Faced with both of them, Shirō's traumatic memories came flooding back.
And his only thought was: "I need to get the hell out of here!"
"Ahem… Well, since the Hollow's been taken care of, I'll be taking my leave. Farewell!" Shirō gave a half-hearted salute, like some wandering swordsman, though with the way he was slinking off, he looked more like a petty thief.
"Stop right there!" Yoruichi's voice rang out from behind.
"No need to thank me! I prefer doing good deeds anonymously!" Shirō shouted as he bolted.
But before he could escape, Yoruichi pounced and pinned him to the ground.
"You already gave your name earlier, didn't you?!" she scolded while ruffling his hair mercilessly.
Knowing the jig was up, Shirō pulled off his makeshift mask and roared:
"I didn't give my real name! That's why it's called doing a good deed without leaving a name!"
Yoruichi pulled him up by the collar and glared.
"Then tell me, why were you skulking around and following me?!"
She had seen him loitering near her house earlier and had already guessed he'd come to patch things up.
Shirō, realizing he'd been spotted all along, shot back:
"Oh yeah? Then why did you lead me all the way out here?"
Not waiting for an answer, he launched into a speech:
"Bringing me to a place with no people around… is this your way of apologizing? I get it, you've got too much pride to say it directly. But don't worry! If you're sincere enough, I'm not petty."
Yoruichi's face darkened.
"Wrong! Completely wrong! I brought you out here to beat the crap out of you!!"
And then she lunged at him.
"I KNEW IT!!" Shirō shouted as he kicked off and fought back.
The two of them rolled around, wrestling like bickering siblings.
No one knew how long they tussled. But eventually, they collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily, whatever tension they had was gone.
A short distance away, Unohana Retsu was still sitting peacefully under the moonlight, completely ignoring their chaos.
Shirō couldn't help but wonder, to stay that calm while they were practically kicking up a dust storm? That was next-level focus. No wonder she was a sword master.
"Whew~ That felt good!" Yoruichi stretched lazily.
Then she turned to him.
"Hey, what's your name? I'm Yoruichi. Shihōin Yoruichi."
Shirō blinked.
At first, he thought she was teasing him about the fake name, Shijō Sōya, he used earlier. But no. This was different.
She was offering her real name now. That meant… she was acknowledging him again.
He smiled, extended his hand, and said:
"Emiya Shirō."
Their hands met, her delicate yet firm grip clasping his.
"Huh. A friend of mine not long ago was also named Emiya," Yoruichi teased.
"That's funny," Shirō replied with a smirk. "I used to know someone named Yoruichi too."
"Then you should introduce us sometime!" she said with a grin.
"Sure. Why not?" he chuckled, playing along.
...
"Shirō… you coming to find me tomorrow?" Yoruichi asked casually.
"Nope," he answered immediately.
Yoruichi blinked. Was he still upset?
"You see... I'm sor-"
Shirō interrupted Yoruichi before she could finish her words.
Shirō chuckled and quickly explained:
"I'm starting classes at the academy."
"Ah. I see." Her tone was flat, unreadable. Then, after a stopped, she said, "Well, I'm officially joining the Gotei 13."
"You, what?!" Shirō was stunned. He'd known this day would come, but still, it hit harder than expected.
"Heh, what's that? Are you worried about me?" Yoruichi leaned in with a grin.
"Worried you'll be dead weight," he grumbled.
"You be sure to do your best at the academy too," she said. "Oh, and Kisuke Urahara's also there. Want me to ask him to look after you?"
"NO! Absolutely not!!" Shirō waved his hands frantically.
"Oh?" Yoruichi raised an eyebrow. "Do you not like him?"
"It's not that, he's just… incredibly unreliable!" Shirō said flatly.
"Hmm…" Yoruichi tapped her chin, clearly still puzzled.
Later at Night
That night, Shirō had a dream.
A vast, endless field of grass. Bathed in moonlight. A stunningly beautiful woman stood before him, elegant, graceful, and seems familiar.
She opened her mouth to speak, and though he couldn't hear her words, the meaning burned itself into his mind:
"From now on, my sword shall walk with you. Our fates are intertwined.
My name is...
Call me...
Call my name.."
"Sa...ber" Shirō bolted upright in bed, drenched in sweat.
Huff… huff… huff…
He wiped his forehead and muttered:
"It was just a dream… but why does it feel like I woke from a nightmare, not a dream?"
Then suddenly, he froze.
Something was… off.
He turned slowly toward his pillow, it looked completely normal, but his instincts screamed otherwise.
"No way…"
Hand trembling, Shirō reached out, and touched something smooth and cold.
There was clearly something there, yet it was invisible.
Thinking back to the dream and everything that happened tonight, Shirō felt a mix of shock, joy, and helplessness.
He smiled bitterly.
"Does this… count as cheating?"
Because here's the thing, he didn't actually hear his Zanpakutō's name. He just knew it.
Normally, a Shinigami had to reach a certain spiritual level, form a connection with their Zanpakutō, and , most importantly, hear its name to unlock shikai.
But Shirō? He skipped that.
No voice and no proper awakening.
He just guessed the name, and got it right.
An absurd miracle.
So while his Zanpakutō had technically awakened, he couldn't use any of its powers.
It was in a weird in-between state, unlocked, but unusable.
The name was known…
But the bond was still incomplete.
A laugh escaped his lips as he shook his head.
"Maybe, only I could pull something like this off…"
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150 P.S = 1 Extra Chapter