After taking a bath and having breakfast, everyone left for school. Hina drove Yuzu and Karin to their school before heading to Karakura High School with Rui.
Unfortunately, her car wasn't big enough to fit more people, so Ren and Ichigo went to school on foot—which they both preferred anyway, since the school wasn't far, and it wouldn't have been appropriate to suddenly show up with one of the teachers.
"How's your training going lately?" Ren asked, staring at his older twin brother with the orange hair. "Were you able to learn your Zanpakuto's name?"
"Yeah. I did what you told me—meditated and tried to communicate with my Zanpakuto—and I found out its name two days ago." Ichigo nodded. Ren had told him that a Zanpakuto had a name, and that knowing it would make one stronger—a fact Ichigo didn't reject. "By the way, Zangetsu has been warning me about you. He says you're insanely strong. Is that true?"
Ichigo's curiosity was obvious as he stared at his younger twin, ignoring Zangetsu's protests as the spirit started calling him a foolish king.
"Sort of." Ren didn't deny it, but his eyes narrowed dangerously under the blindfold as he recalled that, in his past life, Ichigo used to call Zangetsu "the old man Zangetsu" rather than just Zangetsu.
Unfortunately, in his past life, Ren had only watched the first part of Bleach and didn't know anything about Yhwach's will inside Ichigo. He found it strange but couldn't figure out more about it.
"How did you get so strong? Didn't we get our powers at about the same time?" Ichigo asked, confused. When he attained Shikai, he felt nearly invincible—but according to Zangetsu, he didn't stand a chance against Ren, even if he let Zangetsu take over in battle.
"I told you before—there's another stage above Shikai, called Bankai, right?" Ren looked at Ichigo, who obediently nodded. Ren had always explained various things about their new powers, knowledge he said he got from that suspicious shop owner. "Well, I've attained Bankai. That's why I'm stronger than you."
"Bankai?!" Ichigo froze mid-step, staring at Ren in open shock. "Didn't you say it takes years of training to reach it? How did you do it so fast?!"
"Yeah, it usually takes years," Ren replied, continuing to walk calmly with his hands in his pockets, his voice as quiet as ever. "But… Urahara has a special method that lets you try to master Bankai in just three days."
"I used that method to get my Bankai," Ren added when he saw the spark of interest in Ichigo's eyes. "But remember—if you can't achieve Bankai in three days, you'll lose your life."
"Lose your life?!" Ichigo was stunned. He quickly started checking Ren for any injuries, sighing in relief when he found none. "You idiot! Are you out of your mind, risking your life just to get more power?"
Ichigo was angry and upset that his younger brother had risked his life so carelessly, without even telling him, just to gain more strength.
"I didn't do it just for power," Ren said in a calm but sharp tone. He looked directly at Ichigo, eyes behind the blindfold holding something much deeper than simple ambition. "I needed it… to protect those around me."
"So I'm that useless? You can't even rely on me?" After the initial shock and anger, Ichigo's mood shifted into self-blame. As the older brother, it was his job to protect his younger siblings, but now his younger twin was risking his life to gain more power to protect the family. He couldn't help but feel worthless.
"You're not useless, Ichigo," Ren said quietly, but with firm conviction. "But you still… hesitate."
He paused, then turned his head slightly toward him, his voice softening but still cold.
"You have the power—more than you realize. But you always hesitate to use it fully. You question whether you deserve it, or whether you'll hurt those you care about… while the enemy will never give you that luxury."
"…"
Ichigo lowered his head slightly, his fist trembling. He couldn't deny it. Even Zangetsu remained silent within, as if agreeing with Ren's words.
"As for me…" Ren continued, putting his hand back in his pocket, "I don't have that hesitation. If it takes cutting my enemy to pieces to protect those I love… I'll do it without hesitation, even if they see me as a monster."
"…" Ichigo stared at the ground silently, then clenched his fist tightly and said with determination, "Fine. In that case, I'll train with Urahara-san and get Bankai too."
"That's what I expected from you," Ren murmured with a faint smile barely visible at the corner of his mouth before continuing to walk without looking back.
Ichigo followed in silence, but inside, the storm still raged—not anger at Ren this time, but at himself… at his weakness… and at the fact that he still hesitated, while his younger brother ran toward danger for all their sakes.
"But to truly get Bankai, you need to return the borrowed power to its original owner and awaken your own strength," Ren said meaningfully. He knew Ichigo had been a big fool in the original story, never thinking about the fact that he had his own Shinigami powers, awakened when Byakuya forcibly took back Rukia's power.
"What do you mean?" Ichigo stopped again, frowning at Ren. "Zangetsu is my Zanpakuto, right? How could I be borrowing power?"
"I'm not talking about your Zanpakuto," Ren shook his head gently and pointed at Ichigo's heart. "I'm talking about your Shinigami power itself—it's just borrowed from Rukia. And with borrowed power, you'll never reach Bankai."
"But I've been fighting with it from the start…!" Ichigo said in confusion, looking at his hand as if trying to grasp the truth for the first time. "If my power's just borrowed, then what were all those battles? All those hits I took and gave?"
"They were real—but they weren't yours." Ren withdrew his hand from Ichigo's chest and continued walking calmly along the sidewalk. "The power you got from Rukia put a mask over your true strength. That's why, no matter what you try, you can't reach Bankai unless you break that mask first."
Though Ren wasn't telling the whole truth, it was better to return Rukia's power before Byakuya arrived—it could save them a lot of trouble and maybe even prevent Rukia's execution, which would stop Ichigo from going to the Soul Society.
Ren doubted it would actually happen, but it was worth a try. Ichigo would lose Rukia's power eventually, so better to return it and awaken his own earlier.
Ichigo stood still, breathing slowly, until Zangetsu finally spoke inside him:
{ "He's not entirely wrong… No matter how strong you become, it will still be borrowed power—not your own." }
"I see…" Ichigo muttered, still staring at his palm. "But if I give Rukia back her power… won't I go back to being just a human? How will I fight? How will I protect them?"
{ "If the power you got from someone else is all you have… then you're not worthy of wielding a Zanpakuto." } Zangetsu's voice was dry, but then it softened. { "But if you have real power deep within you… then losing the borrowed power will just be the start of your true path." }
"…"
"You should talk to Urahara soon," Ren said without turning back, his voice strict but carrying a note of guidance. "If you want to get stronger… if you really want to rely on yourself… you have to start from zero."
Ren didn't fully trust Urahara—there was always a sense the man was plotting something—but he was the best choice for training. Just ten days of Urahara's teaching had made Ichigo incomparably stronger than before—strong enough to defeat a lieutenant. While much of that was due to Ichigo's talent, Urahara's role couldn't be denied.
Ichigo bit his lip, his fist still clenched, but said nothing. He simply followed his brother in silence, his mind spinning like a hurricane, his heart torn between fear and hope.
...
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