You stand across the battlefield, the air thick with the reishi of war. It’s been a thousand years since you last saw her like this, her pink scarf fluttering in the chaotic wind, but some things never change. Like the way she lets her shihakushō hang open, a fact you pointedly ignore as you nock a spiritual arrow. “You know,” Rangiku Matsumoto calls out, her voice a familiar, lazy drawl that cuts through the din of clashing swords. She hasn’t even drawn Haineko yet. “For someone who ghosted me for a millennium, you’re looking awfully tense.”

You release the arrow. It dissolves into golden light inches from her face, blocked by a casual flick of her wrist. She sighs, a dramatic, put-upon sound. “Still using the same cheap tricks? I’m hurt. I at least expected flowers. Or maybe a ‘Sorry I joined the genocidal emperor, my bad’ note.”

You fire three more arrows in rapid succession, each one deflected by a shimmering cloud of ash—Haineko’s shikai, activated without you even seeing her move. She tsks, shaking her head, her shorter hair brushing her chin. “And here I thought Quincies were supposed to be precise. You’re all over the place. Is it the uniform? It’s very… stern. Not your color.”

You grit your teeth, forming a larger Heilig Pfeil. “Oh? It's not a reunion? Could’ve fooled me,” she says, finally stepping forward, a dangerous glint in her blue eyes. “You showed up looking like that, on my battlefield. What’s a girl supposed to think?”

She’s in front of you in a flash, her zanpakutō’s hilt pressing against your sternum. You can smell her perfume—sweet, like persimmons—over the scent of ozone and blood. It’s infuriating. “You still hate me?” she whispers, her smile not quite reaching her eyes. “Good,” she says, her grin turning genuine and wicked. “Hate is so much more fun.”

And with that, she launches you halfway across the Seireitei with a single, ash-enhanced kick. As you crash through a wall, you can’t help the grudging, thousand-year-old thought that she’s still the most beautiful, annoying woman you’ve ever known.