Ishida Ryuken then turned his head. The lens of his right eye reflected the sunlight, making it impossible for Ishida Uryu to see clearly.
He only heard his father say, "It's because you won't make any money from it."
…
Looking back now, Ishida Uryu remembered having the impression that his father lacked Quincy abilities. Now it seemed there was some hidden truth he hadn't been told.
At that moment, footsteps echoed from the distance. When Ishida Uryu turned, he saw Kurosaki Ichigo from class approaching.
Choosing to ignore the ordinary human, Ishida Uryu walked past him without stopping.
"Hey, wait-haven't I seen you somewhere before?" Kurosaki Ichigo asked.
Ishida Uryu didn't respond and kept walking without turning around.
Ichigo scratched his head. "I swear I've seen him before… but I just don't remember. Never mind..."
"It looks like the spirit storm's gone. Doesn't seem like it did any damage... time to head home."
Just as Ichigo started walking back, he glimpsed what looked like the silhouette of someone holding a sword-someone who resembled his father. Shocked, Ichigo rushed forward, but there was no one there when he checked again.
Probably just my imagination… Dad should be home lying around watching TV or sleeping...
He sped up just in case. The moment he reached his door and touched the handle, a stinking foot slammed into his face-
"Ichigo! Where've you been wasting time this late!?"
Ichigo grabbed his father's ankle, flipped him to the ground with practiced ease, and pinned him in place. "Mind your own business already."
Must've been my imagination afterall...
"Ooohhh… Ichigo is grown up now-doesn't listen to me anymore…" Kurosaki Isshin whimpered behind him.
Kurosaki Karin and Kurosaki Yuzu saw the scene and ignored it completely. They were used to this by now.
…
Kisuke Urahara and Tessai appeared soon after at the site of the disturbance. At nearly the same moment, Shinji Hirako and Hiyori showed up too-apparently delayed en route.
Urahara Kisuke gave them both a wave as he called out, "Yo… Hirako, Shinji…"
Hiyori crossed her arms and looked away with irritation as usual.
Shinji stepped closer with jazz playing softly from his earpiece. He tilted his head toward Urahara. "Didn't expect to find you here, Urahara. What's your take? Got any clue what caused this mess?"
Beneath the shadow of his hat's brim, Kisuke's face turned grim. "It went beyond anything I planned for. None of this was supposed to happen-but I think we're about to meet whoever caused it again very soon…"
…
On another street-
Ginjo Kugo and his team had arrived as well.
Ginjo ran a hand back through his hair with casual ease. "Looks like we're late."
"Could that kind of power really belong to a Quincy?" Riruka frowned slightly. "Weren't they already wiped out?"
Tsukishima said calmly, "By rights, Ishida Uryu should be the only Quincy left. And frankly... he doesn't have the power to do this."
Ginjo squinted at the fading spiritual traces ahead. "Doesn't matter who it is-as long as they're not Shinigami."
With that, they turned and continued down the road without further word.
After they disappeared into the distance, another presence stirred within the shadows nearby-
Aura crouched low in black tightwear. Her waist curved sharply where her body folded, and her ass shifted slightly with each breath she took in silence.
Eyes flicking towards Ginjo's team, she stayed there watching their figures fade from sight. They wouldn't uncover the truth on their own-not even close...
…
After Hideki Yuta finished speaking, Yoruichi caught one key detail immediately.
"'Person'?" she asked sharply. "You're saying it was just one person who caused that fluctuation?"
"In other words-you saw them?"
Yoruichi's interest deepened on the spot.
She also spotted another unusual feature about Yuta:
Two Zanpakuto hung from either side of his waist-two swords on one man.
Rare indeed.
"But if you want my answers," she said with casual confidence, "you'll have to fight me first."
Yuta was curious-he wanted to see what Shihoin Yoruichi could actually do for himself. Her Shunpo intrigued him at least that much.
"Alright," she said softly. "Think of it as training from your elder."
Her tone remained loose and unhurried as always with her-but then came the sudden flare of white smoke rising around her feline form.
As it faded... she stood before him bare-skinned now-a woman freed from her cat shape.
Her figure was lean and toned. She knelt slightly on one knee at first-then rose slowly so her full proportions lifted clear into view: narrow waist, long legs tight with strength beneath her smooth skin, and breasts that drew attention even without movement.
Yuta's gaze tracked her rise.
"Tsk tsk tsk..." he clicked softly while scanning her body with appreciation. "Transformation art between physical and spirit forms-isn't that impressive?"
[You observed the transformation technique and grasped its structure]
"But you should probably put some clothes on now."
Yuta took off his Shino Academy uniform and threw it toward Yoruichi.
Yoruichi reached out, caught the clothes, and put them on without hesitation. They were warm and carried his scent.
"I've been in cat form for so long… I'm not used to wearing clothes again," she said while adjusting the fabric on her body.
Clothed or not, Yoruichi's body pulled attention either way. Her tight figure was barely hidden beneath the loose material. Her knees bent slightly as she crouched down-like she was ready to pounce.
"Be careful."
With that, she surged forward with the crack of wind under her feet. Her fist streaked by Yuta's face-he leaned away just in time to avoid it. The blow missed, but the wind following it blew through his hair in silken strands.
Before he could react further, her figure vanished from view, leaving behind only blurred afterimages. She was already moving at high speed-circling him from every side. It looked like dozens of attackers were closing in at once, but it was only her-too fast to grasp visually.
"…As expected of Yoruichi Shihouin," Yuta thought.
His eyes lit up with blue light. In the dark, they glinted sharply-too clear to ignore.
He disappeared. Just gone from sight.
Most of Yoruichi's strikes met nothing but empty space.
[You watched Yoruichi's Shunpo and successfully learned the enhanced version of Shunpo.]
"What?"
Yoruichi's breath caught in her throat.
Someone could reach this level of Shunpo? She had spent years mastering that technique-training until her body could handle the speed and pressure. No one in the Soul Society had kept up with her before... but this kid watched it once and picked it up?
Talent alone couldn't explain it. It wasn't just reading and mimicking-this was instantaneous understanding.
No… This level went beyond talent entirely.
Was it copying, or learning without effort?
She clenched her fists and tried to shake off that feeling creeping through her gut. It could've been luck. She hadn't seen his earlier performance at Shino Academy-maybe he was already on par with her and she failed to notice until now.
"What a monster," she whispered to herself without realizing it.
By then, Yuta had already circled behind her. She felt the edge of his wind against her back-sharp and committed. There was no hesitation in that sword swing.
Poof-
His blade pierced through Yoruichi's body.
Blood flew across the space between them as shock crossed her expression. She hadn't thought she would lose so easily… but just as quickly as she'd appeared to fall-
Her figure vanished from the tip of his sword and reappeared behind him. Her expression held amusement this time instead of doubt.
"Didn't expect that?"
Her move-Empty Cicada-was designed for this purpose. At high speeds, she left behind a false image of herself, fooling enemies into thinking they'd struck her when only clothing had been cut free. The golden cicada shedding its shell-it was hers alone to use.
Too bad about the uniform, though-the first thing that pretty boy gave her had now been sliced apart just minutes after putting it on...
Recovered and clothed again in her modified appearance, Yoruichi raised one toned leg and brought it down fast toward Yuta's back with shocking momentum. The air burst from the motion; his clothes lifted from the pressure as the blow approached-
Let's see you try dodging now-
Her foot crashed down-
-but it felt wrong. No resistance. It felt like she kicked through cotton-light and unsubstantial.
"What?"
Her eyes widened-and then locked onto him again.
Yuta stood there as if rooted to the ground-unmoved by her strike. One foot remained planted beneath her; the other rested above his head mid-kick, perfectly stabilized with no shake or stumble. The muscles in his leg held firm like steel supports.
Slowly, she watched as he reached up and lightly pulled his shirt off her leg like peeling fabric from a hanger. He brought his leg down casually while holding his own clothes in hand.
"Is this… Empty Cicada?"
Impossible. That skill-her technique-wasn't written anywhere or shown publicly. No one knew how to do it but her.
For him to copy it after seeing it just once-
Yoruichi hissed inwardly. These abilities… were they even human?
She used to think of him as some student-not anymore. Now he reminded her of someone else entirely-Urahara Kisuke level absurdity, at least. This kind of ability made him unbeatable where it counted most.
Her eyes flicked back toward him-and saw the blade in his hand now cloaked in deep black metal-so dark it looked like it could swallow light itself. One glance at that thing made her chest tighten-its presence twisted perception around it unnaturally.
"A black blade…" she thought aloud. "Could that be…"
Unfamiliar color… unfamiliar power… black swords weren't common in Soul Society-and even less so ones leaking pressure like that-
"What kind of power does that sword have…?"
Yoruichi shook her head quickly and cleared her mind.
"Was what you used just now also Empty Cicada?"
Yuta stood shirtless now-broad muscles exposed under moonlight-with no visible concern as he nodded once in response.
"Empty Cicada's skill is pretty good," he said, matter-of-factly, "but you really gotta wear extra clothes when using it. It's not cold but... the breeze gets annoying."
Pfft!
Yoruichi staggered slightly from how bluntly he said it.
"Are you seriously talking about wardrobe choices right now?"
Was he not taking this seriously at all?
Did he not feel any tension facing off against her?
…Was she just too weak?
"Alright," she said coolly, "let me show you my actual strength."
"But before that-we'll have to change locations. Otherwise…"
"This one's simple."
Yuta snapped his fingers with precision-snap-and everything shifted immediately after.
"Realm: Infinite World."
Purple-black light burst outward behind him-like shadows pouring into water. The spill soaked everything around them-the streetlamps…the buildings…even the sky shifted hue until every part of reality bled into one endless spectrum of dark ink swallowing light whole inch by inch-
Eventually, those colors faded-and everything looked normal again-a near-perfect replica of Karakura Town with tiny differences scattered throughout the landscape.
"This isn't… reality?" Yoruichi asked as she glanced around slowly.
"It's my inner world," Yuta explained while rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "No matter what happens here-it won't affect anything outside."
After watching barrier techniques before, he'd carved out this space-fusing inner-world concepts with field-expansion traits from newer Kidō research to pull both himself and his opponent into isolation where spiritual pressure wouldn't bleed outwards into actual space.
It looked and felt exactly like home-but… not quite right. That was why Yoruichi had sensed familiarity here-because this was his Karakura Town.
Even if none of this made sense anymore-one thing did:
She flexed both hands and opened her stance with confidence again.
"So I'm free to destroy everything here without consequence?"
"Go wild," Yuta replied with his hands tucked into conjured pockets formed from concentrated spirit particles floating around him like threads pulled from the very air itself. It settled quickly into a clean white outfit across his frame.
His manipulation of spirit particles echoed Quincy techniques-but this one wasn't borrowed. It was innovation by instinct alone-and seeing that made Yoruichi narrow her eyes even further in appraisal.
He truly wasn't someone who followed any established path-not human-not Soul Reaper-not Quincy…
Taking in another breath-loaded with spiritual pressure-she exhaled forcibly enough to crack the ground beneath them with scattered stone exploding outward as if struck by unseen force rather than breath alone.
She crouched low and slammed her palms together tightly-
"Shunkō: Release!"
Suddenly-spirit energy detonated out from her body; lighting cracked behind her spine with every flex of muscle. Crumbling concrete fell away backwards as pressure shook the ground outright underfoot-
From within smoke and debris-she stepped forward slowly again with calm precision on each step-
"Young man," she said through rising energy in the air above them...
"You better brace yourself."
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