The izakaya's decor wasn't high-end or sterile-it held a sense of elegance that balanced refinement with warmth and intimacy.
Soft mist lingered in the air, blending with the faint scent of wine. The entire space felt dreamlike.
Rangiku Matsumoto was already a regular customer.
The moment she arrived, one of the waiters stepped forward with practiced ease, pulling out two chairs and briskly wiping them down with the towel slung over his shoulder.
"Vice Captain Matsumoto, what would you like to order this time?"
Rangiku settled into the cold wooden chair. Her weight sank into the seat slowly as she shifted her hips for comfort. She crossed one leg over the other and began lightly tapping on the table with her fingers while her dangling toes swayed lazily.
"Bring your best sake, and I'll have the newest one, 'Sniffer.' gonna get drunk."
The waiter gave her a strange look.
"Ouch, Vice Captain Matsumoto, are you sure? That drink's not cheap."
"Don't worry. I've got money this time!" She suddenly grabbed the cloth around Yuta's waist and yanked him forward before poking out from behind him with a grin. "Wait-it's actually him. He's rich."
Yuta pulled out Ten Thousand Kan and slapped them onto the table casually.
"Just do as she said."
Now that he was in Seireitei, he wanted to sample its best alcohol.
The waiter stared at the money, stunned at the display. He glanced between Matsumoto and Yuta, then nodded knowingly.
"Got it."
Within moments, a sealed jar of wine was placed before them. The stopper was sealed with mud and secured with string. Once opened, a thick aroma spilled outward instantly.
Rangiku's eyes lit up when the scent reached her nose. She wrapped both arms around the cold jar, took in a long breath with her eyes shut, and visibly soaked in the smell with flushed cheeks and parted lips.
"No wonder it's from South Street's Izakaya No. 3… incredible."
She wasted no time pulling out two bowls and placing one in front of Yuta and one for herself. She served his first before pouring her own.
"Come on, drink!"
"A toast to our first meeting!"
"And a better toast to drinking the best Sale Soul Society has!"
She raised her bowl high into the air with excitement.
Yuta gave her only a glance. Instead of clinking glasses with her, he stared at the liquid inside his bowl with focus. He looked at it from all angles, lifted it to his nose, took in the scent, and then drank lightly from it.
"How is it? How does it taste?"
Matsumoto's eyes narrowed as she watched his Adam's apple move with the swallow. She picked up her own bowl and drank deeply before he finished answering.
Yuta thought on it carefully. Seireitei's cuisine had evolved well-but clearly not enough.
"It's alright. Could be stronger."
"What? That can't be right!"
Her tone dragged unnecessarily on the last word as she raised her bowl again and took a proper sip. The burn clawed down her throat instantly-it was harsh and addictive. Her brows lifted as her body reacted to the bite of it but then relaxed in delight as she grinned and drank deeper.
Sake trickled past the corner of her lips and ran down her neck. The chill of it reached her stomach fast but she made no effort to clean herself off or stop drinking.
She finally pulled back and sighed loudly in satisfaction. Her bowl clattered down on the table.
"It's obviously really strong."
Yuta looked into his bowl again. Under the color-shifting lights above them, the transparent liquid caught a strange shimmer. With another sip, he felt spiritual energy hidden within it breaking down inside him and slowly restoring his own reserves.
"So this wine is made from spiritual particles..."
If that was true, then could his spiritual control affect flavor and concentration?
[You try to understand how to control the spirit particles; you upgrade your water-to-vapor conversion and successfully comprehend "Spirit Control."]
Yuta tilted his bowl slightly in his hand as he focused his intent on it. Under the low light of the izakaya, the spirit wine began to shift from translucent to orange-red-and then-
Pop!
The surface ignited with fire.
"So this is 'Spirit Control'...?"
It was unlike 'Absolute Subordination,' which ripped surrounding spirit particles apart for use through forceful dissolution and blunt ownership.
'Spirit Control' allowed manipulation at a far higher level-to change flavor or concentration with purpose-to create completely new constructs through spiritual arrangement alone.
Instead of breaking things apart, it was creation from nothing through comprehension of fundamental structure.
'Spirit Control' was no longer mortal manipulation-it crept toward divine territory.
The Spirit King Realm trembled faintly above as Yuta achieved this state-a lone Shinigami wearing monk beads turned toward the sky from within Lingban Palace as though sensing something stir for the first time in ages.
"…Was that my imagination?"
…
By the time Yuta pulled back from thought, Rangiku had drained several bowls already. Her cheeks flushed with heat as dizziness clouded her gaze. This drink lived up to its title-the strongest in Seireitei-it had slammed straight into her head like fire.
She glanced sideways-and froze.
His Sake bowl burned openly before him without reason or source.
She rubbed her eyes once but saw it again-the fire dancing in his bowl hadn't disappeared at all-it had grown brighter since she looked away last time.
"What… what is that?"
"Why is your Sake burning?"
Yuta leaned forward slightly and slid his elbow onto the table surface before offering his flaming bowl to her directly.
The red-orange flame shimmered within both his jet-black eyes and her blue ones alike.
He smiled thinly.
"Wanna try it? One sip might knock you out."
Rangiku narrowed her eyes but kept smiling through it.
"What's there to be scared of?"
"It's fire, so what?"
"I can outdrink ten guys like you any day."
"Oh?" Yuta swept his hand to offer it again. "Try it then."
She grabbed the bowl with both hands immediately-but jerked slightly at the heat licking from underneath it onto her palms. Reality sank in fast-but there was no turning back now that she'd opened her mouth so confidently earlier.
She clenched her jaw tight, closed her eyes-and downed it in one go without hesitation.
The fire slid down her throat like a branding iron shoved into flesh-and deeper into her stomach where it settled with a violent twist and surge of heat so strong it made her chest rise sharply as pain forced tears past one eye against her will.
Her heart raced hard against ribs now burning from inside. The rush flooded upward through her head all at once-and covered everything in dizziness and heat that no amount of hand-fanning could relieve fast enough.
She gasped while gripping at her chest with one hand-and waved frantically at herself with the other-but beneath all that-
The fragrance of barley lingered across her tongue slowly. She stood alone in wheat fields that stretched endlessly beneath her closed eyelids-a taste richer than anything else she had ever drunk before...
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