Demon Slayer: The Journey That Began When I Became Yoriichi's Sister

Chapter 722 Still the Tsundere Type

Yuko is like a minefield on the battlefield. You know she's there and you might not step on her, but if you completely ignore her, she might end up in the enemy's hands without you even realizing it.

Aizen could never underestimate Ikuko's fighting strength.

In other words, Aizen only launched his attack when he was confident he could defeat the Captain-Commander and Ikuko.

……

As the last rays of the setting sun were gradually swallowed by the night, the streetlights in Karakura Town lit up one by one.

"Hey everyone, sorry to keep you waiting~"

As the door opened, Kisuke Urahara, like a waiter, carried an enormous clay pot into the room, instantly energizing Ichigo and the others who had been staring at each other.

"Oh! It's finally here!" Renji's eyes were shining, and his chopsticks danced in a blur. "My stomach has been rumbling for ages!"

Shen Tai scoffed, "Ha, this freeloader really dares to talk big."

Renji: "..."

How many times do I have to tell you, you bastard!

"That's..." Orihime exclaimed as she looked at the several plates of top-quality beef with clearly defined marbling that Tessai Katsuhiko brought in from behind Urahara. "So much meat!"

"Of course, after all, Yuko is treating tonight." Urahara Kisuke put the pot down with a smile, taking the opportunity to annoy Yuko as well.

Sitting in the main seat, Yuko didn't even lift her eyelids. She just fiddled with the empty teacup in her hand and said in a cool tone, "If I didn't add the prefix 'Although Yuko paid for it, it was Urahara Kisuke who did the errands and acted shamelessly,' I would have thrown you into the pot as a base."

"Haha, Yuko really loves to joke." Kisuke Urahara chuckled and quickly sat down in the corner furthest from Yuko.

"..."

"I'm going to start!"

Accompanied by unified shouts, the hot pot war has begun again.

"Hey! Renji! That's my beef!" Ichigo reacted quickly, his chopsticks flashing out like lightning, trying to snatch the beef from Renji's chopsticks.

"Huh? Did I write your name on it?" Renji flicked his wrist, and the Zabimaru... no, it was his honed experience that instantly activated. The chopsticks drew a strange arc in the air, avoiding Ichigo's interception. "Once it's on my chopsticks, it's mine!"

"Innocent."

A cold female voice rang out, followed by a fleeting afterimage.

The two of them only felt a blur before their eyes, and the meat on their chopsticks vanished without a trace.

Following the afterimage, Yoruichi was chewing on a piece of beef with a smug look on her face, saying indistinctly, "Too slow, you two. At this speed, you would have died eight hundred times over on the battlefield."

"Yoruichi-sama is so handsome!" Soi Fon cupped her face in her hands, her eyes sparkling, and frantically shoveled food from the hot pot into Yoruichi's bowl. "Please eat more, Yoruichi-sama!"

"Kosho Aya, you should know that in the end, a simp will get nothing." Yuko said expressionlessly, propping her cheek up with her hand. "Sometimes, shouldn't you try giving Yoruichi the cold shoulder?"

"Cold treatment?" Soi Fon looked at Ikuko with a puzzled expression.

Long Gui looked at everyone with a curious expression. Had she... successfully joined this team?

"Longgui, try this! I managed to snatch it!" Zhiji snatched two slices of beef from the jaws of the tigers and quickly put them into Longgui's bowl.

"Orihime..."

No, we still need to keep working hard!

She gripped the chopsticks tighter; she needed to keep trying.

but……

Long Gui looked up and around, seeing everyone enjoying themselves, and his heart couldn't help but flutter.

Yuko noticed Ryuki's change, but just glanced at her with a slight smile and said nothing.

She looked at the wine pot on the table, about to pour herself a cup, when suddenly her vision blurred and the wine pot and cup vanished.

Yuuko looked at Yoruichi beside her with a puzzled expression. Yoruichi was holding a sake bottle in one hand and grabbing Urahara Kisuke by the collar with the other, and said in an unfriendly tone:

"Who told you to bring out the wine?"

Kisuke Urahara realized his mistake instantly and said embarrassedly, "I forgot!"

Yuko tried to smooth things over, saying, "It's okay, just make sure those kids don't touch it."

Yoruichi silently took the sake jug.

Who's afraid those kids have been drinking?

This person really has no idea about their own alcohol tolerance. Who knows, those kids probably can drink way more than you. I'm just worried you'll get knocked out after one drink and end up slurping your soup.

After a hearty meal, everyone lay around in a daze, thankfully they hadn't drunk any alcohol, otherwise it would have been troublesome.

Kisuke Urahara cleared his throat, his playful expression fading, and his demeanor became slightly more serious.

"Alright, now that everyone's full, let's talk about Bavent."

Ichigo immediately sat up straight: "What should we do? Take the initiative?"

“Although Yuko used her Bankai to pinpoint their location yesterday, those guys are not to be underestimated.” Kisuke Urahara shook his head. “With our current fighting strength, if we try to surround them, we probably won’t be a match.”

Soi Fon suggested, "How about we wait for them to come out hunting and then take them down one by one?"

Kisuke Urahara snapped his fingers: "That's right, but their methods of concealing their spiritual pressure are very sophisticated. If they don't actively use their abilities or absorb souls, even Shinigami would have a hard time detecting them."

Renji couldn't help but say, "Then aren't we just going to be in a passive position?"

“Not entirely.” Kisuke Urahara pointed at Ririn and the other two. “I think you guys, including Kurosaki, have probably noticed something too: the three of them are actually modifying souls.”

Ichigo's eyes widened: "Eh? Modifying a soul?"

Ishida nodded slightly: "I did have a vague feeling that something was off about them."

"Really? You're not just making this up to save face, are you?" Ichigo couldn't help but turn his head. "You don't need to be so concerned about saving face. If you tell the truth, no one will laugh at you."

Ishida ignored him.

Yu Zi said calmly, "You really have no self-awareness. With your perception and analytical abilities, you can't even catch up with Yu Long."

Ichigo: "..."

He swears that if anyone else had said that, they would have been beaten to a pulp by now.

Lillian scoffed, "You spiky-haired idiot, no wonder we made a fool of you."

Ichigo's temples bulged with veins: "You brat~"

"How rude! It's Lady Lilin!" Lilin made a face at Ichigo.

“It is precisely because they can manipulate you so easily that it proves their abilities,” Kisuke Urahara explained. “These three are specially modified souls, and in addition to their special abilities, they also share a common function.”

"That is, having an extremely high sensitivity to the unique spiritual pressure fluctuations of the Bavent."

Orihime: "Perceive Bount?"

“That’s right, they can sense the wavelength of spirit particles.”

Ichigo rubbed his chin: "So, it's a detector?"

"Hey! Who are you calling a detector?! I'm the beautiful Lilyn-sama!" Lilyn threw the fork at Ichigo in dissatisfaction.

Ichigo dodged to the side, somewhat helplessly saying, "Yes, yes, yes..."

“From what we can see, the enemy’s goal is to absorb the souls of the living, and your souls are among the best of the living. In other words, you are the most likely targets, and they can provide timely warnings,” Kisuke Urahara summarized with a smile. “Therefore, the next course of action is that these three will accompany you. Once they discover any trace of Bount, they will notify you immediately and guide you to the scene.”

“Lilin will go to Kurosaki’s place, the Tibetan is Inoue, and Zhiba is Chado.”

Lillian immediately expressed her dissatisfaction: "Huh? Why should I go with this idiot hedgehog?"

Ichigo's lips twitched: "What did you say?!"

Lillian snorted coldly: "There's really no way around it, so don't cause me any more trouble."

"..."

She's still the arrogant type.

……

The hot pot gathering continued into the evening, and everyone gradually said their goodbyes after the meeting ended.

Ishida nodded slightly: "Then, I'll head back now."

"Be careful on the road," Orihime said with a smile and a wave.

"Don't worry, I'll get Orihime home safely." Ryuki patted his chest, with Snow Fang wrapped in a cloth bag on his back.

"I'm leaving too." Chad nodded silently, with the Soul Pill containing the spirit of Yoshinoba in his pocket.

Renji reluctantly agreed to be asked by Tessai to wash the dishes in exchange for paying for his meal.

“Speaking of which, Ichigo…” Yuko and Ichigo stood at the entrance of Urahara Store, watching the departing crowd, and suddenly said.

"What? Auntie?"

The streets were deserted and quiet at night, and the streetlights cast long shadows of the two people.

Because they were going the same way, Yuuko and Ichigo walked together.

Oh, and there's also the soul. Ishida handed that guy over to Ichigo, and now Ichigo is carrying him on his back.

Yuko turned her head with a curious look: "Do you prefer Tatsuki or Orihime? Or Rukia?"

"Or... do you want both?"

Ichigo froze for a moment, his face instantly turning red: "Ah, Auntie! What are you saying?!"

"That's right! Inoue and the big sister are clearly mine!" Soul grumbled on Ichigo's back. "Well, Tatsuki's breasts seem pretty big too, so adding her wouldn't be a bad idea."

Ichigo: You actually took the plunge?

Yuko's expression didn't change much: "I see, so it's impossible to judge someone who's too inexperienced?"

"Who's inexperienced?"

"Let's go." Yu Zi ignored his anger and strode ahead.

Ichigo sighed and followed half a step behind her, the two walking one after the other on the quiet street.

The early autumn evening breeze carried a hint of coolness, dispelling the lingering heat of the day.

“Um…Auntie.” After a moment of silence, Ichigo spoke first.

"Let the fart go."

"...Do you have to be so blunt?" Ichigo's lips twitched, and he almost slipped and fell, but he still said seriously, "Is that Bount really that strong?"

Yu Zi stopped and glanced at him. The streetlight shone on her profile, casting a reddish hue over her eyes, which always held a lazy and indifferent look.

"What? Are you scared?"

“Who’s afraid!” Ichigo immediately retorted. “I’m just curious to see just how strong that guy is as a captain-level fighter.”

Although he had fought fiercely with that short captain back in Soul Society, the location of the battlefield played a role at the time.

Because that guy's ice-type Zanpakuto was exactly countered by that old man's Zanpakuto.

Moreover, even among captains, the level of strength varies.

Whether it's the auntie or the old man, they could probably kill them in an instant.

"How strong?" Yu Zi raised her eyes. "I'm not quite sure~"

Ichigo was utterly speechless, just about to speak.

Haven't you already sensed it all? There should be a limit to Alzheimer's disease, right?

Yuko continued, "Because I was too weak, I didn't pay any attention to it."

"..."

It turns out it was concealed.

Yuko added, "But in your current state, it's probably not easy to win."

Ichigo said, dissatisfied, "Why? Didn't Auntie say she wasn't very clear?"

Yu Zi said calmly, "Because their strength is something I haven't paid much attention to, but you don't need to care at all. After all, you wouldn't worry about ants biting you, would you?"

"..."

It seems like they've been humiliated.

The soul twisted behind him, pleading, "Beautiful lady, please humiliate me too! Please!"

"Why reward that bastard Ichigo?!"

Ichigo's hand trembled slightly, and he had an urge to throw the soul out, which would splatter blood all over Ichigo's face later.

Yu Zi's cold voice rang out: "Humiliation? If you want to die, I'd be happy to."

Hun sensed a chill from her voice: "...Then, let's forget about it."

“However…” Yuko changed the subject and said to Ichigo, “Your growth rate is indeed quite frightening.”

“Those guys are all ancient relics, hundreds of years old. With your talent, if you are willing to work hard, you should be able to catch up.”

Ichigo looked up abruptly, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. This was the first time his aunt had praised him so openly.

"Really?"

"It's fake, just to make you happy."

"..."

Give me back my feelings, you bastard!

The two chatted casually, and before they knew it, they had reached the vicinity of the riverbank.

The streetlights here are sparse, making the surroundings somewhat dim. The sound of the river flowing gently is exceptionally clear in the quiet night.

Suddenly, Yuko stopped in her tracks.

Ichigo hadn't even reacted yet and almost bumped into her back: "W-what's wrong?"

"Shh." Yu Zi put a finger to her lips, her crimson eyes narrowing slightly. "Did you hear that?"

"What did you hear?" Ichigo looked bewildered and immediately pulled out his Substitute Shinigami Certificate from his pocket. "Is it a Hollow?"

“It’s not an illusion.” Yu Zi turned around, her gaze falling on the shadows below the riverbank. “It’s singing.”

"Singing?" Ichigo listened intently.

Sure enough, amidst the sounds of wind and water, a faint singing could be heard.

It was an ethereal melody. There were no lyrics, just simple humming, yet it seemed to possess a certain magic, drawing listeners in and making them want to get closer and lose themselves in it.

“This feeling…” Ichigo frowned, “is so strange…”

"It's Bount."

As soon as Yuko finished speaking, she disappeared from the spot.