Kotetsu Isane stood before Nobu's door, hesitated briefly, then knocked.
Moments later, the door creaked open, and she was pulled inside in one motion.
The door closed softly behind her, but before she could speak, heated breath stole the words from her lips.
The dull thud of her head against the door mingled with ragged breathing.
Her fingers clutched uselessly at his front, white knuckles curling weakly into the fabric of his shihakushō, slipping at last to hover against his waist.
"Mmph—"
"You've been drinking?"
"Had a bit with Captain… I… I'll go brush my teeth…"
Her breathing was quick, voice flustered.
"No need."
His arm slid around her waist and lifted her.
Caught off guard, she gripped the back of his neck tightly, her face burning.
"W–Weren't you going to tell me something important?"
"This is the important thing."
"I… I knew it… you had no good intentions. Let me go, I need a bath first."
"Can't wait."
She hadn't drunk much—just two cups with Unohana Retsu, but even that was enough to drown her thoughts in a slow tide.
She glanced at the dark outside the window, meaning to tell Nobu to turn off the light, but the words lodged in her throat and never came out, dissolving instead into a breath that was half-shy, half-accusing.
Night was silent, moonlight slicing across their mingled heat.
Her curled toes pressed against the taut line of his back.
White fingers scraped damp marks into the wood floor.
Sweat beaded in the hollow of her collarbone, spilling like a tide over stone.
Her breathing broke against the paper lattice.
The wall clock had chimed more times than she could count.
He suddenly stopped— his lashes catching the silver spill of her eyes, while the wind outside brushed past the white eaves, sealing the moment in amber.
Isane rested her head in the crook of a new arm, silver hair spilling loose, the flush on her face slowly fading.
"In three years… you'll leave the Fourth Division, won't you?"
Nobu paused. "Captain told you?"
"Mhm… I'm not blaming you for keeping it from me. This concerns the captain's seats of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads—it's Seireitei's business. I shouldn't even know."
"…"
He felt her grip on his arm tighten slightly.
He knew—
Isane would never leave the Fourth Division, nor Unohana.
He only reached up to brush the damp strands from her forehead.
"What else did Captain say to you?"
"Nothing… just that you still had unfinished business here in Fourth Division. Nobu—you don't need to hold back for my sake. Becoming a captain is a huge honor. I'd never try to stop you. If anything, I'd be happy for you. Even if you went to the Tenth Division, it wouldn't change anything between us."
Nobu chuckled quietly, then drew her closer.
"Then let me tell you a truth."
She tilted her head in confusion. "What truth?"
He brushed her nose with a fingertip.
"My blade isn't Kaidō-type."
Isane froze. "You… what did you just say?"
"My Zanpakutō may have the power to heal, but it isn't Kaidō-type. Back then, I disguised it that way so I could enter the Fourth Division without obstruction."
"…"
She stared at him blankly, her mind slow to catch up.
Everyone in the Fourth had seen his healing firsthand.
He was strong, yes, but no one had doubted his Zanpakutō's ability.
But hearing it now, she began to think—
It was true.
His way of healing had never really matched Kaidō's principles.
She'd always assumed she simply didn't understand Kaidō well enough to grasp his method.
She asked quietly, "Then your purpose in coming to Fourth…"
"There were two reasons. One was you. The other was our captain."
"Captain… what do you mean?"
He tipped his head back to the ceiling, expression smoothing out.
"Do you know her past?"
"…"
Isane turned his words over in her mind.
Captain's past…
Few knew it.
Even she had only fragments—pieces she avoided thinking about,
because they clashed so hard with the image of Unohana in her heart.
Gentle, kind, strong—
in Isane's eyes, nearly perfect.
"And what," she asked slowly, "does that have to do with what you just told me?"
Nobu caught the shift in her expression and hesitated.
With a sigh, he said, "If you don't know, then… forget it."
But the moment he stopped speaking, he saw her staring straight at him, a stubborn glint in her eyes.
"…Alright." He thought for a moment. "You know Captain wasn't always the Fourth Division's captain, right? The first Fourth Division captain was Shijima Shiragiri. And the first captain of the Eleventh Division… was our current captain. Back then, she was called Unohana Yachiru."
Isane knew this—that her captain had once been the first Kenpachi.
In the Soul Society now, it was almost a hidden piece of history.
The gentle Unohana seemed to have nothing in common with that title.
"At that time," Nobu continued, "the 13 Division Imperial Guards were very different. The Soul Society and Seireitei were far more chaotic. The Thirteen weren't bound by so many rules. Their purpose was to pacify the wars of that era. Calling them 'Imperial Guards' was generous—they were more like an assassination corps."
"In that age, Captain Unohana's name was far more infamous than it is now. She was called the greatest criminal in Soul Society's history, unmatched before or since— a murderer beyond counting, a bloodthirsty fighter. Countless died by her hand…"
Isane couldn't help interrupting. "How do you know all this?"
"Even I don't know these things. And after so long—if it's true, how could you know?"
"…"
When he didn't answer, she slowly lowered her head into his chest, holding him tightly.
"Nobu…"
"Her gentleness now may be real, but it doesn't mean she's completely let go of her past. She's waiting…"
Isane's nails dug into his arm through the cloth.
"Waiting for what… for you to challenge her, for you to…" she muttered.
"…"
"Nobu… was that your purpose for joining Fourth Division from the start?"
"No." He denied it outright.
"I didn't come to kill anyone. On the contrary—I came to free her from it. To help her completely let go of her past."
She seemed to exhale in relief, leaning fully into him.
"Nobu… can I trust you?"