An early summer morning.
The birds are chirping on the branches, the grass on the roadside is covered with crystal dew, and there is a faint white mist in the air, creating a lively scene.
Yamatake Chiyo took off her heavy twelve-piece kimono and put on a light and thin white gauze dress, which was given to her by Senjumaru before she left.
The pair is also matched with the store's new styles of sandals.
Because Yamabuki was not used to wearing wooden clogs, he made his own summer sandals. Unexpectedly, they became very popular among girls as soon as they were launched.
Last night, Chiyo had received the news that the killer had been caught, so she returned to her home in the morning. Although she was the only one left in Yamatake's home, it was still a home after all.
"Bang, bang, bang!"
There was a knock on the door. Chiyo-chan trotted to the door, opened it slightly, and saw that it was Yamabuki standing outside.
"Mr. Chief of Staff, you are here! Please come in quickly." Chiyo-chan showed an innocent and lovely smile on her face.
Yamabuki walked into the mansion with a faint smile on his face.
"Wouldn't you be scared living alone in such a big house at night?" asked Yamabuki.
Chiyo-chan shook her head slightly and said, "No, hasn't the killer who killed my brother been caught?"
"Although the killer has been caught, the mastermind behind the scenes is very cunning and may attack you again. You must be careful. If you encounter difficulties in life, you can always ask me for help." Yamabuki said with a smile.
"How dare I trouble the Chief of Staff! I'll go make some tea, please wait a moment." Chiyo said with a smile.
She doesn't look like someone who had faced the death of a close brother at all.
"Don't bother, I came to you this time mainly to return something to you, and then I will leave soon. After all, there is still a lot of work waiting for me to do." Yamabuki handed over a cloth bag. Chiyo-chan looked curious, and when she opened it, the expression on her face froze.
The cloth bag is filled with gold.
"Mr. Staff Officer...what does this mean? Why did you give me so much gold?" Chiyo asked curiously.
"This is not a gift for you. It originally belonged to you. It was the betrothal gift that monster gave to your brother." Yamabuki had been staring at the girl's expression, and Chiyo-chan kept looking surprised.
"Didn't my brother spend all the money on gambling? Why is it in your hands?"
"Although your brother is a good-for-nothing, he is not completely stupid. The day after he was murdered, I investigated all the gambling houses, big and small, in Seireitei, and came to a shocking conclusion. Your brother did not go to gamble during those few days, but two-thirds of the gold used as a betrothal gift was inexplicably missing. Aren't you curious about where the gold went?" Yamabuki asked with a smile.
Chiyo-chan touched her lips with her finger, looking innocent and cute, thought about it and then shook her head.
"I found the gold in the killer's pocket. I think no matter how stupid your brother is, he would not spend money to hire a killer to kill him. Remember what you said? You came to the courtyard after hearing your brother's cry for help, which means that your brother didn't want to die at all, he wanted to live well. But the killer took your family's money and killed your own brother..." Yamabuki paused for a moment, with a bitter smile on his face: "Do I need to explain more? Why was the killer ordered to kill you and your brother separately? And the killer said that he never told you, 'I will kill you in three days'. How did you accurately predict that the killer would attack you in the middle of the night three days later?"
Chiyo-chan still showed a very cute and innocent smile: "Mr. Staff Officer, what are you talking about? I don't understand at all."
Suddenly, Yamabuki drew his sword and stabbed Chiyo-chan. Chiyo-chan had no way to dodge, or rather, she didn't dodge at all, and watched the blade pierce her body.
"This is the answer!" Yamabuki put away his knife. His knife clearly pierced the child's body but did not cause her any harm.
The girl even looked at him with a smile on her face.
To put it more accurately, the Chiyo-chan in front of him was an illusion, and the real Yamatake Chiyo was watching him somewhere, using this illusion to create a clone and conversation.
"Actually, I felt a little puzzled when I came here. It's a sunny day today, and there's no fog on the road. But why is there so much fog in your yard? If I guess correctly, this should be the ability of your Zanpakuto, right? You have been exposed, come out." Yamabuki said as he looked ahead.
The phantom of the girl in front of him suddenly disappeared and turned into a ball of white mist.
With a creaky sound, the door of the inner hall opened, and a girl in a white dress appeared again. Yamabuki walked over instantly and twisted the girl's face hard, turning her face red!
"It hurts, it hurts!"
"It seems this is true." Yamabuki took his hand back. He had to say, the little Loli's face was so tender!
"I'm very curious! How did you find me? I should have hidden myself well." Chiyo's eyes were completely different from the phantom just now. The phantom just now showed innocence and purity, while the light flashing in the real one's eyes was more treacherous and cunning.
"In fact, I had doubts in my heart when we first met, because you were so calm. Your own brother was killed in front of you, but you were able to calmly answer all the questions we asked. Although there was fear in your eyes, with your acting skills, it should not be a problem to deceive these outsiders."
"Also, although the Yamatake family has fallen, they are still an upper-class noble family, so it should be no problem for them to get a Zanpakuto. Moreover, you have always had a strong spiritual pressure, but you have been suppressing it just because you were afraid that we would find it out. It seems that you are not a naive little girl who is powerless at all." Yamabuki said with a smile.
Chiyo-chan smiled like a little fox and raised the hilt of the knife in her hand: "Come back, Hanagasumi."
The white mist in the courtyard instantly returned to the hilt of the knife, turning it into a short knife no more than a foot long.
"My Zanpakutō is called Hanagasumi. After the Shikai, the blade will turn into mist, forming all kinds of phantoms, and it can also interfere with people's vision. You are the first person who can see through the power of my Zanpakutō. You really deserve to be the chief of staff of the Gotei 13." Chiyo-chan raised her chin and said proudly, "Since you have seen through my plan, I will tell you why I want to kill that idiot."
*****
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