Early the next morning, Masatsuki Aozaki woke up shortly after sunrise.
His mind was clear, and despite only getting a few hours of sleep, he didn't feel tired at all.
"Haah~"
Kūkaku Shiba let out a big yawn, groggily scratching her head.
Her hair was a tangled mess, sticky and clumped together. Tugging at it hurt, so she simply gave up dealing with it.
Masatsuki Aozaki, amused, gently poked her cheek with a fond expression.
"Hey, wake up already. Are you planning to sleep until nightfall again?"
"Mmgh… what's it matter? I'm the head of the family!"
Kūkaku Shiba let out a rare, spoiled-sounding mumble as she snuggled closer to him in protest.
It was undeniably cute, but the two of them had long since moved past the stage where every little action sent their hearts racing.
With saint-like willpower, Masatsuki Aozaki resisted her charms.
Still, he figured teasing her a little wouldn't hurt—after all, it wasn't every day he got to see this usually fearless and strong-willed woman acting so adorably.
Smirking, he pinched the soft flesh of her cheek while his other hand slipped under the covers.
"…You're pushing it, you know."
Kūkaku's eyes snapped open, and she let out a startled yelp.
It took her a few seconds to shake off the haze of sleep, but once she realized this smug man was treating her like a toy, her pretty face immediately twisted into an intimidating scowl.
Then, without hesitation, she pinched his waist hard and clicked her tongue in annoyance.
"Tch. Hurry up and help me take a bath."
"Yes, yes… Just toss me aside the moment you've had your fun, huh?"
Masatsuki Aozaki let out a helpless chuckle, scooped her up in his arms, threw on a robe, and carried her toward the bath.
As he stepped into the warm water with her still in his arms, he flashed a mischievous grin.
"If the souls in West Rukongai knew their Ane-san had a man, I wonder what kind of faces they'd make."
Kūkaku shot him a disgusted look. "At your age, you're already making the same sleazy old-man expressions as Isshin? Who the hell did you learn that from?"
She gave him two half-hearted punches before giving up on resisting altogether.
In Soul Society, two or three hundred years old was still considered young, let alone Masatsuki, who was only in his early twenties.
Resting her chin in her palm, she sighed. How the hell had she fallen for this guy?
She thought back…
When they first met, this guy had approached the Shiba family under the guise of a business deal.
At the time, Kaien was too focused on training and gathering subordinates to handle family affairs, leaving the household struggling financially. So, she agreed to Masatsuki's proposal without much hesitation.
Sure enough, after that, the Shiba family's wealth steadily grew.
And then, at some point, this kid started showing up every few days to see her.
Back then, he wasn't exactly innocent, but when it came to relationships, he was definitely clueless.
It was obvious to everyone what he was after—herself included.
Still, he was easy on the eyes, and more importantly, he was fun to be around. So, she humored him.
As time went on, Masatsuki Aozaki somehow became more and more her type… and, well, one thing led to another.
But thinking about it now—how did that awkward little brat, who used to hide in her arms, turn into this smug bastard?
If it weren't for this fateful entanglement with him, she might've never ended up with a man in her entire life.
She could've just spent her days perfecting fireworks, free from all these distractions.
This damn guy… it was all his fault.
Kūkaku Shiba frowned, looking both annoyed and exasperated. "Give me back my life, you brat!"
"Alright, alright, then I'll compensate you with mine," Masatsuki Aozaki said, spreading his arms before pulling her into a tight embrace.
At this rate, he was probably going to miss work at the 2nd Division again.
Holding Kūkaku close, Masatsuki gazed at her hazy, half-lidded eyes before something suddenly came to mind.
"Speaking of which, where's my brother-in-law?"
"You—why would you bring him up now of all times?" Kūkaku glared at him, clearly irritated. "I think he went to apply to the Shin'ō Academy."
Already fully immersed in the moment, she shot him a sharp look, as if blaming him for ruining the mood.
"First it was Uncle Isshin, and now my brother—are you planning to drag my whole family into trouble?"
What's he going to the Shin'ō Academy for? Is he coming after me? Masatsuki mused before kissing her cheek in an apologetic gesture.
"Uncle Isshin joining the Gotei 13 was definitely my fault, I admit that. But I had nothing to do with your brother applying to the Shin'ō Academy."
"You easily took him down last time. Maybe he couldn't accept it and decided to join the Gotei 13 to get stronger," Kūkaku muttered through gritted teeth, barely holding back a sound.
"With his talent, getting into the Shin'ō Academy should be a breeze," Masatsuki noted, glancing at Kūkaku as his hand continued moving beneath the water.
She let out a muffled gasp.
Even though the Shiba family had fallen from grace, they still carried the bloodline of one of the Five Great Noble Clans, granting them naturally powerful Reiatsu.
Take Kūkaku, for example—she had spent her entire life obsessed with fireworks while also managing the family, barely dedicating any time to actual Reiatsu training. Yet, her spiritual pressure had still reached the level of a Seated Officer.
That was the power of bloodline inheritance.
It made Masatsuki wonder—just what kind of people were the ancestors of the Five Great Noble Clans? Even after so many generations, their descendants still carried exceptional talent that far surpassed ordinary souls.
But lingering on unrelated thoughts now would just kill the mood.
So instead, he focused on enjoying the moment, just as Kūkaku wanted.
She let out another soft hum before responding eagerly.
A full day and night passed as they indulged in each other's company...
In the bedroom, Masatsuki Aozaki exhaled deeply.
Kūkaku was still resting in his arms, her long black hair spilling over her shoulders, her fair face flushed and alluring.
He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, carefully pulled the blanket over her, and then got up to prepare for departure.
After dressing, he walked to the head of the bed and pressed a hidden mechanism on the wall.
A moment later, a concealed compartment slid open, revealing a wooden box inside.
Masatsuki formed a complex hand seal, activating the Kidō technique Kūkaku had taught him.
The box unlocked automatically, revealing a scroll inside.
This was the training method for Getsuga Tenshō.
It had taken him an entire day and night to convince Kūkaku to let him learn it.
As he flipped through the scroll, his mind drifted back to the sword pressure technique he had studied under old man Yamamoto.
Getsuga Tenshō felt like an advanced variation of sword pressure.
Standard sword pressure involved releasing Reiatsu through a Zanpakutō. But Getsuga Tenshō took it a step further—it required compressing the Reiatsu before unleashing the slash.
This made it an excellent test of a Shinigami's control over their spiritual energy.
But for Masatsuki, it wasn't anything groundbreaking.
Just another small technique… he thought casually.
And that was exactly what it was to him—a minor skill.
He didn't even bother taking the scroll with him.
After reading through it twice, he had already memorized every detail.
(40 Chapters Ahead)
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