10 advanced chapters on my Patreon: Fiction Haven
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Sunday came in the blink of an eye. Ichigo had a very good night's sleep. Retsu was cuddlier than she had been the night before. He should have felt awkward about it but didn't. Retsu's calming aura made everything she did acceptable to him. He likened it to spending time with the kind elderly lady in the neighborhood, which he would never say in front of Retsu. She was old but not that old.
He was still concerned about how nonchalant Retsu was about his morning wood, though. She wouldn't react much whenever she accidentally brushed against his stiff member. He would have thought that she considered him a child if not for her pink cheeks whenever she did that. He felt proud and assaulted at the same time for being able to fluster the angelic devil.
"Retsu, I am getting out of bed first," he whispered to the sleeping woman on his chest.
"Do you need to go somewhere?" Retsu asked, still closing her eyes.
"I have a promise with Yoruichi."
At that answer, Retsu's eyes snapped open. The glint that flashed in her eyes caused Ichigo's heart to skip a beat. He wondered if Gotei 13 still didn't like Yoruichi and the others. He was prepared to defend them when Retsu sighed defeatedly.
"Don't make your sisters worry."
"I won't."
"Also, Ichigo-kun." Retsu looked at Ichigo seriously. "Clear up your schedule for the next week."
"What about my spare time?" he mumbled.
"We would do something fun."
"Firing Kidō all day?" he elatedly asked, trying to prevent Retsu from asking him to go on a date.
"Yes," Retsu said with a fond smile.
Ichigo was smiling outwardly but cringing inwardly. He had forgotten that Retsu was by no means a normal woman. With a sigh, he separated himself from Retsu and got out of bed. Cleaning himself in the bathroom, he went back to his bedroom to dress. He knew Retsu was checking him out while he changed but pretended to not notice.
Deciding to be more casual this time, Ichigo wore a white fitting T-shirt underneath a grey jacket and a pair of jeans. He wore a bracelet on his left hand and a pair of black sneakers to complete his look. Saying goodbye to Retsu, he got out of the house through his bedroom window. Using Hirenkyaku, he left for the Urahara Shop.
Upon arriving there, he was greeted by Ururu and Jinta who were diligently sweeping the ground off any fallen leaves. Of course, the former was the only one doing her job diligently. Ichigo walked past the two, knocking Jinta's head in the process for his lack of enthusiasm, and then entered the shop.
"Ara, Yoruichi-san, your boyfriend is here to pick you up."
Ichigo jerked slightly as Kisuke appeared beside him. He wouldn't say his sense was superb, but he was surprised that Kisuke still managed to sneak on him.
Turning his head to the side, Ichigo greeted, "Morning, Kisuke."
"Morning, Ichigo-kun. You don't seem thrilled encountering me," Kisuke greeted back with a small smile.
"Where is Yoruichi?"
"Yoruichi-san is still dolling herself up. She should be ready—"
Shrrk!
"—about now."
"Yo, Ichigo!"
Standing before Ichigo, the one who had just opened the door, Yoruichi smiled cheekily. She was wearing a black sleeveless crop top underneath a denim jacket that hung slightly above her waist and a pair of black jeans that hugged her legs so tightly that it might be her second skin.
"You look good," Ichigo complimented honestly.
"I know. Gotta do much more than that to impress me, though," Yoruichi returned with a challenging grin.
"Right. Let's go, shall we?"
"Lead the way."
Leaving the shop, the two walked to a more crowded street to order a taxi. They headed to a family restaurant to have breakfast. Yoruichi wasn't so eager to eat as she didn't need that. After all, spirits would live as long as there was Reishi in the air. Regardless, she enjoyed the food that the restaurant served.
Once they had breakfast, they took another taxi and left for the largest public batting cage in Karakura. Since it was Sunday, quite a lot of people were there. Luckily, there was still an empty cage for them. As Ichigo reserved the cage, Yoruichi looked around. She noted that other than athletes or newbies practicing, couples filled the place.
"I didn't know this place existed," Yoruichi remarked.
"Even if it's been close to two decades you are here?" Ichigo replied in wonder.
"I don't explore much," she shrugged. "I have everything I need back at the shop."
"Well, let's enjoy the fun, then."
Following Ichigo to the cage, she watched as Ichigo stood in the batter's box. Ahead of him, a pitching machine was aimed at him menacingly. A baseball came shooting out of it at a fast speed yet unimpressive, nonetheless. Mind you, Yoruichi was the goddess of speed.
Clank!
Ichigo hit the ball easily, making a homerun. With a slight frown, he walked to the machine and set it to the highest speed. Yoruichi watched as he stood in the batter's box once again and then hit another ball with an appreciative nod this time. Yoruichi was quite befuddled. It was fast, she admitted, but it was barely a third of their sparring's speed.
"Try it."
As Ichigo presented the bat to her, Yoruichi was pulled out of her musing. Taking the bat with a shrug, she stood in the batter's box and then hit the ball when it shot at her.
Clank!
The moment the ball hit the bat, she instantly understood why she could have fun. Immediately, a grin crept up her face. She hit every one of the balls thrown at her with a cackle and eventually asked Ichigo to raise the pitch frequency. Ichigo complied and watched as she had the time of her life.
"Holy shit, that's crazy," a young man muttered beside Ichigo. "I wouldn't mess with her if I were you, man. One wrong move and you'll be treated like those poor balls."
"She could do much worse," Ichigo replied with a hint of amusement.
After some time, Yoruichi got bored. She walked to Ichigo's side and crossed her arms as she demanded him to take her somewhere else. Ichigo complied and took her out of the batting cage with a small smile. They spotted a crepe vendor nearby and bought three pieces. Looking for a bench, they sat on it when they found one.
Yoruichi's eyes lit up as soon as she took a bite of her crepe. Ichigo noted with amusement that every girl liked sweets no matter how many people they had cut down. Before long, Yoruichi had wolfed down her crepe. Her chocolate skin turned a shade darker as she turned to him, realizing what she had done.
"Here. Let me see that cute face once again."
"O- Oya, are you flirting with me, Ichigo?"
"No, I just want to see you munching on a crepe."
Yoruichi snorted but took the offered crepe nonetheless. Ichigo watched in amusement as she munched on her crepe while eating his. When they had finished their crepes, they took a taxi and left for the seaside. Ichigo said he wanted to experiment on whether he could attract fish with his Reiryoku. Intrigued, Yoruichi focused on the activity.
Splash!
Their Reiryoku did attract the fish, but not one that humans could consume.
"It's not the fish that we want," Ichigo remarked wryly as he stared at the fish-like hollow jumping at him. "Hadō #4: Byakurai!"
One white lightning bolt later, the peace returned. Yoruichi cackled beside him, amused at how the experiment turned out. Ichigo chuckled along with her, happy that his mentor could enjoy the rather boring activity. Before long, lunchtime came. They brought the fish that they caught to the fishing field's owner and had the fish cooked for them to eat.
Leaving the fishing field, the two headed for the only indoor garden in the town. They spent most of their time either walking around the garden or sitting on the bench just enjoying the atmosphere. They were glued to each other without them realizing it.
When the sun was about to set, Ichigo took Yoruichi to a skating field. Like the batting cage, a lot of couples were there. Yoruichi had never skated before, but her body coordination was inhuman. Therefore, she could learn quickly. She had fun skating around the field, dashing past people who were either amazed or annoyed by her speed.
Once she noticed that Ichigo was no longer beside her, she stopped skating and looked around. It didn't take her long to find the attractive orange head.
"Oy, Ichi—"
She stopped herself when she saw him helping a girl learn to skate. On normal days, she wouldn't have been bothered, but it was her date, so she was displeased by what she saw. She silently skated to the two. Arriving at Ichigo's side, she crossed her arms and stood with a frown. The girl hugging Ichigo's arm flinched and instinctively backed away.
"You have had your fun?" Ichigo asked with a smile.
"I want to go home," Yoruichi replied curtly, confusing Ichigo.
Noticing Yoruichi's sour mood, Ichigo nodded and then flashed an apologetic smile to the girl. The girl shakily smiled at him, intimidated by Yoruichi, but still sneaked a paper with her number into Ichigo's hand. Yoruichi's mood soured further and Ichigo was bewildered. Everything had been going well, so the development surprised him.
With a humph, Yoruichi left the field, prompting Ichigo to wearily follow suit.
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Honorary Mention:
Venerable Immortal Adan Smith
Venerable Immortal Bigbowser
Venerable Immortal Dex
Venerable Immortal Haider Alkefaji
Venerable Immortal B0mbaCl0ckBob
Venerable Immortal Jack Wright
Venerable Immortal SilverWolf
Venerable Immortal Star Dragon Bahamut