"You should've said something earlier, Inoue-san!" Senna muttered, a bit annoyed.
Her Zanpakutō, even in its Shikai state, was already longer than most others. Now, with most of the staff sealed inside the spiritual pressure wall, only the arrowhead at the end remained visible. Even Ichigo's Zanpakutō was stuck!
But Ichigo wasn't too frustrated. He was more curious—such power, not requiring any kind of Zanpakutō release, was truly strange.
Seeing that Ichigo and the others were immobilized, the assassin dropped down in front of Rurichiyo and the others.
Inuzō coldly snorted. "Seems I'll have to step in after all!"
Ichigo raised an eyebrow. So this guy actually had some ability? Maybe he wasn't completely useless after all.
Inuzō assumed a formal swordsman's stance, drawing his Zanpakutō and chanting, "Bloom in chaotic dance, Benishidare!"
As his release phrase rang out, five pink flower blossoms appeared along the blade of his Zanpakutō, covering its most lethal sections.
Sarugaki and Rurichiyo clapped. "Wow! So pretty!"
Ichigo, Senna, and Rukia all simultaneously collapsed to the ground.
Ichigo deadpanned, "This Zanpakutō is completely useless in combat, isn't it?"
Rukia sighed, "Can that thing really protect anyone?"
Senna was speechless. She just turned around and drew her own blade, not even bothering to comment on such a joke of a weapon.
But just as everyone was about to write off the Zanpakutō, the assassin's spear suddenly burst into bloom with identical flowers!
"What the hell?!" the assassin yelped in disbelief.
He waved his spear frantically, but none of the petals fell off.
Orihime nodded thoughtfully. "Turns out it's actually a pretty strong Zanpakutō."
Senna saw through it instantly. "It's the pollen, right? That wouldn't work on my Zanpakutō at all."
Everyone agreed. One gust of wind and the effect would vanish—what's the point?
Still, Ichigo and the others used the chance to recover their weapons.
"YAAH!" Ichigo let out a shout and forcefully yanked his Zanpakutō free from the wall.
Rukia and Senna were a bit more refined.
"Hadō #33, Sōkatsui!"
"Hadō #31, Shakkahō!"
The two fired their spells and blew away the walls around their blades, retrieving them with ease.
On the other side, Tatsuki also blasted her way out with a fireball and regrouped with the others.
However, the resulting debris scattered the flower pollen, rendering Benishidare's effect useless.
When the four turned to look again, they found that Rurichiyo and her retainers were already kneeling before the assassin with his spear aimed at them.
"Seriously?! That fast?" Ichigo facepalmed.
Inuzō, seeing the others free, smiled. "I'm ready—here comes my final move!"
"Benishidare!"
Instantly, a flower bloomed right on the assassin's face, completely blinding him.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Inuzō and Sarugaki grabbed Rurichiyo and made a run for it.
The assassin, panicked, clutched the flower on his face while flailing his spear wildly in every direction, hoping to hold off any counterattacks.
The four simply scattered in different directions to avoid the chaos.
When the assassin finally ripped the flower off his face, Ichigo and the others were nowhere in sight.
"Hey! You want to see what a real slash looks like?!" Ichigo shouted from behind a wall.
The assassin turned in time to see a blue Getsuga Tenshō coming straight at him!
Ichigo's attack shattered the wall completely. The assassin quickly flash-stepped back to avoid it.
But in that instant, Rukia, Senna, and Tatsuki appeared in front of him.
Two Zanpakutō and one fireball sealed off every escape route.
"Talk. Who are you, and what's with that weapon?" Rukia demanded.
The assassin merely sneered, clearly unwilling to talk.
Suddenly, the weapon fused to his right arm began to emit terrifying spiritual pressure—on par with a Captain!
Not knowing what he was planning, the girls instinctively backed off.
What happened next shocked them.
Realizing escape was impossible, the assassin condensed all his power and conjured a massive wall of spiritual energy—like one you'd see in the Seireitei itself!
Then, without hesitation, he charged at the wall headfirst with his spear!
The wall collapsed with a thunderous crash, burying him completely.
Ichigo landed beside the girls and stared at the debris, frowning. "So decisive… just like the assassin from before. Another deadman?"
Meanwhile, even Rurichiyo was starting to understand that something was very wrong. There was no way these kinds of assassins were simple thieves.
"Tell me, Inuzō, Sarugaki… what's really going on?" she asked, turning to them.
But the two just stayed silent. Seeing her retainers battered and injured from defending her, Rurichiyo couldn't bear to press further and quietly went home with them.
The next day—
Rurichiyo had vanished!
When Inuzō and Sarugaki told Ichigo, he nearly lost it.
"Seriously?! Two Shinigami can't even keep track of a little girl?!"
"She must've returned to the Seireitei. Let's go, now!" Rukia didn't hesitate.
Ichigo trusted her completely. "Right. Let's head to Soul Society!"
Rukia opened the Kuchiki family's Senkaimon without delay—being the heiress had its perks.
Ichigo, Rukia, Senna, Inuzō, and Sarugaki all entered together.
After regrouping, they decided to split up to search for Rurichiyo.
Inuzō and Sarugaki returned to the Kasumiooji estate—but fell right into Cloudbine's trap and were captured.
Rukia, meanwhile, bumped into Zaraki and Yachiru.
And Ichigo?
"Huh? Kurosaki Ichigo? When did you come back to the Soul Society?"
He ran into none other than Soifon, Captain of Squad Two.
At the time, she was out shopping. When she saw Ichigo, she instinctively tried to hide whatever she was holding behind her back.
"Ah, Captain Soifon," Ichigo greeted politely.
Though she always blushed when she saw him, they actually weren't that close.
But in Soifon's heart, Ichigo was her future husband—they couldn't be distant.
"You still haven't answered my question," she said sharply.
Ichigo, thinking quickly, said, "Soifon, you're Captain of Squad Two, and Commander of the Stealth Force, right? Finding people should be your specialty?"
"Of course. The Stealth Force was created for assassination—if we can't find the target, how can we eliminate it?"
"Perfect! I need your help!" Ichigo said bluntly.
"What is it?" Soifon was already caught in his rhythm and forgot to press further.
"I'm looking for Kasumiooji Rurichiyo. Can you help me find her?"
Soifon's eyes narrowed. "Kasumiooji… a vassal of the Shihōin family. High-ranked noble, but nothing too special. Yes, Rurichiyo is their current head."
Ichigo nodded.
"I won't ask why you're looking for her. Give me a moment." Soifon flash-stepped away.
Within minutes, she returned.
"She's attending a tea party hosted by a noble girl named Sayuri. It's her final gathering before marriage."
"Awesome! Thanks so much, Soifon!"
Ichigo turned to leave, but Soifon called after him.
"Wait, Ichigo."
He looked back.
"You don't know where the Sayuri estate is, do you?"
Ichigo scratched his head. "Uh… no."
"I'll take you," she said with a proud smirk.
"Are you sure it's not too much trouble?"
"Not at all. Squad Two has nothing going on today."
...
Meanwhile, back at the Stealth Force HQ:
"Where's the commander? She never misses training."
"No idea. It's the first time she's ever been late…"
Just then, Squad Two's Vice-Captain, Marechiyo Ōmaeda, arrived.
"What are you all standing around for? Get to training! The captain's busy today."
The Stealth Force immediately began their drills.
...
At the Sayuri estate—
"It's Captain Soifon of Squad Two!" the guards bowed immediately.
"No need for formality. I'm here for Sayuri's tea party," Soifon said coolly.
"I-I'll inform the lady at once—"
"No need. We'll go in ourselves," she interrupted.
"Yes, Captain Soifon!"
She turned to Ichigo and winked before heading inside.
Ichigo smiled. "Didn't expect you to be so commanding, Soifon."
Her face turned red. "If you don't like it, I won't act that way in front of you anymore."
Ichigo was speechless. "What does that even mean?! I swear, I haven't done anything to lead her on!"
As for Senna… poor Senna ran into Unohana the moment she arrived in the Soul Society.
She was now helping care for the sick under Unohana's supervision…
"Captain Soifon is here!" a maid rushed to inform Sayuri.
"Captain Soifon? Why would someone that important come to my tea party?" Sayuri was stunned.
"Rurichiyo, let's go greet her!" Sayuri pulled the girl up.
"H-Hi, Rurichiyo," Ichigo waved.
Rurichiyo froze for a moment, then followed Sayuri to greet the captain.
"It's an honor to have you at my tea party, Captain Soifon!"
Though Sayuri was a noble, to someone like a Gotei 13 Captain, her rank meant little—unless you were from one of the Four Great Houses.
"Greetings, Captain Soifon." Even Rurichiyo, shocked to see Ichigo with her, greeted politely.
"No need for that. I'm just here for tea," Soifon said calmly—full of authority.
The servants rushed off to prepare refreshments.
Once alone, Soifon turned to Ichigo and said softly, "This is the girl you were looking for."
Sayuri and Rurichiyo were stunned.
Was this really the cold, aloof Squad Two Captain?
She acted like a shy schoolgirl in front of him?!
"Thanks again, Soifon. Next time I visit, I'll bring you a gift," Ichigo grinned.
So casual! Sayuri and Rurichiyo were baffled.
Rurichiyo thought, Who is Kurosaki Ichigo really? Isn't he supposed to be the Kuchiki heir's fiancé? Why is he so close to Squad Two's Captain too?!
Sayuri, sensing Ichigo had something to say, smiled politely. "Captain Soifon, let's go enjoy some tea over there."
"Alright," Soifon nodded, cold once more. The double standard was insane…
Once they left, Ichigo turned to Rurichiyo.
"Why'd you come back alone? Inuzō and Sarugaki were worried sick."
Rurichiyo lowered her head. "I'm sorry… I just wanted to say goodbye."
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