Although Tōshirō Hitsugaya is the youngest, his suggestion was the most reliable.
Muten Natsu skillfully lifted Orihime Inoue onto his back and, together with Rukia Kuchiki, headed toward the 4th Division.
Rukia Kuchiki walked beside him, watching as Orihime Inoue loosely wrapped her arms around Muten Natsu's neck. Her warm cheek brushed lightly against his, her soft voice sweet and drowsy.
"Muten... hehe... don't be sad... I'll make you something delicious..."
"Mhm," Muten Natsu replied quietly. "Something delicious."
Orihime Inoue murmured a few more indistinct words, too faint for him to catch.
Just as he was about to ask, she had already fallen asleep against his back.
Rukia Kuchiki spoke softly, "I think I used to fall asleep on your back like this too."
"Want to try it again?"
"Who would want that!" Rukia Kuchiki lightly kicked him with her foot. "Why did you suddenly start asking about Urahara?"
"Something feels off." Muten Natsu looked toward the distant sky. "If, like Aizen said, the Hōgyoku has special powers and Urahara wanted to hide it, then why would he help me open the Senkaimon and come to Soul Society?"
"Yeah..." Rukia Kuchiki nodded. "Then how about asking Yoruichi?"
...
"Yoruichi-sama! Yoruichi-sama! I brought your favorite Kiyono's salt daifuku!"
Inside the VIP room of the 2nd Division barracks, Suì-Fēng searched for Yoruichi Shihōin, who had just been napping on the bench moments ago.
She looked around the room, but there was no sign of her. Only a pile of clothes lay scattered across the bench.
For a brief moment, Suì-Fēng thought Yoruichi had disappeared again like before, and her expression dimmed instantly.
A voice suddenly came from beneath the bench.
"Over here, Suì-Fēng!"
Without caring about her image at all, Suì-Fēng dropped to the floor and peered underneath. "Yoruichi-sama!"
In her black cat form, Yoruichi Shihōin yawned as she crawled out from under the bench. She stretched her front legs forward, then her hind legs back, scratched lightly against the bench leg, and finally leapt up onto the seat.
Afternoon sunlight streamed in through the window, bathing her in a warm glow. Her black fur looked as though it had been brushed with gold.
Her golden eyes narrowed, pupils thinning slightly. "The sun hasn't even set yet... you finished your work quite early, Suì-Fēng."
"Yes." Suì-Fēng's cheeks flushed faintly as she raised the box in her hands. "I hurried so I could get there before they closed the shop."
"Kiyono's salt daifuku..." Yoruichi lifted her tail and leaned closer, slightly opening her mouth to take in the aroma drifting from the box. "That really brings back memories."
Suì-Fēng sat down beside her. "Why did you turn back into this form, Yoruichi-sama?"
"This form is more convenient than a human one. Don't you like me like this?"
"N-no! That's not it at all!" Suì-Fēng hurriedly waved her hands, flustered. "No matter what form you take, I feel the same about Yoruichi-sama..."
Her rambling was cut off by the sound of the wrapper being torn open. Yoruichi bit into a salt daifuku in large mouthfuls.
"The most convenient part is that in this form, I can get full with just a little."
She swallowed one whole, then licked her front paw and gently rubbed it over her face.
"As the head of the Shihōin clan..." Suì-Fēng frowned. Just the thought of Yoruichi having to worry about food made her chest tighten.
And the one responsible for all of this was that man, Kisuke Urahara.
Back then, Yoruichi Shihōin had left Soul Society precisely to save him.
"Don't pity me, Suì-Fēng," Black Cat Yoruichi said with a smile. "I was born carrying the name of the Shihōin Clan... so living freely like a stray cat feels quite nice."
The Shihōin Clan, one of the Four Great Noble Families of Soul Society, was known to everyone there, yet in the World of the Living it was practically unheard of, with no influence to speak of.
For Yoruichi Shihōin, who had always lived under attention and admiration, that kind of life was something rare.
Black Cat Yoruichi lay down on the bench as the breeze stirred her dark fur. "It has nothing to do with status or family background... Now that you carry responsibility yourself, you should understand. Having no responsibilities at all is a kind of happiness."
Suì-Fēng hesitantly reached out and touched Yoruichi's side.
Her pale fingers twitched slightly at first, but when she saw that Black Cat Yoruichi didn't react, she slowly began to stroke her gently.
It really was just as she said.
Suì-Fēng understood.
If she weren't the Captain of the 2nd Division, if she didn't have to bear those responsibilities, she would want to leave this place with Yoruichi right now.
That would be the greatest happiness.
Yoruichi lay there with her eyes closed, completely still. Her body, warmed by the setting sun, seemed to pass that warmth on to Suì-Fēng's usually cold fingers.
Suì-Fēng understood her meaning and spoke softly, "So... you don't plan to return to Soul Society anymore? As the Commander of the Onmitsukidō, there really is no one else who can take your place except Yoruichi-sama..."
"You already know, don't you... I've been permanently expelled." There was no sadness in Black Cat Yoruichi's voice, only a calm indifference. "There's no going back."
"That's all in the past now, isn't it?" Suì-Fēng stood up, her clenched fist trembling slightly. "Yoruichi-sama shouldn't have been punished for something that wasn't even a mistake..."
She turned her back to Yoruichi-sama, unwilling to let her reaction disrupt her thoughts.
"That's enough, Suì-Fēng."
"But...!"
"It's not just that. Even I myself belong to the past now." A hand gently rested on Suì-Fēng's head as Yoruichi Shihōin spoke in a soft voice. "Through battle, I've seen how much you've grown. You've become stronger. You already have what it takes to be a Commander. Have confidence in yourself."
Feeling her heart race at those words of acknowledgment, Suì-Fēng turned around, moved. "Yoruichi-sa...!!!"
"That's enough serious talk." Yoruichi Shihōin patted her head just like before. "Go make some tea, Suì-Fēng!"
Suì-Fēng's already flushed face seemed ready to steam, her eyes glistening as her heartbeat sped up uncontrollably, as if it might leap right out of her chest.
And the cause of it all was Yoruichi Shihōin standing right in front of her.
"C-clothes...!" Suì-Fēng covered her eyes, her watery gaze peeking through her fingers. "Please put your clothes on, Yoruichi-sama!"
That radiant scene under the sunlight was etched deeply into Suì-Fēng's memory.