Soul Society, Seireitei, Shihōin Clan estate, rear courtyard.
The weather was pleasant today, and Yoruichi Shihōin happened to be in an equally good mood.
So, without the slightest hesitation, she gave herself the day off.
Yes, she had given herself the day off.
She dragged a chair beneath a tree and lounged there comfortably, holding the snacks Shadow had just brought her.
Before she knew it, the entire plate was empty.
Yoruichi licked the corner of her lips, still craving more, and was just about to call Shadow over to bring her another serving when Tansei Shihōin walked into the courtyard.
“Yoruichi, you…” “Ah!
Father!” Yoruichi jumped to her feet in fright and immediately shouted, “Shadow, run!” Before the last word had even left her mouth, Tansei saw a black blur flash before his eyes.
Yoruichi had already vanished.
The corner of his mouth twitched as veins bulged across his forehead.
Tansei took a deep breath and tried very, very hard to suppress his anger.
Unfortunately…
Boom!
The shattered stone pillar nearby bore witness to just how badly he had failed.
…
West Rukongai, District 11, forest.
A figure dressed in black silently appeared among the trees with a tan-skinned girl with short purple hair on his back.
Even the birds perched on the branches seemed completely unaware of their arrival.
None cried out or flew away.
“Father didn’t follow us, did he?” Yoruichi jumped off Shadow’s back and glanced behind them.
“No, Yoruichi-sama,” Shadow immediately replied.
He had absolute confidence in his Shunpo (Flash Step).
“Good.” Yoruichi nodded before breaking into a grin.
“That means we can play as much as we want today.
Shadow, let’s play hide-and-seek!” “Huh?” Shadow froze.
Yoruichi, however, gave him no chance to object.
She turned around and dashed into the forest.
“Yoruichi-sama!” Shadow rubbed his forehead, feeling both helpless and strangely nostalgic.
“She really is a lot like Anko-sama.” …
“Yoruichi-sama!” Shadow’s cool voice carried a trace of helplessness as he dropped from a tree branch.
“Hahaha!” Yoruichi’s purple-haired head popped out from behind a tree.
Laughing loudly, she said, “You found me, Shadow!” Did that even count as searching?
Shadow’s expression remained unchanged, but internally he couldn’t stop grumbling.
Within the range of my Sensory Field, all I have to do is think about it and I can find you instantly!
And I still have to pretend I can’t find you.
What a pain!
Naturally, Shadow would never say any of that aloud.
“Since you found me, it’s your turn next.
You hide, and I’ll find you!” Yoruichi declared with a laugh.
Shadow sighed inwardly.
Again?
Still, when he saw how happy Yoruichi looked, the corner of his mouth curved upward ever so slightly.
…
“Damn it!
Where did Shadow hide?
Why can’t I find him anywhere?!” An hour later, after searching for what felt like forever without finding a trace of him, Yoruichi finally began losing her patience.
But she quickly shook herself out of it and pumped a fist to encourage herself.
“I’m Yoruichi Shihōin!
There’s no way I’m admitting defeat!
I’ll definitely find him!” She suddenly stopped just as she was about to turn and leave.
Her head snapped toward a particular direction, her expression becoming serious.
“This Reiatsu (Spiritual Pressure)…
Kaien!” Yoruichi’s pupils widened.
Without another thought, she launched herself toward the source of the Reiatsu (Spiritual Pressure) with Shunpo (Flash Step).
Not far from where Yoruichi had been, Shadow abruptly froze atop a tree branch.
A moment later, he disappeared.
Shunpo (Flash Step) had always been one of Yoruichi’s greatest strengths, and the source of the Reiatsu (Spiritual Pressure) wasn’t far away.
She reached the scene quickly.
There, a Hollow as tall as a man, its face covered by a bone-white mask, was attacking a young man.
Calling it an attack, however, was being generous.
The Hollow was merely toying with him.
Its crimson eyes regarded the young man as though he were nothing more than an insect.
Boom!
The short-haired young man was sent flying once again before smashing violently into the ground.
Kaien Shiba felt incredibly frustrated.
He had finally gotten a rare day off from the Shin’ō Academy and had simply wanted to head home for a visit.
Instead, a Hollow had suddenly appeared and targeted him.
If it had been an ordinary low-level Hollow, Kaien’s talent would have given him a decent chance of escaping even if he couldn’t defeat it.
Unfortunately, luck clearly wasn’t on his side.
The Hollow he had encountered was an Adjuchas, a Menos powerful enough to rival a Captain.
This was bad.
Kaien grimaced, only to turn his head and spot his friend Yoruichi Shihōin rushing toward him.
His expression immediately became even worse.
Before he could say anything, the Adjuchas noticed her as well.
Excitement appeared in its crimson eyes.
“Another delicious little morsel with decent Reiatsu (Spiritual Pressure).
Wonderful!” “What the hell are you doing here?!
Trying to get yourself killed?!” Kaien gritted his teeth, his eyes turning red with desperation.
“Kaien…” “Yoruichi, run!” Kaien roared.
He turned around and charged at the Adjuchas with his Zanpakutō in hand.
No matter what happened, he had to buy enough time for his friend to escape.
He had no idea how long he could hold the monster back, but it was the only thing he could do.
“Suiten Sakamake, Nejibana!” …
“No, Yoruichi-sama!” Shadow suddenly appeared at the spot where Yoruichi had last been, only to disappear again almost instantly.
“Damn it.
I let my guard down!” …
Yoruichi regretted it now.
She regretted it more than she could put into words.
Why had she been so reckless?
Why hadn’t she brought Shadow with her?
She also regretted never properly studying Kidō (Demon Arts).
Aside from the Shunpo (Flash Step) she had become so skilled at using to escape the Shihōin estate, she could barely do anything useful in a real fight.
But regrets weren’t going to help her now.
All she could do was pray that Shadow noticed she was gone soon enough to reach her.
Yoruichi swore to herself that if she survived this, she would study properly from now on.
She would never skip her lessons or run away again.
The only question was whether she would still be alive by the time Shadow arrived.
“Yoruichi, get out of the way…
AAAAAAH!” The Adjuchas’s razor-sharp arm pierced straight through Kaien Shiba’s chest as he threw himself in front of Yoruichi.
Blood splattered across the ground.
“Kaien!” Yoruichi’s eyes widened as she stared at Kaien’s face, twisted in agony.
“Run…
Just run…” Kaien could barely whisper the words.
He no longer had the strength to do anything else.
“Neither of you is going anywhere.” The Adjuchas revealed a row of ghastly white teeth.
“Why would I ever let my prey escape?” It ripped its sharp arm from Kaien’s body and advanced toward Yoruichi with a savage grin.
“I’ll eat you first, brat!” Yoruichi gritted her teeth and prepared to fight to the death.
At that instant, a pitch-black blade of energy tore through the air like lightning.
A figure appeared directly in front of her.
“Shadow!” “Yoruichi-sama!” Shadow swept Yoruichi into his arms and used several consecutive Shunpo (Flash Step) to reach Kaien’s side.
As far as Shadow was concerned, he had already developed a favorable impression of this young man who had risked his life to save Yoruichi.
“I’m fine, Shadow!” Yoruichi shook her head and straightened herself before looking anxiously toward Kaien.
“What about Kaien?
How is he?!” Shadow frowned slightly before answering, “Don’t worry, Yoruichi-sama.
He’s not going to die anytime soon.” “Really?” Yoruichi immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
Shadow nodded.
Then he slowly turned around.
His dark eyes instantly became ice-cold, overflowing with killing intent.
He couldn’t bring himself to imagine what would have happened if he had arrived even one moment later.
“You deserve to die.”