Yoruichi-sama

"Is it over?!"

"It's not that simple. A Vasto Lorde is nothing like an Adjuchas!" Shihōin Shanqing frowned.

Sure enough, Nonial's roar came from within the smoke filling the sky.

"Bleach, you actually destroyed my Phantom Clone! I'll kill you!"

With those words, he instantly appeared before Shadow, his sharp arm stabbing out viciously.

"Substitution Technique!"

The Reiatsu in his body was only enough to activate one more Substitution Technique. Looking at the wooden log that had been pierced through, Shadow collapsed to the ground. Have I finally reached my limit?

Everything before his eyes was blurry, and his vision had grown unclear. Shadow thought, Am I going to die again?

No, he didn't want to die. He couldn't die. He had promised Yoruichi-sama that he would return alive. How could he break that promise?

With difficulty, he raised his head. Shadow seemed to see Yoruichi Shihōin's tear-filled face, and before his eyes appeared the despairing, crying face of Mitaraishi Anko from his previous life.

Shadow let out a low roar.

"I can't die. Absolutely not. Without Anko-sama, I can't lose Yoruichi-sama too. I won't let that happen again!"

It felt as though his chest had been struck by a heavy hammer. A mouthful of blood sprayed from his throat as Shadow struggled to stand, his breathing growing increasingly ragged.

"It looks like he really has reached his limit." Shunsui Kyōraku pressed down on his straw hat, his tone grave.

"For someone already seriously wounded to force a Vasto Lorde into this state is already incredible! Even for someone Captain-class, how old is he?" Jūshirō Ukitake sighed.

"Should we step in?" Shinji Hirako asked.

"No need." Yoruichi Shihōin lowered her head slightly. "I believe in Shadow. He won't lie to me!"

"Yoruichi..."

"You're strong, Bleach. Your bizarre Kido and strange Shunpo—I have to admit, you're remarkable. Perhaps in less than a hundred years—no, just ten years—Hueco Mundo may no longer have any Hollows capable of suppressing you!" Nonial said coldly. "So I can only erase you before you have fully grown..."

"Is that so?" Shadow took a deep breath and placed his hand on the hilt behind his back. "You sure talk big."

"Bleach, are you finally willing to draw your sword?" Nonial sneered. "And what if you do? You have no Reiatsu left, do you?"

"That's right." Shadow nodded. "But so what?"

"I have to admit, you've successfully enraged me!" Nonial's face darkened. "And the price you'll pay is your life!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Nonial activated Sonído. His sharp arms stabbed out repeatedly as Shadow dragged his heavy body aside, evading the attacks.

Suddenly, Shadow's lips curled upward. Forcibly gathering what little Reiatsu he had left, he used the Body Flicker Technique to appear above Nonial.

"Nonial, right? Remember this—I'm not a Bleach!"

Shadow drew the pitch-black Zanpakutō from behind his back and raised it high into the sky.

He mobilized all the spiritual power within his body, forcibly controlling the Reishi in the surrounding area and gathering it toward the blade.

Blood continuously flowed from his wounds. The pain was heart-rending, as though every cell, bone, and vein in his body was aching. Countless steel needles seemed to be stabbing into his mind without pause. Even Shadow, who had long grown accustomed to death, could barely endure such tremendous pain.

Yet he still pressed on without hesitation.

Under the control of his spiritual power, countless Reishi condensed frantically. A massive blade aura nearly solidified into substance, dozens of meters long, spread forth with madness and brutality...

"Damn it! Cero!"

Nonial finally sensed that something was wrong and launched his strongest attack without hesitation.

"Swordsmanship! Heaven Slash!!!"

Shadow roared and slashed down fiercely.

"BOOM!!!"

A violent explosion sent waves of sand and dust flying. Amid the dust lay a gigantic crater hundreds of meters deep. Shadow was covered in blood, his face impossible to make out, making him look rather terrifying.

With a muffled groan, Shadow ignored his violently trembling legs and slowly got one knee beneath him. His hands braced against the ground loosened with difficulty.

That simple movement, however, seemed to drain every last bit of his strength. His mouth hung open as he panted urgently.

At last, Shadow stood up. Step by trembling step, he walked out of the sand and dust that was gradually dispersing.

He had promised that he would return alive. He had done it.

"Shadow!"

Yoruichi Shihōin wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes and hurried over.

"Yoruichi-sama!"

Finally unable to hold on any longer, Shadow crashed heavily to the ground. Yet his lips were still murmuring something softly.

When Shadow woke from his coma again and opened his eyes, he found himself in a simple, spacious room. He tried moving his body, only to feel utterly weak, as though his limbs were no longer under his control.

"You're awake, Shadow-kun!"

A gentle voice sounded beside him. Shadow turned his head and saw Retsu Unohana.

"Where is Yoruichi-sama? Is she all right?" Shadow asked hoarsely.

Retsu Unohana froze for a moment. She had thought Shadow's first question would be about himself. She smiled.

"Yoruichi is fine. I told her to go back and rest this morning. Right now..." As she spoke, Retsu Unohana glanced at the dim sky outside the window and continued, "She may already be on her way here!"

"Is that so?"

"However, Shadow-kun..."

Seeing that Shadow had no intention of speaking again, Retsu Unohana could only ask. But before she could finish, she was interrupted.

"Shadow, you're awake!"

The door slid open. The moment Yoruichi Shihōin entered and saw Shadow with his eyes open, a smile immediately appeared on her bronze face.

"Yoruichi-sama!"

Shadow struggled to sit up, but Yoruichi Shihōin stepped forward and pressed him back onto the bed.

"You haven't recovered yet. Why are you moving around?" Yoruichi Shihōin said with some displeasure.

"But..."

"No buts!" Yoruichi Shihōin pulled a stern face and put on a fierce expression.

"Oh my, you woke up after only three days. I thought you'd sleep for seven or eight days!"

Kaien Shiba teased him. Such an opportunity was rare; he had to make the most of it.

"What did you mean by that, Kaien Shiba?" Yoruichi Shihōin turned back with a dark expression and asked word by word.

"Nothing, ha..." Kaien Shiba laughed awkwardly.

"Big brother, you brought this on yourself." Kūkaku Shiba tilted her head and mocked her brother for being so tactless.

At a time like this, how could he say something like that? Even if it was a harmless joke, he should have picked the right time! Kūkaku Shiba was utterly speechless at her own brother.

Before long, the spacious room was packed with people. Yoruichi Shihōin, the Shiba siblings, Kensei Muguruma, and the others were expected, but Shadow could not understand why Captains like Shunsui Kyōraku, Jūshirō Ukitake, and Shinji Hirako were here. They were not close, were they?

"Yoruichi-sama..." Shadow opened his mouth and gazed at Yoruichi Shihōin. "I'm sorry. I was too useless."

Too useless...

Shinji Hirako and the others were instantly covered in black lines, their mouths twitching. What kind of joke was that? That had been a Vasto Lorde! A Vasto Lorde, a Menos Grande beyond Captain-class—not some Adjuchas! He had been seriously injured, yet he had still blown a Vasto Lorde into nothingness. And he called that useless? Was he trying to leave them no way to live?

"Why would you say that?" Yoruichi Shihōin was stunned.

"I... didn't protect Yoruichi-sama." Shadow gritted his teeth.

"Well, don't dwell on something like that!" Yoruichi Shihōin smiled. "Aren't I perfectly fine?"

"But... if I hadn't rashly chased after him, Yoruichi-sama wouldn't have..."

"You idiot!" Yoruichi Shihōin shouted. "I already told you last time, Shadow. You've done very well. It's enough. Don't you understand?"

"Yoruichi-sama..." Shadow stared blankly.

"Don't say things like that again."

Yoruichi Shihōin narrowed her amber-like eyes and smiled, revealing her white teeth. Her voice carried a trace of gentleness and something indescribable.

"If I say it's enough, then it's enough!"

"Yoruichi-sama!"

After a long silence, determination flashed through Shadow's dark eyes, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.

"I'll become stronger. I'll always protect Yoruichi-sama!"

"Hey, Shadow, let's make a promise!" Yoruichi Shihōin smiled sweetly. "You have to stay by my side forever, okay?"

"Yes, Yoruichi-sama!"

Shadow looked out the window. The sun would soon sink completely below the horizon.

Anko-sama, I feel a kind of happiness just like the one I felt with you.