"So 'using my body' meant... this?"
Ichigo's shoulders slumped, his expression a mix of disappointment and pure exhaustion.
'How strange... All I said was "pay with your body." I wonder what on earth he was imagining?'
'Come on, be honest with me. Hmm? Hmmm?'
"Well, obviously it's something 'unmentionable', my Liege! The hot, burning libido of a boy dreaming of being alone with you for a massage is at full throttle and on the verge of erupting!!"
'Ah, I see. I'll give his muscles a light rubdown later then. It might help his strength a little bit.'
"That is most excellent! It feels like Master Ichigo's Zangetsu is about to Bankai all at once!!"
'...You're talking about his Zanpakuto, right? You don't mean that in a vulgar way, do you?'
And so.
"Pay with your body"—that, of course, meant "spar with me."
Ichigo has gotten a bit stronger, and I've grown a bit too... wouldn't you want to fight? So I'm just having him pay with his body.
I certainly don't have any indecent intentions. None at all.
"You really have a mean streak, don't you...?"
"I'm sorry. I just wanted to say it once. 'Pay with your body.'"
Captain Unohana gave me a mild scolding.
But compared to the "sudden Vice-Captain appointment" or "sudden Captain appointment" you pulled on me, I think this is pretty cute.
"Heh heh heh... Hey, Ichigo, what a shame. Looks like your expectations were way off... Pfft!"
"Shut up, Ikkaku! I wasn't! I didn't! I wasn't expecting anything! I wasn't thinking that at all!!"
"She might look like that, but she does incredibly reckless things without batting an eye. You'd better watch out so you don't get killed."
"Are you serious...?"
They were saying some pretty awful things about me.
How rude! All I've ever done to Ikkaku is... duel him regularly and beat him to a pulp, or force Ryumon Hozukimaru into pieces, or give him the Iron Claw... Oh?
"It seems you are being evaluated quite accurately, my Liege."
'N-No! I'm an S-rank!'
"A 'Super Sadist' rank...?"
'No!'
"...Ahem! Well then, Kurosaki-kun, shall we get started?"
"Right! Come at me anytime, damn it!!"
Ichigo slapped his cheeks to psych himself up and raised Zangetsu.
"Oh! Looks like it's starting, Captain, Vice-Captain Saraki."
"Now then, I wonder what that girl is going to do this time..."
"I'm not interested in what she does. Let's see."
"Good luck, Airi-rin! Go get 'em!!"
"I watched him from a distance in the World of the Living, but... surely you won't leave Ichigo incapacitated again, will you...?"
"...Ugh..."
And so, everyone else was in spectator mode.
...Except for one person who was groggy because they messed up the balance between their appetite and hunger and overate.
"Well, here I go."
After giving a proper warning—
"!!"
"Ah, amazing."
—I got behind him in a flash and attacked, but it seems he managed to block it perfectly this time.
"Hah! You think I'm gonna let you get me with the same trick over and over!?"
"If you can block that, you really have grown."
Seriously, his growth speed is almost annoyingly fast.
"I'm sure you noticed, but that was the same movement and speed as the strike I used to stab you in the World of the Living."
"I knew it! No wonder it felt easy to block!"
Perhaps remembering the terror of that moment, Ichigo shuddered slightly.
"...You don't mean to say that if Ichigo hadn't blocked it, you would have..."
"No, no, I wouldn't go that far this time. See? I didn't use the tip of the blade."
I wonder what Yoruichi-san thinks of me...?
When I pointed it out, he had stopped the strike from my hilt-end with Zangetsu.
"It certainly wouldn't have pierced him, but that blow looks like it would hurt quite a bit... It's not much different from being poked with a hard rod..."
"Besides, even if he gets hurt, I'll heal him. So there's no problem, right?"
When I said that, Ichigo looked at me as if he were seeing an alien.
"...Hey, Ikkaku."
"What is it?"
"Everything you said was true. Sorry for doubting you..."
"Told ya."
I wonder what that's supposed to mean...
"Even with a guarantee of a full recovery, very few people actually want to be beaten to a pulp, don't you think?"
Ah, I see... Now that you mention it, that's true... I've been kicked around by Captain Unohana so much...
I can never go back to being a normal girl...
"Yeah, I've seen enough of your current skill. It wasn't just for show that you were training with Ikkaku and the others."
"Hey! Why are you stopping? Was that one hit all you wanted?"
As I sheathed my Zanpakuto, Ichigo panicked.
It seems he thought a battle was about to begin where we'd wash blood with blood and quench our thirst by licking each other's wounds, but he was wrong.
That's not what I want to do.
"I do want you to gain combat experience, but... if anything, I'm interested in your spiritual power."
"Huh? My spiritual power...? Is it really that big of a deal?"
"Yes, of course."
Is it because people don't notice things about themselves? Ichigo had a completely clueless look on his face.
"Your spiritual pressure feels a bit different than it did in the World of the Living. That's what's bothering me... Part of the reason for that attack just now was to reconfirm the difference in your Reiatsu."
"Well, yeah, but back then I only had the Soul Reaper powers I got from Rukia. You sensed that, so aren't you just feeling the 'difference' now that you're comparing it to my current strength?"
...Hm?
"The old man in Zangetsu said you overlooked 'my own Soul Reaper power,' and I was told my dad was a former Soul Reaper. Now that it's changed from Rukia's power to 'my own,' isn't it natural for it to be different?"
Ah, I see. So that's how he understands it. But he's wrong.
What I'm talking about is the Hollow.
"Yeah. That's part of it, but what I'm talking about is something more fundamental."
"Fundamental...? Wh-Whoa! Hey! What are you doing!?"
I lightly grabbed Ichigo's face and stared deep—right into the depths of his eyes.
Ichigo seemed a bit embarrassed, but I couldn't worry about that now.
"It's not just about it being your own Reiatsu instead of Rukia-san's. Comparing it to the broad framework of a Soul Reaper, your Reiatsu is just... off."
"What the hell does that mean...!? Ah! Is it maybe because my mom was a normal human!? If I'm a half-Soul Reaper, half-human, wouldn't that make it different!?"
...Eh? His mom... his mother... I suppose that's true.
Ichigo's mother... was she human? There must be some secret... No, sometimes being a normal human is exactly why someone gains ultimate strength...?
Come to think of it, this Reiatsu pattern feels similar to something I've felt before...
It's different from the Visoreds too... What was it? Um...
"That might be part of it. But that's not what I'm feeling. So, I'm going to ask your soul directly for a moment."
"My soul!? What are you planning to do!?"
...Alright! Don't think about it now!
I slowly let my own Reiatsu permeate into Ichigo.
Without letting my mask manifest, I Hollowfied just a tiny bit and tried to call out to the Hollow inside Ichigo.
I didn't know if I could do it—honestly, I thought it would probably be impossible.
But if it could even slightly trigger his Hollowfication, that would be a win.
So.
'Hey there, I'm one of you. I can Hollowfy too. So, just a little more. Just a tiny bit is fine. Could you lend Ichigo your strength? I want to make sure we're as prepared as possible.'
"I'm here too! And you get Blanc as a set deal now..."
—Who the hell are you...?
!!
"Eeeeeek!? What is it, what is it!?"
Wait, that voice just now...!!
—Wait. It seems Ichigo simply accepted them unconsciously. Besides, I feel no hostility.
—Tch! You're too soft. We should eliminate them before things get troublesome.
—I cannot. Ichigo does not wish for it. At the very least, he seems to feel a debt of gratitude toward this one...
This, this is... Is this the power of Zangetsu and the Hollow inside Ichigo...? Are they having a conversation!? Wow... I can't believe I managed to do that...
—Do not misunderstand, Soul Reaper. This is merely a special case, an exception. Under normal circumstances, you wouldn't even be permitted to approach.
—Man, let's just erase her. I feel like she's gonna think of something stupid.
"A-Ah, ah, wah, wah, wah! This is bad, this is definitely bad!"
Right! Even though these two are just talking normally, I can feel a ridiculously overpowered Reiatsu behind them... In fact, it's so strong that my ability to perceive them is becoming faint!
Ichigo has been with things like this the whole time!? He had this much power!?
S-Sorry for the intrusion!!
—Wait, Soul Reaper.
Yes! What is it! Anything!!
—Excessive interference is a nuisance. You "understand" what these words mean, don't you?
Sir! I am deeply sorry!!
"...!! Huff! Huff!"
"Yu-Yukawa-san!? What's wrong!? What happened!?"
"Eh... I'm here..."
Thank goodness... It's the Squad 11 basement. I managed to come back...
But that wasn't a dream... Definitely not...
Seeing something like that makes me shake to my core... I can't stop my breathing or my trembling...
"Did you find out what's 'different' about my Reiatsu!? No, what just happened...!?"
"Th-That's..."
Ichigo grabbed me and started questioning me, but... like I could ever tell him!!
I just got scolded with "Excessive interference is a nuisance!"
"My, that was quite the valuable experience..."
Nubatama, how can you be so calm...? More importantly, what am I supposed to say to Ichigo...!?
"D-Don't worry about me. More importantly, Kurosaki-kun..."
"O-Okay. But are you really alright...?"
Um... something! Say something smart!!
"Yeah. It was a little different. But it's not a bad thing. That's your power, and it's absolutely on your side... so don't worry."
"Huh...? Is that so...?"
"Also, well—"
It should be okay to say this much.
"—It might be difficult, but just a little more will do. Trust them, and be kind to them. That's all I can say."
"Trust them and be kind... huh...? To that thing...?"
Muttering that, Ichigo fell silent.
The serious look on his face was likely because he was pondering the power of Zangetsu and the Hollow within him.
"Are you finished, Airi?"
"Vice-Captain Saraki... Yes, well. There shouldn't be any problem even if I don't supervise his training."
"Then, go with me for a bit."
He grabbed my shoulder firmly—no, that's not right. It was more like a violent "Clutch!"
"I was shown something interesting yesterday. I'm just about at my limit."
"Vice-Captain Saraki...?"
Ah, this is bad.
"Let's cut each other! Come on!!"
"Eh...!? Ah... No, well... Fine...! But there's a time limit, okay?"
"What? You're unusually eager today! I'm glad!!"
He seemed very happy to see my motivation, but it was nothing like that.
Peeking inside Ichigo earlier had just stirred up a bit of a sense of crisis.
So, I thought I'd do at least a little more...
"Nubatama... Today, I'm going all out..."
While I was preparing for battle by releasing my Shikai, Captain Unohana spoke to Ichigo.
"Kurosaki-san, please watch this battle and burn it into your memory."
"Eh? The fight between Yukawa-san and Kenpachi...?"
"Indeed. Ichigo, learning by watching is also a form of training."
Everyone's just saying whatever they want... But they aren't wrong.
If you want to see it, I'll show you!! I won't charge a fee, just watch until your eyes burn a hole in us before you head home!!
Now then... I'd better push myself a bit today.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]