Chapter 47: Nightfall
The gathering ended amid cheerful laughter and conversation. Matsuzaki Yoshito's youngest, little Shiro, had already succumbed to drowsiness, his small head nodding against his father's shoulder as he dozed.
The adults had also gone through several rounds of drinks, their faces carrying the warm flush of pleasant intoxication.
Rukongai nights had no street lamps. Following his usual practice, Suoh Tsukasa safely escorted both families back to their front doors.
By the time he returned to Terada-ya, all the lights in the inner rooms had been extinguished.
Borrowing the moonlight, he passed through the corridor and pushed open the back door to enter the rear courtyard. Rukongai nights were very quiet, with only the rustling sound of wind blowing through leaves.
The moment he arrived at the courtyard, he saw Terada-san wearing a light brown thin shawl, hands folded and resting on her knees, sitting on the stone bench in the courtyard with her head tilted back slightly gazing at the bright moon above.
After the banquet ended, she hadn't returned to the main house to rest, but instead sat in the courtyard waiting for Suoh.
She understood very clearly that though the youth before her always wore a smile on his face, he also most liked keeping certain emotions hidden in his heart. And this composure was precisely what she appreciated about him.
Hearing the door open, she moved her gaze from the moon back to him. She stood and came before Suoh, smiling gently.
"You're back."
"Mm."
Her gaze seemed able to perceive the unspoken turmoil within Suoh's heart. She gently smoothed his slightly wrinkled collar, speaking with care.
"Don't overthink future matters. You've already done very well. Rest early."
"I understand. You should rest early too."
Suoh understood her intent and responded softly.
Terada-san nodded. As she turned, her shawl swayed gently. Stepping on her shadow, she slowly walked back to the main house.
"Haa..."
Suoh returned to his own room. After finishing his fixed daily evening practice, lying on his bed, he exhaled a soft sigh.
He understood better than everyone around him when the time of separation would arrive.
Parting was a required course on life's path. Life was an endless cycle of gathering and separation. No one could accompany you forever.
He understood this truth clearly. Perhaps it was the effect of the alcohol he'd drunk during the evening, but at this moment he still inevitably felt somewhat melancholy in his heart.
Regarding various circumstances after becoming a Shinigami, Suoh had already inquired clearly from the Shiba couple before enrollment.
Ordinary squad members of the Gotei Thirteen, depending on their origins, generally lived in squad barracks or on the Seireitei's outer edges.
Seated officers who achieved a certain level of merit could submit applications to their squads to obtain their own private residences.
And for relatives of Rukongai-born Shinigami who wished to relocate to the Seireitei, they could only submit application forms to the household registration bureau after obtaining personal property.
At the same time, the vetting process was extremely strict. Souls such as Kotama and Matsuzaki Yoshito, who had family in Rukongai, would never have been approved.
Among his close friends and family, only Terada-san had any possibility of obtaining approval. The Seireitei's rules were just this troublesome and cruel.
Additionally, there was one and only one other situation: if Suoh became a mid-to-upper ranking noble and obtained the right to recruit household servants, only then could he bring both entire families into the Seireitei.
But in the class-rigid Seireitei, achieving this was harder than ascending to heaven. Relying purely on personal effort to realize it was completely impossible.
Power alone wasn't enough. One had to amass great achievements, win acknowledgment from Central Forty-Six, gain the support and endorsement of the noble clans, and finally pass the noble assembly's scrutiny. Not a single step could be lacking.
One could only say it was fortunate the Shiba family had been kicked out of the Five Great Noble Houses' ranks. Otherwise, the union between Shiba Kaien and Shiba Miyako would have required approval by an even higher level than the Gold Seal Noble Council, the Noble assembly.
Just the marriage registration procedures through the noble assembly had severely tormented Shiba Kaien for quite some time.
His expression of complete breakdown when recounting running through the marriage paperwork. Suoh's memory of it remained vivid even now.
"All this trouble is still far off for me anyway."
Casting aside the miscellaneous thoughts in his mind, Suoh sank into his pillow and blissfully closed his eyes.
At that same moment, inside the Shinoreijutsuin's medical office on the other side of the white wall.
A half-drawn white gauze curtain blocked off the bed, creating a private space. Moonlight shone through the window, illuminating the white bed.
Abarai Renji leaned against the headboard. His right arm and left leg each had a circle of bandages wrapped around the wounds Suoh had left him with during the day.
By now the wounds had long since lost their painful sensation, leaving only an achy numb feeling, like a pile of ants crawling on them.
He kept his head lowered, loose red hair ends hanging before his face, concealing the emotions in his eyes.
On the bedside table sat a tray of food, a bowl of white rice porridge and some small side dishes. This was what the nurse had brought over at noon. Left until now, it had long since gone completely cold.
"Hey, just how long are you planning to stay stubborn?"
"The doctor said your wounds look pretty scary, but tat's all. They're just surface injuries. As long as you properly supplement some nutrition, you'll be fine in a couple days."
A female voice came from the doorway. Rukia wore the red and white uniform as she entered carrying an oil paper package, walking to sit down on the chair beside the bed.
Her words seemed to be stating his medical condition, but were simultaneously reminding Abarai Renji that his opponent had shown mercy.
"I'm not hungry."
After so many years as childhood friends, Abarai Renji understood clearly in his heart what she wanted to express.
But right now his mind was completely filled with his pathetic appearance from losing this morning. He didn't even have the energy to look at her once. Without turning his head, he responded dully.
"Not hungry?"
"From when they brought you here this morning until now, not eating a single bite of food, not drinking a single sip of water, and you're telling me you're not hungry?"
Rukia raised an eyebrow, her tone instantly turning cold. Looking at his sickly, pathetic appearance, she carried several degrees of suppressed anger.
Back when they'd been in South District Seventy-Eight, forget about cold food, even food that had gone slightly bad would be treated like treasure by them and eaten completely clean.
How could he act like this now, not treating food seriously? Was this using a hunger strike to express just how he felt inside?
Carrying anger in her heart, Rukia deliberately drew out her tone mockingly.
"Abarai-san truly deserves to be the outstanding student of today's elite class. It's perfectly normal that such ordinary meals don't catch your eye."
"How impressive! Someone who couldn't even afford to drink water back in Rukongai now actually looks down on the academy's meals!"
However, the provocation method that usually never failed on him had no effect whatsoever. Abarai Renji remained silent with his head lowered.
The room fell into brief silence.
Just when Abarai Renji thought Rukia would continue scolding him, her voice carrying a choked sob reached his ears.
"Renji... I really was a little scared of you this morning..."
"I'll eat! It's all my fault!"
The next second, Abarai Renji's head shot up abruptly. He happened to see Rukia on the chair with her head lowered, her fingertips brushing past the corner of her eye.
Faced with these sudden tears, his mind went completely blank. Whatever frustration, whatever unwillingness in his heart, everything evaporated into smoke.
He hurriedly grabbed the meal tray beside him. After a whirlwind of frenzied eating, the food in the bowl and dishes was quickly licked completely clean.
"Look, I finished everything."
Abarai Renji immediately held out the empty meal tray toward Rukia, his gaze tense and anxious as he looked at her.
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