Chapter 12: Whoa, Cat!
"Yoruichi, come and worship my genius!"
Having woken up early and arrived ahead of time at the Shihōin family's training ground from yesterday, Kensei Kenzuru stood with his arms crossed over his chest, putting on a ridiculously showy pose as he looked at Yoruichi.
Yoruichi looked at Kensei, who seemed to be having a chuunibyou episode, with a strange expression. Did I train this brat too hard yesterday and scramble his brains? Kensei swatted away Yoruichi's hand, which was reaching to feel his forehead, and blurted out the conjecture he'd come up with last night.
"Oh, that. I had that idea before too, but it's still in the verification stage right now."
"Why didn't you say so earlier?!"
Kensei immediately deflated. He'd been imagining Yoruichi being awed by his world-shaking wisdom and prostrating herself before him. Now, that was just a pipe dream.
"I didn't think you'd figure it out on your own. I was planning to teach it to you after it was completed."
Yoruichi shrugged, indicating her innocence. Who could have guessed that in just one night, Kensei would think of the preliminary concept for an advanced Hakuda form that her own clan had only grasped after summarizing countless years of practical experience? If anyone was to blame, it was Kensei for being too monstrously talented.
"Alright, I'll teach you something fun today."
It wasn't that Yoruichi was unwilling to continue teaching Kensei Hakuda and Shunpo; it was just that this kid learned too fast. At this rate, she'd have nothing left to teach him in a few days. Yoruichi wanted to use teaching Kensei as an excuse to relax for a while longer, to avoid being nagged daily about preparing for the Shihōin family trials.
"Watch closely."
Kensei watched in shock as Yoruichi's figure vanished from sight, leaving only the black bodysuit she had been wearing moments before scattered messily on the ground. Then, a soft "Meow" came from underneath the clothes.
A black cat emerged from the garments and elegantly licked its paw.
"So? Pretty amazing, right?"
"Whoa, cat!"
Yoruichi had expected Kensei to be curious about her transformation technique and beg her to teach him with stars in his eyes. Instead, all she heard was a strange word popping out of his mouth.
"What's 'cat'?"
"Uh... it's a word for describing cute, gentle kitties. So, this transformation... you become a complete cat?"
Kensei didn't want to dwell on the word—it had just slipped out. He picked up the Yoruichi-cat from the ground and held her high overhead.
"You really turn into a cat thoroughly... Ouch!"
Realizing what Kensei was inspecting, Yoruichi promptly planted her paws on his face. Even as a small cat, her strength hadn't diminished. She kicked his cheek hard with her front legs and used the momentum to execute an elegant spin, landing back on the ground.
Poof—
A circle of white mist swirled around her, and Yoruichi, back in human form, stepped out from within it, looking smugly at Kensei, who was still rubbing his face.
"So, is my technique impressive or what?"
Looking at the completely unclothed Yoruichi, Kensei nodded in agreement. In a certain sense, this move was indeed quite impressive. Then he walked closer and draped his outer coat over her shoulders.
"Don't just show your body to anyone."
Yoruichi stood there, stunned, as she felt Kensei carefully arrange the coat on her. An indescribable feeling stirred in her heart.
"Heh, what's this? Sensing my charm? Falling for your big sister?"
To dispel the strange feeling, Yoruichi forced a casual tone and cracked a joke, trying to return their dynamic to its usual playful banter. But she saw Kensei seriously ponder for a few seconds, then shake his head before nodding again.
"I wouldn't call it 'liking' right now. But wouldn't it be a problem if I ended up liking you in the future?"
"You—"
For the first time, this usually bold and carefree young woman felt her heart race. If not for her dark complexion masking the blush that rose to her cheeks, Kensei would probably have teased her about it for a long time.
Flustered and angry, she leaped up and gave Kensei a punch on the head. Yoruichi took a deep breath, quickly calming her heartbeat.
"Getting bold, aren't you? Daring to tease your teacher! Do you still want to learn the transformation technique or not?"
Kensei nodded hurriedly. The transformation technique was a great thing, perfect for all sorts of mischief. Who would ever suspect a person could turn into a cat?
"You should know that Soul Reapers are life forms composed of highly concentrated spirit particles. So, the essence of transformation lies in altering the composition of your own spirit particles. Imagine you're a lump of clay. The shape you want to become is the mold. You just need to adjust your body to fit that mold."
Kensei gave Yoruichi a weird look as she enthusiastically explained the key points, feeling like she was subtly insulting him. However, he soon focused entirely on the transformation technique, closing his eyes to sense the flow of spirit particles within his own body. Yoruichi, still in the middle of her explanation, stopped and was about to ask if Kensei had understood everything. Then she stared, utterly shocked, as Kensei's hand began to glow, shortening and rounding, curved claws growing between the fingers before being covered in orange fur.
For a moment, Yoruichi couldn't tell who was the true heir of the Shihōin. This is just unreasonable.
Back when she trained, it had taken her several months, and that was considering her own considerable talent. The first step of making a Soul Reaper perceive the spirit particles composing their own body was an insurmountable wall for the vast majority, let alone scattering and reassembling those particles.
Yoruichi could only watch, somewhat enviously, as the feline transformation gradually spread across Kensei's body, sighing at the disparity between people. A few seconds later, Kensei, now fully transformed into a ginger cat, lay sprawled on his clothes. He seemed unaccustomed to the feline body, wobbling unsteadily as he tried to walk.
"Yoruichi, is this normal?"
"It's fine, perfectly normal. You'll get used to it."
Yoruichi answered listlessly, watching as Kensei gradually adapted and his movements became more agile. She just felt emotionally drained. Watching the frolicking Kensei with waning enthusiasm, and recalling what Kensei had done while she was in cat form earlier, Yoruichi reached out, pinched the scruff of the Kensei-cat's neck (who was chasing his own tail), and lifted him up.
"Let big sister have a good look~"
Looking at Yoruichi, who was grinning like a female ruffian, Kensei felt his purity was in grave danger. Indeed, handsome young men needed to protect themselves when out in the world...
Yoruichi laughed heartily, freely toying with the cat-ified Kensei. Her clear laughter held a touch of wicked amusement, as if only this could dispel the bit of frustration in her heart.
On the verge of tears, Kensei could only try to struggle free from the tyrant Yoruichi's mischievous hands. But in his cat form, how could he possibly resist Yoruichi's 'clutches'? He had no choice but to try to undo the transformation. That part was simpler—just scatter and reassemble back into human form.
Noticing the white mist beginning to emanate from Kensei, Yoruichi quickly set him down on the ground to avoid ending up holding something... inappropriate once he turned back.
Yoruichi watched as the returned-to-human Kensei scrambled to put his clothes back on, thinking, This kid's body is developing quite well. She immediately shook her head, trying to banish the unhealthy imagery from her mind, feeling that she was a bit off her game today.