"My poor child, what on earth happened to you? Did someone mug you on the way home?!"
After a long round of "parental identification," Shirō's mother finally accepted that this ragged, battered beggar standing before her really was her beloved son. Overcome, she hugged him tightly, sobbing as she half-dragged him back into the house.
Shirō rolled his eyes. Mugged? Inside the Shihōin clan's sphere of influence? Not likely. But then again, if that young lady Yoruichi decided to disguise herself as a bandit… yeah, that possibility wasn't small at all.
When they returned home, Shirō's father nearly jumped out of his skin at the sight of his son. Only after the couple coaxed the story out of Shirō's grumbling, curse-laced retelling did they finally piece together what had happened that day.
The more Shirō complained, the more his father's brow furrowed, his expression hardening as if ready to scold. But Shirō's mother quickly pulled him aside.
"What are you doing? Look at the state our son's in already!"
"This brat doesn't know his place. No manners, no respect for rank, how could he casually address the young lady by name? If he provokes her displeasure, we'll be in real trouble!" his father retorted.
"He's still just a child! Besides, the young lady didn't say anything herself, so why are you making such a fuss?" his mother shot back.
"That's only because he's still small that she overlooked it. If he grows up with this bad habit and keeps acting like this as an adult, it'll cause real problems!" His father's tone carried genuine worry.
"Nonsense! In my view, this is exactly the kind of habit worth keeping!" His mother countered firmly, then analyzed the situation with surprising sharpness. "This is Shirō's opportunity, a perfect chance to build a bond with the young lady. Children don't harbor the same scheming minds as adults, which is why she'll trust him more, why she'll treat him as a real friend. By the time they're grown, their relationship will already be steady. Who's going to nitpick over a title then? And think about it: being able to call her by name makes Shirō stand out from everyone else! If you ask me, the young lady might even develop feelings for him over time, and in the end Shirō could marry into the Shihōin family!"
"Women and their fantasies… How could that possibly happen?" her husband said bluntly.
"Why not? Tell me, right now, who else is more likely than our Shirō?" she challenged.
Her words left him momentarily speechless. It wasn't that he wanted to argue with his wife, he just couldn't deny it. At this very moment, Shirō did seem like the most likely candidate to "marry" Yoruichi.
After all, age hardly mattered here. This wasn't the human world but Soul Society. For Shinigami, whose lives spanned centuries, a hundred years was no more than ten months' difference. Shirō might look like a scrawny child now, but he would grow quickly. Yoruichi already looked fully grown, yet in a hundred years she'd hardly change at all, her body was already set.
For Shinigami, growth wasn't measured by years, but by spiritual pressure. Normally, as spiritual pressure increased, the body grew as well. Once it stabilized, the body stopped changing. That's why most Shinigami matured within a few decades at most. After that, they remained unchanged, like Byakuya Kuchiki, who would never grow beyond the form readers knew from the original story.
Hitsugaya Tōshirō was an exception, forever stuck in boyish form. His spiritual pressure had stabilized at Captain-class before his body finished maturing. Unless he experienced some miraculous "second growth," he would never grow taller. Neliel was another example, her spiritual pressure determined her body's state completely.
So in that sense, there was no real age gap between Shirō and Yoruichi. Even if Shirō matured early like Hitsugaya, perhaps Yoruichi might happen to prefer the "eternal boy" type.
There was also the matter of politics. As heir to the Shihōin clan, Yoruichi would one day lead her house. That meant she could never marry out, her husband would have to marry into the clan. Which made it impossible for her to wed someone from the four great noble families like Byakuya. Even high nobles were unlikely, given the tangled web of interests.
On the other hand, marrying a commoner was also unthinkable. When Byakuya wed Hisana in the original story, the uproar was immense. So the most suitable candidate for Yoruichi's future husband would be a minor noble, preferably one already under the Shihōin banner.
And in that regard, Shirō's status fit perfectly. Today he had already taken his first step ahead of others, establishing close contact with Yoruichi and spending time at her side.
Looked at this way, Shirō really did seem to have the best chance, for now, at least. Of course, the future was unpredictable. More children like him might appear, and love at first sight was always a possibility. So even if Shirō's odds were highest at the moment, his father wasn't placing too much hope on it. He just didn't want to dash his wife's excitement.
Still, he reminded her, "Don't forget, Shirō already has an engagement."
"With the young lady in the picture, what does that matter? If she truly takes a liking to our son, the Feng family wouldn't complain even if the engagement were broken! Besides, there's no rush. If Shirō and that girl from the Feng clan grow up and, by the time marriage comes, the young lady still feels nothing for him, then we can just follow the original plan," his wife said without hesitation.
"…Fine, have it your way," her husband sighed. At least she'd convinced him on one point, he would no longer force Shirō to address Yoruichi with formality. Even if Shirō never married into the clan, becoming her close friend was still valuable. Judging by how happy she'd looked playing with him today, encouraging Shirō to keep at it might not be a bad idea at all.
Not only Shirō's father, his mother was thinking the same thing.
Meanwhile, Shirō sat in another room, quietly wiping away his tears. Suddenly, a chill ran down his spine. He glanced warily around.
"…Hah, I'm being too jumpy. How could Yoruichi possibly appear here? I'm scaring myself with illusions. This is home, how could there be any danger? I need to stop being so paranoid!"
He sighed in relief, unaware that his parents had already sold him out behind his back…
Of course, a body made of spirit particles really was something else. With just a bit of treatment, Shirō's face quickly regained its handsome form. Naturally, this was only because his attackers hadn't gone all out, otherwise his injuries wouldn't have been mere scrapes, but serious internal damage.
Superficial wounds looked frightening, but that was all they were. Soon enough, Shirō was bouncing around again, as if he'd forgotten all about the pain he'd suffered earlier.
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150 P.S = 1 Extra Chapter