Over fifty years ago, something momentous shook the Soul Society.
That incident ultimately resulted in the disappearance of four Gotei 13 captains, three vice-captains, and one vice–Kidō Chief… while two captains and a Kidō Chief defected.
It was one of the most grievous blows to the Seireitei's vitality in nearly a thousand years.
Most of the detailed records surrounding it had long since become buried secrets. These days, even among the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, few knew much at all.
And when it came to cats in the world of the Shinigami, it was impossible for Nobu not to think of a certain person.
Shihōin Yoruichi.
The former Second Division captain—one of the two captains who had defected back then.
Nobu remembered that Shihōin Yoruichi had known Shiba Kūkaku for a long time; they'd been on quite good terms.
But if we're talking about fifty-odd years ago… at that time, Shiba Kaien would only just have been graduating from Shin'ō Academy, and Shiba Kūkaku would have been a little girl. By then, Shihōin Yoruichi was already captain of the Second Division. For them to have been close that early on… seemed unlikely.
Moreover, Yoruichi had never been officially sentenced by the Central 46—only Urahara Kisuke had been convicted, and only Urahara was barred from passing through the Senkaimon.
Nobu's gaze lingered on that black cat for quite some time. After finishing its drink, it hopped down from the table and, with a quick, fluid motion, vanished from his sight.
By the time the wedding banquet came to an end and the guests began drifting away in twos and threes...
Nobu spotted Ganju and waved him over.
"Nobu-aniki?" Ganju hurried closer.
"Where's your sister?" Nobu asked offhandedly.
Ganju glanced around. He'd been busy greeting guests and hadn't noticed where his sister had gone. "No idea. You need her for something?"
"Not really…" Nobu paused, then added, "Oh right—do you guys keep a cat? I just saw one drinking from a glass."
"Nope." Ganju shook his head, then seemed to remember something. "Oh yeah—sometimes Sis shows up with this cat from who-knows-where. Looks like a stray, but it's only every now and then. That's probably the one you saw."
As they spoke, Nobu saw Kūkaku emerge from the living room, cradling a black cat in her arms.
One look at that pair, and Nobu was mostly sure.
"Hey, Sis!" Ganju called.
Kūkaku, still holding the cat, came over.
"Nobu-aniki was looking for you about something."
At that, she turned to Nobu, eyebrows faintly lifted in question.
He just smiled. "Nothing important. Kūkaku-san, you look gorgeous today—you could dress like this more often, you know."
She slanted him a look. "I'll dress however I want on normal days."
Nobu's eyes shifted to the cat in her arms. The black cat looked right back at him, golden eyes unblinking.
"This your cat?" Nobu asked.
Ganju reached a hand toward it to play, only for it to swipe at him—making him hiss in pain.
"Sis, it scratched me!"
Kūkaku ignored her brother. "You could say that."
"I just saw it drinking at the table," Nobu remarked. Though they were close enough, he didn't try to probe it with reiatsu again; earlier, it had seemed to sense him doing it.
At that, Kūkaku reached up to stroke the cat's head. The black cat sprawled lazily in her arms.
"It's pretty smart."
"What's its name?"
She froze for a beat, hesitated, then said, "Haven't named it yet."
Then she glanced at Nobu. "You like cats too?"
Nobu nodded.
After a moment's thought, she held the black cat out to him. He hadn't expected her to just hand it over, and as he was about to take it, the cat suddenly lashed out with its paw at him.
Fortunately, Nobu's reflexes were quick enough to avoid the hit.
Kūkaku chuckled. "Looks like it doesn't like you."
Nobu: "…"
Off to the side, Ganju said, "Sis, this cat's way too mean. Why even keep it? Just toss it!"
The words had barely left his mouth before the black cat gave a sharp "myaa" and launched itself at his face, claws flashing in a rapid flurry.
"AAH!"
Ganju let out a string of miserable yells and fell on his backside.
The commotion drew other people over. Shiba Miyako arrived to ask what was going on.
With his face full of claw marks, Ganju complained in a wounded tone, "Sis's cat scratched me!"
And under his bitter gaze, Miyako easily took the cat from Kūkaku's arms. Stroking its fur, she made it purr and relax in pure bliss.
Nobu watched, thoughtful. For now, it seemed getting close to this cat wouldn't be so simple.
Abandoning the idea for the moment, he finally bade Kaien goodbye and left.
After the wedding, Kūkaku returned to her room with the cat.
The black cat leapt lightly from her arms to the bed, curling up lazily on the covers.
Kūkaku began changing clothes in full view of it—she still disliked wearing kimono.
"Who was that guy earlier?"
The black cat suddenly spoke—in a man's voice.
"Who do you mean?" Kūkaku was momentarily thrown off.
Then she realized. "You mean Tachikawa? He's the Fourth Division's Third Seat—Tachikawa Nobu. Gets along pretty well with my brother."
"What's so special about him?" the cat asked.
Kūkaku frowned. "What do you mean? Special… He was pretty famous in Shin'ō Academy—founded a student council, and right after graduating he made Third Seat. I heard at the last Shinigami Exchange Meet, he even beat Ichimaru Gin, who'd already achieved bankai."
The cat didn't move, tail flicking lazily back and forth.
"Why the sudden interest?" Kūkaku asked as she finished changing and started fixing her hair.
The black cat spoke slowly. "The way he looked at me the first time… was strange."
"He said he likes cats," Kūkaku replied carelessly. "When you like something, you naturally look more."
"That's not it." The cat's tone was firm. "He looked surprised. And that was not the look you give a cat—it was like… he knew me."
Kūkaku froze, eyes widening in shock. "You mean… he's figured out your real identity!?"
The cat was silent for a moment, then said, "Probably not… I'm not certain. But later, he did something that felt dangerous to me."
"What?"
"He used reiatsu to probe me—looked like he was trying to capture my reiraku."
Reiraku could only be seen by high-ranking Shinigami, appearing visually like a ribbon of reishi.
A Shinigami's was red; a human's, white. It was used for reconnaissance and tracking.
No ordinary Shinigami would ever use that on a cat.
The black cat's golden eyes shifted, gleaming faintly. Kūkaku's own expression grew grave—she knew this was serious.
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T/N: yeah no excuse this time :sob: WAIT NO I WAS STARTING NEW TLS SO HA! yeah sorrrey heres the 4 chapters!
bonus chaps
100 stones -> 1 chapter
200 stones -> 2 chapters
300 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
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