At the entrance of the quaint little store—
Nanaya held a green ball delicately between his fingers, letting the small black cat give it a curious lick.
Only a few licks in, and Yoruichi's pupils turned into swirling spirals. She staggered, meowing dreamily as if she'd entered another dimension.
"Meow... Meow… Meooow…"
With a soft thump, the black cat collapsed, belly-up, paws twitching, her expression utterly blissful.
Clearly, she was in catnip heaven.
Nanaya, grinning from ear to ear, couldn't resist poking her soft belly with a finger.
If he'd tried that before, she would've attacked him without hesitation—whether she could win or not.
But now?
Yoruichi let out a contented meow, even rubbing her head against his hand like a purring kitten.
"Meow~ Meow~"
"Good girl," Nanaya chuckled. "Alright, say it—call me big brother."
"Big brother…"
"Nice! Now say, 'Big brother is handsome.'"
"Big brother is handsome…"
"Bwahaha! Okay, now let's play patty-cake—say, 'Big brother is handsome, little sister will never misbehave again.'"
"…"
Meanwhile, inside the shop—
"Miss Kuchiki, Mr. Ichigo! Thanks for shopping with us!" Urahara Kisuke waved cheerfully, fan in hand, as he escorted Rukia and Ichigo to the door.
Noticing Nanaya crouched outside, Rukia frowned. "Nanaya, what are you doing out here? Why didn't you come in?"
"Huh?" Nanaya turned, surprised. "Oh! You guys are done already?"
But when he moved aside, the scene behind him came into full view.
A pitch-black cat stood on its hind legs, eyes glazed with spirals, one paw resting on a spinning ball, another balancing a second ball atop its head.
As its little paws shifted, the lower ball rotated, keeping the upper one perfectly balanced.
Rukia's irritation instantly turned into amazement. "What an incredible little black cat!"
"Even the circus doesn't have cats this talented," Ichigo added, wide-eyed.
Urahara Kisuke: "…"
Nanaya puffed out his chest proudly. "Oh, this? This is nothing! Yoruichi, show them the next trick!"
The dazed black cat gave a smug meow, then pushed off the ball with her hind legs, flipping into the air. The top ball flipped with her.
As she landed gracefully back on the lower ball, the other ball dropped neatly back onto her head—still perfectly balanced.
"Whoa!!""Unbelievable!!"
Ichigo and Rukia broke into applause.
Meanwhile, Urahara Kisuke's expression turned from green… to blue… to black… and finally to deep purple.
He yelled, face twitching with grief and disbelief:"Nanaya! What… what did you do to my Yoruichi?!"
Nanaya just gave him a sheepish smile.
—
As the group left the shop, Ichigo juggled the pill bottle in his hand and glanced back, still confused.
"Why was Urahara so mad? His cat's amazing."
"No idea." Rukia shook her head, then smiled wistfully. "That performance was something else. I've never seen a cat do tricks like that. It even rode a unicycle…"
Nanaya grinned proudly. "That's just the beginning. I even taught her to say compliments."
He'd never raised a cat before—but he had watched others do it.
And if there's one universal truth about cats—it's that catnip is their kryptonite.
"By the way, Rukia," Nanaya said, remembering something. "Did you get anything for me?"
"Oh, right." Rukia reached into her bag and tossed him a thin, worn book. "Here. It's basic Kidō. Study it—you might need it when fighting Hollows in the future."
Nanaya's eyes sparkled. "Rukia, are you an angel or a goddess!?"
With a joyful laugh, he scooped her up and spun her around.
"W-Wait! Put me down!" Rukia's face flushed red as she flailed, trying to break free. But she couldn't overpower him.
When Nanaya finally let go, Rukia turned her back, cheeks still glowing. "You damned little brat…"
—
Back inside Urahara's shop—
With several claw marks on his face, Urahara knelt in front of Yoruichi, who was now sitting grumpily in a corner.
"Mr. Yoruichi," he said carefully, "may I ask why you were acting so… obedient just now?"
"MEOW!!!"
Yoruichi hissed violently, eyes blazing with fury. She lunged at him with claws out.
"Shut up!""Don't ever mention that again!""I'm going to kill that damned brat!!"
"AHHHHHHHHH!!!" Urahara screamed in terror as Yoruichi tore into him.
Nearby, Tessai, Ururu, and Jinta quietly backed away, watching the chaos from a safe distance.
"…That's eight times Mr. Yoruichi's attacked him in just one afternoon."
"And I've never seen him this emotional before…"
"Nanaya… is terrifying."
—
The next day, in class—
While the other students gossiped and played games, Nanaya sat at his desk, quietly flipping through the ancient book Rukia had given him.
He furrowed his brows.
"…This is awful."
It wasn't just copying—it was learning—that made Nanaya realize how difficult Kidō truly was.
This wasn't like studying for human school exams.
Even those early math problems he'd once found hard were child's play in comparison.
First came the incantation rhythm, then the flow and modulation of spiritual energy, and finally the precision of the release itself… Every Kidō spell was layered with countless micro-concepts.
No wonder there was only one Kidō Corps Commander among the thirteen Court Guard Squad Captains.
Kidō wasn't something an ordinary person could just learn.
"Hey, Nanaya! How's it going? With your talent, you should've mastered a few spells by now, right?"
Rukia Kuchiki walked over with an expectant look on her face.
Nanaya's mouth twitched slightly. He quickly looked away and mumbled, "Kinda... I'm almost there. Just not quite... proficient yet."
Then, trying to steer the conversation, he turned back and asked, "Hey, Rukia, how about a demonstration?"
Rukia immediately shook her head. "Nope. Kidō takes a lot of spiritual energy, and my body hasn't fully recovered. I can't cast more than one or two spells right now."
"...Wait a second." Nanaya's eyes widened slightly. "So when you forced me to watch you demonstrate before—was that while you were still injured?!"
A blush crept up Rukia's cheeks. "I-It wasn't to help you or anything! I just wanted to hit you at the time!"
A perfect, textbook tsundere.
Nanaya couldn't help but smirk, muttering to himself, She's really something...
Then, smiling softly, he reached out and ruffled her hair. "Thanks, Rukia."
"Idiot! Don't touch me!"
Suddenly, a voice cut in from outside the classroom.
"Nanaya! A Hollow just showed up!"
Rukia's tone was urgent.
Nanaya paused, remembering yesterday's Gikōn pill mission, and then calmly shook his head.
"Nope. Not going today. I need to give Ichigo a chance to shine. I'll stay and focus on Kidō."
Rukia blinked. "...Oh. Ichigo…"
"Huh?" Nanaya frowned. "Did something happen?"
She didn't answer.
Noon
Nanaya sat at his desk, staring down at the ancient Kidō book.
"...This is hopeless."
He slammed the book shut with a sigh.
This is like reading an ancient textbook in a foreign language without any translations… He couldn't even tell what he was missing—it all felt so far out of reach.
"…Maybe I should just ask Rukia for help."
His hand brushed over his eyes… then he clenched his fist and shook his head firmly.
"Absolutely not!"
If he asked for help, she'd definitely tease him. And worse, she might assume he was trying to cheat.
He groaned. "Where the heck am I supposed to learn this—"
Just then, the sound of claws tapping echoed from the hallway.
A black cat appeared at the classroom door.
Yoruichi.
When her golden eyes spotted Nanaya in the back row by the window, her fur visibly bristled.
Memories of yesterday's catnip-induced humiliation surged through her.
Her pupils narrowed.
Her eyes glowed red.
Without hesitation, she leapt through the air—
"MEOW!!!"
Like a torpedo of fur and fury, she launched herself straight at Nanaya.