“The Captain of the Fifth Division…
Aizen, huh…” Ichigo murmured, etching the name deep into his mind.
“So, what exactly do you want Rukia to do?”
“Nothing much,” Kisuke Urahara replied nonchalantly.
“To make someone expose themselves, you naturally need bait—bait that they find enticing.”
“…And that bait is Rukia?” Ichigo’s voice turned cold.
“Don’t you think this is going a bit too far, Urahara?”
“Too far?” Urahara’s face remained expressionless, his eyes appearing almost vacant.
“Ichigo, make no mistake.
What is coming is not some routine training exercise.”
“Once the incident truly erupts, it could very well evolve into a war that sweeps across the three worlds.
For the sake of victory, I am willing to put even my own life on the scales.”
“…” After a moment of silence, Ichigo asked again, “What will happen to Rukia?”
“Under normal circumstances, Kuchiki wouldn’t face particularly severe charges.” Urahara tugged the brim of his hat down.
“However, Aizen is not one to play by the rules…
it’s very likely she will be sentenced to death.”
“…Which means you want me to go, right?” Ichigo’s expression turned indifferent.
“From the first day, when Rukia asked for my help, you already saw this coming, didn’t you?”
“I have no desire to force you, Ichigo,” Urahara said truthfully.
“You are only human; you have no obligation to help us Shinigami…”
“You bastard!” Grabbing Urahara tightly by the collar, Ichigo spat out coldly, “Is that really how you see me?!”
“…”
“If you needed help, you could have just told me!
Why did you have to do it this way?!”
“…My apologies…”
“Tsk!” Letting go of the clothes, Ichigo walked away without looking back.
“If there’s a next time, I’m cutting you down.”
“…Why do I feel like he’s becoming more and more like those guys from the Eleventh Division?” Shrugging her shoulders, Yoruichi mocked her friend.
“You messed up, didn’t you?
You should have just been honest with him from the start, just like Kuchiki.”
“He is only a human, a fifteen-year-old high school student, Yoruichi-san,” Urahara murmured, his head lowered.
“His immense power is not an excuse for us to rely on him.”
“I am an adult, after all.
Asking Ichigo for help…
I simply couldn’t do it.”
“And you’re worried about your pride now?”
“It’s not pride; it’s the dignity of an adult.”
“And you’ve preserved that dignity by using a method that’s practically coercion?”
“At the very least, I didn’t lose too much of it.”
Whether human or Shinigami, everyone possesses complex emotions, and sometimes these complexities are merely personal stubbornness—whether for better or worse, it’s impossible to say.
…
Any plans for the break?”
It was now mid-July, and with the semester nearing its end, Keigo had already shifted into holiday mode.
His head was filled with thoughts of the break, already fantasizing about a joyful summer vacation.
“Nothing special,” Ichigo replied flatly, glancing out the window.
“Though I’ll probably have to take a trip to another world.”
“Huh?!
Are you finally dying?!”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
Ichigo rolled his eyes.
His mood, which had been slightly dampened by his conversation with Kisuke Urahara, improved a little.
“The Soul World, idiot.” Ichigo glanced at the empty seat behind him.
“Rukia hasn’t been coming to school, has she?
She was taken back to the Soul World.”
A sudden elbow from Ichigo forced Keigo to swallow his next words.
He swallowed so fast that he accidentally let out a bit of white drool.
“Keep talking nonsense, and I’ll actually kill you.”
“Yes, boss!”
“Down there—keep it down!”
…
After school, just as Ichigo stepped out of the school gates, he was blocked by Chad, Orihime, and Uryū.
“What’s up?” Ichigo looked at his friends, puzzled.
“Aren’t you going to explain?” Uryū pushed up his glasses.
“What you plan to do next.”
“What do you mean, ‘do next’?”
“Do you really intend to go alone?” Orihime clenched her fists.
“Rukia is our friend too!
We’re going to save her!”
“…Huh?”
“Stop hiding it, Ichigo,” Chad said in his deep, muffled voice.
“Mr.
Urahara already told us.
You’re preparing to go to the Soul Society to save Kuchiki, right?”
“Tsk!
That damn clog-wearing hat-man!” Now that the secret was out, Ichigo grit his teeth.
“I’m definitely cutting him tomorrow!
That bastard!”
“Do you really plan on going alone?” Uryū said calmly.
“Ryūken once mentioned that the Shinigami Captains are filled with experts.
No matter how strong you are, you can’t handle it by yourself.”
“I can handle it on my own…”
“What did you call me, you bastard!”
“Ichigo,” Chad said seriously.
“We want to help you, just as you helped us.”
“…Tsk.”
Over a year ago, during their second year of middle school, Chad had been in a fight with some delinquents.
The thugs had simply found him unpleasant to look at, and during the scuffle, they broke a pendant he cherished.
Chad fought back, and in the process, he suddenly awakened his power, severely injuring the delinquents.
One or two of them might have died, but Ichigo happened to be nearby.
Sensing a strange Reiatsu, he went to investigate and found Chad beating the hell out of some kids.
He stopped him just in time.
After that, Ichigo and Chad made a pact: they wouldn’t use this power recklessly, and they would ‘swing their fists for the sake of the other.’
As for Orihime, she had awakened her powers on her own just a few days after the school term began.
Ichigo noticed her anomaly and, acting as someone who had been through it, proactively approached her.
Although the ability, Shun Shun Rikka, felt very comforting to Orihime, it was still difficult for a high school girl living alone to suddenly see ghosts.
Without Ichigo’s timely guidance, even someone as airheaded as she was wouldn’t have known what to do.
“Uryū is right,” Ichigo scratched his head.
“The Soul Society isn’t a tourist destination.
Those Shinigami Captains are incredibly strong.”
“Don’t underestimate us, Ichigo,” Chad said confidently.
“For the past two months, Inoue and I have been receiving guidance from Yoruichi-san.
Our strength has improved by leaps and bounds!”
“Yeah, sure…
but still…”
“We…
want to help you.
We want to fight by your side.” Orihime’s expression turned sorrowful.
“Do we not even have the right to do that?”
“…Argh!
Fine!
I get it!” Ichigo walked forward in a gesture of defeat.
“Come on!
I’ll take you to see some people.
Their abilities are more diverse; maybe you can get better guidance…
we don’t have much time to prepare!”
“Okay!”
Behind him, Orihime flashed a mischievous smile at her two companions, looking exactly like someone whose plan had succeeded perfectly.
‘He’s such a pushover…
he’s definitely going to be wrapped around Inoue’s finger…’
The two boys looked at each other, the same thought appearing in their minds simultaneously.