Chapter 9

Kagami finally asked something he'd wanted to know since day one. At first he thought it would have been too weird to ask that seeing as they had recently met and as far as she knew they were strangers. But her actions both here and in the anime were too strange. If Kisuke was really her boyfriend/husband no way he could be okay with her showing up in front of him and Ichigo naked. And if they weren't together then it wouldn't take long for them to be because they were way too close. He also suspected Kisuke may have liked her but might've been friend zoned.

If it were any other time he wouldn't have asked but the combination of circumstances made him long for an answer even more. Kisuke was one of his favorite characters and despite liking Yoruichi, there were other options so he'd step back. But if she was single then he'd regret not trying at least.

There was a brief silence after Kagami asked his question and Yoruichi's smile slowly faded. Turning to face her, Kagami tried to get an answer from her expression which failed. After a brief stare down Yoruichi slowly broke out in laughter. Faced with Yoruichi's laughter he couldn't help but feel like he was being treated like a kindergartener who told his teacher he'd marry her when they grew up.

"So THAT'S what's been on your mind?!! Oh I have to tell Kisuke this one. Do you know he recently thought you might've been sent by Soul Society to target him? AHAHAHAHA! To think all this time you had such thoughts about your teacher. Now how should I punish you?" (Yoruichi)

Hearing her response and seeing the endless amusement she had from his question, it was obvious they weren't together. Now with his question answered he could relax and show her that he wasn't one easily laughed at. Kagami was quite famous among his males friends for being the most confessed to one of the group. The only reason he was single was because he was, as his friends called it, cursed. It was said he could make any girl fall for him assuming he didn't fall for her first.

"Yeah. It's actually been on my mind a lot. I'll pass on the punishment though." (Kagami)

After answering Kagami turned his back to Yoruichi and appeared as if he was sad or thinking about something. Yoruichi was puzzled seeing him so serious about it. 'Could he have been serious? But we barely know each other and he's just a kid. He'll get over it in time.'

Meanwhile Kagami was smiling at the silence. Despite having his back turned, Kagami fully well knew Yoruichi's inner thoughts. As a challenge he once tried to seduce a teacher but stopped after seeing she was a genuinely nice person. Despite stopping they still became close friends and she even often came to him for advice.

'Good. Looks like she'll take the seriously-talk-me-out -of-it route. Better that than the laugh-even-harder route. At least it means she cares and prefers to try to let me down easy. Jokes on her.'

"Look.....I didn't mean to laugh. It's just.....I'm way older than you, so old in fact you're practically a new born to me. Kisuke is...well that's another story but there's nothing there either. I don't plan on settling down with anyone so it's better you look for someone else." (Yoruichi)

Yoruichi sat there waiting on a response but seeing that Kagami had no intention of answering, she left. Kagami was left alone in the hot springs and after a while he could be seen walking away with a smile on his face. Women were confusing but the stress only began after getting with them. Otherwise they were simple and just needed to be approached with care.

Kagami spent the rest the of the night meditating, trying to talk with both Katanas on his lap. Strangely enough he could vaguely feel a sort of resonance. A calling but he felt like he wasn't quite ready to answer it. After an hour of trying to follow the vague feeling he decided to go to sleep alongside both swords. If he was supposed to deepen the bond surely sleeping together would earn him some points...Right?

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(Yoruichi's pov)

'I hope he takes my advice. I'd say that was the easiest rejection I've ever given. Back then me and Unohana tied up Kyoraku and every time I cut off his..... Anyways he'll recover.'

"...ichi..." (???)

'But what if he doesn't? I mean I don't blame him. Many couples started after a shared battlefield and I definitely saved his skin quite a few times there.'

"....ruichi..." (???)

'This is such a pain in the ass. Should I tell Kisuke? No.....he might laugh the boy..... You know what! If he overdoes it I'll just remind him how he was back then.'

"YORUICHI!!! You seem out of it..... I was asking if anything happened around Kagami today." (Kisuke)

"Oh? He had a run in with Hitsugaya today. Got away as soon as he was distracted...told you he has crazy potential for stealth ops. Ever found out why we can't sense his Reiatsu?" (Yoruichi)

"No. I'm still more interested in how he can make an entire building share the properties of his Reiatsu. By spreading his Reishi at a certain concentration, he can render the area an invisible zone to any sensor. Amazing skill if used properly. Topped off with his potential and drive, he'll be quite the monster. What worries me is what Soul Society will do when they discover him." (Kisuke)

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Kagami spent the next month in relentless training. Whether it was training his reflexes, his body, his form or even just basic knowledge, no time was wasted. In all this time there was a noticeable distance between him Yoruichi. She didn't know what to say to him and he made no attempts to talk to her, interacting only when it was about training. She soon worried that he would overwork himself but she was surprised when he took a day off to go meet with a friend.

The past month he went out once on an errand for Kisuke where he learnt that despite what he thought, the store did have customers. On that same errand he came across Chad again and they exchanged numbers which led to them meeting up on his day off.

It was safe to say Chad was his only friend at the moment so there weren't any other options. Still, Kagami enjoyed his conversations with Chad and even occasionally exchanging blows, which Kagami always lost. Needless to say that with a set schedule and the necessary motivation, his skill rapidly increased. If if was a battle of pure skill and reflex, he could go toe-to-tow with most lieutenants.

Time passed quickly and soon enough Kisuke told him that the Soul Reapers had gone back after 2 months of fruitless searching. Yoruichi hoped that this would encourage him to finally go out more and return to exploring like before. One day Kagami went out but after stealthily following him Yoruichi found he simply went out to pay for the repairs to his house. Afterwards he simply returned and continued training.

She was left wondering if maybe she had been too hard on him. She was no stranger to hard work but he had no reason to push himself like this. In reality Yoruichi's rejection had very little to do with his training, e simply left her to think that way. Only he knew that there was trouble coming and only by having a certain level of strength could he get away. He could've simply run away in the beginning but it was far too late now. Things had already started to change.

And soon it was the first day of school. According to his knowledge the plot would only start when Ichigo was going home. He'd prefer to avoid interfering with the plot too much so he'd have to avoid the main cast. Unfortunately he had to take part in the Soul Society arc so he'd have to time his entrance perfectly.

His house had long been repaired, along with some upgrades, so he was now preparing himself for school. His new living room was much bigger especially considering he was living alone but no sense having money and not spending it. The new house even had 3 other rooms and an expanded basement which was used for training. He asked Kisuke to use a basic to keep out unwanted 'visitors' and he spread his Reiatsu to keep the room concealed.

All in all he felt pretty proud of his first place. Add in the money from God and his own cooking skills, he was pretty much fully self sufficient. Because of his time spent exploring he had no trouble funding his way to school. At the time of the Hollow incident, his 'transfer papers' were thankfully at Kisuke's place so they were spared from the wreckage.

On his way to the office he encountered a few familiar faces from the anime but couldn't recall their names. 'Must be side characters....but I think one of them is named Keigo or something. Anyways....'

Everything was quickly arranged and he now found himself outside of his new class. Even through the door one could hear the rowdy nature of the class. It wasn't long before he heard his cue, so with an air of confidence and nonchalance he walked in and presented himself.

He couldn't help but take note of his new homeroom teacher, Miss Missto. In the anime she was depicted as carefree but strict when necessary. While she was definitely beautiful he was uninterested in normal humans. They'd only hold him back or die in the later arcs. He'd prefer not to add to the casualties. He never understood how simply transferring someone automatically made them want to f*ck everything that lived. A true professional has standards.