"Ah, a vacation to give my brain a rest!"
Kensei Kenzuru lay on his bed in a starfish pose, letting out a sigh of relief as he stared at the barracks ceiling. Ever since Old Man Yama had press-ganged him into service, he'd either been solving problems or on his way to solve problems, making him feel like an RPG protagonist who'd accepted a pile of 'fix the plumbing' quests.
But now he was a major hero of the Soul Society. His status was different. Old Man Yama himself had personally approved his leave. Shouldn't I indulge myself?
His Reiatsu had recovered quite a bit now, no longer that hollow feeling, but Kensei still felt he needed a good, long sleep.
"Should have known better than to agree to get involved in this with Old Man Yama..."
Kensei murmured to himself on the bed. Kūkon, still placed by the bedside, gave a slight tremble upon hearing his words, as if mocking him: "'Git gud.'"
Kensei rolled his eyes at Kūkon, having no mind to argue with a sword, closed his eyes, and fell asleep.
He didn't know how long he slept. He dreamed of punching monks and kicking Yhwach, then living a life of daily indulgence in pleasure and debauchery in the three worlds. The dream gradually developed into indescribable scenes, then a familiar face suddenly appeared before Kensei—Sōsuke's face, always wearing that gentle smile.
"Holy crap!"
Kensei jolted awake, his heart pounding as if he'd sneaked out to an internet cafe and run into his homeroom teacher there.
He glanced at the familiar ceiling, confirming he was still in the Soul Society.
He felt around in his arms, then beside him. Unsurprisingly, both were empty.
"Tsk," Kensei withdrew his hand in disappointment. "This script isn't right! According to the usual trope, shouldn't there be a beautiful girl who sneaks into my bedroom, finds me asleep, slips under the covers, and does all sorts of things to me that..." can't be elaborated upon?"
He let out a long sigh, wondering if the Hōgyoku could fulfill his wish.
Sitting up, Kensei stretched, scratched his messy hair, and pondered what to do today.
"Go bother Aizen, or add to Urahara's workload?"
His soliloquy stopped abruptly. Kensei saw someone sitting by the low table in the corner of the room.
Soì-Fon, with her short black hair, wearing the Stealth Force uniform inside and a black long coat over it, was sitting there demurely. A cup of cool tea sat on the table beside her. The girl was currently lowering her head, her little head nodding as she dozed off. Who knew when she had entered the room.
Kensei rubbed his eyes, making sure he wasn't seeing things, and called tentatively: "Soì-Fon?"
"Here!"
Almost the instant Kensei's voice rang out, Soì-Fon reflexively straightened her back and responded. Then she saw Kensei, still somewhat confused, before her and realized what she had just done.
"Ke-Kensei-dono!" Soì-Fon's face flushed visibly. She frantically tried to stand up and salute. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to break into your room! I just... just..."
"Just lusting after my beauty and planning to sneak into my room to attack me?"
Kensei, seeing her 'just-ing' for a while without getting anywhere, her head steaming with tension, picked up the conversation with a teasing tone.
"Yes!" Soì-Fon answered instinctively, then immediately realized how improper Kensei's words were and shook her head like a rattle-drum to explain. "No, no!"
Kensei looked at the top of Soì-Fon's head, wondering why it wasn't pointy if she had learned to use both sides of her brain. (Note: This is a playful reference implying she's being contradictory or overthinking.)
"Tell me honestly why you came looking for me. Otherwise..." Kensei raised his hands with a mischievous grin, making a pose like a demon. "Jie jie jie, you'll have to stay and accept my punishment."
Soì-Fon's face turned even redder. She lowered her head, staring at her toes, and whispered: "I just heard yesterday Kensei-dono fought Kuchiki Kōga. I thought you must have expended much effort, so I wanted to come and take care of you."
"So I came in and found you were still resting. To not disturb you, I sat there temporarily to rest, but then I..."
Soì-Fon's fingers unconsciously fiddled with the hem of her clothes, her voice growing softer.
Kensei looked at Soì-Fon before him, who wanted to bury her face in her chest but failed due to insufficient conditions, and couldn't help but chuckle softly.
Teasing a beautiful girl like Soì-Fon, with her serious yet easily shy personality, was truly irresistible.
He patted the seat beside him, calling the embarrassed Soì-Fon over to have breakfast with him. This silly girl came early; she probably hasn't eaten anything either.
Not having to think about anything, with a beautiful girl beside you to feast your eyes... the Seireitei Dreamboat's vacation is indeed not bad.
"Aren't the Stealth Force training today?"
"Lady Yoruichi instructed that if Kensei-dono needs anything, I can temporarily put aside my work with the Criminal Investigation Department."
Soì-Fon answered honestly, using the ingredients at hand to make a simple sandwich for Kensei.
"Oh, right. Yesterday, I heard someone say the Tsunayashiro Clan had some activity. Do you know what happened?"
Kensei suddenly remembered yesterday's incident. Although he'd decided to let Aizen 'run the information' to get a result, the more clues, the more accurate the result.
"Mm..." Soì-Fon thought for a moment before slowly speaking. "The specifics are unclear. After all, the estates of the Five Great Noble Families are difficult to enter."
"But someone saw something like a blurry object flying up into the sky from the Tsunayashiro estate. It was too far to see what it was, though."
Kensei nodded, taking the information to heart. Such small matters shouldn't waste his valuable wisdom. Better leave it to Aizen.
"Kensei-dono, should we send more people to monitor the Tsunayashiro Clan?"
"Don't talk about such troublesome things to someone who's trying to rest."
Kensei gently tapped Soì-Fon's forehead. Unless the Tsunayashiro Clan can release Yhwach Bach ahead of schedule, no other problem is a real problem.
Standing up, Kensei looked at the bright weather outside the window and felt today would be perfect for going out to relax.
"Soì-Fon, pack some things. We're going on a picnic today."
A vacation should look like a vacation.
What conspiracy does the Tsunayashiro Clan have? Aizen will handle it.
When will Mashiro and Love learn Bankai? Urahara will work on it.
With Wolong and Fengxia like these, what worries could the Soul Society have?
Also, going out is a chance to see if I can pick up characters who haven't grown up yet. Like Rangiku. And Rangiku. Oh, and Rangiku.
Soì-Fon, now ready, looked at the cheerful Kensei and couldn't help but smiled. It seems I'll be able to spend today with Kensei-dono again.
Holding Soì-Fon's hand, Kensei picked a direction at random, ready to enjoy his calm—at least calm at the start of the day.
***
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