Going Blind! (Part Two)

Unohana looked at him, her expression subtle. "Oh... you're going blind?"

She paused. "That scar on your face didn't blind you. How come you're suddenly... going blind now?"

Liu Ziyun chuckled. "You held back back then, Captain. This time... it's an eye disease!"

He winked. "So... hehe."

Unohana raised an eyebrow. "You're going blind just to avoid joining the expeditionary force... isn't that a bit of a sacrifice?"

Liu Ziyun waved a hand. "Not at all! I'll only be blind for... a hundred-something years. I'll get better afterward!"

He made it sound easy, but his words made Unohana frown. "Why... a hundred-something years?"

Liu Ziyun put on an inscrutable air. "I can't say, I can't say... the time isn't right, so it's all in vain. When the time comes, you'll understand, Captain."

Unohana stared at him for a few seconds. "Is that so?"

She paused. "Then when the time comes... I hope I'm not the one cutting you down."

Liu Ziyun immediately "swore," "How could that happen? I can swear it—when the time comes, I'll be the one taking the cuts for you, Captain. There's no way you'll be the one cutting me!"

His words rang out with conviction, but Unohana merely smiled and said nothing.

She asked, "So... what are you planning to do next?"

Liu Ziyun chuckled. "Next, I'll go blind and lie low in the Fourth Division. When Tazawa Kentarō retires, I'll take his place as Fifth Seat, and then... I'll just laze around until I die!"

The more he talked, the more excited he became. "Being blind is great! It'll keep me alive! Lying low is great too! Do that and I won't have a worry in the world!"

With that, he fell backward with a smack—

"I've passed out drunk."

His acting was so exaggerated it was painful to watch.

Unohana looked at Liu Ziyun, who had fallen to the floor and even "accidentally" knocked over a chair, and was silent for a few seconds.

Then she sighed and called outside, "Tazawa Kentarō."

"Yes, Captain!"

"Take this kid... back to his dorm."

"Yes, ma'am!"

The next morning.

Liu Ziyun woke up in bed.

Sunlight streamed through the window, but the instant he opened his eyes, only one thought filled his mind:

Damn!

Memories of the previous night came flooding back.

Fuck... did I get drunk and spill everything about myself?! And I didn't get a single thing out of Huajie?! Not even a promise?! What a blunder, what a blunder! I'm never drinking again!

He pounded the bed in frustration, then remembered something else. Right... I still have to go blind today.

He sighed. I've got it rough...

But the plan was already set, so he had no choice but to carry it out.

He climbed out of bed and rummaged around the room for a while until he found an empty wine bottle—one he had deliberately kept from the night before.

Then he took a deep breath and raised the bottle—

He let go.

Crash!

The bottle hit the floor and shattered.

Liu Ziyun crouched down and carefully selected two shards of a suitable size, both with sharp edges.

Then he found a suitable spot and lay down on the floor.

He adjusted his position, making sure the shards would "just happen" to pierce his eyes without going too deep. He still needed to have them treated, after all.

Everything was ready.

He took a deep breath—

"Ahhh!!!!"

A piercing scream echoed throughout the dormitory area.

It was as agonized as if he had been stabbed eighteen times.

The next second—

Bang!

The door was kicked open.

Several Fourth Division members rushed in. "Ziyun! What happened?!"

Then they saw—

Liu Ziyun lying on the floor with both hands over his face, blood gushing through his fingers.

On the floor lay the shattered wine bottle and... two bloodstained shards of glass.

"M-my eyes... it hurts... I can't see..."

Liu Ziyun's voice trembled, thick with tears.

His acting... deserved full marks.

"Quick! Get him to the infirmary!"

The division members hurriedly picked Liu Ziyun up and raced toward the infirmary.

The Fourth Division infirmary.

Liu Ziyun lay in bed, thick bandages wrapped around both eyes. He looked... like a pitiful sight.

The news spread fast.

Before long, the entire Fourth Division knew: Liu Ziyun, who had been keeping a low profile lately, had drunk too much the night before. When he got up that morning, he accidentally fell out of bed, landed right on the shards of a wine bottle and... blinded himself.

"Is that true?"

"It is! I saw it with my own eyes! There was blood all over the floor!"

"That's just too unlucky..."

"Tell me about it..."

Amid the chatter, Unohana finally arrived.

She entered the infirmary and waved everyone else out.

Then she walked over to Liu Ziyun's bedside and looked down at him.

A few seconds later, she spoke softly, her voice carrying an unmistakable hint of... amusement?

"Well, well... you really did go blind."

Liu Ziyun: "..."

Huajie! Are you taking pleasure in my misfortune?!

Unohana continued, "The shards pierced your eyeballs... you really were ruthless."

Liu Ziyun spoke "weakly." "Oh... Captain, don't laugh at me. It hurts so much right now... and I can't see anything. What am I going to do?"

He paused. "Will I... end up as a blind doctor?"

Unohana nodded. "It's possible."

She paused. "But how can you stay in the Fourth Division like this? You can't see anymore... why not leave the division?"

Liu Ziyun hurriedly "struggled." "Captain! Captain! Don't give up on me!"

He "pleaded," "So what if I'm blind? I practiced before—even if I'm blind, I can still sense other people's physical condition and treat them!"

Unohana looked at him for a long time.

Then she nodded gently. "All right. Rest and recover for now. Once you're better... you can come out and be your blind doctor."

With that, she turned and left.

When she reached the door, she suddenly stopped and looked back. "Oh, right... I've already had someone put the shards away."

She paused. "If you 'accidentally' fall again... remember to try something different."

With that, she left.

Liu Ziyun lay in bed, breaking out in a cold sweat.

She... she saw through me?! Impossible! My acting was so convincing!

But he didn't have time to dwell on it.

Because the Fourth Division members began arriving one after another to see him.

"Ziyun, how are you feeling?"

"How could you be so careless..."

"You'll have to be more careful when you drink from now on!"

Liu Ziyun could only repeat himself over and over. "Thanks for your concern... I'm fine... it's just my eyes... sigh..."

His expression was pitiful yet resilient, enough to make anyone's heart ache.

Even Shinji Hirako and the others came especially to see him after hearing the news.

"Ziyun! What did you do?!" Kensei Muguruma shouted as soon as he came through the door. "You managed to blind yourself just by drinking?!"

Liu Ziyun gave a "bitter smile." "An accident... it was an accident..."

Shinji Hirako frowned. "It really was just an accident?"

Liu Ziyun's heart tightened, but he said, "What else would it be? You think I'd poke my own eyes out?"

Everyone thought about it... and supposed he had a point.

Who would do something so reckless?

After the visit, Liu Ziyun sent everyone away on the grounds that he "wasn't feeling well and needed rest."

The ward finally fell quiet again.

Liu Ziyun lay in bed and breathed a sigh of relief.

The first step... was a success.

Next, I can settle down as a "blind man," lie low in the Fourth Division and laze around until I die!

He thought to himself with delight.

But what he didn't know was—

The day after he went "blind," the news had already spread throughout Seireitei.

"Have you heard? That Liu Ziyun from the Fourth Division got drunk, fell out of bed and poked his own eyes out!"

"Seriously? That kid who made such a splash in the Trial Grounds?"

"Yeah! What a shame... I heard the Captain-Commander had high hopes for him, too."

"Well, now he's blind... I guess that's about all he'll ever amount to."

Among the chatter was sympathy, regret and... schadenfreude.

Meanwhile, at the Tsunayashiro Clan.

When Tsunayashiro Tokinada heard the news, he froze for a moment, then—

"Heh... interesting." He put down the report in his hand, a glint of interest flashing in his eyes. "He even gave up his eyes... to avoid going to Hueco Mundo?"

He paused. "Still... it's good that he's blind."

He looked out the window, a cruel smile curling his lips. "A blind man... is easier to control. Liu Ziyun... I'll obtain your ability, no matter what... you become."

The wind blew through the courtyard.

It carried a chill.

Meanwhile, in the Fourth Division infirmary, Liu Ziyun was happily eating fruit brought by a division member, thinking to himself, Being blind doesn't seem so bad... no work, people waiting on me, and even people feeling sorry for me... apart from not being able to see, it's perfect!

He took a bite of an apple, the corners of his mouth turning up.

Completely unaware...

That in certain people's eyes, his "perfect plan" had already become...

An "opportunity" of another kind.