Instead of going to Zuellni's restaurant to eat, Shiraishi went to the canteen window at the city hall and began to feast.
Rather than pursuing delicious food, he now focuses more on filling his stomach, demanding large portions and plenty of food. The place that meets this condition is the cafeteria.
Dishes for dozens or even hundreds of people are displayed in the window, packed on individual trays.
Shiraishi aimed at a plate of ramen, scooped it up with his chopsticks like he was drinking water, stuffed it into his mouth, and then sucked hard. The last strand hit his face, but he rolled it up with his tongue and swallowed it back down.
I'm so hungry, so incredibly hungry.
Fighting non-stop for fourteen consecutive days and nights—it was exhilarating, but also incredibly tiring.
A short sleep can replenish his energy, but it can't fill his stomach, leaving every cell in his body screaming with hunger!
He needs food.
The cafeteria Big Mom serving food were stunned and dared not stop them.
The chefs in the kitchen continued cooking, trying their best to handle the two sudden gluttons and prevent the cafeteria food from being devoured, thus affecting the meals of other employees.
While wolfing down his food, Shiraishi swallowed a piece of meat, then magically produced a bottle of ice-cold beer, bit off the cap, and gulped it down. He then used a ladle to scoop up a large amount of stir-fried wood ear mushrooms and meat, and began to chew it heartily.
He then stretched his hand towards the chicken leg.
A cold gaze suddenly fell upon him. Kūkaku Shiba even bit off the chicken leg bone, crunching away as he did so, his eyes revealing a guarded wariness.
He reluctantly avoided the chicken leg and opted for stir-fried shredded potatoes with green peppers; only then did the gaze soften.
Mr. Shiraishi
A familiar voice called from outside the cafeteria, and the girl ran over with surging, powerful strides.
Shiraishi hurriedly tried to swallow the stir-fried green peppers and potatoes in his mouth, then turned around and said, " Inoue, you... pfft"
The half-chewed potato shreds suddenly sprayed out, most of them landing on Orihime Inoue's face and shoulders, and some sticking to her long, smooth, brown hair.
"Cough cough"
He coughed, choked by the green pepper.
Orihime Inoue did not come alone, or rather, she did not come representing only one person.
She held a brand-new touchscreen phone in her hand, and was on a video call. On the other end of the line was a girl with a dark expression, black bangs, and large eyes that flashed with murderous intent.
"Smashed, Soi Fon "
Shiraishi finally recovered, feeling incredibly guilty. He didn't even know why he felt so guilty; he just instinctively wanted to stop Kūkaku Shiba, who was still eating heartily beside him.
Orihime Inoue the potato shreds off her face, her eyes full of resentment, and said, "Mr. Shiraishi, you're so mean! You sprayed me all over, and you didn't even apologize."
"Cough, sorry, Inoue, I choked. Let me pat you down."
Shiraishi stepped forward to help brush off the potatoes.
Orihime Inoue took a step back and said, "Alright, an apology is enough. Captain Soi Fon needs to speak with you."
She handed over her phone and then brushed the potatoes and green peppers off her clothes herself.
Shiraishi, holding his phone, chuckled awkwardly, "Good afternoon, Soi Fon."
She crossed her arms, her eyes scrutinizing him. "You haven't been heard from these past few days. Where have you been gallivanting around with that volatile woman?"
In front of her was Soi Fon's interrogating gaze, and behind her was Kūkaku Shiba's icy gaze, as if she were about to transform into a tiger.
Gu Dong.
Shiraishi realized he couldn't speak carelessly now; a single wrong word could have serious consequences. Sweating profusely, he said, "I did play outside with Kūkaku for a while."
With the danger behind him gone, the gloomy face in front of him was almost dripping with ink. "Oh, it's already the fifteenth of August. Are you sure you just want to play for a little while?"
"Hey-hey,"
Shiraishi didn't know how to answer, so he could only give a Shiba Inu-like, smiling expression.
The saying goes, "You can't hit someone who's smiling at you."
Soi Fon raised an eyebrow, her anger escalating. "You..."
Is there something you need?
Kūkaku Shiba interrupted Soi Fon, leaning out from behind and pressing down on Shiraishi's shoulder, creating an astonishing change that would otherwise be impossible.
She reached out and snatched the phone, helping Shiraishi out of the predicament.
"What is the dignified Second Division Captain doing, instead of handling official business, trying to seduce my darling?"
Kūkaku Shiba leaned against the window, pointing the camera at herself. Her lips glistened with oil, her hair clung to her slightly flushed cheeks, and her eyes revealed a hint of provocation.
Kūkaku... Shiraishi felt a lump in his throat. Couldn't you be a little more discreet?
Soi Fon, unsurprisingly, bristled, suppressing her anger as she said, "Oh, I didn't know that Shiraishi changed his name to Shiraishi Shiba."
Kūkaku Shiba crossed his arms and deliberately squeezed his chest, saying, "If I wanted to, he could change his name in a heartbeat. There's no need to ask for your opinion."
After all, unlike someone else whose pet is small and flat, offering little to play with, I haven't stopped for a full fourteen days."
"Ugh, I'm so sore all over. Someone just can't understand this kind of trouble."
Crack! The teacup shattered in his hand. Without even looking at the screen, Shiraishi could already imagine how terrifying Soi Fon Fon's expression must be—her eyes were absolutely murderous.
I'm going to kill you.
"Wow, you've gotten so strong!"
Kūkaku Shiba replied casually, tapped the bright red dot, hung up the video call, and tossed the phone back.
Orihime Inoue hurriedly reached out and caught the phone. It was a brand new product that could communicate with the Soul Society. It was broken, and there was nowhere to repair it here.
She held it carefully, her large eyes darting between Kūkaku Shiba and Shiraishi. Then, recalling Captain Soi Fon from earlier, her cheeks flushed. Was this a love triangle? In an instant, the love and hate between the three of them began to flash through her mind.
" Inoue, please don't accept those videos from unknown sources anymore, so as not to bother someone, right?"
Faced with her question, Shiraishi inexplicably felt hot, wiped the sweat from his brow, and mumbled, "Uh, well, how should I put it? I think we need to first consider the relationship between the person involved and the person receiving the video, and then..."
"Shut up."
Kūkaku Shiba rolled her eyes and said irritably, "What a coward! Why are you afraid of her? We'll film a short video of us and send it to her another day."
"Uh, never mind that..."
Shiraishi dared not shirk his responsibility on this matter; if he agreed, he would probably be asked to make short videos as soon as he was done eating.
If Soi Fon saw him, he'd be blown to pieces.
Suddenly, the phone rang. Orihime Inoue's phone vibrated, and the words "Captain Unohana" appeared on the screen. It wasn't a video call, but a voice call.
Given what had just happened, she didn't dare answer the call carelessly, and asked softly, "Mr. Shiraishi, should I connect?"
Shiraishi swallowed hard. Considering the potentially more serious consequences of refusing, he mustered his courage and said, "Answer it."
Orihime Inoue nodded, pressed the answer button, and greeted, "Good afternoon, Captain Unohana. What can I do for you?"
A gentle, soothing voice came from across the way, "Good afternoon, Inoue. I heard that Shiraishi and Kūkaku are with you."
"Hmm, would you like to speak with Mr. Shiraishi?"
"No, I have nothing to do with that incompetent man."
"I'm not incompetent."
Shiraishi muttered to himself, "I managed to make Kūkaku beg for mercy, and I'm still aching all over."
"I think I heard someone complaining over there. Could it be that he really wants to have a face-to-face talk with me?"
"..."
Shiraishi silently turned around and began picking up food.
Seeing his cowardly appearance, Kūkaku Shiba slapped his forehead. "If you're feeling guilty, don't try to have your cake and eat it too," he thought. "Retsu, what do you want from me?"
" Kūkaku, there's a tea party this afternoon. I hope you can return to Soul Society and attend. I think we need to discuss the issue of Shiraishi."
"Oh, no problem, I'll be right back. If there's nothing else, let's hang up."
"Um"
Retsu Unohana hung up the voice call.
Shiraishi swallowed the stir-fried wood ear mushrooms and meat in his mouth and asked, "Why didn't Lie invite me to the meeting?"
It's outrageous that they didn't invite him, the person directly involved, to the meeting, even though the issue clearly concerned him.
Kūkaku Shiba stared at him for a moment, then stroked her chin and said, "Which part of you should I take?"
Don't talk about such terrifying things.
Shiraishi retorted, clutching his chest with both hands, "I'm not going to tear myself to pieces for you!"
"Now you're scared? Too late. You'd better wash yourself clean and prepare to be eaten."
Kūkaku Shiba teased, and in front of Orihime Inoue, kissed his shiny lips.
"Oh~"
The shocking scene caused the girl to cover her eyes with her hands, her index and middle fingers spread apart.
"Be good and wait for me to come back."
Kūkaku Shiba gave him a word of advice, then Shunpo to leave.
"Mr. Shiraishi, is your relationship with Ms. Kūkaku in that kind of way?"
Orihime Inoue leaned closer, her face full of curiosity, and asked, "What's your relationship with Captain Soi Fon and Captain Unohana? Are you some kind of scumbag who's two-timing multiple women?"
Smack
Shiraishi flicked her head with his finger and said seriously, "Children shouldn't talk about adult matters. You didn't come to me just to ask about my personal relationship, did you?"
"Oh, I remember now, Nissan asked me to ask you, what's a good name for the calendar?"
Orihime Inoue was easily swayed by the change of topic and launched into a long-winded speech. "And on the day the Human Alliance Nation is officially established, could you give a speech on stage? Over the years, a serious divide has grown between the Steel Shell City. Only by using a unifying hero can we eliminate these divides and make everyone truly citizens of one nation."
Shiraishi thought for a moment and said, "The calendar will be called the Stone Calendar. As for giving a speech, I have no objection."
Considering their situation, he decided to stay in Zuellni for the time being and not go back to risk getting into trouble, especially with Soi Fon.
She was a real jealous person.
I'll wait a few days until she calms down before going back to explain properly.
Orihime Inoue clapped her hands and said, "That's right, we also need to paint your portrait and create a statue of you, so that you can serve as the honorary permanent chairman of the Human Alliance Nation."
"As for reputation, I have no objection."
Shiraishi nodded in agreement, showing no aversion to portraits or sculptures.
The thought of my portrait hanging on the wall is quite nice.
He continued eating, his thoughts drifting to Kūkaku. What was the meeting about? It couldn't be about dividing him into five pieces, could it...?