Tachikawa Shin had no idea what the Kotetsu sisters said after he left, but he could easily guess it had something to do with him.
Because Isane's affection score had suddenly jumped to 78.
And to his pleasant surprise, Kiyone's had reached 53 as well. When he thought about it, it made perfect sense.
In the original series, Kiyone had a deep admiration—bordering on a crush—for Captain Ukitake. Now that Shin had cured Ukitake's long-standing illness, it was only natural that she held immense gratitude toward him. Coupled with today's events, it seemed Kiyone now saw him as "one of her own."
Add to that the fact that both Ise Nanao and Soi Fon, although not particularly close to him, already had double-digit affection scores… and Shin's overall gains were far from small.
Spiritual Pressure Level: Lv48
Zanpakutō Awakening: 46%
He was still firmly within the realm of third-tier Reiatsu, and his Zanpakutō hadn't yet touched the threshold of Bankai.
The next day.
Shin visited the medical ward first and healed the gravely injured patient Isane had assigned to him the previous evening. When he later went to report to Unohana Retsu about his ideas for the ongoing development of the Fourth Division, he saw Isane again.
During his report, Isane stood to the side, unusually distracted. Her gaze kept drifting toward Shin, her expression dreamy, cheeks occasionally flushing pink as if lost in her own little world.
Shin found it amusing but said nothing. After finishing his report, he took his leave.
"Yūne?" Unohana called gently after he left.
"Ah, Captain!" Isane snapped to attention.
"You seem distracted." Unohana smiled warmly.
"I'm sorry, Captain. I was… daydreaming."
"Is it because of Tachikawa?"
"…"
Isane's face turned crimson. She said nothing.
Unohana let out a soft laugh but didn't press her further.
At midday, Shin made a trip to the Tenth Division.
Although the Thirteen Squad Exchange had concluded, he didn't plan to stop the private inter-division sparring matches. The Head-Captain had approved of it, after all. Today, he'd come to remind Matsumoto Rangiku that the previously arranged Tenth-Fourth Division spar was still on.
However, when Rangiku saw him, her expression was far from friendly.
"What are you doing here?"
Shin smiled brightly. "I missed you, dear big sister."
"Eugh!" Rangiku visibly shuddered at the title, a wave of goosebumps rippling down her arms. "Don't call me that!"
She glanced around to make sure no one was nearby.
Shin feigned innocence. "According to our bet, I won. Since you refused to call me 'dear big brother,' I can only call you 'dear big sister' instead."
"That match has nothing to do with what you call me! I'm starting to think you've got some kind of weird fetish."
"What? Can't I call you sister?"
"Not when you say it like that!"
"Relax. I only call you that when we're in private."
"Still not okay!"
"Why not?"
"Because…" Rangiku faltered. "Just because! No reason!"
"But I'm just honoring our agreement."
"That was never part of the deal! And you didn't lose, did you?!"
At that, Shin's grin widened. "So you do remember our agreement."
Rangiku's eyes widened. "You little… you tricked me!"
Shin kept smiling. "So shouldn't you be keeping your promise?"
Rangiku snorted and folded her arms—those arms pushing up a chest that made the laws of gravity weep.
"I refuse. What are you going to do about it?"
"That's not very fair of you."
She ignored him.
Shin shrugged. "No big deal. I'm a generous man. If you don't want to call me 'big brother,' I'll just keep calling you dear big sister."
"Eugh!"
She flinched again. "Will you stop with that already?!"
"Only if you call me 'big brother' instead."
She gnashed her teeth in frustration but couldn't think of a retort. Then, her eyes gleamed mischievously as a wicked smile curled her lips.
"Trying to provoke me, are you? Well, if you're going to call me 'big sister,' I've got no problem with that. Right, little brother?"
Shin grinned. "Perfect. I just hope I don't slip and call you that in public."
"You!"
Rangiku looked like she was about to explode. But being who she was, the more Shin pushed, the more stubborn she became.
"Fine. Keep it up. Let's see who embarrasses themselves first."
Shin said calmly, "I'm not afraid of looking silly. But I wonder how certain… special people might react if they heard it."
"Special…?"
Rangiku blinked.
Shin casually remarked, "Oh, by the way, I healed everyone I injured yesterday. So Vice-Captain Ichimaru and the others left the infirmary by nightfall."
Her expression shifted.
Not to outrage or indignation, but to shock—shock that Shin knew such a thing.
She wasn't the type to make a show of her past. Only those close to her knew anything about her and Gin Ichimaru.
How… did he know?
But if Gin had heard…
Rangiku bit her lip, fury flickering in her eyes. Yet outwardly, her face softened into a bright, enticing smile.
She stepped forward and pressed against Shin, both arms wrapping around one of his and burying it into an impossibly soft, warm valley.
Then she leaned in and whispered into his ear, breath like silk and honey.
"You really have the heart to blackmail me like this…?"
Her sultry voice oozed charm, each word warm and teasing against his skin. With her chest pressed so tightly to him, Shin almost lost control right then and there.
Damn…
He barely held on, trying to remain composed. He lowered his voice.
"Then why don't you call me big brother and let me hear it?"
Before Rangiku could react—
"What the hell are you two doing?"
Hitsugaya Tōshirō's voice cut through like an icy blade.
He stood nearby, arms crossed, expression somewhere between exhausted and annoyed. After spending enough time with Rangiku, he'd learned to recognize when she was up to something… which was nearly all the time.
Rangiku released Shin and took a step back with a pout.
Shin, looking quite wistful, said smoothly, "I came to discuss the continued sparring sessions between our squads."
Rangiku blinked. "We're still doing those?"
She'd assumed that after the exchange event, such pair-based training had been cancelled.
"They're still on," Shin replied.
"…Then let's go ask our captain about it," she said, turning away—but not before shooting Shin a playful glare over her shoulder.