Kazuya obviously couldn’t meet his fellow Shinigami like Rangiku, Nanao, or Momo in his Hollow form. He had to become a Soul and wear his academy uniform, which wasn’t in his possession at the moment. After slaying Zommari, Kazuya had used Bakudō #26 Kyokkō, a relatively low-level kidō spell that bent light around the target, to shake off any stalker on his trail. On his way to meet Aizen, he had tossed his academy kimono in an abandoned warehouse.

He switched into his Human form and requested Kisuke to separate his soul from his body.

“Oh, by the way, I left those students and a Vice-Captain in the basement of my old shop.”

“Rangiku Matsumoto was her name,” Tessai expanded on Kisuke’s lazy report. “You should confirm it just in case Captain Yamamoto leaves without investigating the shop.”

“Alright. I’ll do that. See ya later.”

With a brief farewell, he left the basement with his physical body in his hands. Since he was tight on time, he chucked the body into Tier’s room.

After casting Bakudō #26 Kyokkō on his own, he left the mansion. Aizen and Gin had gone to the Soul Society, but he didn’t see the third member of the trio, Tosen. He couldn’t move around freely as the blind Captain could be observing Karakura Town from a hidden place.

“That’s the place.”

He dove through the broken window, burned his current clothes, and wore the Shino Academy’s kimono. Like every traditional Japanese dress, wearing the kimono alone was quite a tedious process.

{Partner, you never told me how you switched genders…}

‘The same way I switch races. Flames of rebirth.’

Azure and purple flames always manifested during his gender or race transformations. He decided to call them flames of rebirth as they allowed him to be reborn into a new form.

{Oh. Can you use them for anything else?}

‘As of now, nothing.’

{Bright flames possessing an ability bordering on time reversal, crimson flames possessing the power of pure destruction, and azure flames possessing the power of metamorphosis at will. Shinku-no-Tsubasa, Izanami-no-Mikoto… who’s the Zanpakutō Spirit for the third?}

The question posed by Nami made him pause in the middle of tying his hakama (trousers). He narrowed his eyes, a plethora of wild theories rising in his mind. The most prevalent of which was bordering on terrifying.

He always thought the Template System let him assess his strength and modify his status because it relied on laws outside the Bleach verse. However, the System achieved the race/gender switching through a unique flame. The flames that originated from his own soul.

‘The System is from this universe.’

Going by the logic, some powerful entity had read his mind when he reincarnated as a weak Hollow. Using the information from his memories, they made a System and attached it to him.

‘No one in Bleach has that type of power… unless it’s the Soul King himself.’

He consciously let the thought echo in his head in the same manner as he talked with Nami. A lack of reaction from Nami only strengthened his doubts. The System was an extremely powerful entity capable of removing any mention of its existence.

‘Let’s hypothetically say it’s the Soul King. What will be his motive behind it?’ Does he want to reincarnate through me?’

In his prime, the Soul King was more powerful than Yhwach’s final form. The nobles sealed him and then mutilated his body. The Soul King hadn’t resisted one bit; he died to let the three realms flourish without an absolute ruler. After a death like that, it wouldn’t make sense for the Soul King to pluck a random human from another universe and use him as a vessel for his resurrection.

‘No, I’m overthinking this.’

He pushed the absurd thoughts out of his mind. “Honestly, Nami. I have no idea. You live inside my Inner World. You should know what’s inside there and what’s not.”

{Don’t be ridiculous, Partner. Your Inner World is endless. I don’t explore anything outside of this island.}

‘I have no idea.’

{From what I can guess, it has to be another hot chick. Here’s my theory. Tsubasa, our daughter, acted like a clingy daughter, who wanted her Master to be perfect from her perspective. I’m mature but my experience is limited to yours. I consider myself your equal in every sense. Going by logic, the third will be one rank higher.}

‘You mean—’

{This one will be a mommy!}

‘Or even older.’

{Sheesh, Partner. She’s gonna discipline you into a good boy.}

‘I already have a mother. Her name is Tier Harribel.’

{Nobody said you can’t have two! Awww, we’re already here. I wanted to tease you some more.}

While having a conversation with the quirky Nami, he reached Sung-Sun’s flower shop. Since he was concealed and his Reiatsu fully suppressed, the two ladies didn’t come out to greet him.

{Wanna bet if ladies will sniff you out?}

‘Nope.’

Only people with extremely sharp senses could hope to find him; somehow most of his lovers fell under that category, even Izumi. As a clingy and obsessive yandere, she arguably stood as much chance as Apacci.

‘I’ll check up on Izumi after this.’

Since her Reiatsu was quite weak, he couldn’t locate her whereabouts.

{Do you believe that pervert stayed home after sensing her Otouto-kun battling a Hollow?}

‘No. Lisa probably took her to the Visored’s base.’

Now that Izumi wasn’t Quincy, Lisa might’ve chosen to reveal her secret to Izumi — so was his speculation.

He opened the door to Sung-Sun’s flower shop and took a curious look inside. Sung-Sun carefully trimmed a bonsai plant, fully concentrated in crafting a masterpiece. Mila Rose, on the other hand, sat behind the counter, idly tapping the ground as if waiting for someone. Then there was Momo leaning against the wall, knocked out cold.

{That’s why she didn’t come to help you. Poor girl was jumped by your lovers.}

A gust of wind blew into the shop, alarming Mila Rose. She perked up and sniffed the air. “Skull?! That’s Skull. Oi, stop hiding. I know you’re here!”

Sung-Sun turned around, smiling. “Hubby, welcome back.”

Mila Rose got up on the reception table and dove at him. “Skull!”

He calmly caught her, letting the overly excited lioness brace slide her arms around. “I so wanted to come out and punch those bastards troubling you. I ignored my instincts and listened to Sung-Sun… it was so hard to sit there and wait, but I did it.”

Stroking her back, he planted a kiss on her forehead. “I’m proud of your resilience. It’d be over for me if anyone from the Soul Society saw you helping me out there.”

She looked up with a bright smile. “Thank you. Thank you.”

Sung-Sun approached him with a smile. “Guess who didn’t listen to me and got knocked unconscious?”

His glance drifted to Momo. “Thanks for stopping her. I wouldn’t have been able to protect her on my own.”

Sung-Sun nodded and hugged him from the side. “Hubby, I love you.”

“Hmm?”

“I just wanted to say that…” she whispered. “Feeling all those strong Reiatsu scared me a little.”

Mila Rose’s arms trembled. She captured him in a bear-like hug and buried his face in her chest. “I also love you—” she suddenly drew close to his face and sniffed him. “It smells like Yoruichi’s human form’s saliva. What’s more, her scent is all over you.”

“How do you know her saliva’s smell?”

“That’s not the important question, Hubby.” Sung-Sun held his chin and made him look into her trembling eyes. “Hubby, we were worried sick for your safety here. You could’ve said hello here before mating the wild cat.”

“Yeah! You should have shaboinked her after meeting us. Why did you do that?”

{They’re encouraging you to cheat on them. Everyone needs wives like that.}

“Shaboinked?” Sung-Sun burst into laughter. “Franceska, you perv. Where did you find that word?”

Kazuya couldn’t help but smile after listening to their grumbles. They were passionate about him. Such passion often came with high expectations. When he didn’t meet their expectations, they voiced out their discontent.

{It’s a healthy relationship.}

He nodded at Nami’s words. “Sung-Sun, Franceska, Yoruichi…”

A brief explanation later, the two stared at each other with wide eyes, speechless.

“Hubby, I… please forgive me. I’m such a bad wife for doubting my husband’s character.”

“Me too… I’m sorry.”

He wrapped them both in his arms. “I’ll forgive you on one condition. If it ever happens in the future, you won’t bury it in your chest. But you’ll come to me and say it to my face like today.”

He wanted his relationships to last for a long time. Sorting out their personal issues with him from time to time would only bring them closer and deepen their understanding.

Sung-Sun pecked his face. “Deal.”

“You bet I will.” Mila Rose giggled and head-butted his chest. “Skull, can you stay today? I want to…”

The glimmer of desire in her eyes couldn’t be more apparent.

He gently shook his head. “I’m—”

“Shoo.” Sung-Sun pressed a finger against his lips and pointed at Momo. “She is awake.”

Momo’s fingers twitched before her eyes slowly opened. She sat up and rubbed her eyes sleepily.

Kazuya pushed the two out of the door, whispering to them to wait outside. He hurried to Momo’s side and held her hand.

“Kazuya-kun…”

“Sleep,” he commanded firmly, imbuing the word with every bit of his charm. “Sleep for a while.”

Her head drooped down as her consciousness drifted to the land of dreams. He lifted her and gently laid her on the counter.

“Wait here. We’ll go back after I get Nanao.”