The Sixth Division's Bitter Tea

Amber was dragged by the ear from the Second Division training ground to the food street by Fon Shaoling Hōsō. His waist was bent, his buttocks were sticking out, and his toes were touching the ground, like a cat being held by the scruff of its neck. The Soul Reaper they encountered along the way all turned their heads to look at him, but quickly looked away after Fon Shaoling's gaze swept over them.

"Shaoling, be gentle, be gentle... Can't I walk by myself?"

Fon Shaoling did not let go, nor did it turn around.

"How dare you say that? Such a huge piece of wall flew across half of Seireitei and crashed into the shops in the food court. If the Tenth Division hadn't been patrolling nearby and evacuated the area in time, do you know how much chaos would have occurred?"

Hu opened his mouth, then closed it again. He truly didn't know that the wall could fly that far. He himself had only just begun to familiarize himself with the power of Dragon Ascension, and when he went all out, he simply didn't have time to control the direction.

Fon Shaoling Aya slowed her pace. She released Amber's ear and sighed.

"Never mind, it's not entirely your fault. The Tenth Division members also had problems."

"The Tenth Division?" Amber rubbed her ears.

"Well, here's what happened --"

Rewind to the morning, to the moment the wall had just fallen down.

Seireitei Food Street, noon.

A massive section of wall traced an arc through the sky and crashed onto the roof of a buckwheat noodle shop in the food street. Tiles flew, wooden beams snapped, and the wall pierced the building at an angle, collapsing half of the shop. Fortunately, it was still early, and there were few customers inside. The owner was preparing ingredients in the kitchen and was only slightly shaken.

The patrolling members of the Tenth Division arrived quickly. They circled the wall several times, pushing it with their hands, bombarding it with Kidō, and Zanpakuto —but the wall remained unmoved. One of the members crouched down, carefully examining the patterns and Reishi circuits at the broken edge of the wall.

"This is... the wall surrounding the Second Division's training grounds." He stood up, his expression somewhat subtle. "I've heard people say before that the Second Division's wall is made of a specially reinforced material from the Department of Research and Development, mixed with Sekkiseki."

The members exchanged bewildered glances. Sekkiseki were special minerals used by Seireitei to isolate Reiatsu, and the entire wall of Seireitei contained this substance. Walls mixed with Sekkiseki were completely impervious to ordinary Kidō.

"What do we do?" a young soldier asked.

"There's no other way, let's find the person who caused this to deal with it." The leader of the squad stood up. "The wall flew over from the Second Division training ground, so let's go to the Second Division training ground to find the person."

They passed through the Seireitei and arrived at the training grounds of the Second Division. As soon as they entered, they saw two people sleeping against the wall. One was Renji Abarai, the red-haired Lieutenant of the Sixth Division, and the other was a black-haired young man in training clothes whom they did not recognize.

The soldiers looked at each other, unsure what to do. Their Lieutenant was asleep; they dared not wake him. The leader pulled out his Denreishinki and reported the situation up the chain of command.

The news reached Rangiku Matsumoto, the Lieutenant of the Tenth Division.

Rangiku Matsumoto was sitting in the Tenth Division's office, Bored flipping through documents. Upon hearing the report, her eyebrows rose.

"The wall of the Second Division's training ground flew into the food court and even smashed a shop?"

"Yes. The origin of the wall has been confirmed, but we cannot handle it due to the material. We found the Sixth Division Lieutenant Renji Abarai, and an unidentified young man fast asleep in the training ground. I dare not wake them."

Rangiku Matsumoto tossed the file onto the table and laughed.

"The Sixth Division's Lieutenant? Then this matter needs to be handled by the Sixth Division. Captain Kuchiki of the Sixth Division was at the Central 46 this morning. He passed on the message that his Lieutenant was asleep at the Second Division's training grounds and asked Kuchiki to go and retrieve him."

"Yes." The Denreishinki on the other end. "Then... what about the Second Division?"

"The training grounds for the Second Division are naturally under Captain Soi Fon's jurisdiction." Rangiku Matsumoto stood up and stretched. "Send the message to the Second Division. Tell them the training ground wall flew into the food court, and ask her to go check it out."

The news reached Byakuya Kuchiki, who had just come out of the Central 46, and Fon Shaoling, who was reviewing documents in the Second Division office.

Thus, the two captains appeared on the training field at the same time and caught the two sleeping men red-handed.

"That's how it is." Fon Shaoling released her grip on Amber's ear and stood at the entrance of the food court. "The Tenth Division didn't dare wake you up, so they kept passing the buck up the chain of command. Lieutenant Matsumoto then passed the buck to me and Captain Kuchiki."

Amber rubbed her ears, unsure what to say. It turned out that the piece of wall had not only flown across half of Seireitei, but had also alerted the Lieutenant of three divisions.

Fon Shaoling pointed ahead. "Look, that's what you did."

Hu looked in the direction she was pointing.

The buckwheat noodle shop in the food street had collapsed halfway. The piece of wall that flew from the Second Division's training ground was stuck diagonally on the roof, like a giant sword falling from the sky, piercing through the wooden beams and tiles, and deeply embedded in the building. The area was cordoned off, and several members of the Tenth Division were maintaining order and dispersing onlookers.

A tall woman with long blonde hair stood beside the ruins, directing her team members to clear the scattered rubble. She wore Shihakusho, with Zanpakuto hanging at her waist, and her collar was loosely open, partially concealing her full breasts. Hearing footsteps, she turned her head.

"Captain Soi Fon." Rangiku Matsumoto nodded to Fon Shaoling, her gaze then falling on Amber. "Is this the culprit?"

Fon Shaoling nodded as well.

"Yexing Hu, this is the intern currently interning with our team. I'm entrusting her to you; have him clean up the mess properly." Fon Shaoling glanced at Ko, her tone implying "Don't embarrass me," before briefly introducing her to Rangiku Matsumoto, "This is Rangiku Matsumoto, the Lieutenant of the Tenth Division. You'll follow her instructions and handle the situation well. I'll have the materials prepared; get the walls of the training ground repaired by tomorrow, and I'll inspect them."

After saying that, she turned and left, the hem of the Captain's Haori drawing a clean arc in the pre-noon sunlight.

Fon Shaoling's figure disappeared around the street corner.

Rangiku Matsumoto dropped her serious expression, crossed her arms, and walked around him from head to toe, and from toe to head.

"Yexing Hu? An intern?" Her tone was completely different from before, carrying a lazy curiosity.

Amber stood still, also observing her. Long, wavy golden hair, exquisitely beautiful features bordering on flamboyant, a voluptuous figure almost bursting out, Shihakusho hanging loosely on her shoulders, and that nonchalant air—exactly like someone from an anime. He silently compared them in his mind: Silver Brother's taste is indeed good, but this woman's temperament is quite a good match for Silver Brother's squinty-eyed fox-like demeanor.

Rangiku Matsumoto's gaze fell on his training uniform. It was a black stand-up collar jacket over a light gray fitted undershirt, with a clean cut, defined shoulder line, and side slits at the hem that swayed naturally as he walked. The collar and cuffs had subtle patterns that shimmered faintly in the light.

"Your outfit..." she leaned closer, "Where was it made?"

Hu paused for a moment. "Bamboo Creek Plain, Qinghui Clothing Shop."

"Qinghui Clothing Shop?" Rangiku Matsumoto repeated the name, reaching out to touch the fabric of his coat. The material was crisp but not stiff, thick but not heavy. "This isn't the material for Shihakusho. Aren't you a formal Soul Reaper?"

"No, I'm still studying at the academy."

Rangiku Matsumoto stopped. She looked at the young man in front of her again—he could send a reinforced wall mixed with Sekkiseki flying all the way here, yet he wasn't even a formal Soul Reaper.

"Then why are you still staying at the academy?"

"I won't be able to graduate," Hu said frankly. "It hasn't even been three months since I enrolled, and the application period for early graduation hasn't even ended yet."

Rangiku Matsumoto was silent for a moment, then smiled. Her smile carried an air of "interesting," as she wanted to ask more questions—such as what abilities his Zanpakuto possessed, why he was sleeping with the Sixth Division Lieutenant at the Second Division training ground, and why Captain Soi Fon had personally escorted him here.

Hu glanced at the ruins, then at the sky. "Lieutenant Matsumoto, we have to clear this and go back to rebuild the walls in half a day. If we don't get started quickly, it'll be too late. Tell me how to do it, and I'll get to work right away."

Rangiku Matsumoto's words were cut off. She raised an eyebrow, but wasn't angry. She turned around and walked to the piece of wall that was leaning against the roof, and patted it.

"This wall was reinforced with a special material developed by the Department of Research and Development, and it's also mixed with Sekkiseki." She withdrew her hand, her palm covered in a layer of dust. "Ordinary Soul Reapers can't handle it. My subordinates tried, and it was completely ineffective. I tried it before you came—" She shrugged, "And it didn't work either."

Amber looked at the massive wall. The power of Dragon Ascension was greater than he had imagined. A single punch, driven at only twenty percent of its power, was enough to blast away half of Seireitei through the reinforced wall mixed with Sekkiseki.

"So I need to break it open, make it a manageable size, and then move it to the scrap yard?"

"That's right." Rangiku Matsumoto stepped back a few paces, giving him her seat.

Hu walked to the wall and took a deep breath. He first tried not to use Beowulf, clenched his fist, and slammed it into the wall. A dull thud. The wall didn't budge, but his finger bones throbbed with pain.

Rangiku Matsumoto watched from the side, a slight smile playing on her lips, but she remained silent.

Hu shook his hand, giving up the attempt. With a thought, his Reiatsu surged. Blue light exploded from his fist— Beowulf's projection condensed on his hand, the translucent blue gauntlet covering his wrist bone. He clenched his fist again and slammed it down.

A small crack appeared in the wall.

It's useful, but far from enough.

Amber took a deep breath and dispelled Beowulf's projection. Then, the real weapon appeared.

The jet-black boxing gloves extend from the knuckles to the wrist bones, with white light patterns flowing across their surface, like some kind of ancient runes.

Rangiku Matsumoto's pupils contracted slightly. The surface of the gauntlets had wolf-tooth-like patterns, and there were sharp spikes at the knuckles. The light patterns seemed to move across the surface as if they were alive.

The jet-black boxing gloves with white light patterns, paired with Hu's black stand-up collar jacket and light gray inner garment, instantly transformed her entire aura.

"It looks really good," Rangiku Matsumoto said, her voice filled with genuine admiration. "This outfit paired with this armor looks really good on her."

Hu did not answer. He clenched his fist and slammed it into the crack in the wall.

Boom--!

The cracks expanded rapidly, spreading in all directions like a spider web. The wall was shattered into several pieces, the largest being half a person's height and the smallest the size of a fist. Gravel tumbled down with a clatter, raising a cloud of dust.

Amber sheathed Beowulf, the light patterns faded, and the gauntlets vanished as specks of light. He took a breath and bent down to begin moving the rubble.

Rangiku Matsumoto got the members of the Tenth Division to help. Several people worked together to move the broken wall debris onto a cart. Amber worked the hardest, after all, he was the one who caused the trouble.

After moving the last piece of gravel, Hu straightened up and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Rangiku Matsumoto walked over again, her gaze lingering on his clothes.

"Ye Xing, is Qinghui Clothing Shop really located in Bamboo Creek Plain?"

"Um."

Are you free tomorrow?

Remembering what Fon Shaoling had said about "getting the wall repaired by tomorrow," Hu nodded. "I should be free this morning."

"Then take me to that shop tomorrow morning." Rangiku Matsumoto's tone wasn't like a request, but rather a decision. "I want to find that designer to make me a few outfits too."

Hu thought for a moment. Keiko's business had just opened, and it was always good to have another customer. Besides, this was the Lieutenant of the Tenth Division, so she shouldn't be stingy.

"Okay. Tomorrow morning, at Qinghui Clothing Shop in Bamboo Creek Plain."

Rangiku Matsumoto nodded in satisfaction and stopped disturbing him as he tidied up. She turned to direct the team members to pull the cart away, her long golden hair dazzling in the sunlight.

Renji followed Byakuya Kuchiki through the corridor of the Sixth Division and arrived at the door of a Japanese-style room.

Byakuya pushed open the door and went inside. Renji followed behind him, but froze as soon as he stepped over the threshold. There was no training equipment, no sword rack, nothing in the tatami room that he had imagined related to "training".

On the tatami mats lay a long, narrow wooden board with a straight ink line carved into it. Next to the board was a stack of neatly folded Japanese-style dresses, their fabrics gleaming with an expensive sheen in the soft light filtering through the shoji doors.

"Stand up there," Byakuya said.

Renji was puzzled, but he still took off his shoes and stood on the plank. As soon as his foot touched the plank, he felt something was wrong—the plank was extremely narrow, only wide enough for two feet to stand side by side, and if he was not careful for even a moment, he would step off course.

"The first principle of etiquette is posture." Byakuya walked behind him and tapped his shoulder blade with the hilt of his sword. "Shoulders, open. Waist, straighten. Chin, tuck in."

Renji did as instructed. He pulled his shoulder blades back, straightened his back, and tucked his chin in. It was fine at first, but after standing for less than 15 minutes, the muscles between his shoulder blades started to ache, and his lumbar spine felt like it had a wedge driven into it.

Byakuya didn't speak, but simply stood before him, his gaze calm. Whenever Renji's shoulders slumped slightly, or his back involuntarily bent, Byakuya would tap the corresponding spot with the hilt of his sword. The force wasn't heavy, but it was as precise as a ruler.

I stood there for a full half hour.

Renji's legs began to tremble, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. He had been on countless battlefields and endured countless cuts, but this pure, static torment was more unbearable than any battle. Byakuya finally spoke.

"Okay. Change your clothes."

Renji like he'd been granted a pardon. He jumped off the wooden plank and stretched his stiff legs. He picked up the stack of Japanese-style and unfolded it—it was a crested haori hakama, black fabric woven with light gray family crests, so finely crafted that even he, someone who never cared about clothing, could tell it was quite valuable.

He clumsily put it on. The belt was crooked, the collar was crumpled, and a section of the cuff was turned out. Byakuya looked at him and remained silent for a long time.

"Can't you even put on clothes? Take them off and put them on again."

Renji took his clothes off and put them back on repeatedly, each time Byakuya pointing out a new mistake—the angle of the belt was wrong, the collar was folded in the wrong order, the cuffs were folded in the wrong direction, and the hem wasn't aligned properly. Renji had never known there were so many rules to follow when putting on clothes. He gritted his teeth, taking them off and putting them back on again and again. His fingers gradually became more skilled, the knot of the belt became straight, and the collar became neat and tidy.

One last time, Byakuya looked at him and nodded.

Renji let out a long sigh of relief, folded the kimono neatly, and placed it aside. He thought the training was over. Byakuya turned around and pushed open the door on the other side of the tatami room, which led to a tea room.

The tea room was small, with four and a half tatami mats. A calligraphy scroll hung in the alcove, with a sprig of white camellia inserted in it. Sunlight streamed in through the shoji doors, soft as water. Byakuya knelt down in front of the tea kettle and began to light the charcoal to boil water. Renji knelt opposite him, his back ramrod straight—the half-hour of standing training he had just completed had at least made his kneeling posture look proper.

Byakuya lit the charcoal slowly, placing each piece perfectly. As the charcoal burned, the water in the teapot began to make a soft gurgling sound. He began to wipe the teacup, his movements meticulous, polishing every inch from the rim to the bottom until it was smooth and lustrous like a mirror.

Then he began to whisk the tea. The whisk stirred the tea in the bowl, making a soft, hissing sound. Renji didn't know anything about tea ceremony, but he had seen Byakuya prepare tea before—at the team's tea ceremonies, Byakuya, as the captain, would sometimes personally prepare the tea, his movements fluid and graceful. But today was different.

The whisk was spinning in the teacup for far too long. Renji didn't understand the rules of the tea ceremony, but he could tell that Byakuya's wrist was repeating the same motion, and the sound of the whisk rubbing against the teacup continued for a long time, so long that the water in the kettle boiled and boiled.

"Captain," Renji finally couldn't help but ask, "Is something bothering you?"

Byakuya did not answer. The whisk continued to spin in the teacup, its rustling sound particularly clear in the quiet tea room.

"Is it because of Rukia?" Renji. "Did the people from Central 46 say something?"

The tea whisking stopped.

Byakuya's hand rested on the rim of the teacup, motionless. Renji saw a flicker of mild anger flash in his eyes when he heard the words "Central 46"—a fleeting anger, like the reflection on a blade, gone in an instant. Byakuya's hand tightened around the teacup, his knuckles turning slightly white. That hand, capable of wielding a sword to unleash the most devastating strike of Senbonzakura, now held a teacup as if to crush it.

But he eventually let go.

He loosened his fingers one by one and gently placed the teacup back on the saucer. He lifted the kettle and poured hot water into the teacup, causing a fine layer of foam to rise to the surface. He held the teacup in both hands and placed it in front of Renji.

"Don't worry," Byakuya's voice returned to calm. "As long as Rukia comes back, everything will be alright."

Renji picked up the teacup with both hands and drank it all in one gulp.

The tea is bitter. Not the refreshing, slightly bitter taste of regular matcha, but a bitter astringency from being ground too long and steeped too strong. The tea whisk has broken down the tea leaves into fibers, scattering them into fine powder suspended in the liquid, each particle carrying the astringent taste of repeated grinding. This cup of tea has no sweetness, no lingering aftertaste, only straightforward, unmasked bitterness.

Renji put down his teacup. Byakuya had already stood up and walked to the other side of the tea room. His shadow stretched long in the light filtering through the shoji doors, and the hem of the Captain's Haori remained perfectly still.

"The etiquette training is over. You may leave now."

Renji stood up, bowed, and turned to leave. As he reached the door, he glanced back— Byakuya was still standing in front of the translucent shoji door, without turning around.

Renji gently closed the door.

The corridor was quiet. He took a few steps, stopped, and looked down at his hands. The bitter taste of the tea still lingered on his tongue, like the embers left after something had burned.

"This is the first time I've seen the captain so angry. What exactly did Central 46 say...?"

Meanwhile, after cleaning up the mess at the food street, Hu was still under the moonlight, laying bricks in the training ground to build a wall. Looking at the moon, he thought of drinking with Yin under the moon before, and picked up the Denreishinki. He had left Yin's number with him during their last drinking session.

"Brother Yin, don't say your brother didn't help you..." Hu muttered to himself, sending an invitation to Yin.