"Rangiku-san, why are you here?" Arata tried with all his might to make his voice sound calmer.
Rangiku tilted her head and looked at him, a playful smile on her lips.
"What, aren't you happy to see me?"
"Besides, last night you so skillfully called me 'Rangiku,' and as soon as we got back today, you're calling me 'Rangiku-san' again?"
"No… I just didn't expect you to come at this time." Arata looked away.
"Ran… Rangiku."
"Because I have something important to tell you." Rangiku cheerfully stepped in front of him and wiped the sweat from his shoulder. "You're not going to pretend like last night didn't happen, are you?"
Arata's breath caught.
"I…" He opened his mouth, but didn't know how to respond.
Even though he had thick skin, in both his past and current life he was a true, pure-blooded god of war who believed in love, and he almost didn't have a "cuckold" personality.
But now he had unexpectedly ended up in a relationship with Matsumoto Rangiku, a woman who was theoretically taken, which gave Arata, who barely had any experience with men and women, a strong headache.
Rangiku suddenly stood on her toes and whispered in his ear, "I brought some really sexy underwear~"
Warm breath washed over his ear, and Arata's body instantly stiffened.
He reflexively leaned toward the window and peeked outside. After confirming no one else was around, he locked the Kendo club's door.
"This isn't the place to talk." Arata whispered.
"Then let's go to the break room?" Rangiku blinked, her voice sounded innocent like a naïve girl, but her eyes were full of teasing.
Arata took a deep breath and finally gave in to her advance. "Come with me."
He led Rangiku through the dojo to the break room where he had once taught her how to make tea.
As soon as the door closed, Rangiku impatiently rushed forward and pinned him against the door.
"Wait—" Arata's words were lost in a fiery kiss.
Rangiku's lips were soft and moist, with a faint floral scent.
Her hands restlessly slipped under his haori jacket, the tips of her fingers gliding over his firm abdominal muscles.
"Last night you were the one dominating me. I didn't have time to take a good look at you." Rangiku broke the kiss, panting, her fingers tracing the lines of his muscles, inch by inch. "I didn't expect you to have such a great body."
Arata couldn't hold back any longer and suddenly changed position, switching places with her.
The attacker and the target had swapped!
He rested one hand on the door and gently stroked her cheek with the other.
"Rangiku, are you sure? We no longer have the excuse of being drunk like last night."
"What do you think?" Rangiku looked at him with clear eyes, a smile on her lips.
"Uh…"
Arata struggled to form a sentence.
"I mean… are you sure you're not just joking and that you really love me?"
"I mean that kind of love between a man and a woman."
He added.
"Of course I'm sure." Rangiku suppressed her smile and spoke in a serious tone.
"Do you think I'm some fickle, shallow woman?" Her arms wrapped around Arata's neck. "Even though I usually seem carefree, in matters like this I'm very serious."
As she said that, a vague figure flashed through Rangiku's mind, someone who had left a deep mark on her heart.
But in the end, she firmly shook her head and decided to throw out of her heart the person who hadn't answered her calls or feelings for a long time.
After that decision, Rangiku felt as if the invisible chains that had bound her for years had finally loosened a bit.
Arata's eyes softened. He gently brushed her tousled blond hair behind her ear.
At the moment his fingertips touched the lobe of her ear, Rangiku moaned softly and pressed even closer to him.
Black fabric slowly slid aside amidst hot kisses, and on the white skin, smooth like fat jade, appeared a seductive shade of purple.
"Is that the sexy underwear you mentioned?"
"A noble lady gave it to me that day during recruitment."
"Good, you should learn more from that lady in the future."
"You pervert!"
…
When everything finally calmed down, their two panting bodies were tightly pressed together.
Rangiku leaned against Arata's chest, listening to his heart still beating strongly.
"So," she began drawing circles on his chest with her finger, "what are we now?"
Rangiku wanted a clear answer from him.
Arata was silent for a moment, then slowly said: "And what would you like us to be?"
He passed the ball back to her.
"Hmm…" Rangiku tilted her head and thought for a moment. "We can start with a date?"
Arata laughed. "There aren't many good places for dates in Soul Society."
"Then make them~" Rangiku lifted her face, her gray eyes sparkling with anticipation. "For example… come pick me up tonight at the 10th Division when I finish work?"
Looking into the glow in her eyes, Arata suddenly realized that there was no turning back.
He gently kissed Rangiku on the forehead and promised: "Alright."
Rangiku sighed in relief and curled up in his arms like a satisfied cat.
The sun was slowly setting in the west, casting a warm halo over their intertwined figures.
Although Arata was tired, surprisingly he didn't feel the least bit sleepy.
At that moment, a series of system sounds suddenly echoed in his ears.
"Beep!"
[Matsumoto Rangiku's fate has drastically changed due to your wicked behavior, and you gain 929 fate points.]
[Ichimaru Gin's fate has drastically changed due to your wicked behavior, and you gain 910 fate points.]
[It has been detected that the host's total fate value has reached 10,000 points, triggering the third system upgrade.]
[System upgrade complete, fate divination area has been unlocked. You can now spend fate points to perform fate divinations.]
[Host is advised to continue working hard to change the fate of more people and unlock more system functions.]
Arata stared at the translucent system panel that suddenly appeared in front of him, his pupils slightly contracted.
Those shining words were like a sharp Zanpakutō that instantly shattered the warm atmosphere that had just formed.
"What's wrong, Arata?" Rangiku immediately noticed how he tensed up, so she lifted herself on her elbows and asked.
Her golden hair spilled over his chest, swaying gently with the rhythm of his breathing.
"Nothing." Arata reflexively shut off the system interface, his fingers unconsciously gliding down the smooth curve of her back. "Just thinking about tonight."
"Are you sure you want to come pick me up after work? What will the people from the 10th Division think?"
"Who cares?" Rangiku casually swayed her long hair, the tips brushing his nose and leaving behind a cloud of fragrance. "The captain's known for a long time that I like to mess around."
One of the system messages from earlier suddenly brought something back to Arata's memory, and his expression turned a bit strange.
"Speaking of which… Does Captain Ichimaru know?"
The moment that name was mentioned, the air in the room suddenly turned heavy.
Rangiku's body visibly froze for a moment, but quickly relaxed again.
She didn't care how Arata found out about her past with Ichimaru Gin. After all, many who knew her also knew about that.
Rangiku turned onto her back and stretched out on the tatami, her beautiful body fully exposed as she looked at the ceiling and quietly spoke:
"He… from that day on, never asked how I was doing again."
That sentence was like a double-edged sword: not only did it cut into some old scars in Rangiku's heart, but at the same time, it severed her last bit of hesitation.
Arata turned onto his side and pulled her into a hug, feeling her shoulders tremble slightly.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have mentioned him."