Catching cicadas with Shunpo is much easier than climbing trees to catch them when I was a child.
However, happiness decreased rather than increased.
Isane Kotetsu remembers it clearly: when he was a child, he would catch cicadas, and from the moment he climbed the tree until he came down, he was in a state of excitement.
Unlike now, before even climbing down the tree, the initial excitement dissipated like bubbles. Was it because it was too easy? Or did it signify that I've grown up?
If it's the latter, then there are quite a few joys that are lost as one grows up.
While his mind wandered, Isane Kotetsu's hands didn't stop; he touched the cicada's body and, abandoning his chant, said, " Hadō #4, Byakurai."
Control your Spiritual Power so that the lightning only Flash at your fingertips, with no power left to shoot out, keeping it at the level of stunning the cicada.
One by one, the cicadas were stunned by the electric shock.
The chirping of cicadas in the summer has lessened considerably in the courtyard.
At least Shiraishi, now in the hospital room, could no longer hear those sounds unique to summer.
Isane Kotetsu leaped back to the window frame, about to jump down.
Shiraishi hurriedly shouted, "Stop!"
"?" Isane Kotetsu stopped, remaining in a half-crouching, forward-leaning position, his large eyes filled with confusion, and asked, "What's wrong?"
Shiraishi did not answer, his expression quite serious, his eyes fixed on her feet.
Isane Kotetsu is tall, which may be why his small feet appear to be the most striking feature.
Those feet, treading on brownish-yellow straw sandals, revealed the flawless whiteness of their skin.
The ten pink toes peek out from the front, slightly curled up due to nervousness, which is quite adorable.
He had never noticed before that women's feet were so beautiful.
If someone were to step on pickled cabbage like that, not only would the price not drop, but it would probably rise overnight, and pickled cabbage instant noodles would sell out instantly.
No one would refuse to have a pair of feet like that stepping on them.
"What's wrong?" Isane Kotetsu asked, holding a bunch of cicadas in her hands. She had looked them over but hadn't noticed anything unusual.
Shiraishi snapped out of her reverie and laughed, "It's nothing, I just thought Isane's feet were so beautiful that I wanted to look at them a little longer."
Isane Kotetsu glanced down at her feet. Because it was so hot, she wasn't wearing tabi socks to keep cool, and her toes were sticking out.
These are feet!
Someone actually is interested in feet?!
She was shocked, but then she realized what was happening, quickly jumped off the bed, her cheeks flushed, and glared at him, saying, "You're a pervert!"
"I'm not a pervert, it's just that everyone has a love for beauty."
Shiraishi answered with a serious expression that he wasn't a foot fetishist, he simply enjoyed looking at beautiful feet—what was wrong with that?
That's right!
Isane Kotetsu didn't know what to say, worried that he might have the same strong interest in other places.
Although he's wearing Shihakushō, he probably won't be interested in his hands or face—well, his face.
Her face was androgynous, the kind of face people would call a tomboy.
As for the hand, there is a certain possibility.
She wasn't bragging, but as a paramedic, her hands rarely get exposed to sunlight, and for hygiene reasons, she constantly trims and washes her nails.
The female Shinigami of the Fourth Division all possess beautiful hands.
Isane Kotetsu wanted to pull her hand away, but then realized that she was holding the cicada and couldn't put it in her sleeve, so she felt very uneasy.
Standing is awkward, sitting is awkward.
His face turned bright red with anxiety.
Seeing her expression, as if she was about to explode, Shiraishi quickly changed the subject, saying, "Okay, I was just kidding. Could you please grill some cicadas for me?"
"Phew, don't joke like that, you made me believe it," Isane Kotetsu breathed a sigh of relief, believing him.
No one in the world would be so perverted as to enjoy looking at feet, right?
She sat on the stool by the bed, her legs pressed together, and placed the cicadas she was holding on it. She picked one up with her left hand and opened her right palm upwards, chanting, " Hadō #31: Shakkahō."
With a little Spiritual Power, a fireball swirling with light appeared in her palm. She held the cicada's wings and gently spun it around on the surface of the fireball.
Bake on both sides.
Before long, the aroma of cicada meat filled the ward.
Shiraishi swallowed hard.
Soi Fon and Nemu Kurotsuchi prepared it for lunch, while the cicada meat was a snack.
They didn't collide in the same stomach.
He can eat as much as he wants.
Besides, cicadas are small, and the edible part is just a small piece; eating dozens of them wouldn't be a problem.
Isane Kotetsu peeled off the shell, but didn't put the meat directly to his mouth.
What if you accidentally stick out your tongue and lick your finger?
She still harbored some wariness towards Shiraishi, and placed the cicada meat into the medicine bowl.
One after another.
The crackling sound of shelling filled the air, and the aroma of meat grew even stronger.
Shiraishi didn't urge her. Looking at Isane Kotetsu by the bedside, she was very serious about roasting cicadas and peeling their shells, so serious that she didn't care at all whether someone was watching from the bed.
Her long, thin, violet-colored braids fell over her shoulders; her cheeks were rosy; and her features gave her a somewhat tomboyish appearance.
But it's not a face shape issue; a quarter of the problem is due to the eyebrows.
Her eyebrows were not as thin as others'; they were thicker, as if the Soul King had drawn them on with a brush.
Three-quarters of the reason is hair.
Her hair was too short; from a woman's perspective, hair that couldn't even cover her ears wasn't considered long at all.
Most women in the world would look like tomboys if they had short hair.
If she trimmed her thick eyebrows and grew her hair a little longer—not to the waist, but at least loosely draped over her shoulders—it would be a perfect solution.
In that case, her looks would definitely reach a top-tier level, especially with those legs that are arguably the longest among female Shinigami.
A picture formed in Shiraishi's mind as he asked, " Isane, why did you cut your hair so short?"
Isane Kotetsu paused in peeling the shell, then replied, "It's too hot. Short hair is cooler, and long hair is troublesome to wash. Short hair is much easier to wash."
"But you're a girl, I think you look better with long hair."
Isane Kotetsu pointed to himself and winked, saying, "Have you ever seen a girl this tall? I'm used to it by now. Being treated like a man is fine with me."
"I think Isane is very pretty; she would be even prettier with long hair."
Shiraishi continued to persuade her, not just out of his own interest, but also because he saw that Isane Kotetsu also had a desire to become beautiful, but for some reason, she couldn't overcome that hurdle.
After all, if you don't want to look pretty, who would bother to deliberately grow long, thin braids and tie them up every day?
Isane Kotetsu frowned slightly and said, "Please don't joke about this kind of thing."
Shiraishi said seriously, "I'm telling you the truth. You'd look absolutely gorgeous with long hair. Trust my judgment."
The man's eyes shone like stars, and his face was filled with sincerity.
Thump! Isane Kotetsu's heart skipped a beat. Before she could think of the reason, a gentle voice came from the doorway, " Isane, go and do your thing."
"Yes." Isane Kotetsu quickly stood up, the remaining dozen or so limbs on her legs scattered on the ground, and she hurriedly tried to pick them up.
Retsu Unohana grabbed her hand and smiled, "Let me do it."
"Yes." Isane Kotetsu never refused any of Captain Unohana's words.
After dismissing the naive Third Seat, Retsu Unohana turned to the person on the bed, "You think you can just stay here in the hospital for a few days and then steal my Third Seat away?"
Shiraishi chuckled and said, "Actually, I wanted to kidnap Captain Unohana, cough cough, just kidding."
Seeing Retsu Unohana raise her hand, he hurriedly changed his words, fearing that the righteous hand would strike and trigger a cramping pain.
Retsu Unohana lowered her hand, feeling rather helpless about his tendency to forget the pain once the wound healed. She stopped talking about Isane and said, " Captain-Commander Yamamoto is very satisfied with your performance in this incident and has decided to reward you."
Is there anything you want?