(T/N: Fifth Chapter!!)
On the other side, Shihoin Yoruichi and her subordinates were disguised as academy students, loitering near the gates of the Shin'o Spiritual Arts Academy.
"Vice-captain, are we just going to keep waiting like this?" Ōmaeda Kishinosuke asked. "Aren't we a bit too conspicuous just standing here?"
The Onmitsukidō members who came with Shihoin Yoruichi earlier had been tasked with delivering captured Reishi Shells to the 12th Division. Feeling short on manpower, Yoruichi had called in a few more people to stake out the area.
Ōmaeda Kishinosuke had joined the 2nd Division after graduating.
However, his original dream of inheriting his father's position had yet to come true.
The position of vice-captain had instead gone to Shihoin Yoruichi, but Ōmaeda Kishinosuke wasn't bothered—given Yoruichi's talent, it was only a matter of time before she became a captain. She wouldn't be vice-captain forever.
"You've got a point. You guys, spread out or hide somewhere," Shihoin Yoruichi waved her hand, motioning for them to move away.
Yoruichi had always enjoyed being in the middle of the action, and she didn't want to miss the chance to participate in the capture. So, she insisted on personally staying by the main gate.
After crouching at the gate for a while, Yoruichi started to feel bored.
She walked over to the nearby guardroom and peeked through the window. Inside, someone was nodding off, their head swaying dangerously close to hitting the desk.
"Is it Shirai-sensei on duty today...?" Yoruichi recalled the petite, adorable teacher.
Knock knock—she tapped on the window.
Shirai Riko jolted awake with a shiver.
"Shihoin Yoruichi?" Once she saw who was outside the window, she patted her flat chest in relief. "You scared me! I thought it was Vice-Dean Tsunayashiro!"
"What are you doing here...?" Shirai Riko slid the window open and examined Yoruichi's red-and-white academy uniform with suspicion. "Didn't you graduate ages ago?!"
Yoruichi leaned an arm on the window frame, holding herself up as she teased, "I came to see you, Shirai-sensei~"
"Hisss—" Shirai Riko drew a sharp breath. "It's only been a few years and you've turned into such a smooth-talker!"
"Aww, doesn't this kind of thing make girls like you fall for me?" Yoruichi scratched her cheek innocently. "I saw Ōmaeda Kishinosuke using lines like that to chase girls..."
Outside the academy, hidden behind a large boulder, Ōmaeda Kishinosuke suddenly sneezed.
With hands on her hips, Shirai Riko scoffed, "Tricks like that only work on gullible little girls."
Yoruichi glanced at Shirai Riko's petite frame, finding it oddly ironic coming from her.
"Where are you looking!"
Blushing, Shirai Riko grew flustered, pouting as Yoruichi couldn't help but reach out and squish her cheek.
"What are you doing?! Just because you've graduated doesn't mean you can mess with your teacher!"
"You're just too cute, Sensei—I couldn't help myself."
After a short bout of playful banter that shook off the awkwardness of not having seen each other in a while, Shirai Riko curiously asked, "Why are you wearing a student uniform at the academy?"
"Shhh—" Yoruichi held a finger to her lips and whispered, "I'm on a secret mission. I have to be disguised as a student."
"I see..." Shirai Riko remembered Yoruichi's affiliation and guessed it was an Onmitsukidō assignment.
Turning back into the room, Shirai Riko rummaged through a cabinet and pulled out some snacks.
"Eat something. It'll make you blend in better. Just standing here looks weird." She handed some snacks to Yoruichi.
"Thanks..." Yoruichi had just taken the snacks when her Denreishinki began to vibrate.
Quickly pulling it out, she heard Ōmaeda Kishinosuke's voice:
"Vice-captain, we've spotted the target! They're almost at the academy gate! Falcon and Rabbit are already tailing him!"
"Stick with him!" Yoruichi beamed. "We'll hit him from both sides!"
"Roger that!" came the reply.
"Shirai-sensei, stay hidden. It might get dangerous," Yoruichi warned.
"O-okay..." Shirai Riko nodded repeatedly.
She crouched down halfway behind her desk, only her head peeking out.
Eyes fixed on the window, she nervously swallowed.
It was her first time witnessing an Onmitsukidō operation—both nerve-wracking and thrilling.
Since the Onmitsukidō often carried out secret missions, they had an aura of mystery to outsiders.
A moment later, Shihoin Yoruichi spotted the target approaching.
Popping a snack into her mouth, she abruptly turned and fired the tranquilizer gun in her hand.
In an instant, the target collapsed.
The next moment, several Shinigami appeared, restrained the target, and checked their condition.
"Target restrained. Capture successful!"
"Vice-captain is amazing!"
"Perfect shot!"
Her subordinates' praise echoed from the Denreishinki.
But then, Ōmaeda Kishinosuke's voice came through again:
"Bad news! Another target just appeared—he noticed our operation!"
"He's running!"
"Keep watch over the one we caught!" Yoruichi ordered quickly. "I'll go after him!"
She immediately dashed after the escaping target, clawing at the sticky mud clinging to her clothes—mud that was slowing her down.
Normally, with her speed, she would've caught up in no time.
But this target had some unexpected tricks.
He was wearing a cloak that suppressed Reiatsu detection, making spiritual tracking impossible. She could only rely on visual pursuit.
The distance kept growing, and Yoruichi began to worry.
She drew a short blade.
"Shine, Raibyō!"
Lightning burst from her body, shaking loose the dried mud instantly.
Freed from its weight, her speed surged.
At that moment, a thought flashed through her mind:
'This guy has a Reiatsu-masking cloak and tools that slowed me down... He might not be ordinary. Should I see where he runs to?'
The more she thought about it, the more Yoruichi felt this one was different from the others.
Previously, after capturing a few targets inside the academy, they'd conducted body searches—but none of them had items like this.
Now tailing the fleeing suspect while maintaining her distance, Yoruichi pulled out her Denreishinki:
"Search the one we caught at the gate!"
The reply came quickly.
"Vice-captain, we searched him already—just some standard items."
Yoruichi's eyes narrowed. Her suspicions were confirmed.