The Unforgiven from Shinigami
September 19th, early morning.
My head is throbbing slightly.
I drank way too much last night; I definitely need to quit drinking next time.
He didn't know how many times this thought had crossed his mind, but Shiraishi propped himself up with one hand and gently rubbed his temples with the other.
There was no smell of alcohol in the room.
Clean up any vomit, bottles, or leftover food.
With the windows and doors open, a gentle morning breeze freshens the air inside.
Shiraishi leaned back, looked at the two stunning beauties in front of him, and smiled, saying, " Matsumoto, are you alright?"
Last night, seeing you foaming at the mouth, I thought I had to take you to the General Infirmary.
Rangiku Matsumoto shook her head, her expression hesitant, unsure how to begin. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and parted her red lips slightly, saying, " Captain Shiraishi, there's something I want to report to you."
You look very serious. What's wrong?
Shiraishi asked curiously.
Rangiku Matsumoto bit her lip and said, "Last night, Miss Kūkaku was murdered in the New City District outside the Noble Street."
Boom!
A deafening roar filled his ears, and his brain went numb for a moment. Shiraishi blinked. "Are you kidding me?"
Rangiku Matsumoto pursed her lips and said in a low voice, "I'm sorry, Captain Shiraishi, this is a report from the District 6. The body is at the morgue of the General Infirmary facility."
"Oh."
Shiraishi responded calmly, without the intense emotion one might expect.
Nemu Kurotsuchi breathed a sigh of relief, realizing that Sister Rangiku had misunderstood, and opened the food box lid, asking, "Would you like breakfast?"
Bang.
Rangiku Matsumoto raised her hand and tapped her on the head.
She looked up, a hint of confusion in her deep green eyes, and asked, " Sister Rangiku, why did you hit my head?"
"Because you're an idiot."
Rangiku Matsumoto rolled her eyes, Shiraishi had already disappeared from her sight, turned around, and said without even putting on her straw sandals, "I'm going to the General Infirmary. If you need anything, go back to the Twelfth Division first."
Nemu Kurotsuchi touched the spot on her head where she had been hit, and asked, looking down, "Kitty, why do you think this happened?"
The black cat didn't even bother with a perfunctory meow; its eyes were filled with shock. Kūkaku was dead? Who did it? Aizen?
Fourth Division, General Infirmary.
Shiraishi slipped through the open window, barefoot, a knife slung diagonally at his waist. "Retsu, Kūkaku?"
Retsu Unohana stood up from her seat and said, "Come with me."
Is it really her?
"Yes, I checked it carefully and confirmed it is Ms. Shiba herself."
Retsu Unohana led the way and answered his questions.
Shiraishi couldn't understand his current mood; his mind was completely blank.
To say it's sad, no.
I can't even muster the anger.
A blank mind cannot generate other emotions.
Arriving at the morgue, Retsu Unohana pushed open the door. It was daytime, but the room was dimly lit. A person lay on the table, covered with a white sheet.
Shiraishi walked silently to the front of the stage, his hands trembling as he lifted the white cloth, touching his cold cheek, his eyes filled with doubt.
This person looks exactly like Kūkaku, so why does it feel like they don't look alike?
"Retsu, are you really sure she's Kūkaku? I don't think she is."
Retsu Unohana sighed, " Shiraishi, you have to think positively. She's just like Kūkaku Shiba."
"You're talking nonsense," Shiraishi said, walking down the neck and feeling increasingly uneasy. This wasn't Kūkaku Shiba at all.
"This is definitely fake, I can tell."
" Shiraishi, stop lying to yourself."
Retsu Unohana insists that the corpse is the real Kūkaku Shiba.
"They all said no! Please check again!"
Shiraishi became enraged, grabbing Retsu Unohana by the collar with both hands and shoving her against the wall.
Faced with this rude behavior, she showed no anger, her eyes gentle as water, and said, " Shiraishi, I understand it's hard for you to accept reality, but the person there is Kūkaku Shiba. No matter how many times I check, it's the same."
"Retsu! Believe me, I'm not out of my mind, the person lying there is definitely not Kūkaku Shiba!"
Shiraishi reiterated that he was not out of his mind.
" Shiraishi, don't do this! Let go of Captain Unohana right now!"
Isane Kotetsu rushed in from outside, trying to pry his hands off with both of hers, almost in tears.
Seeing this, Shiraishi loosened her grip and pleaded, " Isane, please check again. She really isn't Kūkaku."
Upon hearing this, Isane Kotetsu could no longer hold back her tears and choked out, " Shiraishi, don't be like this. Captain Unohana's test results are accurate."
Miss Kūkaku is really dead.
"You, ugh! You guys are impossible to explain to me. I'm not mentally unstable!"
Shiraishi stamped his foot, knowing that continuing to talk was useless, so he simply stopped talking, and left with a Steel Tempest, landing at the border between the Tenth Division District and Fourth Division District.
Sunlight streamed down from the sky, and the surrounding buildings obscured everyone else.
He stood on the rooftop and shouted, " Azashiro! Azashiro! Come out quickly, I have something to ask you!"
Normally, when he called out Sōya Azashiro's name, he would get a response.
Not this time.
"... Azashiro!"
He kept shouting until his throat was hoarse, but there was no response.
Logically speaking, Sōya Azashiro didn't answer, he would still show his face.
Unless there are special circumstances.
Shiraishi scratched his head hard with both hands, telling himself to calm down, he had to stay calm.
He sat down and decided to sort things out slowly.
First of all, Kūkaku is definitely still alive; it's just that her whereabouts are unknown.
Secondly, Retsu Unohana wouldn't lie to him.
That means Retsu Unohana really believed that the fake corpse was Kūkaku Shiba.
This is something that not everyone can do.
As a master of the Kaidō, the only person Shiraishi could think of who could influence her judgment and make her make false decisions was Aizen's Kyōka Suigetsu.
Thinking about it again, while Sōya Azashiro's fusion ability is troublesome, figuring out a way to counter Aizen isn't difficult either.
Thinking about it this way, Shiraishi believes that Kūkaku was definitely captured by Aizen, though the specific reason is unclear.
In short, the priority is to rescue them.
Thinking of this, Shiraishi stood up from the roof ridge, his eyes filled with determination.
It's time to clash with Aizen.
He used the Steel Tempest to leave, heading straight for the Fifth Division's barracks to conceal his whereabouts.
My Spiritual Sense quietly opened up, like a search radar that had been turned on, and Reiatsu emerged one by one.
One of them was exceptionally large, like the sun suppressing the brilliance of stars and the moon, making the other Reiatsu almost negligible.
"Damn it." Shiraishi cursed under his breath; Aizen's Reiatsu was much stronger than last time.
That's not right, wasn't that guy already at his limit?
The idea flashed through his mind, and he quietly slipped into the Fifth Division's captain's room.
Like him, Aizen did not own a separate residence elsewhere, but instead chose a single room in the barracks where the captain lived.