Shiraishi had not always been like this.
After crossing over to Soul Society, three years of struggling with the language had made him realize that it wasn't that he disliked talking. He used to have an online platform where he could communicate, which was why he had seemed quiet and reserved in real life.
Once he lost that platform, he longed to talk to people, to chat with pretty girls and brag in front of others, but the language barrier stopped him.
His desire to communicate had built up day after day, and the confidence his power had given him allowed him to follow his convictions, bravely pursue his own happiness, and be a happy wind man.
This was...
So much fun.
Retsu Unohana's big almond-shaped eyes narrowed into crescents again. The last time she had encountered someone with such a glib tongue was the last time.
She had given that person quite the teasing.
"Without an honest heart, you can't go far in kendo either. Shiraishi-san, it's rare for us to meet, so why don't we soak in the hot spring together? The water here is very good for the body. It nourishes the skin and relieves fatigue."
"Cap-!" Isane Kotetsu nearly called her by her Fourth Division title, but when Unohana gave her a look with narrowed eyes, she hurriedly corrected herself and whispered, "Unohana-sis, we didn't bring any bath towels!"
No bath towels?!
Shiraishi didn't miss that whisper. Two thick streams of hot air puffed from his nostrils.
After all, there was no such thing as underwear in Soul Society. Once a kimono came off, there was nothing underneath. "Wouldn't that be inappropriate?"
"If you don't want to..."
"No, I do!" Shiraishi hurriedly interrupted. To hell with everything else-it wasn't as though he was forcing her. She had invited him herself.
As a man, how could he back down at a time like this?
Still, she was indeed a woman who had lived for over a thousand years. Her open-mindedness was admirable.
Shiraishi was thrilled. It was his first time bathing with women, and he couldn't wait to start undressing.
Retsu Unohana took Isane Kotetsu behind a nearby rock to undress.
It took quite a while. Perhaps someone was too shy and unwilling, and needed some convincing.
Shiraishi slipped into the hot spring and leaned against a bluestone rock, counting silently. When he heard footsteps, he hurriedly turned around, and his pounding heart cooled.
With a sight like this, getting off would be a little difficult.
The important parts, such as their breasts and buttocks, had vanished entirely, making their heads and arms, waists, and legs look like three separate sections.
Bakudō number twenty-six, Kyokkō, could cover objects and make them invisible, like an advanced version of a chameleon.
Shiraishi couldn't see either woman's breasts or buttocks at all, yet he really was looking at them. That natural scenery was their breasts and buttocks.
Without a powerful imagination, he couldn't reconstruct the view. If he just looked at their legs...
That would work too.
Shiraishi's gaze fell on Isane Kotetsu's legs. At 187 centimeters tall, she had such long legs, with just the right amount of flesh to keep them from looking like sticks. Her skin was like milk, like white jade, like a freshly peeled egg.
I'm satisfied.
He pressed his palms together and said with utmost respect, "Kotetsu, thank you for the feast."
"E-eh?"
Isane Kotetsu squealed, stamped her feet on the ground, and shrank behind her captain, her face so red it looked as though a huge cloud of steam might burst from it.
"It's all right. Kyokkō is covering you properly. But your legs really are enviable, Isane. Every time I look at them, they're like works of art."
Retsu Unohana wasn't the least bit shy. She even reached out and squeezed her leg. Leaving looks aside, beautiful legs like these depended entirely on height.
Without a height of 187 centimeters, where would a pair of legs this long come from?
"Unohana-sis." Isane Kotetsu called out to her, blushing. She really couldn't understand why they were bathing with a man.
Outsiders might not know, but how could she not?
It was completely different from wrapping herself in a bath towel. Her naked body was exposed to the air, and the breeze brushed the hair below, making the insides of her thighs itch.
She was terrified that Kyokkō wouldn't work.
"Don't be such a baby. Be good and get in the hot spring. We rarely get time off, so don't waste it like this."
Retsu Unohana ignored her protest and took her hand, leading her toward the hot spring.
Isane Kotetsu wanted badly to argue. This wasn't time off at all. They had slipped out to slack off during work.
Ah, Lieutenant Yamada is going to scold us again when we get back.
She silently lamented her situation.
As Third Seat, she was caught between the captain and the lieutenant. If she listened to the captain, the lieutenant was very unhappy.
If she listened to the lieutenant, the captain was even unhappier.
I'm so tired.
Thinking of the headaches awaiting her when she returned, Isane Kotetsu stepped into the hot spring and let the warm water envelop her body. Her troubles and worries seemed to seep out through her pores.
This feels so good~
She closed her eyes and enjoyed it.
Retsu Unohana sat down beside Shiraishi, shoulder to shoulder and leg to leg with him. Smiling, she asked, "Shiraishi-san, is the sword at your waist a Zanpakuto?"
Shiraishi felt as though her body heat was going to melt him.
It was the first time in his life he had soaked in a hot spring and chatted with a woman, and at such close range. A wonderful feeling that was hard to put into words welled up inside him.
No wonder hot springs had become an indispensable part of anime, movies, and television.
Hot springs and a woman's body heat were the perfect combination!
"Yeah. I picked it up from a Shinigami who was killed by a Hollow."
"Judging by its appearance, is your Zanpakuto always in its Shikai state?"
"Yeah. Its name is Infinity. It doesn't have any impressive abilities; it just conceals my Reiatsu."
Shiraishi felt light as a feather, but he retained a basic grip on his senses. He had to be clear about what he should and shouldn't say. He absolutely couldn't let a woman's beauty lead him astray.
He swallowed.
Looking at Retsu Unohana's gentle smile and feeling her scorching body heat, he understood deeply what it meant to be unable to stop.
Even though he knew she was using a despicable honey trap to pry information out of him, he still couldn't help revealing the truth.
For example, he was currently a criminal being hunted by the Second Division, accused of killing its Fifth Seat, Hasegawa Taizo.
Of course, he made sure to emphasize that everything he had done was to rid the people of a menace.
"Where are you planning to go next?"
Retsu Unohana paid no attention to the slain Hasegawa Taizo, nor did she spend much time praising Shiraishi's actions as righteous.
There was no value in discussing that sort of thing.
The important question was where he would go from here.
"Where the wind takes me," Shiraishi answered coolly, without mentioning that he had settled down in West District Ten.
That would bring up Ichirō Yagyū, Kawakami Saburō, and the gray-market industry behind them.
"If you have nowhere to go, would you like to come with us to West District Twenty-Six?"
Shiraishi looked utterly puzzled. "What are you going there for?"
Retsu Unohana smiled. "I heard from a colleague that there's Dragon Lantern Fungus in West District Twenty-Six. It's a very rare medicinal ingredient, so I wanted to try my luck and see if I could pick some."
Curious which captain it was, Shiraishi asked, "Is that colleague a man?"
"Yes. He's very knowledgeable and wears glasses."
That brief answer sent towering waves surging through Shiraishi's heart.