Chapter 417 - Spending Time & Prelude...

[POV Reo] 

"How is the tea?" Unohana asked when she saw that I took the first sip. When I offered for another chat, I wasn't expecting her to bring tea along with her… yes, women are mysterious beings. 

"The tea is pretty nice but to be honest, I didn't expect you to bring tea" I gave her my honest opinion. 

"I thought it would be pretty rude of me if I didn't offer you tea while we were having a chat… do you not like it?" Unohana asked as her smile lessened and I shook my head with a smile. 

"No… It's not that. It was simply surprising" I said and the smile returned on Unohana's face. Both of us were sitting on the grass. Unohana was sitting according to Japanese tradition. The tea flask was placed beside her. 

"Reo-San, you mentioned that you recently arrived in the Soul Society… tell me about the human world, it has been some time since I have visited there" Unohana asked while sipping tea. 

I contemplated for a few moments, thinking about what to tell her… "Do you know that the human world is controlled by food?" I asked her and Unohana's eyes grew slightly wide. Ah… so, she didn't know. 

"Food… I haven't heard anything like that" Unohana said with a confused look on her face. 

"Shinigamis eat food when they visit the human world?" I asked incredulously. 

"They don't… I guess that is why no one knows about this little fact you just mentioned" Unohana said with a look of realization on her face. 

"...Well, in the human world, food means everything and chefs are the biggest celebrities, one of the top chefs could ask for any amount of money for their food and people happily pay that money" I said and Unohana looked slightly surprised but she nodded her head in understanding. 

"Looks like the human world has changed a lot since the last time I have paid a visit" Unohana said with a small smile and put down her cup as she finished her tea. 

"Would you like to have more tea?" Unohana asked and I nodded my head. Unohana picked up the flask and poured some tea for both of us. 

"So… what kind of food do you like?" I asked curiously and Unohana seemed to think for a few seconds until her blue eyes peered into my black eyes. 

"I don't like bland food… I want my food to have punchy flavours. Strong flavours are always good" Unohana said with a smile. 

"Can I ask you something?" I asked her and she nodded her head without much of a thought. 

"Aren't you a Captain? Why did you decide to have another chat with me?" I asked her curiously as I really wanted to know the answer. I mean she is a kind woman but I am a stranger she met in a forest. 

Unohana seemed to ponder for a few seconds before she gave a small nod. "As you mentioned right now, I am Captain and no one in the Seireitei would have a normal conversation with me… It gets really tiring" Unohana said and tilted her kindly. 

Well, she isn't lying. My Soul Powers would have detected if she was lying… "My lieutenant, Isane, is the only one who talks with me normally but she has her limits too…" Unohana finished and I nodded my head in understanding. 

"So, what is your favourite food… I mean before you died?" Unohana asked while changing the topic. 

"To be honest, I simply can't give you a straight answer… there were lots of options but…" and just like that hours passed away as the two of us kept talking… It was almost late afternoon when Unohana finally decided to leave. 

"Forgive me Reo-San, but I need to return. I loved spending my time with you but I need to go back or my lieutenant will start worrying" Unohana said politely as she bowed. 

"No problem Unohana-San, I also loved talking with you…" I said with a smile and followed her lead. 

"Reo-San, are you going to be here next week?" Unohana asked me curiously. 

"Yes… I come here every day. This is a nice place to relax" I said and Unohana's smile brightened after hearing my words. 

"Then, next week, at the same time…?" Unohana asked as I nodded my head. 

"Yes, until next week" I said and Unohana Flash Stepped back to Seireitei after waving at me. 

I didn't expect my day to be like this… but I am not complaining… Lately, Urahara, Shinji, Yoruichi, Ryuken, and Tessai have been really busy looking through mythology books… 

Maybe I should give them a small gift for their hard work… Yes, that's it… I gave myself a mental pat for my brilliant plan. They are going to go nuts… 

[Elite Ten Council Room, Totsuki] 

"What is the meaning of this?" Erina asked as she slammed a pamphlet down on the table. 

Eizan Etsuya was sitting beside Nakiri who frowned and looked at the pamphlet and a grin appeared on his face. "Betting Association? I don't see a problem with this" Etsuya said and Erina shot him an annoyed look. 

"You don't see a problem with this? How can you say that… with this betting became legal in Totsuki" Erina said with a scowl on her face. 

"...You are seeing the whole situation from the wrong angle… we might have betting legal but we have also stopped the background dealings and betting and now that betting is official, we will be able to keep a close eye on the betting" Kinokuni Nene said as she pushed up her glasses.

"If you are wondering then we have already discussed this with the Director and he agreed with us on this. Betting isn't something new in Totsuki" Satoshi Isshiki said with a small smile on his face. 

"Natasha Romanoff's idea was simply brilliant…" Eizan said in a reluctant tone. He believed himself to be a business genius but Natasha Romanoff's idea was simply brilliant but risky at the same time…

It was a huge gamble on Natasha's side as she was using her own funds for the betting. From the outside, the Betting Association was your run of the mill betting hub but they didn't know about the mastermind pulling the strings from behind. 

"And what about this Pudding Domination Club?" Erina asked and Eizan simply shrugged and clicked his tongue. 

"What about it?" Eizan retorted in an annoyed tone. 

"She wanted to open a Club so we simply gave her permission… if you don't like it then you can close it down as you usually do" Kunokuni Nene said in a neutral tone. 

"Fine… I will take care of it" Erina snarked in an annoyed tone. She wasn't happy… At first, she had to find out about the Betting Association from Arato who came to her when she noticed students betting in the open. 

Nakiri Erina immediately made her way towards the said place so she could expel them but she was humiliated in front of so many students when they produced the Elite Ten Council permission. Erina didn't even know what to think. 

Erina wasn't a happy camper so she asked Arato about any new clubs and then she found out about the Pudding Domination Club. What the hell was going on in Totsuki… a legal Betting Club and a Pudding Club popped up but she didn't even notice??? 

Then Ikumi had to go and lose against a Nobody… a transfer student, a student who worked in a diner. Erina simply wanted to punch the living daylights out of everyone responsible for annoying her. 

"If your complaints about the clubs are over we would like to start discussing more serious topics like the Training Trip of 1st year" Tosuke Megishima spoke up for the first time, Erina simply nodded her head and swallowed any more complaints she had. 

"This year it is going to be different with Nemuri Kayama breathing down our necks" Kunokuni Nene said as she pushed up her glasses. 

"She has no right to… My grandfather is still the Director of Totsuki" Erina said while gritting her teeth. She hated Nemuri Kayama with passion… that woman stole their family's legacy and they couldn't do anything. 

"Erina-Chin, you might haven't noticed but your grandfather's hands are tied too as Nemuri Kayama literally owns Totsuki" Terunori Kuga spoke for the first time since the meeting started. 

"Nemuri Kayama will be looking for a blunder… as soon as we mess up she will come down on us like a shark who smelled blood…" Satoshi Isshiki said with a frown on his face. 

"What does she even want?" Erina asked with a scowl. 

"From what the Director has told us, she simply wants to be smug about it" Eizan said in an annoyed tone and clicked his tongue. 

"All of that aside… we are going to invite Totsuki Alumni like every other year, but everyone except Erina-Chan has to work really hard to avoid any type of incident…" Satoshi Isshiki said and everyone agreed unanimously…