Curious? Well, sure, a little. Especially when it came to Shinigami and humans, how exactly reproduction worked between them was still a mystery. Shirō genuinely wanted to know the reason why ordinary souls couldn't have children.
But the key problem was... Shirō was thin-skinned.
If no one knew and he could read it secretly, that might be fine. But now, in front of Lisa, and worse, receiving the book directly from her, he couldn't bring himself to even open it.
He wasn't like Yadōmaru Lisa, who could casually flip through erotic comics in public, even discuss them openly, and lend them out like they were nothing! Was she even a woman?!
"I'm not curious. Why would I be curious? I'm not a woman. What would I even gain from reading something like that?" Shirō blurted out immediately.
"Oh, I thought..." Lisa started to say something, then stopped midway.
"What did you think?" Shirō asked.
"Cough, nothing," Lisa said as she adjusted her glasses. She had assumed Shirō was curious about men the way she was, wasn't that why she approached him in the first place?
"Well then, let's switch back," Lisa said and returned their books to their original owners.
"You're not going to read it?" Shirō gestured at the book she had just handed him.
"No worries. I already saw the title. I'll read it next time. I can't possibly finish all these books anyway," Lisa replied casually.
"Oh," Shirō nodded.
After that, the two fell into silent concentration, flipping through their books without exchanging another word.
Time passed. People came and went. Eventually, most of the crowd cleared out, and only a few remained scattered in the corners.
Shirō stretched, raising his head and looking around, and that's when his pupils contracted sharply.
Aizen Sōsuke.
He sat alone at a desk, still wearing those rectangular glasses, appearing mild-mannered and scholarly. A thick book lay open before him, and Aizen was quietly reading while scribbling notes into a nearby notebook.
Compared to Urahara Kisuke, Aizen's scholarly vibe felt like a different species entirely.
Wait! Urahara!
Shirō turned and saw that Urahara Kisuke was still sitting nearby on the floor, completely absorbed in his book.
This, this was such an absurdly terrifying scene!
Shirō shot up from his seat, grabbed Lisa's hand, and bolted straight for the exit. He couldn't stay here another second, the pressure was just too much!
He had been coming to the library for days and had never imagined that staying late would lead to something like this!
Why was a guy who just wanted to read some gossip and trashy novels stuck in the same room with those two doing high-level research?!
From that moment on, Shirō silently swore to never come to the library again. If he needed books, he'd just borrow them and head to Squad Eight to read with Lisa.
Huff, huff,
Outside the library, Shirō finally caught his breath. The short sprint hadn't exhausted him physically. What tired him out was the mental weight, he felt like he had narrowly escaped a battlefield.
Sure, Urahara reading was one thing. Seeing Aizen alone wasn't necessarily dangerous either. But both of them, at the same time, deeply immersed in study?
Nope. He wasn't sticking around to be the third wheel. Better to leave those two to their "private time."
"Don't make it sound so ambiguous!!" Lisa suddenly pulled her hand away, her usually composed face tinged red.
It wasn't really that big a deal, but Lisa had her own guilty conscience. That slight breach of boundary was enough to make her react sensitively!
"Ahem, don't misunderstand. I didn't mean anything," Shirō explained quickly. He'd assumed Lisa was shy, just grabbing her hand made her react like that. But come on, was the woman who openly read porn really the type to get flustered over a little handholding?
Shirō was clearly still too shaken from earlier to think straight.
"I already told you," Lisa said sternly. "We're supposed to leave one after the other. What were you thinking, walking side-by-side, while holding hands?"
"Sorry! Totally my bad!" Shirō raised both hands in surrender. There was no way he could explain the real reason. What was he supposed to say, that he'd been scared witless by two people studying too seriously?
Lisa adjusted her glasses. "Since we're out anyway and it's about time, I'll head back to the squad. Wait a bit before following me."
"Got it, got it," Shirō nodded repeatedly.
"And don't mess it up again this time," she warned.
"Understood!" he answered without hesitation.
After Lisa left, Shirō turned back for one last glance at the library. He sighed.
Just when he had finally found a peaceful place to relax, it had been taken from him. In this massive Soul Society, did he really have no safe haven left?
And so, Shirō gave up his brief library phase and began regularly carrying books over to Squad Eight to read with Lisa. Anyone who saw them assumed Shirō was asking for help understanding difficult texts.
Almost no one knew what they were actually doing together.
Truth be told, Shirō and Lisa had plenty in common. They read together, gossiped together, and were both low-key freaks in their own ways. Shirō masked his inner degenerate with noble airs, while Lisa, well, she was just one step away from openly embracing it.
And Lisa's so-called "hangover treatment" had actually worked!
Shirō found his post-drinking symptoms had greatly improved. Now, he barely had any lingering effects at all. His alcohol tolerance hadn't grown much, but it was still a significant improvement.
What Shirō didn't know was that Lisa had gradually been treating him more gently, lifting and placing him down like he was a fragile art piece. Since he never had real hangover symptoms to begin with, it was no surprise that they stopped entirely.
As for how far Lisa had taken her "research" on Shirō's body, well, no one knew. Except for Lisa herself.
Bottom line: Shirō's body no longer held any secrets from Yadōmaru Lisa.
Another year passed.
The most sensational news that year was that Shiba Kaien had graduated early from the Shino Academy and officially joined the Thirteenth Division under Ukitake.
As for people like Urahara Kisuke or Aizen Sōsuke, Shirō had no idea what became of them. Maybe they hadn't graduated yet. Or maybe they had and were just like Lisa, Shinigami who enjoyed reading at the library.
Shirō didn't dare ask.
He was afraid that just by asking, he'd catch their attention.
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150 P.S = 1 Extra Chapter