Five more years passed. On the day marking exactly a decade since Unohana had ascended to the heavens, Tenjiro informed her that he had nothing left to teach.
"That's it. I've taught you every Kaido technique I can. From here on out, it's up to you to figure the rest out with your own hands."
Tenjiro repeated the very words I had once told him.
Seeing my own student teach a student of his own firsthand was a novel experience, and I couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle.
"I cannot thank you enough for everything."
Unohana bowed deeply, her expression far less venomous than it had been years ago.
"Hah! If you weren't my master's disciple, I wouldn't have taught you a single thing, no matter what."
"…Then I suppose I must be even better to my master."
Hey, why am I getting brought into this?
She paused for a moment, but a strange sense of joy radiated from Unohana's face as she spoke.
Knowing exactly where that joy was coming from, I could only feel a sense of awkwardness.
If she planned on being even 'better' to me than she already was, I had no clue how far she intended to go.
I decided to save those thoughts for later.
It's not like I could stay hidden during her graduation anyway.
"I heard things were wrapping up, so I came over."
In truth, I had been watching the entire time, but I stepped out between them acting as if I hadn't.
Unohana offered a beaming smile and a bow, while Tenjiro bowed respectfully.
"Master, you've arrived."
"Indeed. I have plenty I want to say, but I should probably start with this. Both of you did great work over the last ten years."
It was a bit ridiculous for someone who hadn't done a damn thing during that time to say it, though.
As I chuckled, Tenjiro looked a bit embarrassed, adjusting the long wooden needle in his mouth. Unohana simply smiled pleasantly.
"So, how was she? Was she a good student?"
I gestured toward Unohana. Tenjiro glanced at her with a scowl, then let out a heavy sigh and nodded.
"Well… I suppose she barely managed a passing grade. Something like that."
"I see."
Considering Tenjiro's 'passing grade' was usually a 90 out of 100, that meant she had learned exceptionally well.
The guy really can't be honest until the very end, can he?
"Thanks, Tenjiro. I'll bring you something nice later, so look forward to it."
Tenjiro's eyes widened.
"Ahem…! You should really tell me those things in private, when others aren't around… Ahem!"
I didn't know what he was expecting, but the 'nice thing' I had prepared was a book summarizing basic genetics.
Genetic diseases, mutations, DNA sequences—a primer on genetics roughly compiled from my memories.
"Master?"
Well… he's free to hope for whatever he wants. I'll let it slide.
Just as I thought that, I turned toward the voice calling me. Unohana was staring at me with a chilly smile.
"I worked very hard as well. May I have something nice too?"
"Well, sure. I have it back downstairs, so I'll give it to you when we get back."
Unohana blinked in surprise, seemingly caught off guard by how quickly I agreed.
I could guess what she was thinking, but I ignored it.
"Then it's time to head down. Unohana's learned all she can, and I've left the dojo empty for far too long."
"Are you leaving already?"
"What's left for me here? Seeing that Soul King brat's face only makes things awkward, so I'm getting out of here fast."
After saying my piece, I stepped down to the lower platforms.
At the place where they had first clashed, Unohana and Tenjiro faced each other one last time.
"Keep striving. Never forget your resolve."
"Yes. I will keep it in mind."
I'm glad to see their relationship actually improved quite a bit.
With a faint smile, I nodded and patted Tenjiro on the shoulder.
"We're off then. Don't come out, just go back inside. I'll drop by again sometime. Give Nimaiya my regards."
"Are you leaving without a word to Senjumaru or the Monk?"
"Senjumaru… Ah, right. Tell Senjumaru I'm wearing the clothes she made me well. And as for that damn monk, tell him I'll handle things on my own, so he should stay out of my hair and focus on doing his own job properly."
"Huh…? Ah, yes."
"Oh, and one more thing. Tell him that moving only for immediate profit will bring disaster in the future. Be sure to relay that exact phrase."
I was referring to his meeting with Yhwach several hundred years from now—I was telling him not to unnecessarily stoke the fires in Yhwach's mind.
Of course, the monk isn't the type of bastard to listen just because I said so, but saying it now means I can later say, 'I warned you, didn't I?'
"Anyway, we're going. Go on back."
He insisted on seeing us off, but I waved him away until he finally bowed and departed.
His sentiment was appreciated, but what came next wasn't exactly for public viewing.
"Unohana."
"…Yes."
Unohana flinched slightly as she approached, and I grabbed her by the waist just like I had when we ascended to the Royal Palace.
Her chest was pressed firmly against me, and she felt soft.
Lust flickered for a moment, but I crushed it with a willpower of steel and leaped downward.
We descended from the Royal Palace and returned to the dojo.
Since the dojo had been empty for ten years, it was a disaster—dust everywhere and spiderwebs hanging from the rafters.
"Ugh, look at all this dust. Better get cleaning first."
"I will do it, Master. Please, take a seat."
She was like this at the Royal Palace, and she was starting up again as soon as we got back.
I looked at Unohana with a skeptical expression and reached for a cloth.
"It's fine. It'll go faster if we do it together…"
Without even answering, Unohana stepped in front of me with a smile, blocking my path.
"No… even so, I feel like I'm working you too hard."
"Hehe, this is something I want to do, so please don't give it a second thought."
As she spoke with that bright smile, her eyes were practically overflowing with affection.
It was the look of someone who would never back down until I gave in.
It wasn't stubbornness or malice, but genuine goodwill. I couldn't exactly bring myself to heartlessly reject it.
In the end, I was the one who raised the white flag.
"…Fine. Do whatever you want."
Only then did Unohana beam and start cleaning the dojo.
Swish. Swish.
Watching her back as she wiped down the wooden floors with a wet rag, I rubbed my chin.
'Affection—huh.'
To be honest, affection and love were incredibly difficult concepts for me.
I'm not saying this because of some late-onset teenage angst about how 'love is a luxury' or anything like that.
I'm saying that from the perspective of a fossil who has lived for 990,000 years, love is just too complicated.
Love? Great. Marriage? Wonderful.
But the moment I'm included in the equation, the story gets messy.
Living things eventually die. Flesh returns to the earth, and souls deteriorate and eventually scatter.
No matter how grand an entity may be, any being born after the Soul King eventually faces an end to their life.
The primordial world was a place where all were equal.
It was a world like a hamster wheel that never stopped turning, a world where there was no reason to intertwine with others.
No, back then, the distinction between 'me' and 'you' didn't even exist.
But after I developed a sense of self and broke out of that cage, Hollows were born, and not long after, the Soul King appeared.
Hollows naturally began to prey on souls, and the Soul King began to eradicate them to purify the world.
Because of this, souls and flesh began to 'perish' at the hands of others, and a massive scar was carved into the once-perfect world.
Life and death became divided.
Of course, back then it was just about existence and non-existence, but after my disciples split the Three Worlds and assigned the concepts of life and death to them, things got even more complicated.
That was the reason they started talking about things like the balance of souls after creating the Three Worlds.
Well, if you don't like that, you can just detach yourself from the Three Worlds like Kagaya or the reincarnated Hozuki.
But I am different.
I still live in the primordial world.
Therefore, death does not exist for me. Because there is no death, there is no 'life' either.
All things are impermanent, and everything in the world changes and transforms through life and death, but I stand alone and unchanging.
Tenjo Tenge Yuiga Dokuson. (In all the heavens and on earth, I alone am honored.)
The Buddha meant that he alone was the most precious beneath the heavens, but for me, it had a slightly different meaning.
Tenjo Tenge Yuiga Dokuson.* (In all the heavens and on earth, I alone exist.)
Just one character changed, but it turned into a damn miserable meaning.
Someone like me is supposed to fall in love? Could I truly love someone I will inevitably have to say goodbye to?
Could I smile while looking at them, knowing that they will one day disappear?
Maybe I could.
But… I still don't know.
'I'd have to have actually been in love to know…'
Right. I won't deny being a 990,000-year-old virgin. Honestly, I used to be embarrassed by it, but at this point, it's practically an achievement.
Just 10,000 more years and it's a million. That's enough years of celibacy to master some legendary divine art and recreate the universe.
Has there really never been anyone who made a romantic move on me during all that time?
Surprisingly, no.
I was stuck in Hell, tearing people limb from limb. If someone confessed their love to me in that situation, they'd be a total psycho.
Rasatsu and Myoren?
The brat and the crybaby… no thanks. And they were terrified of me just like everyone else.
In other words, Unohana was the first person to ever make it this obvious that she liked me.
It's not that I leave this one-sided relationship be because I enjoy it; I just genuinely don't know what to do about it.
"…It's hard."
"What is hard?"
"Holy—! You startled me."
I was so focused on my thoughts I didn't even notice her walking up next to me.
I let out a heavy sigh, rubbing my arm where goosebumps had broken out from the shock.
I was planning on saying it eventually, but since it turned out like this, I might as well say it now.
Wavering during my one life only hurts me.
"You. You're too difficult for me."
"Hmm…? Me? I am difficult?"
Unohana tilted her head as if she truly didn't understand.
She knows she's pretty and she uses it. Only a fool wouldn't see that she was doing this on purpose to be charming.
The legendary Unohana acting 'cute' was basically an impossible event in itself.
"You're making such an overt romantic advance, and I'm agonized over how to respond. The problem is so hard I'm losing sleep over it."
This time, her eyes truly went wide.
"Did you… know?"
"Only a fool wouldn't notice, wouldn't they?"
My words came out a bit blunt because I was so exasperated, but they came straight from the heart.