The night wind in West Rukongai, District 2, cut sharp and cold.
"Yoho~ good evening! Long time no see, Shuuichi-kun~"
As playful as ever, the black cat leapt onto Shuuichi's shoulder, its tail lazily sweeping across his back.
"Long time no see, Yoruichi-taichō."
Shuuichi answered with a smile.
"Eh~ didn't I say you can just call me Yoruichi? It's been five years—have we grown that distant?"
The black cat's forepaw raked lightly at Shuuichi's ear, making him turn his head away on reflex.
"Then, Yoruichi-taichō, what did the Sōtaichō call you here to do?"
Shuuichi couldn't handle Yoruichi's teasing for long, so he cut straight to the point.
And what did she mean by "have we grown distant," anyway?
Back then, the 'black cat' that sometimes showed up at his place had been a scene Sōsuke planted in Rangiku's eyes with Kyōka Suigetsu (Mirror Flower, Water Moon). In reality, he and Yoruichi barely met ten times a year, most of those thanks to Soi Fon.
"As expected of you, Shuuichi-kun. Kisuke said you're a very clever shinigami, and he wasn't wrong. How did you know the Sōtaichō sent me?"
Yoruichi—still a cat—laughed, sprang lightly from his shoulder, and landed on the low table where Shuuichi and Rangiku usually drank.
"Do I need to ask? Since coming back, I've only seen three in Seireitei: the Sōtaichō, the 1st Division's Chōjirō-fukutaichō, and my Rangiku at home. Of those three, the only one who could and would pass my info to you is the Sōtaichō."
Shuuichi kept packing as he spoke.
"Couldn't I have found it out myself?"
Yoruichi tilted her head at his busy hands, feigning innocence.
Shuuichi shot her a merciless side-eye.
"Do you believe that yourself?"
"Hahaha! Fair. Then I'll be direct—Shuuichi-kun, the Sōtaichō thinks the power you borrowed from Hell is too dangerous. He asked me to set up a little protection for you~"
Yoruichi said cheerfully.
Three big question marks popped in Shuuichi's head.
Oh, amazing. Didn't expect honest, straight-browed Genryūsai to betray my trust like this.
What happened to "you performed well and pose no threat"?
Turn around and sell me out to Yoruichi, huh?
For a moment, Shuuichi felt downright pitiable. Why did every big boss have to eye him—the poor wage slave—to shear for wool?
"Um… Yoruichi-taichō, maybe you don't know this, but I acted with the approval of one of the Five Great Noble Clans—the Kabuma clan. This is their plan. If you want—"
He grumbled in his head, but he still tried to argue for some freedom.
"Oh, you mean Sayako-sama, the Kabuma head? I went to her before coming here. She agreed with my approach~"
Even limited to a cat's face, Shuuichi could hear the teasing smile in Yoruichi's voice.
All right, all right—so that's how it is?
Each of them could smack him around a few times in a straight fight, and they still had to play mind games with a small fry?
Shuuichi gave up struggling.
Fine, do the "protection." He wouldn't fight it.
He still had a top-tier backer. Worst case, he'd ask Sōsuke for a small favor to clean this up.
"Okay then, Yoruichi-taichō. If Sayako-sama also agreed, I'll accept it."
"Great. Then please take out your Zanpakutō."
"Hm? My Zanpakutō?"
Shuuichi had been about to draw the Kabuma clan's sacred artifact, the Zanpakutō Seyabasa, but to his surprise, Yoruichi wanted his own Zanpakutō instead.
And then, even more surprising—right in front of him, the black cat changed back to her true form.
Oh—this scene calls for a lot of holy light.
That sculpted, sinuous body, curves in all the worst-best places—
Shuuichi nearly had a nosebleed.
"Uhh… Yoruichi-taichō, don't you think this is a bit… inappropriate?"
He whipped around to face the other way. He'd watched Yoruichi shed her cat form in front of Ichigo plenty of times back in his previous life, a viewer blessed with fanservice.
He just didn't expect to experience it first-hand in this world.
Because when Yoruichi changed back from a cat… she wasn't wearing anything.
"Oh? You mean this? Is there a problem?" Yoruichi asked, honestly puzzled.
"Isn't there?"
Shuuichi couldn't even find the words for how he felt.
"All right? If Shuuichi-kun can't handle it, I'll put something on."
"Please do."
A moment later, the faint rustle behind him stopped. Yoruichi told him to turn around.
Which only made it worse once he did.
She had indeed put something on.
Bandages. Just enough to cover the vital bits; the rest was bare.
Had she never heard of "leaving the lute half-veiled"? This was far more provocative than before.
"Fine then, Yoruichi-taichō. If this works for you, it works."
This time Shuuichi didn't look away. If Yoruichi didn't mind, why should he? Might as well look his fill.
"Good. Hand me your Zanpakutō~"
Yoruichi reached out.
With no way to refuse, Shuuichi passed her his blade. "Can I at least ask—if this is a protection, why my Zanpakutō?"
Yoruichi plucked off the fresh band of cloth she'd just wrapped over her chest and began winding it around Shuuichi's Zanpakutō.
"Isn't it obvious? Seyabasa is a Kabuma heirloom artifact. My binding won't seal that.
"So we take the next best option—seal your own Zanpakutō. If you can't release your Zanpakutō, you naturally can't use that power.
"Without the boost of Bankai (Final Release), I bet you can't even hold that power for a single second. Of course, don't worry, Shuuichi-kun—when it's necessary, I'll allow you to release your Zanpakutō."
At that, Shuuichi frowned.
He didn't even spare another glance at the dazzling springtime view in front of him.
What was that supposed to mean? He wasn't allowed to release his Zanpakutō now???
True, he still had Seyabasa. Sealing his own Zanpakutō's release wouldn't shake his current combat power much. The fights he could win, he'd win even without Bankai. The ones he couldn't, Bankai wouldn't save him anyway.
But sealing his release would still hobble future battles.
Especially because the one sealing him was named Yoruichi—someone who, if events kept to their rails, was a potential enemy down the line…
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