The food Hyakume-ki Seikyo made wasn't just delicious; it could also boost Reiatsu.
Otherwise, the squad members wouldn't have fought over it so desperately.
The effect even worked on Soul Reapers like Madarame Ikkaku, who was already Third Seat and had secretly learned Bankai.
The only person Seikyo wasn't sure it would work on was Zaraki Kenpachi.
But since Kenpachi always showed up and polished off whatever food was left, it had to be doing something!
Still, Seikyo wasn't doing this purely out of kindness.
A considerable portion of the strength gained by Soul Reapers who ate food Seikyo had made with Reishi fed back into him, boosting his own strength as well.
Otherwise, why would Seikyo be so generous as to cook for them every day?
The more they ate, the more he gained.
Madarame Ikkaku was a prime example.
But Zaraki Kenpachi was clearly the one who ate the most, and Seikyo still got not the slightest bit of feedback from him.
Like Yachiru, Kenpachi was all take and no give. Seikyo couldn't get a thing out of him.
Tch! Damn it!
After eating, the squad members returned to the training ground and threw themselves into all kinds of bloody battles.
Seikyo had planned to head to a tavern for a drink, but Madarame Ikkaku stopped him.
"Come on, let's fight, Hyakume! We still haven't settled things from last time!"
Stuffed and full of energy, Ikkaku had come straight to challenge Seikyo.
Although Ikkaku was Third Seat, he lost to Seikyo far more often than he won.
If Seikyo didn't like being Fourth Seat so much, Ikkaku would've switched places with him long ago!
Seikyo's preference was the exact opposite of Ayasegawa Yumichika's, who couldn't stand the number four.
Seikyo looked at Ikkaku in surprise. "You still want to fight me today? Aren't you going to write your report?"
"Damn it!" Ikkaku cursed at the mention of it. "That's your job!"
After a quick game of rock-paper-scissors, Ikkaku lost to Yumichika and won the honor of doing the writing this time.
Having to pick up a pen was the most painful thing in the world for Ikkaku!
Seikyo wasn't about to argue with an idiot. He used Flash Step and vanished from the spot.
If there was one weakness most members of the 11th Division had, it was that they hadn't studied at Shino Academy.
They hadn't learned Kidō, let alone Flash Step.
That was why the 11th Division rejected Kidō so fiercely, even going so far as to shun Kidō-type Zanpakuto.
Rejecting something just because you couldn't use it. What a fine sense of honor!
As for Flash Step, although they were all taught it after joining the division, Ikkaku couldn't compare to Seikyo, who'd learned it properly at the academy.
So when Seikyo didn't want to fight, Ikkaku couldn't catch up with him.
"Damn it!!"
Sigh. All he could do was rage helplessly.
Seikyo felt great.
After buying two jugs of wine, Seikyo returned home and really did light a charcoal fire.
He'd said he'd roast a Menos Grande's leg after cutting one down, so roast it he would.
He couldn't let an old tradition like that die.
Of course, he couldn't use Cero to roast it now, and he'd already processed the Menos Grande's leg, so it didn't taste the way it naturally would have. What a shame.
Still, eating barbecue and drinking wine beneath a moon just like the one in Hueco Mundo made for a remarkably relaxing evening.
He hadn't even noticed his guest arrive.
"Well, would you look at that! Seikyo, you're sneaking a bite again!" A hearty laugh rang out as a young man walked in.
He looked remarkably like Kurosaki Ichigo, and even had a similar air about him, but his hair was pure black.
A little tipsy, Seikyo spotted him and grinned. "Well, if it isn't our Vice-Captain Shiba! Why aren't you spending time with your fiancée? What brings you to visit a lonely bachelor like me?"
Shiba Kaien had been Seikyo's classmate at Shino Academy, and they'd gotten along pretty well.
But Kaien was a member of the Shiba Clan, one of the Five Great Noble Families. Even though the Shiba Clan was the most down-to-earth of the Five Great Noble Families, Kaien's path as a Soul Reaper had been far smoother than Seikyo's!
Seikyo had bounced around all twelve divisions except the First Division before finally returning to the 11th Division and settling down.
Kaien, on the other hand, had settled into the 13th Division from the start. He graduated as Third Seat and became Vice-Captain just five years later.
What was more, he already had a fiancée.
That really made Seikyo envious... and yet filled him with regret.
After all, if Aizen wanted to eliminate one of the Five Great Noble Families, the Shiba Clan, which didn't live within Seireitei, would surely be the easiest target.
So even if Seikyo helped Kaien survive that future crisis, another one would come along...
Seikyo couldn't go against his main body's wishes!
A little drunk, Seikyo couldn't quite hide his feelings. His gaze lingered on Kaien with a peculiar intensity.
But Kaien couldn't read what was on Seikyo's mind. He just thought Seikyo was teasing him again. "Miyako had something to do today..."
"So you couldn't find your wife, and that's when you remembered your buddy!" Seikyo tossed him a cup of wine. "You're definitely going to die at a woman's hands someday!"
Kaien drained his cup in one go and laughed. "Hahaha! I'm completely devoted to Miyako. How could I ever die at the hands of another woman?"
The 13th Division was a purification unit. Its main responsibility was to purify Hollows that appeared in the World of the Living... by cleansing them with Zanpakuto.
Whenever a Hollow appeared in the World of the Living, the Twelfth Division's detection equipment would pick it up and send the report to the 13th Division, as well as to the Soul Reaper responsible for that area.
So the 13th Division's battles weren't any less demanding than those of the 11th Division.
It was just that the 13th Division mostly dealt with ordinary Hollows below the level of Menos Grande. They rarely encountered giant Hollows, or even powerful ones, so the danger wasn't as great as in the 11th Division... but Soul Reapers still died frequently.
If the 11th Division was the regular army, the 13th Division was the local police.
Both were vital.
That was why Kaien couldn't afford to let his guard down while on duty.
It was only when he came to Seikyo's place that he could relax a little.
Still, he couldn't drink too much. He might be needed for something important.
But he could eat as much meat as he liked.
"Seikyo, what kind of meat is this? I've never seen it before."
Kaien was curious.
"It's a Menos Grande's leg!" Seikyo made no attempt to hide it. "I processed it with Reishi to remove its spiritual pathways, turning it into pure spiritual matter. It tastes great roasted! Dare to try some?"
"Why not? It's not like I'm afraid you'll poison me."
Kaien ate a piece of roasted Menos Grande leg without hesitation.
And wow, it was delicious!
"Ordinary food doesn't have Reiatsu this dense, so it's not nearly enough to replenish someone with Reiatsu above the fifth rank. This stuff does the trick."
"But there's no way we can make it available to everyone!"