Chapter 127: Harvest Day
Squad 11's new building was finished. That alone was cause for celebration.
But for Matsushita Yusuke, the harvest ran considerably deeper than that.
Soifon was better at handling the stream of well-wishers anyway. She was more professional about it. Yusuke made a quick circuit of greetings, excused himself from the crowd, and slipped inside the building to do his own walkthrough.
He'd been through the place several times already during construction, but today was the finished product. Worth seeing properly.
The contractors had come through Sasakibe, and were apparently among the most respected craftsmen in Soul Society. Going by the lead craftsman's expression today, he seemed fairly satisfied with how it had all turned out.
"The training dojo was expanded in both width and depth per your instructions. We also incorporated dedicated space for barrier work. That section is honestly my favorite part of this whole job."
Squad 11's core function was combat, and Yusuke had accounted for that from the start of planning.
They needed to train.
No training, no improvement, no winning fights. Pretty simple logic.
Canon hadn't shown much of Squad 11's interior, but the glimpses that existed were mostly dojo scenes. Back when Zaraki was running the place, he'd regularly haul his whole squad in for wrestling and general mayhem on a completely casual basis. Probably hadn't let them get away with slacking on the regular either.
Naturally, Matsushita Yusuke had no intention of abandoning that particular tradition.
Keep stacking the reps.
"Next would be the dormitories. I'll be honest, I still think the layout you specified wastes a lot of space. But I won't pretend the result isn't impressive from a comfort standpoint."
That assessment coming from a craftsman who'd seen it all meant something.
Matsushita Yusuke had given every member of the squad their own private unit. En suite bathroom included. Essentially a self-contained studio apartment.
In-squad relationships were a reasonable occurrence and nobody was going to make it anyone's business, but that was a niche situation and not something to design around.
"I put a priority on the squad's internal atmosphere. Everyone's comfort matters to me."
The craftsman gave a thoughtful nod.
He hadn't run into many clients who took the dormitories that seriously.
"The cafeteria was completed to your original specifications. Roughly five hundred people eating simultaneously, no problem."
That had been Yusuke's target size from the start, so nothing surprising there.
But stack all of it together, and the trade-off became fairly obvious.
"The issue is, well. There's essentially no space left for formal reception."
Diplomatically put, but clear enough.
For a squad facility that followed standard Gotei 13 conventions, certain things were considered non-negotiable. Rock gardens. Decorative stonework. Long formal corridors, partitioned waiting areas, proper reception rooms, meeting halls.
None of that had been built.
Which was awkward to say outright, but at this point the words had to come out.
"It doesn't really look like a normal squad's layout..."
Matsushita Yusuke glanced around the space, taking it all in, and produced a thoroughly satisfied expression.
What exactly was the problem?
It all looked great to him.
Reception rooms and formal meeting spaces were pointless in his opinion. If a conversation actually needed to happen, the izakaya down the road worked fine. Even someone as composed as Aizen loosened up after a few drinks and started grinning like an idiot. Why build elaborate rooms for the same result?
Use the space for something that actually matters.
"You know how it is. Squad 11 has always done things differently, so in the finer details of layout, we don't need to do what everyone else does."
The craftsman's expression went somewhere between resigned and baffled. He opened his mouth, reconsidered, and closed it again.
Matsushita Yusuke managed to keep his amusement internal.
The Squad 11 exemption card. Genuinely one of the most useful things he had.
"If there are no issues then, please sign here, Captain."
Captain, was it. Honestly, even now that carried a faint, complicated charge of something.
Matsushita Yusuke exhaled quietly, took the form, and signed.
[Sign Off on Squad 11 Renovation Plan]
[Quest complete... Rewards incoming]
Like the completion notification for the new building that had come in just before this, both of these triggered together. The pattern was what he'd expected.
These past two months had produced almost nothing in the way of standalone rewards. Everything had been stacked into this one event, held pending the Squad 11 project landing cleanly.
There hadn't been a better option. Without a confirmed location, recruiting was impossible, and without people, nothing else could be organized. A commander with no troops couldn't run anything. You needed the pieces before you could play.
But those two months of groundwork had been worth it.
Now it was time to collect.
Yusuke was deeply pleased with himself about this, though he kept it off his face. Other people were still present, and some degree of composure was probably appropriate. He coughed twice, smoothed his expression, and sent the craftsman off with genuine warmth.
That handled, the day's business still wasn't done.
Other squads had sent their congratulations in person.
Soifon was leading someone through the entrance. The outer robe the visitor was wearing made identification immediate, almost effortless.
Matsushita Yusuke moved forward to meet them.
"Captain Kyoraku, you made it."
The man himself was holding a full gift set and smiling pleasantly as he handed it over.
"Well, I haven't had much on my plate lately, so I figured I'd come a bit early. Hope that's not an inconvenience?"
Not remotely.
Completely welcome, in fact.
"Is Yadomaru-senpai not with you?"
Yadomaru Lisa was technically a rank below him, but within the Seireitei's culture, seniority ran on age and experience as much as rank. Yusuke was the youngest captain in the building, and that meant any seniority advantage he held on paper evaporated in situations like this one.
"Her? She's back at the squad taking care of everything. Why do you think I was able to get out?"
If Lisa ever heard that, things would get unpleasant fast.
Matsushita Yusuke smiled awkwardly and took a small step back.
"Please, come in."
Soifon would handle the actual reception. Yusuke didn't need to hover.
"Oh, and this. I really do insist you take it."
He looked at the gift box Kyoraku was presenting. Curiosity got the better of him.
"What is it?"
"My absolute favorite porcelain brand. They just released a new sake-tasting set. Very elegant."
Before Matsushita Yusuke could respond, Soifon, who had been wearing a perfectly composed smile a moment before, let the corner of her mouth twitch visibly.
A quiet, unmistakable click of the tongue.