"I thought it was something serious, but it turned out to be just a small matter." Rangiku raised an eyebrow. "The 11th Division has an entire warehouse full of wooden swords. I'll just tell Gonchiku and the others when the time comes."
Arata initially had no expectations, but who would have thought that Rangiku actually had such connections.
"Then I must thank Vice-Captain Matsumoto in advance. Once everything is done, I'll treat you to dinner."
"You don't have to eat, just drink with me."
A sly gleam flickered in her eyes, her seductive lips curved slightly upward, and the beauty mark at the corner of her mouth made her even more alluring.
"All right, next time I'll definitely drink with Vice-Captain Matsumoto."
Under Rangiku's persistent persuasion, Arata finally gave in and had to agree to her condition, that he would accompany her for a drink one day.
"Don't let me down."
"Of course not."
He sent Rangiku off politely and got her promise.
Three days later, they met at the izakaya "Seiran" and exchanged money for the goods.
As for the time to drink, Rangiku didn't set a specific date right away; she simply said she'd let him know when she was in the right mood.
Arata sighed inwardly: Shūhei, you'd better gather enough people, or you'll feel my wrath!
For this kendo club, the president had truly sacrificed a lot!
On the other side, Shūhei, who was currently promoting the Kendo Club among the students, suddenly sneezed.
"Who's talking bad about me behind my back?"
"Hisagi-san, could you tell me what benefits I'll get if I join the Kendo Club?"
"Tazawa-kun, allow me to explain. First…"
Shūhei had been working hard all day. Seeing that going person to person was too inefficient, he called on Kanisawa and Aoga, who were resting.
At first, the two refused, but when Shūhei told them it was Arata's idea, they immediately agreed to help, which led Shūhei to call them "double standards."
Once the three began promoting the club together, efficiency increased dramatically.
By the time Arata returned, they had already recruited nearly forty students into the Kendo Club.
"You all did a great job. Once the Kendo Club grows, the three of you will be our honored veterans." Arata took the list and smiled in satisfaction.
But one name looked familiar.
Arata gave Shūhei a strange look. "What's this - Abarai Renji?"
"Abarai-kun…" Shūhei frowned. "He said he saw the incredible strength of upperclassman Arata during the internship and wants to learn from you."
"According to the first-year schedule, he probably won't have time to attend club activities." Kanisawa expressed his doubt.
"Yeah, you can't skip classes." Aoga nodded in agreement.
"Who knows, but he was so enthusiastic that I couldn't bring myself to refuse him." Shūhei shook his head. He didn't understand what Abarai Renji was thinking.
Arata laughed. He knew him well enough.
He wasn't sure about others, but if it was Abarai, it was entirely possible he'd skip a Kidō class just to join the Kendo Club.
Three days later, Arata arrived at "Seiran" as they had arranged, and Matsumoto Rangiku was already waiting for him.
To his surprise, she wasn't drinking today.
Had she actually taken his advice?
Arata didn't plan to ask, he just wanted to finish the exchange quickly.
Matsumoto Rangiku took out a wooden box and opened it. "Training wooden swords from the 11th Division, fifty in total."
"As for protective gear, that's pointless. After all, those maniacs just want to keep slashing until the opponent bleeds."
Arata quickly glanced over them, randomly picked up a sword and tested it, smiling with satisfaction.
"As expected of the 11th Division, their equipment is top-notch."
"Thank you, Vice-Captain Matsumoto. You've really helped me a lot."
"If you ever need anything from me, just say so."
Rangiku paused for a moment, as if something had just come to mind. Her beautiful face leaned forward, and her ample chest drew closer to Arata's body.
"Now that you mention it, Saitō-san, I actually remembered something important." Rangiku slightly parted her red lips, her warm breath brushing Arata's face, sending a faint tickle through his heart.
"I've done a bit of research these past few days, and if I'm not mistaken, this year you're graduating from the Shin'ō Academy of Spiritual Arts, aren't you?"
"Yes, if all goes as planned, I'll be taking the graduation exam in four months. Whether I pass or not depends on the difficulty of the test."
"No need for false modesty. How could such a simple exam possibly stop you? Even if you try to hide the truth, your spiritual presence gives you away." Rangiku smiled, her lovely eyes scanning him from head to toe.
"Although the spiritual pressure of a mid-level officer might seem insignificant to a vice-captain, for a student of the Spiritual Arts Academy, it's impossible not to notice."
When Rangiku approached him that night, it wasn't because she was drunk and irrational, but because she had sensed a strange spiritual pressure in the establishment.
However, she hadn't expected the source of that pressure to be a student who hadn't even graduated yet.
Arata smiled bitterly, realizing he'd probably forgotten to suppress his spiritual energy after training.
Moreover, after two weeks of training with Unohana Retsu, his spiritual power had increased significantly again. The combination of those two factors had allowed Rangiku to notice him.
"Vice-Captain Matsumoto, your sharp eye truly misses nothing."
"Ah, don't use that boring title. Just call me Rangiku-san."
"Understood, Rangiku-san."
"So, have you thought about which division you'll join after graduation?"
"Not yet," Arata answered honestly.
He really hadn't given it serious thought. To be precise, the current Gotei 13 didn't particularly appeal to him, except perhaps the 4th and 10th Divisions.
When she heard that, Rangiku's eyes immediately sparkled, and her tone shifted: "Then why not join our 10th Division? We really need talented people like you, Arata."
Her captain was the typical lazy type who disliked dealing with responsibilities. Most of the time, he either slept or basked in the sun, leaving almost all duties to her, the vice-captain.
Arata didn't know what to say. Honestly, if he could, he'd even consider repeating a year and not graduating.
Because running the Kendo Club required a lot of time and energy, staying at the Academy would let him better influence younger students and collect fate points.
And besides, in a year or two, the Shin'ō Academy would welcome a once-in-a-century genius, Hitsugaya Tōshirō.
Arata thought it wouldn't be too late to graduate after collecting all of Tōshirō's fate points.
"Rangiku-san, I can't give you an answer yet."
"I can only promise that, if circumstances allow, I'll give priority to the 10th Division."
Rangiku nodded with understanding.
This time, she only wanted to gauge the situation on her captain's behalf and hadn't expected to recruit him immediately.
Even this kind of answer was more than enough to satisfy her.