One Hundred Thousand Whys
Sizzle.
Inside a man-made cave, a thick cutlet of meat fried in a pan of boiling oil, crisp sounds rising with each bubble. Two sticks of wood fueled the fire beneath.
Nemu Kurotsuchi picked up the cutlet with chopsticks and flipped it. As the surface browned, she sprinkled it with salt and cumin, then turned it again, repeating the process.
The aroma grew richer, and she focused intently, determined not to overcook or burn it.
When the first cutlet was done, she placed it neatly on a plate and added another to the pan, eventually preparing seven in total.
Bai Shi, returning from lookout duty, judged it was about time and stepped inside. The savory scent of cumin and sizzling meat filled the cave. He swallowed unconsciously, walked over, plucked two washed lettuce leaves from the tray, wrapped one around a steaming cutlet, and took a hearty bite.
The crisp lettuce and spicy, juicy steak burst together in flavor.
"Hah, Nemu, your cooking's gotten a lot better," he said, voice muffled with food, oil gleaming at the corners of his mouth.
Nemu didn't answer, though her cheeks flushed faintly.
Life on the run had broadened her world. She had discovered that existence wasn't limited to science, as Lord Mayuri insisted. There were many other things worth exploring.
Cooking, for her, came first.
She imagined one day serving Mayuri-sama a meal she'd made, hearing him acknowledge its taste as Bai Shi just had. That thought alone would make her feel fulfilled.
Her lips curved in a small smile, and somehow, the meat in her mouth tasted even better.
Bai Shi didn't expect her to respond. If he didn't ask her something directly, praise and compliments usually went unanswered.
"Do you think the Shinigami have stopped tracking me?" he asked. "Sometimes the Department of Research detects me, but no captain shows up anymore."
"Impossible." Nemu shook her head softly. "Since its founding, the Gotei 13 has never abandoned pursuit of a criminal—unless they've completely lost track of them."
"Tch. Then they must be planning something nasty," Bai Shi muttered.
Unlike Urahara Kisuke and the others, he hadn't fled to the World of the Living, nor did he hide. Instead, he roamed between the western districts of Rukongai, hunting Hollows. His tally stood at 910, still 515 short of the 1,425 he needed.
Ordinary Hollows, large or small, gave too little progress.
He missed the time he'd fought Nnoitra—650 points in a single battle. A windfall. But there was no grinding the same opponent twice.
The other Espada hadn't come either.
Had Aizen lost interest in him?
"Eh." Bai Shi sighed. "Guess my charm doesn't compare to Kurosaki Ichigo's."
Nemu misinterpreted his sigh as fear of capture. She tried to reassure him, her tone utterly serious:
"Don't worry. If the Soul Society captures you, you won't die. You'll simply be placed on Lord Mayuri's operating table. Given your situation, he would certainly grant you special treatment. Perhaps eight doses of medicine a day, five hours of experiments. You could still eat, sleep, and wear clothing. Even transformed, you would remain alive—barely. I promise he wouldn't let you die."
"Stop!" Bai Shi cut her off, scowling. "Yone, you really don't know how to comfort people."
"You've taught me much these past days," she answered sincerely. "I will definitely learn how to comfort you."
Bai Shi rolled his eyes. "The same sentence can mean different things depending on tone. I wasn't praising you—I was saying you don't know how to comfort."
Nemu tilted her head, replaying his words. It sounded like praise… but had he actually been criticizing her?
Abruptly, she stood.
Startled, Bai Shi said, "You don't have to get angry."
But instead of leaving, she walked around the fire and sat directly beside him, shoulder pressed against his, her face close.
"I'm curious," she said.
Her lips, glossy in the firelight, and her deep green eyes shone with an intensity that nearly made his heart skip.
"How do I distinguish between different tones? If I could understand them… would I be closer to you?"
His pulse quickened, but he reminded himself firmly: her "closer" didn't mean emotionally or romantically—it meant closer to understanding a normal human mind.
In everything beyond science, Nemu was a blank slate. None of the senior staff in the Twelfth Division had ever taught her the basics of living. Games, cooking, social bonds—these were all foreign to her, which often led to awkward invasions of personal space.
Bai Shi, unaccustomed to such intimacy, shifted away. "I've told you—don't rush in like that. People should keep a certain distance."
"Why does your heartbeat increase every time I get close? Are you in heat? Then why don't you act on it? Is your body deficient in hormones?" Nemu asked, completely serious.
Bai Shi flushed, unable to give a proper answer. "The difference between humans and beasts is that humans can suppress their desires."
"Why suppress them? You've helped me a great deal. If I can help you, I don't mind."
"That's just you." He exhaled heavily, unwilling to continue that line of conversation. "Do you want to learn how to tell if someone's being sarcastic?"
Nemu immediately nodded. "Yes."
"Then listen—"
He launched into explanation, drawing on every example he could. Dinner, which usually took ten minutes, dragged into two hours as he explained the nuances of tone, expression, and irony.
Nemu listened with rapt attention. To her, speech itself revealed a depth she had never considered: praise could mask scorn, insults could hide affection.
No wonder she had never been able to satisfy Mayuri-sama. Her education was lacking. She had so much more to learn.
"That's enough for today. It's late. We need rest. Tomorrow, we head to West District 15." Bai Shi finally stopped, using hunger as an excuse.
"Hm." Nemu still wanted more, but she didn't press him, nor did she ask why that district mattered.
That was simply her nature.
Bai Shi didn't explain. Tomorrow was the end of the month—the time to reunite with Oda Nobunaga and Kichō.
Assuming, of course, they hadn't already been captured by the Shinigami.
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