Your Shadow

"I... don't need your pity!"

A hoarse, cold voice devoid of any emotional fluctuation came from behind.

Hearing this, Yoruichi Shihōin turned around and looked with some disbelief at the boy who was still lying on the ground with his eyes closed. Oh please, I'm trying to help you here!

However, thinking of the boy's tone, Yoruichi's temper flared up instantly.

"Who's pitying you? Stop being so full of yourself. Without strength, of course you're going to get bullied by others. Me, the great Lady Yoruichi Shihōin, pitying you? Stop joking around. Whether you live or die has nothing to do with me..."

Listening to Yoruichi's endless stream of words, no one could have known about the ripples that formed within those closed, originally dead and lifeless pitch-black eyes.

It was truly a feeling she hadn't heard or felt for a long time, almost like her encounter with Lord Anko in her past life. Only, thinking of Mitaraishi Anko, that trace of ripples quickly smoothed out as if it had never appeared.

"This lady is not pitying you!" Saying this, Yoruichi changed the subject and continued with a very disdainful tone, "Anyway, trash without Reiatsu like you is the same everywhere. Instead of getting beaten here—and looking at you, you must not get enough to eat, right? So, how about coming with me to the Shihōin family and be my punching bag? From now on, no one will dare bully you anymore. Besides, as long as you make this lady happy, you won't be treated unfairly. At the very least, you'll be able to eat your fill, how about it..."

"I... don't need your pity!"

Before Yoruichi could finish speaking, the boy's voice immediately rang out—still a hoarse, ice-cold voice, and still just as irritating.

Yoruichi had black lines all over her head and angrily kicked the boy in the stomach, shouting furiously, "I said I'm not pitying you! Don't you understand? I'm taking you as a punching bag, just a punching bag!"

Today was truly terrible. She was in a perfectly good mood, only to run into such a mess. Having finally decided to show a bit of kindness, she was met with ingratitude. Yoruichi felt like she was about to explode with anger, and she vowed that if the person before her refused in such a perverse manner again, she would absolutely never bother with him-again.

"Is that so?"

The boy slowly opened his eyes again, gazing at Yoruichi before him while wondering what was in his heart.

When Yoruichi was just about to turn around and leave in frustration, the boy finally spoke in a hoarse voice, "Are you sure you can let me eat my fill?"

"Hey!" Yoruichi was taken aback, then cried out in exasperation, "Would I, Yoruichi Shihōin, lie to you? What do you even have that's worth me lying about? Idiot, jerk, forget it then!"

"Ah!"

The chapped corners of his mouth curved up slightly. The boy acknowledged her, slowly straightened his body, ignored the wounds that were still bleeding, and took two steps back.

"Wait here for me a moment!"

After saying that, he actually turned around and walked away directly, causing Lady Yoruichi to shout in annoyance from behind.

"Yoruichi!" Shihōin Shanqing furrowed his brows and said, "You're too reckless. Pity is pity, but..."

"Does Lord Father disagree?" Yoruichi said indifferently.

"I pity him too, but do you not remember the lessons of the Shiba Family?" Shihōin Shanqing shook his head. "The rules of the nobles—do you want the Shihōin family to decline as well?"

"When all is said and done, it's still because he has no spiritual power." Yoruichi curled her lip.

"Yoruichi, you..."

"He's just a punching bag!"

Yoruichi interrupted Shihōin Shanqing's unuttered words, placing heavy emphasis on the word "punching bag."

The Shihōin family was one of the Four Great Noble Families situated at the very peak. The rigid frameworks of the nobility had always made Yoruichi feel annoyed, yet she had no choice but to obey them. The collective interests of the nobility were intertwined with too much; once those interests were violated, perhaps the Shihōin family would also decline just like the Shiba Family.

However, when all was said and done, she simply lacked the absolute strength to challenge and break the so-called rules.

Meanwhile, in a remote and dilapidated room of the Kawasaki Family, the boy stood in front of the only piece of furniture that could be considered complete—a mirror. Looking at his own battered and disheveled self within it, his gaze was solemn as he wondered what he was thinking.

After a long while, the boy let out a soft sigh, his deadened gaze carrying an indescribable complexity and an inexplicable stirring.

"You won't blame me, will you? Lord Anko, she's just like you!"

A thin, vibrant green glow appeared in the boy's palm. A smile touched the corners of his mouth as he muttered to himself.

Yet the moment the green glow appeared, a massive force leaked out from within the boy's body and spread outward, though it vanished without a trace in a mere instant.

"I haven't used it in so long, I'm actually a bit unaccustomed to it now!"

Feeling that fleeting, massive Reiatsu, Shihōin Shanqing could not help but change his expression.

"This Reiatsu..."

"It's at least Captain-class!"

The Lieutenant of the Second Division, who was also the current head of the high-ranking noble Ōmaeda family, Ōmaeda Xizhijin, forgot about his favorite snacks and said in a deep voice, "Or even Captain-class!"

"No, not yet." Shihōin Shanqing shook his head and said solemnly, "Although it exceeded that of a Lieutenant, it hasn't reached the level of a Captain. It's just..."

"It's only a matter of time!" Ōmaeda Xizhijin picked up where Shihōin Shanqing left off.

Shihōin Shanqing only shook his head and sighed.

"When did an unfamiliar Captain-class appear in the Soul Society, and vanish so quickly at that? That person must be a master at concealing Reiatsu, but why would it manifest beforehand?"

"Let's hope nothing happens to the Soul Society!"

Meanwhile, the Gotei 13 issued an order for an emergency investigation.

"Tap... tap..."

The almost inaudible footsteps sounded exceptionally clear in this quiet space.

A small figure walked over under everyone's dumbfounded gazes.

It was a young boy with piece-cut black hair, a black cloth tied around his forehead, and black shorts and short-sleeved shirt. His collar stood up high, and he wore fingerless gloves that reached his wrists. Slung across his back was a long, pitch-black sword shaped like a wolf.

Most eye-catching of all was that expressionless face, and those cold, calm, pitch-black eyes devoid of a single trace of emotion.

"You are..."

Kawasaki Jie's pupils abruptly constricted as he said in shock, "Kawasaki Dao, when did you get spiritual power? Is that... a Zanpakutō?!"

In truth, Kawasaki Jie could hardly be blamed for such astonishment. One had to understand that being able to possess a Zanpakutō at this age yielded only one explanation: genius.

Only, if the other party happened to be the boy, then...

At that moment, Kawasaki Jie regretted it so much his intestines turned green.

The boy completely ignored Kawasaki Jie's words, not even glancing at him as he walked straight up to Yoruichi Shihōin.

"You..."

Yoruichi opened her mouth, truly not knowing what she ought to say. After a long moment, she softly spoke, "Your injuries... and besides, didn't you... have no spiritual power!"

The boy did not answer. He merely nodded slightly, looking at Yoruichi—who was half a head shorter than him—and listening to her words. Foremost on her mind turned out to be his injuries.

Pressing his lips together, the boy reached behind his back and drew his Zanpakutō, pointing the tip downward and fiercely stabbing it into the ground.

Then, the boy dropped to one knee, with one hand behind his back and the other leaning on the ground in front of him. Lowering his head, his voice carried a fierce chill and deep reverence.

"In this world, I am a redundant person. I don't know why I live, nor do I understand the meaning and value of my existence. I... can't find any reason to go on living..."

"Yoruichi... Shihōin, your excuse is truly not very good, but you gave me a reason to live, you gave me the... meaning to live!"

"Therefore, starting from now..."

"I... shall change my name to... Shadow, becoming your shadow for all my life. Not for the Soul Society, not for the Seireitei, not for the Shihōin, but living solely for you, existing solely for you!"

"Using my life, my soul, my everything to protect you... Lady... Yoruichi!"

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