Ten years have passed since Haruno was born.
People say time flies once you have a child, but I never expected ten years to pass in the blink of an eye.
Not that it was particularly surprising.
I once spent over a hundred years just soaking in a hot spring; ten years is nothing compared to that.
Anyway, as ten years passed, Haruno grew up quite a bit, and Unohana fully recovered. Consequently, I stepped down from the position of Squad 4 Captain so she could make her official return.
It wasn't a position I had taken formally anyway—just a temporary stint—but at the urging of the squad members, we even held a retirement ceremony.
And so, my tenure as the Captain of Squad 4 came to an end, and I returned to the life I had ten years ago.
Of course, it came with a significant change.
Tap, tap, tap! I slowly opened my eyes at the sound of light footsteps patting against the wooden floor.
'Is it that time already?'
My shoulders felt stiff from lying down too long. Just as I was lightly stretching them out, the door slid open with a sharp clatter, bang!!
"Dad!! Dad, wake up!!"
"Alright, alright, Dad's awake. Yaaaawn... Good morning, Haruno."
"Ehehe, good morning!"
Enter my daughter, Unohana Haruno, bursting with energy from the break of dawn.
For the record, the reason she uses the surname Unohana instead of Shimon is simple.
'"Shimon" doesn't exactly have a good meaning, and that damn monk made the name specifically to target me. It's not something I want her using.'
The curse embedded in the name is so potent that even now, whenever I use the name Shimon Meio, I feel like ants are crawling all over my skin.
Imagine if I passed my surname to Haruno without knowing better and it caused her problems. What then?
If that was the risk, it was better not to use it at all.
"Dad, Dad! Can I go watch the dojo today too!?"
"Sparring is dangerous, so no, but if you promise not to disturb the people training, I'll take you along."
"Yep! I promise!"
Her beaming smile was so adorable that I had to squeeze my eyes shut.
Is my daughter really this cute? Honestly.
With a satisfied grin, I gave her a tight hug. Together with a giggling Haruno, I went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast and ate with Unohana.
"Have a good day. Do your best today. If you need anything, just send someone over."
"Fufu, yes. I will."
After seeing Unohana off and cleaning up the table, I headed to the dojo with Haruno.
Upon arriving, Haruno was greeted warmly by everyone, as she was every day.
"Hello, big sisters and brothers!!"
"Good morning, Haruno. Here, want some candy?"
"Wow! Thank you!"
I didn't know what she found so appealing about this sweat-stinking place, but as long as my daughter was happy, it was fine by me.
I was looking through the wooden swords to pick one for training the students like usual when I felt a strange sensation.
I thought I might be imagining it, but when I closed my eyes to focus, it was clear.
"You. Where did you go earlier?"
"Huh? Ah, I heard there's a famous dango shop, so I stopped by the vicinity of Squad 6."
My dojo is in the north, near Squad 4, while Squad 6 is located toward the southern end...
Did he pick something up when he went south?
"Hey, what year is it?"
"Uh... it's the year 1750."
"1750..."
So there are about 250 years left until the original story begins.
I put aside thoughts of a future that hadn't happened yet. Right now, something else was more important.
"Is something wrong, Master?"
"It's nothing. I might have some urgent business to attend to today, so you lot handle things on your own."
"Yes, sir!"
Why is this brat so happy about it?
...Fine, whatever. These guys deserve a day of rest too.
"It's fine to rest, but don't slack off too much. Don't get lazy."
"Hehe, yes, sir!!"
Oh? You're laughing? Let's see if you can keep laughing.
I walked over to Haruno, who was eating candy under the doting gazes of the students.
"Haruno, Dad has to step away for a moment. Could you be the 'Instructor for the Day' in my place?"
I asked cautiously, expecting her to ask why, but instead, her eyes began to sparkle with an intensity that was almost overwhelming.
Wow. If she did that at night, she'd probably light up the whole room.
"Really!?"
"Yes. It's a very important job. Do you think you can do it?"
"Uh-huh! I can do it!!"
"Good. Do your best so everyone works hard today, Instructor Haruno."
She nodded vigorously. I picked her up and carried her to the platform.
Standing on the platform where I usually stood, Haruno didn't look burdened by the gazes of the students at all. She puffed out her chest and crossed her arms confidently.
It was the exact posture I used when watching the students.
"I am Unohana Haruno, the Instructor for the Day!! Ah... I mean, my name is Haruno!!"
As Haruno introduced herself in a bold voice, the faces of the students softened.
I subtly moved behind Haruno and stared silently at the students.
If any of you bastards don't do what Haruno says, or if you slack off and make her disappointed, you're dead.
During the next training session, I'll chew you up from head to toe. Don't worry about dying, though. I'll make sure to heal every bit of it myself.
'Watch your behavior.'
The students, feeling a sudden chill, shivered and immediately stiffened their expressions, pretending to focus intently on Haruno's introduction.
I knew it was just an act. Who could actually concentrate in this situation?
But they had to at least try.
"——I'm only your instructor for today, but please follow my lead and work hard!!"
The moment Haruno finished, every student burst into cheers and applause.
Flattered by the enthusiastic response, Haruno looked back at me with sparkling eyes. I smiled and stroked her head.
"Well then, Dad's heading out for a bit. I'm leaving the dojo in your hands, Instructor Haruno."
"Yes! I mean—Yes, sir!"
I gave her head a light pat with a warm smile, walked out of the dojo, and closed the sliding door.
"Inhale... Exhale..."
I didn't know which bastard was responsible for stealing away my precious time with Haruno, but when I found them, they weren't getting off easy.
Dark thoughts began to swarm, but I calmed them with a deep breath and a brief meditation.
Letting personal emotions take control only leads to disaster.
With that thought, I immediately leaped away and arrived at the point where the Reishi—Spiritual Particles—felt impure.
Reishi is the basic element that forms all matter in the Soul Society.
Normally, I wouldn't care if someone was using the particles in the air or their own spiritual power, but this was different.
The ground, the walls, the soil, and even the air... I could feel the impurities everywhere.
'I can feel it clearly now that I'm close. Is he a kid or something? Spitting on public property like this.'
The Reishi had been 'stained.'
I didn't know if 'stained' was the right word, but something impure had been mixed in.
To use an analogy, it felt similar to that low-tier blood demon who merged with a train.
But this guy was taking it a step further—he was trying to merge with the Seireitei itself.
That meant the entire area was effectively within the palm of whoever was doing this.
The reason I hadn't noticed until now was likely because he intentionally avoided Squad 4 and the surrounding area where I was, but also because I had been too busy focusing on Haruno to notice outside matters.
In other words, this was the result of a miraculous chain of coincidences.
Did he really think I'd let this slide if I found out?
"What a creepy bastard."
First, I'd go hear what he has to say. If he's sane, I'll just give him a warning to knock it off. If not...
'I'll have to crack his skull.'
I sighed and tapped on a wall where the impurity felt strongest.
"Come out. I know you're listening."
As soon as the words left my mouth, a man with long hair tied high appeared before me.
He wasn't just fast. He had been present here from the very beginning.
"It is an honor to meet the Master of all Soul Reapers."
So it's this guy.
*
Azashiro Soya could not understand.
He could not comprehend why that man had come to find him.
He had strictly avoided every location related to that man. He had merged with the surroundings while steering clear of Squad 4 and its vicinity, the Shin'o Academy, and the Budokan located within it.
'But how?'
He let out a deep sigh as he watched the man tapping the wall, checking for something.
Simultaneously, a woman with a black blindfold over her eyes popped her head out from beside Azashiro Soya.
It was Azashiro Soya's Zanpakuto, Urozakuro.
"Kihahaha! You were so confident, yet you got caught in the end? And of all people, to get caught by the one person you absolutely shouldn't! Didn't I tell you from the start that this was impossible!?"
"Stop talking nonsense. If you aren't going to help, keep your mouth shut."
"Hmm, haven't I helped enough already? I warned you clearly from the moment you said you'd merge with the Seireitei that such a plan was destined for failure. Who was it that ignored those warnings?"
"Be quiet. I am thinking of what to do."
"'Be quiet, I'm thinking.' Kihahahaha! It's meaningless to rack your brain now! Can't you feel it? The overwhelming difference in status between you and your opponent!"
At Urozakuro's words, Azashiro silently closed his eyes and tried to devise a plan.
But no matter how hard he thought, no suitable countermeasure came to mind.
—Come out. I know you're listening.
"See! You're caught! Kihahahaha! Kihahahaha!!"
The moment he heard those words, Azashiro Soya moved to appear before the man without a word.
No, to say he 'moved' was incorrect. Azashiro Soya had been standing in that spot since the beginning.
He hadn't formed a countermeasure yet, but an immediate confrontation would be pointless. Judging thus, Azashiro bowed his head and opened the situation with a greeting.
"It is an honor to meet the Master of all Soul Reapers."
"Withdraw every bit of Reishi you've scattered through the Seireitei. I'll give you ten seconds. Otherwise, I'm going to walk around and smash it all personally."
In that moment, for the second time in his life, Azashiro Soya felt the weight of the unreasonable.