Yoruichi stared at Ren and gave a cold smile.
"Since I'm here, I'm naturally at your mercy," Ren said in a low voice. "Yoruichi, tell me, what exactly do you want?"
"Have a match with Suì-Fēng."
Yoruichi pointed her thumb at Suì-Fēng beside her, a proud, beaming smile on her face.
"Suì-Fēng has been training incredibly hard lately, and she's achieved some quite impressive results."
"Let me tell you, Suì-Fēng's techniques possess some truly staggering power now."
Ren's heart skipped a beat. 'Bankai?'
"Exactly! Bankai!"
Yoruichi crossed her arms, her voice brimming with pride.
"Suì-Fēng is so young, yet she's already mastered such a major technique. She's far ahead of you."
"However, because she's just mastered it, there are still many flaws and areas for improvement, and her own control over it is still lacking."
She pointed at Ren.
"You'll have a match with her and give her some guidance while you're at it."
"If the results of your instruction satisfy me, I'll forgive your little affair this time."
Ren's eye twitched. "You're calling me keeping a cat... an affair?"
"It's an affair! It's definitely an affair!"
Yoruichi didn't give Ren a chance to argue. She leapt onto his neck, using both hands and feet to scramble all over him, clutching at his scalp and hair.
"I'm clearly this cute! How could I possibly lose to that vixen?"
"Insisting on finding a little something on the side... what, am I not pretty enough for you?"
Ren endured Yoruichi's fussing and muttered, "Yoruichi, is it possible that from a cat's perspective, your solid black look just isn't that attractive..."
Before he could finish, Yoruichi pulled on his hair even harder.
"You bastard, what did you just say!?"
"Stop, stop! If you keep pulling, I'll go bald!"
Ren hurriedly grabbed Yoruichi's wrists, but she simply opened her mouth and bit right into his scalp.
"Fine, fine! Just as you wanted, I've already given her away. Are you satisfied?"
"What about later?"
"I won't see her again. I promise you'll be the only one I pet from now on, alright?"
"That's more like it."
Walter quietly took two steps back, wanting nothing to do with this bizarre couple to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.
However, he saw Suì-Fēng up ahead, grinding her teeth as she stared at the bickering pair with a face full of envy and resentment.
A literal question mark practically popped over Walter's head.
He really couldn't understand how these people's minds worked.
Having secured Ren's promise, Yoruichi hopped down from his shoulders, satisfied.
"Ren, remember to go easy. Don't go breaking Suì-Fēng."
After that worried warning, Yoruichi walked over to Suì-Fēng and gave her an encouraging thumb's up. "Go on, Suì-Fēng. Show him what you're made of."
"Yes! I won't disappoint you, Lady Yoruichi!"
Fired up by Yoruichi's encouragement, Suì-Fēng's fighting spirit instantly blazed.
With a blur of movement, she landed in the training arena.
Ren thought for a moment and decided to give Yoruichi a fair warning.
"Let's get one thing straight: I'm not very good at holding back."
"If something actually happens to Suì-Fēng, don't blame me."
Yoruichi said confidently, "Don't worry. You shouldn't underestimate her."
Seeing this, Ren said no more and flickered into the center of the arena.
The four Kidō Corps members moved in unison, taking their positions at the four corners of the courtyard to erect a barrier.
Ren looked at Suì-Fēng, whose face was twisted with resentment. He raised an eyebrow and spoke softly, "To achieve Bankai at your age is proof enough that your talent is indeed impressive."
"For Lady Yoruichi, I can do anything!"
Suì-Fēng's face was now as cold as frost, radiating thick killing intent.
Her murderous eyes locked onto the enemy before her as she ground her teeth.
"I've known from the start that I'm just a lower-class noble. I'm not worthy of the noble Lady Yoruichi, and I could never give her the happiness she deserves."
"I also cannot defy the orders of the Shihoin family... that's why I let go."
"Even if the person by Lady Yoruichi's side isn't me, as long as she is happy, that's enough."
"But you, Ren Shihoin... what have you done!"
Suì-Fēng gripped her Zanpakutō, her pretty face gradually contorting with rage.
"You betrayed Lady Yoruichi!"
"You are married to Lady Yoruichi! You promised at your wedding to make her happy, yet you went out and found another cat!"
"To make Lady Yoruichi so sad... I won't forgive anyone who does that!"
Suì-Fēng's spiritual pressure erupted, surging violently. Her voice rang out with an unparalleled, resolute will.
It was just that the content of her words...
Ren rested his forehead in his hand again, looking at the dead-serious Suì-Fēng with a complicated expression.
'Does she really have to blow this so out of proportion?'
From Yoruichi to Suì-Fēng, they were all taking this so seriously, as if he had committed some unspeakable atrocity.
'At the end of the day, I just kept a cat...'
Whatever.
Though he didn't understand it, he chose to respect it.
Ren shook his head slightly, clearing his mind of these chaotic thoughts. He curled his finger at Suì-Fēng.
"Come. Let me see what you can do."
"Aren't you going to draw your Zanpakutō?"
Suì-Fēng's face darkened at Ren's gesture.
Ren spread his hands. "I'm not great at controlling my strength. If I use my sword, I might accidentally kill you, and I wouldn't be able to explain that to Yoruichi."
"What arrogant nonsense."
Suì-Fēng's face was grim, but then she let out a sharp, cold sneer.
"Rest assured, I won't be showing any mercy."
As a trained elite of the Punishment Force, she wouldn't be held back just because her opponent was unarmed.
She held her Zanpakutō horizontally as her spiritual pressure surged wildly, kicking up wave after wave of air.
"Sting all enemies to death, Suzumebachi!"
At Suì-Fēng's cold command, her Zanpakutō released its true power, transforming into a metal stinger-gauntlet worn on her middle finger.
The tip of the gauntlet was razor-sharp, its golden shell decorated with black markings. A small chain connected it to a metal bracer on her wrist; it was compact and elegant.
Ren said slowly, "So this is your Shikai. It doesn't look particularly strong."
"Whether it's strong or not, you'll understand once you experience it yourself."
Suì-Fēng held Suzumebachi across her chest, a glint of cold light reflecting off its tip.
"You've never seen my release before, so I assume you don't know my ability?"
How could Ren not know? He chuckled inwardly.
"What, are you going to tell me?"
"There's no harm in telling you," Suì-Fēng said coldly. "Suzumebachi's ability is 'Death in Two Steps.' If you are struck twice in the same spot, you will die."
"Heh. With such a small tip, hitting the exact same spot twice won't be easy," Ren said, his tone dripping with dismissiveness.
Suì-Fēng wasn't annoyed; instead, she nodded in agreement.
"It isn't easy."
"But with my Flash Step, it is effortless!"
As the words left her mouth, Suì-Fēng's figure blurred, creating more than a dozen afterimages in the clearing.
These clones moved with incredible speed, surrounding Ren on all sides.
"What about now?"
"You have nowhere left to run, Ren Shihoin!"
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]