It wasn’t easy being the heir of one of the great four noble clans, huh. Shinji had some idea how insular the lives of these so called high-born aristocrats were – no wonder most of them were so dull and straitlaced. It was such a pity that this child, bright-eyed and inquisitive and so full of life and vigor, would one day be squeezed dry of all the personality he possessed save for the traits deemed ‘noble’ by his clan. Oh well, they all carried the burdens of their births, don’t they all?
“ Yeah, havin’ a bunch’a straitlaced guards ridin’ on yer ass the whole time’s no way‘ta enjoy life in this Realm. Yer in the world of the Livin’; ya gotta live, amirite? ”
The blond ducked into the Urahara Shoten and let those thoughts slip away, his gaze brightening even so slightly at the sight of the shifty looking shopkeeper who also happened to be his longtime friend.
“ Oi, guess who I brought with me? This ‘lil guy here needs a gigai…foradventurin’ and mischief, of course. Think ya can help him out? ”
Kisuke, as always, was more than happy to offer his services. With a jovial, singsongy call to Tessai at the back, the larger man emerged (Shinji was amused by how big his feline companion’s eyes grew then) and politely invited Yuushirou to the back of the shop to get fitted into a custom made artificial body. Shinji slipped into one of his own too in an adjacent room, before ambling back out to chat with his friend for a bit. It didn’t take long for Yuushirou to stumble out in his human shell. The youth seemed a bit rigid and clumsy in his new form, but that was understandable. They all had to learn to adapt to difference in ‘weight’ when wearing a gigai; it always seemed heavier, like there was an additional gravitational pull acting on their bodies compared to their much lighter soul forms.
The two blonds watched with barely veiled amusement as the youngest soul stiffly got used to his new body, and then Shinji spoke up, drawling.
“ Yer outta luck, Yuushirou; yer sister’s not in at the moment. Kisuke says that she’sout on one of her ‘lil romps. We can come back later, I s’pose. Ya wanna go ‘ta the beach and also have pizza, right? Let’s get goin’, then. Bet ya haven’t been ‘ta an arcade too, huh. ”
───── In some ways, it wasn't easy. Endless training, high expectations, and living in your sister's shadow. Someone who was so talented they called her a living flash *Goddess*. For all that though? Yuushirou thought he was pretty lucky, being born as the heir of such a large clan. He had the ear and good company of the second division to guide him towards growing up right, after all. Not to mention he actually had power to make sure those he cared about were safe!
Not everyone was so lucky. Yuu wasn't the type to ignore the good things his life offered, just to dwell on the difficulties thrown his way~ Sure things could be a struggle now and then, but... he'd grow into it. Surely.
"Is that so? W-well, how do you live then? Adjust? Come up with new things to make it worth the view? Or just flirt with Hiyori till everything feels better?" he teases innocently, still wide eyed and cheerful. The clan only *wished* they could take away that spark of mischevious playfulness, yet some elders already declared it a lost cause. The sweets Lady Sui Feng and Mister Omaeda snuck into the clan compound surely had nothing to do with it. Cough.
Everything was going to the beat, after all. Everything was going as smooth as a tune that was whistled when the sun was high, and you were too much of a kid to worry about the future. No regrets to muse over, no losses to lose sleep from. And Yuu, no matter how young he was? Just wanted it to stay that way. To be strong enough nobody could take those he liked away~ That was the line of thought that accompanied the mocha boy as he staggered out, nearly falling over onto his face the moment he stumbled 'free' in that gigai.
It was so weird! Like a constant pressure that meant he couldn't just dance on guard rails, or do backflips on rooftops~ By the time he stood up as proud as a tightrope walker, Yuushirou's shaky voice emerged just to refocus on Shinji's words. Wobbling all the way.
"O-oh! Well, we can always find f-fun things to do right? Arcades sound terrifying though, I heard Omaeda rage about one and how Mashiro beat the pants off him in some Street Fightah thing." the Shihoin shuddered for a moment recounting it. "He said there were so many fatalities, it must be really dangerous!"
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