The Research and Development Institute had always kept a close watch on the Dangai. Whenever a small Hollow headed for the World of the Living or Soul Society, it never escaped notice.
Needless to say, the same was true of Menos Grande-class Hollows.
To keep Nnoitra and Tesla from being detected, Aizen had cast Kyōka Suigetsu over the Research and Development Institute in advance, leaving Kaname Tōsen and Gin Ichimaru there to maintain it.
That ensured no Soul Reaper would notice them and no trace would remain in the Projection Hall's records, in case someone got bored and looked through old recordings.
Nnoitra didn't care about those tedious details. He stepped through the Senkaimon Aizen had opened.
On the other side was an enclosed space.
There were no candles; light shone through rows of small circular holes in the walls and ceiling.
A richly dressed man stood in the center of the room. He looked to be in his thirties or forties, with long, dark green hair covering his ears, thin cheeks, and narrow eyes. His expression held an inescapable chill.
"You're Takehiko Tsunayashiro?" Nnoitra asked.
"Yes. Stay here and don't wander around. If anyone comes in, tell them you're experimental Hollows I modified. Don't mention Lord Aizen."
Takehiko Tsunayashiro wasted no time on pleasantries and went straight to telling them what they should do next.
The arrogance ingrained in his bones disgusted the Hollows.
"Yeah." Nnoitra couldn't be bothered saying anything else to him. He decided that after killing Shiraishi, he'd kill this guy too.
He slammed his weapon into the floor, burying one tip of its crescent deep in the surface. Then he sat on the sharp blade, head lowered, and touched the floor with his fingers.
Pleased with his docile attitude, Takehiko Tsunayashiro turned and left.
Nnoitra looked as though he was sitting there in a daze, but he was actually probing his surroundings.
Unlike the other Espada, he had a distinctive way of detecting Reiatsu: by touching the ground with his fingers, he could sense the Reiatsu around him over a range of several thousand li.
One, two...
No one particularly strong, huh? Nnoitra was growing sleepy from waiting when an immensely powerful Reiatsu response suddenly came through the ground.
His right eye flew wide. The hand pressed to the floor clenched abruptly and lifted, sending fragments of flooring sliding from his fingertips like sand onto the gouges below.
The response came from a thousand li to the east.
Thick clouds and mist churned among the mountains, vast banks of clouds burning red in the light of the setting sun.
Retsu Unohana landed on a branch, her long black hair falling loose over her shoulders as she looked around.
Lush trees climbed the mountainside and disappeared into the fiery clouds and mist. The air was fresh, and the scene was as beautiful as a fairyland.
"Isn't this mountain a little too big?"
Shiraishi landed on a nearby tree and looked up. The mountain had to be at least three thousand meters high, its summit hidden by the fiery clouds curling around it. It probably covered no less than a thousand square kilometers.
Retsu Unohana turned her head and said with a smile, "I'm sure having you with us will speed up our search for the Dragon Lantern Fungus."
Shiraishi pressed his lips together. Looking at her expression, which said she believed in him, he strongly suspected he'd been tricked into coming along as manual labor.
He'd even carried the herb basket the whole way.
As a man, he didn't mind doing physical work, being strong and sturdy. But searching an area this vast for Dragon Lantern Fungus the size of a ping-pong ball...
Honestly, he didn't have the patience for it. Before coming, he'd assumed they either knew exactly where the medicinal herb was or that the mountain wasn't very big.
Who would've thought it was this enormous?
"Actually, I think..." He tried to turn her down tactfully.
"If you find it, I can reward you with a kiss."
Retsu Unohana's almond-shaped eyes curved into crescents as she offered him a tempting deal.
Shiraishi stared at her glossy, soft lips and made up his mind. With righteous conviction, he said, "Leave it to me. It's just some Dragon Lantern Fungus. Oh, right, do you mean what you said?"
"I never lie," she replied with a smile.
Shiraishi was in no mood to linger. "Then I'll start looking over here," he said seriously.
Once she saw him leave, Isane Kotetsu could no longer contain her curiosity. "Sister Unohana, why did you invite him along?"
"Isn't it better to have another person helping?"
Retsu Unohana answered with a question of her own, with no intention of revealing what she really thought. This Third Seat was a poor liar; if she knew the truth, she could easily give it away and make things awkward.
After all, she didn't doubt Shiraishi's character. She just wondered why she couldn't sense his Reiatsu.
Through physical contact, Retsu Unohana had determined that his claim about it being his Zanpakuto's ability was a lie.
During their intimate conversation at the hot spring, Shiraishi had spun one tale after another. Eight out of every ten things he'd said had been lies or boasts.
The information she could actually trust was pitifully scarce.
It made her feel more and more that Shiraishi was like that brat Shunsui: a glib talker who understood things more clearly than anyone.
There were differences, too. Shunsui just talked a big game, but this kid really did have the nerve-and he lusted after her body.
"There was still no need to say you'd kiss him."
Isane Kotetsu voiced what was really bothering her. She felt that price was far greater than the Dragon Lantern Fungus was worth.
"The same offer applies to you. If you find it, I'll reward you properly."
"I-I don't need that." "Serving Sister Unohana is my duty." "I don't actually mind the kiss or anything, but it would be better for me to get it than Shiraishi..."
Isane Kotetsu rambled on until she'd convinced herself, then set to work full of enthusiasm, determined to defend her captain's kiss.
Retsu Unohana chuckled. She hadn't said where she would kiss him; a kiss on the back of the hand was still a kiss.
Seeing how cute Isane was, she decided to reward her with a kiss on the cheek.
However, her extensive experience with medicinal herbs meant she knew the habits of Dragon Lantern Fungus well. She was more likely than either of them to find it first, so there was little chance she'd have to make good on that reward.
Unless someone's luck went through the roof.
Shiraishi clearly wasn't that lucky. He was lost.
The forest had been manageable at dusk, but once night fell, it was truly dark. The occasional moonlight filtering through gaps in the leaves was nowhere near enough to see by.
Walking among the trees, he had no sense of direction at all.
He'd clearly been walking straight ahead, yet somehow he kept circling back to the same spot. Even leaving marks didn't help.
Continuing the search would only waste time, but he was reluctant to give up.
It was a kiss from Retsu Unohana. No matter where she kissed him, it would be a first for him.
In all his years, not a single part of his body had truly experienced what a woman's lips felt like.
It was all because he was a fine young man who'd answered the call to stay away from the three great vices. Whenever he had a need, he used his hand and never troubled anyone else for help, leaving him with plenty of firsts where the opposite sex was concerned.
He wanted to experience it!
Annoyed, Shiraishi punched through a tree and leaped onto another. Given the harsh conditions, he could only find somewhere to rest or continue searching somewhere with plenty of moonlight.
The latter was unlikely. The mountain forest was too dense, so he jumped from tree to tree, heading upward.
Before long, a small clearing came into view, with a tent pitched and a campfire burning.
Someone was roasting meat.
He took a closer look, and his face filled with astonishment. "Kūkaku? What are you doing here?"