Katsurou smiled. "You should thank my grandson. But keep it a secret that he made it for you, alright? It's our little secret."
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Katsurou smiled. "You should thank my grandson. But keep it a secret that he made it for you, alright? It's our little secret."
Suguri hugged the pony and nodded, but then grew confused.
"Wait, wouldn't he know if he made it?" she asked, casting her eyes over the breakfast table.
"I mean keep it a secret from anyone who's not you, me, or him. He actually told me he bought it for you, but I know better." Katsurou said with a wink. "We're the only ones in this house who know he has talents outside of his job, and we'll keep it that way, alright?"
Suguri nodded in agreement. "Mm-hmm!"
Truth be told, the chocolate cake wasn't the only yummy-looking thing at the table. There were all manners of pastries, fruit and assorted nuts. There was also chocolate-covered carrot cake.
Well, they said that breakfast was the most important meal of the day, and truth be told, all of this food looked pretty danged important to Suguri. But she wasn't sure if she was supposed to serve herself or if Grandpa was supposed to do it for her.
It takes Katsurou a moment to realize as much. "Alright dear, put the pony away so we can eat. Just show me what you want, okay?
And make sure you don't eat too much. You don't want a tummyache later today."
Suguri pointed out the chocolate cake, and the carrot cake, and several of the pastries.
"So, where does daddy work?" she asked.
"Partially correct. And do you know what they do?"
Suguri thought for a moment. "They, like, kill dead people, right?"
"Not quite. They guide spirits into the afterlife.
This plane you're in is called Soul Society. This is where people's souls come after they've been guided by a Shinigami. If they spend too long attached to Earth, they become monsters called Hollows, which Shinigami must defeat. Do you follow me so far?"
Suguri nodded. It didn't occur to her to wonder if a shinigami had led her to this plane as well.
She wouldn't remember if they did, most likely.
"In addition to guiding wayward spirits and slaying Hollows, Shinigami also act as the protectors of Soul Society itself. They're part of different divisions according to their role as part of Gotei, the organization they belong to.
Setsurou is a Gotei Captain. He's in charge of internal security, which means if there are bad people inside Soul Society, it is his job to go after them."
No need to explain he's also a ninja-spy.
"Oh! So he's like a security guard!" Suguri said. That, she understood. "Can we visit him?"
"If we can schedule it, yes. He's more like the head of the security guards, and as such, very very busy."
___________________________
While picking out decorations for the announcement of his engagement, Setsurou sneezed.
[Seireitei; Combat division grounds]
"Who is smelly? You are smelly! Why don't you find someone of your own size to pick on, Elephant man?", a voice huffs from behind Ryouma (a broad concept, that is). It belongs to a magenta-haired teenage girl who walks around the giant's leg and takes a dozen or so steps backward to fit into Ryouma's field of vision so he won't have to bend over. She's not particularly small for her age, but compared to Ryouma she looks like a doll.
The girl puts her hands on her hips. "You are lagging behind. Others are already continuing the tour."
Their instructor and the other students are indeed already moving on. They haven't exactly forgotten about Ryouma, it's just harder to worry about him falling behind when it's near impossible to lose sight of him on open terrain. He's taller than some nearby buildings, afterall.
"Now eat up. We have a long and fun day ahead of us."
Suguri devoured her breakfast cake and pastries with gusto, just as hungry as she was the previous night. The pony plush sat in her lap while she ate.
Fun fact about people who work for ninjas: they can make anything nutritious taste and feel like chocolate cake.
"We're going to be playing in a special room. How do you like superheroes?"
"Hmmm, they're pretty cool, I guess," Suguri replied.
"I think you'll like what I've got in store for you, then."
Grandpa Katsurou walked her to a large warehouse-like construction still within the Hishikawa estate after they were done with breakfast.
"I have a place here where you can play as a magical girl all you want. Well, until you get tired, anyway."
Suguri simply tilted her head in confusion.
The warehouse doors swung open. Suguri couldn't see them, because they were hidden, but a number of machines started humming to life.
"You're going to enter a story now. I think you'll like it. Just remember, none of it is real."