It was already past midnight by the time they left Orihime Inoue's house. The streets were deserted, so Ichigo took his time, leisurely carrying Rukia on his back as they walked home. It was a good thing it was so late with no passersby around; otherwise, seeing a person seemingly floating in mid-air would have scared someone to death.
"Hey, did we really have to... you know, to Inoue's brother..." Ichigo originally wanted to say 'kill', but Rukia had told him that cutting down a Hollow didn't mean killing them, so he quickly corrected himself. "Send him to Soul Society? I mean, her brother had already regained his senses, right? Even as a Hollow, he wouldn't have hurt Inoue anymore, would he?"
"Doesn't the World of the Living have a concept of moving on? For the dead, having loved ones around actually makes them feel even lonelier. Think about it—every word you say goes unheard, and the other person can only guess whether you're happy or sad based on their own assumptions. Wouldn't staying here be endless torture for him?"
As Rukia spoke, she suddenly smacked the back of Ichigo's head. "Let me tell you something, brat! Don't assume that just because you can't bear to see people parted by death, coexisting is a blessing for everyone. I'm not asking you to be completely cold-blooded, but don't be so arrogant either. Do you understand?!"
"Idiot! I have a head wound!!" Ichigo hastily tried to stop Rukia's violence. At this rate, if he wasn't killed by a Hollow, he was going to bleed to death from Rukia's iron fists!
"Then, in the end, did we really have to replace Inoue's memories? Keeping the memory of her final goodbye with her brother couldn't be wrong, right?"
Rukia fell into a sudden silence. After a long while, she slowly replied, "Didn't you already answer that yourself?"
"I did?"
"Isn't it better to keep someone in your heart and live your life well? That way, they will always remain a perfect image in your mind."
*Did I say something like that?* Ichigo thought about it. He might have said something similar, but it definitely didn't mean that.
However, before he could point this out to Rukia, she spoke again. "Or do you think that if she kept the memory of this farewell, Inoue would still be able to hold onto those pure, beautiful thoughts of her brother without becoming overly cautious and fearful?"
"Uh... you were just telling me not to be arrogant..."
"Just answer the question when I ask you!"
"Blood, blood, blood!" Receiving another slap to the head, Ichigo felt like his face must be completely covered in red. He turned his head and roared, "Didn't I tell you I have a head wound?! You bastard!"
"And whose fault is that? If your first strike back at your house hadn't been so shallow, would any of this have happened?!"
*I almost poured my heart out to him. Asking a teenage brat for advice—what on earth was I thinking?* Rukia secretly rejoiced in her heart, feigning composure as she continued, "Starting tomorrow, you will undergo strict training according to my demands. As a Shinigami, this kind of performance is utterly disgraceful!"
"I get it!" Ichigo grumbled in annoyance. "Though I wonder who it was that got so engrossed in reading manga during the day."
"I-I was just..."
"Learning how to speak? I can lend you a modern Japanese textbook. Also, stop doing that weird curtsy thing from now on. Are you an idiot? It's a good thing you were only dealing with Inoue, otherwise..." Ichigo began to mutter endlessly. Since Rukia didn't stop him, he just kept rambling on.
In truth, he didn't even know what he was saying anymore. But for a brief moment just now, he felt as though he had sensed Rukia's sorrow. In just the short two days since becoming a Shinigami, he had already experienced everything from hatred to sympathy for Hollows. For this girl who had been a Shinigami all along, the sorrow she had endured was likely far beyond his imagination.
Even though she claimed to be more than ten times his age, Ichigo simply couldn't associate someone who got completely absorbed in horror manga with a hundred-year-old monster. Besides, she fit perfectly into Yuzu's clothes, looking just like an elementary school student.
*Since I'm going to be taking her place as a Shinigami for a while, I might as well let her have a proper vacation. I already have two younger sisters; I don't mind having one more.*
...
*Rukia's leisurely days are about to come to an end,* Kōe Shihouin silently mused to himself as he looked at Aizen and his two subordinates who had suddenly paid him a late-night visit.
It was about half a year ago that Aizen had abandoned his own research on the Hōgyoku, declaring that he would join Kōe in searching for the one created by Urahara.
Naturally, Kōe welcomed this. Although Rukia hadn't left the Seireitei at that time, he knew that Ichigo and the others originally invaded the Seireitei around July or August. Unless Aizen gave up too early this time, Rukia's departure for the World of the Living was estimated to happen within half a year, or a year and a half at most.
He could still buy that much time. The reason was quite simple: he had discovered that there were no signs of the Hōgyoku being hidden inside Shiba Miyako's body.
If Urahara had indeed hidden the Hōgyoku inside someone's soul back then, and considering that the Hōgyoku could easily influence its surroundings, Urahara would have had to place a Kidō seal over it no matter what.
Furthermore, for the seal to maintain itself autonomously, it would need to draw upon the host's own Reiryoku. This essentially ruled out over ninety percent of the people in Soul Society, as the vast majority of commoners in the Rukongai possessed no Reiryoku of their own.
At the same time, whether to ensure the host's safety or the stability of the seal, the host's Reiryoku couldn't be too weak. This standard wasn't actually that high; reaching the level of an ordinary member of the Gotei 13 would be just about enough.
But the problem was, if the person harboring the Hōgyoku was already a Shinigami, this kind of seal would definitely cause their Reiatsu to weaken. The drop wouldn't be small, either; anyone with even a bit of Reiatsu perception would be able to notice it.
Therefore, a resident of the Rukongai was the best choice. And since Urahara couldn't frequently travel back and forth between the World of the Living and Soul Society, it was necessary to place the host in a safe location. As for what place was relatively safe, the answer was obvious: in all of Soul Society, only the Seireitei could be considered safe.
This was the conclusion Aizen and Kōe had deduced. As for whether Urahara might not have hidden the Hōgyoku inside someone's soul at all, that possibility existed. However, both of them felt that leaving it in a stationary location carried a far greater risk of accidents than hiding it inside a moving person.
As for how to find this host—who was currently highly likely to be in the Seireitei—there were actually two methods. The first was for Kōe to eliminate suspects one by one based on the presence of a Kidō seal. The Gotei 13 had no more than five thousand members at most. After ruling out the veterans, the number of people needing investigation would be less than three thousand.
The second method was to track the spatial fluctuations from when Urahara bypassed the Shiba couple to secretly travel to Soul Society. This would narrow down the timeframe in which Urahara might have transferred the Hōgyoku, allowing them to screen the students who entered the Shin'ō Academy during that specific period.
Especially before the host entered the Shin'ō Academy, Urahara would inevitably enter Soul Society more frequently to ensure their safety. Once the host entered the Academy, this frequency would gradually decrease. By comparing the data, they could narrow the scope of the investigation even further.
Both methods required a massive amount of time and energy. The first method was proposed by Kōe. According to him, the seal would gradually integrate with the host, especially since it was inside a soul. Even if it wasn't a perfect integration, it would take at least five or six years to confirm a single person.
Compared to that, finding suspicious data among the massive archives of Squad 12 was actually much faster. It went without saying which method they chose.
In truth, Kōe had really wanted Aizen to leave him out of it and choose the more 'accurate' method. That way, the initiative would remain in Kōe's hands. Having a sudden epiphany and speeding up the investigation—he could probably come up with an excuse to pull that off, right?
Unfortunately, Aizen's speed was simply too fast. In just half a year, he had already locked onto a single target. Even though Rukia had already left the Seireitei, this level of efficiency still made Kōe somewhat apprehensive.
"Kuchiki Rukia? Relying on the protection of the Kuchiki clan certainly spared her from many dangers. It's also perfectly normal that her Reiatsu hasn't been able to grow because the Hōgyoku was hidden inside her. She seems like a very suitable candidate." Kōe placed the file concerning Rukia on the table and continued, "But having a commoner adopted by the Kuchiki clan? I don't think Urahara has that kind of capability. Not even Yoruichi could pull that off, Captain Aizen."
"There are two possibilities. Captain Kuchiki adopted Rukia because she bears an uncanny resemblance to his late wife, and Lady Kuchiki only lived for five years after entering the Seireitei." Aizen smiled faintly and continued, "The other possibility is that this was an accident in itself. If she hadn't been adopted by Captain Kuchiki, given her performance, she wouldn't have been able to graduate from the Shin'ō Academy at all. She would have only been able to continue training as a reserve member until she passed the enlistment exam."
"A Shinigami kept in captivity at the Shin'ō Academy—no, kept in captivity within the Seireitei. Her situation is actually quite similar to yours, Kōe."
*Now this is what you call having omniscient vision,* Kōe silently retorted in his mind, keeping his expression perfectly neutral.
Lady Hisana had indeed died from an unexpected severe illness, and Rukia had been adopted as Byakuya's sister purely by accident. Urahara himself had admitted that this was a miscalculation on his part. Without these accidents, Rukia would never have become a member of the Gotei 13.
"If that's really the case, then Urahara played me for a fool." Kōe mocked himself before continuing, "But aren't you worried that Kuchiki Rukia herself is just an accident? That she became the most likely candidate simply due to a series of coincidences?"
"That might have been a possibility before, but now I am absolutely certain." Aizen tapped Rukia's photo on the table. "Because she has now disappeared without a trace, and Karakura Town in the World of the Living, where she was stationed, is highly likely to be Urahara Kisuke's hiding place."
"Oh? Disappeared without a trace?"
"It seems you don't care much for this little sister, Rukia."
"I only used her to gather information on Shiba Miyako in the first place. Speaking of which, it was Kaien who dragged her over to meet me back then." Kōe waved his hand dismissively, looking as though he didn't care about Rukia in the slightest. "However, if she's now directly connected to Urahara, her weight in my mind has increased quite a bit."
"That is why I need to find Kuchiki Rukia immediately. I hope you can provide some assistance, Kōe, and tell me where exactly you met with Urahara back then." Aizen adjusted his glasses. Although his words were a request for help, his demeanor suggested he wasn't particularly expecting Kōe to give a useful answer.
"Karakura Town, you say?" Kōe looked up and pretended to think hard before replying, "I don't really know that place. When I met him back then, I think the place was called Naruki City. At the time, he was disguised as some kind of indie entertainer... I think that's what it was called?"
*History has already been steered onto the right track. I'll just let those kids build their bonds for a little while longer, and then...*
*Come and wreak havoc in the Seireitei!*