"You've got some nerve! I'm Byakuya Kuchiki! Kuchiki Ginrei is my grandfather! Kuchiki Sōjun is my father!" the kid barked furiously.
Shirō blinked and looked at the boy again.
Now that he really looked, yeah, this was that Byakuya. But he was way younger than the version from the original flashback arcs. Back then, he was at least a teenager. But this one? Still a full-on kid.
"Oh, so you're that little lord Byakuya, huh? What an honor," Kaien said dryly, pretending to be impressed.
"Indeed. Well said!" Byakuya replied proudly, slipping right back into his noble air now that his full name was out in the open. He was back to his usual overbearing self, having already forgotten how hard Shirō had just humiliated him.
"But seriously, why aren't you at home in the Kuchiki estate? And where's your escort? Don't tell me... you snuck out?!" Kaien leaned in suspiciously.
"Who, who said I snuck out?! I just… got separated from my attendants, that's all!" Byakuya huffed, sticking his neck out defiantly.
Shirō suddenly remembered what he'd muttered at the start: "Nowhere to go, huh?"
Yeah, this kid definitely snuck out. If he had gone somewhere familiar, people would've spotted him instantly. That's why he was wandering aimlessly.
Sigh… Shirō felt another wave of melancholy wash over him.
Both of them were technically "runaways."
But Byakuya had snuck out to play around.
And Shirō? He was out here drinking away his sorrows.
The gap… was depressing.
These carefree kids would never understand what true heartache felt like.
Lost in his gloom, Shirō suddenly raised his voice and shouted:
"You nobles wouldn't understand the misery of someone like me, a fellow noble!!"
Both Kaien and Byakuya stopped, looking baffled.
Wasn't he just a random kid? Where was this dramatic suffering coming from?
"…Honestly, I thought he was gonna say something about being a tragic commoner," Kaien muttered, scratching his chin. "Is he trying to be philosophical?"
"…More like a stand-up comedian," Byakuya replied flatly.
"Man, for someone your age, your sarcasm's pretty sharp!" Kaien laughed.
"Better than being a clown like you," Byakuya shot back.
"Hah! You sure about that? Just now, weren't you the one yelling 'Young Master, Young Master' at the top of your lungs?" Kaien smirked. "Where was all that noble pride then?"
Byakuya gritted his teeth.
What is going on today?! Everyone I meet is a complete jerk!
He had already learned his lesson from failing to beat Shirō. He wasn't dumb enough to challenge Kaien next, this guy seemed just as annoying, if not worse.
"Alright, alright," Kaien clapped his hands. "Let's backtrack a sec, what exactly were you two fighting over? I almost forgot why I even jumped in!"
Shirō and Byakuya blinked at each other.
Right… what were they fighting about?
"…He was copying how I talk?" Shirō said uncertainly.
"What?! You were the one copying me!" Byakuya snapped.
Kaien laughed so hard he almost doubled over. "Seriously?! You two fought over something that dumb? Classic little brats, I swear!"
Byakuya: "Go away. This doesn't concern you!"
Shirō: "Yeah! Keep talking and I'll beat you too!"
Kaien crossed his arms smugly and refused to budge.
"I'm not going anywhere. In fact, why don't both of you come at me together? No complaints here! Even if you teamed up, you still couldn't beat me!" he declared shamelessly.
Right then, a calm voice suddenly cut in:
"Little ones shouldn't fight. Try to get along, okay?"
A gentle wave of spiritual pressure brushed past them.
A white-robed figure walked by, so effortlessly graceful and subtle that the trio couldn't even turn their heads in time to glimpse him properly.
Only after the man had gone did they manage to look in his direction.
This wasn't the suffocating kind of pressure like the one from the old man of the Shihōin clan. It didn't pin you down or make you sweat bullets.
Instead, it felt… warm. Reassuring. Like a gentle reminder that the person meant no harm.
And yet, maybe the gap between their powers was just too vast, for they couldn't even raise their eyes to meet him.
"Who was that?!" Byakuya gasped.
"Idiot!" Kaien knocked him lightly on the head. "That was Captain Kirio Hikifune of Squad 12!"
Shirō glanced at the retreating figure, spotting the large [Twelve] on the captain's haori.
"Hikifune Kirio, huh… Interesting," he murmured.
"But ugh... I don't even feel curious anymore."
He shook his head and turned to leave.
"What, that's it? You're just walking away like nothing happened?!" Byakuya yelled. He hadn't even gotten his revenge yet!
"Yeah! Don't tell me you're scared of me now?" Kaien added, still clearly not taking anything seriously.
The two of them seemed to completely forget that Hikifune was still within earshot.
Wasn't there a risk of the captain turning back to scold them for picking another fight?
But Shirō didn't care anymore. He had enough on his mind already.
Of course, being Shirō, he couldn't just leave without a final retort.
He turned his head and shouted:
"You two better not push your luck! I'm warning you, if you piss me off, I'll date your sisters!!"
And just like that, he walked off without looking back.
Whoosh, a breeze rolled past, lifting a few leaves into the air.
Dead silence.
Even Captain Hikifune, already halfway gone, glanced over curiously at Shirō's departing back.
The silence dragged on until his figure was completely gone.
Then, finally, Byakuya roared:
"Idiot! You think I'm scared of you?! I don't even have a sister!!"
"…You don't now," Kaien mumbled darkly, face suddenly pale. "But I do. And she's about the same age as that lunatic. Crap! What if he already knew?! I gotta hurry back and keep an eye on her!"
Kaien bolted off at lightning speed.
"…Idiots. The both of them," Byakuya muttered.
Suddenly, voices called out from the distance:
"Lord Byakuya! Where are you?! Lord Byakuya~~~!"
"…Shit! They found me!" he hissed. "Those bastards wasted all my time, now I've been caught!"
With that, he took off running too.
In the distance, Captain Hikifune let out a quiet chuckle.
"Young people these days… So full of energy."
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150 P.S = 1 Extra Chapter