Yan Si pushed open the hidden door and returned to the room.
The tatami beneath his feet felt reassuringly soft.
Hisana Kuchiki lay in a Gigai in the corner, her breathing steady and deep. Her face was still pale, but she no longer looked so translucent that she might shatter at any moment.
"Big brother, are you all right?"
Rangiku Matsumoto's voice came from beside him.
Yan Si turned his head.
Rangiku stood three steps away, her long orange hair slightly disheveled. It looked as though she had not rested at all.
She looked him over, her gaze sweeping from his head to his feet, then back up again.
Only after checking twice and confirming that not even a strand of his hair was out of place did her shoulders truly relax.
"Yeah," Yan Si answered.
Just then, footsteps sounded outside the door.
They were steady, with a distinctive rhythm. It was Captain Kensei. "Yan Si." His voice came through the door, slightly muffled.
"The Captain-General has called an emergency meeting. I'm taking Kyunnan Shiro with me. The division is yours."
Yan Si stepped forward and slid the door open.
Kensei stood in the corridor, already wearing his Captain's Haori.
Kyunnan Shiro crouched beside his feet, his short hair a mess and his eyes half closed. He clearly had not fully woken up.
"No problem." Yan Si nodded. "Hisana's condition has stabilized."
"Good." Kensei asked no further questions and turned away. "I'll leave things to you."
Kyunnan Shiro swayed as he stood, let out an enormous yawn, and followed while rubbing his eyes.
Their footsteps soon faded at the end of the corridor.
Yan Si went to the rear courtyard.
The moonlight was faint, barely illuminating the stone path.
A small figure paced back and forth there, looking toward him