Rangiku's giggle and Isane's shy protest echoed behind him.
Arata helplessly shook his head. What had happened tonight would likely make the relationship between the three of them even more delicate.
He only hoped it wouldn't leave too deep a psychological scar on fragile Isane's soul.
In the guest room, Arata prepared the bedding, then stood by the window, gazing at the moonlight in the yard.
The touch of Rangiku's skin still lingered on his fingertips, and her passionate whispers seemed to echo in his ears.
But what weighed on him even more were Isane's flushed cheeks and the trembling look in her eyes earlier in the living room.
"What a sin…" he muttered to himself, unconsciously running his fingers along the window frame.
From the direction of the main bedroom came muffled sounds of laughter, and the wooden partition wall certainly couldn't completely block the women's conversation.
Occasionally, Rangiku's loud laughter and Isane's quiet, feeble replies could be heard.
It seemed that once two women gathered, they could talk endlessly about countless topics.
Arata shook his head and forced himself to lie down.
But as soon as he closed his eyes, images of Rangiku's skin, flushed from the steam in the bath, and Isane's slender fingers clasped around the teacup flashed before him again.
"Tsk."
He nervously turned to the other side, and the bedding rustled.
…
At the same time, the atmosphere in the main bedroom was unexpectedly warm.
"And then Captain Shiba... hahahaha!" Rangiku was lying on the large bed wrapped in a wide bathrobe, her shoulders shaking from laughter.
"He really mistook the laxative from the Fourth Division for an aphrodisiac and drank three at once!"
Isane was lying on the other side, covering her mouth with her hand and chuckling softly.
Although the sobering tea had started to take effect, the blush from the alcohol still hadn't completely faded, making her white skin look even more alluring.
"Actually… I was the one who messed up the recipe back then," she admitted in a quiet voice, unconsciously twirling the bathrobe belt with her fingers.
"It was supposed to be coptis powder…"
"Whaat~" Rangiku suddenly sat up, the collar of her bathrobe parting and revealing a white gleam. "So even Isane-chan makes mistakes?"
"Of course! I'm not a robot from the Technological Development Bureau," Isane hurried to defend herself.
But as soon as she saw Rangiku's mischievous eyes, she realized she'd taken the bait.
"Rangiku!"
The two women burst into laughter again, and the ambiguous sounds from the bathroom earlier seemed completely forgotten.
Until—
"Rangiku, um…" Isane suddenly lowered her voice, her gaze slipping uncertainly toward the guest room, "has Arata-kun… always been so considerate?"
Rangiku raised an eyebrow and dragged her voice meaningfully: "Aa~ Isane-chan, do you want to know that?"
"No, no!" Isane frantically waved her hands, the sleeves of her bathrobe sliding down to reveal her delicate wrists.
"I just think… you and him, Rangiku-nee, you make a perfect couple." Her voice held both envy and a hint of bitterness.
However, as soon as she said it, she regretted it. She knew it was a clumsy way to hide her feelings, making it all the more obvious.
Rangiku didn't press the matter.
She, who had been chattering non-stop just moments ago, now fell unusually silent, and a complex expression flickered in her gray eyes under the candlelight.
"Actually…" she suddenly spoke, her voice so soft it was barely audible, "sometimes I get scared too."
"Scared?" Isane blinked in surprise.
"Yes." Rangiku pulled her knees up and rested her chin on them. "Arata… is too exceptional. The Head Captain has high hopes for him, Captains Unohana and Kyoraku never spare their praise…"
Isane clearly noticed that Rangiku's body trembled slightly the moment Captain Unohana was mentioned.
"I'm really just an ordinary woman," Rangiku laughed at herself. "Aside from drinking and slacking off, I barely know anything. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night, look at him sleeping beside me, and think I'm dreaming."
"Thoughts like 'is it really possible for me to have such a wonderful man?' pop into my head all the time."
Isane was stunned.
She had never imagined that Rangiku, who was usually cheerful, confident, and carefree, actually carried such anxiety inside.
Moonlight spilled over the window sill, drawing tiny shadows on the sheets.
The two women fell silent for a moment, each immersed in her own thoughts.
"Rangiku-nee," Isane suddenly gathered the courage to offer comfort, "I think… I think Arata-kun really cares about you."
She recalled the look Arata gave Rangiku at the dinner table. That focused and gentle gaze couldn't have been faked.
"When we were eating hot-pot tonight, he kept picking out your favorite bites. And…" Isane paused, her cheeks gently flushed.
"When he carried you to the bathroom, he held you so carefully, like… like he was carrying a treasure."
Rangiku blinked, then burst into laughter: "I didn't know… turns out Isane was secretly watching the whole time. Could it be that Isane actually has her eyes on our Arata?~"
"N-no, nothing like that! I, I just…" Isane panicked, blushing furiously and nearly biting her tongue.
"I'm joking!" Rangiku laughed and pulled her close, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Thank you. It really makes me feel better hearing that."
She stretched, and with the movement, the collar of her bathrobe slipped even lower, revealing a fresh kiss mark on her collarbone.
Isane's gaze unconsciously caught the sight, but quickly turned away.
Still, the image of that moment had already etched itself deeply in her memory, the mark Arata had left in the bathroom, brazenly declaring ownership over Rangiku.
"Alright, alright, let's go to sleep," Rangiku yawned and snuggled under the blanket. "We have to get up early tomorrow, the captain has too much paperwork~"
Isane nodded and quietly lay on the other side.
But as soon as she closed her eyes, the sounds from the bathroom echoed in her ears again, for reasons she couldn't quite explain.
"Mmm—"
She unknowingly buried her face in the pillow, her heart pounding like crazy.
As the night wore on, everything fell silent.
In bed, Arata suddenly opened his eyes.
From outside came a strange wave of spiritual pressure, as if someone was deliberately suppressing it, but a part of it still leaked out.
An enemy?
No, there was no hostility in that reiatsu.
It felt more like…
Some kind of greeting?
With suspicion in his chest, he slowly got up. His fingers were already resting on Meigetsu's hilt.
Shhh—
The paper doors slid open quietly, and Arata slipped into the hallway.
Moonlight lay across the courtyard like water, stretching his shadow into a long streak.
Beneath the cherry tree in the courtyard stood an unexpected silhouette.
"Aizen… Captain?"
The man with black-rimmed glasses turned, the lenses gleaming coldly in the moonlight.
"Sorry to disturb you this late," Aizen's voice was as gentle as always, but a chill ran down Arata's spine at the sound. "There's just something I wanted to personally ask Saito-kun."
Arata clenched his fingers.
At this hour, appearing this way certainly didn't bode well.
"Please, go ahead," he kept a calm mask and maintained a safe distance from Aizen.
Aizen slowly approached, his shadow twisting strangely under the moonlight.
"Regarding Hitsugaya-san's performance in Kidō class today… what does Saito-kun think of it?"
"As I said this morning, he's extremely talented," Arata replied cautiously, "but he's still young, and he'll need much more training."
"Is that so… In my opinion, Hitsugaya-san's talent is far beneath that of Saito-kun." Aizen smiled gently, his eyes behind the glasses remaining unreadable.
"Captain Aizen, you jest. How could I, a mere student with only the nineteenth level of spiritual power, compare to a genius like Toushirou with a sixth-level reiatsu?"
Just stay humble and don't make any sudden moves.
"Saito-kun is so modest and restrained, I can only admire him," Aizen still smiled gently, then suddenly changed the topic: "Then… why did Vice-Captain Kotetsu stay overnight at your place?"
Arata's pupils sharply contracted.
How does he know Isane is here? Has he been watching the whole time?
"Well… Miss Isane came on Captain Unohana's orders to deliver a message. She arrived while we were eating hot-pot, so…" Arata explained slowly. There wasn't really anything to hide here.
The only thing he had to conceal from Aizen was the true depth of his power.
Surprisingly, Aizen didn't press further.
He glanced toward the main bedroom, and a meaningful, barely noticeable smile appeared at the corner of his lips.
"It's wonderful to be young."
That sentence, spoken with no context, felt even more unsettling to Arata, but before he could respond, Aizen's figure began to dissolve.
"I look forward to tomorrow's practical class, Saito-kun."
Before he finished speaking, his body had already dispersed into the night like mist.
Arata's gaze darkened, and he stood there, not recovering for a long while.
"Arata-kun?"
A soft female voice came from behind.
Arata quickly turned and saw Isane standing at the end of the hallway in thin pajamas, the moonlight outlining her silhouette in silver.
"I just came out to use the restroom and heard voices…" she shyly tugged at the hem of her pajamas, "did something happen?"
Arata quickly composed his expression, shook his head, and said: "It's nothing, I just felt hot and came out to cool off a bit."
Isane looked toward the empty courtyard with disbelief.
But in the end, she just quietly nodded: "Then… Arata-kun should go to bed early."
Arata suddenly stepped forward and took her hand: "Miss Isane."
"Hmm?" The tall girl turned, her eyes especially clear in the moonlight.
Thousands of words stuck in his throat, but in the end, they all collapsed into a single sentence:
"Good night."
Isane smiled softly and gently pulled her hand from his palm.
"Good night, Arata-kun."