After finishing his training at the Ishida residence, Tsunayoshi was walking home.
The sky had already gone completely dark, and the rain was falling rather heavily. However, Tsunayoshi was not in the slightest hurry. Since he lived alone, he had already freeloaded a lavish dinner at the Ishida house.
During the school term, Tatsuki still lived at her own home. For the time being, she did not have an excuse to spend long periods away from home.
In truth, there would be no problem with Tsunayoshi simply staying at the Ishida residence. The entire Ishida family would warmly welcome him.
But in order to preserve the last traces of human warmth in his already empty home, Tsunayoshi still decided to return home during this period of training his Quincy powers.
Otherwise, if his parents came back and noticed something unusual, that would be troublesome. Compared to his thick-nerved mother, his father was undoubtedly far more observant. Otherwise, he would never have been promoted so quickly at his company.
The rain continued falling.
There was no one on the road.
Tsunayoshi had already seen scenes like this countless times. Back then, in order to save Masaki, he had gone out every time it rained. That idiot Ichigo would never be able to repay what he owed him in this lifetime.
Of course, Tsunayoshi did not really care.
As he passed by a parking lot, Tsunayoshi keenly noticed that mixed into the sound of the rain were hurried footsteps. Within that panic was a trace of fear, as if something were chasing the owner of those footsteps.
A Hollow?
Tsunayoshi did not sense a Hollow's Reiatsu, but that did not stop him from going over to take a look. In this world, there was no longer much that could frighten him. After all, he had already cut down plenty of things like ghosts.
After entering the parking lot, Tsunayoshi saw the owner of those panicked footsteps.
It was a girl with short dark-green hair. Aside from a piece of cloth barely wrapped around her body, she had nothing on her.
The moment she noticed Tsunayoshi's footsteps, she turned around with fear on her delicate face. But when she saw Tsunayoshi, the terror on her face seemed to ease considerably.
What followed was endless fatigue brought on by that instant of relief.
Thank goodness.
It isn't a Shihakushō…
The girl lost consciousness and collapsed in front of Tsunayoshi. Rain soaked her hair and the only cloth she had left. The rain kept falling, caring nothing for whether someone fainted because of it.
A headache.
The instant Tsunayoshi saw the girl's face, he had already recognized who she was.
A beautiful girl from the original Bleach anime storyline: Nozomi Kujō, one of the main characters of the Gotei 13 Invading Army arc.
What gave Tsunayoshi a headache was not the trouble that would appear during the Invading Army arc, but how exactly he was supposed to deal with an almost naked girl on a rainy night.
If Tsunayoshi remembered correctly, in the story, it was Ichigo who brought Nozomi back.
But at that time, Ichigo had not confirmed a relationship with any girl.
As for the current Ichigo, Tsunayoshi believed that if he dared bring her home, he would have to face a darkened Orihime Inoue holding a kitchen knife.
Helpless, Tsunayoshi could only take out his phone and dial the number that had been changed to "Girlfriend" in his contacts. All his other contacts were saved under their real names. Only this one had been personally changed by Tatsuki.
"Moshi moshi, Tsunayoshi, I'm already home~"
Tatsuki sounded quite cheerful. She felt Tsunayoshi's concern in the fact that he called her as soon as he got home.
"There's something I need to report to you. On the road, I ran into a half-naked girl who fainted…"
Tatsuki's happy little expression visibly soured. But after Tsunayoshi's explanation, it eased a little. Her puffed-up lips were her last bit of stubbornness.
"I understand. Save her first and bring her back. I'll come over right away!" Tatsuki immediately replied.
She was not the kind of girl who got jealous over everything. She understood why Tsunayoshi had called her, and she understood even more that Tsunayoshi wanted to save someone right now.
Trusting her partner and supporting him—this was Tatsuki's confidence in herself, and also in Tsunayoshi.
As for going out in the middle of the night, that was even simpler.
No matter how magnanimous she was, she could not possibly allow her partner to spend an entire night alone with another girl.
After reporting to her mother, Tatsuki left the house.
Her mother had long since gotten the full story about her and Tsunayoshi out of her. As for her daughter's choice, her mother supported it.
As for her father, Tatsuki completely ignored him.
Using Reiatsu as an umbrella, she stepped on Fullbring Light and merged into the rainy night. She had to reach Tsunayoshi's house as quickly as possible.
On Tsunayoshi's side, he had just placed the soaked Nozomi on the floor when Tatsuki arrived right after him.
"Yo, you're pretty fast. Auntie didn't ask where you were going?" Tsunayoshi asked curiously.
"It's this late. Where else could I go besides your place?" Tatsuki said irritably.
She crouched beside Nozomi and looked at her face.
"Not bad. She's a beautiful girl too."
"Enough messing around. Since you're here, help me dry her off," Tsunayoshi said as he walked toward the room. "She clearly doesn't have clothes. Can you lend her a set of your pajamas to make do?"
"Got it. Hurry up and go~"
Tatsuki did not fuss too much with Tsunayoshi. In just those few short sentences, she had already tested Tsunayoshi's attitude.
He had no particular interest in this beautiful dark-green-haired girl.
Good.
After a bout of busy work, Tatsuki gently closed the guest room door and returned to the living room.
"All done? Sorry for the trouble."
Tsunayoshi handed Tatsuki a cup of hot tea.
"Well, who else could you trouble besides me?"
Tatsuki took a sip of tea and asked, "What's this girl's background?"
Based on Tatsuki's understanding of Tsunayoshi, if this girl were just an ordinary person, Tsunayoshi would most likely have sent her to the police station instead of reporting it to her and bringing the girl home.
"This girl is called Nozomi Kujō. She escaped from Soul Society. Right now, there should be a group of people chasing her," Tsunayoshi said concisely.
"Chasing her? Which Squad?"
The two of them were already very familiar with the entire Gotei Thirteen. Tsunayoshi's actions clearly showed that he intended to protect this girl called Nozomi Kujō.
As a Shinigami instructor, going into conflict with the Gotei Thirteen was not Tsunayoshi's style.
"If my guess is right, something major has already happened in Soul Society," Tsunayoshi said, stretching. At the same time, he told Tatsuki what he knew.
Tsunayoshi did not remember the details of the Invading Army arc very well. His main impressions were that this girl called Nozomi was quite pretty, and that the main Shinigami of the Gotei Thirteen inside the Seireitei had been replaced.
Hearing Tsunayoshi say that the Shinigami of the Seireitei might all have been replaced, Tatsuki could not hold back.
"What kind of joke is that? With that old man Yamamoto holding down the Seireitei, they could still all be replaced?"
"I'm curious about that too…"
With Yamamoto's strength, suppressing the entire Seireitei alone should not be a problem.
So where had things gone wrong?
Tsunayoshi's fingers unconsciously tapped against the sofa as he rapidly went over the recent events in Soul Society.
"Hiss… Maybe I had good intentions but ended up causing trouble. Someone may have exploited a gap," Tsunayoshi guessed.
"To replace the Shinigami of the Seireitei, the most basic requirement would be for the replicas to have combat power similar to the originals. And coincidentally, because of my interference, the high-level Shinigami of the Seireitei temporarily lost their strongest power."
"You mean the materialization of their Zanpakutō?"
Tatsuki understood immediately.
Because the Zanpakutō had been materialized, if the Shinigami wanted to use the power of Bankai, their Zanpakutō spirits had to return and assist them.
If the Zanpakutō spirits temporarily could not return to their respective masters' hands, did that not indirectly mean that all captain-level Shinigami had their Bankai sealed?
In that case, it was no longer strange.
The original Seireitei forces were naturally at a disadvantage, making it easy for these replicas to exploit the opening.
Tsunayoshi had not expected that because of his involvement, the events of the Invading Army arc—which should have happened during the period after Ichigo sealed Aizen and lost his Shinigami powers—would appear ahead of schedule.
"If the Zanpakutō are being targeted, what about Decimo and Byakuran?" Tatsuki asked nervously.
"I'll ask them."
Tsunayoshi closed his eyes.
Because Decimo and Byakuran's recognition of him was extremely high, Tsunayoshi's inner world had become a bridge for communicating with the two of them.
This was also why Decimo and Byakuran could go out and play without worry. As long as Tsunayoshi called them, they could undo their materialization at any time and return to his side.
"Little Tsunayoshi is here again? Haven't you already met today's training quota?"
Kozato Enma's eyes lit up when he saw Tsunayoshi appear.
"Enma, help me contact Decimo and Byakuran," Tsunayoshi said.
Because there was still someone similar to Decimo and Byakuran inside him—Kozato Enma—Enma was more skilled at this operation than he was.
Kozato Enma helped Tsunayoshi contact the other two with a heart full of gloom.
It was already bad enough that he could not go out and play. Now he had to be shown off to his face.
It was truly rather painful.
Kozato Enma's Simon Ring flashed red, and Tsunayoshi felt two familiar connections.
"Hello? Decimo, Byakuran, can you hear me?" Tsunayoshi asked.
"I can hear you."
"Did little Tsunayoshi start missing us so soon?"
"I wanted to ask whether you know what happened in Soul Society," Tsunayoshi said, ignoring Byakuran's remark.
"Oh? How did you know I just cut down Shunsui Kyōraku?" Byakuran immediately replied, opening with shocking news.
"Huh?"
Tsunayoshi took a moment to digest that information, then immediately responded, "It was a fake Shunsui Kyōraku, right?"
"Huh? How did you know? That counterfeit thing attacking me was one thing, but it even scared the two girls beside me. Of course I had to teach him a lesson!"
Byakuran spoke with a grin, as if it were a trivial matter.
"Then where are you now? Can you find the real Shunsui Kyōraku?" Tsunayoshi asked.
"I don't know where the real one is. Right now, I'm fleeing for my life. Honestly, they're taking advantage of the fact that there are ordinary people around to chase me down. Once I lure them to the outskirts, just watch me wipe them all out!" Byakuran said indignantly.
"Pay attention to your safety first. It's best to conserve your strength. Don't fight unless you have to."
Tsunayoshi then turned to Decimo and asked, "Decimo, have you encountered any similar bootleg incidents?"
"Byakuya Kuchiki was replaced. I burned down the Kuchiki Manor," Decimo said calmly.
Great.
The news was getting more explosive with each report.
Even the manor of the great noble Kuchiki Clan had been burned down by Decimo. Tsunayoshi no longer dared imagine how much money he was going to owe.
Decimo had a very accurate grasp of Tsunayoshi's thoughts.
"Don't worry, little Tsunayoshi. The real Byakuya and I have a very good relationship. He won't trouble you over such a small matter. Or rather, he should thank me for destroying his replica."
Author's Note:
Next up is the Invading Army arc.
Personally, I don't have too many strong feelings about the Invading Army arc, but I like Nozomi Kujō, so I wrote it.
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