Chapter 48: Review
"Of course I was joking with you!"
Right at that moment, Rukia suddenly lifted her head. Her face showed not a trace of genuine emotion, looking smug and triumphant.
Her eyes were filled with the satisfaction of a successful little scheme. She handed over the oil paper package she'd brought.
"Heh, I tricked you, didn't I, idiot!"
"Just eating that isn't enough, right? I've got something else here."
"Uh, hehe..."
Hearing her words, Abarai Renji froze. His gaze shifted back and forth between her smiling face and the oil paper package she held out. A self-mocking laugh rolled from his throat.
"Hahahaha!"
He took the oil paper package and held it in his hand, then burst into genuine hearty laughter from the heart.
The disappointment and frustration that had been occupying his heart completely dissipated in that laughter.
Abarai Renji was undoubtedly an impulsive person, but beneath his loud, brash exterior lay his own keen perception and sensitivity.
Though as a young person he still inevitably made mistakes and fell into the swamp of negative emotions, he could always quickly recognize the problem, break free, and correct himself.
After the laughter passed, both their expressions returned to calm. Rukia looked at him, her tone becoming serious.
"Renji, losing isn't scary. What's scary is not being able to get back up after losing."
"Mm, I know."
Now completely calmed down, Abarai Renji nodded and responded in a low voice.
He thought of those past days when they could only struggle through on water, thought of those three grave mounds buried on the hillside of South District Seventy-Eight.
Those were proof they'd struggled to survive, and also the reason they couldn't easily give up.
The next moment, his eyes regained their confidence and determination.
"Mm, once my wounds heal, I'll go find that kid... Suoh Tsukasa, and apologize."
"But someday I'll still defeat him!"
His words took a sharp turn. That stubborn unwillingness to admit defeat surged up in his heart again. His fists unconsciously clenched.
"Uh... can you really do that?"
Speaking honestly, Rukia really didn't have much faith in his blind confidence.
"You lost this morning... incredibly fast!"
Though it felt somewhat cruel to strike at him like this, for his own sake, after hesitating she still spoke honestly.
Being told this by Rukia, Abarai Renji immediately became agitated. His face flushed red as he spoke rapidly in an endless torrent.
"You don't know! Don't let that kid's harmonious, gentle, weak appearance fool you."
"His style is way too underhanded. A few seconds before the fight started, he deliberately provoked me with words. If he hadn't been so base... cunning, how would I have lost my rhythm and lost so fast!"
"Next time I'll make him see my true skills!"
In the end, he still didn't speak words like base or despicable out loud, but his face was still full of resentment.
To be fair, Abarai Renji's swift defeat this time did have part of the reason being that he was deceived by Suoh Tsukasa's misleadingly gentle exterior.
Of course, more of it was his own carelessness and mistakes. Without understanding his opponent's strength clearly, he'd concentrated and focused part of his spiritual pressure on his wooden sword right from the start, not even using shunpo.
This wasn't because he didn't know how to use it, but rather in his judgment at that moment, he'd believed ensuring his strike's power was more important than shunpo's mobility. It was a mistake in battle strategy choices.
"Okay, okay, fine, fine."
"I believe you. Get some rest early!"
Rukia looked at him having pulled himself together again. The familiar Abarai Renji from her memories had returned. Holding back a smile, she nodded in response.
"Good that you know."
Meeting her gaze, Abarai Renji crossed his arms confidently.
Rukia bid farewell and left. In the medical office left with only one person, the atmosphere was no longer heavy and oppressive, only the warmth deposited by long passage of time.
The evening of the last day of the holiday.
One bottle, two bottles, three bottles...
Suoh Tsukasa took several medicine bottles from the storage cabinet and placed them in his bundle.
Besides gathering with friends and family and satisfying his appetite, this trip home also required replenishing resources.
With the addition of Toshiro, his pill consumption speed had doubled. Fortunately, he'd refined quite a lot of this stuff and had considerable stock.
Closing the cabinet door, Suoh returned to the table. He placed the medicine bottles and several bulging oil paper packages that gave off a meat fragrance mixed with faint spice aroma. Inside was the dried meat he'd made this morning.
If he hadn't had this holiday's satisfaction, he could have gotten used to the dining hall's bland meals.
But precisely because he'd had the holiday, his taste buds had been reactivated. He could only think of another solution.
People were often forced into things. And driven by desire, human potential was limitless.
Using the lowest output of Bakudo Seventy-Three: Tozansho to wrap the dried meat in a sealed space.
Adding Hado Twelve: Fushibi spreading along the inner walls as a heat source.
Finally using Hado Fifty-Eight: Tenran to make the hot air slowly circulate within the space. A hand-crafted Soul Society version baking oven was thus perfectly born.
In just one morning, Suoh had taught himself how to use compound kidou, relying on the oven's excellent work to make snacks that could satisfy his cravings.
Compound kido, simply put, meant combining individual kido based on their characteristics. Once the user had sufficient understanding of kido, achieving it wasn't difficult.
Picking up the last piece of dried meat on the table for tasting, fat had condensed on the meat strip's surface into a fine oily sheen. The meat aroma mixed with spicy sweetness.
The instant his teeth bit through the dried meat, the meat strip's toughness stubbornly resisted Suoh's chewing.
The distinct lean meat fibers bounced between his lips and teeth. The salty-sweet base flavor wrapped around the chili pepper's spiciness. The taste became richer and more fragrant the more he chewed.
"I'm truly a genius!"
Having finished the dried meat in his mouth, Suoh felt extremely satisfied in his heart and couldn't help praising himself.
"I'm heading out."
"Safe travels."
Carrying his bundle and bidding farewell to Terada-san and Kotama, Suoh headed toward the academy's direction.
All along the way, he leaped unhurriedly across rooftops until Toshiro's house was right before him.
His figure stopped lightly before the door as he called inside.
"Toshiro, let's get going!"
"Coming."
A response came from inside the house. Before long, Toshiro came outside together with his grandmother.
The moment Toshiro's grandmother saw him, she cheerfully greeted him.
"Tsukasa, you're here."
"Grandmother, good afternoon. This is for you."
"It's dried meat. When cooking porridge, crush it with a stone mortar and add a bit to cook together. It's good for your health."
Suoh responded with a smile. From his bundle, he took out an oil paper package he'd prepared in advance. This package only had a bit of fine salt added as seasoning, just right for elderly consumption.
During his first visit, Suoh had already detected that the old woman's soul strength was below the average standard of 1.
Though not fatal, it still had some impact on the soul itself.
Being able to make the old woman's health a bit better was always preferable.
"No need..."
The old woman looked at the oil paper package before her and gently waved her hand, wanting to decline.
Toshiro at her side saw this and naturally took it, placing it in his grandmother's hands.
"Grandmother, this is something Tsukasa specially prepared. Let's accept it."
"Besides, it's getting late. He and I need to get to the academy."
"Alright, alright."
"Thank you, Tsukasa."
The old woman had no choice but to accept this thoughtful gesture, carefully putting away the oil paper package.
***
20+advance chapters at patreon.com/Eatinpieces