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Su Li and Sally sat side by side, cheeks faintly flushed as they leaned over a handful of rough manuscripts, whispering to one another with sparkling eyes. To the others their closeness was strange, even baffling. The two who once seemed ready to tear each other apart now lingered together from morning to night. Perhaps it was their strange spiritual properties, perhaps shared tastes, but whatever the reason, they had become inseparable. Instead of clashing, they spent their time pouring over sketches and dubious discussions that were hardly fit for children.
The Visored were exasperated, but also oddly relieved. At least Su Li no longer wandered off demanding pocket money to stir up mischief.
"Hey, how long are you going to lie there, Ichigo?" Kensei's voice cut through the quiet, sharp and commanding. "I'm coming in!"
A Hollow mask slid across his face. His ZanpakutĹŤ shrank into its short-bladed Shikai as turbulent air erupted outward.
Ichigo staggered to his feet, panting heavily. A mask flickered into place over his face, his hands trembling as he lifted Zangetsu once more.
Orihime, watching from the side with Hachigen, bit her lip in worry. For over half a month she had trained under the barrier as well—not in combat, but to refine her shield. Her powers, akin to high-level barriers, had found new depth under Hachi's guidance. Her Santen Kesshun was sharper, sturdier, and her healing faster than before. Yet even so, her eyes never strayed from Ichigo.
"Damn it…" Ichigo growled, forcing his reiatsu higher.
Steel clashed again and the barrier trembled.
Meanwhile, Sally tilted her head. "Su Li, do you have someone you like?"
His face flushed instantly. "Why are you asking that?" He turned away, flustered.
She tapped the manuscript in her hand. "Then how else do you come up with this stuff?"
Su Li choked. "What about you then? Got a boy you like?"
"Why would you care?!" she shot back, red-faced.
"Then don't ask me!" he barked, both of them turning away in synchronized sulking.
The Visored exchanged blank stares. They had long grown accustomed to Su Li and Sally's childish squabbles that always ended in reconciliation. Sure enough, moments later Sally produced another book. "Want to check out the new May release?"
"Fine," Su Li muttered. The two leaned back in together as if nothing had happened, opening the first page of New World.
The rest of the room could only sigh.
On the battlefield Ichigo was hurled back once more, his mask splintering as he collapsed onto the ground, chest heaving.
"Pathetic. Still not enough, Kurosaki!" Kensei sneered.
"Damn… damn it…" Ichigo pushed against the floor, his body refusing to rise. His reiatsu flickered weakly, drowned in exhaustion.
Cut, useless… can't even win against this weakling… You're nothing, Ichigo. Hand me the reins. I'll crush them all for you.
The voice within his soul hissed louder, mocking.
"Rest if you can't stand, idiot! No one's counting on you anyway!" Hiyori barked from the sideline, arms crossed. Training Ichigo was Su Li's request, one she despised, and she never expected much from him. Shinji had warned them of Ichigo's importance, but if it was Su Li's idea, Hiyori's stubbornness refused to care.
Kensei smirked, voice sharper. "Yeah, if you can't keep up, then stay down. No shame in quitting." Yet beneath the words his intent was different; he knew that stinging a man's pride was sometimes the only way to force him to rise.
Yes, Ichigo. Just open up. Leave everything to me. Let me fight. Let me kill them.
"Why…" Ichigo's fingers dug into the floor. "Why do you all look down on me…" His teeth ground as memories tore through him—helplessness before Aizen, fear beneath Grimmjow's crushing strength, the endless scenes where he could only collapse and watch others fight in his place.
Powerlessness. Shame. Fear. Those words twisted like blades in his mind as mocking laughter echoed deeper from within.
His lips curled, his face warping into something feral.
"…Not again," Kensei muttered, sensing the shift.
Hiyori's hand drifted to her Zanpakutō. The others stiffened, their expressions darkening as Ichigo rose. The mask reformed—but his eyes were no longer his own.
Reiatsu erupted like a hurricane, rattling the underground chamber. In an instant, several Visored rushed him, blades flashing.
"Snap out of it, fool!" Hiyori shouted.
But the voice that answered was not Ichigo's. "Calm down? Why would I?!" The words dripped with mockery.
An explosion of pressure blasted outward, hurling them back like leaves in a storm.
"Hahahaha! I can't stop anymore!" Ichigo—no, White Ichigo—laughed, his figure flickering in front of Hiyori before she could react.
Her pupils constricted. His stance was wrong—this Ichigo held Zangetsu by its chain, swinging it like a flail. And on his chest, a small black hole pulsed ominously.
"Impossible… he's fully Hollowfied—!"
There was no time to think. Ichigo's blade swung. Hiyori raised hers desperately, but the impact blasted blood from her mouth and sent her flying.
"Little day!" Mashiro shouted, donning her mask and leaping forward. Kensei followed instantly. Their clash lasted only seconds before they too were slammed aside, coughing blood.
"Hahahaha! Look now—who's the trash?!" White Ichigo roared, eyes gleaming with madness.
"This is bad… his power skyrocketed—" Love and Rose tensed, faces grim.
Orihime's hands trembled. "Kurosaki-kun…?" Her shield wavered, panic stealing her breath.
Hachi's face darkened, uncertain whether to reinforce the barrier or suppress the raging Hollow.
Su Li finally closed his manuscript, eyes shifting to the battlefield. "White Ichigo."
Sally stirred beside him, ready to rise, but Su Li lifted a hand to stop her. Slowly, he stood.
"I'll handle it. And don't even think about peeking—we're on page twenty-five. Wait for me."
Expressionless, Sally shut the book with a soft snap. "Hurry. I'm impatient."
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