Maerry

Well, sorry for not posting a chapter yesterday, but... stuff happened. So, I visited a friend, and we planned to have a beer or two together. Long story short, I got home at 3 am and am now the proud owner of a massive hangover. Luckily, this chapter was almost done, so I managed to finish it even with a hangover.

Another day passed, and Yuna, Hinata, and Naruto were yet again lying around at school. Today, Harribel and Nel didn't come, as both had pretty much lost interest on the first day.

Moments later, the door opened, revealing Ichigo, who walked into the room, and, after greeting everyone, he sat down on his usual seat.

However, seeing the current Ichigo, Yuna couldn't help but frown as there seemed to be something off about him. She briefly wondered whether she should meddle in his business or not, but in the end, she decided not to bother him for now.

"Kurosaki-kun, is something wrong."

Although Yuna decided not to mention Ichigo's current mood, Orihime apparently noticed as well, but Ichigo only gave her a fake smile and said that he was fine, causing Yuna to shake her head in annoyance.

"You met Ginjo, didn't you?"

In the end, she decided to meddle in the situation anyway by making a quick guess what might have brought Ichigo into a weird mood.

Hearing Yuna mention Ginjo's name, Ichigo's eyes widened as he looked at her in surprise.

"You know him!?"

Seeing that her guess was correct, Yuna only shook her head before she resumed talking.

"Not really. I only met him yesterday for the first time. Apparently, he has a way for you to gain a new power. Frankly, he is definitely hiding something, but his desire to grant you that power is genuine."

While especially Orihime was excited about this news, Ichigo didn't show much of a reaction, as he still didn't trust Ginko in the slightest. He didn't have any proof for those feelings; it was just that his guts were telling him that there was something off about Ginjo.

Additionally, now he had even Yuna's evaluation that Ginjo was hiding something from him, making the whole situation even more suspicious.

However... Ichigo couldn't deny that the thought of being able to fight again was very alluring.

For now, he only shook his head, no longer talking about the situation. He had decided that he would ponder on it a little longer and then make a decision.

Just like that, another day passed peacefully, and Ichigo was currently resting in his bed while playing with his phone. Suddenly, his phone rang, and seeing the familiar number, Ichigo quickly picked up the call.

"Yo, Ishida. Why are you calling me s... WHAT!? I'll be right there!"

Without wasting a single second, Ichigo stood up and ran out of his room toward a nearby hospital. Apparently, Ishida was just attacked by someone.

Long story short: an unknown person attacked Ishida in the middle of the street with a bladed weapon, almost causing him to lose one of his arms. Luckily, his father, who was a doctor, coincidently found Ishida and treated his wounds, allowing him to survive without any permanent damage. Well, he had to stay around a month in the hospital, but that wasn't a big deal.

Anyway, the moment Ichigo realized that Ishida was hurt, and even that if he had been there, he likely wouldn't have been any help, Ichigo gritted his teeth as he took out the card Ginjo gave him that had Ginjo's phone number on it.

Truly, what a weird coincidence: Just when Ichigo is uncertain whether he even needs to regain his powers, one of his friends gets attacked randomly in the middle of the streets. What a weird coincidence... right?

Anyway, another two days passed, and it was yet again time for school. However, this time, when Yuna saw Ichigo, she could only raise her eyebrows, as he now wore a face filled with confidence and determination.

'Hee~ seems like Ginjo managed to hook him in, huh? Mhh, I'll guess I'll stalk him today to see what is going on. Oops, I mean, "secretly guard him to make sure nothing bad happens to him"~'

[Sure, whatever makes you feel better.]

Suddenly, a shiver went through Ichigo's spine, causing him to look around the classroom in confusion, but after seeing nothing unusual, he concluded that he must have just imagined things.

Hours later, the school was over, but unlike his normal path home, Ichigo took another route, and behind him, within the shadows, two pairs of eyes were following, talking in hushed voices.

"I'm surprised you decided to come as well, Hinata. Stuff like this is usually more in Naruto's preferences."

Hearing Yuna's words, Hinata clicked her tongue while she stealthily moved to the next place hidden within the shadows, her eyes never leaving Ichigo.

"Recently, you had too many chances of moving on your own, so the number of girls has been growing rather rapidly. I'm here to cull further growth."

"Hehe, you think you can~"

"Of course not. But I can at least try to contain the number a little."

Hinata's idea was rather clear. If Yuna had seduced a woman, the chance that she could convince said woman to join Yuna's harem was higher than when the women knew about Yuna having a lover from the start. As such, as long as Hinata stayed with Yuna, the growth should at least be contained to some degree.

While Yuna was chuckling in amusement due to Hinata's words, Ichigo had apparently reached his destination as he entered an old apartment building.

Yuna and Hinata briefly glanced at each other before nodding their heads, stealthily following behind Ichigo. Luckily, Ichigo was not only shit at sensing Spiritual power, but he currently didn't even have any that would allow him to sense other people, making it easy for Yuna and Hianta to follow him.

The moment Ichigo entered the room, a pink-haired girl with twin tails talked to him excitedly.

"Good, you are here. This is today's training stage. Get into the fish tank."

"Okay."

Surprisingly, showing no reaction to the girl's words, Ichigo simply stepped forward and prepared himself for whatever was about to happen, flustering the girl.

"Why are you suddenly reacting so calmly? No yelling about not getting into this thing?"

"No, let's get started."

Seeing the power behind Ichigo's eyes, the girl sighed, and a moment later, a small pink heart appeared above her finger and shot at Ichigo, and the moment it touched him, he was sucked into the small aquarium the girl was holding.

Inside the aquarium, Ichigo had to face a dark-skinned woman with black hair, and seeing that Ichigo was already combat-ready the moment he arrived, a smirk appeared on the woman's face.

"Nice, I like the look on your face."

In total, there were currently four people spectating what was going on with Ichigo, but while everyone was fixated on Ichigo and his opponent, a minuscule click could be heard, followed by the door of the room lightly opening. However, since everyone was currently fixated on Ichigo's fight, nobody noticed, allowing two additional figures to slip into the room.

Meanwhile, within the aquarium, Ichigo continued fighting. Although it initially looked like Ichigo was being overwhelmed due to his new power, which manifested as a sword guard that could throw black swastikas, he managed to trick his opponent due to his superior combat experience, forged during multiple battles to the death.

However, Ichigo's trick unfortunately didn't work as well as he had hoped, allowing his opponent to get away without suffering much damage. The fight was just about to continue when Ichigo's Substitute Shinigami Badge, which he used as the source of his Fullbring power, suddenly started getting out of control, coating a good chunk of his body in dense black Spiritual Power.
However, while his opponent was panicking, trying to make Ichigo pause the fight, Ichigo wanted to hear none of that, as he could much better tell what was going on.

His Bankai always manifested in himself being engulfed by it, wearing his Spiritual Power as armor that made him stronger and faster. Right now, his Substitute Shinigami Badge was telling him to keep pushing. He knew exactly what was going on. It wasn't going out of control; it was telling him to manifest it properly in the form he had always manifested his power as: As something he could wear.

While Ichigo was exploring his new power, surprisingly, another person entered the room. It was Sado, who over the last year, had found out that his power likely was a Fullbring as well, due to being contacted by Ginjo. So, after experimenting a bit, he found out that that was indeed the case, allowing him to improve his power quite a bit as he joined Ginjo's organization.
While Sado was chatting with Ginjio, the entrance door was suddenly opened yet again, allowing a single person to walk in. It was a lanky man with long black hair and a calm expression on his face. However, seeing that meant everyone else in the room couldn't help but be shocked, after all...

"No way, Shukuro Tsukishima."

The man who had just entered was Shukuro Tsukishima, the person whom Ginjo told to be their enemy and, apparently, the one who wounded Ishida.

"Hey, it's been a long time, Ginjo."

Despite everyone being shocked by his presence, Tsukishima wore a rather casual expression as he briefly glanced at everyone in the room.

"Kutzusawa, I hope you haven't been drinking too much.

Yukio, it looks like you still play too many video games.

And Ginjo... it has been a while."

Tsukishima leisurely addressed the people still in the room, starting with the butler-looking person wearing an eyepatch, followed by a young man with blond hair, who was currently playing a video game, and finishing with Ginjo, who was looking at Tsukishima with mixed emotions.

However, Tsukishima was seemingly unbothered by everyone's shocked gazes and leisurely strolled into the room.

"Mhh, Jackie, and Riruka are missing, huh? In that case, they must be in here."

Scanning the room, Tsukishima quickly found an aquarium, which he swiftly recognized as something Riruka, the pink-haired girl, had used her power on.

Ginjo wanted to stop him, but before he could even make a single step, Tsukishima had already made a move, cutting the aquarium in half with his sword.

Surprisingly, what appeared after it was cut was Ichigo, fully clad in dense black Spiritual Power, and an unconscious Jackie, the dark-skinned woman Ichigo previously fought. Clearly, Ichigo had significantly improved his control over his new-found power and managed to defeat his opponent.

Seeing Ichigo's current form, Tsukishima smiled lightly as he put his attention on Ichigo and resumed talking.

"I see, so it's like that. Did you know that when Riruka's [Doll House] is broken, everyone inside gets thrown out? Anyway, so you were hiding in there to train, huh?

Oh well, I see it's finally taking shape, so..."

"Oi, barkeeper... or rather, butler, make me a drink. A strong one."

"I'll take a strong one as well, but I want it to taste fruity~"

"Eh? Ah! Right away."

Suddenly, two carefree voices echoed through the room, breaking the tense atmosphere. Kutzusawa, the man clothed in a butler uniform, was initially confused but quickly switched to work mode, preparing himself to fulfill the order made. However, he hadn't even taken three steps before he noticed that something was very off right now.

His gaze, and the gaze of everyone else in the room, landed on the source of those two voices, causing them to notice two young women sitting at the room's bar, casually waiting for their drink.

"Y-Yuna and Hianta?"

The person whose brain managed to restart first was Ichigo, who was already somewhat used to Yuna messing around.

"Oh, you are here as well, Ichigo. You want a drink, too?"

Hearing that question, Ichigo's face deadpanned as he quickly answered Yuna's question.

"We are underaged."

"Can't see any police around here~"

While Yuna and Ichigo were lightly bantering, Tsukishima could feel cold sweat flowing down his back due to Yuna's presence. Obviously, they had to deal with her at some point, but that point wasn't now.

He even went out of his way to change Ginjo's memories of him so Yuna wouldn't be able to sniff out that Ginjo had hidden motives, and yet, here she was, smack in the middle of their base, leisurely requesting a drink.

'This is bad. Very bad. Currently, my chances of doing anything meaningful in her presence are pretty much zero. I need to get out of here as soon as I can.'

Tsukishima's mind started working on overdrive to come up with a plan allowing him to get out of here. After scanning the people in the room and double-checking who should know him and who shouldn't, a cunning glint passed through his eyes as his gaze landed on Yuna.

"Yuna Uzumaki, I assume. It's nice to meet you. I'm Tsukishima, and I'm the one who attacked Ishida and O..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Sado appeared in front of him, his right hand already covered with his own Fullbring.

"[El Directo]"

"Oi, what the hell, Sado!?"

Although Ginjo exclaimed in surprise due to Sado suddenly attacking in full force, Tsukishima couldn't help but smile, as this was exactly what he had hoped would happen.

Considering how far Ichigo had gotten with his training already, Tsukishima was certain that he had spent a significant amount of time here, preventing him from knowing what was going on outside this room.

That being said, Tsukishima was also aware of how protective Ichigo was with his friends, so by mentioning that he had attacked them, he knew that he could egg Ichigo on, potentially resulting in him doing something reckless.

With that in mind, he also knew that Sado had accompanied Ichigo for a long time, so he would undoubtedly know that Ichigo would react recklessly in case he heard about someone hurting his friends.

So, in conclusion, if Tsukishima were about to reveal that he had attacked Ichigo's friends, there was no doubt that Sado would intervene with a powerful blow, allowing Tsukishima to block the attack while simultaneously getting blasted away from this place, allowing him to flee before Yuna even knew who he was and as such, making her not follow him.

Yuna saw the whole spectacle but decided not to intervene. Frankly, she had not a sliver of a clue what was even going on, and although she heard Tsukishima mentioning that he had attacked Ishida, she hadn't heard anything about that at all.

"So, anyway, when's the drink done?"

"""""That's your only question!?"""""

While everyone in the room was yelling at Yuna simultaneously, she only tilted her head in confusion, not really knowing what was going on.