In the evening, while the old man was gathering all the captains in the meeting hall, Arata came to the Tenth Division to pick up a girl from work.
As for why he wasn't summoned to the captain's meeting, it was, of course, because they had already had a special meeting and the tasks had already been assigned.
Small matters are resolved at big meetings, and big matters at small meetings. It has always been that way.
In front of the Tenth Division barracks, the setting sun had dyed the stone steps before the door in orange.
As soon as Arata approached the entrance, he heard Rangiku's ringing laughter from inside.
"Oh, I thought your fight would drag on, but I didn't expect you to finish so precisely on time." Rangiku came out of the team dormitories, her long golden hair fluttering gently in the evening breeze.
"The fight just ended a bit quicker. But was your work today exhausting?" Arata smiled and took the document folder from her hand.
Rangiku immediately came closer, grabbed his arm, and complained bitterly: "Of course it was super, super exhausting! Captain spent the whole day 'busy' judging at the tournament, and dumped all the division work on me!"
"It'd be really nice if I could have a milkshake-tea right now…"
"Then let's go to your Kikuchaya tea salon." Arata smiled and ruffled her golden hair. "We haven't had milk tea there in a while."
Rangiku's eyes lit up and she immediately turned around and ran back inside the barracks: "Wait five minutes! I'll change right away!"
Watching her excited back, Arata helplessly shook his head.
This woman was determined and efficient at work, but in private she always acted like a greedy little girl.
Greedy for food, for alcohol, and for milk tea drinks.
Five minutes later, Rangiku appeared again at the door, making Arata hold his breath for a moment.
She had changed out of her Shinigami uniform into a lavender-colored kimono, and a sash embroidered with golden chrysanthemums was tied around her waist.
The neckline perfectly revealed her delicate collarbone, and her long white legs peeking through the slit in the hem fired up the imagination even more.
"How do I look?" Rangiku twirled in front of Arata, and her sleeves drew graceful arcs with her motion.
Arata's throat tightened. "You're stunning… but isn't this a bit too formal?"
"Oh, who cares. I'm just going for some milk tea." Rangiku smiled and took his arm. "Akira told me the shop recently introduced some new items, so of course I have to dress up nicely to try them!"
Akira was the temporary manager of Kikuchaya whom Rangiku had recently hired. Since Renji and his crew of summer interns had already started school, the pressure at the shop had suddenly increased a lot, so they had to hire new people to help with the work.
Rukongai was especially lively under the night sky. The two of them passed through the bustle and could already see a long line forming in front of Kikuchaya from afar.
Arata shielded Rangiku as they moved through the crowd, and suddenly noticed that a new take-out window had opened on the side of the shop, with a sign above it that read "Special Collaborative Drink Saito Arata."
"Looks like Kikuchaya is doing even better now, they have take-out and collaborations."
Rangiku followed his gaze and couldn't help but laugh: "Aa la la, our Arata is now a real celebrity in Rukongai."
As the two of them were talking and laughing like that, a commotion suddenly broke out in front of the line.
"Move aside! Don't you see Lord Kurokawa-sama is coming!?"
Accompanied by arrogant shouts, people in line were roughly shoved aside.
A young man in an elegant kimono approached, surrounded by several bodyguards. A golden token hanging from his belt signified his status as a high noble.
"That's the eldest son of the Kurokawa family, Kurokawa Shinken…" someone in the crowd murmured, "lately he's become more and more reckless, relying on his ties to the Kasumiōji and Tsunayashiro families."
Arata narrowed his eyes and searched the crowd for the blond-haired young man named Kurokawa Shinken.
He was rudely pushing away customers who blocked his path in line. The hem of his gold-trimmed kimono was stained with wine, and a strangely shaped, snake-like long sword hung at his waist.
Arata took a closer look and noticed that the dark red patterns coiling around it were strikingly similar to those on Kaminari Ōkami, the blade Hatake Hayato wielded.
He took a deep breath, no way, could he really be this lucky today?
If he had known, he would've opened the system before going out and cast a divination. Maybe he could've picked up a few hundred fate points for free while at it.
"Hey! Can't you see, you worthless old man?" Kurokawa kicked an old man holding milk tea, and the sticky liquid immediately spilled onto the ground.
He wiped the milk tea off the tip of his shoe in disgust, then suddenly noticed Rangiku standing not far away. In his eyes, sunken from excessive debauchery, a glint of greed immediately flashed.
"Young lady…" Kurokawa Shinken adjusted his collar and approached, his greasy eyes sliding down Rangiku's exposed cleavage. "I'm Shinken, second son of the Kurokawa family. I wonder, would I have the honor of inviting you…"
Before he could finish the sentence, Arata's tall figure had already stepped between them.
The shadow cast by his 2.2-meter frame completely engulfed Kurokawa, and the gaze from above instinctively made the spoiled, arrogant young noble step back half a pace.
"Get lost." Arata's voice was very quiet, but the temperature around them suddenly dropped.
Blood rushed to Kurokawa's face. He was the second young master of the upper noble Kurokawa family, born with a silver spoon in his mouth, when had he ever suffered such humiliation?
In a flash, he drew the snake-like sword from his belt and pointed it straight at Arata's face: "Do you know who I am? My father is... "
"Just another spoiled brat from the Kurokawa family." Mocking suddenly burst from the crowd. "He leans on his 'friendship' with the Kasumiōji and Tsunayashiro families to bite at everyone around. And now he even flaunts that sword in public?"
Arata's ears twitched slightly, and he clearly caught the key information.
The Kasumiōji family was expected, but where did the Tsunayashiro family suddenly come from?
"Who!? Which worthless scum dares speak ill of this young master? Come out immediately!" Kurokawa Shinken turned around in rage, and his snake-like long sword left a dark red trail in the air.
The strange patterns coiling around the blade faintly glowed as his anger grew, causing the people around to back away in fear. The person who had just spoken in the crowd had already vanished without a trace.
"Arata…" Rangiku clearly felt his muscles tense and quickly tugged his sleeve. "Let's just go somewhere else. It's not worth bothering with this kind of person."
She knew her man's temper too well. No one better than Rangiku understood what that cold gleam in his eyes meant.
Rangiku wasn't afraid of offending nobles, but she was worried that Arata, in a burst of rage, might slaughter all his opponents. After all, with his strength, crushing these small fry was no harder than stepping on ants.
And Arata had both the power and the courage to do it, after all, he also came from a noble family.
Although the Saito family's prestige had weakened, they were still one of the upper nobles in Soul Society, and not just anyone could touch them.
"Oh, now you're scared?" Seeing this, Kurokawa misunderstood the situation and a mocking smile appeared on his greasy face. "It's too late to regret! Unless this blonde beauty has a drink with me, otherwise…"
Before he could finish, he suddenly felt a cold chill run down his neck.
Arata had appeared before him without warning, and his long fingers clamped around his throat like iron tongs.
"Otherwise what?"
The Kurokawa family's guards had finally recovered and drew their weapons. Two even immediately released the Shikai of their Zanpakutō, and the surge of spiritual pressure toppled several stalls.
"Release Lord Shinken!"
"You're asking for death!"
Faced with the oncoming swarm of guards, Arata didn't even lift his eyelids.
His left hand was still gripping Kurokawa's throat, and his right hand lazily swung out.
"You're the ones asking for death."