"Are you sure you don't want to see this smooth skin of a young woman? This will be the last time..." — Yoruichi Shihōin.
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Shortly after Itachi arrived, he, Yoruichi and a few others were called to the Head Captain's office and upon their arrival, they immediately understood why they were called based on the people in attendance.
Shunsui Kyōraku, Isshin Shiba, Byakuya Kuchiki, Itachi himself and Yoruichi Shihōin, and surprisingly Unohana. It certainly concerned the Noble Families.
A few of them were caught in the last year, some even caught a few months ago. Try as the Noble Families and Central 46 might, the fact that the rebels were courageous enough to attempt to steal the Sacred Relics of their Clan was too serious for them to sweep under the carpet, especially when the Captains were already involved.
Even with the leeway Yoruichi granted Itachi as the Head of the Onmistukidō in regards to knowledge concerning the Noble Families, he still remained ignorant of the nature and the slightest information regarding the Sacred Relics. It was so secretive that not even Yūshirō, the current Clan Head, knew about them until he became the Clan Head.
If it was found out that Yoruichi gave Itachi such knowledge, there was no doubt that she'd be killed and there would be nothing anyone would do about it.
The meeting was a short one, mainly about what Central 46 was more focused about, reports from Yoruichi about the rebels under her care, and a few extra tidbits of information.
They left Yamamoto's office when the moon was up in the middle of the sky and as they left the 1st Division, Itachi felt Yoruichi nudging his side.
"Hey, is it me or is Byakuya more silent than usual?" Not waiting for a reply, not that she was going to get any, she flashed to Byakuya's side and threw her arms round his shoulders.
"What's up, Mr. Grumps? You looking extra sour today. Do you need someone to cheer you up? How about this big sis, eh, are you feeling up to it, boyo?" She playfully poked his cheek, something that seemed to actively piss him off and greatly amuse her.
"Fend off." He said coldly and lashed his hand in a violent strike, one she easily ducked under but was then forced to flip backwards as his hands came down in a lethal chop.
"Ohoh? It looked like you're extra pissed. Talk to me, what's got you in a twist? I doubt it's because of the meeting."
"Mind your own business, Shihōin." He responded dryly and walked away.
Yoruichi folded her hands under her chest with a mired frown on her face.
"Must you get on everyone's nerves?" Unohana asked softly as they walked up to her. Yoruichi looked affronted at her words.
"Hey! That hurts my feelings, you know."
"And what does that tell you?"
"That people usually have sticks up their asses?"
Unohana just shook her head helplessly at Yoruichi's antics and walked away. With Unohana gone, only Itachi and Yoruichi remained with the former already a fair distance away from her.
She caught up to him and stole a glance at his side profile and couldn't help but ask. "You think something's up with Byakuya?"
"How would I know?" Itachi replied.
She rolled her eyes. "Please, you're just as curious as I am. The only difference between us is that you're too shy to ask upfront and instead dig for answers behind their backs. I do both."
Itachi promptly ignored her, even as she kept nagging him for what he knew, until they got to his office.
The moment they entered his office, Itachi turned towards the crow that was perched on the rack where he hangs his coat.
"Tengu." He simply said and in response the crow flew out through the open window. Yoruichi only raised an eye at this with a faint smirk dancing on her lips.
Thirty seconds later the air in the room shifted and kneeling in front of Itachi and Yoruichi was the Tengu.
"What is going on in the Kuchiki Clan?" He asked.
The Tengu replied. "Nothing much different from before. However, it seems that Lady Hisana's condition deteriorated further. It has put the Clan Head in a terrible mood as of late."
Yoruichi's eyes went up a bit in surprise but she shrugged softly. "Is that so? No wonder he's a bit more grumpy than usual. He's even personally killing off most of the rebels they find in the Kuchiki Clan."
"What do you think?" Itachi asked.
Yoruichi leaned into Itachi's desk and spoke nonchalantly. "You're asking if his wife's condition is related to the rebels, or if he's just using them to de-stress? Well, I guess any of them could be true. It might be a conspiracy or it could be that his wife is just that sick. There's nothing more to it as far as I can tell."
Itachi remained silent for a bit and turned to his kneeling shadow. "And the other thing?"
"Nothing unusual yet. But from the looks of it, Sōjirō Kusaka might be close to releasing his Shikai."
"Hm? Sōjirō Kusaka? Is that not one of your best students? What's his deal?" Yoruichi asked, already putting her curiosity about Byakuya out of her mind.
Itachi reached into his sleeves and dug out a scroll that he threw at the Tengu and promptly dismissed him.
"Nothing yet. I noticed something strange about his Asauchi and Reiatsu whenever he gets close to a certain student, Tōshirō Hitsugaya. I still don't know what it means so I'm keeping an eye out."
Yoruichi groaned as she stretched. "Man, you get all the exciting stuff as Captain and teacher, while I get stuck with interviewing some rebels."
"Then pick up more work. You leave Soi Fon saddled with too much."
"What? Of course not! She likes the work, I don't." In a single move she removed her black kosode(the black sleeved top) which left her standing in her hakama(black pants) and an orange sleeveless and backless formfitting vest that clung to her torso. "That's more like it."
Itachi on the other hand had long ignored her and was more focused on the few documents that remained on his desk.
She came around the table and stole a short glance at what he was perusing and in a single move snatched them from under his hands.
"You can do this later. I'm bored."
Itachi gave her a dead glare, one that showed his displeasure at her disturbance.
"I don't have the time to entertain your antics, Yoruichi." His words were delivered in one of his driest tones, one that made her blanch with how grating it sounded to her ears.
But she was Yoruichi. She was used to skirting around dangerous edges, except this time she wasn't just pushing Itachi's buttons for a few laughs.
"I know something better. And besides, I need to work out a few kinks." She neatly arranged the papers in a small stack and smiled at him. "So how about it? It's been a while since we did something like that."
She turned wistful as she thought about it. "A long while."
The dead glare was still on Itachi's face but this time he alternated it between Yoruichi and the few documents before him. He wasn't exactly feeling the need for a spar and at the same time Yoruichi wasn't wrong. It has been decades since they last sparred.
He got up, his displeasure still stamped to his face, but it wasn't as grating as it had been a few seconds ago.
"Knew you couldn't say no. You big softie." She laughed as they left the Division.
"Don't push it." Itachi warned.
They left the Seireitei, but didn't go too far, with Itachi following Yoruichi as she led him to one of her hidden training grounds, built by none other than Kisuke.
"Yeah, this space is enough." She muttered to herself as she started performing some light stretches.
Itachi who stood opposite her took off his kosode and was left with the black mesh net he wore underneath.
"So? What are the rules?" He asked.
She grinned. "Oh you know, the usual. Strictly Zanjutsu, Hakuda and Hohō. No Kidō and no Zanpakutō release."
Itachi grabbed his neck and gave it a few pops and then did the same to his shoulders. "Got it."
The air split apart and the ground below Itachi's feet cracked from the force of Yoruichi's kick which he blocked.
Seeing the same unperturbed look on his face, Yoruichi's smile widened and she dutifully increased the force in her legs which caused the ground to crater as she brought it down.
She turned around and caught Itachi's feet that almost flew into the side of her head. Her wrist twisted and her grip tightened around Itachi's ankles, wanting to smack him against the ground, but Itachi read her intentions and despite her iron grip, managed to twist his leg and push it down, an action that brought her a step forward, as his other foot left the ground and came again for her head.
Her grip loosened the moment she caught his other foot and his captured foot slipped out and kicked off her hands used the momentum to backflip away from her.
They both stood opposite each other, Yoruichi cracking her fist with a pleased smile while Itachi rubbed his wrist with a small frown.
"That strength of yours can be quite deceptive." The force of her initial kick had been troublesome, that's why he had dodged it when he felt her pushing more strength into it.
She laughed as she took a low stance, one which Itachi mirrored. "Don't complain, we're just starting. And you're not too bad yourself if that kick was anything to go by."
It was clear she trumped him in physical strength but that wasn't the aim of this little spar. Zanjutsu, Hakuda and Hohō – these were skill-based aspects of battle and that was what they were about to put to the test.
Their Reiatsu surged for a moment and in the next the training ground exploded into a dust storm as they clashed together once again.
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