News of Unohana's pregnancy was met with congratulations from quite a few people.
There were those who congratulated her for leaving her past behind and turning over a new leaf, while others simply celebrated the fact of the pregnancy itself—there were all sorts of reactions.
Of course, not every reaction was positive.
But who cares? When there's good news, you only listen to the good things.
Forget 'sweetness after the bitter'; it's 'swallow the sweet and spit the bitter.' At least, that's the case for a newborn who knows nothing of the world.
The child will have to hear plenty of bitter and painful words throughout their life as it is. At the very least, during prenatal care, they should only hear the good stuff. Our little one needs to grow up surrounded by kindness.
"You want me to take over the position of Squad 4 Captain?"
"Since it's my first pregnancy, and considering I was thought to be infertile for so long, it seems everyone is being extra considerate. Thanks to that, I've been granted a mandatory vacation."
Unohana sighed as if she had no choice, but she looked secretly pleased.
Well, anyone would be happy to be told they could play around instead of working.
"I see. But what am I supposed to do there?"
"Receive reports and handle paperwork, attend meetings when they happen, go on occasional patrols, and personally treat patients who are in critical condition… that sort of thing?"
"So it's mostly desk work. I guess the Captain doesn't see patients directly very often?"
"That's right. Between the Lieutenants, the seated Soul Reapers, and the numerous other members below them, cases rarely reach my level."
"I'm terrible at paperwork, though…"
Even after thousands of years of gaining 'seniority' while grinding in Hell, sorting through documents with tiny print was never my forte.
You have no idea how painful it was.
Still, if my wife asks me to do it, I have to do it.
"Can I come and ask if there's something I don't know?"
"Fufu, of course. Though I doubt there's anything you wouldn't know."
"Don't flatter me too much. Even I have things I don't know."
Unohana simply offered a bright smile.
She clearly didn't believe me, but she didn't bother correcting me either.
"Here is the Squad 4 Captain's haori. Hmm… it doesn't look like you'll be able to wear it properly."
"I'll just have to drape it over my shoulders."
The difference in our shoulder widths was significant enough that I couldn't just hang it over both sides comfortably.
I draped it over one shoulder, tied a cord in front so it wouldn't slide back, and added some weights at the bottom so it wouldn't flutter away….
Since I'm fairly handy, it didn't take long to transform it into my own custom Captain's haori.
'…Somehow, it ended up looking like those black mantles the Quincies drape over their shoulders.'
Looking in the mirror, I felt a bit unsettled and scratched my head.
Should I go up and ask Senjumaru to make me a new haori?
She could probably whip one up in no time.
As I sat with my chin in my hand, seriously considering this, Unohana stepped up beside me.
"Ufufu."
"Hm? What is it?"
"No, just… thinking about you wearing my clothes. It feels like you're declaring 'this man is my man' to the world. I couldn't help but laugh."
"Is that so? Now that you mention it, I feel like I can smell Yachiru's scent on it."
In truth, there wasn't much of a scent.
Yachiru was so meticulous that she washed her haori every other day. All I could smell was soap.
"I-It doesn't smell that much, does it?"
My wife, asking with a slight blush as if she was self-conscious about it, was just too adorable.
I chuckled and gave her head a gentle stroke.
"It's fine. It just smells like soap."
Looking out the window, the sun was about to rise.
Between all the early morning preparations, it was already time to head out.
"Time to go."
"Be careful on your way. Ah, if you could, would you bring back some grilled rice balls? Lately, I've been craving something salty…"
"Sure, I'll buy some on the way back. Three should be enough, right?"
"Hmm… wouldn't seven be better, since you'll be eating too?"
"You're planning to eat only rice balls? Well, alright. I'm off."
It's been a while since I had to 'go to work' like this. Back in Hell when there weren't many Ten Kings, every day was a living commute-hell.
To think I'm back at it even after retirement…. No, no. It's for my wife and our unborn child. This is nothing.
Despite what my mind and reason dictated, my brutally honest body slowed its pace more and more as I approached the Squad 4 barracks. Worthless sack of flesh.
"Ah, wait. I should stop by Squad 1 first."
Even if it's temporary, this is a Captain's position. It would be a hassle if things got confused.
The biggest impact of Unohana Yachiru's pregnancy was, naturally, felt by Squad 4, where she served as Captain.
Being the medical division, Squad 4 was the first to realize she was pregnant, and they were the ones who spread the news to the rest of the Gotei 13 faster than anyone else.
Furthermore, it was Squad 4 that approached the Captain-Commander to secure Unohana Yachiru's leave.
Normally, getting leave simply for a pregnancy would be almost impossible, but when Squad 4 collectively went half-mad, threatening a full-scale strike if their Captain wasn't given a break, even Captain-Commander Yamamoto couldn't stop them.
Most importantly, it wasn't a matter of her hating work; she was going on leave for pregnancy. Who would stop that?
There was also the fact that her husband was the Nether King, making her even more difficult to meddle with. As a result, Squad 4 Captain Unohana was essentially forced into leave, and the position was now vacant.
"If Captain Unohana isn't here, who's going to sign off on the paperwork?"
"The Lieutenant will handle it, probably."
The members, who had been half out of their minds with joy that their Captain had finally conceived after centuries of heartache, were slowly returning to reality and worrying about the empty seat.
If it were a short vacation, the Lieutenant could manage, and they could just let the critical documents pile up for a bit. But considering pregnancy through childbirth takes at least nine months….
"Are we doomed…? Nine months worth of paperwork…?"
"The documents… they aren't going down…? Gyaaaah! Forgive us, Captain Unohana!!"
"We killed them, we killed them! We're the ones who did it! We killed our Captain's wrists!"
While some members fell into a panic, the veterans of 4th Seat and higher weren't as worried.
4th Seat Oshiro, who was moving a mountain of patient-related files, looked at 5th Seat Sachi following behind him.
"Higher-ups will send someone down. Sachi, who do you think is coming?"
"Who knows. Medical division paperwork is top priority, so maybe someone from Squad 1?"
"Yeah, but who from Squad 1?"
"For an Acting Captain, wouldn't it have to be at least a Lieutenant?"
"Lieutenant Sasakibe? No way, that old man never leaves the Captain-Commander's side. I'm guessing a 3rd Seat."
"Aw, that's not high enough rank. Not high enough. Want to bet?"
"Oh? Acting like a big shot just because you're a 5th Seat now? Placing bets against your senior, you want to die?"
"So you're not doing it?"
"…The loser buys sake and chicken skewers at the food stall tonight."
"Deal."
Cackling with laughter, the two opened the door to the Captain's office to drop off the files.
Slide—* As soon as they opened the door, what they saw was an unidentified man reading through documents with the Squad 4 Captain's haori draped over one shoulder.
"Uh."
An unfamiliar man was clearly wearing that familiar Captain's haori.
It was a garment they could never fail to recognize. They had to know it.
Because the haori the man was wearing was none other than Unohana Yachiru's personal uniform.
"What, more documents?"
How the hell is there so much paperwork? She said there wouldn't be much, did she trick me…?
The man rose from the seat, grumbling with an extremely dissatisfied face. He took the documents from Oshiro and Sachi and sat back down.
The two seated officers, still unable to process the situation, glanced at each other before cautiously speaking up.
"Um, excuse me."
"Yeah? What, haven't you left yet? Why? You have something to ask?"
"Uh… who exactly are you…?"
The man stared at them blankly as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing, then pointed at the large character for 'Four' emblazoned on the Captain's haori.
"I'm this lady's husband. I don't really have a name you'd call me by, so just call me Captain Shimon for now."
"A-Ah! Aah! Uh? Eh? Yes?!"
Oops! The seated officer's brain broke! Well, they were getting old anyway!
Naturally, as veterans of the medical division, the officer whose brain had melted from an information overdose quickly regained their senses.
"So you are Captain Unohana's husband, the one we've only heard of in rumors…"
"Didn't know? I've been the director of the Budokan for quite a while now."
"I apologize. Being the medical division, we usually go straight to Kirinden to learn healing arts before coming here. So we only heard rumors, but never saw your face…"
"Makes sense then."
The man nodded understandingly and began flipping through the documents again.
Seeing this, 5th Seat Sachi raised his hand high.
"Then, are you here to take over the Captain's duties?"
"Yeah. Yachiru asked me personally. That's how it's gonna be until her leave is over."
"I didn't think one could just 'take over' a Captain's position because someone asked…?"
"I talked to that fellow Yamamoto on the way here, so don't sweat it."
Yamamoto? Did he just mean the Captain-Commander?
A similar doubt settled in the minds of the two seated officers, but they chose not to voice it.
The man, quickly scanning the papers, scratched his head with the tip of a brush.
"It's only a temporary gig, and I don't really know how things run here exactly. So don't worry about me and just do what you've always been doing. Keep it business as usual."
He's more laid back than expected.
His casual, almost delinquent-like vibe didn't exactly scream reliability, but the two officers decided to roll with it.
If Captain Unohana herself brought him here, he surely had the ability.
"Then we look forward to working with you!"
"Right. Get going."
The days ahead looked interesting.
The two officers left the Captain's office with faces full of anticipation.