Chapter 70: Drunken Rangiku Matsumoto
The awkward uproar at the training grounds, caused by a vice-captain fleeing at the last moment, was barely smoothed over by the vice principal's efforts to patch things up.
The rest of the ceremony was wrapped up hastily, and it was obvious that no one's mind was still on it.
The moment the ceremony ended, Isshin Shiba impatiently dragged Liu Chuan and Tōshirō Hitsugaya toward the academy infirmary with murderous momentum—
He wanted to see just how "ill" his vice-captain, whose "old ailment had flared up," really was!
However, when they arrived at the infirmary, faintly scented with disinfectant, they found only the duty medical officer, who said with a bewildered look, "Vice-Captain Matsumoto? She hasn't been here."
The ominous feeling in Isshin Shiba's heart grew stronger.
With a dark expression, he relied on his deep understanding of his own vice-captain's character and tracked her down until he finally stopped outside the academy's spacious student cafeteria.
It was not mealtime, and the cafeteria was empty and quiet. Only from a corner came a broken, tuneless hum, along with the faint clinking of porcelain.
Isshin Shiba pushed open the half-closed door with a face as black as thunder, Liu Chuan and Tōshirō Hitsugaya following behind him.
At the long table farthest inside the cafeteria, Rangiku Matsumoto sat sideways, one arm draped boldly over the back of her chair.
Her other hand held an exquisitely engraved silver flask that clearly was not standard cafeteria equipment.
Her long orange hair hung messily over her shoulders. Her gaze was unfocused, and her normally seductive green eyes shimmered with moisture but had lost all focus.
Several empty plates lay scattered across the table before her, while the air was thick with a much stronger smell of alcohol than before.
"Hehe...