Prey Will Be Eaten Sooner or Later
Aizen adjusted his glasses again, his tone regaining its usual calm and collected demeanor:
"It's alright, Tōsen. You don't need to blame yourself. Actually, I left a small mark on that device. That mark will draw Teacher Shihoin's attention elsewhere. Go back now, just pretend nothing happened."
"Yes, sir." Upon hearing this, Kaname Tōsen's figure once again disappeared into the darkness.
When Aizen was the only one left in the bamboo forest, he slowly turned around and turned his gaze toward the Shihoin Clan mansion.
The night breeze caressed Aizen's face, and a deep, eerie light shone in his eyes hidden behind his glasses.
"Teacher Shihoin."
Aizen murmured to himself, his voice carrying a hint of awe and madness that even he couldn't discern.
"Once was a coincidence, twice... was that also a coincidence? You always managed to block my way precisely every time, is it really just an accident?"
"Or is it that your very existence is a manifestation of the world's will? Surely it can't be the will of that 'wedge' that was turned into a human pig, descending out of a desire for self-preservation."
Aizen raised his head, gazing up at the illusory night sky. The records about the Soul King in the Great Spirit Book Gallery flashed through his mind, and then he dismissed the absurd thought.
Then, as he slowly walked towards his room, he thought to himself:
[Teacher, you're truly surprising me more and more. It seems I need to prepare even more perfectly to defeat you on this new chessboard.]
Chapter 62 The prey will be eaten sooner or later.
Fourth Division, inside the special care ward of the General Infirmary facility.
Rangiku Matsumoto felt as if she had been having a long and painful nightmare, a dream filled with cold rain, muddy streets, and a dazzling silver-white light.
"Hmm..."
With a soft moan, Rangiku's long eyelashes trembled slightly, and she finally slowly opened her gray-blue eyes.
What came into view was no longer a drafty, dilapidated roof, but a clean, white ceiling.
Beneath him lay a soft, warm bed, which was like paradise to an orphan who had struggled to survive in the slums of Rukongai for years.
However, before Rangiku's groggy mind could fully clear, a figure looking down at her suddenly entered her field of vision.
She was a beautiful woman with long, deep purple hair and a healthy wheat-colored complexion.
The woman was scanning Rangiku, who was lying on the hospital bed, up and down with her sharp, cat-like golden eyes, a scrutinizing gaze that even carried a hint of inexplicable hostility.
It turned out that not long ago, Yoruichi was slacking off in the Second Division's office when her adjutant, Soi Fon, rushed over to report that Shihoin Captain Xuanxin had "picked up" a blonde little girl from some obscure corner while patrolling Rukongai, and had personally carried her all the way to the Fourth Division for emergency treatment.
The moment Yoruichi heard this news, the radar above her head immediately emitted a piercing alarm!
"You, Shihoin Genshin! You actually copied me and went to Rukongai to play the 'hero saves the damsel in distress'?!"
Therefore, he quickly located Rangiku's hospital room and rushed directly to the Fourth Division.
At this moment, the atmosphere in the ward was unusually quiet.
Rangiku looked at the purple-haired older sister in front of her with some fear, and subconsciously pulled the blanket up higher, trying to hide herself.
Seeing the girl's frail appearance, Yoruichi's tense nerves and jealousy instantly dissipated by more than half.
"Tch... What a joke. She's just a little girl who can't even get enough to eat." Yoruichi muttered to herself.
As the head of the Shihoin Clan, she naturally wouldn't compete with a dying Rukongai refugee for a man's affections.
After confirming that the girl posed no threat, Yoruichi didn't say a word more. She simply gave Rangiku a deep look, then turned around decisively and walked out of the ward with light steps.
And in the long corridor outside the ward.
Fourth Division Captain Retsu Unohana stood with her hands folded in front of her, a gentle smile on her face, quietly watching Yoruichi walk out of the hospital room.
"Captain Yoruichi, is that all? Aren't you going to ask about the child's background?" Retsu Unohana asked softly with a smile.
"There's no need for that. As for the rest... Hmph, when he gets home tonight, I'll have ways to make him confess everything!"
Watching Yoruichi's hurried departure, Retsu Unohana's smile deepened.
She turned her head slightly, looking at the shadows of the trees swaying in the wind outside the corridor, and murmured softly in a voice only she could hear:
"Hehe, that's true. Some 'rules' are indeed more suitable to be handled by Yoruichi herself."
As night fell, Seireitei was enveloped in a Serenity moonlight.
Xuanxin, dragging his slightly weary body, pushed open the gate of the Shihoin Clan's main residence. So much had happened today; Xuanxin's mind had barely stopped thinking all day.
Xuanxin stretched and walked along the familiar corridor, opening the paper door to his bedroom.
However.
The moment the wooden door slid open, Xuanxin immediately sensed that the atmosphere in the room seemed somewhat different from usual!
In the very center of the spacious room, there was...
Yoruichi Shihōin, dressed in loose-fitting home clothes, sat imposingly at a low table, like a lord about to interrogate a criminal.
In the dimly lit room, a pair of golden cat eyes gleamed dangerously in the darkness, staring intently at Xuanxin, who had just stepped into the room.
In the shadows behind Yoruichi, a petite figure stood hidden.
At this moment, Soi Fon was holding the pink notebook in both hands, her expression extremely serious, as if she was ready to record every detail that followed.
"Um... what are you doing? What are you putting up here so late at night?"
Xuanxin's heart skipped a beat at the sight of the commotion, but he pretended to be nonchalant and walked in.
"Hmph." Yoruichi snorted coldly, raising her chin slightly as she scrutinized Xuanxin from head to toe with a critical gaze, her voice trailing off:
"I heard... our Captain Shihoin not only displayed great prowess while patrolling Rukongai today, but also casually 'picked up' a person from the roadside?"
Upon hearing this, Xuanxin instantly understood.
No wonder when we were in the Fourth Division today, Sister Hana used that chilling tone to tease herself about being a "womanizer." It seems the news spread faster than the wind and had already reached Yoruichi's ears!
Xuanxin knew that Yoruichi was jealous, and that she was using this as an excuse to be jealous.
Having figured this out, Xuanxin decided to have some fun with his cat, who occasionally got agitated.
Far from feeling guilty, he naturally walked to the low table, picked up the cold tea, took a sip, then deliberately sighed and said in a tone full of innocence and emotion:
"Sigh, you're absolutely right. You have no idea how dangerous the situation was back then; that girl was on the verge of death. I was thinking to myself, back in Rukongai, someone also took such a kind heart and picked up a poor, homeless person like me."
As Xuanxin spoke, he leaned closer to Yoruichi, his dark eyes filled with affection and amusement:
"What do I call this? I call this continuing and carrying forward the fine tradition of treating our Shihoin as our own home!"
"You--!"
Yoruichi, who had originally intended to use this opportunity to give Xuanxin a good talking-to, was completely speechless at these unexpected words.
Looking at Xuanxin's face so close to hers, Yoruichi instantly forgot all the lines she had prepared, and a suspicious blush uncontrollably rose on her wheat-colored cheeks.
"Pah! Stop trying to talk your way out of this!"
Yoruichi turned her head away in a fluster, but the slight upturn of her lips completely betrayed her joyful mood.
The tacit understanding and ambiguous tension between the two instantly vanished the original atmosphere in the room, replacing it with a cheesy, pink bubble effect.
And in the corner.
Shaoling Fon, who had just inherited the name Soi Fon, was currently frantically taking notes in that little pink notebook!
Yoruichi and Xuanxin joked and teased each other in the room for a while longer. Seeing that the things she had prepared were completely useless, Yoruichi gritted her teeth. Then, she suddenly dropped her playful expression and looked at Xuanxin seriously, asking:
"Xuanxin, seriously. Tomorrow, is there any particularly important work at the 11th Division or the Shin'ō Academy that requires your personal attention?"
Xuanxin was taken aback for a moment upon hearing this, and he quickly went through tomorrow's schedule in his mind.
Most of the 11th Division's operations are now handled by the lieutenant, and the advanced courses at the Spiritual Arts Academy are currently on hold.
"No, there's nothing urgent tomorrow. What's wrong? Do you need my help?" Xuanxin looked at Yoruichi with some suspicion.
"Nothing urgent, right? That's good."
Yoruichi's lips suddenly curled into a smile that carried a dangerous undertone.
She didn't answer Xuanxin's question, but instead turned around, clapped her hands at Soi Fon who was still writing furiously in the corner, and loudly commanded:
"Soi Fon! Go to the First Division right now and tell Captain-Commander Yamamoto!"
"Just say... Captain Xuanxin and I both feel unwell tomorrow and need to rest at home for a day. We're both requesting leave from all team duties and meetings tomorrow!"
"Ah?!"
Soi Fon, who was engrossed in recording the "bible," was completely stunned by Yoruichi's sudden order.
She glanced at the two men, both with rosy cheeks and full of energy, and couldn't help but feel a sense of unease.
Moreover, it's rare for two captains to take leave at the same time in the Gotei 13. And if the Captain-Commander finds out that these two are actually fine, he'll be so angry that his beard will fly off his face!
"Lady Yoruichi... Captain-Commander... he... he probably won't believe this reason for your leave..." Soi Fon, trying to remind him.
"Believe it or not! Just go and say it! I'll take care of everything, even if the sky falls! Go now!" Yoruichi waved her hand domineeringly.
"Yes!"
Although Soi Fon found it absurd, she still obeyed the order without hesitation, disappearing from her spot with a Shunpo and sprinting towards the First Division.
With Soi Fon gone, only Xuanxin and Yoruichi remained in the spacious bedroom.
"No... Yoruichi, what's going on here? Why did you suddenly ask for leave?" Xuanxin looked at Yoruichi with complete bewilderment, his ominous premonition growing stronger.
Yoruichi slowly stood up, looking down at Xuanxin was sitting on the ground.
As she cracked her wrists, a wild smile playing on her lips, she approached Xuanxin step by step.
"What are you up to? You dare pick up a blonde girl outside today, are you going to dare bring her straight back to the Shihoin Clan tomorrow?"
Yoruichi walked up to Xuanxin and suddenly leaned down, her face almost touching the tip of Xuanxin nose. Her warm breath brushed against Xuanxin face, carrying an irresistible allure and domineering quality.
"I'll see if you can stand up when the sun rises tomorrow morning. If you can, I'll consider you the winner! Let's see if you dare to pick up random people outside again!"
Looking at Yoruichi, who had completely transformed into a protective mother cat, Xuanxin swallowed hard.
He knew that tonight's battle would likely be an even more arduous "epic battle" than the one against Sōya Azashiro.
The third day, early morning.
As the first rays of sunlight pierced through the clouds and fell upon the white walls of Seireitei, the main gate of the Shihoin Clan residence was slowly opened.
Xuanxin rubbed his stiff and sore lower back and walked out of the gate with slightly unsteady steps.
That once dashing face now had two faint dark circles under his eyes, and his gaze revealed a numbness that had been drained.
In contrast, look at the main residence of the Shihoin Clan behind them.
Yoruichi, the Second Division Captain, seemed to have practiced some kind of unparalleled demonic art of replenishing yin and yang. Not only did she not show any signs of fatigue, but she was also full of energy, and her skin was so moist that it looked like you could squeeze water out of it.
"This crazy cat... it's really deadly when it goes crazy."
Xuanxin let out a Nobunaga sigh, on the verge of tears.
As it turns out, in the face of an absolute war of attrition, even if you are a man with the title of Kenpachi, you should never easily provoke the bottom line of a jealous female cat.