In the Great Archive, the air momentarily became quiet.
Everything was calculated, except for the final outcome.
Facing the empty bookshelf, even Aizen showed an unusual silence.
After a while...
A gentle smile once again appeared on his broad face, as if nothing had happened.
"What an unexpected move."
Aizen chuckled, "To think that the entire bookshelf was emptied."
"So, what do you want to know?" Gin asked curiously. "And what was originally on this bookshelf?"
"The heir of the Tsunayashiro Clan, Tsunayashiro Tokikaze."
Aizen calmly replied, "The details about him, from birth to the present, every detail of them."
"Obviously, our colleague has some secrets he doesn't want others to know."
"In that case, let's go and see the next answer."
"I hope I won't be disappointed this time..."
Watching Aizen step onto the platform again, Gin frowned.
In his impression, Aizen represented impeccable calculations and control over everything.
Yet today, he had suffered a setback for the first time.
Gin glanced at the empty bookshelf once again, suddenly feeling an urge to do something similarly clever.
Since you had secrets that you didn't want others to find out, you emptied an entire shelf on the Great Archive. As the heir of the Tsunayashiro Clan, Tokikaze indeed had such an authority.
Gin's face showed a smile that was not quite a smile, once again becoming deeply interested in his colleague.
Perhaps there was a common language between them.
At Aizen's beckoning, Gin flashed to the platform, and the two continued downward.
This time, it was much smoother. When they stopped again, the bookshelf in front of them was filled with books of the same format.
Aizen reached out and picked up a book directly, flipping it open. Familiar words flashed past Gin's peripheral vision.
"Urahara Kisuke?"
...
3rd District West Rukongai.
Tokikaze never expected the incident to escalate to this extent.
A pink cat-girl with deep red short hair was on top of Tokikaze.
Her legs were wrapped around his waist, and her hands were locked over his chest.
"How wonderful!" The cat-girl rubbed against Tokikaze's neck, "This is my purpose."
"Matsumoto Rangiku, that stupid woman, doesn't understand what I'm thinking at all."
Beside them, Matsumoto Rangiku watched the scene with a grim face.
Not even Tokikaze himself had anticipated that things would spiral out of control like this.
Before encountering Haineko, she had thought they might draw their swords and engage in a one-on-one battle, with her eventually defeating and reining in the cat.
Or perhaps, because of her weakened strength due to the loss of her Zanpakuto, she would be defeated by Haineko.
To be precise, both scenarios were correct.
After dealing with the Ninth Division's affairs, Matsumoto Rangiku used Bakudo #58 to track down Haineko.
Then, they engaged in a battle.
Everything seemed to be going according to plan until Tokikaze arrived, and the situation took a bizarre turn.
Haineko abandoned her, turning to Tokikaze instead, clinging to him like a pendant and rubbing against him forcefully.
Witnessing this scene, Matsumoto Rangiku felt as if she had turned green from head to toe, feeling completely embarrassed.
Although she had tried several times to forcibly pull the cat away from Tokikaze, but she almost ended up pulling the Captain haori off instead.
Helpless, Matsumoto Rangiku could only stand aside, angrily watching the scene unfold before her.
Hmph, like a female cat in heat!
Tokikaze was now seriously suspecting that he had somehow acquired the properties of catnip. Otherwise, how could this thing suddenly happen?
"Enough already," he reminded, "At this rate, Rangiku will break her sword."
Hearing Tokikaze's words, Haineko reluctantly let go of him.
"So, is it because of this that you chose to rebel?" Matsumoto Rangiku grabbed the collar of Haineko's clothes, staring fiercely at the unyielding face in front of her, and growled softly.
"Hey hey, old hag, what's with the attitude?" Haineko directly transformed into a fierce posture when facing Matsumoto Rangiku.
"If it weren't for your indecisiveness, why would I choose to rebel?"
"And your poor skills in using aphrodisiacs didn't work at all!"
With these words, Matsumoto Rangiku's face flushed red with anger. She claimed that under the influence of her anger, she could fight off three Haineko alone.
With curses thrown at each other, neither of them would back down.
"Alright, stop messing around." Tokikaze rubbed his throbbing forehead in frustration. "Haineko, go back to your Zanpakuto Form for now."
"After this turmoil is over, you can compete with Rangiku again."
Zanpakuto was forged from the souls of Soul Reaper. Strictly speaking, a Zanpakuto often represented another aspect of a Soul Reaper, or a part of their personality.
Like Suzumebachi before, who often used malicious words to criticize her master, Soi-Fon, such as calling her an outdated old hag, reflecting a facet of Soi-Fon's personality.
Haineko was the same.
Matsumoto Rangiku and Tokikaze had grown up together since childhood, leaving indelible marks on each other's souls.
Although Matsumoto Rangiku usually was not in good shape, she still cared deeply about Tokikaze's every move.
After taking a physical form, Haineko showed an unusually affectionate side to Tokikaze, which was considered normal behavior.
At Tokikaze's command, Haineko pouted and gave Matsumoto Rangiku a resentful glare before reaching out and hugging Tokikaze's waist again. Then, after lightly pecking his face, she turned into a beam of light and returned to the Zanpakuto.
"She...I...You...you!"
Matsumoto Rangiku was furious, pulling out her Zanpakuto from its sheath. "You despicable creature, get out of there!"
Reiatsu poured into the Zanpakuto, but there was no response.
Obviously, without fully subjugating the Zanpakuto, Haineko still harbored resentment towards Matsumoto Rangiku under the influence of Muramasa's power.
"No, as the Vice-Captain of the Ninth Division, how can I lose to a Zanpakuto?!"
The more Matsumoto Rangiku thought about it, the angrier she became, and her cute face seemed to swell like a pufferfish.
In her fury, she also grabbed Tokikaze and, in an extremely assertive manner, kissed him directly on the mouth!