddenly broke into a slightly teasing, even flirtatious smile, as if trying to dispel the oppressive atmosphere: "What, are you worried about me?"

Upon hearing this, Kong He's pretty features almost squeezed together, her bright eyes widened, and she glared fiercely at Xin: "You brat, when did you start saying such things to me!"

Xin immediately gave a helpless look, and subconsciously raised his slender fingers to scratch his cheek, as if trying to ease the embarrassment brought by the sudden "accusation". He shook his head helplessly, his tone carrying a clear protest: "I'm the captain, you know, it's rude of you to call me kid."

She scoffed and retorted without any politeness, her words fast and crisp: "Are you older than me? Don't even mention me, Yanjiu is older than you. It's just that this kid is too stupid, he's been tricked by you into calling you 'big brother' all the time."

"You can't say that, Yanjiu did it willingly."

This familiar back-and-forth banter, though laced with barbs, strangely diluted the heavy atmosphere that had built up from the earlier discussion of the apocalyptic crisis. The air seemed to regain a sense of flow.

Konghe took a deep breath, her full chest rising and falling slightly with each breath. Her gaze unconsciously returned to the figure sweating profusely in the center of the courtyard. The boy's focused and determined back exuded a reassuring stubbornness.

Konghe's voice lowered several octaves unintentionally, almost to the point of murmuring. The whisper was like a breeze, gently brushing past Shin's ear, carrying a barely perceptible, deep-seated plea: "Anyway, you must all be alright."

【Favourability: 83】

Sensing something, Shin's expression suddenly shifted, and his gaze toward Shiba Kukaku became somewhat surprised.

Haven't you noticed it recently...?

Or is it because the two of them spend almost every day together, and the woman has developed feelings for him?
"You don't actually like me, do you?" Xin asked bluntly.

Shiba Kukaku froze on the spot! Her expression was one of utter astonishment, her eyes wide open, her mouth slightly agape, as if her soul had been ripped from her body! A full second later, her blood rushed to her head! Her pretty face turned bright red in an instant, visible to the naked eye! The redness quickly spread to her ears and neck, extremely striking!
However, it was clearly not because of shyness, but because of anger.

"Damn it!"

With a roar, she swung her fist and lunged at Xin.

Ichigo, who was swinging his sword to the point of exhaustion, was startled by the sudden roar! His wooden sword stopped in mid-air. He turned to look at his aunt, who was being beaten by his teacher. He didn't show much surprise. He just wiped the sweat from his brow, sighed slightly, and continued his training.

Although the reason that made Kukaku angry was his own words, Shin was not one to suffer a loss. Kukaku had pinned him to the ground for only a moment before he easily broke free, flipped over with a sudden force, and straddled her.

Shiba Kukaku was breathing heavily, her full breasts heaving rapidly with anger and shortness of breath, outlining a breathtaking curve. Sweat soaked the strands of hair at her temples, clinging somewhat disheveled to the bloodshot skin of her neck.

Then, Xin's gaze changed noticeably. His focus seemed to be abruptly interrupted and sucked away by something. His eyes involuntarily and clearly shifted downwards by half a point, his gaze naturally falling on the proud silhouette that was more exposed due to the intense movements and trembling with rapid breathing. His Adam's apple moved almost imperceptibly.

Her breath hitched! Then, a wave of shame and indignation, even stronger than when she had been tackled and pinned to the ground, surged through her.

"Oh dear, I've come at the worst possible time!"

Before Shiba Kukaku could react, a familiar voice suddenly came from around the corner of the corridor not far away.

It was Yoruichi Shihouin. She leaned against a pillar, her arms crossed over her chest, the tight-fitting clothes that hugged her muscular body perfectly outlining her figure. A mischievous, exaggerated smile, as if she had discovered a great joke, graced her bronze face.

Shin then got off Shiba Kukaku, simultaneously raising his hand to block a kick Kukaku had managed to deliver. Shihouin Yoruichi teased, "Is it appropriate to do something like this in broad daylight, especially in front of your own juniors?"

Shiba Kukaku, her face flushed, first straightened her clothes, then said to Yoruichi irritably, "What nonsense are you talking about?!"

Then, she glared at Ichigo, who was looking this way from the center of the courtyard: "Go back to your room!"

Upon hearing this, Ichigo immediately shrank back, sheathed his wooden sword, and obediently left quickly.

With guests coming over, there's no need for him to continue exercising here.

Yoruichi Shihouin walked over, smiling at the two of them, and suddenly said to Kukaku, "I'm telling you, you have to keep your eyes open when choosing a man, this guy has other women."

She had spent some time with Shin in her cat form, at Shin's house, so she naturally knew some things about Shin. As Kukaku's friend, she felt it necessary to remind him.

Upon hearing this, Kong He glanced at Xin first, and then said fiercely, "Don't worry, I wouldn't choose him even if all the men in the world died."

Xin appeared calm at first, but his expression soon changed again.

【Favourability: 80】

Xin sighed and said, "It's really heartbreaking to hear you say that."

Konghe retorted angrily, "What are you sad about!"

Yoruichi smiled enigmatically: "I never would have guessed that Captain Tachikawa is such a womanizer."

Xin stood up, dusted himself off, and said, "Don't talk nonsense, I'm always very upright. I won't disturb your meeting any longer, I'll be going now."

Watching Shin's figure disappear at the end of the corridor, Yoruichi Shihouin walked over and sat down next to Kukaku.

She turned to look at Kong He and asked bluntly, "When did you start having feelings for him?"

Shiba Kukaku looked stunned upon hearing this, then said with a mixture of embarrassment and anger, "Which eye of yours saw that I was interested in him?"

Yoruichi Shihouin, with a "you can't fool me" look on her face, said, "Come on, if you weren't interested in him, would you have let him ride on top of you without resisting? Don't I know you?"

Shiba Kukaku was furious: "He's the captain of the 13th Division, he's much stronger than me. How could I possibly be as strong as him? Besides, I clearly resisted just now!"

Ye Yi rolled her eyes at her: "Come on, what you did just now was called resistance, I think it was more like flirting. If you really had no feelings for him, you would never have allowed something like that to happen. Your real anger is not like that. Are you lying to me, or are you lying to yourself?"

Shiba Kukaku was stunned for a moment, sitting there silently, seemingly lost in thought.

Yoruichi's words made her doubt herself a little. Could it be that she really had feelings for this guy?
Is that even possible...? How could I possibly be thinking about such a thing? And when did I start having these feelings...?

Shiba Kukaku frowned and thought about it carefully. She didn't dislike Shin. The two occasionally bickered, but most of the time they got along normally. It wasn't to the point of being "bickering lovers". The period when they had frequent contact was after her sister-in-law gave birth to Ichigo. After that, Shin often came to their house.

Gradually, she got used to having Xin in the house, and even considered him part of her family.

If that's the case, she should feel more like family to Shin. Although her older brother and sister-in-law had tried to match them up, and Ichigo had joked about it, she had never thought of it that way herself.

She believed she hadn't thought of it...

Now that Yoruichi had suddenly revealed his secret, Kukaku felt a sense of helplessness and panic.

Seeing her lost in thought, Yoru slowly said, "You know, he's not single."

"..."

Shiba Kukaku nodded slowly in silence, then quickly shook his head.

"What do you mean 'I know'? You've got it wrong, it's not like that at all!"

She looked up and saw Yoruichi staring straight at her, as if he could see right through her, which sent a shiver down her spine.

"I……"

Yoruichi sighed softly, "I was just saying that casually. What you do and how you act is up to you."

Shiba Kukaku's expression tightened. She decided not to discuss the topic and said, "Of course I'm doing what I'm supposed to do. I recently made a new batch of fireworks, but they're not selling well because of the martial law in Seireitei. I'm quite troubled by that."

Yoruichi chuckled.

Kukaku asked, "When will this incident end?"

Yoruichi shook her head: "I don't know."

"Will it end safely?"

"……do not know."

"..."

Yoruichi lay down beside her, resting her head on her hands, her gaze sweeping across the courtyard and up to the sky.

"No one can be sure what will happen after that. Didn't Tachikawa tell you?"

"He said... he said many people might die."

"He's right, and no one can be sure who died."

(End of this chapter)