"Captain!" Rangiku blushed.
Arata took the lead, grabbed Rangiku by the arm, and openly admitted, "Captain Shiba, as you can see, we're dating."
Sighs were heard from the hallway.
Arata turned his head toward the door and saw Shuhei and the others crowding behind the wall, eavesdropping secretly, along with a group of clerks who had rushed over as soon as they sensed something.
"What are you looking at? Haven't you finished your work?" Shiba Isshin scolded them and waved them away. "Never seen people fall in love before?"
Suddenly, he leaned close to Arata's ear and whispered in a threatening tone, "You may be the genius personally chosen by the Head Captain, but if you ever make Rangiku cry, I'll be the first one to speak out."
Arata nodded seriously: "Captain Shiba, don't worry, I'm not that kind of man."
Isshin growled in jest. It was clear Arata wasn't the same kind of trash from the Noble Street.
Rangiku immediately jumped up from the pile of papers: "Captain, I'll definitely finish these reports tomorrow… no, the day after tomorrow!"
"Alright, alright, go on your date already." Shiba Isshin rolled his eyes.
Even if she said that, in the end, he would be the one actually sorting out most of those papers.
Even your ass could figure that out!
After sending off the golden couple from Squad 10 barracks, Isshin suddenly remembered something and frowned.
"If those two really get together, what do we do about Captain Ichimaru?"
"No! What about our Kūkaku?!"
…
As twilight deepened, Arata and Rangiku walked side by side through Rukongai.
Rangiku was nibbling on the dried persimmons he had bought earlier, humming a cheerful tune and occasionally playfully bumping into his shoulder.
"Don't eat too much, we still have dinner ahead." Arata held her hand and gently reminded.
"It's fine, I can't gain weight." Rangiku casually swung her hair. "But you really did come to get me at the perfect time."
Suddenly she stopped and looked him straight in the eyes, under the wind and the light of the setting sun.
"What is it?" Arata asked in surprise.
"I think I haven't officially told you yet… I like you."
The scent of dried persimmons and gardenia lingered at the tip of his nose. Arata suddenly felt that those scents were "good fortune," and he couldn't hold back, he leaned in and kissed her red lips.
Rangiku gasped softly in surprise, and warmth spread through her chest.
After that brief "incident," the two of them finally arrived at "Fujiwara Unagi-ya."
As soon as the owner saw them, he skillfully led them to the reserved seat.
The dull rhythm of bamboo pipes in the courtyard matched the steam rising in the room. Beneath the golden crispy skin of the grilled river eel, white meat oozed tiny transparent drops of fat.
For a moment, Arata imagined another scene, drops of sweat scattered across snow-white skin.
Even more tempting than the eel in front of him.
"Aaa—" Rangiku opened her mouth wide, waiting for a bite.
Arata quickly pushed the indecent images from his mind, carefully deboned the fish, dipped it in sauce, and offered it to her.
"Mmm~~ So tasty!"
Feeling that tender, fatty flavor, Rangiku couldn't help but moan softly in delight.
Watching her eyes close in bliss, Arata suddenly understood why the system had judged that today was "suitable for an outing."
"Open up." Rangiku leaned across the table, holding a piece of fish with her chopsticks.
Arata obediently bit down, wanting to taste how good it was, but his tongue was suddenly set ablaze by spicy wasabi, this woman had sneakily added a double portion!
"Kaah, kaah, kaah—!"
He choked so hard that his eyes turned red, while Rangiku burst out laughing across from him, bending over in delight.
"This is payback for last night, hahahaha!"
"Ding!"
[The good omen has been fulfilled, rewarded with 200 fate points.]
The system's warm note made Arata not care at all about Rangiku's deliberate revenge anymore, instead fully immersing himself in this warm world for the two of them.
…
Time gradually turned toward autumn, and early mornings were becoming colder.
Arata stood in the main hall of the kendo club, seriously swinging a wooden sword over and over again.
Over the past two months, his relationship with Rangiku was no longer a secret.
At first, only Squad 10 knew, but now the story had spread to almost the entire Soul Society, and people had moved on from shock to acceptance.
Some had even started betting on when the two of them would officially have a wedding.
"Professor Saito!" An administrative teacher from the Shinō Spiritual Academy came running. "Vice President Shibato sent me to inform you that the official opening ceremony of the academic year is about to begin. Please prepare your speech."
As the semester approached, the news that the Head Captain had appointed him as the lead professor of the Kendo Department had already spread through the Shinō Academy.
Except for the students who had not yet returned, practically all the other teachers already knew.
Arata set aside the wooden sword and nodded in acknowledgment.
These two months of rest had passed much faster than he expected. He had dates with Rangiku, weekly "special training" sessions with the teacher in Squad 4, sparred with Kenpachi in Squad 11, and occasionally attended meetings in other squads…
Every day was so packed that it was easy to forget how fast time was passing.
Maybe it had something to do with the long lifespans of shinigami.
In today's world, two months wasn't particularly long or short.
But in the Soul Society, it truly passed in the blink of an eye.
When he thought of Unohana Retsu, Arata's spine unconsciously stiffened.
Ever since his relationship with Rangiku went public, that gentle woman became increasingly brutal in kendo training each week.
She nicely called it, high-intensity combat yields high returns in progress.
Arata grumbled inside, but couldn't come up with a single reasonable objection.
"Arata~"
A familiar voice called from behind, and he turned to see Rangiku leaning against the doorway, her long blonde hair gleaming in the morning light.
Today she wore a light-purple kimono, with a sash embroidered with gardenias tied around her waist, making her skin look whiter than snow.
"Why did you come so early today?" Arata approached and naturally took the lunchbox from her hand.
Rangiku pouted a little: "Because a certain someone started teaching at the Shinō Spiritual Academy today, so I was afraid he'd go hungry."
Arata opened the box, inside were several carefully prepared side dishes and a bowl of hot miso soup, all neatly arranged.
His heart warmed. During these two months, Rangiku's cooking skills had improved drastically. From the initial "dark recipes" she had progressed to decent meals, and he knew best how much effort she had put into it.
"Thank you." Arata said softly, brushing a petal from her hair with his fingers.
Rangiku leaned against his shoulder and murmured, "Starting today, now that you're teaching, we'll have less time to see each other."
Arata smiled and pinched her nose: "I'm not going on an expedition. I'll just be at the Shinō Spiritual Academy during the day. We can still have dinner together every night."
"It's not the same." Rangiku mumbled and suddenly remembered something, raising her head: "By the way, Isane told me to tell you, Squad 4 has a special meeting this afternoon, and Captain Unohana specifically said you must attend."
Arata's hand froze, and his spoon nearly slipped, but he caught it with quick reflexes.
Over the past two months, every time he went to Squad 4 "for training," it felt like entering hell.
Unohana Retsu's training could only be described as a devil's regime, and every time he finished, he felt like he had been pulled from a river.
"What's wrong?" Rangiku immediately noticed his stiffness, and a mischievous spark flickered in her gray eyes. "Is our little man scared?"
"…I'm not."
Arata stubbornly denied it and lowered his head, continuing to sip his soup.