Destruction happens in an instant, but cleanup takes a long time—ten days, half a month, and it may not be possible to rebuild.
Shiraishi waited on the mountain for a long time but no one returned. He went back to the Tsunayashiro Clan's residence. Many houses had collapsed, and wails and cries were mixed in the wind, which made people feel sad.
He did not look for Retsu Unohana and Isane Kotetsu.
Well, from a distance, you can watch without being too affected, but getting up close to the injured and hearing the cries and wails of their families...
He felt upset, and since he didn't know how to Kaidō, he felt he couldn't be of any help, so he simply didn't go there and went straight to the main building in the center.
Slip through the open window, Takehiko Tsunayashiro's head still on the cold ground, his body lying on the table, blood still dripping onto the floor with a pattering sound.
Kūkaku Shiba stood before the desk, a thick notebook clutched in his right hand, a black cloak draped over his shoulders, staring intently at Takehiko Tsunayashiro's head.
" Kūkaku, are you alright?" Shiraishi asked.
Her gaze shifted from the severed head on the ground to Shiraishi, a flash of anger crossing her eyes. She snapped, "Did you kill Takehiko Tsunayashiro?"
"Um."
"You're such a busybody!"
Kūkaku Shiba let out a roar and forcefully threw down the lab diary.
Snap! The table was smashed, and the headless corpse fell to the ground. The cover of the diary was stained with blood; this was the compelling evidence she had obtained from searching the laboratory.
This proves that Takehiko Tsunayashiro orchestrated the murder of her older brother, and that he used a cloak that concealed his Reiatsu combined with Micro Kidō to achieve invisibility, approaching her brother's body and stealing it disguised as Reishi.
It was originally a flawless plan that wouldn't attract anyone's attention, but it was noticed by Shiraishi.
The diary entry mentions that it was somewhat unexpected, but I didn't pay much attention to it. In the following days, I was busy with the experiment to make Kaien Shiba's remains Hollowfication Experiment, but it failed.
Then came his scathing rebuke of Kaien Shiba.
Those words enraged her. She stormed out, grabbed someone, and demanded to know where Takehiko Tsunayashiro was. The result was that the guy was already dead.
How could he just die like that? And at someone else's hands no less!
A surge of anger welled up inside him, burning so intensely it felt like his heart was melting.
"Sorry, I didn't think much about the situation at the time, I just went ahead and stabbed."
Shiraishi looked apologetic, blaming it all on Takehiko Tsunayashiro for being too unguarded and too tempting, as if he were saying, "Come and ambush me!"
Kūkaku Shiba ignored the explanation, staring wide-eyed and gritting her teeth, looking like a tiger eyeing its prey.
After staring for a while, she let out a heavy sigh, scratched her head, and said with great displeasure, "Why are you apologizing so obediently at this time? Damn it, so cunning! Give me a reason to get angry, can't I just have a fight?"
Shiraishi thought for a moment, realizing that suppressing his anger wasn't good for his health, and Kaidō, "There are many ways to vent, such as drinking and chatting. If you want to fight, we can go to a secluded place, and I'll accompany you for a good, satisfying fight."
"Never mind, let's go for a drink."
Kūkaku Shiba lost the will to fight and decided to numb himself with alcohol. As for where the alcohol would come from, it would definitely be stolen from the branch family by Tsunayashiro.
The Shiba Clan and the Tsunayashiro Clan have been at odds for a long time, with a long-standing grudge. Coupled with Kaien Shiba's hatred, they would not only steal sake, but also the Tsunayashiro family's main treasury.
She didn't even frown.
After beating up seven people, they finally found the sake cellar of the Tsunayashiro family.
It was in a bright, large room, with jars of fine wine displayed on shelves against the wall, some of them Western wines, all bottled.
Without any ceremony, Kūkaku Shiba reached out and took out a jar, tossed it to him, then took another jar, uncorked it, and the rich aroma of the sake wafted into his nostrils.
"Come on, let's finish a whole jar."
"Cheers!" Shiraishi hesitated for a moment, but decided to go all the way. He tilted his head back, held the wine jar, and gulped it down.
Glug glug, the liquor isn't strong, it has a rice aroma and a slightly sweet taste.
Shiraishi drank the entire jar in one go, and just like in the TV series, smashed the jar heavily on the ground.
"Good, that's great!" Kūkaku Shiba followed suit, smashing the sake jar to pieces. The loud cracking sound was incredibly satisfying.
"Ha ha."
She let out a hearty laugh, then picked up another jar of wine and said, "I'm really sorry about earlier. It wasn't your fault, but I still snapped at you. Consider this jar my apology."
Glug glug.
The wine spilled, some flowing from the corners of her mouth, down her fair neck, piling up in small puddles on her chest, and slowly flowing down.
The sight of this beautiful scene made Shiraishi's mouth dry. He thought to himself, "This is fucking a real test for a man. I really want to lick it clean. I don't mean anything by it, I just don't want to waste this fine wine."
Kūkaku Shiba wasted a quarter of a jar of sake, causing a flood on her chest, but she didn't care and picked up another jar. "No matter what, you helped me avenge my brother. I want to thank you and offer you another jar."
"Why bother with all that fluff? Give me a real reward, like helping me get rid of my first kiss."
Shiraishi blurted out his true feelings without thinking, then realized it wasn't quite right and quickly laughed it off, saying, "Just kidding, don't take it seriously. Let's keep drinking, we can't let you drink all by yourself."
Kūkaku Shiba, who hadn't drunk any, said through his blurry eyes, "Oh, I almost forgot, you've been lusting after my body for a while now."
"Ahem, let's not talk about that anymore. Let's talk about our life ideals."
Shiraishi felt awkward and wanted to change the subject.
Kūkaku Shiba chuckled, "Haha, today you'll get what you want."
"You?"
Before he could ask a question, the rich aroma of wine wafted into her mouth along with her soft lips, then quickly disappeared.
Shiraishi froze. "My... my first kiss."
"As if everyone's first kiss wasn't it."
Kūkaku Shiba replied casually, "Now you have nothing to say, right?"
"Can we do it again? I wasn't prepared at all."
He was met with a punch.
Shiraishi could have dodged, but he neither did nor blocked; he still had that much emotional intelligence. "Ouch, why did you hit me?"
It doesn't actually hurt at all, but at this point, it's better to exaggerate a bit.
"Haha." Kūkaku Shiba laughed, quickening the flow of the wine from her chest, and put her hands on her hips, saying, "I can kiss you whenever I want, and beat you up whenever I want, so what?"
"No, how could I dare to disobey the eldest daughter of the prestigious Shiba Clan?"
"You really don't know how to flatter."
Kūkaku Shiba retorted that his flattery skills were subpar, failing to hit the mark at all, "Oh well, let's keep drinking."
"I'll try the bottled wine and see how it tastes."
Shiraishi didn't want to keep drinking jar after jar of liquor; otherwise, he'd collapse after a short while.
Kūkaku Shiba continued drinking the jar of sake, feeling that drinking like this was very bold, as if he no longer cared about anything in the world, and he kept rambling on and on.
In the end, they forgot what they were saying and were plunged into darkness.