With Your Promise

Soul Society, Seireitei, First Division Barracks.

Wide robes could not hide his robust frame. With a straight back and a long, purple-braided beard, his slightly squinted eyes set within an aged, wrinkled face radiated an unspoken majesty. Although both hands supported his weight via a cane, his center of gravity showed no intention of relying on it.

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, captain of the First Division of the Gotei 13 and concurrently the head captain of the Thirteenth Division, was said to be the strongest Shinigami having served for over two thousand years.

Before him stood the captains of the remaining divisions of the Gotei 13, arranged in two parallel rows.

They were Second Division Captain Shihōin Shanqing, Third Division Captain Nanmazhou Er, Fourth Division Captain Retsu Unohana, newly appointed Fifth Division Captain Shinji Hirako, Sixth Division Captain Ginrei Kuchiki, newly appointed Seventh Division Captain Love Aikawa, Eighth Division Captain Shunsui Kyōraku, Ninth Division Captain Wangyuan Baoren, Tenth Division Captain Kitagawa Guobu, newly appointed Eleventh Division Captain Kenpachi Kiganjō, Twelfth Division Captain Kirio Hikifune, and Thirteenth Division Captain Jūshirō Ukitake.

"Captain Shihōin, shouldn't you give us an explanation of what happened?" Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto said in a deep voice.

"An explanation? What are you talking about, Head Captain?" Shihōin Shanqing said, looking completely baffled. "Did my daughter come under attack by an Adjuchas?"

"Changing the subject is not your style!" Shunsui Kyōraku pushed down the straw hat on his head. "I'm quite curious about him myself! That boy!"

"What on earth are you all talking about?"

Shan Qing's bewilderment held a hint of innocence, an expression that made it hard not to believe him—yet which of those captains was a fool?

"Ara ara! I'm very interested, personally!" Kirio Hikifune wore an all-smiles expression.

"A Cero from a Menos Grande-class hollow, no less!" Retsu Unohana kept up her gentle smile. "No matter how you look at it, he doesn't seem to have been hurt at all!"

"He truly is an extraordinary youngster!" the good-natured Jūshirō Ukitake praised.

"It seemed that the flash of Reiatsu from a few days ago belonged to him, didn't it?" Nanmazhou Er frowned and said.

"Shan Qing!" Ginrei Kuchiki, the current head of the Kuchiki, the foremost of the Four Great Noble Families, spoke up as well, getting straight to the point. "Is he someone from the Shihōin? He possesses Captain-class strength!"

"That question, now!" Shihōin Shanqing rested his chin on his hand and rubbed it twice.

"Thud..."

A dull, infinitely majestic strike of a cane caused everyone to fall silent. Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto looked toward Shihōin Shanqing and said sternly, "Captain Shihōin..."

"Just joking around!" Shihōin Shanqing waved a hand and smiled. "He's from the Kawasaki Family, not my Shihōin!"

"The lower noble Kawasaki Family?" Ginrei Kuchiki furrowed his brow. "If I recall correctly, the Kawasaki Family is subordinate to the Shihōin!"

"Yet he is different."

Shan Qing sighed and recounted the whole story from beginning to end.

"That's how it is. The one he has pledged loyalty to is Yoruichi Shihōin, not the Shihōin!"

He said this because Shan Qing knew very well that although Shadow belonged to the Shihōin, should any incident occur, Shadow would never intervene without an order from Yoruichi Shihōin. That was where the distinction lay.

"No reason to live, no value or meaning to existence!" Jūshirō Ukitake said in astonishment. "What on earth is going through that child's mind?"

"What a strange sentiment," Shunsui Kyōraku's voice carried a hint of gravity. "Everything he has been through amounts to being an illegitimate child, his mother's death, and his father's aversion. But judging by what you've said, Shan Qing, he detests his father greatly. No matter how you look at it, these experiences seem a bit far-fetched!"

"Besides, they said he had no Reiatsu since childhood," Kitagawa Guobu interjected. "Yet right at that moment, he unleashed Reiatsu close to the Captain-class. It's truly bizarre—where on earth did his strength come from?"

"Shan Qing, have you thoroughly investigated everything about him?" Ginrei Kuchiki asked solemnly.

"No!" Shan Qing shook his head directly, saying earnestly, "I didn't think it was necessary."

"However..."

"I trust him."

The voice was not loud, yet it carried an indescribable trust. Shihōin Shanqing smiled. "Everything you've mentioned, I've considered. Although I have doubts about certain matters, I still choose to believe him."

"I can tell he is truly loyal to Yoruichi. That kind of emotion stemming from the bone cannot be faked," Shan Qing said, offering a helpless smile. "However, that applies only to Yoruichi. When it comes to anyone else, he doesn't give them the time of day. He doesn't show me the slightest bit of face, either."

"What are your thoughts on his strength?" Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto asked.

Shan Qing turned serious as well, replying, "His Reiatsu is no less than mine. His Hakuda is very strong, his power somewhat uncanny, and I've never seen him use Kido, though that doesn't mean it would be weak. You've all seen his Shunpo!"

"I fought a match with him some days ago, and the result was my victory—though I won somewhat wretchedly." Shihōin Shanqing's gaze grew heavy. "I didn't use Bankai, but I could sense that he wasn't going all out either, because from start to finish, he never drew his sword!"

"Is that so?" Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto nodded and asked once more, "Then what is your evaluation of him?"

"Cold, mysterious, arrogant, and terrifying!" Shan Qing said in a deep voice. "However, as long as Yoruichi speaks, he will obey no matter what."

"Why do I never have such good luck?" Shinji Hirako scratched his head, looking like a wronged wife, though no one paid him any mind.

"If that's the case, then for the best."

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto tapped the cane in his hand, slightly opening his eyes as a sharp glint flashed through the cloudy depths.

"However, should he dare to act against the Seireitei, this old man will surely eliminate him with his own hands!"

Soul Society, Seireitei, Shihōin.

"Shadow."

"Lady Yoruichi!"

The bathhouse door pushed open, and Yoruichi Shihōin walked out, already dressed and yawning. Tipping her small head, she looked at Shadow's perpetually indifferent face, her eyeballs rolling as if she had thought of something, a mischievous smile spreading across her face.

Shadow felt a slight creepiness from that smile and hastily changed the subject. "Lady Yoruichi, dinner is ready. Please head over to eat."

"Mah! Got it!"

Yoruichi nodded, lifting her foot to step forward. "Oh, right, Shadow, has Lord Father returned?"

"It seems he hasn't yet." Shadow followed behind, replying, "Does Lady Yoruichi need something?"

"Ah, nothing much!" Yoruichi shook her head. "Shadow, accompany me in training tomorrow."

"Training!" Shadow paused.

"That's right, training," Yoruichi said. "Zankensoki—you're going to spar with me."

"Forgive me, Lady Yoruichi." After a moment of silence, Shadow lowered his head. "I will never stand on Lady Yoruichi's opposing side, no matter what. I will never raise a hand against Lady Yoruichi, not even for training!"

"Shadow!" Yoruichi stopped in her tracks and turned back.

"I can kill a thousand people, ten thousand people, or even kill myself, but I will never harm Lady Yoruichi!"

"I can destroy the Soul Society, destroy the Seireitei, or even destroy myself, but I will never destroy Lady Yoruichi!"

"Idiot!"

Yoruichi smiled, turned straight around, and continued walking forward, though her golden, gemstone-like eyes flashed with a faint, nameless emotion.