"Senior Kaien, could you really do this?"
Yato pushed Kaien's wheelchair and said with a wry smile,
"Why not go back to your hospital room and lie down? If Captain Unohana saw me sneaking you out, she might really chop me up..."
"Don't worry. If anything happens, I'll cover for you!"
"How are you going to cover for me?"
"I'll ask our captain to put in a good word." Kaien Shiba's handsome face was full of sunny cheer. "Captain Ukitake was a very good man."
"...All right."
Seeing that he could not persuade him otherwise, Uchiha Yato could only keep pushing the wheelchair and sneak off with Kaien Shiba.
The two seriously injured men left the 4th Division barracks, headed south all the way out of the Seireitei, and arrived in Rukongai.
Before long, they arrived before a peculiar estate.
It was a very standard cluster of classical buildings, sprawling across an enormous area. What was astonishing, however, was that two gigantic arm statues stood at the very front of the compound!
The statues had clenched fists and held up a banner bearing the words "Shiba."
"Senior Shiba, your home really is... brimming with artistic flair. As expected of Soul Society's greatest fireworks maker."
Kaien Shiba laughed heartily. His greatest hobby was inviting friends to his home and watching their strange, hesitant expressions.
"Come on, Yato. Let's go inside and have a drink. Besides fireworks, our family's liquor is second to none. We had a brewing tradition even before the Seireitei existed."
"Senior Kaien, shouldn't you wait until you no longer need a wheelchair before drinking? Alcohol isn't good for recovery."
"Ha, have you forgotten the name of my Soul-Cutter Sword? Nejibana, a water-type Soul-Cutter Sword! For me, liquor is medicine. No matter how much I drink, I can't get