Shihoin Kenpachi

Just as Xuanxin was looking at the formal attire on the tray with mixed feelings, the door was flung open again with a bang.

"Xuanxin! Have they brought your clothes? Put them on so I can see... Wait!"

Yoruichi stopped halfway through her sentence and abruptly halted Xuanxin as he was about to change. Then she leaned in close to inspect the clothes.

Although Seigen had agreed to let Xuanxin attend, he had played a little trick with the attire, deliberately making Xuanxin's outfit just a little less elaborate to highlight Yoruichi's absolute authority as clan head and appease the old-fashioned nobles.

The smile vanished from Yoruichi's face, and she shouted at the person in charge before her:

"Speak! Who told you to do this? Was it that old bastard? Th-this material, these specifications—they're nothing like mine!"

At her words, the attendants dropped to their knees, bowing their heads low and not daring to make a sound.

"Someone! Go fetch that old fox for me!" Yoruichi roared.

Just then, Seigen arrived, having heard the news. As soon as he had learned that Yoruichi had gone to Xuanxin's residence, he had known his little scheme was doomed.

Seigen had only just entered the room and had not even had time to speak when a garment came flying at him.

He caught it, glanced at the others kneeling in the room, and gestured for the steward behind him to take them all outside.

At the clan head's signal, the servants fled the room as if granted a pardon, leaving the mess for the three people inside to deal with.

Once everyone had gone, Yoruichi no longer bothered to spare her father's feelings. She planted her hands on her hips and said:

"Old man, I don't care what little scheme you're plotting. I'm giving you two choices."

"First, either you lower the specifications of my outfit to match Xuanxin's, or you raise his to match mine. Otherwise, you can hold tomorrow's ceremony yourself."

Seigen was furious. Although he had expected this, he still put on the airs of a clan head and retorted:

"Nonsense! The ceremony is tomorrow. Where am I supposed to find someone to alter it now?! Besides, do you want the whole Soul Society laughing at the Shihoin Clan?!"

Yoruichi refused to give an inch. She added, "If you can't do it, fine. Xuanxin, pack your things. We're leaving!"

"Where to?" Xuanxin asked helplessly.

"We're running away from home! I'm done being clan head! I'm eloping with you today, and from now on I'll be Yoruichi Fujiwara! Whoever wants to be a noble can have it. Hardly anyone in Soul Society can catch up to us anyway."

"..."

Xuanxin was even more speechless, but amid that feeling, he was also touched. After all, wasn't everything Yoruichi had done for his sake? She was even willing to give up everything for him, and that completely shattered the stone that was Xuanxin.

But when Seigen heard Yoruichi's words, he nearly stopped breathing.

"You... you unfilial daughter!" Seigen pointed at Yoruichi, his finger trembling.

But when he saw Yoruichi's defiant expression, as if she meant every word, he finally let out a long, helpless sigh.

He said, "How about letting Xuanxin wear the outfit I wore back then? I think we can alter it..."

"No! Why should my Xuanxin wear some shabby old clothes you've already worn?! No!!" Yoruichi rejected the idea outright before Seigen had even finished speaking.

Seeing father and daughter at each other's throats, Xuanxin sighed helplessly and was about to intervene. But before he could say a word, Yoruichi grabbed his arm and said:

"I saw the list of materials you prepared. I know you got twice as much as you needed, so don't think you can fool us."

As it turned out, the old fox Seigen had long anticipated that his unconventional daughter might fly into a rage over this.

So he had prepared twice the amount of everything in advance. Knowing Xuanxin was not the sort to dig in his heels over such matters, he had tried to get away with it, hoping for the best.

But as he watched his daughter furiously elbow him, the last trace of scheming in Seigen's heart vanished without a trace.

At last, Seigen sighed, clapped his hands, and told the steward outside:

"Go tell the clan's tailors to work through the night! Even if they don't sleep, they must alter this outfit to the highest specifications before the sun rises tomorrow!"

"Yes!" The steward then took Xuanxin's outfit and fled the scene at once.

Only when Yoruichi saw her father's defeated expression did she snap her fingers in satisfaction and raise an eyebrow triumphantly at Xuanxin.

Sure enough, after the poor tailors worked desperately to alter it, the outfit was finally finished before the ceremony began.

At that moment, before the magnificent open-air altar at the Shihoin Clan's main residence.

Representatives of nobles great and small from across Soul Society, along with some friends close to the pair, had all arrived. The atmosphere was solemn, and the crowd was silent.

As stately, solemn ceremonial music began to play, every gaze turned toward the elevated walkway leading to the ceremonial hall above their heads.

Dressed in formal attire of the highest specifications, Yoruichi Shihōin had put aside her usual carefree manner and displayed the supreme dignity of one of the Four Great Noble Clans. She stood quietly at the far end of the walkway, waiting for the appointed hour.

Beside her stood Fujiwara Genshin, likewise dressed in formal attire of the highest specifications, two swords at his waist. He stood silently at Yoruichi's side, his face expressionless.

Among the Stealth Force members maintaining order below the platform, a petite girl with straight-cut bangs stared intently at the two figures above.

Suddenly, an elder beside her said, "Remember what those two look like. They are the ones the Fon Clan has served for generations."

Shaoling Fon looked up at the two figures, her eyes filled with fervent admiration, although the white-haired young man's presence seemed somewhat improper to her.

Yet, for some inexplicable reason, she felt that perhaps only the white-haired young man was worthy of Lady Yoruichi, who was like a goddess in her eyes.

At that moment, ancient music rang out, and the procession at the end of the walkway finally began to move.

Yoruichi stepped onto the elevated walkway, and out of respect for the Shihoin clan head's authority, Xuanxin instinctively slowed by half a step and walked behind her.

But the moment he slowed down, Yoruichi, walking ahead of him, noticed.

Yoruichi abruptly slowed down as well, bringing herself level with Xuanxin. Then she turned her head and looked at him with her golden eyes.

She said nothing, but the meaning in her gaze could not have been clearer: If you don't walk beside me, I'll run away right now.

Xuanxin paused, taken aback by Yoruichi's stubborn expression. Then a gentle smile blossomed on his face, like a spring breeze and rain.

He said nothing more. From that moment on, he simply walked shoulder to shoulder with Yoruichi until they reached the end.

Seigen watched the two of them. Although he was very pleased that Xuanxin had tried to fall half a step behind, he could only shake his head helplessly at the way Yoruichi guarded what was hers.

As for what the other nobles below thought, it had ceased to matter from the moment Xuanxin stepped onto the walkway dressed to the same specifications as Xuanxin.

Seigen, now dressed in formal attire himself, watched the two formally enter the ancestral shrine. He gave Xuanxin a satisfied glance, but did not take the prepared ceremonial address from the tray in the steward's hands.

Instead, departing from custom, he pulled another address from his sleeve and began to read.

Anyone listening closely, however, would have noticed that the address Seigen was reading differed somewhat from the traditional one.

The revised address not only proclaimed Yoruichi's position as clan head, but also, between the lines, subtly yet unequivocally granted Xuanxin absolute power and standing in the Shihoin Clan, second only to Yoruichi's—or even equal to hers!

Just as Seigen was about to read out their names and bring the ceremony to its final conclusion, Xuanxin looked him in the eye and quietly interrupted his proclamation.

"Change it to Shihoin." Those few words were spoken softly, yet they exploded over the altar like a thunderclap.

Yoruichi, standing to the side, froze as if struck by lightning.

She turned sharply and stared at Xuanxin's profile, her mind going blank for a moment.

She had never imagined that the blockhead she had pursued for so long would finally see the light at this moment! And that he would make this request now, before everyone's eyes.

Seigen, too, was momentarily stunned when he heard it. Then his eyes suddenly shone with wild joy and relief.

"Good! Good lad! I was right about you!"

Seigen laughed to himself. Without hesitation, he took a vermilion-ink brush from an attendant beside him, vigorously struck out the name "Fujiwara" on the address, and replaced it with "Shihoin" in bold, sweeping strokes!

Then he summoned his Reiatsu and read the final sentence of the address in a voice that rang throughout Soul Society:

"And hereby let it be proclaimed that Shihoin Genshin shall share the clan head's supreme glory and uphold the name of Shihoin alongside her!"

"The ceremony is complete!"

Amid thunderous ceremonial music and booming salutes, the clan head's succession ceremony came to a successful close.

That final proclamation was also a formal announcement to all of Soul Society of Yoruichi and Xuanxin's engagement and their acknowledged status.

After the ceremony, in a corridor of the inner residence.

Yoruichi, who had just changed out of her elaborate formal attire, was as excited as a cat that had caught a mouse. She could hardly wait to find Xuanxin and thoroughly "interrogate" him about his sudden moment of enlightenment at the altar.

But as soon as she stepped through the courtyard gate, the steward firmly blocked her path, and in the end she had no choice but to let herself be ushered into Seigen's office.

"Old man, what are you doing? Out of my way. I have important business with Xuanxin!" Yoruichi waved impatiently as soon as she entered the room.

This time, however, Seigen refused to give way. Instead, he brought Yoruichi before the memorial tablets of the previous clan heads and said:

"Yoruichi, listen carefully! Whatever goes on between you and that boy Xuanxin in private, I don't care. It's none of my business who listens to whom. But! I have just one demand!"

He paused solemnly after speaking, and this made Yoruichi a little nervous. While she was still wondering what demand her father would make, Seigen said:

"As long as I have a single breath left in me, the Shihoin surname must never, ever be changed to Fujiwara!! That is my only demand of you, as your father and as the former clan head!"

Hearing her father's warning, as though he were guarding against a thief, Yoruichi was stunned at first. Then her cheeks flushed awkwardly.

Seeing his daughter's expression, Seigen understood at once that Yoruichi really had planned to do it!!

Seigen sighed inwardly. Good thing I acted quickly. At least the Shihoin Clan didn't end on my watch!

Yoruichi curled her lip and grumbled, "Tch! Stingy old man!" With that, she used Shunpo and fled down the corridor, heading straight for Xuanxin's room.

Watching his daughter rush away, Shihoin Seigen stood alone in the empty room, his tense shoulders finally relaxing.

He turned and slowly made his way to the ancestral hall, where the memorial tablets of generations of Shihoin ancestors were enshrined.

In the dim candlelight, the former clan head, who had just laid down his heavy burden, fell heavily to his knees.

"Ancestors, your unworthy descendant Seigen has done his best. As for whether that girl will really take down the Shihoin name in the future, that's beyond my control."

But then a glimmer of hope lit his eyes.

"Still, that boy Xuanxin surely has a boundless future... Perhaps even if we really do change our surname, we won't be losing out!"

Chapter 40: Shihoin Kenpachi

News of the clan head's succession ceremony, which had shaken much of Soul Society's noble circles, soon swept through the streets and alleys of Soul Society like a gale.

Once the thin veil called "reserve" had been completely torn away, the relationship between Xuanxin and Yoruichi could be said to have advanced by leaps and bounds. Whether at the Second Division barracks or the Shihoin residence, they grew increasingly open in their interactions.

Now, from time to time, people could see the black cat leap nimbly onto Xuanxin's shoulder, or Yoruichi openly nap with her head on his lap while he worked through division paperwork. The natural intimacy between them made those who noticed it feel a little envious.

Yet such everyday scenes could not conceal the bloody nature of the Thirteenth Division as an institution of violence.

Recently, Captain-Commander Yamamoto, who had been quiet for a long time, seemed to be planning a full-scale purge of the Quincy in the World of the Living.

To everyone's surprise, however, Yamamoto deliberately left this new generation of fighters, led by Xuanxin, in Soul Society during the bloody operation, strictly forbidding them from setting foot in the World of the Living.

The old man had his own reasons for doing so. The battlefield was cruel, and these geniuses, who had yet to be tempered by time, were Soul Society's future. They could not be allowed to fall in such a brutal war before they had fully matured.

For this expedition to the World of the Living, the work of supplying logistics was assigned to Shunsui Kyōraku, captain of the Eighth Division.

At the same time, the old man issued a special secret order for Xuanxin to serve as Shunsui's deputy and stay by his side throughout the operation to "learn."

At the Eighth Division's logistics command post, Xuanxin saw firsthand how his senior brother, who usually loved his drink, could bring order to mountains of supplies and untangle the chaotic reports from the front, all while chatting and laughing.

"Senior brother Shunsui, your ability to coordinate everything is truly astounding," Xuanxin said sincerely, watching Shunsui Kyōraku finish approving several top-secret transfer orders.

Shunsui Kyōraku tipped down his straw hat and picked up his sake cup for a sip, a meaningful, wry smile tugging at his lips.

"Oh, junior brother, do you think I want to do this backbreaking work? The old man's using me as a packhorse."

At that, Shunsui Kyōraku turned his head, put away his playful expression, and said seriously to Xuanxin, "Still, it looks like the old man has high expectations of you."