Chapter 288: One Embarrassing Moment, Brought Up for Life
A short silence.
Less thinking, more the specific phenomenon where the brain heats up rapidly after a short silence until it reaches something approaching a boil.
Matsumoto Rangiku's face went red in an instant.
"Wh -- wh -- what are you -- talking about?! This is working hours, Captain Matsushita, please take things seriously!"
The reaction was bigger than expected.
Which was exactly why it was interesting.
Matsushita Yusuke held both hands up in a gesture of surrender but showed no signs of actually retreating.
"That big a reaction -- does that mean things are going well? Haha, no wonder Gin takes days off so often. So those are all dates, are they?"
Matsumoto Rangiku had heard enough.
She made a sound that could only be described as a sustained howl of protest, covered her face with both hands, and fled.
Ahh. That particular kind of youthful energy was something.
The killing intent drifting in from not far behind was, however, somewhat less charming.
"Gin, was that really necessary? I'm your captain, you know."
Gin Ichimaru was standing nearby with a strained expression on his face. After a moment he gave up trying to maintain it and let out a long, helpless sigh.
"I always clock out after finishing my work."
"Wait, you're admitting the dates?!"
Watching the vein pulsing visibly at Gin's temple, Matsushita Yusuke bent forward laughing.
This kind of thing had become one of the few genuine sources of entertainment he still had in recent years. Watching two people from the original story who had been through so much finally managing something that resembled happiness -- that was genuinely worth something to him.
With that handled, Matsushita Yusuke didn't linger. Most of the other captains had already left at this point, so there wasn't much in the way of formal farewells to manage.
If anything, there was one figure still present worth acknowledging.
Komamura Sajin, current captain of Squad 7.
The big dog's formal appointment had been roughly twenty-odd years ago. For an ordinary human lifespan that was a substantial stretch of time, but for the Gotei 13 it was barely a footnote.
Even Matsushita Yusuke himself, counting everything up, was approaching a hundred years of official service now -- and by the standards of the senior captains, that still put him firmly in the category of relative newcomer.
Which put Komamura's experience in perspective as well. Still building.
But whatever he lacked in accumulated time, his commitment to the work was not something anyone could question.
Squad 7 carried the same designation as Squad 10 in one sense -- the Imperial Guard -- which meant the core of the job was Seireitei security. Day-to-day operations were mostly routine. The previous captain, Aikawa Love, had handled it competently and still managed to keep substantial personal time free.
Komamura's approach was different.
His thoroughness had led him to redesign the patrol routes and various operational procedures in ways that were, strictly speaking, probably not strictly necessary.
But nobody disliked someone who took their responsibilities seriously. That principle applied even when the person in question was not human.
"Captain! That's what you actually look like?!"
"You're genuinely handsome! Why were you hiding it this whole time? This is a much better look, honestly!"
"When we go to the Academy for the next recruitment event, you absolutely have to come in person! You'd be incredibly popular!"
Komamura was struggling to keep up with it.
The original reason for the iron bucket helmet had been straightforward -- he hadn't wanted to draw attention to his identity. A dog holding a captain's seat might generate controversy.
But this level of enthusiasm was something he had not prepared himself for.
"I can tell right away -- it's a Shiba Inu!"
"Right! The fur looks so fluffy and soft -- that's definitely going to go over well with the female squad members!"
"Please, Captain, we're begging you -- come help with recruitment next time! The number of female squad members in our squad is embarrassingly low! We're about to fall behind even Squad 11!"
Komamura appeared to have a question mark forming visibly above his head.
What exactly was happening.
But regardless of how it had come about -- if the squad members weren't bothered by it, that was a success in the most meaningful sense of the word.
And this was a genuine request from his own people. He could not ignore it.
"Leave it to me!"
"Captain, we love you!"
The smile that crossed Komamura Sajin's face was real. He removed the concealing equipment, and what he received in return was a welcome he had not anticipated.
At some point over the years, he had come to understand, in a way he hadn't fully grasped earlier, why Captain-Commander Yamamoto had always been against the concealment.
The old man's perspective had turned out to be far-sighted in a way that still impressed him.
"..."
A sound nearby pulled Komamura back. He lifted his head.
Matsushita Yusuke was approaching from a distance, smiling, giving a relaxed wave in his direction.
"Captain Matsushita!"
Something about not having the iron bucket on -- Komamura's voice seemed notably lighter.
"Zaraki acted out today and did some fairly disrespectful things to you, Captain Komamura. On his behalf -- my apologies."
Faced with the straightforward acknowledgment from Matsushita Yusuke, Komamura received it with a generosity that made clear he had not taken any lasting offense. His tone carried nothing of the earlier tension.
"I simply did what the situation called for. Please don't concern yourself with it on my account. Beyond that--"
A brief pause. A quiet, slightly rueful smile crossed Komamura's face.
"Even without my involvement, Captain Matsushita could have suppressed Zaraki-seated-officer without any difficulty. Squad 11 really does have remarkable depth."
And then, by comparison.
"My own abilities are quite modest by that standard. I'm sure what you saw today was not impressive."
He was understating it, but the understating came from a genuine place.
Having personally exchanged blows in that arena, Komamura had the clearest possible read on exactly where Matsushita Yusuke's strength sat.
No Zanpakuto drawn. No Kido support. Pure reiatsu and body technique -- and a complete suppression of Zaraki Kenpachi, a man who had deployed his Bankai and still nearly swamped Komamura himself in the process.
The gap, viewed from that angle, was visible to the naked eye.
Komamura had a clear enough understanding of his own level not to pretend otherwise.
Though when it came to what actually mattered most to him, raw power comparison was not the primary measure.
What drove Komamura Sajin was duty. Responsibility. Being the one who stepped forward when it was necessary regardless of the odds.
That was why, in the original story, when Aizen moved openly, Komamura had been the first captain to charge in and try to stop him.
And then been swallowed by Kurohitsugi and used as a stepping stone.
Rough fate for the big dog -- lose once under those circumstances and people would bring it up for the rest of your career. Even the eventual moment where he burned everything he had felt slightly undercut by everything that had come before.
That magnificent Dangai Johyo deserved a better opponent than the one it got.