Retsu Unohana

Eleventh Division Headquarters, Soul Society

Two Weeks Later

1:00 AM

"Left!"

Ikkaku shouted out of nowhere, making me instinctively move my wooden sword to my left arm, but the strike didn't come from the left; it came from the right, hitting me right on the knee and making me fall to the ground on my knees.

"Ouch!" I cried out in pain.

"Why didn't you defend, Hanataro?" Ikkaku asked as he stepped back to let me get up. He loved asking these questions whenever I did something wrong. I think it's his way of getting revenge for being "defeated" by me, a simple and fragile member of the medical team.

"Because you suddenly shouted 'left'!" I said simply after getting up.

"You idiot! Why did you believe me? I'm your enemy while we're training," he said, giving me another lesson.

I didn't respond. Instead, I assumed the stance he taught me, with both hands on the sword at waist height. He taught me various basic kendo stances; the one I'm using now is focused on attack and defense, which is what he's training me on today. We stared at each other for a few seconds. I focused my vision on Ikkaku's feet. He's faster than me, even though he's using a higher speed than when we first fought. Watching his feet helps a bit.

Ikkaku is wearing the common shinigami robes and wielding a training sword like mine.

Then he attacked. I could barely see him as he got in front of me, this time with a low strike from left to right aimed at my stomach. I moved my sword down and tilted it slightly. When his strike hit my sword, I pushed back hard, forcing him to distance himself from me. He didn't go far because he's stronger than me. I attacked his leg with my sword, but Ikkaku stepped back twice, and when I lost my posture, his sword was already at my neck.

"I see you've improved. Great!" he said, removing the katana from my neck and stepping back again.

"You defended against my strike and managed to counterattack. Your footwork was almost perfect; you just needed to move faster in the counterattack," he continued.

"Ikkaku, even if I moved ten times faster, you'd still dodge because of your speed," I said, not too happy with his praise.

Along with my lack of experience, it's practically impossible for me to beat him in Zanjutsu. I could only win in other areas like Kido, if he didn't take the fight seriously, of course.

"I've told you before, Hanataro, the purpose of training isn't to beat me, it's to learn. Or did you forget?" he replied.

"I know," I said.

Two weeks had passed since all that confusion happened. We had to call another healer to tend to Ikkaku's injuries. I was completely exhausted after casting that high-level Hadou, so while he was recovering in the medical facility, I was summoned to Captain Unohana's office. Somehow, she found out about it, and I remember that conversation very well. I thought I was going to die that day.

****************************FLASHBACK****************************

I was walking down the hallway of the Fourth Division Headquarters after spending a few minutes in the medical facility. It was almost midnight.

I was quite apprehensive. I had never been called to the captain's office, not even when I ended up in this body and was still assimilating everything. I walked calmly, finding the eerie silence of the hallway strange. I neither heard nor saw a living soul, which gave me an uneasy feeling. After a few minutes, I arrived at the door and knocked three times, waiting for a response.

"Come in," said a gentle voice.

I gently opened the door, letting the cold air from the room flow through the corridor. I entered and closed the door. In front of me was a large room made of light wood. In its center was a small empty table with an ikebana arrangement on it, something Unohana liked a lot, which was funny since her love for it was so strong that she even had an Ikebana club, where she was the president.

I saw that one of the wooden sliding panels filled with translucent paper, which made up the walls of the room, was open. I walked over and crossed it, entering the office's garden. There was a pond surrounded by stones and grass.

"I'm right here, Hanataro-san."

Unohana's voice reached my ears. I turned to see her sitting at the end of the wooden corridor connected by stairs, using her knees for support. I went to her and sat in the same position.

"Long time no see, Captain," I said, starting the conversation.

"In that regard, you're like Isane. I've told you many times that when we're alone, you can call me by my given name. It seems like both of you share this stubbornness," Unohana said, laughing.

I took a closer look at Unohana-san. She appeared as a slender, very young woman with blue eyes and black hair. She wore the standard black shinigami kimono with a white haori over it, bearing the number of our division inside the Gotei 13 emblem, which was a diamond shape. Her long hair was worn in a large braid down the front of her body.

I had only one word to describe her: beautiful. She was one of my favorite characters in the series, even though she didn't have much screen time and never entered a battle, at least not as far as I had seen.

"Sorry, Unohana-san," I apologized.

"No need to apologize, Hanataro-san. Before we get to the main topic, how are your studies in healing Kaidō?"

Ah, it seemed that before I ended up in this body, the original Hanataro was studying Kaidō. I admit I had thrown those studies aside to focus on Hadou. I don't regret it, as those studies came in handy. Even so, I still have memories of those studies. He was focused on mastering more Kaidō to reduce his Reiryoku expenditure, which was higher than most division members, only losing to the first seat, Lieutenant Isane, and finally, Captain Unohana.

"Progress has been satisfactory," I said.

It was a half-truth since his control over Reiryoku and Kaidō had improved significantly but was still far from being comparable to a lieutenant, for example.

"I see. In that regard, you shine like your brother, even though you have completely different

personalities," Unohana said, hesitating a bit on the last sentence.

"Huh?"

A look of surprise appeared on my face before I hid it. I have a brother? But how is that possible? I should have seen that I had a brother when I looked through the memories of the original owner of this body, which means the memories came incomplete, something I had been theorizing for a while but never confirmed until now.

The worst part is that I don't remember any mention or appearance of him in the series. There's a possibility he only appeared in the novels, which I haven't read, unfortunately.

"How is he?"

I needed to gather any information about him, even if it was minimal.

"Since he was transferred to the medical institute in the noble district, I've lost contact with him despite sending letters. I'm sorry," Unohana replied.

"Transferred?" I asked, trying to extract more information about my brother.

"Didn't you know? I thought you two still communicated even though he was a dubious character."

"We were never very close," I lied.

The revelation was still poking at me forcefully, but I ignored it. This was something I had to deal with later, even though I had a strange feeling about it, as if I lost something extremely important that I should know.

"Although I wouldn't be surprised if it was your brother who got into a foolish fight, but you? It's something I never would have imagined," Unohana said, disappointed, getting to the main topic.

I couldn't find the strength to speak. I felt something gripping my throat tightly, and all I could do was listen and endure what was to come.

"Even though I'm proud you were able to cast that Hadou perfectly, I can't just let this slide, especially since it wasn't with just any division but the Eleventh Division," Unohana said.

With each word, her face grew more disappointed, and the weight of it all fell on me like a meteor shower.

"Everyone knows our bond with the Eleventh Division is the weakest among the thirteen divisions, despite being part of the same organization that has the exact function of preventing these incidents. You two were lucky no noble was wandering in that area, or you would have been accused of murder or something worse. With all this commotion, I should expel you from your post."

"What?"

There's no way I can lose this position. It's my only means of earning money. Without it, I'd be in deep trouble, and the only option left would be to live in Rokongai and find a job, which is incomparable to being a shinigami. Being expelled from my post means being expelled from my division and ultimately from Gotei 13.

"But... When Yumichika Ayasegawa came to me about your request to be taught Zanjutsu by Ikkaku Madarame, an idea came to my mind."

A big smile appeared on Unohana-san's face. A shiver ran through my body suddenly. That damned smile again; I don't know why, but it always makes me tremble.

"What idea?" I asked, curious and a bit fearful.

"Besides being trained in Zanjutsu, you will also have the task of strengthening the bond between our division and the Eleventh Division, showing them that we in the Fourth Division are not weak. This will be your punishment, Seventh Seat Hanataro Yamada," Unohana said gently.

Probably, this would be a task the original Hanataro could never accomplish due to his personality, but for me, it won't be too difficult. I know well how to earn that division's respect.

"But one more thing, never try to attract the attention of Zaraki Kenpachi if you don't want a painful death. Do you hear me?" Unohana said seriously.

"Yes, Unohana!" I said a bit louder than I intended, firmly.

My face turned red as I lowered it, trying to hide it. Unohana-san simply chuckled before turning her face to look at the starry sky.

"It seems like it's already completely dark. It seems like I've already taken up a lot of your time. You can go now if you want."

I stood up and bowed to show respect. I headed towards the door leading to the office entrance but then stopped abruptly. No, my body froze. Then I heard the voice that would haunt my nightmares.

"You know, I always watched you with great interest. After all, your brother Seinosuke Yamada was my former lieutenant a hundred years ago, and he had great potential. I was eager to meet you and witness your talent, something you shared with your older brother."

With each word, my body trembled. I could feel my muscles roaring with fear. My breathing grew heavier, and it was very difficult to breathe. The strength in my legs vanished, and I fell to my knees while sweat drops appeared on my face.

"But soon I confess I was disappointed. Each day I saw you, you had a heart too gentle for a shinigami, very naive, and lacked confidence. With that, I saw the consequences. Members regularly intimidated you, and you simply accepted it as if it were no problem, along with people trying to convince you, and you let them."

The reiatsu increased with each passing moment, and for the first time, I felt the fear of death.

"Even so, in a way, I became attached to you with your gentle and naive nature. But that changed two weeks ago. To put it better, you changed. You became more confident, more fearless, and less naive. I could feel a ripple in your reiatsu, as if you were a different person."

Somehow, I managed to turn my head back, and what I saw was a demon in human skin. The gentle eyes she had simply disappeared, replaced by dark and threatening eyes. I could see those eyes had taken more lives than both my lives combined.

"Do you have something to tell me, Yamada?"

"No... Captain Unohana," I said with difficulty.

The enormous reiatsu disappeared like the wind, and I left as quickly as possible. I hoped never to encounter Unohana alone again.

****************************END OF FLASHBACK****************************

My efforts to complete my task started to bear fruit. I trained with many members of this division to gain experience. I admit I won against three but then lost to the last one due to exhaustion. Even so, I gained respect from some people.

I also thought a bit about the last conversation I had. She might be right that I'm no longer the Hanataro she knew, but I'm still Hanataro Yamada. This is something I accepted since I ended up in this universe. So, I decided to become the Hanataro she initially wanted, strong and behaving like a true shinigami.

Even now, recognizing that woman hides a secret about her past, I'm not curious or anything like that. If she hid it, she has a good reason. It means if she doesn't want anyone to know her past, then it's better to leave it buried because I'm sure I don't want to discover what she would do if I knew her secret.

There's also my relationship with my older brother, which at this moment, I have no interest in.

"So, round two?" Ikkaku said.

I nodded while assuming the fighting stance again. For now, I'll focus on beating this bald guy.