Zaraki District

"There was... nothing, Lady Yoruichi!"

At Yoruichi Shihōin's praise, Soi Fon's cheeks immediately flushed red, and she seemed at a loss.

"There! It's ready, Lady Yoruichi!" Shadow placed the grilled fish on a plate and handed it to Yoruichi Shihōin. "It's still hot, so be careful when you eat it!"

"Mm-hm!" Yoruichi Shihōin, focused solely on eating, nodded casually.

Seeing this, Shadow shook his head helplessly and put another fish over the fire.

"Eh!"

Suddenly, Yoruichi Shihōin stopped wolfing down her food and looked at Shadow strangely.

"Why does it taste just like what I usually eat? Though... it is a little different!"

Shadow sighed and looked at Yoruichi Shihōin weakly. "Of course it's similar. I've been responsible for your meals ever since you were little, Lady Yoruichi. You only just noticed?"

"Haha! So that's how it is!" Yoruichi Shihōin said in sudden realization. "No wonder the food tasted so much worse when you were unconscious last time. I thought I was imagining it!"

As she spoke, she wanted to scratch her head, but when she saw how greasy her hands were, she awkwardly lowered them again.

Suddenly, Shadow froze as he received information from his Shadow Clone.

"What is it?" Yoruichi Shihōin asked.

"Kisuke Urahara just went to the barracks to look for you, Lady Yoruichi. He should be on his way here now."

"Did something happen?"

"I don't know."

"Is that so?"

Sure enough, before long, Kisuke Urahara appeared in view, dressed in a Shihakushō and accompanied by several Punishment Force members.

"So he's Kisuke Urahara!"

Soi Fon frowned. With his messy pale blond hair, the way he rubbed his head and gave that silly, unfocused grin—no matter how she looked at him, he was irritating. Then Soi Fon suddenly remembered. That familiar name was clearly...

"Well! Why is Miss Yoruichi here? I was looking for—"

Before Kisuke Urahara could finish, Soi Fon abruptly cut him off with a kick aimed at his face. Though caught off guard, Kisuke Urahara's strength was no joke, and he easily dodged it.

"Hey! What are you doing, little girl?"

"L-Little girl?!"

Soi Fon was instantly thrown into disarray, veins throbbing on her forehead. She had already regretted acting rashly, but now she regretted not kicking him a few more times.

"Soi Fon!"

"Yes, Lady Yoruichi!" Hearing Yoruichi Shihōin's voice, Soi Fon hurriedly answered.

"You know Kisuke?" Yoruichi Shihōin asked curiously.

"No." Soi Fon shook her head.

"Then why did you suddenly kick me? If I hadn't been quick, this handsome face of mine would've been ruined!" Kisuke Urahara protested indignantly.

"Because you forgot and didn't attend Lady Yoruichi's coming-of-age ceremony! And what gave you the right to call me little girl just now?!" Soi Fon shouted angrily.

"..."

Hearing Soi Fon's completely serious answer, Yoruichi Shihōin froze for a moment, then clutched her stomach and burst into laughter.

Shadow couldn't help twitching at the corner of his mouth. Kisuke Urahara's face darkened as he laughed bitterly. That was the reason? That was ancient history from who knew how many years ago.

Yoruichi Shihōin's laughter clearly left Soi Fon at a loss. She did not know whether she had said something wrong or what, but it was all this guy's fault. What an annoying bastard.

Under Soi Fon's vicious glare, Kisuke Urahara felt a chill run down his spine and immediately remembered why he had come.

Soul Society, Seireitei, North Rukongai, District Eighty, Zaraki District.

As the first rays of morning sunlight shone upon the forest, all things awoke from their night's slumber, bathed in flourishing green. Emerald leaves and blooming wildflowers were still covered in morning dew, which quietly trickled and fell...

A figure streaked through the air like an agile ape, crossing dozens of meters in the blink of an eye.

With short purple hair cut to her ears, wheat-colored skin, lively golden eyes, and a pure white captain's haori bearing the large character for "Two," it was Yoruichi Shihōin. Behind her followed Kisuke Urahara, with his messy pale blond hair and Shihakushō, along with dozens of Punishment Force members.

"Stop!"

Yoruichi Shihōin waved a hand as she flew forward, halting her rapid movement. With a light tap of her toe against a branch beneath her, she leaped onto a higher fork.

"Lady Yoruichi!"

A black figure suddenly appeared before Yoruichi Shihōin and dropped to one knee. He had messy black hair, a pitch-black Zanpakutō strapped across his back, and a sharply defined face filled with cold indifference as he respectfully spoke.

"Did you find him, Shadow?" Yoruichi Shihōin asked, looking at him.

"Yes, Lady Yoruichi," Shadow replied.

"Mm." Yoruichi Shihōin nodded, then turned slightly. "Kisuke, I'll leave it to you!"

"Me..." Kisuke Urahara pointed at his own nose in bewilderment, sounding highly uncertain.

"Of course you!" Yoruichi Shihōin said with an unhappy expression. "Whose fault do you think this is?"

"Yes, yes." Kisuke Urahara knew he was in the wrong. "But if he gets away again..."

Still unwilling to give up, Kisuke Urahara made one last attempt.

"Then don't come back!"

Yoruichi Shihōin's already displeased expression turned even uglier. "You let a prisoner escape while guarding him, and then you lost him during the pursuit. This captain gave up a perfectly good day to help you! Stop babbling!"

"Yes..." Kisuke Urahara left with a miserable expression, taking the Punishment Force members behind him.

Dilapidated thatched huts stood scattered about. Every now and then, a gust of wind swept by, lifting strands of straw from the roofs. Beneath them crouched several gaunt people in disarray, their pale faces utterly bloodless. All one could feel was endless desolation.

Walking down the street, Yoruichi Shihōin sensed the lifeless atmosphere and could not put her feelings into words.

She knew that the lower-numbered districts of Rukongai had better security, while the higher-numbered districts were more chaotic. But she had never imagined that the most chaotic Eightieth District would be like this.

"Hard to believe?"

As though sensing Yoruichi Shihōin's thoughts, Shadow, walking one step behind her, suddenly spoke.

"Mm."

Yoruichi Shihōin swept her gaze over the ruined, lifeless surroundings. Everywhere she looked, there was only desolation.

"It's not so bad," Shadow said coldly. "The law of the jungle exists everywhere. People are actually just like beasts—only the strongest can survive. The weak have no right to survive at all."

"..." Yoruichi Shihōin tilted her head to look at Shadow. "You understand that well."

"Yeah. Of course. Because I once struggled to survive in a life like this too."

"I see."