"Will it hurt?" Kukaku asked.
"Uh… maybe a little," Shirō answered after thinking for a moment. Honestly, he wasn't sure how tattoos worked in Soul Society, he'd never looked into it or tried it himself. The seal on his own hand had just appeared on its own.
As soon as she heard that, Kukaku shook her head hard.
"I'm scared of pain. I don't want it anymore."
"You've got a point. If you get a tattoo while you're still growing, it might get all stretched out later," Shirō nodded.
Still… seriously, what was this guy thinking? Encouraging a little girl to get a tattoo?! Totally wrong from the start.
But then Shirō suddenly grinned. "Wait, I've got an idea!"
"What kind of idea?" Kukaku asked, instantly intrigued, as only a curious little girl could be.
"Let's just draw it on. That won't hurt at all!" Shirō said, proudly.
He was totally channeling his childhood, those days of drawing fake watches on his wrist or using water-transfer tattoos.
"Yay, let's do it!" Kukaku clapped excitedly.
Soon, the two of them were completely absorbed in doodling on each other. Kukaku's arm was practically covered in sketches, and Shirō's hands had become her personal canvas.
Unfortunately, Kukaku's artistic talent… left a lot to be desired. Worse yet, she and Shirō had wildly different aesthetics. Her doodles were the definition of childlike, crude, bright, and imaginative.
Shirō, however, had defaulted to the tattoo styles of his past life.
Innocent little Kukaku? She now looked like a tiny gangster princess. Like she was ready to brawl in a Hong Kong action flick.
She'd even ripped the sleeves off her pretty long-sleeved dress to complete the look. Dye her hair, slap on some smoky eyeshadow, and voilà, Soul Society's first delinquent gyaru.
"What the heck are you two doing?" came Yoruichi's voice, interrupting the fun.
Shirō looked up, completely unfazed by her sudden appearance. "Oh? How'd you find us?"
Kukaku, meanwhile, was still laser-focused on filling in a crooked line on his forearm, no big deal. Her imagination would fix it later.
"Easy. We're soulmates, remember? Of course I know where you are," Yoruichi grinned.
Shirō narrowed his eyes. Ah. Must've been the charm she gave him.
Still, he didn't expose her lie and instead asked, "Kaien didn't come with you?"
"Nah, we split up to look for you. I headed straight here," Yoruichi said breezily, like she hadn't just handed him over on a silver platter.
"Is that so..." Shirō muttered, then suddenly tensed. He'd just spotted Shiba Kaien approaching.
"You idiot! You got tailed!" Shirō hissed, stamping his foot. Was this woman seriously that careless, or did she do it on purpose?!
"Aiyaa~ how did he know?" Yoruichi said, putting on her best innocent act.
"You damn shameless couple! I knew it!!" Kaien bellowed.
"Who are you calling a couple?! I'm a cat!" Yoruichi shot back, thoroughly offended.
Thud!
Everyone face-planted. That's not the point!
"Hand over my sister!" Kaien shouted.
Kukaku stepped out from behind Shirō, recognizing her brother.
"Big Bro!"
Kaien's eyes widened in shock. Wait… that's… my sister?!
And just as Shirō feared, Kukaku pointed proudly at the tattoos on her arms and said with a bright smile:
"Big Brother, do I look pretty like this?"
BOOM. Instant volcanic eruption.
"ARGHHHH!!! Shirō Emiya, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!!"
"Wait, wait, this is a misunderstanding, Kaien! It's not what it looks like!" Shirō panicked.
"Yeah, big brother! Brother Shirō isn't a bad person, he's a gentleman!" Kukaku chimed in sweetly.
That's not helping! Now it just looked like she'd been brainwashed!
Kaien didn't say another word, he drew his Zanpakutō immediately.
"Uh-oh!" Shirō grabbed Yoruichi's arm, and both vanished in a flash step.
"Surge, Nehan! Bloom, Nejibana!"
Kaien roared, he actually released his Shikai.
"Holy crap, when did he unlock that?!" Shirō yelled, running even faster.
"Haha! Maybe you forced it out of him!" Yoruichi laughed, genuinely enjoying this.
"Then shouldn't he be thanking me?!" Shirō shouted.
"Absolutely. Why don't you go back and let him show you his gratitude properly?" Yoruichi suggested.
"I'm a good guy! Good guys do good deeds without leaving their name!" Shirō declared shamelessly.
"Sure, sure… and now you're going by Jōichirō Tatoo-kun, right?" Yoruichi teased.
Do these two have any concept of danger?!
Kaien chased them for a bit, but Shirō and Yoruichi were too fast. And more importantly, he couldn't leave Kukaku alone. What if she got attacked by a Hollow?
Frustrated, Kaien turned back, scooping up his sister.
"Shirō Emiya! This isn't over!!"
Far away, Shirō wiped sweat from his brow. Thank god he already graduated, and thank god I'm not joining Squad 13, or my days would be numbered!
"Shirō!"
"...Huh?" Shirō stirred groggily. Where was he? Wasn't he just sleeping at home?
Had he been... isekai'd again?!
"Shirō!"
Wait!
He jolted upright. Someone had called his name. He was still Emiya Shirō. He hadn't been reborn again!
He looked around, this was familiar. The warehouse with the magic circle, the place where Saber was summoned.
Which meant... what?
He could hear her now. He could communicate with his Zanpakutō. He could summon Saber. He could finally use Shikai!
"Saber!" Shirō cried out, arms raised.
"Wait… do I need some sort of incantation? I don't know any of that..." he muttered to himself.
"You don't need any chants. Did the original Emiya Shirō chant anything when he summoned Saber?"
A voice echoed behind him.
"Saber!" he spun around, and there she was. The face he'd longed to see.
"I can finally hear you speak!!"
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150 P.S = 1 Extra Chapter