Bleach: Stirring Up a Storm

Being carried off and forced to become a captain? And it absolutely has to be you? Ikkaku’s words made Kōe scream in his heart, *’Why does this kind of good thing never happen to me!’*

If everything was as Ikkaku said, wouldn’t that make him, Shihouin Kōe, look incredibly stupid and foolish for spending over two hundred years scheming and calculating, only to end up as the captain of Squad 5?

”If Head Captain Yamamoto were here, he would give you one phrase—’Ignorant child!’ As for me, I’d say give it a rest and go to sleep! You’re better off dreaming than being awake!”

Yumichika couldn’t help but pull his head in. Mr. Shihouin usually loved making snide remarks, but when he was angry, his scoldings were utterly merciless. The worst part was that when he scolded someone, the other party generally had no right to talk back.

However, Kōe didn’t seem satisfied with just talking this time. Killing intent flared up like a hurricane within the small room. Ikkaku subconsciously reached for his Zanpakutō, but the moment he raised his head, a pristine white blade was already pressed against his forehead.

”Besides, since you’re so terrified of being dragged off to become a captain, I might as well kill you right now. Because, honestly, I’m quite terrified of it too.”

After Kōe spoke, the killing intent radiating from his body seemed to intensify. Ignoring Ayasegawa Yumichika’s attempts to stop him from the side, his cold, stern eyes locked onto Ikkaku as if looking at a dead man.

”A captain is not just the strongest person in a squad; more importantly, they are the soul of that squad. The impact of their ideals, thoughts, and actions goes far beyond just one or two people. Therefore, they cannot hold only one or two people in their heart—let alone someone like you, who only has yourself in your heart.”

”When you were on the verge of defeat, did you ever consider how Yumichika, who is weaker than you, would face that Arrancar? Did you ever consider that the others might need your assistance? And when did you ever care about the people we are supposed to protect on this mission!”

”Because of your ridiculous, self-righteous mindset, you placed your comrades in danger and completely disregarded Ichigo, Inoue, and Chad—the benefactors of Seireitei. I couldn’t care less if you want to play your little dueling games alone, but I didn’t bring you to the World of the Living to play games! As a squad member, you are unqualified, and as a captain, you would deserve death!”

”Madarame Ikkaku, you simply aren’t captain material. You are nothing but a willful brat. A group of people got hurt because of your childishness, yet you don’t even know how to repay them. The only way you can atone is with your death.” Kōe twisted his wrist, pressing the long blade against Ikkaku’s throat. ”You should understand why you’re dying now. Any last words?”

*’He must be joking,’* Yumichika tried to comfort himself, but he found that he couldn’t move at all—or rather, he didn’t dare to move. He was terrified that if he so much as twitched, Kōe would suddenly bring the blade down and separate Ikkaku’s head from his body.

”C-Captain Shihouin, we know we were wrong.”

Kōe ignored Yumichika’s pleas. Staring at Ikkaku, who seemed to be in a daze, he pushed his Zanpakutō forward slightly. A thin line of blood slowly trickled down Ikkaku’s neck. ”Nothing left to say?”

After a long silence, Ikkaku suddenly moved. He grabbed the blade in front of him directly with his right hand, raised his head, and his eyes grew resolute once more. ”You’re right. I’m really not captain material. I’m just a willful brat. I ignored the people who care about me, and I truly deserve to die a thousand times over...”

*’He apologized. Hopefully, this turns things around.’* Just as Yumichika breathed a sigh of relief, Ikkaku suddenly changed his tune. ”But this is who I am! Madarame Ikkaku is supposed to be a willful brat! A brat who throws everything out the window the moment he finds an interesting duel!”

”Hmph, stubbornly unrepentant!”

”On the contrary, the old me was the one who was stubbornly unrepentant! I’m clearly a brat, yet I tried to act like an adult, worrying about this and that. I couldn’t even be a proper brat. I’m such an idiot!” Ikkaku said, straightening his posture as he continued, ”I finally understand, Mr. Shihouin. Aside from Squad 11 and Captain Zaraki, I’m afraid no one else would want an idiot like me. I will only stay here, and I can only stay here. And if the captain finds out I did something like this, then I truly will have nowhere to go.”

*’You finally get it, Ikkaku!’* Yumichika suddenly felt somewhat moved for some reason. This was the Madarame Ikkaku he knew—vulgar and unrefined, yet somehow reassuring.

Reassuring? Kōe didn’t think so at all. Looking at Ikkaku, it was clear the guy had realized something, but the direction of that realization was somewhat beyond his expectations. It felt a bit like expecting him to say, *’I didn’t have a choice before, but now I want to be a good person,’* only for him to conclude, *’I was a piece of trash before, and my only mistake was not being trashy enough’*?

Still, getting Ikkaku to snap out of that ridiculous dead-end mindset could barely be considered a success. He could just slowly discipline him on the remaining issues later.

Just as Kōe reined in his killing intent, preparing to scold him a couple more times before letting him off, Ayasegawa Yumichika’s voice suddenly rang out. ”Ikkaku has already repented, so please let him go, Mr. Shihouin!”

*’Are you telling me what to do?’* Kōe turned to look at Yumichika with an unfriendly expression. Surprisingly, the other party showed no signs of fear, clenching his fists and stating firmly, ”Besides, he belongs to Squad 11! Whether he lives or dies should be decided by Captain Zaraki!”

”You’re talking rules with me? Fine, then I’ll go ask Zaraki if this man deserves to die.” Kōe hadn’t planned on killing Ikkaku in the first place, so he simply used Yumichika’s words as an excuse to step down. Ask Zaraki whether or not to kill Madarame Ikkaku? Even an idiot knew the answer to that!

However, he had no intention of letting Yumichika off the hook. ”While I’m at it, I’ll also talk to him about other things. For example...” Kōe said, his eyes darting straight toward the Zanpakutō in Yumichika’s hand.

Yumichika’s heart skipped a beat. How could he not know what that meant?

If Kōe could see through a secret as deeply hidden as Ikkaku’s Bankai, he could certainly see through Yumichika’s little secret. After all, Yoruichi had seen it with her own eyes, and whatever Yoruichi knew was practically equivalent to Kōe knowing.

Yumichika didn’t choose to be stubborn. His legs gave out, and he knelt on the ground. ”I know I was wrong, Mr. Shihouin. I won’t be stubborn. I’ll tell you whatever you want to know.” Looking completely resigned to his fate, Yumichika glanced in Ikkaku’s direction and said emphatically, ”Only to you.”

He believed Kōe would understand the hidden meaning behind his words, and Kōe didn’t disappoint him. The implication of ’only to you’ was that he didn’t want Ikkaku to find out.

Ikkaku, however, was a bit dumbfounded. Yumichika’s resentful gaze seemed to contain countless hidden messages, but unfortunately, he couldn’t read a single one of them.

”Get lost.”

”Huh?” Ikkaku didn’t react in time, subconsciously replying to Kōe, ”You’re not going to kill me?”

Kōe swore that this time, he truly felt the urge to kill. Was this damn bald head playing dumb just to piss him off on purpose?

”Do you really want to die? Do I absolutely have to kill you today?”

Ikkaku immediately shook his head vigorously. He had just rediscovered himself; how could he possibly be willing to die now?

Seeing this made Kōe even angrier. Pointing toward the door, he snapped, ”Get lost, right now!” He was afraid that if he delayed any longer, he really wouldn’t be able to stop himself from killing the damn baldy.

”Thank you for your guidance, Mr. Shihouin!” Ikkaku finally stopped acting foolish. He bowed to Kōe and headed for the door, casting a sympathetic glance at Yumichika before leaving.

”Make sure you apologize properly too, Yumichika!”