The sudden attack terrified Yoruichi.
She started twisting desperately in Suì-Fēng's arms, trying to free herself.
Unfortunately, Suì-Fēng seemed to have completely lost control of her emotions.
Her arms only squeezed tighter, as though she meant to merge Yoruichi straight into her body.
Yoruichi's breathing soon grew more and more difficult.
Her chest felt as though a massive boulder had been dropped on it, and she was only moments from suffocating.
Outside the house, the ever-slow Kurosaki Ichigo finally realized something was wrong.
He remembered the twisted expression Suì-Fēng had worn before charging inside, and a terrible suspicion suddenly hit him.
'That woman might actually be dangerous!'
Without hesitation, he rushed back into the bamboo house.
The scene in front of him made his eyes widen.
Suì-Fēng was clutching Yoruichi like a crazed beast, while the poor black cat flailed both paws wildly in a desperate attempt to escape.
"WHO TOLD YOU TO COME IN?!"
Suì-Fēng's furious scream exploded through the room like thunder, nearly shaking the walls.
Ichigo froze in the doorway, his eyes round with shock.
Suì-Fēng panicked and immediately let go of Yoruichi.
'Why did this damned idiot have to show up at this exact moment? I should erase him from existence right now!'
Her face turned as red as a ripe apple.
The embarrassment was beyond anything words could describe.
She stood there waving her hands awkwardly, as though searching for something to hide behind.
At that moment, she looked ready to dig a hole in the floor and crawl inside it.
Worse, Ichigo had witnessed every humiliating second.
Suì-Fēng bit her lip and cursed him furiously in her heart.
"Haaah…"
Yoruichi, who'd nearly been strangled unconscious, gulped down air as though it were the most precious thing in the world.
For once, she was truly grateful Ichigo had rushed in when he did.
Another few seconds and she might have blacked out from lack of oxygen.
"Was I… not supposed to come in?"
Ichigo stood there blankly, his head still ringing from Suì-Fēng's scream.
Only now did he realize he might have made another terrible mistake by barging in without warning.
'Is the captain of the Second Division some kind of extreme cat lover?'
He recalled what he'd just seen and pictured an absurd scene full of cat toys, scratching posts, and every possible cat accessory, with Suì-Fēng lovingly cuddling a tiny kitten.
"Hmph! At least you have enough self-awareness to realize that."
Suì-Fēng coldly picked Yoruichi up again.
"Stop standing there like an idiot and come with me. This isn't somewhere you're allowed to stay."
She carried Yoruichi out of the bamboo house.
"Where are we going?"
Still confused, Ichigo hurried after her.
"Where do you think? Your Ryoka friends have been searching everywhere for you. Naturally, I'm taking you to reunite with them."
Suì-Fēng answered without turning around.
She'd already forced her expression back into its usual proud, distant mask.
"What about Yoruichi-san—"
"Stay out of women's business!"
Suì-Fēng cut him off before he could finish.
Before long, she sped back to the Second Division compound with Ichigo following behind.
Every Shinigami they passed stared with wide eyes at the adorable black cat their captain was holding tightly in her arms.
Whispers quickly spread through the ranks.
When had their captain become such a devoted cat lover?
"Go inform Lieutenant Ōmaeda immediately. Tell him to bring the search party back. There's no longer any need to continue."
The moment she entered her office, Suì-Fēng gave the order to a nearby member of the Executive Militia.
Ichigo sat quietly off to the side with his mouth firmly shut.
It wasn't that he had nothing to say.
He was simply afraid one careless sentence would set Suì-Fēng off into another furious lecture.
Not much time passed before a strange rolling sound approached from outside.
Then a large but remarkably agile figure came barreling into the captain's office like a cannonball.
It was none other than Lieutenant Ōmaeda.
"Captain! Why did you summon me again? I've been working myself to the bone searching for that cat!"
Accompanied by a ridiculous series of rolling noises, Ōmaeda came tumbling into the room like a giant ball.
Because of his overly dramatic entrance, he completely failed to notice the adorable black cat sitting in Suì-Fēng's arms.
Instead, his mind immediately jumped to the worst possible conclusion.
'Did the captain lose her temper because we couldn't find the cat? Is she planning to use poor little me as a punching bag again?'
Ōmaeda instinctively shrank his neck.
Suì-Fēng stared at her reckless lieutenant in helpless disbelief.
She couldn't understand what terrible crime she'd committed in a past life to deserve such an unreliable subordinate.
Her luck truly was cursed.
"Ōmaeda! Open your eyes and look carefully at what I'm holding!"
Watching him remain completely oblivious, Suì-Fēng struggled to hold back the fury threatening to burst out of her.
Yoruichi was present, after all. She didn't want to lose her composure and embarrass herself in front of her closest friend.
"Oh! So you already found it, Captain!"
Ōmaeda let out a huge sigh of relief.
He'd been terrified that Suì-Fēng would blame him for failing the mission and hit him with some horrifying punishment.
"Hmph. I didn't call you back merely to tell you that."
Suì-Fēng gave him an icy glare, clearly unwilling to look at his disappointing face a second longer.
"The person standing over there is the Ryoka who went missing earlier. Take him to the Seventh Division immediately and personally deliver him to Captain Kazuma. Do not make any mistakes."
"Yoruichi-san…"
Ichigo hesitated and looked toward the black cat in Suì-Fēng's arms, silently asking for her opinion.
"It's fine, Ichigo. Go with him. I'll stay at the Second Division for the time being."
"T-The cat can talk?!"
Ōmaeda stared at Yoruichi in shock, his mouth falling open wide enough to fit an egg.
"Is it some kind of incredibly rare species? No wonder the captain deployed the Executive Militia just to find it!"
"Come on, kid. Follow me to the Seventh Division."
Ōmaeda eventually recovered from the shock.
He took a deep breath, patted Ichigo on the shoulder, and marched out of the captain's office.
Ichigo followed close behind as the two hurried toward the Seventh Division.
"L-Lieutenant Ōmaeda, right?"
As they walked, Ichigo could no longer hold back his curiosity.
"I heard your captain mention the Seventh Division captain. I thought his name was Komamura Sajin. Who is this Kazuma who suddenly showed up?"
Ichigo scratched his head uneasily.
The name Kazuma was exactly the same as his school's disciplinary dean.
Could they possibly be the same person?
Just the thought sent a chill down his spine.
"Kid, it seems you know more than I expected."
Ōmaeda grinned broadly.
"Captain Komamura was indeed the captain of the Seventh Division. However, due to certain circumstances, he's now transferred to the Ninth Division and become its captain."
"As for Captain Kazuma, he's a legendary figure in Soul Society!"
A trace of unmistakable pride appeared on Ōmaeda's face as he went on.
"He was an extraordinarily powerful Shinigami. Unfortunately, Aizen framed and persecuted him, forcing him to leave Soul Society. Now that he's returned, it's only natural that he reclaim his position as captain of the Seventh Division."
Ōmaeda recalled the terrifying battle that had taken place not long ago.
When Kazuma and Aizen clashed, the lieutenants watching had trembled in fear under the weight of their power.
The moment they learned the fighter was the long-missing Captain Kazuma, though, their terror immediately turned into overwhelming excitement.
Ōmaeda had been so thrilled he'd wanted to rush over and ask for an autograph and a commemorative photo.
This time, fortune had smiled on him.
Captain Suì-Fēng had personally ordered him to escort Kurosaki Ichigo to meet Kazuma.
For Ōmaeda, this was like having a gift fall straight from the heavens.
Kazuma had always been his greatest idol — the powerful man he dreamed of someday catching up to and surpassing.
Ōmaeda secretly vowed to become just as strong as him.
Only then could he change Suì-Fēng's opinion of him and stop her from constantly looking down on him.
Dreams were always beautiful.
Reality, unfortunately, had a cruel habit of waking people up.
If Ōmaeda ever truly managed to catch up with Kazuma, then Kazuma might as well resign as captain on the spot.
'A legendary captain who disappeared for a while… Could it really be that ridiculously unreliable disciplinary dean?'
Ichigo had no interest in Ōmaeda's endless praise.
Only one question occupied his mind: was this Kazuma really the same questionable man from his school?
'There's no way, right? That unreliable guy might be a little stronger than an ordinary person, but he couldn't possibly be a Shinigami.'
Ichigo shook his head hard, trying to dismiss the idea.
'And definitely not some absurdly powerful captain.'
He'd never sensed even the slightest trace of reiatsu from Kazuma. His father had never mentioned anything about the man either.
"By the way, you people really have some nerve."
Ōmaeda stared at Ichigo with curiosity.
"There were only a handful of you, yet you openly invaded the Seireitei. Weren't you afraid one of the captains would kill you?"
He truly couldn't understand where these reckless intruders had found the courage.
Were they simply tired of living and looking for somewhere to die?
"My dad is Shiba Isshin."
Ichigo answered flatly, then pressed his lips together and clearly refused to say more.
"What?"
Ōmaeda froze.
Disbelief spread across his face as his mouth fell open once again.
It took him several moments to recover, and when he finally spoke, he was stammering.
"Y-You just said your father is Shiba Isshin? Former Captain Shiba of the Tenth Division?"
Seeing Ōmaeda's horrified expression, Ichigo immediately regretted speaking so impulsively.
"Uh… forget it. Just pretend I never said anything."
He frowned and waved his hand awkwardly, trying to take it back.
'So this ordinary-looking orange-haired brat is Captain Shiba's son. No wonder he had the nerve to invade the Seireitei. That explains everything…'
Ōmaeda didn't hear another word Ichigo said.
He stood frozen in place, the name Shiba Isshin echoing endlessly through his mind.