As the night deepened, after chatting a little more with Arata, Rangiku and Isane stood up to say goodbye.
Although they weren't exactly the type who needed to worry about being abducted while walking at night, out of pure male instinct, Arata offered to escort them back to the hotel.
"Ms. Rangiku, where are you staying these days?"
"Thanks to Captain Soi-Fong, we're staying at Kinzenyu in one of the Rukongai districts."
"Ah… actually at Kinzenyu?"
"So Arata knows that hotel too?"
"Yes, they tricked me into getting a membership card when I passed by a few years ago, but I never had the chance to go. Now that I think about it, I can definitely spend the night there."
The three of them chatted the whole way. Due to the difference in status, Arata consciously walked behind the two women. His gaze was fixed on the extremely voluptuous curves wrapped in black patterned yukata, intoxicated by the sight as if wandering a desert and seeing a mirage.
Only when they arrived at their destination was Arata snapped out of his daze by the loud greeting of the bodyguard at the hotel entrance.
After coming to his senses, Arata subtly furrowed his brows. His behavior just now had been excessive. In recent years, his desires had never been so pronounced, but for some reason, they were becoming increasingly difficult to control lately.
Very strange, indescribable.
Rangiku waved to Arata, her face slightly blurred by sleep; it seemed that learning tea preparation had tired her out. "Arata, we'll head back first. See you tomorrow at training."
"See you tomorrow, Saito-san." Isane also smiled and said goodbye to Arata.
"See you tomorrow, I hope you both have a good sleep." Arata nodded gently, watched the two women leave, and then asked the girl at the front desk to open a room for him.
Since he was a member of this hotel and the holder of a top-tier golden membership card, the room reservation procedure went very quickly.
The room number was 404.
Kinzenyu was owned by the Ōmaeda family. Both its exterior and interior perfectly reflected that family's style: both the decor and service were extremely luxurious.
Arata climbed from the first to the fourth floor. The pictures, vases, and various decorations he passed along the way were either gold-plated or studded with diamonds. Any one of them would be worth a small fortune.
Finally arriving at his room, Arata had already reached for the key when the door of the room to his left suddenly opened. When he saw the person who came out, his heart trembled.
"C-Captain U-Unohana?"
Arata's voice trembled slightly. Confronted with Unohana Retsu at this moment, although he hadn't objectively done anything wrong, for some reason, he felt guilty like a kid caught cheating.
"Ah… I was wondering why I felt a familiar spiritual pressure passing by. So it was Arata-kun." Unohana Retsu gently lowered her gaze, with a soft, polite smile on her face.
She was wearing a dark blue yukata decorated with white plum blossoms.
The braids she wore during the day were now undone; her long black hair fell down her shoulders and back like silk, and she exuded a special charm.
Subtle and elegant.
Somehow, Arata remembered a line he once heard in a game, elegance never goes out of style.
That was the most fitting phrase to describe Unohana Retsu as she was now.
"Ah, well… Tonight Vice Captain Matsumoto and Vice Captain Kotetsu came to my Kendo Club for tea, so I took the opportunity to teach them some tea preparation techniques. It went on a bit long, so I escorted them back." Arata scratched his head. Although Unohana Retsu hadn't asked him anything, he couldn't help but tell her everything that had happened tonight.
He felt like a student caught without homework in front of a teacher.
If you don't tell the truth, the consequences could be serious.
With that mindset, Arata didn't dare hide anything from Unohana.
"Then, since it was already late, I decided to spend the night here. Turns out, Captain Unohana lives right next to me." Arata pulled out his key and showed her to prove he was telling the truth.
His room was 404, and Unohana's was 403; only one wall separated them.
Unohana Retsu didn't comment. Her previously lowered eyes slowly opened. With one hand, she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and with the other, she took the key from Arata's hand.
The professional smile on her face became a bit more genuine, with an elusive trace of something deeper.
"Arata-kun, are you in a rush to sleep now?" After a brief pause, Unohana Retsu suddenly raised her gaze to him.
"Eh? I'm not feeling very sleepy. Maybe because I drank tea earlier, I'm still quite awake." At her question, Arata was momentarily confused, but answered honestly.
At that, Unohana Retsu's lips curved slightly, her tone became softer, but also deeper: "Then why, Arata-kun, don't you come inside and we can talk about the art of tea together? I'm quite interested in it as well."
Arata's eyes widened. At that moment, he realized that he had seemingly stepped into a massive trap.
---
The rooms in Kinzenyu were very spacious; even the single rooms were much larger than the dormitories in the Seireitei barracks or Shinō Spiritual Arts Academy.
The moon hung high above the buildings, and the quiet moonlight streamed through the paper screens, casting a pale silvery glow on the floor.
The door closed softly behind them with a faint click, cutting off the sounds of lights and voices from the hallway, leaving only the quiet breathing of two people in the room.
Unohana Retsu didn't immediately reach for the tea set. Instead, she turned her back to Arata and slowly approached the wide paper window in the middle of the room, her gaze wandering across the illuminated street in the distance.
The moonlight outlined her refined silhouette wrapped in a dark blue yukata; her loose black hair cascaded down her back like dark jade. When she slightly turned sideways, a strand of hair gently swept across her graceful neck.
"Arata-kun." Unohana Retsu didn't turn around. Her voice was gentle and warm, yet carried an unmistakably piercing tone. "Doesn't it seem a bit tiring to you, teaching Rangiku and Isane the tea ceremony at this hour of the night?"
Arata stood behind her, calming himself, trying to suppress the discomfort of the situation, so different from the cold strictness of training. "I wouldn't call it real teaching, more like a conversation. Besides, Ms. Rangiku and Ms. Isane are genuinely interested in the tea ceremony. As their junior colleague, it's an honor for me to help a little while I'm learning myself."
His answer was very proper; nothing questionable.
"Really?" Unohana Retsu finally turned around. Half her face lit by moonlight, an almost imperceptible, ambiguous smile on her lips. "Although I'm not an expert in the tea ceremony, there's one thing I know well: the tea ceremony may seem simple, but it combines mind, skill, and nature. With what kind of 'intention' did you teach them tonight?"
Her gaze, soft and calm, still felt like a sharp blade; slicing through the layer of polite facade and reaching directly into the depths of his soul.
Why do these words sound so strange?
Arata couldn't understand, nor did he have time to think. Instinctively, he averted his eyes, avoiding the gaze that seemed to expose his heart. "I just saw that they were interested in the tea ceremony, and I happened to know something about it. I saw it as a way to somewhat repay them for the concern they've shown me. I had no improper intentions."
"Concern…" Unohana Retsu softly repeated the word, in a tone full of meaning.
She slowly moved toward the small table in the room, where there really was a top-quality celadon tea set and several elegant tins of tea prepared.
"Looks like Arata-kun is very attentive when it comes to maintaining good relationships with others. Be it the captains and vice-captains of Gotei 13, or the students and teachers of Shinō Spiritual Arts Academy."
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