When Yan Si returned to the Ninth Division barracks, dawn was just breaking.
He pushed open the courtyard gate. Everything inside was quiet.
Just as he reached the main hall, footsteps sounded behind him.
Their rhythm was familiar.
Yan Si turned around.
Captain Kensei was coming down the corridor, wearing his Captain's Haori. His hair was slightly disheveled, and he looked as though he had just returned.
Kyunnan Shiro followed behind him, his steps bouncing and his short hair bobbing with every movement.
"Yan Si."
Spotting him, Kensei quickened his pace.
He stopped in front of Yan Si and gave his shoulder a firm pat.
Yan Si felt the weight of that hand settle against his shoulder blade, carrying some meaning he couldn't quite decipher.
"Young men still need to exercise some restraint." Kensei's voice was very serious, but his gaze wandered.
Yan Si froze.
Restraint?
What restraint?
Completely lost, he instinctively looked at Kyunnan Shiro.
Kyunnan Shiro was sneaking glances at him, looking him up and down before quickly averting his eyes.
Then, apparently thinking of something, he suddenly flushed, covered his face with both hands, and shouted:
"Little Future is a pervert!"
He spun around and ran, his shoes tapping a rapid rhythm across the corridor floor before he disappeared around the corner.
Yan Si: "..."
He turned back to Kensei.
"Captain," Yan Si asked, bewildered, "what exactly happened at that meeting?" Kensei didn't answer immediately.
He glanced around the courtyard. Gin Ichimaru stood beneath the eaves, watching them.
Rangiku Matsumoto poked her head out of a room, her orange hair still a little messy.
Rukia Kuchiki sat beside the corridor, her chin propped on one hand and her eyes wide. She was clearly curious too.
The captains' meeting had lasted all night, and now it was fully