Bleach: Stirring Up a Storm

Hiroe considered himself the absolute master of the house, but a ”trivial matter” like forbidding Roka from getting close to him was probably still within Yoruichi’s jurisdiction.

”Take back that order, I’m begging you...”

After this brief and friendly negotiation, Roka was finally able to walk by his side again. Even if it was—no, rather, even if it *could only be*—a physical proximity in the spatial sense, it still brought Hiroe a great deal of comfort.

”I’m sorry, I’ve caused trouble for you again, Lord Chōzuka.”

Hiroe looked at the pitiful Roka with mixed feelings. Strictly speaking, this really was Roka’s fault. The moment she saw Yoruichi, she had acted so aggressively that it was hard not to provoke the imagination of Yoruichi, who was also a woman.

The hot-tempered Yoruichi had nearly sent Roka to the afterlife right then and there, and even dragged him, an innocent bystander, into the mess. She had even dug up ancient history from centuries ago, like the time he gave roses to Unohana. If he had made even a single misstep during that interrogation, a severe beating would have been absolutely unavoidable.

”It’s all in the past.” Hiroe waved his hand to show he didn’t mind, then looked up at the dilapidated apartment building in the distance. ”Is this the place?”

Roka quickly nodded. ”According to your earlier instructions for me to secretly investigate Naruki City, there are a total of six special humans. Four of them gather here most of the time. One named Tsukishima usually lives in a villa on the other side of town, and there is another who seems to still be in an observation period and hasn’t been officially accepted into their group.”

Hiroe listened, matching the information with the figures in his mind. ”Is that all of them?”

”There should be one more, but I’ve never seen him. I only know his name is Ginjō Kūgo. He will return here tomorrow, and they will have a gathering at Tsukishima’s house.”

”What a coincidence. Let’s let them get a good night’s rest tonight, then.” Hiroe smiled. If Ginjō wasn’t around, dealing with this group of kids would be a bit of a hassle. There was no need to rush things right this second.

*Let’s save the pleasant meeting for tomorrow night...*

...

Inside the spacious study, soft white light spilled into every corner. The people inside were either looking down and fiddling with handheld game consoles or resting comfortably on the sofas with their eyes closed. No one seemed willing to break the tranquility of the room.

*Bang!* The tightly shut double wooden doors were suddenly kicked open. A girl wearing a black and white dress, her burgundy hair styled in twin tails, walked in. She looked every bit the uninvited guest, but judging by the reactions of the others, she was also on the guest list.

”You’re late this time... by half an hour. That’s a bit faster than I expected, Riruka.”

”A cute girl like me obviously needs to spend some time dressing up.” The girl named Riruka showed not a shred of guilt for her tardiness; on the contrary, she seemed rather proud of it.

”If you could spend a little less time dressing up for the sake of your boss, whom you haven’t seen in a long time, I’d find you even cuter,” the man grumbled, curling his lips.

Beside him, Riruka planted her hands on her hips and retorted with a displeased expression, ”Since when did you become our boss? And even if you were, what kind of idiot boss abandons everyone else to run all over the world?”

”I wasn’t...”

”Running all over the world looking for new companions,” Riruka finished for him, her voice dripping with disdain. Then, she changed the subject. ”So, after all this time, where are your results?”

”I...”

”Are the people behind those rumors just psychopaths or delusional maniacs?”

”Uh, that kind of thing happens a lot. It’s hard to avoid, haha.” The man let out a dry laugh, trying to cover up his embarrassment. But before Riruka could mock him, a blonde, blue-eyed boy in a black trench coat chimed in with a verbal jab. ”It doesn’t just happen a lot; it’s the case every single time, Ginjō.”

”Y-You guys...” Ginjō’s eye twitched. He hadn’t seen them for a while, so why were they giving him even less respect than before?

”Finding a needle in a haystack may seem like an endless task, but it is not destined to be in vain.” A cold, clear male voice chimed in at just the right moment, as if speaking Ginjō’s innermost thoughts. The speaker was a slender man with a somewhat pale complexion.

He brought his fingers together, gently closing the book in his hands. ”Effort is one thing, but sometimes success requires a little bit of luck. And right now might just be our opportunity.”

The man’s words acted like a switch. Everyone, including the newly arrived Riruka, turned serious, though their gazes unanimously focused on Ginjō.

”The possibility is very high, everyone.” The corners of Ginjō’s mouth curled up. He felt no discomfort at the sudden attention focused on him; as their leader, such gazes were only natural.

”Let’s end the pleasantries here. It’s time we get down to business.”

However, the Ginjō inside the villa likely had no idea that outside, another pair of eyes was watching them—a pair of eyes filled with longing.

*Mr. Tsukishima has something important to discuss. What could it be?*

The high school boy named Shishigawara craned his neck, trying hard to peer inside. Then, he shook his head to himself, gritted his teeth, and abruptly turned his back to the building.

*If Mr. Tsukishima doesn’t want me to know, he definitely has his reasons. As his underling, I shouldn’t overthink it!*

Although he secretly warned himself, his involuntary head-turning betrayed Shishigawara’s true thoughts. He wanted to be involved, he wanted to help Mr. Tsukishima, and more than anything, he wanted to prove himself to Mr. Tsukishima!

But now was not the time. Loyalty—right now, what he needed to prove to Mr. Tsukishima most was his loyalty.

Shishigawara squeezed his eyes shut and plugged his ears with his hands, as if that could block out his active thoughts. At the same time, he muttered loudly to himself, ”One day, I’ll be the person Mr. Tsukishima relies on the most! I’ll be worthy of him entrusting all his important matters to me! You can do it, Shishigawara! You definitely can!”

Tsukishima’s villa was already in a remote location, and since it was late at night, no one would be passing by. Because of this, Shishigawara wasn’t afraid of anyone seeing his seemingly psychotic behavior.

Besides, even if someone did see him, so what?

”I also think you definitely can.”

”Ah!”

The sudden, unfamiliar voice startled Shishigawara. A completely strange face entered his line of sight. ”W-W-Who are you?!”

”Me? I suppose you could call me a guest.” Just as Shishigawara breathed a sigh of relief, the man’s next words instantly made him tense up again. ”An uninvited one.”

”Are you here looking for Mr. Tsukishima?”

”Him included,” the man said with a friendly smile.

But Shishigawara’s expression instantly turned ugly. He clenched his fists, preparing to help this arrogant guy in front of him cool down, but the other party was even faster. Like a flash of lightning, an index finger lightly tapped against his forehead.

With just that simple tap, Shishigawara felt as if his soul was being ripped out. Even though his thoughts were racing like lightning, his body was completely immobilized, like a statue.

”And you as well, kid.”

Ginjō, inside the villa, was even more oblivious to the fact that, aside from Riruka, there was another belated guest outside the door right now—an uninvited one.

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