Here to Deliver a "Watermelon" (Part Two)

She stood up and walked over to Liu Ziyun. "But I remember... you reached fifth-class Reiatsu a long time ago. And you haven't made the slightest progress since then."

Liu Ziyun said, "...Um, I hit a bottleneck! Right, a bottleneck!"

"Oh?" Unohana raised an eyebrow. "Then what about Kidō? You used a spell in the thirties to block a Menos Grande's Cero, and you even skipped the incantation... I had no idea you were so capable."

Liu Ziyun continued to make things up. "Captain! You know how it is! I can never memorize those incantations! So I had no choice but to practice using Kidō without them!"

He wore an expression that said, "I worked very hard." "Besides, I'm a member of the medical division. I have to learn some way to protect myself, right? If I ran into a Hollow, would you expect me to fight it with a scalpel?"

Unohana was unmoved. "But I heard... that not long ago at the academy, you injured yourself in an explosion while using Kidō. And you also crashed into a wooden post using Shunpo..."

She paused, her tone dangerous. "Explain that. What happened there?"

Liu Ziyun wailed inwardly. Damn it! Who snitched on me?!

But he said, "Well... I was trying not to stand out at the academy! So I deliberately used an incantation, but I got the words wrong, and that's what caused the explosion!"

He paused, then added, "I crashed using Shunpo because there were too many obstacles! The training ground was full of wooden posts, dummies, traps... Captain Kyōraku and I were in an open area that time, so I could move that fast!"

He blinked, trying to make his eyes look sincere. "Captain, I really wasn't hiding anything! I'm just... better at performing in open spaces!"

Unohana stared at him for a full ten seconds.

Then she slowly spoke. "What about your Zanpakuto's ability?"

Liu Ziyun froze. "Huh?"

"Heal." Unohana stressed each word. "That healing ability that's almost like regeneration. Why have I never seen you use it at the barracks?"

Liu Ziyun's mind raced. "Well... I never had the chance!"

He explained, "Kaidō is enough to treat injuries in the division! Nobody's been hurt badly enough to need instant recovery!"

He paused and lowered his voice. "And... I heard that those nobles seem to be trying to recruit Lieutenant Kiyōnosuke Yamada lately, using every threat and inducement they can. I was afraid they'd set their sights on me if I showed them what I could do!"

He looked up at Unohana with the most sincere gaze he could muster. "After all... I still want to serve under you, Captain—beautiful, gracious, gentle, considerate, powerful, and loved by everyone!"

After that barrage of flattery, the corner of Unohana's mouth twitched slightly.

She took a deep breath and was about to say something—

"Captain Unohana!" Kiyōnosuke Yamada's voice came from outside. "The head of a Tsunayashiro branch family is here. He says he's come to apologize! Captain Kyōraku and Captain Ukitake are here too!"

Unohana stopped.

She looked at Liu Ziyun, a hint of amusement flashing in her eyes. "Come on. Let's go see... the 'gift' they brought."

Liu Ziyun curled his lip and muttered, "Some gift... Isn't it just a severed head? Ugh... That's disgusting. What's there to see?"

Unohana glanced at him. "You seem to know quite a bit."

She turned and headed for the door. "Besides... you're the star of the show today. How could you not go?"

Liu Ziyun followed her, looking utterly despondent. "I'm afraid I won't be the star of any good show... If I go, I'll definitely attract a whole lot of hatred. I'll have to watch my step from now on, or I won't even know how I died..."

He sighed. "Ah... my salted-fish life is completely over."

Without looking back, Unohana snorted. "Hah... You only just realized that?"

The Fourth Division reception room.

The atmosphere was so strange that it made one deeply uncomfortable.

A stern-faced middle-aged man in a splendid kimono stood at the door, carrying an exquisite wooden box. Several attendants followed behind him, each with a respectful expression, though something complicated lay hidden in the depths of their eyes.

Meanwhile, Shunsui Kyōraku and Jūshirō Ukitake strolled over at a leisurely pace, one with a blade of grass in his mouth, the other wearing a smile. They looked as though they were going on an outing.

Unohana entered the reception room with Liu Ziyun.

Seeing the visitor, Unohana put on a standard polite smile. "An honored guest has come to visit, yet I failed to go out and greet you. I hope you'll forgive me."

The middle-aged man—Tsunayashiro Sōichirō, head of a Tsunayashiro branch family—bowed slightly. "You're too kind, Captain Unohana."

He straightened, his tone sincere. "Earlier, my family's illegitimate son, Tsunayashiro Shigure, offended you and Student Liu Ziyun. I only learned of this today, and I have come specifically to apologize."

He paused, then added, "We have already punished him. I hope you and Student Liu Ziyun... can forgive us."

With that, he opened the wooden box in his hands.

A severed head lay silently inside.

It was Tsunayashiro Shigure's.

His eyes were still open, his expression frozen in terror and disbelief.

Liu Ziyun took one look, then turned his head away.

Damn... They really brought his head...

That's way too ruthless...

But... he deserved it.

That was what he thought, but he put on a frightened expression and shrank back behind Unohana.

Unohana looked at the severed head. Her smile remained unchanged, but her gaze turned cold. "I'm merely the Fourth Division Captain. How could I dare accept such a generous gift?"

She paused and looked at Liu Ziyun. "What do you say, Student Liu Ziyun?"

Liu Ziyun said, "..."

Here we go again! Huajie, you're throwing me under the bus again!

He steeled himself and stepped forward, forcing a smile uglier than a crying face. "I... Captain, I'm still a student who hasn't joined a division. I can't make a decision about something like this..."

His eyes darted around, and he looked at Shunsui Kyōraku and Jūshirō Ukitake. "How about... asking Captain Kyōraku and Captain Ukitake? They're both nobles, so they must know the proper etiquette!"

After saying that, he spread his hands, wearing an innocent expression that said, "I'm just a child, I don't know anything."

Shunsui Kyōraku and Jūshirō Ukitake said, "..."

The two exchanged a glance, each seeing the same words in the other's eyes. How did we get dragged into this when we only came to watch?

Shunsui Kyōraku sighed and adjusted the brim of his hat. "Ziyun, you must be joking."

He deliberately stressed the word "senior." "How could we make a decision for Senior Unohana? Something like this... should naturally be decided by Senior herself."

Jūshirō Ukitake nodded as well. "Shunsui is right."

Unohana glanced at the two of them, then looked at Tsunayashiro Sōichirō.

After a few seconds of silence, she nodded gently. "In that case... let this matter end here."

Tsunayashiro Sōichirō visibly breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you for your generosity, Captain Unohana."