Gift

For the rest of the day, just as expected, no patients came in for consultations. The only sound in the office was the occasional soft rustle of Akira Morisawa turning pages.

Compared with humans in the World of the Living, Shinigami lived far longer. Someone like Retsu Unohana had served as a captain for nearly a thousand years.

Across such long lives, the circles inside Seireitei became much smaller than one might imagine. Which members of the Fourth Division were genuinely trustworthy in their medical fields became obvious over time, and that reputation spread among other Shinigami and the nobles.

Because of that, most members who had only just joined a department were given more of a learning environment than actual patients.

Akira did not feel impatient about it. He simply kept a steady pace, studying knowledge Shin'o Academy would never teach.

Outside the Fourth Division, this kind of valuable Kaido and medical knowledge would be almost impossible to obtain.

That was entirely thanks to his status as Retsu Unohana's disciple. Otherwise, Chiyoko Aoki never would have handed such precious Kaido and medical texts directly into his hands without holding anything back.

Risa Aoki, however, suffered for it. For nearly half a day, she sat stiffly in a chair not far from him, barely moving. Awkward did not even begin to cover it.

Dong, dong, dong.

The bell announcing the end of the department's shift rang out. Risa shot to her feet almost instantly and hurried toward the door as if she were fleeing for her life.

"Risa..."

Just as she pushed the office door open and took her first step outside, Akira's gentle voice came from behind her.

Her body went rigid. In the blink of an eye, her face flushed red again.

Shame, embarrassment, helplessness...

Risa thought Akira was about to say something cruel, or mock her for failing to tell his gender, or scold her for the rudeness she had shown him.

Instead, when she slowly turned her stiff neck, she saw him half bathed in the evening glow. His smile was bright and warm.

"Risa, thank you for looking after me today. See you tomorrow."

"Huh?"

She froze for a moment, staring blankly at the gentle, innocent-looking boy in front of her. Only after several seconds did she snap back to herself and bow in a flustered rush.

"Yes. See you tomorrow, Akira-kun."

Then Risa all but ran out. Even from a distance, her panicked footsteps echoed down the hall.

Only then did the corners of Akira's eyes curve slightly, revealing his true amusement.

'See you tomorrow, Risa. I hope you have a very pleasant night.'

Risa might have been too buried in her own public embarrassment to notice anything else, but Akira had not forgotten Chiyoko Aoki's gloomy expression.

If nothing unexpected happened, something very unfortunate would be waiting for Risa when she returned home.

'Tomorrow... she probably will not limp back into the department, right?'

'Hmph. A mere lily dared to offend me?'

Thinking of that, Akira's mood improved considerably.

Yet when he returned to the courtyard, the smile on his face almost froze in place.

"Back this early?"

The person sitting formally on the tatami in front of him, brewing tea with elegant, gentle grace, was none other than Retsu Unohana.

"Yes, Teacher."

Akira obediently sat across from her and carefully took a sip of the clear tea she pushed toward him.

His eyes brightened slightly.

The tea was crisp and clean, faintly bitter at first, then sweet. When he breathed in, the fragrance seemed to linger clearly between his lips and teeth.

"Excellent tea."

Akira knew very little about the tea ceremony in Soul Society, but there was no doubt this was high-quality tea. It might even be the kind reserved for captain-class Shinigami and high nobles.

Watching his reaction, Unohana casually picked up a small gift box at her side and placed it before him.

"If you like it, take these leaves and brew them yourself."

"Thank you, Teacher."

Akira thanked her, then noticed the exquisite box had clearly been wrapped in advance. Somewhat puzzled, he asked, "Teacher, how did you know I liked tea?"

"This morning, I saw the teacup you had set aside..."

Unohana paused briefly before continuing. "The tea prepared in the guest room is not bad, but it does have its flaws. So I prepared a gift for you. Consider it your gift for becoming my disciple."

In only two short days, Akira had been played by Unohana's wicked gentleness until he felt as if he had died and come back more than once. Even so, in that moment, emotion stirred inside him.

This thoughtfulness was precious.

Suddenly, his fingers stilled on the gift box. He moved them aside and discovered the emblem there was the flower of the Sixth Division.

In an instant, he understood. Perhaps this gift had not been prepared as casually as Unohana made it seem.

Perhaps she had personally asked the Sixth Division, which was tied to the noble families, for these tea leaves.

Just then, with both hands around her teacup, Unohana spoke again.

"Akira, did you enjoy spending time with Risa today?"

"Mm, it was quite..."

His voice stopped. Cold sweat nearly broke across his forehead as he forcibly swallowed the word "punishing."

One careless word, and this gift might become an offering placed before his memorial tablet.

Unohana's eyes curved, her posture gentle and refined as she continued, "Risa is a very good child. You two should get along. Of course, you must not neglect your study of Kaido and medicine."

Akira's thoughts spun. Almost without hesitation, he ignored the first half of Unohana's words, which had clearly been camouflage, and understood the real point was in the second half.

"Yes, Teacher. Today I looked through the books Fifth Seat Aoki left for me, and a few questions came up..."

As he spoke, Akira pulled a small notebook from inside his robe. Looking every bit like an obedient student, he began asking Unohana for guidance.

Unohana took a light sip of tea. Her gentle expression did not change from beginning to end, and she did not interrupt him. She listened quietly, occasionally offering a pointer or an answer.

Much later, Akira returned to his room drenched in sweat and collapsed onto the tatami as if he had been wrung dry.

He had only spent half a day in the gynecology department. How many questions could he possibly have saved up?

x

x

x

If you're enjoying the story so far, consider supporting me on Patreon ❤️
You'll get weekly early access to chapters, along with some exclusive content:

https://www.patreon.com/cw/auroraclairevale