Three Days Later, At the Kurosaki House—
"Ichigo!"
Watching Kurosaki Ichigo walk upstairs without saying a word, Kurosaki Isshin opened his mouth, but before he could say anything else, there was a bang as the bedroom door upstairs slammed shut.
Ever since three days ago, when Kurosaki Ichigo had been effortlessly defeated by Rosse, he seemed to have completely changed as a person.
Kurosaki Isshin knew what had happened in that fight, but he did not know why Kurosaki Ichigo had changed like this.
'The injuries are not even serious. So why is he unable to get past it?'
With Rosse's strength, he had definitely held back against Kurosaki Ichigo. Otherwise, there was no way Ichigo could have been jumping around full of energy the very next day.
Moreover, Kurosaki Isshin could clearly feel that Kurosaki Ichigo seemed to be angry at him, not at anyone else.
'But why?'
'If Ichigo knows about my past, then how did he find out? Just because he met Rosse again, so he connected everything together?'
Kurosaki Isshin was completely baffled, yet had no idea how to resolve it.
With the spiritual pressure he had recovered so far, at best he was only barely at captain level. Even facing Kuchiki Byakuya would have been difficult. Yesterday, he had been completely unable to help at all.
———
At this moment, on the second floor—
Kurosaki Ichigo lay lifelessly on his bed, his mind endlessly replaying the final moments of that night, and the very last sentence Rosse had spoken before leaving.
("Masaki… really moist…")
"Damn it!"
Kurosaki Ichigo clenched his fists tightly, his eyes filled with towering hatred and rage.
At this moment, he hated so much that he wanted to destroy everything.
That Rosse was from Hueco Mundo was something he had already known.
But he had never imagined that when he met the other again, the man would not use blades to humiliate him. Just a single sentence was enough to completely break him.
No one could accept that kind of insult.
Especially when Kurosaki Masaki really had been abducted to Hueco Mundo, and not long ago, Kurosaki Ichigo had heard Aizen mention something about the captain of the Second Division, Sui Feng.
It had now been confirmed that Sui Feng was completely dead.
And the way she died was extremely tragic, the kind that would really broaden one's horizons.
When he heard that news, he had already started worrying about Kurosaki Masaki's situation.
But when Rosse laid it bare so bluntly, he still could not endure it.
He hated his own powerlessness. He hated his old man's powerlessness.
'Our family only wants to live in peace. Why do we have to be targeted like this?'
After stewing in chaotic, irritated thoughts for several hours, just when Kurosaki Ichigo could not take it anymore, the phone by his side suddenly rang.
Annoyed, Kurosaki Ichigo picked up the phone. When he saw the caller ID, he froze on the spot.
"Ishida-san?"
The caller was actually Ishida Ryuken.
After composing himself a little, Kurosaki Ichigo answered the call, forcing a faint smile onto his face.
"Ishida-san, why are you calling me?"
Ishida Ryuken had taught him quite a bit about Quincy knowledge. Although he could not teach him Quincy abilities due to them being hereditary, Ichigo had never felt any resentment about it.
In his heart, Ishida Ryuken was still a senior worthy of respect.
["I heard about what happened a few days ago. I'm sorry. Given my identity, it wouldn't have been appropriate for me to appear in front of Shinigami, so I couldn't help you."]
Ishida Ryuken's voice was extremely steady, sounding far more reliable than his frivolous father.
Sometimes Kurosaki Ichigo wondered whether his life would have been better if Ishida Ryuken were his dad.
But every time he thought of Ishida Uryu acting all girly, Kurosaki Ichigo would shudder and immediately abandon that thought.
"It's fine, Ishida-san. This matter had nothing to do with you in the first place. You didn't call me just to say this, did you?"
Kurosaki Ichigo knew those words were just courtesy. That was something Aizen had told him before.
Aizen had asked Ishida Ryuken to look out for him, but this man would not easily involve himself in Soul Society affairs. At most, he would provide some intelligence.
Having that kind of information was already enough for Kurosaki Ichigo.
["Ah! The main reason I called you is to repay a favor to that guy Aizen. Since he decided to use that favor on you, I'll pass the information to you as repayment,"] Ishida Ryuken said calmly.
"What information?"
Kurosaki Ichigo's heart tightened. He had a bad feeling that it would not be good news.
["Your classmate, Inoue Orihime. Does she possess Fullbring abilities?"]
"Yes!"
In Kurosaki Ichigo's mind appeared the image of a girl with long orange hair, smiling with an innocent, almost painfully sweet expression.
Ever since Rukia had appeared, strange things had begun happening around him.
First, his friend Chad had awakened abilities and gained the power to see Hollows. After that, not only did Hollows appear in Inoue Orihime's home, she herself awakened abilities as well.
And unlike Chad's relatively ordinary powers, Inoue Orihime's awakened ability had even made Aizen express surprise, calling it the strongest healing ability he had ever seen.
Inoue Orihime's power was no longer simple healing, but a rule-based rejection ability.
Put simply, as long as Inoue Orihime rejected someone being injured, then no matter what injuries the target had suffered, whether severed limbs or even a missing heart, as long as there was still a single breath left, they would be healed under her power.
This ability was practically invincible.
["She's in trouble. She's already gone missing. And if nothing unexpected happened, she was taken away by Urahara Kisuke,"] Ishida Ryuken continued bluntly.
Those words made Kurosaki Ichigo jump up from his bed instantly, anger flaring across his face.
"Again with Hueco Mundo? What exactly are they trying to do?"
["Not necessarily Hueco Mundo. Whose side Urahara Kisuke is on can't be determined for now. But this time, it's definitely a scheme by Hueco Mundo,"] Ishida Ryuken said calmly.
He did not like deceiving children, but unfortunately this was part of the plan, and he had no choice.
No matter which side it was, everyone in this setup had their own demands.
Ishida Ryuken's demand had nothing to do with Hueco Mundo or Rosse. What he wanted was simply to borrow the power of the Hogyoku once. That was his private deal with Aizen.
For that reason, he was quite willing to enter this setup, letting both Rosse and Aizen achieve their goals.
"Why do you say that?"
Kurosaki Ichigo's heart tightened. He knew Ishida Ryuken must know something.
["Because Head Captain Yamamoto of Soul Society has awakened, but his spiritual pressure has not recovered. He is currently the only person in Soul Society who needs to be healed,"] Ishida Ryuken replied evenly.
Hearing this, Kurosaki Ichigo's mind raced, and he blurted out, "Ishida-san, how does Head Captain Yamamoto compare to Aizen-sensei in strength?"
["He is the only one in Soul Society besides Rosse who can reliably defeat Aizen. Of course, your Aizen-sensei hides his strength quite deeply and rarely shows it. I only know this because of a coincidence,"] Ishida Ryuken said calmly.
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