Chapter 126: New Address
The time Aizen had allocated wasn't particularly long, so Matsushita Yusuke simply marked the location and recalled the alt.
Technically speaking, he could have left it running here to grind levels on its own.
But this wasn't a game. Hueco Mundo was an unpredictable place.
You could be clearing out the starter zone and have something significantly above your weight class spawn in out of nowhere.
If that happened and the power dynamic flipped, the alt was gone. And who was he going to complain to about that?
Best to keep it cautious until the alt had enough strength to actually look after itself. Incremental progress. One step at a time.
No point rushing it anyway.
Based on the timeline and Aizen's plans, Hueco Mundo was almost certainly going to become the Club's personal backyard eventually.
Plenty of time to develop it.
Mind settled, Matsushita Yusuke made it back to the meeting point right on schedule. He and Tosen linked up within the agreed window and stepped through into Soul Society.
The debrief wasn't complicated. From the look on Aizen's face, he hadn't been expecting much to begin with. He'd likely run similar sweeps himself before the two of them ever set out.
Not hard to read the conclusion. Nothing found, unfortunately.
After a brief rundown of the situation, Aizen gave a small nod and mentioned that similar trips would be arranged going forward.
"But since Matsushita-kun has now taken on a captaincy, the workload will presumably be considerable. If the schedule doesn't allow—"
"It'll allow. It'll definitely allow."
No way.
You're running alt content and you weren't going to tell me?!
"Serving the organization is my life's greatest ambition!"
That actually threw Aizen. He held the moment for a beat, clearly not sure what to do with it, then eventually agreed.
"That's acceptable. But keep it discreet. That's the absolute minimum requirement."
No problem, boss. Consider it handled.
On the way back, Matsushita Yusuke could barely keep the grin off his face.
He'd gone into this thinking his primary growth path from here on out was Stardew Valley. Slow, steady, long-game management work.
Turns out there was also a first-wave exploration crew with a built-in idle farming system waiting for him.
The only reason he couldn't run it around the clock was that the alt still needed a bit more time in the field.
So what was there even to say?
Get Squad 11 built. Develop Hueco Mundo. Keep stacking value for the Club.
Let's go.
Two months passed in the blink of an eye.
On this particular morning, Matsushita Yusuke was already up early, standing in front of the mirror adjusting his uniform, well ahead of whatever time Soifon would have normally kicked the door in.
Which left Soifon, who had in fact just kicked the door in, with absolutely nothing to kick it in at.
She recovered quickly. Irritation found its angle with no effort at all.
"If you were up this early you could have just called me! What's the point of wasting time?"
"You really do have a talent for finding something to be annoyed about. I genuinely admire that."
"Excuse me?"
"Nothing, nothing. Joking. Ahem." He cleared his throat. "Getting to the point. Is everything else ready?"
Soifon crossed her arms, gave a firm nod.
"I locked down all the procedures and paperwork before end of shift yesterday. Everything's in order."
Two months.
From site selection through construction to today's final completion: Squad 11's new building was done.
Moving day. A significant occasion by any measure, both for Matsushita Yusuke personally and for the Gotei 13 as a whole.
Yusuke had been involved throughout, though a captain's concerns turned out to cover considerably more ground than he'd expected. The number of responsibility documents he'd signed over these two months alone had crossed triple digits, and at this point the sight of paperwork gave him a headache on contact.
He'd spent more time with Sasakibe lately than with Soifon.
Who exactly was the vice-captain here?
He let that thought pass with a quiet exhale and a small smile.
"Good. I always trust your work."
Soifon let herself be briefly satisfied by that. Then she composed her expression and moved on.
She'd traded out her usual wide outer robe and stealth gear for the standard shihakusho today. On a frame that was already slender, the effect was somehow even more slender. Standing there in plain, solid black, she looked like someone who hadn't quite been eating enough.
"Have you been eating properly lately?"
"My appetite's always been small. Has been since I was a kid. Don't worry about it."
"Is that right."
Matsushita Yusuke glanced over briefly.
No formal ID documents had been issued yet. The new Squad 11 identity materials hadn't been processed or distributed.
But on Soifon's right upper arm, already wrapped in place, was a small wooden tag.
Handwritten: Squad 11.
Clearly made by hand.
Nobles had a particular relationship with anything that marked identity and belonging. Soifon doing something like this was entirely in character.
"Let's go."
Matsushita Yusuke stepped out first.
Soifon answered, let out a short breath, and fell into step behind him, hands clasped at her sides.
"By the way, I have some good news. Want to hear it now?"
"What could possibly be more important than today?"
"You haven't seen the updated design plans, have you? I made some changes. The cafeteria is huge. Three separate stations with different menus. I had someone go out to Rukongai specifically to bring in a chef, so the food quality's actually going to be decent."
Soifon looked at him with mild incomprehension.
"You spent the budget on that?"
"Sure did. You like grilled fish, right?"
He gestured ahead without turning around.
"The chef I brought in does mackerel and sea bream. Both exceptional, apparently. You'll like it."
"...Mind your own business."
That was what she said.
What she did was turn her face to the right, away from him.
Her mouth curved up before she could stop it, and with it, something that had been locked down under two months of administrative weight briefly came loose. Just for a moment. Just light.
They reached the Squad 2 gate and found a familiar figure waiting just outside.
Omaeda Kishinoshin, dressed neatly, waving them over as they approached.
"Yoruichi-sama couldn't get out of bed this morning, so I'm the one seeing you off today."
Honest of him. Also not even slightly surprising.
Matsushita Yusuke nodded with a smile and said his goodbyes.
"Thanks for everything these past months. Really."
"Don't mention it. Come back and visit sometime, Matsushita-kun. Squad 2's door is always open."
He meant it.
"Same goes for you, Soifon."
They left the Squad 2 grounds and set out toward the destination.
Squad 11's new building sat near Squad 4, so the walk wasn't long. By the time pale morning light had fully settled in, Matsushita Yusuke was standing at the front gate.
And at that moment, something familiar materialized in front of his eyes.
[Squad 11 New Address: Completed]
[Quest complete... Rewards incoming]
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