Watching Tamaki Chizuru's graceful figure disappear behind the shoji screen, Hiroki finally let out a long breath, as if shedding a forced disguise. The dull throb of a hangover still pulsed at his temples. He shuffled to the lacquered low table, his fingertips trembling slightly when they touched the cold teapot.
His movement in picking up the teapot carried a deliberate imitation of the original owner's elegance, but his pale knuckles as he poured betrayed his inner anxiety. Clear tea flowed into the porcelain cup. He tilted his head back and took a large gulp, the warm liquid sliding down his dry throat, followed by a muffled sigh: "Phew."
What should he do next? Continue playing the part of the original owner, who at seventeen already lived like a stiff old cadre, like a marionette? Keeping a straight face all day, wrapping his true emotions in the shell of being "mature beyond his years"? He ruffled his hair in frustration.
Faking it for a short while might be fine; after all, the original owner's complete memories were etched into his mind like a torrent, so the risk of exposure was minimal. But what about in the long run?
"A complete change in personality after marriage?" Hiroki curled his lips in self-mockery. This excuse could barely work, resulting in nothing more than a reputation for being "stimulated by the new environment of the Shihōin Clan" or "overloaded by marital pressure." Given the dull and cautious thought process of this original body, Hiroki really couldn't come up with a smoother explanation. But these were all minor irritations.
The real Sword of Damocles hanging over his head was the destined green hat from Shihōin Yoruichi! That future Captain and wife, who was about to write a legend of elopement with Urahara Kisuke, was now his wife in name! This vibrant, heavy green hat would make it impossible for him to hold his head up in the future.
Can this wife be returned?!
Return her! Yes, return her! Hiroki's eyes suddenly lit up, as if he had grasped a lifesaving buoy while drowning.
Anyway, that old man Seigen Shihoin doesn't have many years left to live—that's the plot written in black and white in the original work! Once he kicks the bucket and Yoruichi naturally becomes the Head of the Shihōin Clan, that will be the best time for him to divorce her! When that time comes, who could possibly pin a green hat on him!
Yoruichi would surely be dying to tear up this forced marriage contract. She herself was the greatest rebel against this marriage, only forced into the ceremony by Seigen's paternal authority. When the time comes, it'll be a mutual agreement to part ways!
Even better, as the "returned" former Matrilocal son-in-law of the prestigious Shihōin Clan, wouldn't a generous breakup fee—no, a massive sum of Alimony as spiritual compensation—be only natural? Taking that money and flying far away to live as a wealthy idler in Rukongai or Seireitei, that would be the true transmigrator's blessing!
The beauties of the Soul Reaper World, slim or plump, charming or cold... your Lord Hiroki is about to regain his freedom! Imagining a future of leisure with beauties on both sides, a nearly lewd chuckle, utterly inconsistent with the "mature beyond his years Kuroki Hiroki" persona, finally rolled uncontrollably from his throat: "Hehe, haha..."
"What are you smirking at so sleazily, you stuffed shirt?"
"Cough, cough, cough!" The laughter was instantly cut short by a violent fit of coughing. Hiroki felt as if ice water had been poured over his head. He looked in horror toward the source of the voice—in the shadowed corner of the room, Shihōin Yoruichi, dressed in the black Onmitsukidō uniform, was leaning against the wall. Her signature golden eyes shimmered with playful mockery in the dim light, and her short hair was as sharp as her blunt sarcasm.
It's over! The cold and aloof persona he had worked so hard to maintain has collapsed!
"Cough, it's nothing," Hiroki immediately straightened his back, using all his acting skills to squeeze back into the original owner's deadpan face. "I just thought of some trivial happy matters." His voice was flat and emotionless, as he tried his best to ignore the embarrassment burning his ears.
"Oh?" Yoruichi strode over and sat opposite him without ceremony, her movements as casual as a big cat. "Does marrying me make you that happy?" She picked up an empty cup and poured herself half a cup of tea, the scrutiny in her golden eyes unconcealed.
"No," Hiroki forced himself to meet her gaze, speaking according to his planned negotiation strategy, every word carrying the original owner's cold tone. "Aside from marrying you, everything else is a happy matter."
"Tch." Yoruichi scoffed and tilted her head to take a gulp of tea. "I really didn't know you, Kuroki Hiroki, could laugh, and—" she deliberately dragged out her tone playfully, "laugh so sleazily."
It's over, it's over! The iceberg persona is shattered to pieces! Hiroki wailed inwardly. "Maintaining noble etiquette always requires much restraint," he explained with forced composure, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the rim of the cup. "A little relaxation in private is only reasonable. After all," he looked up at Yoruichi, his tone deepening, "I am not the Eldest Miss of the Shihōin Clan; I don't have the right to be as reckless as you."
"Hehe." Yoruichi gave an ambiguous chuckle and refilled her tea. The air fell into a frozen silence. She set down her teacup, but her gaze remained firmly locked on Hiroki—scanning him from his tightly pressed lips to his forcedly calm posture, over and over, as if studying some rare specimen.
Hiroki's hair stood on end under her gaze: "Please, big sister, if you keep looking at me like that, I'm going to slip up!"
The ordeal seemed to last a century before Yoruichi broke the silence: "Tell me, what are your plans?"
"Plans?" Hiroki feigned ignorance, his fingertips gripping the cup turning slightly white.
"What?" Yoruichi raised an eyebrow, her tone sharp. "Now that you've become my 'husband,' you don't have any other thoughts?"
"Well... there is one." Hiroki steadied his breath, using the slowest possible movements to lift the teapot and add tea for himself. The faint sound of boiling water pouring into the porcelain cup became a tool to stall for time. Not until the steam misted half his face did he speak in a steady tone, as if announcing a set policy:
"My plan is simple: maintain a facade of harmony and don't interfere with each other internally." He paused for a second to ensure his wording was precise. "That means you walk your broad road, and I'll cross my single-plank bridge. We'll each do our own thing in private. As long as we don't tear through this veil and don't embarrass the Shihōin Clan or your father, it'll be fine."
He observed Yoruichi's expression. "This will continue until your father, Lord Kiyone... retires. At that time, you will inherit the Shihōin Clan, and I will request to leave, with a divorce paper to dissolve this marriage that exists in name only."
"Divorce?" Yoruichi's voice suddenly rose, an unbelievable light bursting from her golden eyes. "You want to divorce me?!"
"Isn't that the obvious answer?" Hiroki met her gaze, his tone cold to the point of cruelty. "I don't like you, and you despise me. Why use a marriage certificate to trap each other in one another's lives?"
"You!" Yoruichi squeezed a word through her teeth, her jaw clenched tight as if chewing on something extremely humiliating that she had to swallow. Finally, she took a deep breath and spat out two words: "Fine!"
Hiroki felt a sense of relief and quickly threw out the core clause: "Then, when the time comes, please prepare a... sufficiently generous Alimony."
"I have to give you Alimony?!"
"Of course!" Hiroki straightened his back righteously. "I'm the one who married into your family! I sacrificed my reputation and freedom to be your shield. And you—the future Head," he pointed to the luxurious bedchamber belonging to Yoruichi, "possess the power and wealth of the entire Shihōin Clan. Is it too much for me, a former Matrilocal son-in-law who is kicked aside after being used, to ask for a reasonable sum of Alimony as security for the rest of my life?!"