Chapter 56: Old Love and New Sadness
【Friday, August 21st】
Why would someone encounter obstacles even when passing through the Broken World through the official gate opened by the God of Death?
Kurosaki Utsuki, who was being carried forward by her brother, covered her face with her hands in grief.
Moreover, the exit of the gate, like last time, is still in the air.
Just... I feel very tired.
However, this fall did not last long. With the sound of a cannonball firing, the group was caught by a flying carpet and successfully met up with Urahara Kisuke and his group who had brought them here.
"Welcome back, Mr. Kurosaki." Urahara Kisuke himself was sitting at the front of the flying carpet. Although he called out "Kurosaki," he was only speaking to Ichigo Kurosaki. "You've heard about me, right?"
Kurosaki Utsuki frowned, said nothing, and just bit her tongue secretly.
It was late at night in the real world, and she didn't know what time it was, nor was she sure whether the date would change again after passing through the Dankai. But she didn't care too much. She just stared at the hem of Urahara Kisuke's haori that was blown up by the wind, and considered what she was going to say later.
Before Kurosaki Ichigo could answer, Urahara Kisuke in front of him suddenly took off his hat, turned around, lowered his head, and made a sincere apology.
"I'm so sorry—"
Kurosaki Utsuki looked away.
She couldn't say things like "I don't care at all". She cared a lot about her own position, what position Urahara Kisuke had placed her in, what tasks she should complete, and what responsibilities she should bear.
She thought she knew before going to Soul Society.
As someone who "thought she knew everything", she did not feel that she was included in the recipients of his apology.
"Don't be like this." Kurosaki Ichigo spoke after a brief hesitation, "That kind of thing doesn't matter anymore."
From his personal perspective, he was not angry with Urahara Kisuke for this concealment. Regardless of Urahara Kisuke's purpose, he did get help from the other party, he became stronger, and realized his wish.
As for Rukia Kuchiki, he felt that Urahara needed to apologize to her sincerely, but her response would probably be the same as his.
However, his sister did not seem to be in a state of "it's okay", and he himself could not get over Urahara's decision to use his sister as a backup container for the Hogyoku.
"But here on Goshi—"
Kurosaki Utsuki snorted coldly at the right time, interrupting him and acknowledging her answer of "I care a lot".
But she just snorted, as if her mood was relieved after expressing her dissatisfaction. She didn't say anything else and hid behind her brother, trying to reduce her presence.
When Ishida Uryu, Inoue Orihime and Chatari Yasutora from the team got off the carpet and went home one after another, the only guests on the flying carpet were the Kurosaki siblings. Kurosaki Utsuki then emerged from behind her brother, acting as if she wanted to talk to him.
"Is there anything you would like to add to my story, Mr. Urahara?"
She should have the right to be angry, right? Because she trusted the other party and brought the "imitation broken jade", but because of this, she became the container of the broken jade, and she did not gain the other party's trust.
"For the next period of time, please refrain from coming to the empty seat, Ms. Utah."
...Huh?
"Ms. Gexi should understand the reason. This is a choice that Ms. Gexi made herself."
The day before, Ichimaru Gin had already confessed that Aizen wanted to sacrifice Karakura Ichi to create the King Key and enter the Royal Capital. The Shinigami also found records of Aizen browsing and reading in the Great Spirit Book Corridor, which basically confirmed this information.
I guess Urahara Kisuke has received the message, but she still didn't expect to get such an answer.
She had indeed made a choice, and she had come to her senses when she returned the spiritual power to her brother. But since she still possessed spiritual power, she should still have a chance to continue to play a role...
That's what she originally thought.
"I see." The orange-haired girl lowered her head. "Will I become a burden?"
The other party's answer was blunt: "I'm afraid so."
Ichigo Kurosaki quickly took a step forward and protected his sister behind him. This was his instinct as a brother to protect his sister, but he also knew that such an action might protect the body, but it could not protect the "heart".
"I understand." Kurosaki Utsuki took a step to the side, walked around her brother, and met the eyes of the man with short light golden hair.
She didn't know what her expression was at the moment, she just felt a wave of fatigue coming over her, making her want to put aside all the longing and hatred that had troubled her for many years.
"I am no longer Urahara-san's employee."
After she finished speaking, she took back the spiritual power that she had given to Urahara Kisuke a long time ago.
The effect is immediate.
"This is the final test that Mr. Urahara wants to verify."
She lowered her head to look at the man who had lost consciousness because she had taken away all his spiritual power, bit her lip and then let go.
"It turns out that the spiritual power I bestowed will not disappear over time."
Ichigo Kurosaki was stunned for a few seconds because of this sudden change, but before he could speak, he heard his sister's voice faintly filled with tears, "Brother, you are not allowed to come with me."
Then he noticed that his sister's spiritual power suddenly increased. She no longer looked at anyone, jumped off the flying carpet, and disappeared in an instant.
"What was that just now..." He looked at the black cat at his feet in surprise. It was a teleportation technique he had never seen before, completely different from instant movement.
"It's Xiang Zhuan." The black cat explained, "I'm afraid it's because she gave you all the experience of Shunpo and Feijianjiao, so the only thing she can use is..."
Her voice stopped abruptly, and she suddenly realized the problem while explaining -
If Kurosaki Utsuki has already given back all her power, how could she possibly use the Hollow's Hibiki Tensei? The power of the Hollow should only belong to Kurosaki Ichigo.
In addition to stimulating Kurosaki Utsuki's "talent", what else did that "imitation Collapsing Jade" achieve unknowingly?
"Mr. Yoruichi?"
Kurosaki Ichigo wondered aloud, but Chat Noir was still lost in his own thoughts and ignored him.
"Could it be..."
She looked down at the light-blond man who had fallen into a coma because all his spiritual power had been sucked away, and her mood became more complicated.
Could it be that Kisuke has already noticed that "the Kurosaki siblings not only share power, but the boundaries between their souls have also been blurred"?
While it wasn't a serious situation, and the siblings could easily adapt, if Kurosaki Utsuki continued with the plan and participated in the counterattack against Aizen again, the worst-case scenario might be that she completely gave up on herself in order to restore her brother's soul, something no one wanted to see...
·
At two o'clock in the morning, Kenji Hagiwara, who had just finished playing the game with his friend Jinpei Matsuda, put down his handheld game console, closed the curtains, and habitually glanced out the window. After hesitating for a moment, he opened the curtains a little more.
It's been seven days since Kurosaki Utsuki left the human world for Soul Society, and he hasn't received any news yet.
During the day, he accidentally met Geto Suguru at work. The ball-headed Grim Reaper was squatting on the roof of a house on the roadside. When he saw him, he jumped down and said hello.
He had asked the other party if he knew about Kurosaki Utsuki's situation, but all he got was a shrug of his hands to express ignorance, and a painful mask that eagerly hoped that the assistant would return to his post and share the work with him.
But no news is also good news, right?
He consoled himself by picking up the handheld again to confirm that Matsuda Jinpei hadn't sent any more messages. If not, he would have taken a break. But when he looked up after confirming, the orange-haired girl he had been thinking about suddenly came into view.
My breathing hitched and my heartbeat started to speed up.
"Kurosaki...chan..."
Is he dreaming? This is such a surprise!
"How did you know I would come back today?" The girl pushed aside the half-closed curtains, put her shoes on the windowsill, and jumped into his room skillfully and naturally.
"Maybe it's because... we have telepathy?" Hagiwara Kenji blinked, still a little bit unbelieving.
The girl in the white dress in front of him had messy hair and looked tired. She didn't look injured, and for some reason, seemed a little angry, but he was confident that he was not the one who annoyed her.
In short, he wanted to say this sentence that he had prepared long ago -
"Welcome back."
"Yeah." The girl murmured and sat on the chair he pushed over. "...after all, we had an agreement."
This sentence suddenly made him speculate: "Could it be that Kurosaki-chan came here as soon as she returned to the human world?"
After receiving a positive answer, he felt his joy grow exponentially. However, considering that the girl was still angry about something, he did not show his feelings, but just casually pointed out what he noticed.
"Is that a new dress Kurosaki-chan is wearing? I don't think I've seen it before."
Although it is still pure white as always, the double bow at the waist and the small bow on the hem are embellished just right. The neckline, hem and waistline are also outlined with silver thread. In short, it is a dress that looks cute at first glance.
Kurosaki Utsuki, who really liked the dress, nodded and said, "It was made by a teammate who went to Soul Society with me."
Specifically, it was Ishida Uryu, who was very skilled in needlework.
Thinking of Ishida reminded her of him taking off his spirit-dispersing gloves, which troubled Kurosaki Utsuki. She sincerely hoped that he would listen to her advice and go to his father to ask for advice on how to restore his strength. It would be even better if she could take this opportunity to resolve the rift between father and son.
At the same time, she also recalled that when she first entered Soul Society, she was ambushed and seriously injured, and had to lie in bed for two and a half days.
"I claim to be the strongest person in the team, but I haven't done anything." Kurosaki Utsuki lowered his head and picked up the black stone on his wrist.
Now she finally knew that this stone was called "Pseudo-Hougyoku" and had the ability to allow her to adapt to the fluctuations of Hougyoku, but she was unable to return it when she severed her employment relationship with Urahara Kisuke.
...She was reluctant to do so, after all, she had been wearing it for six years.
Or maybe he was reluctant to completely sever ties with Urahara Kisuke?
"But Kurosaki-chan saved the person he wanted to save, right?" asked Kenji Hagiwara.
"Judging solely from the results, it's a resounding victory," Kurosaki Utsuki shrugged. "But if we trace the root cause, we'll find there's a man behind the scenes plotting against us. Now that he's openly betrayed Soul Society and fled to Hueco Mundo, the executions he orchestrated are naturally over."
"That sounds very convoluted..."
"That guy can be thought of as the villain in a hot-blooded manga," Kurosaki Utsuki explained. "He used to pretend to be a good guy and infiltrate the good guys, but then he got the item he wanted and declared war on the whole world."
"Is that so?" The black-haired boy nodded, not quite understanding.
The topic came to a temporary end. Hagiwara Kenji walked out of the room in the dark and got two cans of soda from the refrigerator in the kitchen. When he came back, he saw the girl huddled in a chair fiddling with her cell phone, as if she was replying to an email, her fingers tapping on the screen quickly.
He waited patiently for the girl to finish before offering her a drink and speaking, "Have you told Mr. Getabu that Kurosaki-chan is back?"
"No—I thought I'd never see him again."
"Huh?"
Kurosaki Utsuki pursed his lips and said, "To be frank, I returned my spiritual power to my brother. But the amazing thing is, I suddenly have some spiritual power again. Although I can see ghosts and such, fighting is almost impossible."
For example, right now, she had used up all the spiritual energy she had stolen from Urahara Kisuke while running from Karakura using Hibiki. If she wanted to leave the room next, she couldn't choose to go back through the windowsill, so she had to find a chance to go through the main door.
The girl didn't seem disappointed, so Hagiwara Kenji said with confidence, "Then Mr. Getsu must be very disappointed."
Kurosaki Utsuki shrugged: "There's nothing we can do. The enemy is too strong."
"Eh? Stronger than Kurosaki-chan?"
"It's hard to say. I was seriously injured at the time, so that's the only way." She shook her head, not going to elaborate on how she got injured. "There's another thing."
Hagiwara Kenji looked at her seriously.
"Hagiwara-san." Kurosaki Utsuki took a deep breath, "—I think I've been heartbroken."
“Eh…eh?”
"It's not really a broken heart, really... Maybe I suddenly understood why that Shinigami girl I met a few days ago was crying so heartbreakingly for the betrayer."
Hagiwara Kenji frowned, confused as to why the topic had suddenly come to this point, and he had no idea who the "broken heart" was about. But the girl in front of him looked incredibly sad.
"--Like her, I only just realized that admiration is the feeling furthest from understanding."
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