"I will not stand for this!" Yafumi Shihoin yelled as he paced back and forth.

His sister Yashiro looked bored as she turned the page of her magazine. "And what are you going to do, other than make a scene?"

"She's not just making this boy one of us! By adopting this boy as her son, she's making him the heir to the entire clan?"

"What do you care? It's not like either of us ever had a chance of heading the family."

"Would you really be fine with taking orders from this white-haired, no-name street trash?"

"I don't take orders from anyone."

Yafumi shook his head and sighed. "Yes. I suppose you're like our dear cousin that way."

Yashiro turned another page. "If you're so worried about this kid then encourage Yoruichi to get married already. A true-born child would supersede him as heir."

Yafumi laughed in a dry, humorless manner. "Our Yoruichi, the woman who can't sit still for two seconds, settling down? That'll be the day. I wouldn't put it past her to have done this just to end pressure to get married."

"And if she ever did settle down," he added, "it would probably be wit someone even worse, like that scientist she was always hanging around with."

"Sounds like it's Yoruichi that's the problem," Yashiro said.

Yafumi sighed. "You're right about that."

Toshiro had never seen so many people in one place.

Yoruichi had thrown a banquet in honor of his being adopted into the Shihoin family, and it was attended by the elite of the Soul Society.

In addition to the members of the Shihoin clan, the banquet was attended by members of the other three noble families, members of many lesser houses, and several captains of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads.

For the moment the crowd seemed content with ignoring Toshiro and gossiping among themselves. He did not know if they just did not notice him because of his height or were ignoring him on purpose, but he did not mind.

The sheer size of the crowd made Toshiro uncomfortable. He was also uncomfortable with the way his hair was gelled down and the bow tie was wearing.

Someone patted him on the head. He turned and looked up to see a man in a white haori.

"So you're what all this fuss is about," the man said.

Toshiro was frozen. He'd heard stories from Hinamori about the Shinigami captains and their power.

The man leaned down and smiled. Toshiro saw that his blonde hair was by far the most unkempt of anyone in attendance.

"I'm Kisuke Urahara, Captain of Squad Twelve. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Um … I'm Toshiro Hits-Toshiro Shihoin."

"Heh. That takes a little getting used to, doesn't it?"

Ginrei Kuchiki approached Yoruichi.

"Quite a gathering."

Yoruichi raised a glass of sake to her mouth and took a sip. "Yeah. But I don't think most of them are happy to be here."

"True enough. We've had our share of that in the Kuchiki estate."

"How'd you end up dealing with it?"

"Truthfully, we never stopped dealing with it," Ginrei said sadly. "Byakuya would be here, but I'm afraid family requires his undivided attention at the moment."

Yoruichi looked at her drink and gently shook it. She knew better than to enquire into Byakuya Kuchuki's personal affairs when things sounded so serious, and she knew that Ginrei had said what he said only to impart advice.

The opposition to Byakuya Kuchiki's initial decision to marry a commoner had never disappeared completely, and he had far more support within his family than Yoruichi had in hers. She did not have anyone like Ginrei Kuchiki to stand behind her.

All she had was her little brother, who, as a child himself, could not navigate the eccentricities of politics.

That was one more thing she was going to have to teach Toshiro.

Her eyes scanned the room. Most of the extended family was vehemently opposed to her decision, but a few of the more ambitious ones were probably already scheming of ways to curry favor with the newest member of the clan.

She spotted a familiar face.

"Excuse me," she said to Ginrei, putting her drink down.

"So where'd you come from, Toshiro?" Urahara asked.

"Um, West Rukongai."

"Hmmm, I've gone there a few times myself. Never met anyone who looked like you, though."

A waiter passed by carrying a plate of hors d'oeuvres. Urahara greedily grabbed a handful and stuffed them in his mouth.

The waiter gave Urahara a look of disgust and wandered off. Urahara quickly swallowed his food and leaned close to Toshiro's face, holding his hand as if to block others from hearing what he was about to say.

"Between you and me," he whispered, "we're probably the two most hated people here."

"I hope you're not whispering anything inappropriate, Kisuke," Yoruichi said.

"Ah, Yoruichi!" Urahara said happily. He patted Toshiro on the back hard enough to make the boy stumble forward. "I was just saying hello to this young man! I think you know him?"

"Very funny, Kisuke."

"Thank you for inviting me. I don't think I've been back here since you recommended me for the captaincy."

"All captains were invited." She held out her hand. "Come along, Toshiro."

Toshiro walked next to Yoruichi as they moved away from Urahara.

"Kisuke's one of my oldest friends." Yoruichi explained. "I'd trust him with my life, but I'm not sure I'd trust him with children yet."

Toshiro looked back at the strange man, who was now attempting to flirt with another woman.

"Now we have to do something called mingling. It's expected of hosts."

They spent the next hour circling the banquet hall as Yoruichi introduced Toshiro to new people.

Mingling seemed to mean saying hello to as many people as possible. Yoruichi would say the name of the nearest person, who would respond in kind. She would then introduce Toshiro, whom the guest would then greet. Most of the time they'd discuss some boring matter such as the weather while Toshiro stood silently to the side.

He noticed that more people were paying attention to him now that he was standing with Yoruichi. He felt many eyes staring at him, some in curiosity, some in bemusement, and some in anger.

Yoruichi led him to an old man wearing a white haori almost identical to the one worn by Urahara.

The old man turned to them. His head was bald, but he had a long white beard. Leaning on his cane, he seemed older than anyone Toshiro had ever seen. And yet he had such a commanding presence the boy could not help but shiver in fear.

Yoruichi bowed. Seeing this, Toshiro realized he should do the same.

"Head Captain, you honor me by your presence."

"Congratulations, captain. This must be quite an exciting time for you."

"That, and other things."

Neither adult spoke for several seconds. Toshiro, still bowed, looked up to see that Yoruichi was standing upright and both captains were staring at him.

He quickly stood up and looked to the side nervously. The head captain's gaze was piercing and made him feel even more uncomfortable.

"Yes, you do possess great talent. I hope you don't waste it," the head captain said.

Yoruichi bowed again to take her leave, Toshiro quickly mimicking her.

She led Toshiro to another captain. This man was dressed extravagantly, with a pink flower robe draped over his white haori.

"Ah, Yoruichi," he said in a slightly slurred manner which made Toshiro suspect he was drunk. "Nice party."

"Shunsei," she responded, "do you know where Jushiro is?"

"I'm afraid Jushiro couldn't make it. He's not feeling well again."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Yoruichi said in disappointment. "I was hoping to introduce him to Toshiro."

He looked down and Toshiro and smiled. "I hope you'll keep Yoruichi here out of trouble."

"You're one to talk," Yoruichi scoffed. "Have you had anything to eat or have you just been downing sake this whole time?"

"Not just sake," Shunsei protested. "I also tried this thing called whiskey. Looks like you've got some supplies from the world of the living. I'd certainly like to know your sources."

"As the commander of the stealth force, that is privileged information," she said before motioning for Toshiro to come with her.

Toshiro's feet were sore from all the standing they had done by the time the guests started to disperse. He and Yoruichi had to wait for all of them to leave before they could go as well.

Yoruichi breathed a sigh of relief when they finally left the banquet room.

"Thank god that's over."

Toshiro looked up at her in surprise. Yoruichi had apparently disliked the whole affair as much as he had.

"If you didn't want to be there, why throw the banquet in the first place?"

Yoruichi chuckled. "If only things were that easy. Not having a big celebration would create all sorts of rumors about you and what I was hiding. The best way to get ahead of controversy is to face it head on and show that everything is normal."

"By the way, I had a new room prepared for you. You should sleep better there. The walls have been lined with sekkiseki stone. It will suppress your reiatsu so you won't have those dreams."

"I thought I was supposed to learn to control that."

"You are. But you will learn while you're awake, not when you're asleep."

They arrived at Toshiro's new room. "Here you are. Try to go to sleep early. You'll have to get up early to come with me to the Sereitei."

Yoruichi collapsed onto her cushion.

'"Show that everything is normal." What does that word even mean?' she wondered.

She sighed. 'What am I doing? I've more in common with Kisuke and Shunsui, people who shouldn't be allowed anywhere near children.

'I couldn't ask Jushiro given his condition. The last thing the Kuchikis need is another outsider, and the Shibas are the Shibas.

'Do I really know so few people who can be trusted to take care of children? I can ask Gunrei what it's like to raise powerful children, but there's no one else I can turn to.

'The old man wanted me to take responsibility,' she thought. 'Now I've got more than I know what to do with.'