"I've said it a million times-"
Water splashed under the paddle, sparkling in the sunlight.
Tenjirō stood with one foot on the tub's edge, vigorously stirring the bandages within, barely glancing back. Bamboo pick in his mouth, he turned with a helpless expression, his small eyes fixing on the twin-tailed girl at the door. He exhaled sharply, "That guy isn't here!"
"I know that!"
Saito stood at the entrance, stubborn as ever. "I-I was just asking."
"For a chest wound like that, shouldn't it just go 'poof' and heal?!"
"Why haven't I seen him in days?"
"Then go ask Unohana!" Tenjirō dropped the paddle, rubbing his temples. "Her Kaido talent's pitiful, but she still swiped a few tricks from me."
"Based on past recoveries, he should be fine by now."
"Really?"
Saito squinted skeptically, brow furrowed.
"Fuck off!" Tenjirō shooed her. "I'm swamped!"
The former Medical Relief Station, now the Pharmaceutical Institute, was packed. Shinigami wounded in the Quincy war lingered, many needing lengthy recovery.
Tenjirō's claim of being busy wasn't a lie.
But Saito didn't care for details.
Hands in pockets, she leaned forward, her single eye narrowed, radiating irritation, occasionally grinding her teeth.
Since Unohana whisked Makoto away, they'd vanished. Squad duties were dumped on the lieutenant, and they rarely left the estate. No trace of them anywhere.
Thwack!
She kicked a pebble far into the distance.
Saito muttered darkly, "Damn Unohana, cutting him up like that!"
"Does she even know he just got out of the hospital?"
"Next time I see her, she's done for!"
"And that idiot Makoto…"
Grumbling along the road, she paused at a kanto-dango stall, hesitating.
Glancing at the shop, she patted her pocket, finding a few ten-thousand kan. She sighed in relief.
Emerging from the curtain, she held a soup bowl and oil-paper parcels.
"He hasn't been out in ages."
"…He'll like this, right?"
Saito mused, uncertain.
Only in moments like these did she feel a pang of doubt.
She wasn't like normal girls who knew how to charm men.
Only that idiot Makoto would say such things to her…
"Stupid beyond belief."
Though she muttered, a faint smile crept onto her face.
But nearing Unohana's estate, her steps slowed, a thought striking her.
"Wait!"
Saito eyed the distant mansion, suddenly uneasy. "Hold on, Unohana's his sensei…"
"If I end up with Makoto, like, that…"
"Wouldn't she become my teacher-in-law?!"
"No way, no way!"
The horrifying possibility sent a shiver through her.
She could picture it: entering Unohana's home to meet Makoto, Unohana seated in the hall, sipping tea with a matronly air, saying, "Saito-chan, off with Makoto-kun again today?" with her demeanor like a kindly mother-in-law.
The more she thought, the worse it got.
Saito froze, torn about proceeding.
"Wait!"
"Why not sneak in?"
A spark of cunning lit her eye.
I'm here for Makoto, what's Unohana got to do with it?
Caught? So what!
"Exactly!"
"Let's do this!"
An action-first type, Saito's body moved before her mind caught up.
With a few Hoho, she crossed districts, zeroing in on Unohana's estate, her Reiatsu tightly suppressed, silent as a shadow.
At a street corner, she melted into the wall's shade.
Her single eye caught Meira, idly stretching at the gate.
Gotcha.
That idiot's definitely here.
After so long, Saito knew Meira and Makoto's bond, never far apart.
But why stand at the gate?
Her cheeks all flushed?
Pure-hearted Saito, oblivious to the world's complexities, gave Meira a puzzled look. Her limited brainpower skipped over anything too baffling, so she didn't dwell.
She slipped behind the high wall, vaulting over.
Then, unguarded, she slid open the shoji facing the courtyard, shouting eagerly, "Hey! I'm here to see you!"
"…Makoto?"
…
[Love Event: Defiant Disciple]
[You and Unohana have entered a romantic relationship ↑]
[Gained Love Trait: Defiant Disciple]
[Talent Points +2]
[Love Trait: Defiant Disciple: Pour everything into your sensei, and in return, she'll give you all she has… Makoto.]
[Details: From the day this trait is achieved, each day of abstinence adds one stack of 'Golden Will' buff (attack power +1%) to your spiritual body. After 1,000 consecutive days of abstinence, gain the permanent trait, 'Death Blade.']
[Note: Sensei's great, but don't overindulge~?]
[Love Bonding in Progress…]
[Heir of the Soul King · Activated]
[Yachiru Unohana · Breaks Talent Shackle]
[Reiatsu: Low Tier-1 → Mid Tier-1]
Makoto lay on the futon, sunlight warming his face just right.
The heavy blankets held a mysterious power, pinning him in place.
Whether from lingering wounds or something else, exhaustion saturated his body, making even a finger's twitch feel daunting.
"Awake?"
Unohana's voice murmured near his neck, her breath warming his skin.
Makoto snapped back to reality.
How many days had it been?
Since starting combat training at Unohana's estate, he hadn't slept properly, losing track of day and night. Amid the grueling battles, a blur of nonsensical banter had filled the air.
A Shinigami's superhuman physique pushed him through trials no ordinary human could endure.
At first, he'd relished it.
Combat and slaughter held a wild joy he couldn't share.
When Makoto was cut down for the eighth time in this brutal battlefield, he realized something was amiss.
Only then did it hit him, his sensei, Unohana, was also a Shinigami.
And not just any Shinigami, but a pinnacle of Soul Society, likely abstinent since birth, with unmatched physical and mental fortitude.
Perhaps because she'd never experienced such a thrill in her long life, Unohana, usually cloaked in a "cool beauty" facade, burned with a passion for combat that outstripped even her love for slaughter.
Every fight demanded a victor. Even when Makoto fell, she refused to relent, her precise Kaido sealing wounds instantly, restoring him to fight again. No surrender, no retreat.
It left his heart a tangled mess.
"Ugh."
Makoto groaned, hugging a pillow, sprawled on the futon.
"Since you're awake, eat." Unohana's voice was gentle as ever. "Then take a bath."
"Sensei." He whined like a child, face-down on the floor. "My back's killing me… I can't move."
Seeing his antics, Unohana tucked a stray lock behind her ear, a smile tugging at her lips. She leaned close to his ear, whispering, "Then, Makoto-kun, you wouldn't mind another round of Kaido, would you?"
Makoto jolted, his gaze snapping to her, as if staring at a demon.
You're really treating me like a perpetual motion machine?!
"What?" Unohana's smile deepened, her voice low. "Are you tired of me already, Makoto-kun?"
"Well, not exactly…"
As they exchanged hushed words, they suddenly froze, heads whipping toward the side door.
Makoto's voice caught in his throat.
Shhhlk,
The shoji slid open.
Saito stood there, one hand clutching kanto-dango, the other pressing the door, her single eye fixed on the scene. Her mind seemed to crash, unable to process.
Their eyes locked.
Makoto, buried in bedding, stared at her in panic.
Beside him, Unohana reclined languidly, her long hair loose, whispering in his ear.
Her thin yukata slipped, baring a smooth shoulder.
"…Makoto?"
Instinctively, Saito choked out his name.
The final syllable, a trembling "to." Hissed through clenched teeth.
Even someone as clueless about romance as her couldn't miss the implications of this creamy-pastry scene.
Clatter.
The kanto-dango bowl and oil-paper parcels hit the floor, spilling everywhere.
As the trio stood stunned, the piercing, excitable voice of his Zanpakuto rang out.
[Saito, when did you get here? Right, I love you too.]
[You're just in time!]
[I wanna fight side-by-side with you, yo!!]
The familiar voice echoed in their ears, like a pebble rippling a still lake.
In that instant, all three snapped into motion.
Without hesitation, Saito drew her Zanpakuto, her single eye blazing with killing intent sharp as a blade, slashing toward Makoto's lower half.
Her roar shook the district.
"MAKOTO!!!"
A sonic boom tore the air, a white shockwave arcing like a crescent moon toward him.
Makoto, moments ago too sore to move, sprang up like a rabbit, clapping his hands to catch the blade at the last second, his words tumbling out as fast as his Zanpakuto's. "Wait, Saito!"
"Let me explain!!"
"Explain after I cut you!" Saito's temper was volcanic, her eye wide, her Zanpakuto's force staggering.
If Makoto's Reiatsu didn't outrank hers, and his Hakuda and Zanjutsu weren't so refined, that blade would've pierced his chest.
Boom!
They clashed, crashing through Unohana's estate wall into the front yard, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Unohana stood aside, calmly adjusting her yukata.
She sighed, glancing at Saito and Makoto.
Saito felt a fire surge from her gut to her skull, her temples throbbing, teeth grinding.
A storm of emotions, new to this romance-ignorant girl, surged in her mind, her steps relentless.
Fury, confusion, bewilderment, hurt.
Her first love, and he loved her back, their joys entwined.
Even now, she could see it: Makoto's back, a fortress shielding her at death's door, seared into her soul.
Unforgettable.
It should've been a dreamlike bliss.
So why,
Why did it come to this?!
Her eyes, red-rimmed, locked on him, her voice a fragile murmur through gritted teeth. "You bastard, didn't you say you loved me?!"
She lunged forward.
Her blade advanced an inch.
But that single step threw her off.
Makoto released his grip.
Her Zanpakuto plunged into his chest unhindered, and Saito, carried by momentum, fell into his arms.
The familiar sensation in her hand sparked a rare expression on her face.
Panic, dread.
But Makoto, as if untouched by pain, wrapped her small frame in his embrace.
"Really?"
"I thought you'd rejected me."
He mumbled in her ear, his smile relieved.
Saito's expression froze, her nose stinging, tears threatening to spill. She bit his shoulder hard, barely holding back, overwhelmed by grievance.
She'd slashed him fiercely, yet felt no relief.
It hurt like hell.
"…Bastard!!"
***
Bonus Chapter:
100 Power Stones = 1 BC
300 Power Stones = 2 BC
500 Power Stones = 3 BC
700 Power Stones = 4 BC
1000 Power Stones = 5 BC
***
If you want to read up to 50 chapters ahead, don't hesitate to visit our patron: pat reon . com / XElenea (removespace)