The Girl

After parting ways with Ichimaru Gin, Shin had no intention of returning to find Hinamori. Instead, he wandered aimlessly through the plaza.

The night had deepened. Each stall glowed with colorful lanterns, Shin'ō Academy students hawking their class projects with boisterous energy, drawing the attention of passing Shinigami.

The crowd buzzed in lively noise, yet to Shin, it all faded into the white static of distance.

As the former student council president, Rukia was probably still busy wrapping up festival duties. If he went to her now, would it seem too intentional?

Shin debated internally.

Tonight was the only truly suitable "coincidence" he could orchestrate.

Still… aside from Rukia, there was also Shiba Kūkaku—perched up on the school rooftop—perhaps a better option.

But just as he was turning this over in his mind, he ran into two unexpected figures around the corner.

Unohana Retsu. Kotetsu Isane.

Two captains in white haori standing amidst the crowd—impossible to overlook.

Unohana wore her usual serene expression, though her lips curved subtly in something almost like amusement.

Kotetsu Isane, however, clutched the edge of her sleeve unconsciously, clearly not expecting to run into Shin.

Unohana offered a gentle smile first. "What a coincidence, Captain Tachikawa."

"It is," Shin replied.

Unohana glanced around. "This Shin'ō Academy Cultural Festival grows more elaborate each year. I'm certain it will become a Soul Society tradition in time. Captain Tachikawa, you've done something remarkable."

"It was just an immature idea that came to me once."

"Yet it brought vitality to the Academy. The ideals you left behind in Squad 4 still continue to this day. I imagine its future may truly become the vision you once described."

"Let's hope so."

Their exchange was the kind of polite small talk exchanged by acquaintances, nothing more. But Shin's attention was mostly on Kotetsu Isane, who hadn't even greeted him. She avoided his gaze entirely.

Then Unohana spoke: "Isane."

"Ah… Captain?"

"Don't you have something you'd like to say to Captain Tachikawa?"

Caught off guard, Isane stammered.

"I…"

"You two should talk. I'd like to take a stroll alone."

"Wait, Captain—!"

Isane called after her in a panic, but Unohana was already walking away. She wanted to follow, but doing so felt incredibly rude. So she stood awkwardly in place, frozen.

What was there left to say between her and Shin…?

She couldn't think of an opening line. It had been months since they'd separated. The worst of the heartbreak had dulled. She thought she was close to moving on.

Now, what could they possibly talk about?

Isane looked up at Shin, and met his gentle eyes.

Her heart quivered. She quickly looked away.

"…Have you been well lately?"

"Let's go somewhere else."

Before she could respond, Shin stepped forward and took her hand in public without hesitation, weaving through the crowd.

Isane let him lead her, not knowing where they were going.

They ended up behind the Academy, where the noise faded and the lantern light dimmed. Once they reached a secluded flowerbed, Isane finally pulled her hand away.

Shin sat down on the flowerbed's stone edge and picked a single bloom, turning it between his fingers.

Isane stared at the flower, blooming in its prime, plucked without ceremony—and felt a pang of regret.

She murmured, "Captain Unohana probably didn't know about… us. So I'm sorry she made you uncomfortable."

"Uncomfortable?" Shin said. "Isane, you're always thinking about how I'll feel, how others will feel. When do you ever think about yourself?"

"…"

"She left you here, clearly without your consent. You didn't like it. So why not say something? One sentence would've spared you this. Were you worried it'd offend Captain Unohana? Or make me lose face?"

"I didn't think that far," she said softly.

"That's the problem," Shin replied. "You never consider yourself. You really should fix that."

"…I'm sorry."

She paused, then added, "I didn't mean to imply that being with you was a punishment. It's just…"

"Just uncomfortable, right? That's the same thing as not wanting to be here. Why are you explaining yourself? Worried I'll misunderstand? That I'll think you're heartless? Does what I think of you matter that much? Even if I thought you were the best woman in the world—would that change the fact that we've already ended?"

"…I…" Isane looked down, unable to finish.

Shin sighed, raising the flower. "This bloom is at its peak. Nighttime is when it absorbs the most and shines brightest. But I picked it anyway. It's still beautiful… but it's dead. It probably didn't want to be plucked, but that doesn't matter. It couldn't speak. Couldn't resist. Isane, if you never speak your mind, how can anyone understand you? Keeping everything buried inside—there's no one on this earth worth doing that for."

She stayed silent, listening.

After a long pause, she finally asked, "You and… Hinamori. Are you together now?"

"Yes," Shin said plainly. "She's not like you. She knows what she wants and isn't afraid to go for it."

Isane's eyes dropped. "She's better than me, isn't she?"

Shin tilted his head. "Why do you think that?"

"You said she's brave. I'm not. Compared to her, I must seem dull…"

Shin sighed quietly and flicked the flower stem back into the flowerbed.

"Does what I think really matter that much? What right do I have to judge your courage, or lack of it? If Hinamori were in your place, she'd probably storm up and chew me out, maybe slap me. But you… you were Squad 4's shadow. Then mine. You always just went along with whatever I said. The one thing you need to learn most is how to look someone in the eye and say, 'No.'"

Isane lowered her head further and slowly sat beside him at the flowerbed's edge. Sitting like this, Shin only had to glance down slightly to see her.

"So we're fundamentally incompatible, aren't we?" she whispered. "Even if I said 'No'… would it really erase what happened?"

"My answer doesn't matter anymore."

A firework exploded high into the sky, lighting it with brilliant color. Cheers echoed from the plaza in the distance.

Isane looked up. The bloom of fire reflected in her tear-glazed eyes.

When she turned to look at Shin again, he was already gone.

She tilted her head and saw it—the flower he'd discarded, lying among the others.

She reached out and gently picked it up.

After the fireworks ended, the festival came to a close.

The remaining Shinigami drifted away from the plaza. The student council began packing up their stalls.

Rukia stretched and yawned as she stepped out of the administration building.

The tents had been taken down. At the center stage, student council members were still packing things up.

Rukia suddenly remembered how, back during the first festival, she herself had performed on that stage.

Time had passed quickly.

"President, we're heading out. See you tomorrow!"

"Mm, see you tomorrow."

She nodded back at the passing students.

Stars were sparse in the sky. Shadows scattered across the ground.

The evening wind blew, and all her thoughts seemed to settle.

"Just finished?"

A familiar voice behind her made her freeze.

She turned quickly.

Shin stood there.

Rukia's eyes went wide. "President…"

She caught herself. "Why… are you here?"

Shin smiled softly. "It's the festival. Thought I'd drop by. I saw Professor Nandera earlier. We chatted for a while."

"I see."

Rukia looked away, her expression tightening—then softening again.

"Been a while," Shin said.

"Yeah."

"You heading home? Want to sit somewhere for a bit?"

"…"

Rukia looked down at her toes, then off into the distance.

She felt like she should decline. But when she tried to say it, the words wouldn't come.

Maybe… the president had something he wanted to tell her.

"Okay."

They left Shin'ō Academy and found a nearby izakaya. The owner, noticing Shin's captain's haori, gave them a private room.

Rukia had been here before, often coming with student council members after events. If not here, then the yakiniku place across the street.

And a long time ago, Shin had brought her here too.

It should've been a familiar place, but now, sitting beside him again, memories flooded back.

When the simple food and sake were brought in, Rukia asked, "Captain Tachikawa… what did you want to talk about?"

Shin noted the shift in how she addressed him, but only smiled and poured himself a drink.

"Nothing much. Just hadn't seen you in a while and wanted to chat."

"…Oh."

"You want some?"

He raised the sake bottle toward her.

Rukia hesitated, then nodded slowly. "Just a little."

She rarely drank. Even during student council outings, she avoided it. She hated the dizzy, loss-of-control feeling.

"How've you been?"

Rukia stared at the glinting sake in her cup. "Fine."

She'd led the student council without much innovation, unlike Shin, but had made no mistakes either. She did everything by the book.

She worked hard in her classes, never slacked off. Her grades kept her at the top of Class A.

Since Kira and Hinamori graduated early, her rank had even improved.

"The council seems to be working you harder than it did me. I can tell you're tired."

"But I feel fulfilled," Rukia said softly. "I like feeling fulfilled."

"And after you graduate?"

"I'm thinking of joining the Thirteenth Division."

"Your brother's idea?"

"It's mine too."

She drank a little, heat spreading through her. She suppressed the storm of emotions churning in her chest.

It really was just small talk…

But there was something she wanted to know.

Rukia stroked the rim of her cup. Shin picked up the bottle again and poured for her.

"…How is Momo doing in the Tenth?"

Shin smiled. "She's doing well. You know her capabilities. A lot of seated officers are impressed. I'm planning to promote her within a year or two."

"I see."

"And…" Shin hesitated, "…we're together now."

Rukia froze.

She stared at him in stunned silence, her heart pounding like thunder in her chest.

Together?

"Not many people know yet," Shin added.

But Rukia didn't hear him. Her mind was in chaos.

Momo… and the president?

They really were?

The shock hit as hard—if not harder—than when she'd found out about him and Kotetsu Isane.

For her, the time since they last saw each other had been a void. Then suddenly, this.

Because Momo hadn't given up… because she kept trying…

She had succeeded.

And Rukia—she had chosen to let go.

Her fingers tightened unconsciously around her cup.

She'd thought herself free of that old, unresolved feeling. She'd thought Momo was foolish, chasing something that wasn't worth it.

She should've been proud of her own clarity, her decision to walk away.

She should've…

But now, all she felt was defeat.

If she had made the same choice Momo had back then—what would've happened?

She shouldn't think like this. Shin was the one who did wrong.

And yet, she'd always believed her feelings for him weren't weaker than anyone else's.

Those supposedly strong feelings… and yet she let go quicker than anyone.

Rukia bit her lower lip. Finally, she couldn't help herself.

"…Why?"

Shin paused in the middle of a drink.

"Because I like her."