Chapter 101: What Are You Practicing, Zanjutsu, Hōhō, Kidō, Hakuda? Is That What You Should Be Practicing?
In the vivid orange glow of sunset, thin cirrus clouds drifted across the sky.
Dong, dong, dong.
The bell that marked the end of the workday echoed through the Seireitei.
Takeru and Rando remained calm in the Ninth Division office, still discussing experiment related matters as if the bell had nothing to do with them. Not long after it rang, Ichigo walked in, carrying a bound Mebari.
"That was fast," Takeru said, already having received the report. He did not hesitate to praise him. "I knew giving you this kind of mission would be no problem."
Ichigo rolled his eyes. "It sounds like you're saying I'm only good for grunt work."
"If this were a game," Takeru replied smoothly, "I don't think anyone would be better at boss battles than you."
"That sounds a bit better," Ichigo muttered, then glanced at the woman on the sofa opposite Takeru. "By the way, who's she?"
"Oh, this is Third Seat Rando, the one I mentioned earlier."
Takeru nodded toward her.
"Hello, Ms. Rando."
Thinking about her thousand year age, her brilliance as a scientist, and the quiet nobility in her demeanor, Ichigo could not help feeling a faint reverence.
"Vice Captain Kurosaki, you've worked hard," Rando said. Her tone was formal, composed. "Thank you for supporting the Ninth Division's research."
She then turned slightly toward Takeru.
"Captain, since the person has been brought in, I'll return to the lab first."
Takeru gave a small nod. "Go ahead."
Rando rose, bowed lightly to Ichigo again, then called in two squad members and had Mebari taken away.
Once they were gone, Ichigo dropped into a seat without ceremony. He looked at Takeru's calm expression, then thought of Rando's crisp decisiveness. He scratched his head.
"How come you act like a Human World CEO? You even have a secretary."
"If you insist," Takeru said, unfazed, "don't you have a secretary too?"
He lifted his teacup slightly, as if remembering something.
"Oh, by the way. The hazard pay for this mission has already been transferred. Check your account."
The instant he finished speaking, a cute and extremely strange ringtone chirped out.
Chappy, Chappy☆
"…"
"…"
Takeru's expression turned subtle.
Ichigo's face went red, then pale.
The air froze so hard it could have cracked.
A moment later, Ichigo silently pulled out his denreishinki and opened it. Sure enough, it was a payment notification.
Even though the money was real and Takeru was generous, Ichigo could not feel happy at all.
"What kind of secretary is that!" he hissed. "Damn it, Rukia. I ran into her in the Human World and still forgot to settle the score."
Seeing Ichigo's exasperation, Takeru poured him a cup of tea, the calm of a man watching a small fire he did not start.
"You can absolutely get revenge in a similar way," Takeru said. "Isn't that more satisfying than just yelling at her?"
"Good point." Ichigo's eyes lit up. "Takeru, help me think of something. This kind of task is definitely easy for you."
"Even if you copy my lines, I can't stop you," Takeru replied. "But think about it. That would make it two against one."
He took a sip, tone measured.
"After you get revenge, she'll be at too much of a disadvantage, and then more people will get dragged in. You don't want that, do you?"
"…I know you're playing it safe," Ichigo said, "but that reason really makes me speechless."
"Then let's talk about something else." Takeru smoothly changed the subject. "This mission went very cleanly. I thought you wouldn't be back until tomorrow."
Ichigo pouted, then finally admitted the truth.
"I ran into a Quincy."
He leaned forward, voice more serious.
"If he hadn't restrained Mebari and given me an opening, I wouldn't have dared touch her so casually."
"If I accidentally let my spiritual power get absorbed and collapsed like that Quincy almost did, that would be a problem."
"A Quincy…" Takeru's gaze sharpened. "Speaking of which, during the last Soul Burial, I also met a Quincy around our age. Glasses. Was it him?"
"Probably," Ichigo said. "He jumped into the fight while I was chasing Mebari."
"At first I thought he was trying to cause trouble. I didn't expect him to use himself as bait, risking injury to activate a trap."
His expression tightened.
"It almost made Mebari self destruct, but I can't blame him. The situation was special. If it were someone else, like a Hollow, he probably would've taken them out in one shot."
"…"
Takeru felt something strange stir in his chest.
Was this what people called fated rivalry?
"By the way, Takeru," Ichigo said, looking at him directly.
"What is it?"
"You said you wanted research, so you sent me after Mebari…" Ichigo hesitated, brows furrowing. "You're not planning to fuse with a Zanpakuto too, are you?"
Worry hid behind his eyes.
"That guy looked like he was suffering. After absorbing spiritual power, he didn't care if he died. He tried to peel his Zanpakuto off without hesitation."
Ichigo's voice hardened.
"I know your goal is to become the strongest. But I don't want you doing reckless things."
"…"
Takeru was quiet for a moment. He did not give a direct answer. Instead, he asked calmly.
"Brother Kurosaki, we've both mastered Bankai now. How do you plan to get stronger next?"
"…Naturally, I'll keep training Zankensoki," Ichigo said, sounding slightly uncertain. "I can tell I still have a lot of room to improve."
"Exactly." Takeru's expression turned exceptionally serious. "No matter how high our latent spiritual power is, or how quickly we reached Bankai, it doesn't change the fact that our foundations are weak."
"That's why I built the spirit time house. But time alone isn't enough."
Ichigo frowned deeper. "What are you talking about? A more… breakthrough power? Is there something stronger than Bankai?"
"I'm talking about Bankai," Takeru replied, "or rather, Zanpakuto."
He held Ichigo's gaze.
"Of course I don't mean fusing with a Zanpakuto. I mean further releasing your potential on the foundation you already have."
His voice softened, almost gentle.
"Brother Kurosaki… the Hollow inside you is the best example, isn't it? It hasn't submitted yet, has it?"
"…."
"I can tell by your face," Takeru continued. "See? The breakthrough power is right in front of you."
"What you should be doing isn't training Zankensoki."
"It's finding a way to integrate every power inside you that you still can't control. Once you do that, your Zanpakuto, your Bankai, will definitely become stronger."
"I know what to do," Ichigo said, nodding seriously.
Then he blinked, finally catching up.
"Wait. How did this conversation turn into being about me? What about you?"
"Me?" Takeru said, tone righteous. "Of course I'll learn from my teacher and grow through my own abilities."
Ichigo's mouth twitched with dissatisfaction.
"You say it like I'm not relying on my own abilities!"
"…"
"Why that look?"
"Never mind," Takeru said blandly.
Then he tilted his head slightly.
"You moved fast this time. Didn't you go home to see them?"
"Uh," Ichigo froze, then slapped his palm into his fist like he had just been punched by memory. "I almost forgot!"
He sprang up, suddenly irritated at himself.
"I was going to hand Mebari over, then switch into a gigai and go home."
He turned toward the door, already halfway gone.
"Never mind. I'm leaving now. Dinner probably isn't ready yet. I'm taking Yuzu and Karin out for a big meal as an apology for disappearing without a word last time!"
"…"
Takeru watched him vanish without a trace, a faint confusion surfacing.
Was it just his imagination?
Ichigo did not mention his old man at all.
The next day.
Because it was tradition for the Ninth Division captain to serve as editor in chief of the Seireitei Bulletin, Takeru's intelligence channels were broader than most.
As a result, he had developed the habit of visiting the editorial office every morning to see what interesting material had come in.
That morning, he found a submission from the Thirteenth Division.
It claimed Vice Captain Kurosaki had accidentally caused a disturbance in the Human World.
At first, Takeru assumed it was fallout from the Mebari incident. He even felt responsible and thought he might need to help clean up the aftermath.
But when he read the details, he realized the truth.
Ichigo, while wearing a gigai, had been strutting around Karakura Town and got recognized as the protagonist of a car accident incident. Someone reported it as a supernatural event.
Takeru's interest was immediately piqued.
He requested intelligence from the Onmitsukido.
After confirmation, he obtained even more detailed internal information.
It included a chain of ridiculous interactions with the famous exorcist Don Kanonji, who had rushed to the scene, and how the two of them ended up working together to eliminate Hollows hiding in the crowd and stirring chaos, among other things.
No major disaster occurred.
But a lot of people still had to be dispatched to modify memories, and the Thirteenth Division had to cover that portion of the cost.
The submitter even added that Kuchiki Third Seat, who had just returned from the Human World, looked like he had frozen solid when she heard about it.
"In a sense," Takeru thought, "that really was revenge for changing the ringtone."
"As expected of Brother Kurosaki."
.....
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