15 Forsaking One's Humanity

Staring at the peacefully sleeping face of Ohta, Yoruichi was genuinely tempted to sit on it. Not for either of their satisfaction but to asphyxiate him. The only problem was, based on what she knew of his personality, Ohta probably wouldn't mind going out in such a way...

("This brat really knows how to push my buttons...") thought Yoruichi, leaning back and phasing through the wall connecting Ohta's apartment to the one behind it. She wasn't just going to stare at him as he slept, so she transitioned into her cat form and perched atop the wall surrounding the complex, enjoying the last hour or so of sunlight before day gave way to night...

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Feeling a weight press against his lower abdomen, Ohta opened his eyes to find Yoruichi staring down at him in her human form, her body garbed in the same skintight, no-imagination-required outfit as before.

"Do you wear the same clothes every single day?" asked Ohta, causing Yoruichi's left eye to twitch as she questioned, "Is that seriously the first thing that came to your mind in this situation...?"

"I like to think I have realistic expectations," replied Ohta. "I wouldn't mind being proven wrong, but if you were this easy, you might not even be worth the minimal effort I've put in..."

Punctuating his words, Ohta gave Yoruichi a firm smack on her left ass cheek with his right hand. His actions earned him a kunai tip up his nose, but the slight pain and accompanying trickle did little to hinder the smile on his face as he remarked, "Nice."

Exhaling a huffy sigh and shaking her head, Yoruichi retracted her kunai from Ohta's nose, rising to stand over him as she stated, "It's about that time. You ready?"

"Let me enjoy this angle for a moment..." replied Ohta. Unfortunately, Yoruichi reacted by leaping soundlessly from his bed, making her way to the front door in long strides as she said, "I'll be outside..." in a flat tone.

Rising to a seated position, Ohta stretched his body, arching his right arm over his head and eliciting a satisfying pop from his lower back. A part of him regretted not enjoying the sensation of having Yoruichi sit atop him a while longer, but he was confident his incitements would either cause her to snap or prompt her to push him down of her own accord...

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After donning what might be his final disguise, Ohta made his way over to Urahara's shop, stepping into the antiquated-looking storefront with cat-form Yoruichi perched upon his shoulder.

"Well, look at you two," mused Kisuke, waiting for them atop the elevated section of the store's floor. "It's barely been two days, and you're already chummy. How enviable."

"Is everything prepared?" asked Ohta, not bothering to inquire about the process they would be using to off him.

"Yep. Just follow after me," replied Urahara, rising to his feet and guiding Ohta deeper into the building. There was a thick wooden hatch in what looked like an abandoned storage room, which, once opened, revealed a ladder that seemed to extend to the very depths of Hell.

After descending into a massive chamber whose terrain resembled a wasteland and whose walls and ceiling were structured to resemble a cloudy sky at midday, Urahara spread his arms and said, "Welcome to my secret underground study chamber~! Pretty impressive, isn't it? I made it myself."

"How?" asked Ohta. "This place is the size of multiple city blocks. How doesn't the city above collapse during an earthquake?"

Whipping out his bamboo folding fan and using it on himself, Urahara adopted a sly smile as he mused, "Trade secret, I'm afraid. Unless you become my employee and sign a non-disclosure agreement, I can't tell you."

"Hard pass," replied Ohta, waving his hand in front of his face like he was wafting away the smell of shit. At the same time, his gaze focused on a tall, bespectacled, muscular man with tanned skin, short dreadlocks, and a handlebar mustache standing next to two brats. The slightly taller one was a girl with glossy purple hair set in pigtails, two thick strands running down the center of her face, while the presumed younger of the two was a temperamental-looking little shit with short, bright-red hair and sanpaku eyes.

Upon reaching the trio, Urahara gestured toward them as he said, "These are my co-workers. The big one is Tessai, and the younger ones are Ururu and Jinta."

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance," said Tessai, placing his hand over his heart and bowing courteously. The little girl, Ururu, followed his example by folding her hands over her lap and bowing her head, but the red-haired brat remained upright with his arms crossed, staring daggers at Ohta as he said, "You don't look so tough..."

Completely ignoring the brat, Ohta looked to Urahara and asked, "So, how we doin' this?"

Answering in Kisuke's stead, Yoruichi leaped from Ohta's shoulder, taking on her human form as she revealed, "We'll be using a method similar to the one Kuchiki Rukia used to transfer her powers to Kurosaki Ichigo, but more refined."

Nodding his head, Kisuke added, "You already possess a decent amount of spirit energy, so you already fulfill the basic requirement to become a Shinigami aspirant. The only things you're missing are a soul form and an Asauchi, the unattuned form of a Zanpakuto. Unfortunately, Asauichi don't exactly grow on trees, so..."

"So you'll basically be borrowing mine until you manage to acquire one or form a spiritual weapon of your own," appended Yoruichi.

Raising her right hand, palm facing upward, Yoruichi materialized a tanto-like blade from motes of bluish-white light. Most Shinigami carried their Zanpakuto on their body, but Yoruichi had effectively fused with hers to keep the spirit within from accusing her of neglect.

Pointing the tip of her Zanpakuto toward Ohta, Yoruichi adopted a teasing smile as she said, "Well, whenever you're ready, kiddo. All you need to do is willfully impale yourself on my Zanpakuto. More specifically, it needs to pierce your heart."

"I suppose that beats yeeting myself off the roof at school," replied Ohta, fearlessly stepping forward to grab Yoruichi's wrist with both hands. The notion that he was being set up to commit soul suicide briefly crossed his mind, but that didn't stop him from cracking a smile and impaling himself in the chest while staring into Yoruichi's eyes.

Feeling an 'explosion' within his body, Ohta was momentarily blinded by the same bluish-white light that appeared when Yoruichi manifested her Zanpakuto. When the light faded, he found himself in the courtyard of an ancient, Japanese-style palace, his body garbed in a loose black yukata...

"That woman is always doing things to piss me off..." groaned a husky yet unmistakably feminine voice. When Ohta turned toward it, the pupils of his eyes contracted as he found himself being stared at by a massive, at least five-meter-tall black cat.

Bringing its face down to Ohta's level, the monstrous cat narrowed its eyes and asked, "As I recall, you said you were a dog person, correct...?"

Adopting a somewhat forced smile, Ohta replied, "Something like that. But that's primarily because most cats are insufferable assholes. You give off a more dignified aura."

"So you say..." muttered the massive cat, lowering itself to its belly and folding its paws beneath it as it added, "I will lend you my power, but my condition is that you come here to play with me while you sleep. Neglect me, and I'll hunt you like a mouse in your dreams..."

"That's more than a little unreasonable," said Ohta. "I don't mind keeping you company, but I prefer to sleep while I sleep. I'm sure even you have moments where you want to shut off your brain and relax."

"Hmmm...you're not wrong..." admitted the giant cat, closing its eyes in deliberation for several seconds before opening them and saying, "Very well. I still require that you visit, but I will not force you to play. Instead, you will accompany me for a nap."

"That's marginally more agreeable," mused Ohta, raising his hand to ask, "Mind if I pet you?"

"Proceed," replied the monstrous cat, closing its eyes as Ohta placed his hand on its snout. Around that same time, Ohta found himself back in the real world, hearing Kisuke muse, "Oh my~" while Yoruichi stared back at him with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, a reaction to the fact he was currently squeezing her left breast.

Retracing his right hand, Ohta casually inquired, "So, what now? Am I a Shinigami...?"

"Look behind you," suggested Kisuke, compelling Ohta to look back, discovering his ostensibly lifeless body collapsed on the ground. He also noticed he was wearing the same outfit that Rukia had appeared in the first time he encountered her, a uniform consisting of a white shitagi, a black kosode, black hakama, white tabi, and waraji-style straw sandals. There was also a tanto strapped to his lower back, and beneath the rest of his ensemble, he had on a black bodysuit, conforming to his body like a second skin.

Drawing the tanto from his back, Ohta observed his reflection in its highly polished blade, his brows perking up when the image briefly shifted to the eyes of the massive cat he had encountered moments prior.

Observing Ohta's actions, Yoruichi crossed her arms and inquired, "Were you able to learn its name?" in a genuinely curious tone.

"It didn't come up," replied Ohta, returning the silvery blade to its sheathe as he asked, "So, what now?"

"That's up to you," replied Kisuke, pulling out a tiny green sphere as he added, "This little fellow is a Gikongan(Artificial Soul Pill). If we place it in your body, an artificial soul will take control and carry on living your life. The other option is to place your body in stasis and prepare a Gigai in its stead."

Shaking his head, Ohta asserted, "I'm the type that only moves forward. Just toss it into my original body."

"How decisive," mused Kisuke, heeding Ohta's instructions by casually flicking the spherical pill into his former body's mouth. When he did, the body's lifeless eyes regained their light, followed by the person piloting it sitting up and giving himself a once-over.

Earning the artificial soul's attention, Ohta stated, "I honestly don't care what you do long-term, but try not to ruin the reputation I established for myself these past fifteen years."

Adopting a remarkably punchable smile, the artificial soul responded, "I don't need to be told what to do by the person who abandoned this body. Mind your own business."

Before Ohta could kick his former self in the face, Kisuke mused, "I tried picking the Gikongan that most closely matched your standoffish nature. He's also quite intelligent and emits a diffusion field that prevents those around him from suspecting anything is amiss, so you don't have to worry too much."

"Yeah, worry about yourself," appended the artificial soul, rising to his feet and dusting himself off, adding, "And this is where I make my exit." before turning around, giving everyone present the middle finger as he made his way toward the ladder leading to the surface.

Turning to Yoruichi, Ohta remarked, "I wouldn't intervene if you decided to kick his ass..." in a flat monotone.

"Eh, I'm used to people with your appearance being insufferable," mused Yoruichi, crossing her arms and smiling cheekily.

Rolling his eyes, Ohta shifted his gaze to Urahara and asked, "Does that have access to my memories?"

Shaking his head, Urahara mused, "If only. Unfortunately, artificial souls need to be programmed from scratch. I used the data I've collected on you over the past few years to give that one an edge, but he's basically a completely different person. The diffusion field he emits makes his body super durable, but he doesn't possess any of your innate skills, much less your memories. Why, you got something to hide?"

"Who doesn't?" asked Ohta, turning to Yoruichi and asking, "You ready to go?"

Blinking in surprise, Yoruichi asked, "Go where? This is the place we'll be using to conduct your Shinigami training. The forest may be out of sight from ordinary prying eyes, but this chamber blocks spiritual pressure and serves as a closed-off dimension. You need at least this much if you want to avoid Soul Society's surveillance teams long-term."

"Then we'll return tomorrow morning," replied Ohta. "I told Rukia I would be patrolling at night, and, last I checked, you agreed to accompany me. Am I mistaken...?"

Though she furrowed her brows, Yoruichi didn't attempt to refute Ohta's words. Instead, it was Kisuke who said, "Then I'll suppose we'll be seeing you tomorrow. Have a fun night, you two. Ohohoho~"

Hearing Kisuke's words, the red-haired Jinta remarked, "Seriously? You mean we came down here for nothing?"

Giving Jinta a light push, the muscular Tessai muttered, "Come along now, children. It's time for bed."

Clicking his tongue, Jinta cast a hateful stare at Ohta, but the latter didn't even acknowledge him. He could guess why the little shit was upset, but he genuinely didn't care. He might have agreed to train with Yoruichi, but that didn't mean he was going to subject himself to her, or anyone else's, authority. Their agreement also stipulated that she accompanied him at night, so wherever he went, she was obliged to follow...

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(A/N: Yoruichi is going to be banging her head against a wall...)