Scenery All Along the Way

Dōsan lay dazed on his back in his bed. Around him, his roommates' snores rose and fell in a rhythm like a grand symphony.

Even after several hours, Rangiku Matsumoto's invitation still echoed in his ears.

Moonlight streamed through the window, and the valiant figure of a Soul Reaper appeared in Dōsan's eyes. Gradually, the Soul Reaper's face blurred, until it became Dōsan's own.

Just that morning, he had been an ordinary soul doing everything he could to survive, a lowly life that might be buried beneath Soul Society's white sands at any moment.

A voice had saved him from that miserable fate.

"Become a Soul Reaper."

Dōsan had not refused, nor did he have any reason to.

Even if the Soul Reapers he had just met had not made a good first impression.

Dōsan was in no position to do as he pleased. At the izakaya, didn't he still have to endure the manager's torment every day?

Becoming a Soul Reaper had nothing to do with anything else.

Dōsan gazed at the moonlight, his white eyebrows twitching as though telling it what was on his mind.

"It's all just so I can live a better life."

Become a Soul Reaper.

And thank you, Auntie Rangiku.

Rangiku was nothing like Dōsan, who was acting like a poet.

After receiving his answer, Rangiku Matsumoto stayed another ten minutes and gave Dōsan Hanyū a simple lesson on controlling his Spiritual Pressure.

At the very least, it would keep Dōsan from unconsciously leaking Spiritual Pressure in his sleep and affecting his roommates.

After another day of fun on the job, Rangiku Matsumoto skipped back to the Seireitei with a jug of sake in hand.

She was happy.

To be honest, even though she had met a genius who could be called a super genius, Rangiku Matsumoto had no other particular thoughts about it.

But it was like the New Year festival that had come from the east.

Nobody had ever seen the Nian beast, but that didn't stop people from using the pretext of fighting it to enjoy a good meal.

What was wrong with having a drink to celebrate meeting a wild genius?

It was well past midnight when Rangiku Matsumoto finally staggered back to the Tenth Division in the Seireitei, sake jug in hand, orange hair hanging over her face and golden eyes hazy.

"Rangiku-chan, what are you doing?" The voice had the accent of a middle-aged man, but the tone of a neglected wife.

"Uh, cough, cough, cough." The sudden voice at her ear startled Rangiku Matsumoto into choking. She turned to find a leering face right next to hers and nearly suffered a second blow.

"Captain!"

"Lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto, you stayed in Rukongai without permission and even drew your sword on your colleagues. You've really outdone yourself!"

For once, Isshin Shiba showed his anger in front of a subordinate.

Actually, teaching a few Twelfth Division members a lesson was no big deal.

Soul Reapers had a strict hierarchy.

In wartime, even if Rangiku executed a few Seated Officers, it wouldn't be an unforgivable offense.

And the Twelfth Division's experiments on Hollows needed a fig leaf, too, so Kurotsuchi had no intention of pursuing the matter.

As far as Isshin was concerned, the problem was:

You slacked off without me?

You went drinking without me?

You got into a fight without me?

Rangiku Matsumoto knew her captain's temperament too. She patted Isshin Shiba on the shoulder. "I found a super genius this time! With a little training, he'll soon reach the level of a Seated Officer, and he's very diligent. He can help us with division work too!"

The Tenth Division was a security force. It had relatively few dangerous missions, but the most odd jobs of any division.

Who did they guard against?

They guarded the Seireitei.

Mainly against the 11th Division's roughnecks, plus those nobles.

Neither group was easy to deal with.

When the 11th Division caused trouble, the Tenth Division had to assess the damage and report it to Central 46. The Tenth Division also had to clean up after the 11th Division's "good deeds" and file the paperwork.

Because the Thirteenth Division had suffered heavy losses over the years, Captain-Commander Yamamoto had asked Isshin Shiba to fill in. After less than a month in the Tenth Division, he had started cursing.

Trouble from within and without.

Never mind the 11th Division outside—he had also ended up with a lieutenant like this.

Rangiku seemed oblivious, thoroughly drunk. Seeing her captain deep in thought, she flashed her big white teeth and gave Isshin a thumbs-up.

Isshin took a deep breath. "We really do need a diligent super genius."

Rangiku nodded in agreement. "I'll take him somewhere safe tomorrow!"

Was she really going to pick up Dōsan Hanyū?

There were seven days in a week, and the lieutenant worked six of them. She had already been out on fieldwork for four days, and now she wanted another day off tomorrow?

Was there no "law" anymore?

"You don't have a tomorrow. According to division rules, you're getting a week in confinement!" Isshin Shiba scowled. This was with the Twelfth Division partly in the wrong.

She had often been confined for her conduct anyway, so slacking off in a dark cell was the next best thing. "Then, Captain, arrange for someone to go to Kobayashi Izakaya in Junrinan and pick up Dōsan Hanyū tomorrow."

Rangiku Matsumoto felt her way "home" and turned herself in at the Tenth Division's confinement barracks.

"Dōsan Hanyū."

Isshin Shiba murmured the name.

Dōsan knew little about this boy.

Tachikawa was something of a minor celebrity in the Thirteenth Division. She had been unconscious for an entire day because of a boy, and it had recently become a great source of amusement in the Thirteenth Division.

It was decided. He would go pick him up personally tomorrow.

Most importantly, he would get another day to slack off.

Right, he also had to send the remaining stack of work documents, as tall as a person, over to Rangiku-chan in a little while!

Hahaha!

He didn't know why, but Isshin Shiba felt like laughing, hands on his hips!

The next day, the sun was already shining through the window onto Dōsan Hanyū's face when he woke. He raised an arm to shield his eyes from the direct sunlight.

After a night of keeping his Spiritual Pressure under control, neither he nor his roommates had nightmares again.

It was the most peaceful sleep he had ever had, and the latest he had woken since coming to Junrinan.

It was nearly noon. Dōsan raised his arm to shield his eyes from the direct sunlight.

This time, Dōsan Hanyū walked steadily and slowly along the path already marked with the prints of his soles.

"So there really are this many people when this street is bustling."

"So there's even a three-story building here!"

"And this cherry tree has new flower buds too."

He remembered that when he had come to Junrinan, the little tree by the road had been nothing but a bare stick. Back then, Dōsan had been indifferent to everything in the world and had thought it was just a dead tree.

He had never had the time or the inclination to appreciate the scenery, either.

By the time Dōsan Hanyū returned to Kobayashi Izakaya through the back door, his roommates' lunch break was almost over.

If he could, he really didn't want to come back here, but he had no choice. His only belongings were stored in the dormitory where they took their lunch breaks.

He needed to get them as a thank-you gift for Auntie Rangiku.

Besides, Rangiku had left in a hurry the night before and had simply named this as their meeting place.

When Dōsan reached the door, he had just placed his hand on it when he heard his roommates, already awake, talking inside. He didn't push the door open, wanting to wait until they had finished what they were doing.

But he accidentally overheard their conversation.

"Phew, it sure feels good not having nightmares."

"Boss, do you think Dōsan-chan picked up something unclean? The old lady who lived next door to me in the Thirtieth District is really good with that stuff."

"Shut it. Don't let Dōsan hear you," the big bald man said in a mild rebuke.

"None of us have it easy, especially Dōsan. He doesn't even have any family."

"Yeah, Dōsan has it rough. If I could've made a living back home, I wouldn't have come here to suffer. I really don't know what's so good about the First District."

"Damn that old dog of a manager. The day I quit, I'm definitely going to beat him up."

"It's time to get back to work. Don't let the old dog catch us."

Dōsan Hanyū stood at the door as if struck by lightning, a complicated look on his face. Learning this just as he was about to leave made him feel strange.

The door creaked open, and the bald boss came out, staring at him in surprise and shock.

"So, you all knew."