Ise Nanao realized her captain was about to leave another mountain of work to her. She tried to stop him, but Kyoraku walked away without looking back.
Nanao could only sigh and begin searching the death registry, as Kyoraku had instructed.
The death registry recorded only people who had entered the Seireitei. If Kusaka was dead, it might hold more details.
Kyoraku stepped outside and looked up. Night had fallen, and a bright moon hung high in the sky.
Under the silver moonlight, a thin layer of frost covered the Seireitei's buildings after the light snowfall. They looked especially beautiful.
The cold winter wind struck Kyoraku's face, clearing the fog from his head after sitting indoors for so long.
"A dead man, huh? Why do I have a bad feeling about this?"
He raised a hand, and a black Hell Butterfly settled lightly on his fingertip.
"Go. Tell Yuko: Kusaka Sojiro was born in North Rukongai, attended the academy alongside Toshiro Hitsugaya, and was recorded as dead decades ago. He may be our target."
The Hell Butterfly fluttered upward into the moonlight, then slipped into space and vanished.
After sending it off, Kyoraku walked along the moonlit path. Suddenly, his expression shifted.
"Well, well. Who could be out at this hour? A fan, perhaps?"
His gaze darkened. Without turning around, he quickened his pace toward a secluded corner. He could sense someone following him.
He rounded the corner and waited, but there was no movement behind him.
"Hm?"
Kyoraku was about to turn when something occurred to him. He rested a hand on his sword hilt and stared ahead.
A shadow lay across the wall in the moonlight.
Still on guard, Kyoraku asked with theatrical flair, "My, my. Who might you be?"
The shadow moved, swelling larger against the wall.