Early the next morning—
Ichigo felt something soft and furry on his face, tickling him. He opened his eyes and jumped in shock.
Overnight, a house had somehow appeared out of nowhere on this empty ground!
Not only that, there was a black cat lying right next to his cheek!
Rubbing his eyes, Ichigo confirmed he wasn't dreaming and stared at everything in disbelief.
"Meow!"
Hearing Ichigo's voice, the black cat woke up too. It yawned first, then, under Ichigo's shocked gaze, was scooped up into his arms.
"Little kitty, was it your master who brought me to this house?" Ichigo asked, holding the black cat.
The cat froze for a moment, then struggled free from Ichigo's arms and jumped down.
And then, it opened its mouth and spoke, "It was me who brought you to this house. I don't have any master."
Hearing a cat talk, Ichigo was stunned. "The cat's talking!"
But he quickly calmed down. After all, he had already seen Shinigami and Hollows—what was a talking cat compared to those?
No, wait—what the hell! This was still way too crazy!
Ichigo instantly leapt up, pointing at the black cat in shock. "How is this possible?!"
The black cat, seeing Ichigo's wide-eyed expression, lazily licked its front paw. "Why wouldn't it be possible?"
At that moment, Ichigo suddenly felt this cat looked familiar. Thinking hard, he suddenly remembered!
"You're the cat that showed up in the alley that day!" Ichigo blurted out.
"Hmm? After all this time, you actually remembered?" The black cat was a little surprised.
"Wait a second, my old man said that it was a woman who brought me back that day, could it be..." Ichigo suddenly had a wild thought.
The black cat hadn't expected Ichigo to be this sharp. Just as it was about to speak—
"Could it be that woman was your master!" Ichigo guessed.
The black cat opened its mouth, speechless for a moment. "Of course not! I was the one who brought you back!"
It practically exploded, fur bristling.
"Huh?" Ichigo looked at the black cat suspiciously.
The cat sighed inwardly, thinking, "If it weren't for Kisuke messing things up, I wouldn't have had to personally step in to earn this kid's trust!"
"And why didn't Kisuke just let Isshin show up? If Isshin said something, this kid would probably trust him right away!"
Although confused, the cat truly had no malicious intent toward Ichigo.
"Don't believe me? Then open your eyes wide, kid!" the black cat said, as mist started to swirl around its body.
Then, right in front of Ichigo, a beautiful dark-skinned woman appeared—completely naked!
With long purple hair and a tall, stunning figure.
Ichigo, being a young man, had never seen such a sight before. His face turned beet red as he hastily covered his eyes.
"Hurry up and put on some clothes!"
But even though he covered his eyes, he couldn't help peeking through his fingers to admire Yoruichi's figure.
"If you want to look, just look properly. No need to sneak glances," Yoruichi said, completely unfazed.
Ichigo's face turned even redder. "W-who wants to look!"
Turning his back, he scrambled to find his backpack, grabbed a set of his clothes and pants, and threw them at Yoruichi. "Put these on!"
Catching the clothes, Yoruichi grumbled, "What a hassle."
Still, despite her words, she obediently put on the clothes.
Seeing her properly dressed, Ichigo finally let out a sigh of relief.
"How did you do that?" Ichigo asked curiously.
"This is my special secret technique. What, interested in learning it?" Yoruichi teased proudly.
"Who would want to learn something like that!" Ichigo blushed furiously.
After all, transforming like that meant getting completely naked. Ichigo couldn't imagine himself shamelessly streaking around like that!
"Kid, be a little more respectful, will you? I saved your life twice already," Yoruichi said, looking at him.
Hearing that, Ichigo calmed down and bowed slightly. "Thank you. Really. For saving me twice. By the way, what's your name?"
"Yoruichi. Just call me Yoruichi," she replied casually.
"Yoruichi, huh? I'm Kurosaki Ichigo. Since you seem a bit older than me, I'll call you Yoruichi-nee-san," Ichigo said politely.
Hearing that, Yoruichi's mouth twitched slightly. After all, in terms of seniority, she was about the same generation as Isshin.
But she didn't really care. Waving her hand, she said, "Call me whatever you like."
"By the way, why are you alone out here in the mountains? If I hadn't passed by, you might've gotten carried off by some wild animal," Yoruichi asked, pretending to be clueless.
"Uh, it's a long story. I do have my reasons for staying here, but... sorry, I can't say," Ichigo answered honestly.
After all, this woman had indeed helped him twice. He couldn't bring himself to lie.
"Fine, I won't pry. Are you planning to stay here, or leave?" Yoruichi asked.
"I still have things to do, so I'll be staying here for a while. Yoruichi-nee-san, you don't need to worry about me," Ichigo said confidently.
"I don't mind sticking around if you need me," Yoruichi said, trying to get closer.
"It's fine, really. I think it's more convenient for me to be alone," Ichigo said cautiously. Even if she had helped him, he remained on guard.
"Alright then. I'll just come by at night to check on you. Wouldn't want anything bad to happen," Yoruichi said.
With that, she disappeared with a shunpo—so fast that Ichigo didn't even have time to react.
Once she was gone, Ichigo exclaimed, "That speed! Yoruichi-nee-san is a Shinigami too!"
He had recognized the way she vanished—and at such terrifying speed, if she had attacked, he wouldn't even have had time to respond!
"If only I could move that fast too..." Ichigo thought enviously.
But soon he shook off his daydreaming, slapped his cheeks to perk himself up, grabbed some food, and resumed that day's Bankai training.
This training continued for three days!
Every night, Yoruichi would show up, carry Ichigo back, treat his injuries, and then sleep nearby—this time, not in her cat form.
(End of Chapter)
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