บท 65: Curious Eyes

"Shy? I don't think so."

Lisa pushed her glasses' frame back up, ignoring the questioning look on Muyang's face.

If she really was one of the best among her peers, shyness was the last thing that should be associated with her. Moreover, Lisa's intuition as a woman told her that there was more to Suzuki Kusu the moment she glanced at her before leaving.

"Hey Aranmaru, aren't you a teacher here? Do you have something to say?"

Following Hirako Shinji's question to him, Aranmaru Shishin shifted his attention towards Lisa, sounding puzzled: "How did you know, Lisa?butit's as you said, Suzuki Kusu was not a shy girl like you saw earlier."

Lisa glanced at Aranmaru Shishin condescendingly and said briefly: "Woman's intuition."

Everyone there was sweating when they heard Lisa's answer.

Noticing that Lisa seemed to be in a bad mood, Kyōraku Shunsui immediately took it upon himself to slightly change the topic: "Now, let's set that aside for now. Shishin, Can you tell me more about this girl named Suzuki? I'm suddenly curious about her."

Lisa had no choice but to cast her annoyance aside now that Kyōraku Shunsui changed the subject, but she was determined that things wouldn't go the same next time.

"I didn't know that much about her until I found out that she and Kimura were former classmates. I tried looking into her and found out that she used to be a resident in Rukongai and not a noble. She lived all by herself and had no relatives as far as I know. She didn't particularly stand out, and her grades in the academy are mediocre. Although she wasn't a cheerful girl, she definitely wasn't a shy one either like what we saw just now."

"If that's true, she doesn't seem so talented then." Yoruichi suddenly interrupted Aranmaru Shishin.

"If that'sall there's to it, then yeah. However, she has this gift...no, perhaps calling it talent is more appropriate. That girl was born with keen perception. Not only that, her insight is exceptional, and she is diligent. Although she is not a genius, she always grasps the essence of what she wants to learn. As a result, she can learn anything in a short amount of time if she put her mind to it."

"Doesn't that make her a genius?" Kyōraku Shunsui helplessly said, "Well, we might have set the bar too high because we're used to hanging around Kimura."

"Now, now, please don't bring me up in this situation, Captain Kyōraku.Besides, I've already learned a lot before going to the academy, so I can't be considered a genius. I think she got more knack than me when it comes to picking up something new." Muyang was kind of annoyed that Kyōraku Shunsui roped him into this, "I barely made progress in Kidō even after learning from Kirio-san for quite a while."

"In case you don't realize it, you're a monster when it comes to that stuff, okay?" Kyōraku Shunsui secretly retorted in his heart, and that was not without reason. Muyang had only learned Kidō from Hikifune Kirio for about a year, and he could already use #80s Kidō, yet he said that he barely made any progress.

"However, no matter how fast she is at picking up stuff, she lacks the most fundamental aspect."

"Reiatsu!"

Kyōraku Shunsui held his bamboo hat down, covering his face, and further elaborated Aranmaru Shishin's response: "Be it Shinigami, Hollow, Quincy, and whatever it is, Reiatsu plays a huge part in a battle. Even if she's better at other aspects such as strategy, Shunpo, Zanjutsu, or Kidō, it's all pointless if there was a clear difference in her Reiatsu and her opponent."

"How unfortunate. Had it not for her lack of Reiatsu, that little girl would be another genius."

Kyōraku Shunsui said to Muyang with a hint of disappointment.

Muyang was silent for a moment. It's just as Kyōraku Shunsui said, Reiatsu was the most basic and the most important factor at the same time. If the difference between Reiatsu was far too big, other aspects wouldn't matter at all.

"Then again, her Reiatsu will slowly increase little by little as time passes until it may reach the level of a 3rd Seat, and with her talents to learn anything in a short amount of time, she'd easily become a Lieutenant. Well, you should at least be thankful, Kimura. There are not that many Shinigami who can become a Lieutenant, after all."

"Hehe, yeah, it seems that I'm being too greedy here." Muyang smiled at Kyōraku Shunsui and said with a smile, "I should at least be thankful that I can recruit a Lieutenant candidate this time."

"Yeah." Kyōraku Shunsui nodded, and when he saw the graduates were starting to line up in the square, he added. "It seems that the students are here already. We should go."

"Mhmm." As Muyang saw the students walking toward the square, he and Kyōraku Shunsui walked towards the platform in the center, with Hirako Shinji and Lisa following closely behind.

Muyang estimated that Shinji would learn Bankai in another 50 years or so, and then he will serve as a Captain in the 5th Division. Murai will also retire in less than 50 years. There was no word such as 'too early' to think about the future. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to find a capable Lieutenant to replace Shinji when the time came.

Muyang was wondering whether Suzuki was having a problem in Reiatsu because of the limit she unconsciously placed on herself? Or was there another reason behind it? If he could solve this problem, then Suzuki Kusu should be able to become stronger in a relatively short amount of time. He was thinking of asking Hikifune Kirio because she might have the solution that he needed. Besides, he hasn't been to the 12th Division in a while, mainly because he was too busy with his job as a Captain. After pondering for a while, he decided to pay the 12th Division a visit later.

"Hey, Aranmaru, you went on and on with your explanation earlier, but you miss the most important part."

Lisa said with an annoyed tone.

"What?"Aranmaru Shishin was confused for a moment as he didn't know what he missed.

"I'm talking about Suzuki Kusu! She's not actually shy, is she? So what do you have for me?" Lisa was clearly irritated as he looked at Aranmaru Shishin. "Your unnecessary explanation that I don't care whatsoever made me even more curious. If Suzuki Kusu is not as shy as you said, then why was she so shy when she's with Kimura?"

"Ah, that's what you mean!"Aranmaru Shishin finally realized the most important part, and a smug appeared on his face. "A girl who is usually serious becomes shy when she sees Kimura. Do I really have to spell it out for you?"

Lisa's face flushed due to excitement: "There must be something between them!"

Lisa and Aranmaru Shishin looked at each other, and the look in their eyes made them acknowledge each other as 'comrades'. Lisa could feel that her heart was beating faster because she absolutely loves spying on someone's secret.

When Hirako Shinji saw the look on Lisa's face, he could not help but secretly offer his condolences to Muyang. Considering Lisa's personality, there was no way she'd let Muyang off the hook until she knew everything about him and Suzuki Kusu.

"Shinji!" Lisa suddenly turned toward Hirako Shinji. The look on her eyes scared him that he subconsciously took a few steps back.

"What is it? Just so you know, I don't know anything about it."

"I know." Lisa nodded but then immediately held Hirako Shinji's shoulder firmly with both of her hands and slowly brought her face closer to his face and asked softly, "Shinji, we are friends, aren't we?"

"Yeah."Hirako Shinji backed off slightly to keep his face as far as possible from Lisa's.

Lisa's glasses flashed, "That girl, Suzuki Kusu, is going to join your 10th Division later, right? Here is the deal...I want you to keep an eye on them and notify me if you find any noteworthy information."

"Huh?"Hirako Shinji was speechless, and his mouth was wide open as that was such an unreasonable request. At Muyang's level, he'll be busted before he found anything.

"Shinji, you would not say no to a friend's request, right?"

Lisa's eyes suddenly became so menacingly sharp.

"Ah ha ha ~~" Hirako Shinji just laughed awkwardly. He couldn't refuse Lisa as she might bring Hiyori in and kicked his ass together. Either way, there was no way out of this. He then wondered why Lisa was so interested in the gossip about Muyang.

"Lisa, why did you care so much about Captain Kimura's private life, don't tell me you actually..."Hirako Shinji said all of a sudden as he stared right into Lisa's eyes as if knowing what was going on here.