"Idiot." Rangiku buried her face in the crook of his neck, her voice muffled. "I'm the one who provoked you first, and now you're acting all clever."
No! You are not that kind of overblown woman!
Rangiku slapped her own cheeks hard, forcing herself to return to her usual bold and carefree state.
Arata smiled and suddenly said, "What do you want to eat tonight? I heard a grilled-eel restaurant just opened in Rukongai."
Rangiku lifted her head, her eyes still slightly red, but that familiar smile was already forming at the corner of her lips.
"Eat! I want the fattiest one!"
"Alright." Arata kissed her forehead. "Time to get up. If you're late any longer, we'll have to send a rescue squad."
"Ah! I almost forgot!" Rangiku suddenly screamed and scrambled around in panic searching for her clothes.
"The captain left to deliver the gift, and before leaving he told me I MUST finish the reports today!"
Arata couldn't hold back a laugh as he watched her hopping around like a startled rabbit, then handed her the clothes scattered on the floor.
"Do you need my help?"
"You know how to review documents?" Rangiku quickly pulled on her clothes, raising an eyebrow in surprise.
"I know a little." Arata also tightened his belt and took a wooden box out of the cabinet. "This is the new batch of tea that arrived. The one I gave you and Captain Shiba is almost gone."
Rangiku's eyes sparkled. She took the box and weighed it in her hand. "Good stuff! The captain will definitely let me off when he sees this~"
Suddenly she leaned forward and pecked Arata on the lips. "See you tonight, my little man."
Watching Rangiku dash out in a hurry, Arata quietly exhaled.
Only after confirming that her spiritual pressure had completely disappeared did he summon the system panel again.
[Fate Value of Host: 5777/10823]
Arata stared at the newly updated system information. The three words "Ichimaru Gin" made him frown.
In the memories of his past life, the man who always kept his eyes half-closed and smiled like a fox actually had an unusual obsession with Rangiku, strong enough to spy beside Aizen for decades.
His goal was to retrieve the piece of Rangiku's soul that had been stolen from her.
Although Rangiku for some reason had now chosen him, he…
Arata didn't continue down that path. Instead, he clicked on the newly unlocked divination section that appeared after the system upgrade.
On the panel was a semi-transparent sphere of bluish-white glass, surrounded by floating ribbons of light.
In the void, a few lines of text suddenly appeared.
[Cost of one divination: 500 fate points.]
[Effect: Can predict the host's fortune for the day.]
[Note: You may spend double the fate points to divine for another person.]
Arata frowned slightly. One divination costs 500 fate points?
This level of consumption seemed quite high and completely different from the previous system features like the shop and the lottery.
Moreover, the information provided by the system was extremely sparse. He didn't even know how detailed the fortune-telling result would be, nor how much real impact it would have.
Arata hesitated.
On one hand, it had taken a lot of effort to accumulate this many fate points, and 500 was no small number.
On the other hand, remembering the system's performance so far, he concluded that it had generally been reliable and probably wouldn't trick him on purpose.
He stared at the divination function on the system panel, his fingertip hovering over it.
Even though it felt wasteful, curiosity ultimately won over reason.
"Let's try… divining my fortune for today."
The moment 500 fate points were deducted, a brilliant golden light burst from the crystal sphere.
The light intertwined and shifted as though alive, then condensed into two lines of ancient characters.
[Great fortune, suitable for travel.]
"That's it?" Arata's eyes widened. "500 fate points for five words?"
What was he supposed to do with five words?!
As if sensing his dissatisfaction, the system displayed one additional small line below.
[You will receive an additional reward once the auspicious sign is fulfilled.]
Arata shook his head and closed the panel, unable to understand what exactly that "additional reward" meant.
But since he had already spent the points, there was no point in dwelling on it.
At the very least, it said "great fortune." Surely the system wouldn't lie so blatantly.
The sunset painted the rooftops red. Arata quickly changed into a clean shinigami uniform, fastened Meigetsu at his waist, then, after a moment of thought, slipped a packet of black tea mixed with Fangyue herb into his pocket.
Rangiku had complained last night that she often got headaches after drinking.
Even though she felt better today, the Fangyue herb would help her recover even more.
Rukongai's streets were sunk in twilight, and at the entrance of the newly opened "Fujiwara Unagi-ya" hung two rows of red lanterns.
Arata lifted the door curtain, greeted instantly by a thick aroma of sauce.
The owner, an elderly man with a square-patterned bandana, hurried over respectfully upon seeing a shinigami customer.
"Sir, we just received a fresh batch of wild eel today…"
"Pick two of the fattest for me." Arata glanced over the seating layout and deliberately chose a secluded booth by the window.
From that spot, he could overlook the garden scenery without being disturbed by other guests.
He paid double the deposit and asked the owner to prepare it with utmost care.
After finishing his meal, Arata took a shortcut toward Squad 10.
Passing down a street, he unknowingly drifted into a Japanese sweets shop.
Inside the glass display were various delicate treats: konpeito, mochi, dried persimmons…
Arata pointed at the orange dried persimmons and told the shopkeeper, "Pack two boxes for me."
"Right away, honored shinigami!"
…
When the Squad 10 barracks came into view, Arata spotted Hisagi Shuhei standing guard at the gate.
When Shuhei saw Arata, he froze for a moment, then his face turned solemn.
"Saito-sama!"
Arata sighed and patted his shoulder lightly. "What '-sama', you idiot? Stop acting like we're not friends just because we haven't met for a few days."
Warmth spread in Shuhei's chest at those words, and he grinned broadly. "It's just a bit of respect, what's wrong with that? Who told you to become such a big deal? When we were still basic soldiers, you were already serving as proctor for the captain's assessment."
"It's honestly depressing when people compare themselves to you!"
Arata shook his head. Though he didn't want to admit it, the old group of four from the academy was slowly drifting apart.
If the three of them hadn't transferred to Squad 10, they might barely have had any chance to meet at all.
"By the way, Arata, who are you looking for?"
"I came to see Rangiku." Arata answered honestly, though his ears grew slightly warm.
Removing "vice-captain" from her title suddenly made it sound strangely intimate and personal.
Shuhei didn't notice anything unusual in the phrasing and only lowered his voice a bit. "The vice-captain is still working through the paperwork. I doubt she'll be done anytime... "
Before he finished the sentence, a loud shout from Shiba Isshin echoed from inside the barracks.
"Rangiku! These numbers in the report don't match at all!"
Arata followed the voice to the captain's office. Through the half-open door, he saw Rangiku lying buried in a mountain of papers, pretending to be dead.
Her blonde hair was sprawled across the table, with a small spot of ink at the tips.
Shiba Isshin stood nearby, and just as he turned around, his gaze landed on the visitor.
"Hey, if it isn't Arata! What are you doing in our Squad 10?"
"Sorry for intruding, Captain Shiba." Arata opened the door and entered, giving a formal greeting.
Rangiku, who had spotted who was entering from the corner of her eye, suddenly lifted her head, her once lifeless eyes instantly brightening.
She hurried to straighten her desk, not even noticing that she'd knocked over the ink bottle.
Shiba Isshin looked from her to Arata, then suddenly slapped his thigh and burst into laughter.
"I was wondering why you're suddenly so enthusiastic about paperwork today. Turns out you had a date!"