One month later, Soul Society, Seireitei, Second Division Barracks.
"All right, all right, I know already. Report these trivial matters to Lieutenant Ōmaeda!"
Yoruichi Shihōin impatiently waved her hand, dismissing the squad member who had been reporting the mission.
"Hey, hey!" Kisuke Urahara laughed. "You're not even handling division affairs anymore, Yoruichi... Captain!"
"Stop nagging me!"
Yoruichi Shihōin snapped back, then slumped bonelessly into her chair, looking completely listless.
"Generally speaking, teaching disciples is the most time-consuming kind of thing! It might take years, decades, or even centuries!"
Kisuke Urahara smiled with a feeling that was hard to describe—a sense of finally holding his head high. For all these years, he had lived under Yoruichi Shihōin's high-pressure rule. This time, he could finally strike back.
But before Kisuke Urahara could enjoy himself for long...
"What exactly do you mean by that, Kisuke Urahara?"
Her voice was low and somewhat strange. Yoruichi Shihōin stood up with a calm expression, but given her personality, the calmer she was, the angrier she actually was.
"Nothing, nothing, Yoruichi!"
Kisuke Urahara finally regretted his loose tongue. He gave a dry laugh as he edged toward the door.
"Is that so?"
Yoruichi Shihōin took off her captain's haori and advanced toward Kisuke Urahara step by step. Her golden eyes narrowed as that low, strange voice continued to issue from her lips.
"Still, Kisuke, ever since I became captain, we haven't sparred much, have we? The weather's nice today. Want to have a match?"
"A match?"
Kisuke Urahara's face immediately darkened. He turned and ran outside. Please, calling it a match was putting it nicely. Put it bluntly, it meant getting beaten up by her! He wasn't falling for that!
"Hey, why are you running?!"
Seeing Kisuke Urahara turn and flee without another word, Yoruichi Shihōin immediately grew furious.
"I'm not stupid! I'm not fighting you!" Kisuke Urahara shouted without looking back. "You're a captain! I'm only a Third Seat!"
"Don't you have Bankai?!"
Veins bulged across Yoruichi Shihōin's forehead.
"Even so, I'm not fighting!" Kisuke Urahara answered without hesitation.
For him, if he fought without moving, Yoruichi Shihōin would beat him up. If he fought back, he would still get beaten up, and afterward Shadow would definitely teach him another lesson. He had no interest in this kind of spar where he would get beaten whether he won or lost!
"Kisuke Urahara, do you think you can get away like this?!" Yoruichi Shihōin glared fiercely and shouted, "Soi Fon, stop him!"
"Yes, understood, Lady Yoruichi!" Soi Fon, who had been standing outside the door all along, had long since been unable to hold herself back. She attacked without mercy.
"Wait! Wait a second! Soi Fon, Lady Yoruichi! Miss Yoruichi! Captain Yoruichi! You can't do this to me..."
Before Kisuke Urahara could finish speaking, a wheat-colored fist and a swift flying kick came hurtling at him.
Bang!
"Ah!"
At once, Kisuke Urahara's anguished cry rang through the skies above the Second Division.
Soul Society, North Rukongai, Seventy-Third District, within an unnamed forest.
Clang!
With a crisp ring, two blades collided. A visibly smaller silver-haired youth was immediately sent flying by the force. He flipped through the air, landed on the ground, and slid a long distance.
"My, my! Kenpachi, you really are a brute bull!" Gin Ichimaru said with a smiling squint.
"Tch!" Kenpachi Zaraki bared his teeth, raised his blade, and charged forward again.
Kenpachi Zaraki's blade still had no discernible form, but it was sharper than before. It seemed chaotic, yet gave others no way to evade it. That beast-like instinct had added a trace of purity to his swordsmanship.
A crazed Kenpachi Zaraki was indeed like a beast, but he was not a true beast. Shadow had grown up among wolves since childhood, so compared to Kenpachi Zaraki, Shadow understood far better what constituted a beast's strongest attack.
Gin Ichimaru knew exactly how powerful Kenpachi Zaraki was, so he never confronted him head-on. He merely relied on his nimble body to dodge again and again. Though he was stuck on the defensive and taking blows, his occasional sudden sneak attacks also left Kenpachi Zaraki in quite a sorry state.
"Hey! Gin!" Kenpachi Zaraki roared unhappily. "Stop dodging all over the place!"
"I can't, Kenpachi!" Gin Ichimaru said with his usual smile. "If I don't dodge, how could I possibly be your opponent?"
"Ah!"
Kenpachi Zaraki shouted and raised his strength again. Until now, he had only been using a fraction of it.
"Kenpachi, you..." Gin Ichimaru's smile vanished. What had been a passive defense had now become a complete beating.
"Who told you not to fight me properly?!" Kenpachi Zaraki laughed wildly, showing no mercy whatsoever.
"How could I possibly beat you now?!" Gin Ichimaru said through gritted teeth.
Just then, a cold voice devoid of the slightest emotional fluctuation abruptly sounded beside them.
"Enough, Kenpachi, Gin. We'll stop here for today."
"Master, it's still early!"
Kenpachi Zaraki reluctantly stopped, resting his blade on his shoulder as he asked unhappily.
"It's enough!"
Shadow emerged from beneath the shade of the trees, his sharply defined face utterly expressionless.
"Master!"
Looking at Shadow, Gin Ichimaru's smiling face took on a trace of shy sincerity. His narrow eyes, nearly reduced to slits, also held a hint of joy.
"Mm." Shadow nodded expressionlessly. "Kenpachi, Gin, it has been a month. You've both done well, but there are still things you need to comprehend yourselves. So it is time for me to leave."
"Ah." Kenpachi Zaraki responded indifferently, as though he had not found it surprising at all.
"Master!"
But Gin Ichimaru sounded more anxious. Though they had spent little time together, and Shadow always seemed so detached, Gin Ichimaru knew that this was Shadow's warmth. He did not want to lose this "family member."
Yet, seeing Shadow's expressionless face, Gin Ichimaru could not help swallowing the words that followed.
Seemingly seeing through Gin Ichimaru's thoughts, Shadow tilted his head and said calmly, "I am Lady Yoruichi's Shade. One month is already my limit. Besides, as I said, what you lack is only understanding."
"Master!" Gin Ichimaru lowered his head slightly. "Will we be able to meet again in the future?"
"I don't know. Perhaps."
"Then can I come find you?"
"Do as you wish."
"Oh."
Before you continue