"When did you set up something this big?"
"And there wasn't a single word about it…"
"You've really got something up your sleeve, Kenma."
Hearing Kenma's admission, surprise showed in the eyes of the three men.
Shimazu Toyohisa couldn't stop nodding. Nobunaga and Yoichi crowded around Kenma, one repeatedly patting his shoulder, the other poking his chest with an elbow.
Kenma had long since grown accustomed to their rather boisterous way of expressing themselves.
Letting the three of them surround him, he said with a straight face, "Grandfather, if you have time in the future, you can get in touch with them. Some of them are quite good people."
"Ah, I understand," Shimazu Toyohisa nodded in response.
Just then, Shisui's voice came from outside.
"My lord, Lady Yoruichi is here."
Hearing this, Kenma's brow furrowed slightly, and he walked outside.
Nobunaga and Yoichi stopped their roughhousing and followed behind Kenma.
"Kenma, since the lady of the house is here, she must have proper business with you."
"Then it's not good for us to disturb you any longer. It's a good time to take our leave from our hosts as well."
Kenma remained noncommittal upon hearing the words from behind him.
'Yoruichi coming to find me? What proper business could she have?'
Before the four of them had even left the study, Yoruichi's loud call rang out from outside.
"Kenma, Kenma, I've come to play with you."
When Kenma reached the doorway, he saw Yoruichi had already arrived at the courtyard gate and was walking in with a cheerful stride, followed by Uchiha Mikoto.
Yoruichi saw Kenma standing at the door, her lips splitting into a cloying grin.
Then she saw Shisui and the other three by Kenma's side, and the smile on her face quickly vanished, replaced by her usual confident, heroic, and hearty expression.
"Good day, Grandfather, Nobunaga, and Yoichi."
"What are you and Kenma up to?"
Yoruichi was naturally aware that the Shimazu trio had been staying at the Shihoin estate for the past few days.
After her marriage, she had even served tea to Shimazu Toyohisa, as he was Kenma's elder.
Although it had been met with Shimazu Toyohisa's complaint that it tasted bad.
But Yoruichi was never good at that anyway, so she had just laughed it off and never took it to heart.
Seeing the daughter-in-law who had married his precious grandson, Shimazu Toyohisa showed a simple and honest smile.
"We have stayed here long enough, well past the time stipulated by the Seireitei. It's time for us to take our leave. It's a coincidence to meet you here, so we can formally bid you farewell."
"Won't you stay a few more days? It's been a long time since Kenma has seen you; he misses you very much," Yoruichi said, surprised. "Was there something lacking in the Shihoin family's hospitality?"
The three of them waved their hands repeatedly.
Nobunaga politely declined, "No, no, we are just ordinary souls. According to the regulations, we cannot stay in the Seireitei for too long."
"If you miss us in the future, you can come and find us in the Rukongai. It's not like we can't meet again," Yoichi chimed in.
Yoruichi nodded. She naturally knew the danger that the high concentration of spiritual pressure in the Seireitei posed to ordinary souls.
"Since you are leaving, I will have the storehouse prepare some gifts. I hope you will not refuse them."
"Father will surely be reluctant to see you go. The three of you should take this opportunity to bid him farewell as well."
Shimazu Toyohisa said bluntly, "No need. The old man is about to die. He should get more rest. We won't disturb… oof, mmph…"
Before he could finish his sentence, Nobunaga and Yoichi hurriedly stopped him.
One covered his mouth, while the other kept hitting him on the head.
"Haha, this guy is an idiot, he speaks his mind without thinking. He definitely has no ill intentions," Nobunaga said with a nervous sweat on his face and an awkward laugh.
Yoichi added, "That's right, he's just a fool. Don't mind him."
Upon first hearing Shimazu Toyohisa's words, Yoruichi was naturally displeased.
But seeing Nobunaga and the other one hitting him harder and harder, his face gradually becoming bruised and swollen, she was momentarily unsure whether she should retaliate.
Kenma sighed in his heart and said, "Yoruichi, Grandfather has always been unable to read the room. Please forgive him."
Seeing this, what else could Yoruichi say?
After having the Shihoin household prepare some gifts, Yoruichi and Kenma escorted the three to the gate.
After some pleasantries, the three were about to leave.
Shimazu Toyohisa suddenly stopped, turned around, and with his one exposed eye, looked at Kenma who had come to see them off.
"Speaking of which, Kenma… how long has it been since you last smiled?"
"I remember you used to smile a lot. This time, it was your most important wedding… could it not make you happy either?"
Shimazu Toyohisa's head was wrapped in gauze, so Kenma couldn't see the expression on his face.
But the other's worried gaze and his sudden words left him stunned on the spot.
Yoruichi, at his side, turned her head slightly, her peripheral vision catching a glimpse of her husband.
She saw his strange expression, an ugly look she had never seen before.
It was mixed with a trace of bewildered confusion.
Shimazu Toyohisa sighed deeply.
"Is it really because of your brother…"
"His death had nothing to do with you. We don't blame you, Kenma, you…"
He didn't finish his sentence, as he was once again restrained by Nobunaga and Yoichi.
"You fool, read the air!"
"What are you bringing this up for when you have nothing better to do, you idiot."
Another round of blows, even causing the white gauze on Toyohisa's head to show a hint of red.
Yoichi said awkwardly, "Kenma… don't mind this guy Toyohisa. You know, his head has always been muddled."
Nobunaga quickly agreed, "That's right, that's right. Well… we've disturbed you long enough. We'll be taking our leave now."
As they spoke, they quickly left with him, as if escorting a prisoner.
Until the figures of the three had completely disappeared, Kenma continued to stare ahead, lost in thought.
Feeling the low pressure emanating from the man beside her, Yoruichi couldn't help but feel an inexplicable discomfort.
The usual Kenma, although often expressionless and stern-faced, was completely different from this unusual reaction.
She had never thought she would see such obvious emotion on Kenma's face.
"Ke… ahem, Kenma, are you alright?"
Yoruichi tentatively spoke, reaching out to tug on his sleeve.
Kenma's thoughts gathered. He looked down to see Yoruichi's face full of worry.
He shook his head gently, his face returning to its usual seriousness.
"I'm fine, don't worry."
"I was just thinking about some things from the past. I've long since moved on."
Although Yoruichi was curious about Kenma's past, she also knew that now was not the time to ask.
For a moment, she stood there in silence.
However, it was rare to see her so quiet, which in turn made Kenma find it strange.
"Yoruichi, aren't you curious about my past experiences?"
"Not curious, not curious at all."
Yoruichi shook her head repeatedly.
"You don't have to tell me. I'm not like your grandfather, completely unable to read the atmosphere. I still have the ability to read the air."
"He had this problem even when he was alive. I don't know how to change it… Yoruichi, I hope you won't hold it against him."
Kenma sighed.
Yoruichi took the opportunity to continue, "Wasn't he from a noble family when he was alive? Didn't his family teach him these things when he was a child?"
"The ones who shaped his personality like this were his father, his uncle, and other such elders."
Kenma recalled the past, his tone becoming inexplicably irritable.
"I don't know the details either. I only heard Nobunaga mention it once."
"Their era was one of constant warfare. What the various lords needed were not people, but demons on the battlefield who knew only how to charge forward and kill the enemy."
"Therefore, his father and uncle deliberately taught him to be this way… making him fight for his life on the battlefield with the enemy when he was still a child… for the heads of his targets, for merit and glory."
"In the end, he was nothing more than a pitiful… weapon forged by others, one that only knows how to charge forward… that's all."
'And I… and the other children they adopted together, were brought up by his side, taught by his words and example, educated in the same way his elders had taught him.'
'Pure as he was, he only knew this one way of life.'
'Thinking about it now, I too am a weapon he forged.'
'There is no difference between him and me.'
After pouring his heart out to Yoruichi, Kenma felt much better.
The two returned to the study, and Kenma looked at Yoruichi, asking, "By the way, what did you come to find me for?"
"Well…"
Yoruichi scratched her cheek, a blush appearing on her brown skin.
Seeing Yoruichi's expression, Kenma understood in a second.
...…
On the other side, the Shimazu trio, who had already left the Seireitei, suddenly saw a figure appear before them.
"Shisui?"
The three of them looked and saw that it was the young attendant who was always by Kenma's side.
And in Shisui's arms, he was holding three Zanpakutō.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]