When the two of them walked out of the last shop, carrying bags big and small, Arata checked the time and saw it was already one in the morning.
He was about to suggest they return to the hotel, but Unohana Retsu beat him to it and hailed a black cab.
"We're going to…" as she said the name of the place, she traced a circle with her fingertip on the back of Arata's hand, "I've reserved a room there."
The taxi moved through the streets of London in the small hours. Arata watched the lights flow past the window, his heartbeat gradually accelerating beneath the calm expression on his face.
When the elevator reached the 52nd floor, Unohana Retsu took out the room key card from her purse.
With a "beep," the door opened.
Arata paused at the entrance. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows was a 360-degree view of nighttime London, with the Thames winding like a diamond-studded ribbon.
In the middle of the suite stood a round bed sprinkled with rose petals, and on the nightstand was the chilled bottle of wine the woman had carefully selected earlier.
Unohana Retsu removed her suit jacket and hung it on a hanger, revealing a white silk blouse underneath.
She walked to the window and pressed a switch. The curtains automatically closed, and the suite instantly became a private space, separated from the world.
"Sensei, we…" The beauty before him took Arata's breath away, his Adam's apple trembled unconsciously, and the shopping bag in his hand had already slipped to the floor.
Unohana Retsu slowly approached him, her heels thudding softly against the carpet.
She reached out and untied his tie, her movements as graceful as unwrapping a gift.
"Back at the Western Division's training field…" she leaned close to Arata's ear, her breath filled with the aroma of red wine, "Sensei saw you staring at that black-haired lieutenant for five whole seconds."
Arata's body stiffened.
He did look at Sullivan from the Sabotage Team a few times longer, but only because her sword-fighting style was quite unique. However, just as he was about to explain—
"Shh." Unohana Retsu pressed a finger to his lips. "Tonight, Sensei will teach you a lesson…"
Two buttons of the woman's silk blouse had already been undone at some point, and below her collarbone, an old scar was faintly visible.
She pushed Arata onto the rose-petal-covered bed, and her long hair, previously braided, suddenly unraveled and cascaded down like a dark waterfall.
"Never…" she pinned Arata's legs down with her knees, her red lips curving dangerously, "never admire other women with your eyes in front of the woman who loves you."
Outside, the bells of London began to toll slowly.
Water droplets gathered on the wine bottle in the ice bucket and slid down, landing on the scattered rose petals.
Tick, tick.
Pinned beneath her, Arata tried to regain at least a little initiative, but Unohana Retsu suddenly leaned down, bit his tie knot, and slowly pulled it.
"Mmm!"
The dark tie suddenly tightened around his neck, causing his pupils to contract slightly. That familiar feeling of pressure immediately reminded him of that night in the underground secret room.
His sensei definitely had certain violent tendencies.
Unohana Retsu lowered her gaze to his now-reddened face and slowly ran her fingertips down the man's Adam's apple.
"Sensei taught you…" she unbuttoned his shirt slowly, her nails grazing along the line of his chest muscles. "Absence on the battlefield can cost you your life."
The silk collar slipped off his shoulders as he moved, gradually revealing a scar hidden in the deep valley. Arata's eyes were uncontrollably drawn to that spot.
"Now you know where to look?" Unohana Retsu smiled and suddenly tugged on his tie.
Their noses almost touched, and Arata could clearly smell the scent emanating from her red lips.
Arata's hand instinctively landed on her waist, and the tailored suit skirt made the curve fit perfectly into his palm.
He ran his thumb along the seam of the fabric. "This dress… looks perfect on you."
That sentence seemed to flip a switch.
Unohana Retsu lightly flicked open the final button of her blouse, and it came undone.
The silk fabric slipped off her rounded shoulders and barely clung to her waist by the waistband of her suit skirt.
Moonlight streamed in through a gap in the curtains, giving her pale skin a cool, glassy glow. The old scar across her collarbone looked even more terrifying and seductive in the shadows.
Arata's breathing suddenly became heavy, and his fingertips instinctively dug into the soft flesh at her waist.
That motion caused a soft chuckle from Unohana Retsu. She suddenly pulled Arata by the tie, her red lips brushing his earlobe. "How did Sensei usually teach you not to be so sneaky?"
"Being a shinigami requires honesty and righteousness. You mustn't act like this."
The intoxicating breath entered Arata's ear, and his spine instantly tensed.
Openly and honestly, huh? Fine!
He suddenly flipped her over and pressed the woman into the rose petals. Her scattered black hair and the bright red petals intertwined, creating a stunning contrast of colors.
"Sensei, tonight you've taught me enough." Arata kissed the vein pulsing at the side of her neck, and his hand slid into the high slit of her suit skirt. "Now it's the student's turn…"
Before he could finish, his wrist was suddenly caught by a powerful force. Unohana Retsu bent her knees and pressed them against his stomach, then flipped over in a quick roll and regained control.
Her disheveled long hair fell across Arata's face, the scent from it mingling with the scent of lust.
"Greedy child." As she leaned in, her scar brushed Arata's lips, like a dangerous invitation. "You have to finish your homework first before you get your reward."
The ice bucket near the headboard suddenly clinked. Unohana Retsu reached out and grabbed the wine bottle. The dark red liquid swirled inside the glass bottle in a seductive path.
She popped the cork with her thumb, tilted her head back, and took a sip, then suddenly grabbed Arata's jaw and transferred the wine to him.
The wine, which he didn't manage to swallow in time, slipped down between their mingled lips and teeth, leaving dark red stains on the white bedsheet.
"Khm—!"
Arata choked and grabbed her wrist holding the bottle, but then he heard a "splash"—the remaining half of the wine spilled over his chest.
The cold liquid made his muscles contract, and in the next moment, Unohana's tongue chased the trail of wine.
She traced the winding path of the wine across his skin with her lips and tongue, centimeter by centimeter.
When the slippery touch reached his stomach, Arata instinctively grabbed a long strand of her hair.
"Wait—uh!"
The protest was suddenly cut off.
Unohana Retsu's teeth slowly slid across his taut muscles, neither too gently nor too roughly, while her hands pinned his wrists above his head.
This dominant position drew a soft moan from Arata's throat, and a shiver ran down his spine like an electric current.
Damn you, Kurotsuchi Mayuri! When you created this artificial body, didn't you reduce its spiritual energy limit on purpose?
Why is my strength having no effect on my opponent?
Suddenly, the sound of Big Ben rang from outside, and the hourly chime pierced through the soundproof glass.
"Hiss–"
Unohana Retsu took the chance to pour melted ice water from the bucket into the hollow of his collarbone. When Arata gasped, she gently bit his Adam's apple and said, "This is your punishment for being absent."
This can't be endured!
Arata suddenly used his strength and, holding her, rolled onto the thick carpet.
The scattered shopping bags clinked as they collided, and a perfume bottle rolled out, leaving a small stain on the clean wool carpet.
The fresh and slightly sweet scent of the perfume suddenly exploded in the enclosed space, mixing with the scent of sweat and lust and turning into an intoxicating potion.
"Just for tonight…" Arata spoke breathlessly as he unzipped her suit skirt, deliberately increasing the pressure with his fingers as he passed over her full, firm breasts. "Tonight, under no circumstances can I let you take the initiative again, Sensei."
A flicker of admiration flashed in Unohana Retsu's narrowed eyes. She suddenly lifted her legs and wrapped them around Arata's waist, lightly tapping his lower back with her heels. "Arata is very confident, then… prove it to Sensei."
"Also, at this moment… you must call me Retsu."
The sound of silk tearing was particularly clear in the quiet night.
Arata buried his face in her neck and took a deep breath. The unique herbal scent on Unohana Retsu's body, mixed with the finishing note of expensive perfume, gnawed at his sanity like a carefully prepared poison.
He responded by leaving teeth marks along her scar and her valley. Above his head came a muffled moan, and Unohana Retsu's nails, coated in red polish, dug deep into his back.
The floor-to-ceiling windows reflected their intertwined bodies, and the lights of cruise ships on the Thames occasionally passed across the ceiling.
At some point, the ice bucket had been overturned, and the melted water soaked one corner of the carpet.
Unohana Retsu suddenly turned and pressed Arata against the full-length mirror. The cold touch of the glass caused a shiver to run down his spine.
"Watch carefully." She bit Arata's earlobe and whispered a command. In the mirror, her long legs were wrapped around him. "Remember who you belong to right now."
This possessive act made Arata's pupils contract sharply.
The Unohana Retsu in the mirror had waterfall-like hair, and her pale skin was covered in red marks he had left. Her usually gentle face and brows were now filled with the aggression of a predator.
She deliberately slowed her movements so Arata could clearly see every detail of skin-to-skin contact.
When Big Ben struck three times, Unohana Retsu suddenly clenched her fingers.
Arata moaned and lifted his head, the back of it thudding against the mirror.
She took the chance to lean in and lick the sweat from his collarbone, a satisfied smile in her voice. "Practical homework complete… excellent!"
Arata suddenly turned her over and pushed her back onto the bed, quickly pulling the silk curtains down and tying her wrists with them.
In the moonlight, the surprised expression on Unohana Retsu's face made him chuckle softly. "Retsu, you taught me… to use the environment when fighting an enemy."
Unohana Retsu tried to move her wrists and discovered that the knot was tied with a special bandaging technique developed by the Fourth Division for medical treatment.
Just as she was about to speak, Arata silenced her with a gulp of red wine.
Unlike the roughness from earlier, this time he rubbed her lips with incredible gentleness, until the bitter taste of alcohol lingered in both their mouths.
"This is…" Arata said breathlessly as he untied the curtain knot, his fingertips brushing over her reddened wrist, "this is my homework."
Unohana Retsu was stunned for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter.
Rarely did she laugh so unrestrainedly, even tears appeared in the corners of her eyes.
When the laughter subsided, she suddenly pulled Arata to her chest, bit his lower lip, and mumbled:
"Effect… good… maximum score…"
——
At four in the morning, a light rain fell over London. The sound of raindrops hitting the glass drowned out the noise from the room.
Unohana Retsu leaned against the headboard, wrapped in a torn silk blouse, occasionally running her fingers through Arata's breathless short purple hair.
Arata, the man who had fallen asleep from exhaustion, now rested quietly with his head in her lap.
The mobile communication device on the nightstand suddenly buzzed, and the screen lit up with a message from Chief Sasakibe Chojiro – [Captain Yamamoto is asking about the diplomatic progress with the Western Division].
Unohana Retsu looked down and, after a moment of thought, typed a reply.
[Going well, we'll return tonight].