After dropping a bomb of news, Ninny and Noel excused themselves but not before the latter gave Masaki a sweet box to apologize for barging so early in the morning.
Being a mother whose son was being visited by beautiful foreigners in their own home, Masaki couldn't hide her excitement. Especially since Shirou had a good reputation among girls, which meant that her future grandkids were secured.
She was excited and couldn't help giggling in anticipation, making Isshin sigh and pat her shoulder.
On the other side of the table, Karin and Ichigo stared at the sweet box in shock.
"They even bring presents. Who are they?" Ichigo mumbled, looking down at the table. "Don't you have Tatsuki as your girlfriend, Shirou?"
"You're still on that?" Shirou sighed tiredly as he washed the plates. He put the dry dishes back on the shelf before wiping his hands dry and turning around. "I don't have a girlfriend, okay?"
"Hmph! That's not what dad said yesterday." Ichigo muttered in response, remembering his conversation with their father, "He told me that he brought home a beautiful girl yesterday. She's blond and busty, I think."
Shirou looked at Ichigo as if he had gone crazy.
Who would trust Isshin with his word anyway? The man had lied and pranked them countless times before, even going so far as to put on a disguise and pretended to be a woman.
"She is a friend, nothing more."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes." He nodded in confirmation, "Enough of that, let's get going. We can't be late to school or else our homeroom teacher would be pissed. You don't want that, do you?"
Ichigo sighed, knowing that his twin was right. The teacher wouldn't let them off easily if they came late.
Both brothers walked up to their room to take their bag, preparing themselves to leave.
School was as rowdy as usual. Tatsuki, Orihime, Chad, and the others grabbed Ichigo and questioned him relentlessly. Keigo wailed like an abandoned dog while Mizuiro tried to calm him down. Meanwhile, the twins were bombarded by their classmates and friends, asking questions that they didn't have an answer to.
And in the corner of the room, there was Ishida who looked as composed as usual.
The end came faster than usual when their teacher came in and yelled at them. And then school went on normally. Safe for the missing Shinji that was forgotten by all already.
Ding dong!
The bell that signed the end of the school rang. Shirou immediately stood up from his seat and approached Ichigo.
"Are you going to train again today?" He asked curiously.
"I don't know." Ichigo shrugged, "But I might go meet them."
"Hmm." Shirou hummed thoughtfully. He didn't want to interfere in his brother's business and he wasn't sure if he should follow him or not.
However, something pressing was going to happen soon. He couldn't help but worry and curious about his current progress so...
"I will tag along."
...He chose to follow.
Ichigo looked at his brother with wide eyes. He looked around to make sure nobody was watching, then turned back to his twin.
"You're going too?" Ichigo whispered. His tone made it clear that he wasn't comfortable with this idea. After all, he was going to see Hiyori again. "I mean, you can. But..."
"It will be boring to be alone at home." Shirou shrugged, "Besides, I can't go to Urahara Shop anymore because Rukia and the others are there. It must be busy right now. They probably don't have any time for me."
"Hmm." Ichigo hummed and snapped at him, "Wait, Rukia and the others?! What actually happened when I was away?"
"They arrived yesterday, the reinforcements from Soul Society."
Ichigo looked at him in disbelief and then he sighed deeply.
"Why are they here? Did something happen?"
"It's about Aizen."
There was no need to talk more about it. Just that sentence was enough to make Ichigo realize everything.
"Let's get going." Shirou urged his twin, "The sooner, the better. I have a feeling that they're already waiting for you to come back."
Ichigo nodded and they walked out of their school, ignoring everyone else around them. They were going somewhere private so nobody could see them disappear into thin air when Ichigo used the soul reaper badge to get to his spiritual body.
Both of them stepped onto the air and disappeared into thin air, vanishing without a trace. They were gone, leaving only a small ripple behind where they had stood before. It took just a moment, but it seemed like an eternity to them.
And they didn't know that someone was watching from afar, hiding in the shadow of the building. He pushed his glasses up before walking away, a smirk on his face.
Shirou was surprised to see the abandoned factory when they arrived. It had been a few days since he came here, but something seemed to be different. Something about the atmosphere was off.
As soon as he entered the gate of the old factory, he knew something wasn't quite right. Everything seemed normal on the outside. The building was still there. The lights were still on. There were people working inside, but something felt strange to him.
"Yo! Ichi!"
"Hey."
"Welcome back!"
"Hey!"
The atmosphere seemed to be different from the first time he was here. Shirou stood at the entrance, watching his twin and Hiyori interact with a forced smile on his face.
He was glad that she hadn't thrown a kick or hit Ichigo, so that's an improvement.
But that's not what bothered him.
It was the other occupants. They seemed to be friendly enough and greeted him politely, though they were still wary of him.
"Oh, look at what we have here? Are you coming to visit, Shirou?" Shinji noticed his arrival, and greeted him with a smile. "What's up?"
"I want to check on Ichigo's progress. Can I intrude on your space for a moment?" Shirou asked. He had no problem being here if they didn't mind him staying.
Shinji didn't seem to have a problem with this and nodded. The rest of the group also agreed.
"What?" Hiyori scowled, "Are ya saying ya don't trust us about your brother's well being?!"
Shinji and Love grabbed Hiyori's shoulder from behind. Love was trying his best to calm her down while Shinji looked apologetic. The rest of Visored also didn't say anything and looked at her with pity.
Kensei crossed his arms and looked at Shirou.
"Are you saying you wanted to test your brother's strength?" He asked.
"I just want to check his progress, that's all." Shirou shrugged, not wanting to get into a debate, "I won't be long, just a quick spar."
"Hah! He'll beat you up in no time! He's strong now! Super strong!"
"Hiyori, calm down!" Love said.
"No! I'm gonna kick your ass if ya keep saying bullshit like that, ya idiot!"
"Calm down!"
Shinji, who was standing behind Hiyori, quickly grabbed her shoulders and pulled her back, "Stop it."
Everyone else in the room turned their attention towards the two. Ichigo looked at Shirou and smiled.
"I will tell you something, Shirou. I am pretty strong right now."
"Then show me."
Shirou didn't say much.
"I guess I have to create a barrier."
Hachi clapped his hand and created an invisible dome barrier. The sound of wind and other sounds outside became muted by the magic and everyone inside was isolated from the rest of the world.
Ichigo stepped to the middle of the room and pulled his sword, Zangetsu. Shirou followed his brother's move and created a twin sword, Kanshou and Bakuya. Everyone else moved to the second floor as if they knew what was going to happen and left both of the twins alone in the first floor.
The two boys stood opposite to each other. Ichigo gripped the handle tightly, staring intently at Shirou. His orange eyes glinted brightly in excitement, anticipation and joy.
Even when he said he was pretty strong now, Ichigo knew Shirou's strength pretty well. His brother was not one to be underestimated easily, and he could probably take down an Espada if he tried hard enough.