Rukia hadn't told Hinamori that Nobu had come to Shin'ō Academy.
Not that she could be blamed—when Ganju had told her, Hinamori simply hadn't been there.
But after Nobu left, Rukia's state was… not quite right.
Sticky. Damp.
She still stood in the quiet corridor of the teaching building, not another soul around.
Leaning against the wall for a long time, she finally ducked into the nearest restroom.
When she came back out, the flush on her face still hadn't faded.
How did I never notice before… Kaichō is this bad!
Or maybe all boys were like this?
What had happened today made Rukia feel that Kaichō's habit of ruffling her hair in the past… had also been him taking advantage.
And yet—she didn't dislike it at all.
Flustered by Nobu's teasing, she'd had no choice but to remove a certain restrictive piece of clothing and tuck it into her pocket.
Without it, she felt just a little… chilly.
Fortunately, by the time she returned to the Student Council office, she'd already smoothed her expression.
"Rukia!"
She had no idea how Hinamori had appeared in front of her so suddenly, eyes fixed on her like an interrogator.
"Where did you go?"
"Out for a bit," Rukia said offhandedly. "I went to inspect the main stage in the plaza."
"Did you now?" Hinamori's face said she didn't believe a word.
Rukia's eyes flicked toward Ganju. He was looking their way—and when he met her gaze, he quickly looked away, guilty.
"I just heard from Ganju that Kaichō came to the Academy," Hinamori said.
Rukia nodded calmly.
"I heard that too."
"You didn't go to find him?"
"We ran into each other—Hisagi-senpai and Aoshika-senpai were there too. We exchanged a few words," Rukia replied. "I was busy at the time, and Kaichō said he didn't want to disturb our work, so he didn't come to the Student Council. He said he'd be back tonight for the fireworks."
"…"
Hinamori couldn't say much more after that.
When she'd first heard Kaichō was here, she'd instinctively thought Rukia must have gone to him—and had gone out searching herself, only to find no sign of him.
Still… she had the nagging feeling Rukia was hiding something.
But knowing Kaichō would be back that evening eased her mind a little.
Rukia tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Under her uniform, the slight coolness made her legs press together without thinking, but she forced herself to act composed.
"Go on, then. We've still got a lot to do today."
...
Evening.
The Student Council had announced the fireworks show ahead of time, so even more shinigami came to the Academy at this hour.
Captains and vice-captains from many divisions gathered as well, and the Thirteenth had even given everyone the day off for the occasion.
Nobu came with Captain Unohana Retsu and Kotetsu Isane.
The plaza was packed—so much so that weaving through the crowd was an effort. Along both sides of the streets, stalls sold goods or ran little games.
Unohana glanced around and murmured,
"Even livelier than last year."
The stalls were laid out in a neat grid across the plaza, paper lanterns hanging from every tent. Students stood out front, hawking with all their energy, giving the place a true festival atmosphere.
And it wasn't just Academy students and shinigami—Nobu spotted plenty of people in bright yukata. It seemed this year's festival had been opened to Seireitei's residents as well.
He bought a few skewers of syrup-glazed dango from a stall, handing one to Isane.
After tasting it, he asked Unohana,
"Captain, would you like one?"
Unohana only gave him a sidelong glance, smiling faintly without answering.
"Not bad," Isane said after trying hers.
Then she smiled.
"If Yachiru were here, she'd love this."
They turned a corner—and found themselves in front of a goldfish-scooping stall, where the hulking form of Captain Zaraki Kenpachi crouched, wielding a delicate scooper and repeatedly trying to net a darting fish. Beside him, Kusajishi Yachiru clutched both hands full of snacks, chirping,
"Ken-chan, you're so slow! Are you ever gonna catch one?"
Kenpachi's face was all irritation. Ikkaku and Yumichika stood nearby, doing their best not to laugh.
They exchanged greetings when they met. Zaraki's gaze settled calmly on Unohana first, then shifted to Nobu.
"Kid."
His voice was deep and rough—fitting for him.
"Why haven't you ever come to Eleventh?"
He meant the invitations Ikkaku and Yumichika had made more than once for Nobu to visit their division.
"Work keeps me too busy," Nobu answered evenly.
"You? A Third Seat? That busy?"
"Fourth Division's not the same as Eleventh—we've got injured and sick to care for every day."
Zaraki frowned, glanced at Unohana again, then said,
"Fine. When you've got time, come by."
Nobu found that amusing—he'd expected Zaraki to snap that he was just making excuses.
Then he realized it was probably because Unohana was standing right there.
Zaraki tossed the flimsy scooper aside.
"I'm done. Let's go."
"Ken-chan! You haven't caught mine yet!" Yachiru protested.
"Ikkaku, buy her two."
"I don't want bought ones—I want caught ones!"
"Quit whining."
"You're so lame, Ken-chan!"
The Eleventh Division group soon disappeared into the crowd.
Nobu crouched where Zaraki had been, picked up a scooper, and easily netted a fish. Turning to Unohana with a smile,
"Captain, Isane-san, want to try?"
"Sure."
Unohana watched the fish Nobu had caught for a moment, then nodded. She crouched, took the scooper from him, and likewise caught a lively goldfish.
For them, such games posed no difficulty at all. Isane tried too, interested.
The students running the stall were flustered—two captains in a row, plus the former Student Council president.
"It's so easy… why couldn't Captain Zaraki catch one?" Nobu mused aloud.
He'd been asking Unohana, but she looked at the fish in her net without answering.
Isane considered.
"You have to be careful and patient for this kind of game. Maybe Captain Zaraki's just not suited for it."
"He doesn't need to be," Unohana said suddenly.
"And catching one… what would that prove?"
She tipped her fish back into the tank, set the scooper down, and stood to leave.
"…"
Isane paid and hurried after her. Nobu glanced at the tank—at the fish she'd released, swimming on as best it could.
Flowing water may cradle swimming scales, but it cannot wash away the rust of mercy that's lingered a thousand years.
Some blades had dulled so far, they could no longer cut even a ripple.
A streak of fire shot into the sky, bursting into brilliance against the night.
Every head in the plaza tilted upward to watch the fireworks bloom over the dark canopy.
Tonight, Seireitei wouldn't be sleeping early.
Nobu had half a taiyaki in his mouth—Isane had bought it—and his puffed-cheek chewing made her laugh.
She turned her gaze upward to the flowers in the sky, thinking quietly, So beautiful.
If only the Captain weren't here, she could have Nobu to herself…
But she couldn't just spirit him away and leave the Captain alone.
Still—she wondered, in a scene like this, would Nobu say something to her if they were alone?
While others admired the fireworks, Isane's eyes stayed on him. Nobu turned and smiled at her.
"What is it, Isane-san?"
Her cheeks grew warm—but the fireworks' glare and the red-and-yellow lanterns along the street disguised it well.
"Kaichō!"
The shout came from the crowd.
Two figures pushed through to them—Hinamori and Rukia.
Seeing Nobu beside the Captain and Vice-Captain of the Fourth, they quickly smothered their delight and bowed respectfully.
Her…
Isane's chest tightened at the sight of Hinamori.
She already knew her. A few days ago, Hinamori had come to deliver the festival notice to Fourth Division, leaving a stronger impression.
That girl definitely liked Nobu.
And the other one—the way she looked at him was much the same.
Isane's thoughts spun. Nobu was the kind of man women liked—looks, personality, talent, all exceptional.
Had her lack of response to his confession made him give up on her?
It was possible.
Nobu didn't have to be with her—these two girls were both adorable, surely popular with men. Not like her—so tall she seemed out of place.
Nobu…
"It's you two," Nobu greeted with a smile.
Unohana gave them a brief smile and looked away.
"Kaichō, you really did come," Hinamori said happily.
"Of course. After all, you worked so hard to prepare it."
After a pause, Nobu said to Unohana and Isane,
"Captain, Isane-san, I'll step away for a bit."
Isane watched his back as he walked off with the two girls, her heart sinking.
"What is it, Isane?" Unohana's voice was gentle.
"Nothing, Captain," she answered quickly.
"The fireworks are beautiful…"
Her eyes shifted from that retreating back to the dazzling night sky. The blossoms bloomed in her gaze for only a moment before her lashes lowered, hiding her tangled thoughts.
...
Hinamori hadn't wanted to come with Rukia—but finding Kaichō wasn't something she could let Rukia do alone. She'd even thought of splitting up to search, but what if Rukia found him first?
And then… what if she did something with him?
So she stuck by Rukia's side.
Better not to see Kaichō at all than to let Rukia get ahead.
But now, standing before him, she felt awkward. A rare chance to see him—and there were three of them.
They'd wanted to find a quiet spot to talk, but the plaza's edges were full of couples. In the end, they had no choice but to keep wandering the crowded lanes.
Hinamori slipped her hand into Nobu's, glancing at his other hand—only to see Rukia holding it. The irritation burned.
"Are you two… hiding something from me?"
Nobu's sudden question made them both jump.
"What?"
"No!"
Both felt a twinge of guilt—because their "fair competition" pact was something they'd kept from him.
Nobu only smiled.
"The fireworks are beautiful tonight. Seems Kūka-san had been planning this for a while."
Rukia nodded.
"Shiba-san's been very dedicated to it."
Hinamori added,
"Kaichō, I heard about the Gotei 13 exchange meet. You're amazing—to beat a vice-captain with bankai!"
"And I heard you might be captain soon," Rukia said.
"And who told you all this?" Nobu asked, amused.
"My family, and Ganju."
"I saw Shiro-chan—Hitsugaya—last week," Hinamori said. "He told me all about the exchange meet. He's strong too."
"I've no plans to be captain yet," Nobu said. "The Third's new captain will be chosen between the vice-captains of Fifth and Thirteenth."
"Why wouldn't you want to be captain?" Hinamori asked.
"No real reason. Just don't want to."
"Oh…"
Hinamori's grip on his hand tightened, as if to pour all her feelings into him—feelings stronger than Rukia's, she was sure.
But then she wondered—was Rukia doing the same on his other side?
A sideways glance showed Rukia smiling at him, open and genuine—as if they were a couple.
It made Hinamori's chest ache. She abruptly let go.
Why is Kaichō holding her hand too?
Right in front of me? Doesn't he like me? Doesn't he know this makes me uncomfortable?
But just as she released him, Nobu casually caught her hand again, tracing her palm with his fingers.
Hinamori pressed her lips together—but the smile returned to her face at once.