You are very strong, but my painting style is better than yours!

Iori is naturally immune to alcohol, but he didn't try to control himself, and his face was also slightly flushed, looking rather tipsy.

In the candlelight, Saito turned to the side, rested his face on his hand, and quietly looked at Iori with his good eye.

Her purple ponytail fell onto the table like tassels and then hung down. The one-eyed Shura Captain had long since taken off her haori. With her slender figure and wearing a shihaka outfit, she looked like a naive young girl.

She usually has a carefree demeanor, and her fierce eyes and rogue-like tone make people overlook her appearance. But once she calms down like this, you'll find that she is actually quite beautiful, and the blindfold doesn't diminish her beauty at all.

However, few people could feel her charm, because Saito didn't have much awareness of being a woman, and others naturally thought so too.

Only at this moment did this senior member of Team Thirteen reveal an expression befitting his appearance, staring blankly at Iori's profile.

Perhaps it was the lighting, or perhaps there was something wrong with her, but she couldn't take her eyes off it and couldn't help but want to look at it for a while longer. However, she felt increasingly annoyed, as if something was blocking her way.

"Ok?"

Iori turned around: "Is there something on my face?"

"without……"

Saito's face was flushed, and under the influence of alcohol, it was impossible to tell whether she was shy or not.

"It's just such a pity... This face is too much of a luxury for the battlefield."

"You've had too much to drink,"

Iori couldn't help but chuckle, "What are you saying? I don't understand."

"Don't use honorifics at times like this... just call him Saito."

She pointed a finger at Iori's nose, slightly displeased: "Why do you have to treat me like a junior to a senior... Even though it's true... I'm still young!"

"Yes, it's my fault... Do you want me to take you home?"

Iori was a little worried: "You sent your vice-captain away a long time ago."

"Of course, drinking is something no one should tell you what to do... Hmm... What's wrong? Do you dislike how I look and don't want to stay with me?"

"...I just think it would be better to send you home to rest as soon as possible."

Iori shook her head, judging that she was really drunk, and was starting to act like a little girl.

Saito slightly raised his head, his eyes flickering as he looked at Iori as if fiddling with something: "If... if I hadn't met you now... I probably would have said I didn't want to go home tonight..."

After saying that, her eyes dimmed, she let out a long breath, stretched out her hands like a cat stretching, made some whimpering sounds, and then lay down on it.

Then, displeased, she turned her head and looked at Iori with pursed lips.

"No... I'm already so old... I never thought this would happen... Why did I have to realize it just when I was almost finished... Huff... Huff..."

"...Captain? Captain Saito?"

Iori called out softly a couple of times, but gave up when she didn't respond.

Seeing Saito sprawled haphazardly on the table, he suddenly had an idea. He reached out and smoothed her messy bangs, and amidst her slightly heavy breathing, he began to carefully admire Saito's sleeping face.

Although she considers herself "very old," she does have a face that is more adorable than most young girls.

Suddenly, Iori chuckled softly, "Isn't it quite beautiful?"

Chapter 415 Poor Saito, manipulated at will.

In the early morning, Saito, who was neither old nor dead, felt something was wrong with her whole body. She groggily straightened up and looked down to find a pool of clear liquid. There were also wet marks on her messy hair, which made her feel sad.

I never expected her to have such a girlish side, crying in her dreams... Huh? Was it drool?

Tsk!

Saito wiped the traces from the corner of his mouth with annoyance, casually reached into his clothes and rummaged around a couple of times, unconsciously looking around: "Where am I... ah, in the shop... I'm not drunk, am I?"

My memory is a little hazy.

Speaking of which, why didn't anyone call her or take her home? Did they just leave her all alone like that? Those younger folks really don't understand what respecting the elderly means...

Suddenly, Saito stopped what she was doing, because she saw Iori sitting by the door, her head slightly tilted against the bamboo door, sleeping peacefully.

He stretched out one leg and bent the other, one hand resting on his knee, his breathing calm and rhythmic, creating an atmosphere that was reassuring. He simply stood there quietly, sunlight streaming through the windowpanes, dappling the scene like a traditional Chinese ink painting.

After a brief pause, Saito's brain began to rapidly reboot, and memories of last night, accompanied by a clear hangover headache, surged forth, causing her to rub her temples in distress.

"Hmm... In the end, it was just the two of us? I... didn't say anything nonsense, did I?"

Saito muttered a couple of words without much confidence, then suddenly regretted it, his brows furrowing like crumpled pages of a book.

"Nothing will happen... I'm not one to lose my composure easily, no one can keep their mouth shut tighter than me... There's no point in thinking about it anymore, kill!"

He patted his cheeks with both hands and rubbed them vigorously. Saito took a deep breath and quickly adjusted his mindset.

"Speaking of which, did he stay with me?"

This gentle place is just too much to bear... no wonder it's so popular among female Shinigami.

Saito couldn't help but smile as he thought of the rankings circulating among the Thirteen Teams.

"Hey, time to get up, Yi..."

Just as she was about to call out to Iori, her voice immediately lowered. Saito stared at Iori blankly for a few seconds, then suddenly looked around guiltily. Even though there couldn't possibly be a third person in the room, she still felt unsafe.

Saito cautiously approached Iori, tiptoeing like a child trying to catch a cricket, afraid of disturbing his target.

Kneeling down, with her hands supporting herself on the soft yet firm tatami mat, Saito leaned her head further and further back, and Iori's face became clearer and clearer in her eyes.

...It is indeed a face that would make the hearts of young girls experiencing their first love race.

However, Saito was no naive little girl. So far, the only person who could make her heart race was Yhwach and Yamamoto from a thousand years ago.

Then, when Iori was resisting Barragan and suppressing the Spirit Child Uprising, she also wavered... However, the "heart racing" here may not mean the same thing as before.

"I'm really being disgraceful..."

When we first met, he was just a little kid. It's only been a few years, a mere insignificant fragment compared to her millennia of life… and he's grown into such a charming man…

I took several deep breaths, but my heart kept beating faster and faster.

Suddenly, her eyes sharpened, as if she had made up her mind!

How could a swordsman who has experienced countless battles be so timid and cowardly? The most taboo thing on the battlefield is hesitation, and at this moment, just like a life-or-death struggle, there is no room for retreat!

"it is good!"

Saito's self-encouragement is kind of cute.

"I'm gonna start now!"

Close your eyes, slowly reach out, and press your lips against the soft object. Before you can even savor the sensation, you pull back in a flash.

call!

It was just as thrilling as the first time I killed someone...

The sensation I felt just now was on my lips... no, it was on my cheeks, wasn't it?

Although there is no experience to refer to, you can still distinguish them by touch.

Perhaps it was because her heart was beating too fast, her blood was rushing to her head, making Saito feel hot, but she also felt much relieved—in her life full of bloodshed, there was finally a little bit of rosy girlish memory.

If, on the verge of death, all that flashes through your mind when you look back on your life are dismembered limbs, rivers of blood, and the people who come to say goodbye are either bald old men or eternally spinsters... that would be too tragic!

Thinking back, very few of the original captains even got married, and the only three women among them were all single...tsk!

At least for now, she has surpassed the other two in this aspect and can be quite proud of herself.

All that's left is to pretend nothing happened and leave, secretly hiding this bewildered, long-overdue feeling... Hmm?

Saito opened his eyes, his pupils suddenly contracting, his mouth slightly agape: "You, Iori... you're awake?!"

"……Yes."

Indeed, before she could fully savor the feeling from just now, she saw Iori staring straight at her, seemingly somewhat surprised.

"Um, this... no! It's not what you think! Let me explain!"

Saito was at a loss, and the blush on his face was beyond explanation. In the end, he could only cover his face like an ostrich.

"I'm not, I'm not..."

"Captain Saito... um, what happened?"

Iori blinked, seemingly not understanding why Saito was so hesitant. "Did anything strange happen while I was asleep?"

"……what?"

Saito shrugged, his one eye peeking at Iori through his fingers, his eyes narrowing slightly.

From the man's clear eyes, it was clear... he really did seem to know nothing.

Could it be that she was lucky enough not to be discovered? Did she just manage to avoid it...?

"Cough cough!"

With a light cough, Saito lowered his hand and said calmly, "It's nothing, I just wanted to play a prank on your face... and I accidentally bumped into it."

Are you still a child?

Iori shook her head, seemingly speechless.

"It's none of your business!"

Saito rolled his eyes at him, crossed his arms, and turned away unhappily, but couldn't help but smile.

“It’s already dawn…we slept all night.”

"I've caused trouble for the shop," Iori said with annoyance.

"You're as thoughtful as ever."

Saito clearly didn't care about such things. He composed himself, patted the wrinkles off his clothes, and got up to leave.

At that moment, Iori seemed to suddenly remember something: "Oh right, Captain Saito?"

"Ok?"

The girl with pigtails turned her head. "What's wrong?"

"Next time you want to kiss, just aim for the lips."

Iori flashed a perfect smile, but her tone held a hint of mischief.

"I wouldn't mind."

"..."

Saito slowly opened his eyes, but his pupils shrank in stark contrast, and his hair trembled slightly, making him look like a hedgehog with its fur standing on end.

Furthermore, at a speed visible to the naked eye, her exposed hands, feet, and face were stained a fiery red.

"Damn it! You actually saw it! Aaaaaah! Kill!"

Kill kill kill!

I'm going to kill myself first, and then I'll kill you!

"Wow!"

Iori flipped to the side, and her chilling sword energy instantly tore through the bamboo wall.

"Don't be so shy... Besides, you got the order wrong."

"Whoaaah!"

However, Saito, being immortal, could no longer hear what he was saying, nor did he want to understand it.

Today, the troubles caused to the shop owners are only just beginning.

……

boom!

"How dignified!"

Yamamoto's cane seemed to strike their hearts, causing Iori and Saito to turn their heads away simultaneously.

"As the captain, he actually started a fight inside the court, and it became known to everyone!"

That's bad enough, but what's even more unforgivable is... Saito, Aizen, where's your captain's haori?

"..."