"Huh? You're asking me why I grabbed you?"
Yoruichi looked exactly like the delinquent boss of some club. One eyebrow raised, she clapped Naraku on the shoulder with casual, practiced ease.
"Don't tell me you already forgot about the engagement?"
"I came here to drag you back and make it official. Be a good boy and surrender quietly!"
The moment she finished, the dark-skinned girl fired off a Bakudō without warning, binding Naraku in an instant. She flipped him up and slung him over her shoulder in one smooth motion.
Under the horrified stares of the distant gate guards, she vanished into the molten-gold sunset.
"Bad, bad—Naraku-sama just got jumped by the Second Division Captain!"
"Should we tell Ninth Seat Aizen?"
"We should. Aizen-sama's always been good to us. That's one of his few friends."
"But we can't leave our post. Have someone else pass the message along."
The gate guards flagged down some off-duty squad members and explained what they'd seen, asking them to relay it to Aizen.
Fifth Division's atmosphere was pretty good overall; morale was steady and far more relaxed than, say, Eleventh.
Unfortunately, the workload was heavier. The first messenger had barely made it halfway through the barracks before a seated officer grabbed him and sent him off on another assignment, and he, in turn, passed the message along to someone else.
But that someone else was also busy, and ended up passing it on again.
By the time the story finally reached Aizen's ears, it had transformed into something completely nonsensical.
"Naraku-sama got beaten to his knees by that woman, then was tied up and carried away!"
Aizen: "?"
...
...
Second Division's barracks were built on the side of a mountain. Beneath the layered buildings lay a wide training ground where numerous trainees practiced assassination techniques.
Unlike the Gotei 13 proper, members of the Onmitsukidō were subjected to harsh training from childhood.
They started with human anatomy and pressure points, moved into the foundations of Zanjutsu/Hakuda/Hohō/Kidō, and then graduated to all kinds of infiltration and assassination methods.
Those who performed well could join the Punishment Corps as proper members, or transfer into Second Division and become front-facing Shinigami.
Those who didn't were usually sent to other squads, or brought into service by the Shihōin family and its branch nobles.
Compared to the Academy, the Punishment Corps' training period was much longer, and the trainees were much younger.
So when Naraku walked through, he saw boys and girls shorter than him, executing their drills with absolute focus.
In the captain's office—
Yoruichi set him down gently and undid the bindings around him.
The Bakudō had just been for show. It couldn't actually restrain Naraku.
"So? What was so important that you had to drag me off like this?"
Naraku glanced at the girl pouring tea. He couldn't shake the feeling she was looking at him with a very specific kind of hostility.
Like someone seeing their treasured possession being snatched away.
She hid it well, but not well enough to escape his eye.
Which left him wondering—what exactly had he done to offend her?
Was she some relative of that fossil Kureji?
"Obviously, to fulfill the engagement," Yoruichi said, looking genuinely confused. "What else would it be?"
Naraku: "…"
Was she this afraid of not getting married or something?
At those words, the girl at the tea table clenched her teeth so hard they audibly clicked.
Naraku glanced over at her. She did look familiar, like he'd seen her somewhere before.
Yoruichi took a sip of tea, her smile fading as her expression turned serious.
"All right. Honestly, I brought you here for another reason."
"If I remember right, Sora, you've already entered the Genryū, haven't you?"
Naraku nodded.
It wasn't a secret. In fact, everyone in Seireitei knew.
Yamamoto's "lessons" were… impossible to miss. The man either blew the dōjō apart or shook the whole barracks with his Reiatsu every time.
You'd have to be blind not to see how much he valued Naraku.
That was also why, despite all the Shihōin drama, the Central 46 hadn't come knocking.
And Yoruichi's explanation certainly hadn't hurt.
In a sense, Naraku was already half a Shihōin—one foot over the noble threshold.
He wasn't thrilled about that.
For a lot of reasons, but mainly because he didn't want his future actions dragging other people down.
"Then I'm sure you've learned quite a bit of the Head-Captain's moves," Yoruichi said, narrowing her eyes like a curious cat.
"Eh, he's taught me a little of everything—sword, fist, Hohō, Kidō," Naraku replied. "Plus Genryū blade meditation, stuff about the 'path' and mental focus."
At that, Yoruichi smiled, then laid out the problem that had been plaguing her for days.
"So, the Maggot's Nest has been rioting constantly under Second Division's jurisdiction, and there's no one in the squad who can truly control it. You want my help training a few people?"
Naraku's expression turned odd.
When she'd started, he'd assumed she wanted him to go suppress the Maggot's Nest himself. He hadn't expected her to ask him to raise a few Hakuda specialists.
When he didn't answer right away, Yoruichi thought he was hesitating and hurried to add:
"Second Division still has plenty of geniuses. Take Sui-Feng, for example."
She sprang to her feet and appeared behind the girl who'd been staring daggers at Naraku this whole time. Her hands shot under the girl's arms and lifted her up.
"Look here—Punishment Corps prodigy, one of my personal squad members. Finished the entire training program in two and a half years."
"Direct heir of the Shihōin bee line, next in line for the title of Sui-Fēng."
"And most importantly, she's adorable."
Suddenly scooped up by the person she cared most about, Sui-Feng couldn't help panicking. Her limbs flailed, face flushing bright red, and her words turned into a stuttering mess.
"Y-Yoruichi-sama, wh-what are you doing?!"
Hearing the name, Naraku's eyes lit with recognition.
No wonder she'd been glaring at him like she wanted to kill him. So this was the one girl willing to devote everything to Yoruichi—Sui-Fēng.
That made sense.
Even so, teaching her felt like a huge hassle. He still hadn't fully mastered everything himself. If he started teaching now, he'd just be misleading people.
Aizen got it because Aizen was Aizen. Anyone else would get nothing.
After a moment of thought, Naraku clapped his hands in sudden realization.
"I've got an idea!"
~~~
Patreon.com/Weze_
— You can read more Chapters in my Patreon Page! please vote, comment, share this, or visit my Patreon Page and join the Free Membership!
Free 5 Memberships in my Patreon Page! Just click the link and received the free memberships! Thank you Everyone! Merry Christmas!