"Young Master...?"
A maid called out cautiously from the side.
"What?!"
Emiya Shirō snapped, his face dark with frustration.
Startled, the maid instinctively shrank back but still mustered up the courage to speak.
"I just thought... maybe... maybe you should go after her... just to check-"
"Enough!" Shirō shouted.
"Y-Young Master..."
"I'm going out to clear my head!"
Shirō stood up, dusted himself off, and stormed out without hesitation.
"Don't follow me!"
Fourteenth Noble House – Shihōin Estate
Crash!
Shatter!
Crash!
"Damn it!
Yoruichi was furiously smashing glassware, unleashing the full wrath of a noble lady's temper.
"That Emiya bastard! Bastard! Bastard!!"
"Yoruichi-sama…"
Soifon stood nearby, serving her with utmost care.
"Where is Emiya right now?"
Yoruichi finally stopped to catch her breath and asked while sitting down.
"We're not sure," Soifon replied honestly.
"He hasn't come over?"
Yoruichi asked again, clearly still hoping.
"No... I haven't seen any sign of him."
Soifon answered truthfully.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Yoruichi abruptly stood up and slammed her fists on the table, smashing it in frustration.
"Soifon!"
"Yes!"
Soifon immediately straightened up.
"Tell me, shouldn't he be kneeling outside right now? Bowing his head and begging for my forgiveness?! I'm genuinely angry this time! I'm seriously pissed off!"
"Yoruichi-sama, honestly... I think someone like that isn't worth getting this worked up over," Soifon offered gently.
"Not worth it? Hah!"
Yoruichi took a deep breath. "You're right! Someone like that? Why should I be mad?! Bring me food, I'm going to feast tonight!"
"I'll have the servants prepare it right away!"
Nom nom nom~ Haa~ chomp chomp~
Yoruichi was wolfing down the food at a ridiculous pace. Her stomach seemed bottomless, nobody could tell how she was packing that much away.
"Yoruichi-sama, please slow down! You might choke..."
Soifon hovered nearby, clearly concerned.
"Not enough! More! Bring more!"
Yoruichi didn't even look up as she shouted.
Suddenly, clack!, two pairs of chopsticks collided midair.
"Ha! Emiya, once again you couldn't beat me to it!"
Yoruichi grabbed the chicken leg and laughed victoriously.
"I-I'm so sorry, Yoruichi-sama! I just noticed you liked it, so I wanted to get it for you! I swear I wasn't trying to take it!"
Across the table, Soifon dropped her chopsticks and immediately dropped to her knees, bowing in panic.
Clatter!
Yoruichi's bowl slipped from her hand and toppled over on the table.
Crash! Clang! Smash! Crack!
"Damn it!
She flipped the entire table over in a rage, smashing every dish in sight.
"That bastard! That Emiya bastard!! I'm going to explode from rage!!"
Yoruichi grabbed the chicken leg and hurled it to the ground, stomping on it furiously. She even jumped on it for good measure.
"That guy... I get it now! He must think I can't live without him, huh?! Yeah, right! As if I, Yoruichi Shihōin, would ever cling to some stinky brat like him! You think I can't find anyone else to spend time with?! I'll make him regret it!!"
Her expression stormy, Yoruichi turned and marched toward the exit.
"Yoruichi-sama?!"
Soifon called out behind her.
But Yoruichi didn't stop walking.
"Little B-, no, Soifon! You're coming with me!"
"Yes!"
Soifon quickly followed behind her, but a strange thought lingered in her mind:
"Why didn't Yoruichi-sama call me 'Little Bee' this time...?"
Outside Squad 8 Barracks
"Shunsui Kyōraku! Get out here right now!"
Emiya Shirō was shouting outside the gates.
Clatter clatter clatter,
A group of black-robed Shinigami emerged. At first, they thought it might be someone causing trouble, but were stunned to find it was just this small kid, Emiya Shirō. Everyone froze.
He had called out Kyōraku Shunsui by name and demanded his presence to drink with him. Despite his age, none of the low-ranked Shinigami dared to brush him off.
"Um... may I ask who you are?"
One of them cautiously stepped forward.
"Oh, just tell him it's Emiya Shirō. He'll know."
Shirō replied casually.
"Emiya... Shirō..."
The man repeated the name slowly, and his expression changed drastically. A fake smile appeared on his face as he bowed slightly.
"I'm terribly sorry... Our Captain is currently away. We're not sure where he went or when he'll return."
(Truthfully, Shunsui had given strict orders: if a kid named Emiya Shirō shows up, under no circumstances is he to be let in. Of course, that message couldn't be delivered too directly, so the underlings had to come up with their own excuses.)
"Is that so?"
Shirō raised an eyebrow. "Then why didn't you say that right away? Why wait until I gave my name?"
Shunsui had clearly blacklisted him after their last encounter. If Shirō knew, he'd definitely rant about how petty Shunsui was.
The Shinigami panicked a little but quickly recovered and replied smoothly:
"Well, you see... if someone with ill intent shows up, we can't just casually disclose the captain's whereabouts. We have to confirm identity first before we can answer questions like that."
Pretty quick on the uptake, this one.
"Really now?"
Shirō was still suspicious. While the logic sounded fair, they were in the middle of Seireitei. It wasn't like someone could just wander in to cause trouble. If it were an intruder, there would've been alarms already.
"That's the way it is! It's a long-standing tradition here in Squad Eight!"
The man added, slyly making it seem like this policy didn't necessarily apply to other divisions, leaving Shirō without much of a counterargument.
"Forget it then."
Shirō waved his hand dismissively and turned away.
He'd come looking to drown his sorrows in sake, but if the guy wasn't around, he didn't feel like wasting more time.
As Shirō wandered through Seireitei, from Squad One all the way to Squad Thirteen, he realized,
There really wasn't anywhere he belonged.
Squad Four was where he was most familiar, but after last time? No way he'd go back there voluntarily.
Squad Two was Yoruichi's domain, so obviously off-limits.
Squad Eight had shut him down too. And after that... well, none of the other divisions were familiar to him.
Sigh...
"A whole damn Soul Society, and there's not even one place for me to go?"
Suddenly-
A sigh.
The exact same sigh echoed from nearby.
"Who the hell's copying me?!"
Shirō roared in frustration. He thought someone was mocking him, using his tone and even matching his kid-like pitch exactly. It felt like being bullied to the extreme.
"I said it first! You're the one copying me, and now you're pretending to be the victim?!"
A voice retorted immediately.
Same pitch. Same pouty delivery. That sealed it.
Shirō's lip curled into a sneer as he spun around,
Only to freeze in place.
Because the person talking back to him...
Was also a child.
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150 P.S = 1 Extra Chapter