Fan Service? Fan Service

At the thought of that gorgeous scene of flesh and blood flying as they danced on the edge of life and death, an unnatural, unhealthy flush rose uncontrollably to Retsu Unohana's cheeks.

Perhaps Retsu Unohana had blushed more times in this single day than she had in the previous hundred years combined.

Retsu Unohana was quick to act on her thoughts. She vanished from the room and headed for the First Division.

A few minutes later, at the First Division Barracks, in the Captain-Commander's office.

It was late at night, but the office was still brightly lit.

Seated upright behind his large desk, Shigekuni Yamamoto slowly opened the eyes he had been resting and addressed his unexpected visitor:

"Is something the matter, Captain Unohana? I am an old man, and I need my rest too."

Retsu Unohana bowed slightly, her tone more solemn than ever before. "Captain-Commander, I hope you will take Fujiwara Genshin of first-year class one as your final disciple and personally teach him swordsmanship."

At the name, Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai's gaze lingered for a moment. Then he said, "Fujiwara Genshin. Him again? This is the third time I have heard that name in the past few months."

Shigekuni Yamamoto stared intently at the woman before him, his voice like muffled thunder. "Your reason."

Retsu Unohana raised her head. All traces of the Fourth Division Captain's gentle demeanor had vanished from her eyes. In their place churned a fierce killing intent and anticipation, like the depths of Avīci Hell:

"Because he can become the sharpest sword in Soul Society's future. And because... I look forward to the day he reaches his peak, when I can experience a true battle to the death!"

Retsu Unohana looked Shigekuni Yamamoto straight in the eye and dropped a bombshell that could shake all of Soul Society, enunciating every word:

"Captain-Commander, this is not a request from Retsu Unohana, the Fourth Division Captain. It is a request from Yachiru Unohana!"

"Crack."

The moment Retsu Unohana spoke that name, several cracks appeared in the purple clay teacup in Shigekuni Yamamoto's hand. Warm tea trickled through the cracks onto the desk.

Drip... drip...

The air in the entire office seemed to solidify.

After a long while, Shigekuni Yamamoto gave the woman who lived for battle a long, hard look. He closed his eyes again and said in a low voice, "I... will consider it. You may go."

"Thank you, Captain-Commander." Retsu Unohana's gentle smile returned. She turned and disappeared into the deep night of the Seireitei.

When the sun rose again, Xuanxin awoke. Although he was still a little sore, a full night's rest had been enough to restore his energy.

On waking, Xuanxin instinctively looked toward the spot where the black cat should have been lying, but she was nowhere to be seen.

Xuanxin shook his head helplessly. She was a cat, after all; it was perfectly normal for her to come and go without a trace and stay out of the house.

With that thought, Xuanxin quickly washed up and gathered his things, ready to get a bite at the cafeteria to settle his empty stomach.

Xuanxin then closed the door behind him and left. But before leaving, he had placed a bowl filled to the brim with water on the table and left the window open a crack.

Fortunately, nothing happened to the Kidō teacher today, and class went ahead as scheduled.

The teacher was surprised to find that the students were much better behaved. Even those who usually slept through class were sitting obediently in their seats, diligently taking notes.

For Xuanxin, the days that followed seemed to return to their old routine.

He got up early to lead the whole class in voluntary physical training. During the day, he attended classes and got beaten up by the sword spirit. In the afternoon, he went to the Fourth Division to have Captain Unohana treat his sword wounds. At night, he returned to his dorm to meditate. On weekends, he joined his classmates' activities or wandered around the Seireitei.

But at some point, his single dorm room gained a frequent visitor—a cat with a pitch-black coat.

The black cat occasionally appeared at random during the night. She wasn't afraid of people in the slightest, and she was quiet and didn't scratch the furniture. She was the very picture of a dream cat.

Xuanxin also noticed a pattern: the black cat and Yoruichi had never appeared at the same time.

But following the logic that "cats are free, and so is Yoruichi," Xuanxin didn't look any deeper. Instead, he showed unprecedented tolerance toward the creature who had the same eyes as Yoruichi.

Before long, the weekend arrived. At this time on previous weekends, Yoruichi would already have kicked his door open without the slightest hesitation and dragged him off to run wild all over Rukongai.

As for the Shihoin household? What place was that? She wasn't familiar with it. Besides, Xuanxin wasn't there, so why go back!

But today, the doorway remained quiet. The purple-haired girl still hadn't kicked her way in. Instead, the black cat nimbly slipped through the gap in the window and leaped onto Xuanxin's table.

Xuanxin waited a little longer, then said, "Looks like it's just the two of us today."

Xuanxin reached out and rubbed the black cat's soft, warm head, then began his weekly "lesson" in fitting into Soul Society.

So Xuanxin changed into a light set of casual clothes and let the black cat settle naturally on his shoulder. He pushed open the door and began wandering aimlessly through the Seireitei.

He saw a Soul Reaper sweeping fallen leaves outside the Third Division Barracks, and he saw the scenery above the Seireitei that hadn't changed in countless years.

Xuanxin quietly watched the people and scenery around him, while the black cat lying on his shoulder stared unblinkingly at the handsome, cold profile of his face.

This guy has really changed so much lately. He seems so much more alive! I knew a place like the Shihoin household would suppress a person's nature!

Before he knew it, Xuanxin had come to a scenic hillside.

He casually sat down on a bench by a pond and watched the white clouds drift across the sky. A rare hint of relaxed absentmindedness appeared in his deep eyes.

A breeze brushed past his long white hair. Xuanxin suddenly turned his head slightly and looked at the black cat resting her eyes on his shoulder. He spoke softly, as if talking to himself, yet also as if confiding in her:

"Tell me... what has Yoruichi been up to lately?"

Chapter 13: Fan Service? Fan Service

Even the breeze seemed to stop at that moment.

The black cat on Xuanxin's shoulder seemed as though she had been hit with Bakudō. Even through her black fur, Xuanxin could feel the temperature rising on his shoulder.

H-h-he... what did he say?! He said he missed me?! This block of wood that hasn't thawed in ten thousand years actually said he missed me!!!

But before Yoruichi could recover from her shutdown, Xuanxin had already stood up. Then he said:

"Come on. Let's stop by the underground base and see what Kisuke Urahara's tinkering with. We can mooch lunch off him while we're there."

With that, Xuanxin headed toward Sōkyoku Hill, the black cat on his shoulder still running a "fever."

Inside the secret underground base.

"Boom—cough, cough, cough!"

Following a muffled explosion, Kisuke Urahara emerged, covered in soot, from a pile of experimental equipment billowing black smoke.

He had just wiped his face with a towel when he heard the base's stone door being pushed open.

"Yo, Xuanxin! What brings you here on your day off... huh?"

Kisuke Urahara turned around, and before he had finished speaking, his gaze locked onto the well-behaved black cat on Xuanxin's shoulder.

He narrowed his eyes, then smiled knowingly. "Yo! Isn't that Yoru—"

The "ichi" in Kisuke Urahara's mouth had reached his throat and was half a syllable away from coming out.

Suddenly!!

The black cat lying on Xuanxin's shoulder shot a terrifying, almost tangible killing intent from her previously languid golden, slit-pupiled eyes!

Yoruichi bared her sharp fangs slightly at Kisuke Urahara, her tail slowly tracing a throat-slitting motion in the air. Her look plainly said: if you dare say one more word today, this day next year will be the anniversary of your death!

"Gulp."

Kisuke Urahara swallowed with difficulty. His brain, the finest in Soul Society, allowed him to make a miraculous turn in an instant. "Yoru... you really picked up this kitten in the wild at night?"

Xuanxin blinked in confusion. "How did you know I met her at night?"

"Huh?? Ah... just a guess, just a guess."

Kisuke Urahara gave an awkward laugh as he wiped the cold sweat pouring down his forehead. Still shaken, he glanced at the black cat, who had withdrawn her killing intent.

What a sin! The dignified future head of the Shihoin household has thrown away even her dignity to chase a man!

Unfortunately, Xuanxin failed to notice the dramatic exchange between the cat and the man. After a simple lunch with Kisuke Urahara at the base and a brief chat about ideas concerning Kidō theory, he took the black cat back to his dorm.

Back at the dorm, Xuanxin had no intention of slacking off, even though it was a rare weekend.

Although he wasn't practicing Kidō or Zanjutsu today, he still couldn't skip his daily physical training.

After all, only a body strong enough could deliver a fiercer sword strike.

And so Xuanxin worked up a sweat in the courtyard.

The black cat crouched quietly in the shade of the porch, her gaze following the young man in the courtyard without wavering for an instant.

She watched Xuanxin train in the setting sun, watching the sense of ultimate power that burst forth each time he exerted himself. The cat was utterly comfortable and content.

Before long, as the sky grew dark, Xuanxin finally finished his hellish physical exertion.

He pushed open the door and went inside, casually pulling off the shirt that was completely soaked with sweat and clinging tightly to his body, revealing his lean, muscular upper body, brimming with explosive power.

This sudden, straightforward "fan service" stopped the black cat following Xuanxin inside dead in her tracks.

But Xuanxin paid no attention to the black cat standing frozen to one side. He picked up a bath towel and went straight into the bathroom in the inner room.

Soon, the sound of running water came from the bathroom.

Although Yoruichi couldn't see the scene with her own eyes, for a "cat" with a human imagination, the sound of the water alone was already deadly enough!

When Xuanxin came out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist, drying his wet white hair, he found the black cat still crouched motionless on the table in the same position she had been in before he went in.

Worse still, two suspicious trails of red liquid were hanging beneath the black cat's nose!

"Hm? Why are you bleeding? Can cats get internal heat too??"

Xuanxin hurried over and lifted the black cat in both hands, holding her in front of his face to examine her with concern.

The young man's face was inches away, and the warm mist carrying the fresh scent of body wash from his bath washed over her.

Yoruichi had already maintained her cat form all day to see what Xuanxin did without her around. For a Soul Reaper who hadn't graduated yet, that was an impossible feat to begin with.

Now, under this double critical hit that was practically tailor-made to be super effective against Yoruichi, the string in her mind called "reason" snapped completely!

"Bang!"

Suddenly, a thick cloud of white smoke burst from the black cat without warning!

Xuanxin froze.

He realized that the fluffy sensation of the cat in his hands was rapidly disappearing, replaced by a sensation that was smooth, soft, warm, and astonishingly springy!

As the white mist gradually dispersed, Yoruichi, who had been a cat just moments ago, appeared before him completely naked, with two pathetic streams of blood running from her nose. Xuanxin was holding her aloft by the waist with both hands!

The air stood absolutely still for that one second.

"Boom!"

Xuanxin felt as though he had been thrown into boiling water. He turned red from the base of his neck all the way to the top of his head, and steam even seemed to rise faintly from his hair!

He squeezed his eyes shut and spun around faster than he ever had in his life. At the same time, he flusteredly snatched up the pajamas he had left on the table to change into and accurately flung them backward, straight over Yoruichi's head!

"P-put some clothes on!!" Xuanxin's voice cracked, carrying a trace of unprecedented panic.

With the pajamas covering her head, Yoruichi's wandering thoughts were instantly interrupted by the sudden action, and she snapped back to her senses.

Seeing Xuanxin's back turned to her, even the skin behind his ears red enough to drip blood, Yoruichi touched the warmth beneath her own nose. Though she was so embarrassed she wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into, the wicked streak in her nature surged forth.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!!

A rustling of clothes sounded behind him.

A moment later, Yoruichi's voice came, sly and teasing: