All I Want Now Is Money
Seeing how certain Shūtara Senjumaru was, Yamabuki Chidori was overjoyed.
"Pay the deposit first. Once it's in my hands, I'll get started immediately," Shūtara Senjumaru said without looking back from the design sketches.
The smile on Yamabuki Chidori's face instantly froze.
A deposit?
Where was he supposed to get a deposit?
Those card-playing bastards had swindled away all his money!
"Cough, cough. Well, I left in a hurry and didn't bring any money with me. I'll go back and get it right away." Only then did Yamabuki Chidori remember that he was flat broke. Calling it miserable did not even begin to cover it.
Damn it! He'd worked for a month and somehow ended up owing half a month's wages!
I knew gambling and drugs were taboos. From now on, anyone who touches either is a grandson.
"Who can I borrow some money from?" Yamabuki Chidori racked his brains. Hachisato and Chōjirō Sasakibe were both ordinary squad members, and their monthly pay was not much to begin with. Borrowing from them was unrealistic.
"Should I try asking the Captain Commander?" The moment the thought arose, Yamabuki Chidori dismissed it. That old man was stingy as hell. There was no way he would lend him money.
Besides, he needed capital to open a shop. This money had to come from someone wealthy.
Only three rich people he knew remained.
One was Shunshun Shidō, one was Tsunayashiro Fūka, and the other was Katoru Hatsunoya.
Tsunayashiro Fūka was far too unreliable. Who knew what kind of schemes he had hidden away? He could not be trusted.
What about Katoru Hatsunoya?
Borrowing money from a girl...
I'm the Chief Strategist of the Gotei 13. How could I possibly do something like that?
That left only one person: Shunshun Shidō.
Yamabuki Chidori rushed to the Shihōin Clan estate.
"Borrow money? No problem. But shouldn't you pay back what you already owe me first?" Shunshun Shidō asked with a smile.
"..."
If he had not brought it up, Yamabuki Chidori would have forgotten that he still owed him half a month's wages!
Aaaahhh!
Why was this world always targeting him?!
"Well... I can write an IOU..."
He was so practiced at this procedure that it hurt to watch.
Shunshun Shidō suddenly turned grave and pressed a finger to his lips. "Don't talk. I hear the Captain Commander summoning me. Oh no, it must be something extremely urgent. I need to see the Captain Commander right away!"
With that, he used Flash Step and fled!
Yamabuki Chidori: "Heh. Love is gone."
He had always heard people say that a penny could stump a hero, but he never believed it. How could a hero be stumped by money?
Now I fucking believe it!
Yamabuki Chidori staggered through the Seireitei in despair when a fair, tender hand extended from behind him, holding a bulging money pouch.
"Hm?" Yamabuki Chidori turned around and saw Katoru Hatsunoya.
"I heard from Shihōin that you urgently needed money? Take this for now. If it isn't enough, you can come find me at the Katori Family." Katoru Hatsunoya spoke very gently.
Help in a snowstorm! Tell me, what was help in a snowstorm?!
Yamabuki Chidori was so grateful that tears streamed down his face. He reached out to give Katoru Hatsunoya a huge hug.
I really just wanted to thank her. I had no other intentions! Really! Really!!
But before he could embrace the beauty, a slip of paper was slapped onto his face.
"What's this?" Yamabuki Chidori looked utterly bewildered.
"An IOU. Please put your fingerprint on it," Katoru Hatsunoya said, her thirty-seven-degree lips uttering ice-cold words.
"An... an IOU too?"
"Mm. What if you lose it all gambling again?" Katoru Hatsunoya added gently, delivering the finishing blow.
Yamabuki Chidori helplessly signed the IOU. What sin had he committed in a past life? Why had he reincarnated into the world of Bleach? Why did the money he owed keep increasing? Life was so hard! Wasn't the two-dimensional world supposed to be wonderful?
After adding both his fingerprint and signature to the IOU, he finally obtained his startup capital. Then he happily went to Rukongai, found Shūtara Senjumaru, paid the deposit, and was told to return in three days to collect the goods.
This is too hard!
His only hope now rested on Shūtara Senjumaru.
Three days later.
When he went to find Shūtara Senjumaru again, she had already completed the maid outfit and stockings he had commissioned.
The moment those two items appeared before him, Yamabuki Chidori felt that his money had not been wasted.
The maid outfit was black and white, leaning toward a cute style.
The stockings were pure white, with excellent elasticity and texture.
"Very nice!" Yamabuki Chidori could not stop fondling the white stockings. Then, with a smile, he said to Shūtara Senjumaru, "Why don't you put them on and try them out first?"
Shūtara Senjumaru rolled her eyes. Brat, don't think I don't know what you're thinking.
People in Soul Society generally lived very long lives. Though Shūtara Senjumaru looked only around twenty, her actual age was already over two hundred. Before her, Yamabuki Chidori, whose mental age really was only eighteen, was the little brat.
"If you're satisfied, settle the remaining balance," Shūtara Senjumaru said flatly.
Instead of reaching for his money, Yamabuki Chidori made a move. He reached out and held both of Shūtara Senjumaru's hands.
"What are you doing? I'll scream!" Shūtara Senjumaru tried to pull her hands away, but Yamabuki Chidori held on tightly.
"Listen to me first! Do you want to spend your whole life in obscurity in Rukongai, or do you want to become a woman who changes Soul Society?" Yamabuki Chidori began his pitch. Tenjirō Kirinji and Gen'en Kinra had both been talked into joining by him this way.
"Let go of me first... If you don't let go, I'm calling for help!"
"It won't help even if you scream your throat raw. Listen, I want to hire you as a technical consultant and mass-produce these two products. How much do you make in a month right now? I'll pay you ten times that! What do you say?" Yamabuki Chidori asked.
"Ten times... What a joke. Do I look like the kind of woman who can be bought with money?" Shūtara Senjumaru said proudly. "Explain the details carefully first."
Yamabuki Chidori talked himself hoarse.
He directly tied making clothes to the balance of the Three Realms.
In short, he sold her a dream with everything he had!
"Mm... Do you have money?" Shūtara Senjumaru asked.
"I will in the future."
"Then do you have a shop?" Shūtara Senjumaru asked again.
"Trust me, I will in the future."
Shūtara Senjumaru's face darkened. "Then do you have employees?"
"Of course I do." Yamabuki Chidori looked proud as he pointed at Shūtara Senjumaru, then himself. "The two of us can take on a hundred!"
Shūtara Senjumaru covered her face. He dared to start a business with nothing but his bare hands. He really was just a little brat! Still, she liked challenging things like this.
"Let's go! I want to see what you can make of yourself," Shūtara Senjumaru said.
Who Wouldn't Like White-Stocking Maids?
Excellent!
He had finally talked his first employee into joining.
Then came step two.
It was not finding ways to borrow money, nor was it recruiting troops. It was attracting investment.
He had already chosen his target: Katoru Hatsunoya. It was you.
No girl disliked beauty. The odds of a girl not loving beauty were like the odds of a man not loving power: they existed, but were very small.
As long as he showed off the superiority of his products and relied on his silver tongue, Yamabuki Chidori believed that Katoru Hatsunoya would definitely take the bait.
Thus, Yamabuki Chidori left Rukongai with Shūtara Senjumaru and went all the way to Katoru Hatsunoya's home.
No matter what, they were colleagues, so Katoru Hatsunoya received him very warmly.
"Did you run out of money again?" Katoru Hatsunoya's very first sentence stabbed straight into his heart.
"Nonsense. I'm an extremely frugal and responsible man." Yamabuki Chidori coughed lightly. "I came to discuss doing business with you. The Katori Family has its own industries too, right?"
"Ah, yes. We're involved in food, clothing, and daily necessities to some extent. We don't earn very much, but it's enough to cover the family's expenses," Katoru Hatsunoya said.
"Do you want to earn more? I guarantee this is a sure-profit business..."
Katoru Hatsunoya crossed her hands. "I won't follow you out to rob people! Even if I like cutting people down, I can't do something that betrays my ancestors!"
I never said I was taking you robbing!
Which eye of yours thinks I look like a robber?
Have I really become this poor?
"It's not that kind of business. What I'm doing is perfectly legitimate," Yamabuki Chidori said. "Generally speaking, girls like pretty and cute clothes, right? Those flashy kimonos are nice too, but compared to mine, heh heh!"
Yamabuki Chidori unfolded the black-and-white maid outfit. Its hem had adorable lace trim, along with delicate pure-white stockings.
"How about it? Want to put them on and try them?" Yamabuki Chidori tempted her.
Indeed, few girls could resist cute things, and Katoru Hatsunoya was no exception.
"But... why do I feel like this outfit is so embarrassing?" Katoru Hatsunoya asked.
"If you don't want to wear it, we can let Senbu wear it and see." Yamabuki Chidori sold Senbu out without hesitation.
Katoru Hatsunoya nodded as well. Wasn't a little sister meant to test the waters?
Very soon, Senbu was called over.
"Instructor! Long time no see. I heard you were injured when you went to Hueco Mundo before? How are your injuries now?" Senbu asked.
Yamabuki Chidori was deeply moved. This was the first time anyone had cared about his health since he recovered. I didn't dote on you for nothing.
"This is a gift I brought you. It's the latest fashion. Come on, put it on and let us see!" Yamabuki Chidori wore a mysterious smile.
This was a textbook case of repaying kindness with enmity!
"What a cute outfit! Is it for me? I'll go change into it right away!" Senbu did not notice the trap at all.
Yamabuki Chidori and Katoru Hatsunoya waited outside.
More than ten minutes later, Senbu came bouncing back.
Both Yamabuki Chidori and Katoru Hatsunoya's eyes lit up.
Senbu had already been extremely cute, but paired with the maid outfit and pure-white stockings, she became even more charming.
Moreover, when designing the maid outfit, Yamabuki Chidori had deliberately shortened the skirt by two inches, creating an Absolute Territory between the stockings and the hem.
Yamabuki Chidori patted his chest and guaranteed that no man in this world could resist the charm of the Absolute Territory.
Katoru Hatsunoya's eyes lit up too. "I'm investing in this project. How do we split the profits?"
"We're colleagues. Whether we profit or lose money, we split it fifty-fifty. How about it?" Yamabuki Chidori asked.
"No problem. We'll provide the capital and manpower, while you handle the technology," Katoru Hatsunoya said without hesitation.
A smug smile appeared on Yamabuki Chidori's face. Though he had never worked in fashion before, he knew plenty about clothing styles and combinations from a thousand years later. As long as he put in a little thought and leveraged his extensive connections, making money would naturally be easy.
He had already asked Shūtara Senjumaru. Making stockings was not particularly advanced technology, and they could be produced on an assembly line. Recruiting workers in Rukongai would be simple enough.
After all, Rukongai's living standards were right there in plain sight!
People could neither eat well nor sleep well, and they might be cut down at any moment.
Now, give them a job with food and lodging included, while also guaranteeing their personal safety. That kind of treatment was even more enticing than the five insurances and housing fund from a thousand years later.
Before you continue