NOVEL WEB Chapter 7: CHAPTER 7
"So..."
"You've been playing with me all this time, haven't you?"
In a small, dimly-lit room filled with residual spiritual pressure, Shihouin Yoruichi sat cross-legged, arms folded, gazing across at Kanbaru Kurosaki.
"You can't exactly say that," Kanbaru replied with a straight face.
"At least I had genuine feelings involved."
Saying he was playing around felt… off. That term needed redacting.
"Oh?"
"So by your logic, that makes me the unfaithful one?"
Yoruichi flicked her long hair with a teasingly feminine gesture and arched an eyebrow.
Urahara Kisuke: "???"
Tessai Tsukabishi: "???"
Bridge beans and sacks?!
What's going on with this conversation?!
And—what exactly happened between these two?
"You can't deny it either," Kanbaru said casually.
"You didn't exactly complain when I—well—used my tongue, right?"
Urahara Kisuke: "???"
Tessai Tsukabishi: "???"
Wait a minute!
Is this even legal to overhear without paying admission?!
"Tch."
"What an entertaining brat," Yoruichi chuckled, leaning in, nose mere inches from Kanbaru's.
Her golden feline eyes narrowed with amused interest.
Kanbaru blinked.
Too close!
Also, stop sniffing me! I'm low-key panicking here!
"Ah, my bad."
"Old habits... hard to kill," Yoruichi smirked and leaned back, clearly satisfied with his reaction.
"There's definitely something between you two."
Urahara folded his fan with a suspicious gaze.
"Agreed," Tessai nodded solemnly.
"Seems I missed a lot while I was gone. Care to fill me in?"
Urahara's fan veiled his face, but his curiosity burned behind the shadow of his hat.
Kanbaru blinked innocently.
"It's nothing. I just... licked the cat once when I had time."
"That's it?"
Urahara's tone was dry as stone.
You little punk. That was a loaded sentence and you know it.
"What's that expression?" Yoruichi's temple throbbed with visible black lines.
"I still want answers..." Tessai muttered under his breath.
"We'll ask Kurosaki-kun later, privately," Urahara whispered.
"Good idea," Tessai replied, nodding quickly.
Just a few feet away, Yoruichi's brow twitched furiously.
Do they think I can't hear them?!
Are they doing this on purpose?!
Her golden pupils slitted like a predator's. A moment later, an iron staff appeared in her hand.
Hunting season began.
One comedic beatdown later…
Urahara and Tessai, sporting glorious swelling and puffed cheeks, sat quietly.
"Back to the topic," Urahara finally said, brushing dust off his bloodied coat.
"Mr. Kurosaki... I'm curious how much you truly know about Aizen Sōsuke."
His bruises might have been funny, but the intensity behind his question wasn't.
Kanbaru fought the twitch in his lips.
"Pfft—sorry. I was trained not to laugh unless absolutely necessary. I just—"
He tried to hold it in. Really.
But when he looked at Tessai's crooked glasses and cartoonishly swollen forehead—
"PFFFTHA—"
Tessai: "..."
You ungrateful punk! I was Head of the Kidō Corps, and THIS is what I get?
"Okay okay, I'm done."
Kanbaru coughed, got serious, and gently placed a small crystal box on the table.
Inside was the Hōgyoku, pulsing faintly with an ominous violet glow.
"I know everything about Aizen."
Urahara's fan froze mid-wave.
"Define 'everything'..."
His eyes sharpened behind his shades, though his mouth still wore that disarming smile.
He's bluffing, right?
Even he, the Hōgyoku's creator, didn't know everything about it.
Kanbaru tapped the glass.
"It means I know what you know... and what you don't."
"By the way, Store Manager..."
"If you're going to talk with me, maybe stop clutching your Zanpakutō for dear life?"
Kanbaru's gaze flicked to Urahara's walking stick.
Urahara stiffened.
He knew?! That Benihime was sealed in this cane?!
How sharp is this kid?!
"Apologies," Urahara said, relaxing his grip and placing the cane aside.
Then he tilted his hat down slightly, concealing the flicker of emotion in his eyes.
"Then please."
"Tell us, Mr. Kurosaki..."
"How exactly do you know what you claim to know about Aizen?"
He paused.
"Because I'm very, very curious."
His trap was set.
Time for Kanbaru to either bluff—or reveal his hand.