Bleach: Stirring Up a Storm

Karakura Town reduced to ruins. Chad and Inoue lying in pools of blood, their terrified eyes nearly obscured by crimson as they cried out a single name in unison...

”Ichigo! Run... away...”

Rukia jolted upright, gasping for air. Light pierced the darkness, instantly washing away the horrifying ruins and blood. *’It was just a dream.’*

”You’re finally awake.”

”M-Matsumoto-san.” Rukia stared at Matsumoto’s face, feeling a sense of unreality. After a brief daze, she hurriedly asked, ”Do you know how Ichigo is doing right now? And what about those Arrancars?!”

”Don’t panic.” Matsumoto pressed a hand to Rukia’s shoulder, comforting her gently. ”We’re currently underground at the Urahara Shop. Captain Chōzuka and the others drove off those Arrancars in time last night, so Ichigo is perfectly safe. Renji already went to check on them after he woke up. You can rest easy.”

Speak of the devil—Renji leaped down from above. Seeing that Rukia was awake, the grim look on his face instantly vanished.

”How are you feeling, Rukia? Why do you look so out of it? Does it still hurt anywhere? Say something.”

”I-I’m fine now.” Rukia was a bit bewildered by Renji’s barrage of questions. ”You look pretty energetic yourself, Renji.”

”Me? Of course I’m energetic. I gotta say, Mr. Urahara’s hot springs are seriously top-notch.” Renji rolled up his sleeve and flexed his bicep to prove he was completely back to normal.

”Oh, right. I already went to check on that idiot Ichigo. He was nowhere to be seen first thing this morning, but according to Yuzu, she heard him come home last night, so he should be fine.”

Hearing this, Matsumoto breathed a sigh of relief. She patted Rukia’s shoulder. ”See? No problems at all. There’s no need to worry anymore.”

No need to worry? Rukia didn’t think so. Ichigo cared deeply about his two younger sisters; leaving early in the morning without a word was highly unusual in itself.

*’Did that idiot back himself into a corner again?’*

”Do you know where he went, Renji?”

Renji shook his head, indicating he had checked the school and Ichigo wasn’t there.

Rukia was almost certain that Ichigo’s mindset had taken a hit again. ”I should go out and look for him. That guy just can’t be left alone.”

”I’ll go with you,” Renji immediately chimed in. Rukia didn’t refuse. After bidding Matsumoto farewell, the two departed.

Just as they reached the entrance of the Urahara Shop, they ran head-on into Urahara and Chad, who was walking behind him.

”In such a hurry. Where might you two be off to?”

”Good morning, Urahara-san,” Rukia greeted first, then continued, ”I heard Ichigo didn’t go to school this morning. I’m a bit worried, so Renji and I wanted to go check on him.”

”So Ichigo didn’t go to school either!” Urahara feigned surprise. ”Could it be that he’s in a bad mood and went out for a walk to clear his head? It’s probably best not to bother him at a time like this, don’t you think?”

Met with silence, Urahara proactively turned around and asked, ”What do you think, Chad-san?”

”Me?” Chad was slightly caught off guard by the question. Much like how he hated his own lack of strength to help Ichigo, if Ichigo was feeling the same way, he probably wouldn’t want his friends to see him until he got stronger.

”Y-Yeah, probably.”

”I think so too.” Urahara snapped his folding fan shut with a sharp clack, turning back to advise Rukia and Renji. ”Therefore, it’s best to leave him alone to cool off for now.”

”But...”

”Some hardships can only be overcome by the person themselves. You have to believe that Ichigo-san has the courage to overcome them, right, Rukia-san?”

”...”

Rukia was deeply conflicted. Urahara was right—some hardships had to be conquered alone. She had tried to help Ichigo before, and looking at it now, it had ended in failure.

But precisely because of that, she couldn’t bear to leave Ichigo by himself. Having struggled agonizingly in the Senzaikyū, she understood this feeling all too well. It was like a tragic fate—just thinking about it was heavy enough to suffocate a person.

”I believe Ichigo won’t back down. He’s not that kind of person.” Chad’s sudden voice startled everyone, especially Rukia. The burly, stoic man seemed to have seen right through her inner turmoil.

”Besides, if anyone is at fault, it should be us, right?” Chad lowered his head, his clenched fists trembling slightly as if in repentance. ”If he’s in pain because he couldn’t protect his friends, then we, who couldn’t protect him, should feel even more pain. Rather than forcing him to be strong, right now I want to become his shield!”

After pouring out his thoughts, Chad suddenly realized the people in front of him weren’t Ishida or Inoue. He hurriedly explained, ”No, I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant, that’s just what I think...”

”Chad...”

”You bastard, we’re not looking for Ichigo to—!” Renji yelled aggressively, but the rest of his words were choked back by a sharp, warning glare from Urahara.

”Chad-san makes an excellent point. Rather than trying your hardest to cheer Ichigo up, wouldn’t being prepared to protect him in a crisis be a much better safeguard?”

”There are more hardships ahead. They aren’t just standing in front of Ichigo or any one person—they are hardships we must face together. When the time comes, you wouldn’t want Ichigo to face them alone either, would you?”

Urahara’s gaze swept from Rukia to Renji. Though their eyes were filled with conflict, there wasn’t a hint of evasion.

”I imagine neither of you harbors the thought of relying solely on Ichigo, and you’re well aware of just how outmatched you were against the Arrancars last night. And those were merely Hueco Mundo’s vanguard. Our future enemies might all be just as strong as this batch, if not stronger.”

Unpleasant memories resurfaced. Neither Rukia nor Renji could deny the enemy’s strength. They felt a heavy weight in their hearts—something they didn’t want to recall, yet had to face.

”I understand, Urahara-san!” Rukia seemed to have figured something out. She wasn’t going to look for Ichigo anymore. Whether she believed in him or not, even if Ichigo truly couldn’t recover from this setback, she would protect him—just as he had protected her when she was at her most cowardly.

”And thank you too, Chad.”

Chad quickly waved his hands, then turned to Urahara. ”Please arrange my training as soon as possible, Urahara-san.”

”We’re counting on you too, Urahara-san.”

”Please.”

Rukia and Renji bowed one after the other. They both knew exactly what they needed to do next: train. Seize every second to train and get stronger!

Urahara shook his head, smiling as he slightly dampened their enthusiasm. ”Don’t be in such a hurry. Kōe has already arranged everything.”

”Big Brother Chōzuka?” Rukia hadn’t expected Kōe to have planned for this in advance. ”Where is he now?”

”Him? He has some matters to attend to right now. He should be finishing up soon.”

Urahara glanced toward a certain direction inside the shop. ”You’d better be prepared. Once he comes out, your days probably won’t be so easy anymore.”