After drinking, Matsumoto Rangiku was speechless for a while.
Yuta wasn't in a hurry and silently poured himself another glass of wine.
"How do you feel?"
He waited for her response, but got nothing. His shoulder dipped under sudden weight, the scent of strong liquor hitting his nose. The side of his face itched.
He turned his head and saw Matsumoto Rangiku slumped beside him, drunk. Her messy hair brushed the side of his cheek.
She wore a satisfied expression. Her breath reeked of alcohol as she slurred incoherently, "That's really cool… delicious… I've… I've...never tasted anything so delicious…"
Yuta shook his head slowly.
Rangiku was naturally talented and fearless. She drank the whole glass in one go, without hesitation. Yuta had mixed in enough high-proof liquor that most people would be knocked out from half a sip.
The fact that she lasted this long was impressive.
He raised his hand and signaled the waiter over.
The waiter ran up quickly. He had seen it all and was clearly stunned by what he'd witnessed.
Everyone knew how well Vice-Captain Matsumoto could hold her drink. In the past, she could party and drink all night without flinching; tonight, she collapsed after one cup.
"Prepare a room for me."
Around them, other Shinigami stared in disbelief.
They'd seen Yuta's Sake ignite spontaneously in his hands. It had looked unnatural.
And it brought down Rangiku-a woman known for being immune to alcohol-with a single drink. What kind of Sake was that?
Yuta stood up slowly. Matsumoto Rangiku lost her balance and collapsed onto the chair behind him. Her arm slipped from her sleeve and fell across the seat he'd vacated.
She exhaled with half-lidded eyes and slurred lazily, "I'm not drunk… I can drink ten bowls…"
Anyone claiming they're not drunk is obviously lying. He had to get her into bed and out of sight.
He reached for Rangiku's arm and looped it over his neck. Her elbow hung limp as he supported her wrist with his left hand. His right slipped behind her back and lifted under her armpits as he carried her forward-
His grip failed after one step. She slipped deeper against him, her chest pressed into Yuta's side. Thankfully, she kept hold of his shoulder or she might've crashed to the ground completely.
"Seriously... what the hell do you eat? Your tits are huge..."
He gave up trying to be gentle. He bent over, grabbed her narrow waist with both hands, and tossed her over his shoulder.
Her legs dangled in front of him; her head swung behind him. He locked her knees in place with his right arm.
She giggled something incoherent as he carried her upstairs, hair flowing downward with every step.
The door on the third floor creaked open into a dark room. The wooden window across from the door was wide open.
Moonlight spilled through it into the room in thin beams of silver light that cut through the musty air.
Yuta stepped to the bed and dropped Rangiku onto it unceremoniously.
She moaned faintly as her body bounced on the mattress, tits shifting under her robes with each movement.
He leaned down, untied her straw sandals, removed her white socks, tossed them aside, and pulled the blanket over her legs before tucking in her feet underneath.
Just as he turned to leave, she latched onto his wrist instinctively.
"Yuta… I can keep drinking…"
"Help me up… hehe..."
"It's a good night... that brew was amazing..."
He tugged hard to break free but couldn't pull his hand out from under hers. Her grip locked tight around him.
Yuta exhaled sharply through clenched teeth.
Rangiku was strong as hell when she wanted to be.
With lips pouting and breath thick with sake, she whispered playfully, "Don't move… Brother Yuta... come lie down..."
Drunks always wanted affection-and trouble followed close behind.
Yuta sighed and stopped struggling. He turned his head toward the window, staring at the stars beyond it without saying anything else.
Cool wind brushed across his face as Matsumoto's warmth pressed against him from above the blanket-a reminder that everything in this moment was very much reality.
-
The Tenth Division admin office glowed with lamplight as the night continued on silently outside its walls.
Hitsugaya Toshiro's pen flew across page after page of paperwork with unwavering focus.
The stack on his left side shrank steadily with each file he completed; on the right, completed files began forming their own tower.
Back when he was only Third Seat, Hitsugaya had already managed most of the division's administrative load. Only matters requiring higher clearance were passed to the captain-and rarely at that.
That was because Captain Shiba Isshin was near-impossible to track down… and Vice-Captain Matsumoto Rangiku was wildly unreliable when she wasn't passed out drunk or recklessly pulling others into chaos with her-
Like tonight. She must've forced Yuta into another drinking session… probably got drunk off her ass and was acting like a lunatic by now…
The thought of Yuta pulled Hitsugaya from his work for the first time all night.
Images flashed through his mind:
Yuta's body glowing with blue Quincy light during spiritual subjugation... those rare dead-serious eyes focused in attack...
And again-that time Yuta cast Kido-with no incantation-and broke open Six-Rod Light Prison like it was nothing...
Death Gods and Quincies were polar opposites by nature.
Yet somehow Yuta wielded both powers at once.
Was he really some regular civilian?
What would someone like him bring into Seireitei?
Hitsugaya inhaled deeply and looked toward the black sky through his office window where the silver moon hovered motionless among scattered clouds-
-
Deep below, in an underground room lined with metal-
Monitors lined every wall. Data crawled steadily across screens while footage cycled through unfamiliar corners of Soul Society and beyond.
Tosen Kaname stood at one console with goggles covering both eyes-a nod to blindness without compromise or weakness-
Ichimaru Gin stood beside him with arms folded loosely across his chest, watching every flicker on screen all while smiling with eyes narrowed to unreadable slits-
In one corner sat a hexagonal stasis chamber glowing softly with blue-violet light-the Hōgyoku suspended inside it pulsed silently-
Its glow was overwhelming. One glance sucked away all attention entirely-it took conscious effort to look away from it at all-
That much energy couldn't exist without reshaping entire realities wherever it went-
It could grant any Shinigami power beyond their limits… evolve them into something new entirely-
Rumors claimed Hōgyoku could absorb emotional intent from its surroundings and make those desires tangible-
"How is it progressing?" asked Sosuke as he stepped into view, glasses gleaming under Hōgyoku's light.
Gin glanced over his shoulder lazily.
"We sacrificed several Shinigami souls today-but Hōgyoku's not satisfied."
Sosuke nodded-not surprised in the least by the verdict.
"Cease soul offerings."
"Their quality is too low. Quantity won't overcome that limitation."
Gin asked slowly, "How do we complete Hōgyoku then?"
Sosuke smiled again but gave no answer immediately. He stepped forward until Hōgyoku glided inches from his hand and reached toward it calmly-
"Gin," he said softly. "Everything's proceeding exactly as planned."
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