Fireworks erupted from the muddy ground in bursts of light, shooting straight into the night's embracing darkness before answering its gentleness with dazzling, passionate kisses.
Sparks cascaded down in purple, red, yellow... Countless streams of radiant color painted all of Seireitei in brilliance. It was a beauty unlike the gray-white stillness, a beauty belonging uniquely to summer's blazing passion!
A layer of golden light covered the Captain-Commander's face, making him look exceptionally gentle. While everyone's eyes were filled with the splendor of the fireworks, Old Man had somehow come up behind Asano Kiyoshi. He lightly patted Asano Kiyoshi's shoulder, smiling as he asked softly:
"Little Kiyoshi, this old man can tell that you still have something weighing on your heart about what happened today, don't you? This old man wants to hear what you think."
Asano Kiyoshi was slightly startled when his shoulder was tapped. But after turning around and hearing Head Captain Yamamoto's words, hesitation appeared on his face. His lips parted, yet for a moment, he seemed not to know what to say.
Captain-Commander saw through Asano Kiyoshi's thoughts. He smiled kindly, gently pinched Asano Kiyoshi's cheek with his slightly rough palm, and said:
"It's all right. Today, don't treat this old man as the Captain-Commander. Treat me as your elder and speak your mind."
Looking at Captain-Commander's gentle smile, Asano Kiyoshi finally let go of the last trace of wariness he held toward him. He took a deep breath, gathered his thoughts, and slowly said to Captain-Commander:
"Captain-Commander... Actually, when my battle with Kojiro reached its end today, I did think about giving up. Seeing his mother, I truly felt awful. I read Kojiro's file as well. He wasn't really a bad person. He just wanted to cure his mother's illness..."
Listening to Asano Kiyoshi, Captain-Commander nodded