"Emiya Shirō! That's my friend you're being rude to!!!"
Yoruichi stood with her hands on her hips, yelling furiously. The situation unfolding before her was far from what she had imagined. Not only had Shirō made no move to reconcile with her, he didn't even show a hint of discomfort, jealousy, or resentment, none of the reactions she had been bracing herself for.
From Yoruichi's point of view, Shirō was being completely heartless!
"It's your friend, so I'm supposed to be friends with him too?!" Shirō shot back, lifting his eyes with a cold tone. It was obvious his words weren't directed at Kisuke, but at Yoruichi herself.
"You, ! You're being totally unreasonable!!" Yoruichi took a deep breath and yelled, "That's it! We're through! Don't ever come to my house again!"
With that, she spun around and stormed off. "Let's go!" she snapped, not caring whether anyone followed as she vanished in a blur.
"...Ahaha... uh..." Kisuke scratched his head awkwardly. "Guess I'll see you around then."
To Shirō's surprise, Soifon didn't follow Yoruichi right away. Instead, she paused and gave Shirō one last look before running after her. He didn't notice this detail, but it mattered.
Soifon wasn't worried about Shirō.
But for the first time, she thought, maybe he wasn't so bad.
That shift in perspective came from comparing him to the man who had just appeared, Kisuke Urahara.
Shirō, for all his flaws, carried himself with the aura and presence of a noble. He looked the part, too. Soifon had disliked him only because he was always too casual and overfamiliar with Yoruichi.
But now, she realized that was entirely Yoruichi's influence. Shirō had worked hard to cultivate his noble temperament. After all, getting reborn into a noble family wasn't easy, and Shirō had taken it seriously.
He wasn't just a pretty face. Whether it was studying, sparring, eating, or playing, Shirō had always been there for Yoruichi. Soifon had seen it with her own eyes. As far as she was concerned, the two of them had already crossed a line long ago. How could they just fall apart like this?
And then there was Urahara Kisuke, messy, sloppy, and just as disrespectful. If Shirō merely annoyed Soifon, Kisuke outright disgusted her. There was no way she wanted Yoruichi-sama spending her days around someone like that.
Deep down, she hoped Shirō would return, and push Kisuke out.
But Soifon would never say this to Yoruichi directly. She hoped Shirō would be the one to step forward and apologize. She couldn't understand, how could someone so favored by Yoruichi-sama not realize how lucky he was?
If it were her, she would've apologized immediately. No, scratch that. She wouldn't have made Yoruichi-sama mad in the first place!
"Um, Young Master..."
A soft voice came from the side.
"It's fine," Shirō replied with a calm shake of his head.
"But... if Master finds out..." the maid whispered nervously.
And for good reason, cutting ties with the Shihōin heiress wasn't just a personal matter. In noble society, it was an earthquake.
"No big deal," Shirō shrugged with a hint of coldness in his eyes and voice. "Once I become a captain, he'll have something to brag about."
The maid stayed silent, though it was clear she wasn't convinced. Captains weren't that easy to become, especially when her own master, as powerful as he was, had only reached the rank of Fifth Seat.
Bit by bit, Shirō and Yoruichi grew more distant.
When Shirō's parents eventually heard about what happened, they were furious, but powerless. They'd tried everything, even dragging Shirō to apologize in person. But Yoruichi refused to see him.
Shirō's mother, who had always believed in the motto "let the children live their own lives," finally snapped. She cursed her son in private:
How could he throw away such a perfect opportunity and woman?
How could he not cherish what he had?
Some time later, Shirō's father quietly submitted an application to enroll him in the Shin'ō Spiritual Arts Academy.
If Shirō could no longer study alongside Yoruichi, then it was time to get his life back on track, go to the academy, become a Shinigami, and eventually inherit his father's Fifth Seat in the Second Division.
The academy was, in many ways, a mandatory path. For all but the direct heirs of the Four Great Noble Houses like Yoruichi and Byakuya, becoming a Shinigami meant going through Shin'ō.
To be honest, Shirō's current abilities were more than enough. If he entered the academy, he could probably graduate in just a year. Though he hadn't awakened a Zanpakutō yet, his strength and spiritual pressure already met the standards for entering the Gotei 13. He just wouldn't qualify for a seated officer position yet.
But Shirō wasn't a genius. He had only studied ahead, like a student with a private tutor skipping a few grades.
What he lacked now was experience and common sense. He could fight, but he had never performed a soul burial. He hadn't even seen a real Hollow yet.
Those were things he could only learn at the academy.
In the days that followed, Shirō stayed home preparing for school.
Then, one day, a surprise guest arrived at the Emiya household.
"You here to see me? Don't you have your precious Yoruichi-sama to attend to?" Shirō greeted Soifon coldly.
"I came to talk about Yoruichi-sama," Soifon replied calmly.
"She sent you?" Shirō asked.
Yoruichi was prideful, sending someone to speak on her behalf felt like the kind of roundabout thing she'd do. And if that were the case… well, maybe he could "reluctantly" accept her peace offering.
"No... I came on my own," Soifon replied truthfully. She wasn't the type to lie, and she certainly wouldn't dare fabricate Yoruichi-sama's words.
Shirō's face turned cold.
"Then why are you here? To talk about our wedding date?"
Soifon's cheeks turned red. She shouted instinctively:
"Please stop making those kinds of jokes! If you really do end up with Yoruichi-sama... you must never mention such things again!"
"Do you think there's even a future now?" Shirō shrugged.
"...There is!" Soifon said firmly. "I've stayed by Yoruichi-sama's side all this time, so I've seen it clearly! Ever since you've been gone, she still goes through the motions like usual... but she talks less. Eats less. And even her smiles have faded."
"She may not say it... but I know. She misses you."
"So please... go see her first."
Soifon bowed deeply.
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150 P.S = 1 Extra Chapter