In the modest living room, the shadows of Kōe and the other two flickered in the swaying candlelight. The three of them held their breath, staring intently at the cards in their hands. If anyone else were present, they would find it hard to believe that these three people, locked in such a tense standoff, were actually old friends reuniting after a long separation.
"A pair of Aces!"
"P-Pass..." Kōe secretly glanced at Yoruichi, only to meet her hostile glare. He immediately lowered his head, avoiding her gaze, and stared at the playing cards in his hand. He truly regretted teaching Yoruichi how to play Fight the Landlord.
It was a game they used to play back in the Shin'ō Academy when they were bored out of their minds. However, once a player 'forgot' that they were supposed to be an ordinary person in the game, superpowers would be introduced, making it exceptionally dull.
And if only one person was allowed to use their superpowers, it turned into a one-sided slaughter, leaving the remaining two to suffer pure torment.
Take right now, for example. As the dealer, Yoruichi could locate and stack every single card during her two shuffles, perfectly setting up Kōe and Urahara before humiliating them in various ways with a hand full of bombs!
Shielding his hand—where his highest card was a mere Jack—Kōe glanced to his left at Urahara, whose brows were tightly furrowed. It seemed his fellow sufferer was also reaching his breaking point.
"Oh my! It seems I have to pass as well!" Urahara rubbed the back of his head, feigning a sudden realization. "Keep going!"
"I can't take it anymore!" Throwing his cards down, Kōe closed his eyes, looking like a man ready to accept his execution. He said to Yoruichi, "Just give me a quick death!"
"Oh? You asked for it." The corners of Yoruichi's mouth curled up slightly as she cracked her knuckles. "Then I suppose I'll reluctantly grant your wish."
"Ah!"
"You love training so much! Let's see if your bones have gotten any harder!"
"It wasn't me! It hurts!!!"
A brutal scene of 'domestic violence' was unfolding. Urahara rested his chin in his hand, staring at his playing cards as if none of this had anything to do with him.
"This hand is completely unplayable, truly unplayable."
...
"Actually, I was living in constant torment in Hueco Mundo as well. I missed my hometown endlessly, and my fiancée who was waiting for me there. Those beautiful memories turned into tears that often streamed down my cheeks..."
"Skip that part and read your guarantee!"
Hearing Yoruichi's words, Kōe nodded. After their 'friendly' communication just now, he and Yoruichi had reached a preliminary reconciliation. Since the incident of Urahara using the pendant to bring him back had already happened, Yoruichi decided not to pursue it any further.
But such a thing could absolutely never happen a second time! Even if something came up, the first person to know shouldn't be Urahara, but her, his wife! Thus, the letter of guarantee in Kōe's hands was born.
"I guarantee that from now on, if anything happens, I will communicate with Yoruichi immediately. There will be absolutely no secrets between us!"
"I guarantee that I will bravely challenge the 'old bastard' Yoruichi speaks of, the 'old thief Ao' in my heart. This isn't about right or wrong, but a condemnation of his actions! Of course, I might not be able to beat him, but this has nothing to do with winning or losing; it's about the attitude!"
Yoruichi fought hard to keep the smile off her face, deepening her voice as she said, "As long as you show the right attitude, that's enough. Don't force yourself into a fight you can't win." Although the fist marks on Kōe's face were her masterpiece, it didn't contradict the fact that her heart ached for him.
Respectfully handing the letter of guarantee over to Yoruichi, the matter was finally settled. For the three people in the room right now, as long as they were still willing to communicate with each other, there was no reason for their bond to ever break.
"It seems we haven't grown distant. We can get down to business now. And Kōe, don't look at me with such a resentful gaze; what you did was indeed out of line."
Kōe looked at Urahara and let out a heavy sigh. Sure enough, this guy had spilled everything to Yoruichi before coming here. He didn't know how Yoruichi had punished Urahara—perhaps his merits had offset his faults?
And using a card game to torture him was definitely the idea of this smiling, squinty-eyed bastard in front of him. Otherwise, given Yoruichi's temper, she would have just started throwing punches the moment they met.
"Thank you for making me deeply realize my mistakes." Kōe pointed his index finger back and forth between Urahara and Yoruichi. "But right now, I'm more interested in knowing why the two of you are in the World of the Living?"
"I thought you genuinely weren't surprised by that." Urahara smiled and continued, "Yoruichi and I are now criminals of Soul Society as well, and it all stems from an incident that happened fifty-two years ago."
Urahara hadn't expected Kōe to actually be unsurprised, but this revelation was equally beyond Kōe's expectations. Fifty-two years had already passed since Urahara and the others fled to the World of the Living!
When he originally left the pendant with Urahara, he assumed the man would contact him the moment the soul disappearance incident occurred. He never expected Urahara to be so patient, actually waiting fifty-two years before reaching out.
And with so much time having passed, then... a terrifying memory suddenly surfaced in his mind.
"What about Kaien?! How is he doing now?!" Kōe asked loudly on reflex. He couldn't remember exactly when Kaien had died. Could Urahara be looking for him now because Kaien was already dead?
"Kaien? That kid is already a lieutenant now... Oh! He even got married a while ago, and then... I guess that's about it." Yoruichi thought for a moment, making sure she hadn't missed anything important, before continuing, "Why ask about him all of a sudden?"
Hearing this, Kōe breathed a sigh of relief. He certainly didn't want to hear the news of that stubborn, ambitious kid's death the moment he returned.
However, his momentary panic had brought about unnecessary trouble. Whether it was Yoruichi looking at him with a confused expression or Urahara resting his head on his hand with an intrigued look, he knew he had to give them a reasonable explanation.
"Because he isn't here, I was worried something happened to him. Given that kid's personality, he wouldn't just sit back and do nothing while you two became criminals. I thought he had already..." Kōe revealed a bitter smile, as if he couldn't bring himself to say the last two words.
"Rest assured, that kid is a real man now." Yoruichi patted Kōe's arm and said gently, "He can protect himself and the people around him."
"Though it took quite a bit of effort on our part to calm that 'man' down," Urahara quipped, naturally earning an eye roll from Yoruichi. However, he just shrugged nonchalantly; after all, that was exactly how it happened.
"What, does it seem like the events that happened to you were quite bizarre?" Kōe glanced at Urahara and continued, "If the truth was already clear, I don't think Kaien would have just let it go."
Urahara smiled and shook his head. Kōe was wrong about that point. But then again, if one hadn't experienced it personally, how could they possibly know such an absurd truth?
"The incident itself wasn't bizarre; it's the truth behind it that's the most bizarre part. That is, assuming you'll believe what I'm about to say next, Kōe."