Unohana had been taken away, and Yamamoto had returned to the First Division with his men.
Hasumi Ren returned to the Fourth Division as well.
The next day, there were not many changes within the Fourth Division.
Hasumi Ren walked to the office window, looking at the squad members moving about in the courtyard in twos and threes.
After the incident with the Captains' Hollowfication, although the atmosphere was tense and uneasy, daily operations had to continue.
The news of Unohana Retsu's detention was not officially announced; the notice circulated was simply that Unohana had received an order for field duty.
A knock sounded at the door.
Iemura Yasochika, the Third Seat of the Fourth Division, pushed the door open and entered. He held a document in his hands and was breathing slightly heavily, clearly having jogged all the way there.
"Lieutenant Hasumi Ren," he said, handing over the document. "A notification just came down from the First Division. During Captain Unohana's absence, you are to serve as the acting Captain of the Fourth Division, with full authority over squad affairs and medical dispatch."
Hasumi Ren took the document.
"Understood."
Iemura hesitated for a moment, his lips moving as if he wanted to ask something.
Hasumi Ren could tell he was curious about when Captain Unohana would return, and he wanted to know what exactly had happened during the Hollowfication incident.
But in the end, he asked nothing. He simply bowed slightly, turned, and left the treatment room.
Hasumi Ren looked away, organized the medical records on Unohana's desk, stacked them neatly, and placed them on his own desk.
From now on, he would be the one signing off on these.
Hasumi Ren closed the door to the Captain's office and sat back down at his desk.
The sunlight outside the window slowly faded from warm gold to pale orange, and then from pale orange to a greyish blue.
He finished approving the day's medical records and signed all the dispatch orders, then sat there, staring at the empty office, lost in thought for a long time.
Hasumi Ren stood up from behind the desk, pushed open the door, and walked into the night, heading toward the living quarters.
The moonlight was faint, obscured by cloud cover until only a hazy glow remained.
He did not walk fast, and his expression was not bright.
Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks.
A black figure emerged from the shadows of a high wall.
Soi Fon walked into the center of the road. The moonlight shone upon her, coating her slender silhouette in a faint silver edge.
Her Shihakusho fluttered slightly in the night breeze, and her short hair was somewhat messy.
"Soi Fon?"
Soi Fon did not respond; she simply watched Hasumi Ren.
In those eyes, it was hard to tell if it was grief or hatred, laced with a sense of shattered, misplaced confusion.
She was the Captain's confidante of the Second Division, a core member of the Stealth Force, and someone who had grown up beside Shihoin Yoruichi since childhood.
Her trust in Yoruichi was not built upon missions or orders; it was built into the very depths of her soul.
Now, the Seireitei had issued an official warrant for her defection, and Shihoin Yoruichi had disappeared alongside Urahara Kisuke.
"I... when I received the notice, I couldn't believe it was true."
Her voice was very soft.
"Yoruichi-sama defecting... do you know how ridiculous that sounds?"
Hasumi Ren did not speak.
Soi Fon looked at him and took a step forward, closing the distance between them. Her voice trembled with confusion.
"You were close with Urahara Kisuke. Do you know something? What secrets are there?"
"Yoruichi-sama... why would she make such a choice?"
Hasumi Ren was silent for a moment.
"It was her own will. She chose to trust Urahara Kisuke and Tsukabishi Tessai and left with them."
His voice was very quiet.
"Perhaps her choice was not wrong. Perhaps they are innocent. You need not worry. In the future, you will surely see each other again."
Soi Fon looked at him, silent for a while, before stepping forward and striking Hasumi Ren's chest with her fist, producing a dull thud.
"You're lying."
Her voice was muffled, her fist still pressed against his chest.
But the next moment, her forehead followed, pressing against the back of her hand, and her short hair slid down from the side of her ear, obscuring her entire face.
She did not speak again, but her shoulders were trembling slightly.
Hasumi Ren felt the warm dampness slowly seeping into the Shihakusho on his chest.
He said nothing; he merely raised his hand and gently rested it on the back of her head.
A long time passed before Soi Fon pulled away from his embrace.
She quickly wiped her reddened eyes with the back of her hand and sniffled forcefully.
"My Shunko has been improving quite well lately."
Her voice was still a bit hoarse.
"But now, there is no one to watch."
Hasumi Ren looked at her.
"I'm still here. If you want to demonstrate, how about the Second Division training ground? The usual place?"
Soi Fon nodded lightly.
The Second Division training ground appeared exceptionally empty in the night.
Soi Fon walked to the center of the training ground, turned to face Hasumi Ren, and assumed her stance.
During the spar with Hasumi Ren, he could clearly feel that her heart was not in it.
However, her Shunko had indeed progressed.
When the spiritual pressure exploded at her shoulders and back, it was more condensed than before.
It was no longer an uncontrolled burst, but rather precisely adhered to the outside of her shoulder blades and arms, amplifying the power along the trajectory of her strikes.
Every movement carried a force far more stable than before.
After sparring for a long time, she stopped, leaning forward with her hands on her knees, breathing heavily.
A moment later, she straightened up and looked at Hasumi Ren.
"I'm hungry."
"What do you want to eat?"
"...Yakitori, I suppose. The kind Yoruichi-sama loved the most."
Meeting Soi Fon's gaze, Hasumi Ren nodded.
The yakitori shop on the Noble District street still had its lights on deep into the night.
Ganju was calculating accounts behind the counter. When he saw Hasumi Ren push the door open, his face brightened, but then his eyes landed on Soi Fon following behind him.
He licked his lips and wisely swallowed his greeting, simply wiping the table more efficiently than usual and serving several plates of freshly grilled skewers.
Then he retreated to the kitchen, only occasionally glancing over at them.
Soi Fon sat by the window, eating slowly.
She did not speak while she ate, and Hasumi Ren sat opposite her, eating slowly as well.
"Is there sake?"
Soi Fon asked suddenly.
Hasumi Ren nodded slightly.
Before long, a server brought over a flask of sake.
Soi Fon poured herself a cup and tilted her head back, downing the entire thing.
The sharp burn of the alcohol made her frown.
"This tastes awful."
She said, pouring herself another.
Hasumi Ren did not stop her. He drank some with her and watched as she downed cup after cup.
Her tolerance was clearly not very high. After only a few cups, her face began to flush.
The night grew deeper.
The lights on the Noble District street were extinguished one by one. Soi Fon slumped over the table, appearing unconscious.
Hasumi Ren stood up and helped her up from the chair.
Soi Fon's footsteps were a bit unsteady as she leaned on Hasumi Ren's shoulder. Through the thin layer of her Shihakusho, her body temperature was quite warm.
Hasumi Ren pushed open the door to Soi Fon's quarters and helped her to the bedside.
Just as he turned to look for some warm water, Soi Fon grabbed his sleeve.
Hasumi Ren turned back.
In the darkness, the faint moonlight filtered in through the window, landing on her glazed eyes.
Her face was flushed red, the heat spreading from her cheeks all the way to her ears, whether from the alcohol or something else, he did not know.
Hasumi Ren gently tugged, but Soi Fon did not let go.
She merely pulled at Hasumi Ren's sleeve, drawing him toward her.
The force was not great; Hasumi Ren could even feel Soi Fon's arm trembling slightly.
Soi Fon looked up at him, and the emotions surging in her eyes were something even she might not be able to identify.
With teary, blurred vision and a sense of helpless confusion, she was like a little animal that had been abandoned.
There was something else she did not say, and she did not need to.
Hasumi Ren did not refuse.
He turned and chose to fill the void within Soi Fon at that moment.
Soi Fon's fair skin had a thin layer of coolness in the moonlight, but her breath carried a scorching, intoxicated heat.
Hasumi Ren's fingers passed through the short hair at the back of her head, his fingertips stroking the softness of the nape of her neck.
When her lips pressed against his, there was a touch of clumsy inexperience, but also an honesty that came after dropping all defenses.
The moonlight slowly moved from the window, crawling from the edge of the bed to the pillow, and then from the pillow to their intertwined fingers.
Outside the window, the clouds closed and parted, parted and closed.
Soi Fon trembled gently, then buried her face in the crook of Hasumi Ren's neck.
The moonlight shone in, falling on her slightly furrowed brows, her fingers gripping the bedsheets, and the space between their entangled breaths.
The next day, Hasumi Ren was awakened by the sunlight shining through the window.
He subconsciously reached out to his side, touching only the cool bedsheet.
Soi Fon was already gone.
The quilt was scattered on his side, the pillow had been fluffed, and a few fine, soft black hairs remained on the pillowcase.
Hasumi Ren sat up and rubbed his throbbing temples.
Soi Fon's Shihakusho was not on the hanger, and her shoes were not by the door. All traces of her in the room had been neatly cleared away.
What happened last night was indeed sudden.
Soi Fon clearly had not been prepared, but she had not resisted at all, allowing everything to unfold.
It was green, unpolished, yet worth savoring.
Now that she was not here, she was probably... shy.
Hasumi Ren rose and picked up his own Shihakusho from nearby.
He dressed and pushed open the door.
Hasumi Ren stood in the empty corridor for a few seconds, sighed, and then turned toward the Fourth Division.
When he returned to the Fourth Division, members of the First Division were already waiting at the door of the Lieutenant's office.
"Lieutenant Hasumi Ren, the Captain's meeting is about to convene. Please follow me to the First Division conference room."
Hasumi Ren's expression turned serious, and he followed the member to the First Division.
The doors to the General Captain's conference room were wide open.
However, many seats were empty at the meeting.
Third Division Captain Rojuro Ootoibashi, Fifth Division Captain Hirako Shinji, Seventh Division Captain Love Aikawa, and Ninth Division Captain Muguruma Kensei.
The news of the four Captains' Hollowfication was already known to the Captains present.
The remaining few Captains all wore expressions of indescribable gravity.
The seats of Fourth Division Captain Unohana and Second Division Captain Shihoin Yoruichi, who were implicated in the incident, were also empty.
Hasumi Ren walked to the seat that originally belonged to Unohana and stood still. Beside him was the Second Division's acting Lieutenant, Omaeda.
Before long, Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni walked in slowly from the main entrance.
He walked to the head of the table, looked around, and his aged eyes swept over everyone present.
"At today's Captain's meeting, there is one matter I must inform you of."
"The existence of the Quincies has been confirmed."
"According to the latest intelligence, among the personnel imprisoned in the Maggot's Nest, former Twelfth Division researcher Kurotsuchi Mayuri has been credited for his report during the Urahara Kisuke defection incident."
"Kurotsuchi Mayuri, come forward."
As Yamamoto's voice faded, the figure of Kurotsuchi Mayuri walked in from outside the door.
Kurotsuchi Mayuri's pace was steady, and his blue hair was still stuck up in a messy tangle.
He glanced as he passed the empty seats, his gaze lingering for an instant on Hasumi Ren's position, before a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.
"Kurotsuchi Mayuri, state your situation to the Captains present."
Yamamoto said.
Kurotsuchi Mayuri nodded slightly and began to speak.
His voice was sharp and clear, sounding particularly piercing in the empty conference room.
"During his time as Third Seat of the Second Division, Urahara Kisuke entered the Maggot's Nest on multiple occasions, coercing me into assisting him with research regarding spatial technology."
"At the time, he demanded that I solve certain technical difficulties regarding spatial barriers in exchange for lifting a portion of the restrictions on my spiritual pressure."
"The technical data he provided had multiple points of overlap with the characteristics of the Quincy's 'Shadow Realm' that I later read about in the report handed to me by the Stealth Force."
"Therefore, I can confirm that he had already established a relationship with the enemies in the shadows before this."
Yamamoto nodded lightly and continued to ask.
"If that is the case, you must have also mastered the corresponding technology. Can you reproduce it?"
Kurotsuchi Mayuri nodded.
"Of course. The core points of this technology passed through my hands. After a simple compilation, I can naturally reproduce it."
"At that time, I can replicate that technology, open the gates to the Shadow Realm, and expose those Quincies to the sunlight of the Seireitei."
Yamamoto nodded.
"Good. The warrant for Urahara Kisuke has been issued. What must be done now is not just to pursue the accomplices of those who have already defected, but also to lock onto the enemies who have yet to surface."
"The Quincies will pay the price for their actions."
"Effective immediately, Kurotsuchi Mayuri is assigned to the Twelfth Division. He will lead the technical search for the Quincies' hiding place."
"Hikifune Kirio, you will oversee him."
Hikifune Kirio nodded slightly.
Kurotsuchi Mayuri bowed to Yamamoto and stood behind Hikifune Kirio.
However, at this moment, he looked at Hasumi Ren.
"Speaking of which, during those days in the Maggot's Nest assisting Urahara Kisuke with spatial technology research, I also saw Hasumi Ren..."
"I wonder if he is also aware of these matters?"
Hasumi Ren looked at Kurotsuchi Mayuri's eerily smiling face; he had not expected him to suddenly ask such a question at this time.
But Hasumi Ren already had a draft for these matters.
"During my time in the Second Division, I did work with Urahara Kisuke and assisted him with quite a few experiments."
His voice was steady.
"I have already submitted his reports on Hollowfication and spatial technology to Central 46 as evidence."
"However, I never anticipated that he would secretly commit such an act of betrayal against the Soul Society."
"When it comes down to it, he simply hid it too well."
Kurotsuchi Mayuri tilted his head as he looked at him, the curve of his mouth stretching wider and wider, finally letting out two short, sharp laughs.
"Kukuku, is that so... That is truly a pity."
Kurotsuchi Mayuri's gaze lingered on Hasumi Ren for a final instant, then he turned his head away and spoke no more.
When it came down to it, as long as Urahara Kisuke suffered, Kurotsuchi Mayuri was happy to see it.
Being able to kick him while he was down at a time like this was an unexpected bonus for him.
Yamamoto's cane struck the stone floor heavily.
"Led by Kurotsuchi Mayuri, the Twelfth Division and the Stealth Force will jointly launch a search for the Quincies' hideout."
"The campaign to subjugate the Quincies formally begins."