"Hahahaha~ Go on, scream! Even if you scream your lungs out, no one's coming to save you~~"
Yoruichi cackled beside him with that unmistakable queenly flair.
"...Scream my lungs out, huh…"
Shirō replied dryly, managing a deadpan pun. "Ha… ha… yeah. Guess no one's coming anyway…"
Yoruichi stood with arms crossed, grinning as she watched his little act.
"Ah!" Shirō suddenly gasped and shot upright in bed, face full of concern.
"Yoruichi! You're injured! You're the patient, you should be the one lying here!"
Before she could react, he gently pressed her down onto the bed, tenderly tucked the blanket around her, and whispered like a devoted husband,
"I'll go make you some tea. Want fruit? I'll go buy you some!"
The way he moved was absurdly meticulous, he looked more like a doting spouse than a boy with scrawny arms and legs.
"No need. Just stay here by my side forever~"
Yoruichi suddenly grabbed his hand, gazing at him with deep affection.
Shirō's eye twitched. She'd clearly seen right through his escape plan.
His eyes darted left and right, then landed on her bandaged shoulder.
"Is your shoulder still sore? I should go get Lady Hana to check it out again! Can't believe I forgot earlier, ugh, I deserve to be punished!"
If an outsider had walked in right then, they'd definitely sigh in admiration:
What a heartwarming scene.
"I'm fine. Didn't you say you'd take good care of me? If you do a good job… I might just forgive you~"
Yoruichi purred seductively.
Now, seductive might be a questionable word to describe Yoruichi, but Shirō's brain definitely went in the wrong direction. He blushed, looked down, and mumbled like a shy little wife:
"Uh… isn't this a bit fast? I mean… I'm still physically immature…"
Needless to say, Shirō was once again brutally sent to his regular post at the Fourth Division ward.
Time passed quickly.
Although Shirō's spiritual pressure (reiatsu) had grown slowly and was still relatively weak, his combat strength had improved rapidly. In other words, whatever else he lacked, his battle instincts were excellent.
Because he constantly sparred with Yoruichi, and was trained in Covert Ops-style combat, Shirō's fighting leaned toward agility and trickery, nothing like Kenpachi's head-on brawling.
As Yoruichi once jokingly said:
"Shirō fights even more like a girl than I do!"
That wasn't entirely wrong. Yoruichi was a balanced fighter, nimble and lightning-fast, yes, but she could also throw down in a brute-force fistfight with the best of them.
Shirō didn't mind being agile. Still, he was a man! What man doesn't want to be able to stand tall and hit hard when it counts?!
Unfortunately, physical power required a high level of reiatsu. And as things stood, even if he went all out, he couldn't do more than scratch his opponent, he just couldn't get it up, so to speak.
Luckily, he was still "young" and had time to grow. Besides, Shirō never planned to fight like Kenpachi anyway. His future lay in learning, mastering, and unleashing the power of a Zanpakutō.
Even now, the Shihōin family rated him highly, saying he was a perfect fit for the Onmitsukidō (Stealth Force). Some even said he was too talented for the Patrol Corps, that he should've been training with the Punishment Corps instead.
Shirō flatly rejected that idea.
The Patrol Corps? That was a sweet gig, basically glorified delivery boys. Run errands, pass messages, rub shoulders with captains and even the Central 46… it was the definition of a cushy job.
Why in hell would he trade that for the Punishment Corps? Sure, it was "good for training," but it was also deadly. Shirō wasn't an idiot.
In canon, Soifon had five older brothers, two died in their first mission, another two in the second, and the last one in the sixth. That's a 100% kill rate!
And the Fēng family specialized in raising Punishment Corps elites, meaning even with training, they dropped like flies.
So if not even Soifon's kin made it out alive, Shirō was definitely not throwing himself into that meat grinder.
Thus, Shirō's life settled into a more stable rhythm. But not everyone was happy about it.
One person, in particular, was very not happy, Yoruichi.
See, she lived for mischief. She liked Shirō the way he was before, sneaky, tricky, unpredictable. But the more he grew as a fighter, the more "normal" his style became. Clean strikes, serious sparring… it just wasn't fun anymore.
Then one day, fate played a little joke.
Yoruichi happened to learn a little something about Shirō's personal life.
That he was engaged.
And just like that, Yoruichi got a new idea, and Shirō's nightmare returned.
That day, Shirō arrived at the Shihōin estate as usual… only to find someone else sitting where Yoruichi usually sat.
"Yoruichi… who's this?" he asked instinctively. But the moment his eyes landed on the girl, he froze.
It was Soifon.
Damn it, this had Yoruichi's scheming written all over it.
"Haha~ Shirō! You're here!" Yoruichi greeted him with a devious grin.
"Let me introduce you. This is Suì-Fēng, who'll be joining us for lessons starting today. Be nice to each other, okay~?"
"I, I'm just here to serve you, Lady Yoruichi," Suì-Fēng replied immediately, blushing adorably. Her smile had nothing to do with Shirō, she was still starstruck just being summoned by Yoruichi.
"Don't be shy, Little Bee," Yoruichi said, gripping Suì-Fēng's shoulder and pointing toward Shirō. "Look at this guy, he doesn't stand on ceremony at all!"
"...Little Bee?" Suì-Fēng blinked.
"Little Bee~ buzz buzz~ that's you!" Yoruichi poked her gently on the nose, mimicking insect wings with her fingers.
"Lady… Yoruichi…"
Suì-Fēng's whole face turned red, all the way down to her neck.
"Ahem." Shirō finally couldn't take it anymore. What the hell was this? Flirting in front of him? That's his fiancée they were flirting with! Even if Yoruichi was a woman, wasn't this a bit too blatant?!
"Lady Yoruichi," Suì-Fēng suddenly looked up, glaring at Shirō. "Who is this rude person?!"
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150 P.S = 1 Extra Chapter