Chapter 168: Zaraki Kenpachi
Matsushita Yusuke had just gotten out of the bath and was still toweling his hair when Soifon came through the door with a stack of documents, looking weighed down by something.
She walked in quickly, brow furrowed. But when she saw Matsushita Yusuke, her expression shifted into something more complicated.
Whatever she had been about to say rearranged itself on the way to her mouth and came out entirely different.
"You... you look completely different from a moment ago?"
For someone who knew you too well, the traces of a disguise were hard to fully hide.
It was going to come down to how well he played it.
"Just got some training in. Nothing major. So, is there something that needs handling?"
Soifon gave the document folder in her hand a skeptical flip, thought about it, and let it go.
Fine. Her captain was like this. Unpredictability was practically his defining trait.
Seamless pivot. Done.
"Nothing complicated, just letting you know — that transfer arrangement I asked someone to set up has gone through. Gin Ichimaru officially enrolled last night."
Oh, good news.
Where Gin Ichimaru was concerned, as Matsushita Yusuke had thought before — his impression of the kid wasn't bad, and given the talent level, putting those resources to work properly was the obvious move.
He could keep Gin nearby and handle the development himself, but why strain yourself when you had a massive dedicated educational facility sitting right there?
Enrolling Gin at Shin'o Academy and letting the school handle the foundation building was sensible resource allocation.
And given the narrow-eyed kid's learning pace, one to two years to work through the full curriculum was probably all it would take. Anything slower and the "genius" label wouldn't be earning its keep.
With that thought, Matsushita Yusuke's eyes brightened slightly, and he smiled.
"Already taken care of? Kyoraku-san's efficiency really is something..."
Educational administration wasn't exactly his strong suit, so he had made a trip to Squad 8 beforehand, brought two jugs of sake, and had an easy conversation with Kyoraku Shunsui.
That kind of thing was part of normal social operations too. Not purely a transaction. Maintaining connections, giving people the occasional bit of leverage over you as appropriate — it was part of the work.
All of it per Aizen's guidance, of course. When it came to navigating social dynamics, Aizen was simply too authoritative to argue with, so Yusuke followed instructions.
"On the new enrollment side, we did notify in advance so Academy graduates could receive that information, but... the effect wasn't ideal. The internal survey showed almost no one's ambitions had anything to do with Squad 11. They still have what seems like a fairly deep-seated bias against us."
Matsushita Yusuke's toweling paused. He let out a resigned sigh.
That was a different kind of "expected," but expected all the same.
"It's fine. All within what we prepared for, isn't it?"
The mess the previous captain left behind was what it was. Fixing it meant putting in the work yourself. Long-term investment, no need to rush. He already had Gin Ichimaru as a futures investment. The rest could come gradually.
As that thought moved through him, Soifon flipped to the next page and moved on.
"Ah, this one..."
She hesitated.
Which was unusual enough that Matsushita Yusuke actually turned his head, suddenly curious.
"What is it?"
"Um... I don't think it's a big deal. But it was strange enough that I wrote it down."
Soifon touched the back of her head, choosing her words.
"Last night, someone came looking for you. Ragged clothes, quite tall, very thin, wearing an eye patch, looked menacing. I thought they were going to try and force their way in."
But.
"When they heard you weren't in the barracks, they left without any trouble. Said they'd be back today."
"...???"
Matsushita Yusuke stopped moving and looked back at her with an odd expression.
This person had just casually mentioned something fairly significant?
"What did they look like?"
No, wait. That wasn't the question. He shook his head and thought for a moment.
"Was there anyone else with them?"
Soifon blinked, then gave a definitive nod.
"Yes. There was a pink-haired little girl with them. Looked quite cute."
Oh no.
Zaraki showed up at his door?!
Matsushita Yusuke scratched his head hard, expression shifting into something he didn't have a name for.
He had known this day would come eventually, but not like this. Zaraki lived in Rukongai. How had he gotten through the city gates? Did he just... fight his way through?!
And he came directly here looking for me. Why didn't he go to...
Wait.
Matsushita Yusuke seemed to hit on something, and shot to his feet.
"I have something to take care of. Soifon, the squad is yours."
He was already walking briskly toward the door, reaching up to take his captain's haori off the peg as he passed it.
Hair still wet. He didn't bother with it. He pulled it back roughly, tied it off with a cord, and walked out with a flat expression.
He moved fast enough that the Soifon he left behind showed something close to concern.
She knew his moods well enough by now. If he wasn't dealing with something genuinely difficult, he didn't look like that.
So: what exactly was that ragged wanderer's story?
Matsushita Yusuke left the barracks without slowing, heading straight for the area nearest to his own.
Squad 4 headquarters!!!
He didn't even need to announce himself. The squad member at the gate took one look at Matsushita Yusuke approaching and bowed, stepping aside with a welcoming gesture.
"Captain Unohana said if Captain Matsushita came calling... come straight in!"
That was it.
This had Unohan's fingerprints all over it.
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