Bleach: Stirring Up a Storm

To pull or not to pull, that was the question. And when you faced a choice and didn’t know how to decide, the best option was simply to give up on making a choice.

”Mr. Shihouin, you’re here.”

”Yeah. Throw them in the hot springs to soak, Tessai.”

Tsukabishi Tessai took the two people from Kōe’s hands, nodded, and added, ”The manager and the others are waiting for you in the living room.”

”Oh,” Kōe replied casually, continuing to walk into the house while rubbing his temples. Even the most oblivious person could tell he was deep in thought.

Indeed, Kōe was pondering a problem, but it wasn’t the question of whether or not to pull Ichigo out of his slump. He had long since abandoned that choice, returning the right to decide back to the boy himself.

What he couldn’t stop thinking about was Ichigo’s final state and all the potential follow-up measures that might occur.

If Ichigo were truly going to ask him or Urahara for help, he would have come to the Urahara Shop by now. Therefore, that possibility was the first to be ruled out.

That left two possibilities. First: he would go find Hirako and the others to solve the problem of controlling his Hollowfication. This, naturally, would be a happy ending for everyone.

Second: he would slam his Substitute Shinigami Combat Pass onto the table and declare, ’I, Kurosaki Ichigo, quit!’

That scenario would be quite troublesome. His previous emotional response was just that—emotional. Calming down, he knew it was absolutely necessary for Ichigo to grow. If they waited until there was no room for failure before dragging Ichigo into boot camp, it would probably be too late.

If that really turned out to be the case, he would need Hirako and the others to cooperate a bit more. As Kōe thought this over, he slid open the door in front of him, only to be greeted by an angry voice. ”What the hell did you do, Shihouin!”

Looking up, the person glaring at him with that bright blonde bob cut was none other than the very man he had just been thinking about—Hirako Shinji.

”You guys already know?”

”No shit!”

”Alright!” Kōe didn’t bother hiding it. Since he might need their cooperation, this kind of thing definitely couldn’t be kept secret. ”I admit there was an element of gambling involved, but in that situation, a little harsh reality wasn’t a bad thing.”

”I still retained the possibility of winning. Since Ichigo asked, ’Can you teach me what to do?’, it proves that subconsciously, he wants to control his Hollowfication!”

Hirako tried to interrupt but found he couldn’t get a word in edgewise. He watched as Kōe grimaced with a conflicted expression, muttering to himself, ”But I couldn’t quite read his final state. It didn’t look like he was giving up, yet I couldn’t see a shred of resolve either.”

”It was like there were two little people in his head, clenching their fists and debating. They were clearly on the verge of a fistfight, but both sides were exercising extreme restraint, determined to defeat the other with pure logic!”

As Kōe spoke, he pressed his two fists together and ground them against each other before suddenly clapping his hands. ”But as for which side will ultimately win? I have no idea!”

”So we need to make at least two backup plans. If you understand, let’s get started...” Kōe looked up, seeing Urahara stifling a laugh and the surrounding faces staring at him in dumbfounded silence. Suddenly, he felt a bit uncertain. ”You didn’t understand?”

”Who the hell could understand that, you baldy!” The hot-tempered Sarugaki Hiyori slammed her hand on the table. She was just about to stand up and continue cursing when Hirako reached out and stopped her.

”The only thing I understand is that you probably did something to Ichigo that might make him not want to learn Hollowfication from us,” Hirako said, his expression unfriendly. ”Explain in detail.”

”Oh, so you guys didn’t know. Then what did you come here for?”

”For those nine massive Reiatsu signatures just now, obviously!” Apart from Hirako and Ushōda Hachigen, the rest of the Visoreds said in unison.

”I thought everything was over! I had just opened a bag of snacks, and they spilled all over the floor! It’s all your fault, Kocho-chan!”

Kuna Mashiro had barely finished her pouting complaint when Kensei, standing next to her, bluntly retorted, ”That’s just because you’re a glutton.”

”Hmph! I wonder who dropped their dumbbell on the floor and almost crushed their own foot!”

”Kuna, shut your mouth!”

Between their bickering and their accusations regarding Kōe’s unknown actions, the entire room instantly became a noisy mess. That was, until a rather strange complaint mixed into the fray. ”And my book. Because the situation took such a sudden turn, I accidentally tore a page. You need to go buy me a new one.”

Yadomaru Lisa’s single sentence instantly froze the atmosphere. Seeing everyone suddenly fall silent, she assumed they didn’t believe her and held up the book in her hand. ”Look, a page really is torn.”

”It’s not that we don’t believe you, it’s just...” Hiyori choked on her words for a second, then whispered in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, ”Just make him pay you back. Why are you asking him to buy it for you?”

”The ones he buys are better. They really suit my tastes.”

”Ooooh...” The crowd cast weird glances at Kōe, before their eyes collectively shifted to a certain someone whose smile was gradually freezing.

Shihōin Yoruichi acted as if she couldn’t see anyone else in the room. With her eyes fixed solely on Kōe, she beckoned to him. ”So you two have been exchanging that kind of stuff, huh? Come here. Tell me all about it. Let me see exactly what your ’tastes’ look like.”

Kōe shook his head. It was common knowledge that both the former and current Lieutenants of Squad 8 wore glasses, possessed a cold and aloof temperament, and looked quite similar. Moreover, not only did they resemble each other, but they also always carried a book in their hands, rarely ever parting with it.

A sophisticated black-haired woman, glasses, and a book—these three elements seemed to have become some sort of inherited tradition for the Lieutenant of Squad 8, and this tradition had a clear origin.

When Ise Nanao first joined the squad, Yadomaru Lisa was the Lieutenant of Squad 8 at the time, and she was the one who primarily took care of the young Nanao on a daily basis.

The strong and elegant Lisa was Nanao’s idol, inspiring her to constantly emulate the Lieutenant. That habit of carrying a book everywhere was likely picked up from Lisa as well.

However, Nanao was probably the only one who didn’t realize just how exaggerated her idealized image of Lisa truly was. Take the books, for example. The books Nanao read were likely incomprehensible to the average person, whereas the books Lisa read...

The average person probably couldn’t even speak of them out loud...

”Don’t you dare slander me, Yadomaru Lisa!” Kōe pointed at the calm-faced woman who was attempting to tarnish his innocence. ”Including today, this is only the second time I’ve seen you in the World of the Living! When would I have ever had the chance to exchange... that kind of stuff with you?”

”It wasn’t in the World of the Living.” Lisa shifted her eyes away from her book.

”Hahaha, you just exposed yourself!” Kōe laughed uproariously. ”Soul Society doesn’t even have that industry!”

”Then what was I reading back then? Just admit it. Learn from me—it’s nothing to be ashamed of, Kōe.”

Kōe froze. Right, Soul Society didn’t have that industry, so what exactly was Lisa reading back then? A new question had emerged.

Could it have been books that normal people couldn’t understand? No, that didn’t make sense. It wasn’t like she suddenly changed her entire personality upon coming to the World of the Living, right?

Kōe’s worldview was crumbling piece by piece, to the point where he didn’t even notice Yoruichi approaching him and quietly extending her demonic claws...

”You exposed yourself, Kōe Shihouin!”

”No, wait—ah!”

”You already have a prior record! It seems one slap isn’t enough; you need another!”

Smack!

”I can explain! I swear I can!”

”Still trying to make excuses? Now that I think about it carefully, when my father said you had a hard time over those hundred and fifty years and told me to take good care of you, his tone was rather meaningful. Speak! What exactly were you doing back then!”

”I was undercover! For the sake of the Seireitei’s... Ah!”

While Kōe was being beaten to a pulp, Hiyori and the others watched with absolute glee. There was no other reason than the fact that the spilled snacks and the dropped dumbbell were completely real—even Hiyori herself had snapped her slipper in half.

”The left side! Hit him on the left side again, otherwise it won’t be symmetrical!”

”The right side is obviously a bit paler.”

”Shut up, baldy! I’m talking about the handprint!”

Yadomaru Lisa finally finished the page in her book. She looked up at Kōe and softly revealed the answer to the question that had been baffling him. ”Novels, of course.”