All of the ladies were still chatting.
They didn't know how deep the sinkhole was, and it was getting darker.
"Hey, does anybody have a light or something?" Nejire asked. "I can't see anything here."
Gion turned her head toward Black Maria. "Your turn. We need some light."
Black Maria let out the smoke from her mouth. "Fuuu~"
Without saying anything, she spewed spider webs from her mouth onto the kiseru she had been smoking. The kiseru elongated like a cane, shifting into a weapon-like form resembling a Wanyudo. Friction built along its structure—
Then, swoosh.
Fire suddenly burst out from it.
She spread more webs everywhere, creating a massive cobweb above them. It hovered overhead, connected to her finger by a single thin strand of silk. Then she used the fire she had created to ignite the web.
The cobweb became a massive burning pattern of fire above them. Minazuki distanced itself from the flames.
The web was around fifty feet wide, illuminating a quarter of the void.
The display of power and control amazed them. The kiseru was a weapon capable of changing its structure and producing fire, and her use of webs to create a flaming canopy showed how creative she was with her abilities.
"Wooow, really amazing," said Nejire, staring up at the burning web.
Monet just shrugged. "It would be disappointing if she couldn't think of something that simple."
Konan nodded quietly. She knew she could have done something similar, but she said nothing.
Soi Fon wasn't looking at them. She was staring downward, worried about Yoruichi the entire time. She couldn't focus on anything else until she saw her.
Isane nodded as well.
Gion scanned the area now that the void was illuminated.
Mabui knew what she herself was capable of, but the application of Black Maria's skill still impressed her.
Everyone was looking around—
Except Unohana.
Unohana could sense the spirituality of two people at the very bottom. Something was amiss with one of them. She recognized the signature. It was the kid's. Just like before.
But something was different.
She opened her eyes and looked down, asking herself what had happened.
After a while, they finally reached the very bottom.
"Is anyone there?!" Soi Fon shouted.
The fire illuminated only part of the area, not everything.
Everyone looked around attentively.
"Follow me," Unohana said. "I can feel them."
"Them?" Mabui asked. "How many?"
"Only two."
Unohana led the way, and the rest followed behind her.
As they slowly walked, they heard heavy breathing.
A woman.
Breathing hard.
As the firelight reached farther down the dark path, what they saw raised their eyebrows. Questions filled their minds.
A man was sitting on the ground, his back facing them.
A woman's head rested on his wide shoulder, her arms wrapped around his waist.
They looked like lovers cuddling in the dark void. Lovers waiting for rescue. Or lovers who had given up on life and were holding each other until the end.
It would have been the perfect setup for a love story—
If not for the fact that the woman's hair was long and purple, and her skin was tanned.
They all knew who she was.
The monitor of the second-year Class S.
A powerhouse.
An assassin-type.
The Flash Goddess.
The princess of the Shihōin Clan.
And the most unbelievable thing
She was resting against a man.
The man had long black hair flowing down his back. His arms were wrapped tightly around Yoruichi, his head leaning against her.
No one among the newcomers spoke.
They just watched the bizarre couple.
Then Yoruichi slowly lifted her head and looked toward them.
They could see it clearly—she was sweating, her face flushed. Maybe it was from exertion. Or maybe just the firelight above.
"Oh, you're finally here," Yoruichi said.
Soi Fon snapped out of her daze and rushed forward.
"Sister! What happened? Are you hurt?"
"Hurt? No, I'm not hurt. It's just… it's hard to b-breathe," Yoruichi said.
Unohana looked at her. "Go help her. She can't move. Or rather… she can't escape."
"Can't escape?" Monet repeated.
Yoruichi smiled faintly. "Well… it seems like he doesn't want to let me go."
Black Maria smiled teasingly. "Oh, Yoruichi. Is this what you were doing the whole time? Or maybe the shaking was you and that man having sex here, causing the tremors?"
Nejire burst into laughter. "Hahahahaha!"
"That sounds absurd," Isane said from beside Unohana.
Yoruichi didn't back down. "Sex? Well, if this man wanted it, I'd gladly accompany him."
"Whaaaat?!" the others exclaimed.
"Did you hit your head and go crazy?" Soi Fon demanded.
They were all dumbfounded, but Mabui cut in. "Forget that. She can barely breathe."
Soi Fon was the first to approach. Even sitting, the man was larger than her. She was barely five feet tall, and she could already tell something about him was abnormal.
When she moved behind them and reached Yoruichi's back, she saw clearly—his head leaned into Yoruichi's body, his arms locked tightly around her waist.
She wanted to be angry.
But somehow she couldn't.
And that frustrated her even more.
She grabbed the man's right wrist and pulled with all her strength, screaming internally, Let go of my sister!
The arm didn't move even a little.
"What is this? Why isn't it budging?" she said.
Nejire hovered closer, curious. From behind, she saw his lean, defined back and broad shoulders. Even with long hair, he couldn't be mistaken for a woman.
When she got closer, she caught a scent.
"Wow… he smells nice. Really sweet."
Monet and Black Maria also approached.
Black Maria knelt beside Yoruichi's flushed face. "So, what did the two of you do? Don't tell me you just cuddled here the whole time."
Monet added, "Yoruichi, you really look wet."
Yoruichi chuckled. "Don't be jealous, ladies. You can find some random guy and let him fuck you instead. Because this man is mine."
She turned her head toward the man's neck and slowly licked the exposed skin.
Monet and Black Maria watched, feeling the heat rise in their bodies—
"Hey, girls. Enough teasing," Isane said from behind.
"We need to evacuate everyone first and investigate what happened here."
Mabui nodded. "She's right. We need to pinpoint what caused that tremor."
Yoruichi's expression turned more serious.
"If you want to know what happened, ask me later. There's no need to make a big fuss over it."
"Was it him?" Gion asked, still smoking from behind.
Unohana stepped closer to the group. "Did he do this?"
"Oh, Unohana… you guessed right. He suddenly became crazy," Yoruichi said.
Other than Yoruichi, Unohana, and Gion, the rest were stunned.
"What do you mean?" Konan asked.
"Well, why don't you help me first?" Yoruichi replied.
Black Maria stood and placed her fingers on the man's shoulder. She could feel the unnatural toughness beneath her touch.
Monet did the same and immediately sensed something was off.
If what Yoruichi, Unohana, and Gion were implying was true—
This man was not simple.
Behind them, Soi Fon was still struggling to remove his arms from Yoruichi's waist.
Unohana asked, "Why not transform into your cat form?"
"I don't want to," Yoruichi replied.
"Why?" Gion asked.
"Forget it. Just help me move his arms. It's really hard to breathe."
They didn't press further.
Black Maria grabbed the man's right wrist. Monet and Soi Fon took the left. They pulled with all their strength.
It didn't budge.
Not even slightly.
"Why not just wake him up?" Mabui suggested.
"I tried. He seems completely asleep. I even bit his neck to wake him," Yoruichi replied.
"What is with this strength?" Black Maria muttered.
Naturally, when it came to raw strength, Maria was at the top of the class due to her Zoan-enhanced power. But this man—
This was something else.
"I don't believe this," she said.
She created webbing from her fingers, sticking it to the man's wrist and pulling again with force.
Still nothing.
Monet and Soi Fon were using their full strength as well.
"What is this freak…?"
( *・ω・)ノ