After the Captains' Meeting, Nobu was quickly surrounded by several familiar captains, chatting casually as they congratulated him together.
Today's appointment was official, and the announcement was publicly released; a formal Captain Inauguration Ceremony would follow in the coming days.
Upon leaving the 1st Division barracks, Nobu didn't return to the 4th Division or follow Matsumoto Rangiku to the 10th Division—instead, he went straight home.
He casually took off his captain's haori, tossing it aside, then collapsed onto the sofa.
Quite a lot had happened over the past few days, though most of it was within his expectations.
He'd taken a huge risk fighting Unohana Retsu, and despite winning, he'd faced no punishment.
But there was also something entirely beyond his expectations.
[Unohana Retsu]
[Affection: 10]
Nobu had assumed he'd earn significant rewards from Unohana after that fight, but to his surprise, her Affection had dropped instead of rising.
Suddenly, Nobu felt he couldn't read Unohana's thoughts at all.
Where did I go wrong?
He hadn't even had time to meet Unohana alone afterward, feeling now might not be the right moment.
It appeared he'd underestimated this thousand-year-old person. He had assumed her to be purely driven, someone whose thirst for battle and slaughter overshadowed everything else.
It seemed Kenpachi Zaraki was the only one truly like that.
Yet during their fight, Unohana clearly enjoyed herself immensely...
Did something still fall short?
Nobu gently pressed his fingers between his brows, feeling increasingly troubled.
He had confronted Captain-Commander Yamamoto, accusing him of treating Unohana like a tool—but now, he himself seemed guilty of the same.
After lying motionlessly on the sofa for half an hour, the front door suddenly opened.
Only one person would come in without knocking.
"Nobu..."
At the sound, Nobu sat up and looked toward Kotetsu Isane, who stood quietly at the entrance. He smiled faintly.
"Isane."
Isane bit her lip tightly, her eyes instantly reddening. She rushed toward Nobu, hugging him tightly around his neck, refusing to let go.
Nobu's expression softened as he gently stroked her back. "Sorry for worrying you."
Only after holding him for a long moment did Isane release him. Her gaze brimmed with sorrow and grievance, lips trembling slightly, but ultimately no words came—she seemed to be holding back countless unspoken things.
Nobu sighed softly. "I'm sorry, Isane. Let me slowly explain everything."
He then spoke for a long while, telling Isane why he'd done everything he'd done.
"Our captain hasn't been happy for a long time."
Isane finally couldn't help herself: "So after all this, will she be happy now?"
Nobu fell silent. Glancing again at his System interface, he could only reply honestly, "I don't know."
It was an admission he would never make to the Captain-Commander.
Isane sat there quietly, tears suddenly streaming down her cheeks. "You two…you're both too cruel… Maybe it's selfish of me to say this, but it's just how I feel. You're both so cruel. Nobu, do you know…both you and the captain are very important to me?"
All Nobu could do was comfort her and continue apologizing. "It was my arrogance. I thought I knew best."
Isane inhaled sharply, suddenly tempted to echo his words: 'Yes, you really are arrogant,' or 'You never care about how I feel at all.' Yet she immediately swallowed these words back down, feeling it wasn't right to say them.
She was never someone good at expressing herself, with a gentle and yielding nature, so for now she could only swallow her grievances.
She had never spoken harshly to Nobu—not even now could she manage it.
At this point in their relationship, of course she wanted them to be openly and publicly together. As for her excuses about 'not being ready yet,' those were lies she told Nobu, her sister, and even herself.
In truth, she simply didn't want Nobu to feel troubled or burdened.
Seeing Isane like this was truly heart-wrenching. Nobu held and comforted her until her emotions gradually settled.
Afterward, she quietly told Nobu about the punishment Unohana Retsu had received.
Nobu fell deep into thought at that.
While he was lost in his thoughts about Unohana, Isane suddenly lowered her gaze and softly called out to him.
"Nobu."
"Hm?"
"Congratulations on becoming Captain of the 10th Division."
"…"
There wasn't the slightest happiness in her voice—only sorrowful resignation.
She raised her eyes slightly, gazing toward the discarded captain's haori nearby. Her hands clenched unconsciously, then loosened weakly.
"I've thought a lot. I'm not a particularly good person, and I won't be able to help you much in the future. I have many selfish thoughts—"
Nobu interrupted her sharply, "What nonsense are you talking about?"
As she spoke, Isane suddenly wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, her voice trembling uncontrollably. "I wanted you to stay in the 4th Division... I wanted the three of us—you, me, and the captain—to get along happily. I didn't want other girls to like you. But just as the captain said, I've always been trying to change you. That makes me incredibly selfish. I couldn't understand your difficulties or your feelings at all. I'm nowhere near being a qualified partner..."
Nobu's heart clenched painfully at that. If someone like Isane could call herself selfish, could anyone in this world be considered selfless?
He softened his tone, gently saying, "Isane, don't think like that anymore. Everything's already over. Let's just live happily from now on. Even if I join the 10th Division, I'll still come home every night—we can still see each other every day."
He pulled Isane into his embrace. She yielded easily, and the two leaned quietly on the sofa for a long, silent moment.
Then Isane suddenly lifted her head, staring straight at Nobu for several seconds before breaking away and sitting up.
She sniffled softly, forcing her voice to remain calm.
"Nobu, I need some time to calm down properly. You're the captain of the 10th Division now and have a lot of responsibilities… During this time, I won't come over."
As soon as the words left her mouth, Isane stood abruptly, turning away as if unwilling to linger even a moment longer.
With the opening and closing of the front door, the living room plunged into empty silence.
"…"
Nobu sensed Isane's reiatsu lingering outside the door for a while before finally departing.
He understood a bit of what she was thinking—in her mind, it seemed he and Unohana had become two irreconcilable opposites. Perhaps that battle between himself and Unohana had shocked Isane too deeply.
Did she see Unohana's injuries…?
Nobu laid back down, staring at the ceiling for a long while before slowly closing his eyes.
Late at night, Nobu was awakened by rapid knocking at the door.
Opening it, a chorus of voices shouted, "Congratulations, Captain Tachikawa!" Standing outside, all smiling broadly, were Shiba Kaien at the lead, accompanied by Hisagi Shūhei, Aoshika, Kanisawa, Madarame Ikkaku, Kotetsu Kiyone, Kotsubaki Sentarō.
Each held bags in their hands.
"Your two subordinates are busy arranging your inauguration ceremony and couldn't come today," Shiba Kaien explained immediately.
"We need to celebrate properly tonight, right?"
Nobu laughed quietly.
"You brought drinks?"
Kaien swung the bags in his hands, grinning broadly. "Plenty!"
---
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