back in time.
That morning, Onohana slipped out of the house, heading towards a certain publishing house in New York.
This publishing house was actually part of the assets the Leo Company held under fake names or some of their personnel's names.
This shrewd idea came from Leo when he was young: he would scout smart and talented people, reform them, and offer them the perfect job with a bet.
Simply put, within a set timeframe, the scouted person was expected to show results. If they won, they got the rights to the job or company, with only a percentage of the profit handed over to the Leo Company.
If they lost, they worked for the company normally. For anyone, that was a win in both cases—for Leo and the person.
This was one of the reasons the people in the company were so tight-lipped; in some cases, they refused to cooperate with authorities if they sensed something would hurt the company's interests, even at personal disadvantage.
Anyway, back to the publishing house (PH). In fact, it was under the head chief's name. But thanks to his past dealings with Leo personally, he refused to take ownership despite winning with flying colors.
Instead, he chose to serve under Leo, so his continued work at the publishing house was actually just a way to lay low until he was needed.
The same applied to most of the people he hired, as they had been in the same line of work before Leo picked them up—a tendency he seemed to have picked up from Leo for some reason.
Onohana investigating this publishing house had nothing to do with Leo; as a matter of fact, she didn't know about any of this.
This PH was actually the only known contractor to have a relationship with a certain author, and he was the main purpose of Onohana's mission. Using the pen name 'Moon Lion,' from the moment he started to publish, he released several books that stunned the masses, but that wasn't the sole reason for this mission.
The reason was simple: most of his works (if not all) had a high percentage of similarity with some very old, sealed dimensions, some of which had no way to get in or out.
For a person to write a book about said dimensions, not once or twice, but repeatedly, raised the chance that he had a connection, one way or another, that allowed him to interact with or at least see them. The Soul Society wouldn't leave that to chance, or at least the person behind the mission wouldn't.
The implication was simple: if this case was confirmed, it meant the person could see or pass the dimensional walls, and by extension, he could lead others to them—an ability deemed both interesting and dangerous. That's what led Onohana to accept the mission despite being on vacation.
After a small search around the building, she found the editor of the Moon Lion. But sadly, she found nothing to link the editor to the author. Sighing and about to leave, two men entered.
Thankfully, being in soul form, normal people couldn't notice her. Not minding them, she was about to leave through the open door, but noticed the thing one man took from his pocket, thanks to its familiarity.
The man had a phone similar to the one she got from Leo. Despite her age, she was quite knowledgeable about advanced technology (advanced for her time). She knew that the phone was handmade by Leo himself, and he only handed it out to people close to or interesting to him.
"Man, I'm really jealous of you," the man's escort said with a smirk, while Onohana was thinking about the possible connection.
"About what?" the first man and the editor asked, not taking his eyes from the screen.
"I mean the luck you stuck!" Rolling his eyes, he added, "Not only did you get that phone from the big boss personally, but you also got the owner to work on his book."
"Are you sure he's not your relative?" He nudged his friend with a playful question.
"For how many times have I told you, don't open your trap about that in public," the editor said with a sigh of defeat. "And you have one yourself!"
"Okay, come on, Alex, this is your office; it's private enough," the escort said, closing the door and sitting on the couch. The editor (Alex) shook his head and started to go through some paperwork.
"As I said before, I have no relation to the boss except the saving grace he extended," Alex stated with a serious, yet thankful voice.
"Oh, yeah," with a hand on his knee, the escort added, "And why did he give you a handmade L.E.O. Phone?"
"You know Boss and fame don't blend well." That's all Alex said to let the man understand. As personnel of the said company, he knew his boss's character too well, so he nodded.
But not only him; Onohana, who was listening, blinked her eyes as her speculation since she saw the phone was just confirmed. With a smirk, she jumped from the open window and vanished on the wind, heading back to Leo's house.
With that, she shifted her investigation to the boy she was training for the last week. And, oh boy, she was up for one hell of a surprise—enough to tempt her to raise the difficulty of the training.
Onohana returned to the mansion humming in a good mood, as she got a breakthrough in her investigation. What she didn't expect to find was a cat sniffing around the house.
And that's not just a figure of speech.
A black cat with golden eyes was sniffing around the living room, looking for something.
Stepping inside, at first the cat didn't notice Onohana, and the lady herself only thought the view was cute, until the cat's eyes landed on her. As if meeting her eternal enemy, the cat froze on the spot, eyes wide in surprise, and fur standing on end.
For a second, Onohana didn't know what happened until she sensed the Reiryoku on the cat, then she smirked in realization.
"Oh, aren't you a cute little one," she said, taking the cat by the scruff. "Let's have some fresh air, shall we?" She opened the door, skipping to an outside chair and table in front of the cliff.
Putting the cat on the table and giving her a long look, she smirked.
"Been a while. I have to say I'm surprised to see you here," she stated, as if not talking to a cat, but instead meeting an old friend after a long time. "So, care to tell me why you're sniffing around in my student's house, Yoruichi?"
The cat was actually Yoruichi Shihouin, the ex-Captain of the Second Division, and one of the registered traitors from an accident centuries ago.
"Well, I guess, as expected," Yoruichi answered in her trademark deep voice. "And what do you mean, 'student'?"
Thanks to her current situation and the order on their heads, while answering, she was thinking of a way to slip away, as it definitely wouldn't be easy. And at the same time, she was cursing the hat man who asked her to do this investigation. Never in her wildest imagination would Yoruichi have thought of meeting a Captain in the far end of the world, and the First Kenpachi no less.
To Onohana, seeing the stressed and scared look the 'cat' was giving was funny.
"Well, don't get all nervous on me," Onohana said with a chuckle. "Just answer me and you're free to leave; I don't intend to stop you. Also, you have some connection to the owner."
"Thanks, I guess? And who is that? Your student?" Yoruichi asked, still not believing a word, but curious about the connection Onohana mentioned.
"Well, technically yes, and no," Onohana answered playfully, hinting for Yoruichi to answer first.
Sigh. "Well, I was investigating a certain person, and it led me to this house, as the only lead," Yoruichi answered.
Raising an eyebrow, Onohana somehow guessed what the investigation was about.
"Let me guess, the Moon Lion?" Onohana asked, causing Yoruichi to gasp in surprise before feeling a sense of dread.
"That's right. By any chance, are you on a mission from the Council?" Yoruichi inquired.
"Yeah, I was going to get here anyway, so they handed me this mission," Onohana answered, with a raised eyebrow at Yoruichi's reaction. "Why, something wrong?"
"...You won't believe me anyway," Yoruichi said with a sigh of defeat. "But if you find anything, it's better to keep it between you and the Commander."
Yoruichi said this and was about to leave, but she was caught by the scruff. "Hold it."
Restrained on the table, she looked back at Onohana.
"What do you mean, I won't believe you?" Onohana asked. "Is it in relation to the accident?"
"Yes, and all the problems before and after are from the same reason," Yoruichi decided to answer, knowing that even if she did, it wouldn't change the matter; after all, they were all affected by his ability.
"I see, I have my suspicions, but," Onohana murmured, "to think that even the Council was in cahoots."
Snort. "As if," Yoruichi snorted in a bad mood. "Those pigs are just being controlled."
"You're lucky I'm on vacation," Onohana said with a sigh. "So, as expected, someone really was playing with threads from the shadows."
Yoruichi looked surprised at the keen insight of this lady, but remembering who she was in front of, she found it normal.
"Then who is it?" Onohana asked, surprising Yoruichi.
"Eh? You believe me?" Yoruichi involuntarily asked, surprised. If anything, she was expecting Onohana to capture her by now.
"As I said, I'm on vacation," Onohana replied and used her soul force to bring a yukata and a tea set from inside the house. "And I always found that case weird. Now, I'm just Onohana Retsue, a lady who came here to meet her student, but instead, I found her friend."
Not fully catching the reason behind her words, but at least Yoruichi felt at ease, as the one thing about Onohana she knew best was that she never lied.
Nodding, she shifted to her human form and asked, "Which friend are you talking about? Thinking back, you're the teacher of almost all the people I know, barring a few."
"Oh, it's actually..." Onohana was filling a cup of tea, about to answer, but she cut mid-sentence, noticing something.
A symbol on the rooftop started to shine, catching the attention of the two ladies.
The next thing they saw was a projection forming in front of them. By the time it completed, their eyes widened, and they said in unison, "Akiko!!"
The projection was actually a hologram of a person both of them knew well. Akiko Shiroyash, later known as Akiko Rageheart, the student of Onohana, and surprisingly, the ex–best friend of Yoruichi.
Why ex? Simply because Yoruichi wanted more, but Akiko didn't swing that way, or more precisely, she was taken. That caused Yoruichi to start distancing herself before Akiko and her husband disappeared.
"Yo! Yoruichi, how are you doing?" Akiko said, giving a two-finger salute.
"You crazy woman! You vanish on us, and now you greet me like nothing happened?" Yoruichi almost burst with anger, ready to tackle Akiko to the ground, but remembering it was only a projection, she held herself back.
"I don't know if you're alone or not, since this is just a recorded message." Akiko pouted, pressing her hands together and closing her eyes. "Sorry."
"But if you're with my boy now, I have a couple of words to tell him first." The projection smiled. "I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you, along with your father. But as they say: the wind doesn't blow as the ship desires."
"I hope you have a great life. I don't want to come back and find you've turned into an edgelord, okay?!" she said with a raised hand and puffed cheeks.
"Now, since I'm not dead or anything, we'll definitely meet later. So, you have one minute to leave the place—I've got some girl talk to do!"
Akiko's projection stopped talking for a minute, giving Yoruichi time to digest the information.
"So… does that mean the owner of the house is Akiko's child?" Yoruichi asked the obvious, and Onohana nodded.
"He's also the head of the company you were investigating," Onohana added.
"The Leo Company?" Yoruichi asked, confused. "But from what I found, that company has existed for almost twenty years now, right?"
"Well, I don't know the specifics, since I just got this info this morning," Onohana said, raising her hands. "But to think that brat chose to use you as the trigger—why, I wonder?"
"Now that Lolo's out of the place," the hologram Akiko said, causing Onohana to smirk and hold back a laugh, confusing Yoruichi.
"Her son's name is Leonard," Onohana clarified when she noticed Yoruichi's confused look.
"And why is that funny?" Yoruichi asked.
"Well, he's not exactly someone who fits that nickname," Onohana smirked, clearly planning to use it to tease him in the future.
"Now, my sweet mischief cat, I hope you're okay." Akiko's projection began speaking again. "I know we haven't had much time together in the past years—thanks to, you know, why."
Akiko smiled playfully, and Yoruichi sighed in sadness.
After Akiko met James and brought him to train with them, for some reason Yoruichi didn't like it. Despite all her mischief and playfulness, she couldn't understand her feelings. As time passed, those feelings for Akiko only grew stronger, and afraid of causing problems for her friend, she drifted away.
"Well, I get why you did it, and honestly, it's not your fault or mine," Akiko said softly. "So don't hold it in your heart."
"Now, since this is a recording, I can't keep talking about unrelated things." Akiko's tone shifted to a serious one. "Since you're in my house and chose to shift form here, this record was triggered. How you ended up here, I don't know."
"But I can guess—it's either to find me, or to find a certain writer, right?" Akiko said.
As a matter of fact, before Leo awakened his memories, he had the habit of writing stories—perhaps because of echoes from his sealed memories. He often surprised his parents with books that resembled the places they had visited in their younger years. That was one of the reasons Jason founded the company—as a form of protection. After all, he knew very well that strength alone wasn't enough in a world driven by capital.
"I know because I saw him write some crazy stories very close to a dimension we visited before—the one containing the sealed magic. But that's not the point."
This surprised the two ladies, and the look on their faces turned serious, confirming the gravity of what Akiko was implying.
"The point is—he's my son. So I hope you keep him away from your hot-headed friend," Akiko said firmly. "Not only for me but for your friend's safety."
"And finally," she added with a mischievous smile, "the thing you felt for me wasn't actually about me as a person.
"Now, I'll go have fun!" leving this crypted word, With a wave, akiko in the the hologram vanished.
After a small pause, Yoruichi sighed and sat down.
"Great. You vanished and now you're making me babysit your child?" she murmured, drawing a chuckle from Onohana.
"She only asked you to hide his identity, right?" Onohana teased her, knowing what Akiko had been hinting at while Yoruichi tried to find a way into the house.
"Well, how am I supposed to hide his identity if I don't keep an eye on him?" Yoruichi muttered with red cheeks, turning away.
Onohana smiled softly. "By the way, how did you end up here?" Not wanting to embarrass her further, she changed the subject.
"Well, after following some leads, I found some hidden info in that Leo Company," Yoruichi started to explain, but she stopped when she heard the sound of a car engine from the other side of the house.
"Oh, Leo is back," Onohana said, looking at Yoruichi. "You might want to change into a cat."
"Why?" Yoruichi asked. "I can just meet him like this."
"And where's the fun in that?" Onohana smirked, and soon Yoruichi caught on.
"Oh!" With a smirk, she shifted into a cat and jumped onto Onohana's shoulder, only to be caught in her hands.
After wrapping herself in the falling yukata, they entered the house—but didn't sense anyone.
"Alfred, where's Leo?" Onohana asked into the air, confusing Yoruichi for a moment before Alfred's voice came from the speakers.
[He's on an urgent trip to his company,] Alfred answered. [Should I inform him of our guest?]
The last part surprised both of them—Yoruichi for being recognized, and Onohana for realizing that even after Leo left the house, Alfred was still monitoring them.
"Well, taking you outside didn't matter after all," Onohana sighed, looking at the cat. After all, she had taken Yoruichi to the garden to hide her identity.
"So, did you report it?" Onohana asked.
[No. My protocol doesn't allow me to listen to conversations of anyone with permission level higher than four,] Alfred replied.
That was true—unless Yuki requested it. After all, Alfred still recorded and stored everything happening across the entire town of Forks.
Onohana sighed in relief that her talk with Yoruichi wouldn't leak to Leo, since she still wanted to play around with the two of them. From her long experience and what she knew about the relationship between the parents and Yoruichi, she couldn't help but slip into gossip mode. And since she was on vacation, she had all the time in the world to enjoy a little show.
While they were talking, a low noise came from the forest not far from the mansion—the sound of a helicopter taking off.
"What is that?" Yoruichi murmured, looking out the window. They saw a shadow rising into the air before disappearing with the noise.
[Sir called on his personal chopper,] Alfred clarified.
Back to Leo—after greeting the Cullens, and Rose just finishing fixing her clothes.
By the time they stepped out, a chopper was hovering above the house, preparing to land.
"Another one?" Rose asked, seeing the chopper for the first time, wondering where the hell Leo parked all his aircraft without being discovered—something she shared with the rest of her family at that moment.
"You're not expecting us to use a jet plane to head to New York, right?" Leo smirked, looking back at the Cullens. "Then I'll be taking Rose for the night."
"I expect her back in time," Esme added jokingly.
"Aye aye, ma'am." Leo saluted before leading Rose to the chopper and taking off.
"Now let's get back," Charlie said. "We've got a hunt to do."
As they headed back, they noticed Alice frozen in place. Everyone gathered around her, knowing she was having a vision.
Thankfully, their concern eased when they saw a wide smile spreading across her face. Minutes later, she came back to her senses and let out an extremely excited scream, jumping into Jasper's arms before laughing uncontrollably.
Watching Alice jump around and hug her mate, the family looked at Edward, waiting for him to explain—but to their surprise, he stood frozen, staring at Alice with wide eyes.
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And here's the chapter, folks
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