Outside Urahara Shop.
After bidding farewell to Isshin, Toshiro walked out alone.
"It's raining?" Toshiro looked up at the sky.
When they followed Kisuke to the shop earlier, it wasn't raining. Now, a light drizzle fell.
Walking in the drizzle, Toshiro suddenly saw Ryuken ahead, trudging through the rain on the road, looking utterly dejected. Back at Urahara Shop, Ryuken had left alone when Urahara and Isshin began the ritual to save Masaki.
Then, a woman in a maid outfit, holding an umbrella, approached Ryuken.
"Has Masaki-sama been left there?"
"With the Shinigami?" Kanae asked.
"Yes."
"Go back and tell Mother... I am unworthy of guarding the Quincies," Ryuken said, his voice hoarse.
"I won't go back," Kanae refused.
"I'm ordering you to go back, Katagiri—!!" Ryuken shouted.
A string of glistening drops slid down Ryuken's cheek… whether tears or rain was unclear.
To save Masaki, Ryuken had no choice but to agree to Isshin and Masaki's soul connection, binding them together for life. But as a man, watching the woman he loved spend her life with another man was heart-wrenching.
"Ryuken-sama, I won't go back. I cannot leave you alone."
"Have you forgotten? To stake my entire life in serving Ryuken-sama is my duty as a Katagiri."
"Since the day I met you, my life has belonged to Ryuken-sama."
As she spoke, Kanae's mind flashed back to her first meeting with Ryuken as a child. The Katagiri Family had served the Ishida Family for generations. Kanae would never forget that day when her mother brought her to the Ishida household, pointed at Ryuken, and said: 'Kanae, this is Ryuken-sama. From now on, serve Ryuken-sama well. Be loyal to him for life.'
"So, I beg you, Ryuken-sama, please don't be sad..."
"If Ryuken-sama grieves, My heart feels as if it's being torn apart," Kanae wept.
"If Ryuken-sama sheds tears, I—"
"Enough!" Ryuken suddenly interjected.
"Let's go back," he then said.
"Yes! As you command, Young Master!" Kanae replied, surprised and overjoyed.
Then, holding the umbrella for Ryuken, they walked towards the Ishida Family's residence together.
"Yare yare, this could be considered 'losing the east but gaining the mulberry,'" Toshiro mused, watching them walk away.
Objectively speaking, Ryuken was indeed pitiable. The woman he loved for years would, through twists of fate, spend her life with a Shinigami. However, though he couldn't be with Masaki in the end, another woman, Katagiri Kanae, deeply loved him. It's hard to say if Ryuken was lucky or not.
"Well, whatever. It has nothing to do with me anyway. No point overthinking."
"I've been out long enough. Better return soon."
With that, Toshiro also left.
Soul Society, 10th Division.
Toshiro pushed open the door to the Captain's office.
"Yo, Toshiro, you're back," Rangiku greeted, her words muffled as she ate a dango skewer.
"Yeah, I'm back," Toshiro said, plopping into the Captain's chair and pouring himself some tea.
Glancing at the documents on the desk, he frowned. Before leaving with Isshin for the Living World, there were this many. Now, upon returning, the pile remained unchanged. Clearly, despite leaving a note asking Rangiku to handle division affairs temporarily, she had completely ignored it.
"Hey, Rangiku, didn't I leave a note asking you to handle division work temporarily?" Toshiro said unhappily.
"Ah, that... Actually, it's like this. Earlier, I had an urgent task and had to go to the dango shop, hehe... So I couldn't attend to division work," Rangiku explained, looking guilty.
"Hah! An urgent task... to the dango shop!" Toshiro was almost amused by the absurdity.
"Alright, alright, don't dwell on it. At most, I'll share a skewer with you!" Rangiku said, offering a skewer of dango to Toshiro.
"Go on, keep it for yourself," Toshiro said impatiently.
Truthfully, Toshiro wasn't angry. He had anticipated that someone of Rangiku's temperament wouldn't diligently handle work. This was just their usual banter.
"Hmph, you chose not to eat. Don't blame me later," Rangiku said, resuming her eating.
After finishing, Rangiku suddenly remembered something and asked Toshiro, "By the way, Toshiro, where's Captain? Didn't he go to the Living World with you? Why didn't he return with you?"
"Captain... will never return," Toshiro said with a hint of sadness.
"Pfft!"
Rangiku, who had just taken a sip of tea after eating, spat it out upon hearing Toshiro's answer.
"Cough, cough... Wh-what did you say, Toshiro? Did the Captain... die?!" Rangiku coughed, then urgently asked.
"The Captain isn't dead!" Toshiro retorted irritably.
"Whew!" Rangiku sighed in relief. "Not dead? Then why did you say he won't return? Saying that made me think he was attacked and killed!"
"It's like this... Captain, he..." Toshiro then explained the entire situation of Isshin staying in the Living World to Rangiku.
First, to prevent Rangiku from worrying about Isshin's safety.
Second, since Rangiku knew Toshiro and Isshin had secretly gone to the Living World again, covering up Isshin's stay required her cooperation.
"I see... So Captain gave up his Shinigami powers to stay in the Living World?" Rangiku also sounded dejected.
"Yes. So you must never mention that Captain and I secretly went to the Living World. If the Captain-Commander asks about the Captain, just say he suddenly disappeared and you don't know his whereabouts," Toshiro instructed.
Rangiku nodded solemnly. "I understand."
If the Soul Society learned that Isshin voluntarily gave up his Shinigami powers to save a Quincy and stay in the living world, not only would Masaki face trouble, but Isshin would likely be punished. Rangiku understood the gravity and wouldn't reveal it.
As time passed, Isshin's disappearance was noticed by the Soul Society, and the matter grew increasingly significant.