Yoruichi Shihouin

Yoruichi Shihouin had her back to him, yet that dashing aura still came through loud and clear.

Her short purple hair emphasized a clean, capable look. Rather than the standard uniform, she wore a fitted short top and something like knee-length shorts.

The moment Arima Shizuya saw that outfit, he understood.

She was not a student of the True Spiritual Arts Academy.

Combined with what Aizen had said earlier—

She was a professional brought in from outside the Academy?

But this was too outrageous... There had to be seventy or eighty people lying on the ground, if not a hundred.

And yet, she still looked utterly confident, as though she had barely exerted herself.

Prison Master, you want me to fight someone like her?

Do you think I'm tired of living?

Arima Shizuya shot Aizen a strange glance, but the man merely chuckled and slowly stepped forward.

"Lady Yoruichi, it has been a long time. I hope you have been well?"

She kept her hands on her hips as she turned halfway around.

Yoruichi Shihouin.

She had brilliant golden eyes and brownish skin.

Her lean, tall figure radiated an almost wild charm, and there still seemed to be a rather displeased expression on her face.

But after meeting Aizen's gaze, she seemed puzzled. She turned fully around, raising her right hand halfway and leaving it hanging in the air.

Yoruichi wore a rather surprised expression.

"Oh? You, you are..."

"If I recall correctly, the last time we met was nineteen years ago, in the Twelfth Division barracks, when I..."

Ah! Yoruichi clapped her hands together, her face blooming into a radiant smile.

"I remember now! You're that glasses guy who was pretty close with Urahara!"

Arima Shizuya nearly lost it when he heard that...

For the World's Greatest Hair Gel Hand to be called "glasses guy"—that was probably a first in his life.

Arima Shizuya even saw Aizen's back twitch slightly.

Gah! Even the B King had nearly been defeated. Yoruichi Shihouin, you're terrifyingly strong! There were simply too many things to mock.

Still, it was more or less within expectations, so Arima Shizuya did not react too dramatically.

After all, the original story had never described much of a relationship between Aizen and Yoruichi. Given their respective positions, it was even less likely that they had been close friends.

That left only one point of intersection.

—Kisuke Urahara, then captain of the Twelfth Division and the first director of the Research and Development Department.

Yoruichi Shihouin and he had been childhood friends, while Aizen's interest in research would have brought him into contact with Kisuke Urahara to some extent.

Perhaps that was why Urahara's name had to be mentioned at a time like this.

After all, Yoruichi's delighted expression made it pretty obvious.

She truly was Urahara's confidante. Their childhood-friend bond had to be unbreakable.

Yoruichi's mood seemed to improve considerably. Lightly stepping over the students sprawled all over the ground, she strode forward amid their groans.

As she approached the two of them, the smile on her face grew even wider.

"Come to think of it, it really has been many years since we last met. Sorry about that, Aizen."

The fact that she remembered his name meant they were not complete strangers.

In response to Yoruichi's apology, Aizen pressed his lips together slightly and bowed respectfully.

"Great people are often forgetful. It is merely the name of an insignificant man; you are far too polite."

"You still talk in that overly refined way! Hahaha! Anyway, what did you come all this way for?"

Aizen nodded slightly, then raised his right hand and patted Arima Shizuya on the shoulder.

The party involved immediately wore an utterly indescribable expression.

Wait, what the hell, Prison Master! You brought me here because you expect me to trade a few moves with Yoruichi? Huh? No, I'm fighting Yoruichi? Seriously? Arima Shizuya's pleading gaze went unnoticed by Aizen. In contrast, Yoruichi lowered her eyes and looked over at the boy.

"What? Did you bring this rookie here because you want me to give him special training or something? Let me say this first—I'm not interested in weaklings."

Aizen gave an awkward laugh, merely patting Arima Shizuya's shoulder meaningfully.

"Of course I understand your preferences. We came today only so that we might observe this sparring session."

At those words, Yoruichi seemed to lose interest at once. She clicked her tongue softly and turned away listlessly.

"Just for something so trivial? You people... Well, whatever. The people above just like rigid, by-the-book types like you."

She pulled herself together again.

Yoruichi Shihouin strode forward, clapping her hands as she shouted at the "corpses" scattered before her.

"Get up, get up! You're Fifth-Year Students. If injuries this minor are enough to take you out, that's absolutely disgraceful."

"Can't stand up? What a joke! Even if your bones are broken, as long as your waist still has strength, you can keep struggling."

"This is when you use your willpower—willpower! Come on, get yourselves together! Start the next round of sparring as soon as possible."

"Yes, yes, that's the expression I want to see. Tense every muscle in your bodies, force yourselves to take a breath... That's it!"

"Let me make this clear: if you can't even last through three exchanges, I won't acknowledge your strength!"

Yoruichi Shihouin's tone was incredibly spirited.

Compared with the dark-skinned big sister from the original story, Yoruichi at this point in time seemed much more lively?

Aizen led Arima Shizuya to a spot near the edge and calmly sat down.

There were certainly quite a few spectators, including other faculty members.

Everyone treated Aizen with great respect... A few female students had even begun whispering among themselves.

Gulp...

Arima Shizuya even felt several people glaring at him.

The air of Why do you get to sit beside Teacher Aizen? made him wear an awkward expression.

Did you really have to be this popular, Prison Master?

"Shizuya-kun."

Before he could dwell on it, Aizen's voice jolted Arima Shizuya back to his senses.

"Yes, Teacher."

"Watch Yoruichi Shihouin's movements closely. After all, she is the Head of the Shihouin Clan and the commander of the Stealth Force."

Pulling straight the fabric gathered around his bent knees and smoothing out its wrinkles, Aizen spoke as usual. Behind his glasses, though, he looked at Arima Shizuya with a faint, knowing smile.

"Her achievements in Hakuda and Shunpo are unmatched. She even relied upon her own abilities to step out from beneath her ancestors' shadow and forge a career of her own."

"The world calls her... Flash Goddess Yoruichi."

Arima Shizuya nodded slightly to show that he understood.

"I see."

It seemed that even a century ago, this dark-skinned big sister had already made quite a name for herself.

She really was an exceptional figure.

"By the way, why is Lady Yoruichi in a place like this?"

Aizen pondered for a moment before lowering his voice.

Only because of her personal twisted sense of amusement.

"...Huh?"

Lady Yoruichi often takes time to visit the Academy, conducting class-based guidance sessions for upper-year students in the name of academic assistance.

That was not right.

Wasn't this just a straight-up beating?

That is correct, just as Arima-kun thinks. This is indeed a one-sided act of violence, but at the same time, it is also a rare opportunity.

The smile in Aizen's eyes deepened.

Because if any of them truly have talent, Lady Yoruichi may take a liking to them and make an exception to promote them into the forces under her command.

Though the order might have been somewhat backwards, it was only now that Arima Shizuya finally understood the origin of this match.

There was something like that?

Arima Shizuya paused, recalling other information related to Yoruichi Shihouin.

The Second Division, the Stealth Force, the First Division—the Correction Corps.

Compared to obscure organizations nobody had heard of, all the units under Yoruichi Shihouin could be called prestigious.

They could skip the examinations and enter solely by catching her fancy, then coast through life there.

No wonder so many people rushed forward one after another to get beaten up...

But then again.

Looking at the upperclassmen curled up, vomiting, and even rolling on the ground in agony, Arima Shizuya felt somewhat ashamed.

She might not have been trying to kill them, but Yoruichi's blows were still incredibly heavy.

He could not even see her precise movements. Several people who had struggled back to their feet were sent flying stiffly away in succession.

Forget resisting—even lying down comfortably was a luxury.

She was brutal...

All he could say was that money was hard to earn, and shit was hard to eat.

This was not work just anyone could do.

As his thoughts churned, Arima Shizuya watched Yoruichi circle around as though she were striking a wooden training dummy.

Forget three exchanges—nobody could even survive the second.

Yet although he could not see her movements or anything else clearly, because he had witnessed the entire process from nearby, familiar lines of text flashed before Arima Shizuya's eyes.

You witnessed Flash Goddess Yoruichi's Hakuda technique. Hakuda +10

You witnessed Flash Goddess Yoruichi's Hakuda technique. Shunpo +10

Holy shit...

He could gain so much at once? Drawing on his past experience, Arima Shizuya quickly realized one fact.

The Hakuda and Shunpo techniques she had mastered were far beyond his own... The gap between them was like heaven and earth.

Only in situations like this could his attributes increase simply through observation, without any training.

A double champion—you really were amazing.

With ten attribute points gained, the movements that had originally been blurry became much clearer.

Some strange, incomprehensible motions now revealed their own distinct purpose.

Arima Shizuya continued watching intently, unaware that Aizen beside him had silently been observing him.

Until a subtle, pleased smile appeared on his face.