I Didn't Know You Were Like This

An hour later, outside the Head Captain's residence.

Yoruichi and Urahara were waiting there for Hongjiang. Just as Yoruichi was about to go in and remind him that he was late again, Hongjiang appeared. He looked rather down, as if he were in a terrible mood.

Yoruichi took a closer look and noticed his eyes were a little red. It was obvious he'd been crying.

"What, did Old Man Yama make you cry?" Yoruichi asked hurriedly. Urahara didn't say anything, but his concern was plain to see.

"Do you know that crying children get fed?" Hongjiang asked, ignoring her question.

"I know a little..."

"So you cried because you wanted to be fed?" Yoruichi asked bluntly.

"Then do you know..." Hongjiang continued, still answering a different question. "Can a child who's been wronged, but doesn't cry or make a fuss, get everything they want?"

"Can you speak like a normal person?" Yoruichi reached out and felt Hongjiang's forehead, then continued, "What, did the old man beat you stupid?"

"Forget it. There's no getting through to you!"

Hongjiang brushed Yoruichi's hand away. He'd thought he was pulling off a rather gloomy, brooding little prince look. But after Yoruichi's antics, he suddenly felt like laughing. He looked like an idiot.

"If you want to laugh, don't hold back. I usually can't, either..."

Looking at Urahara as he leaned closer, his face perfectly serious, Hongjiang finally burst out laughing. You sly, smiling, squinty-eyed weirdo—when have you ever had to hold back laughter? How dare you pin this on Yoruichi? So you're the funniest one of all!

"I must've had the worst luck in the world to end up best friends with you two!"

"Hey, hey, hey! Don't forget, you're only on probation as our best friend!" Yoruichi reminded him disdainfully, then turned and walked away.

After Hongjiang's sudden Shikai, Yoruichi and Urahara felt betrayed and deeply hurt. In other words, Diezuka Hiroe had kept something from them, which meant he didn't consider them his friends.

Well, actually, only Yoruichi felt that way. But Yoruichi could speak for all of them in most situations, especially when it came to trivial matters like this. She held absolute authority.

So Hongjiang had been temporarily kicked out of their best-friend club. It wasn't much different from before, but if he wanted to get back in, he'd have to make a good impression at the base later and win over Yoruichi and Urahara with a sincere attitude.

Hongjiang didn't think it made much difference whether he was kicked out or not, but saying so would probably make things even more troublesome. He had no choice but to play along with Yoruichi.

Besides, he and the old man had just come up with a plan to make a baby. Lying to Yoruichi would help put that plan into action, so things had worked out for the best after all.

A few minutes later, the three of them sat in a circle at the secret base beneath Sokyoku Hill.

"Your interrogation starts now!" Yoruichi spoke first, putting on a fierce expression. "Name of the accused?"

"You already know that, don't you?"

"You're not the Diezuka Hiroe we know right now. You're the accused, Diezuka Hiroe!" Yoruichi raised her Zanpakuto threateningly. "So watch your attitude!"

"You already said it out loud... Diezuka Hiroe..."

Yoruichi nodded in satisfaction and smiled as she sheathed her sword. Why hadn't he just answered like that in the first place? He'd forced her to get physical.

"Do you really have to go this far?" Hongjiang asked with a wry smile. He hadn't done anything unforgivable. Was there really a need to draw a sword?

"Don't change the subject!" Yoruichi said impatiently. "Answer the question!"

"My question? This one?" Hongjiang pointed at Jiagui in his hand. Seeing Yoruichi nod, he continued, "Well, I have two Zanpakuto!"

"..."

Yoruichi froze. She wasn't shocked that he had two Zanpakuto; she just didn't know how to insult the jerk in front of her.

Forget it. It'd be quicker to hit him!

But this time, she didn't draw her sword, because Urahara had put a hand on hers.

"You really have two Zanpakuto?" Urahara was still smiling, but his expression had grown more serious.

"You actually believe that nonsense? If he really had two Zanpakuto, the old man would've sent him to Central 46 by now!"

Yoruichi's words didn't change Urahara's expression. He kept looking at Hongjiang, waiting for an answer.

Anyone in the Seireitei would react just like Yoruichi if they heard someone claim to have two Zanpakuto. That was the whole point of the saying that the truest lies sounded like the truth.

But apart from Urahara Kisuke, perhaps only someone like him—someone who would go on to create the Hogyoku—would try to believe anything at all!

"Yeah, I guess that's too hard to believe," Hongjiang said with a wry smile. "Could you at least save me some face?"

The old man had miscalculated and underestimated the young Urahara Kisuke. As for why Hongjiang had done this, perhaps he wanted to test Urahara, or perhaps he simply wanted to tell his best friends the truth. Either way, he'd wanted to say it.

But for the sake of his plans, he still had to use a lie to gloss over the whole thing.

"Actually, I never had an Asauchi to begin with." Hongjiang took a deep breath and rubbed his forehead as he continued, "The first time I saw one was in the Sword Chamber."

"I knew it!" Yoruichi cheered, pumping her fist. Urahara, beside her, was curious, but not as interested as he'd been before.

"Wait, that doesn't make sense!" Yoruichi seemed to realize something and stared at Hongjiang. "How could Old Man Yama not give you an Asauchi?"

"Uh, that's a long story..."

"That's fine. We've got plenty of time!"

"..."

A few minutes later, Yoruichi looked at Hongjiang, one hand clutching her stomach, and asked through trembling laughter, "So... you lied because you were jealous of us?"

"Don't hold back. If you want to laugh, go ahead..." Hongjiang said with a dark expression.

"Ha ha ha! Look at you now, Diezuka Hiroe!" Yoruichi laughed so hard she rolled on the floor. Hongjiang's dark expression was simply too funny.

Put simply, Hongjiang had been so talented that Old Man Yama had wanted him to build a solid foundation. He didn't want Hongjiang to achieve Shikai too early and become dependent on it, so he'd never given him an Asauchi.

Later, Hongjiang had turned out to be seriously unbalanced in his studies, so naturally Old Man Yama was even less likely to give him an Asauchi.

But Yoruichi and Urahara had both received Asauchi when they were young. Hongjiang cared too much about saving face to let his best friends outdo him. So he kept lying: if they had Asauchi, then he did too; if they'd achieved Shikai, then he'd achieved it two days earlier. Whatever it took, he couldn't lose face.

Even this time in the Sword Chamber, though he'd been desperate to get his hands on an Asauchi, he'd still had to pretend he couldn't care less. He'd put on an Oscar-worthy performance, only to end up screwing himself over.

He usually acted so calm and detached, like some otherworldly sage. Who would've thought Diezuka Hiroe was like this? Yoruichi couldn't even look at his face anymore. Every time she did, she wanted to laugh.

Hongjiang looked at Yoruichi, who was bent over laughing, and Urahara, who kept sneaking glances at him. His face darkened further. Even if this was the story he and the old man had come up with, the embarrassment was real.

"Anything else? If not, I'm leaving!"

"How did you know there was something else?"

Hongjiang pointed at the objects in Yoruichi's hands. "You didn't just have me bring mine—you both brought yours too. It's not like you brought them for self-defense, is it?"

Yoruichi and Urahara each held a sword. They weren't the Asauchi from the Spiritual Arts Academy, but their own Zanpakuto—Zanpakuto that had already awakened their Shikai!