It happened just before the members of the Thirteenth Division were set to depart.
"Lieutenant... I was just thinking," Kiyone Kotetsu said, broaching the subject with Kaien Shiba.
Seeing the uncharacteristically serious expression on his subordinate's face, Kaien looked back at her with a hint of apprehension. "Huh? What is it, Kiyone?"
"Look, we're going to rescue Rukia Kuchiki, right?"
"Yeah."
"In that case, I think we'll eventually meet up with that Ichigo Kurosaki guy again."
"Well, yeah... I guess. We're after the same thing, after all..." Kaien scratched his cheek lightly, puzzled by where she was going with this.
"So, I have a proposal. If that happens, I think we need to do something to help Ichigo Kurosaki out!"
"I mean, sure... It's not like we don't know the guy. I don't plan on abandoning him, and I'll help him as much as I can, but..."
The moment he said that, Kiyone's eyes lit up as if she had been waiting for those exact words.
"Right, right! Then, Lieutenant! You should dye your hair!!"
"...What!?"
"Look, remember when Ichigo Kurosaki left here? He dyed his hair black to go undercover! It's just like that! This time, you'll pretend to be Ichigo Kurosaki to draw attention!"
"Oh! I was wondering what you were getting at! Not bad, Kiyone!"
"Right? Well, unlike Sentaro Kotsubaki, I actually have a brain!!"
"I see... Hey! Like hell I can do that!!"
The area suddenly became noisy, and the tension before their departure completely evaporated. But Kiyone didn't stop there.
"Oh? That's weird. Didn't you just say you'd help if you could? It's just dyeing your hair a little! Come on, now..."
"...I see. As a strategy, it might actually be viable."
"W-Wait, even you, Captain Jushiro Ukitake!? Why!?"
"No, really. When Captain Airi Yukawa took him to the Eleventh Division, they managed to avoid any major trouble. So, the reverse might work too. In a situation like this, we should take every advantage we can... Pfft!!"
Jushiro Ukitake had been arguing for the strategy's effectiveness with a dead serious face, but he couldn't hold it back any longer and burst out laughing.
"Captain!! Why did you laugh at the end!? If you hadn't done that, I... I!!"
"Now, now, big brother. Don't make such a face. Even the Captain said so, so just give it up already. Hey, Ganju Shiba, you help too! It's a family's duty to restrain a stubborn brother, right!?"
"Wait, Sis!? ...Alright!"
"Kukaku Shiba! Ganju Shiba! You guys too!?"
"Now, now, Lieutenant, stay still. I bought some yellow dye from a mysterious door-to-door salesman yesterday just in case something like this happened! With this, we'll be done in a jiffy! Besides, he said it's full of natural ingredients and won't damage your scalp!!"
"Stop it... STOP IIIIIIIIIIIIT!!"
A scream echoed through the area.
---
"Bwahahaha!"
"Heh... heh...!"
"....! ....!!!!"
"Damn it... Laugh if you want to laugh..."
"Well, it was certainly worth my own money."
"I-It's not so bad, brother... If you think of it as helping a relative... Pfft!"
A few minutes later, there stood a magnificent version of Ichigo Kurosaki—otherwise known as Kaien Shiba.
The reactions around him were exactly as you might imagine. If one were to put it into words, it would be something like, "In an instant, the area was transformed into a 'bright workplace filled with endless smiles.'"
"Fine!! You bastards! Are you satisfied now!? Let's get moving, dammit!!"
Having given up and accepted his current appearance, Kaien displayed a mysterious sense of leadership and charged ahead as if saying, 'Shut up and follow me.'
Later, sensing Ichigo Kurosaki's spiritual pressure along the way, Kukaku Shiba temporarily broke off from the group. She took it upon herself to stir up trouble by insisting that Ichigo Kurosaki was Kaien Shiba and claiming that Kaien Shiba was Ichigo Kurosaki.
---
The scene returns to where Ichigo Kurosaki and the others were located.
"Oops, Ichigo—I mean, Kaien Shiba went ahead. I should probably accompany him. So, farewell!"
"Ah, hey, wait! Don't just go off on your own... And so, Captain! Since the target got away, I'll be going after them too!"
Seeing Ichigo Kurosaki leave, Yoruichi Shihoin dashed after him.
Watching her back, Rangiku Matsumoto let out a completely unmotivated voice, having found a convenient excuse, but then stopped before following Yoruichi Shihoin.
"Oh, right, right. I almost forgot. Hey, you guys! Go deal with those intruders over there! That's a Lieutenant's order!"
"Don't move on your own! That's a Captain's—"
"Besides, if we're here, the Captain won't be able to use his Zanpakuto because he'll be worried about us, right? So just go, hurry up."
After saying that, Rangiku Matsumoto ran off in a completely different direction.
"Well, if it's a Lieutenant's order..."
"And if we're here..."
"We'll get caught in Hyorinmaru's attack..."
The remaining squad members muttered such things and reluctantly left the scene, now that they had a plausible reason. While each of them certainly had their own thoughts on the matter, it seemed that the idea of "getting caught in Hyorinmaru" was unexpectedly effective.
'Kukaku Shiba, was it? Sorry for pushing the Captain onto you. But I don't want to make the subordinates deal with the Captain's recklessness anymore...'
Rangiku Matsumoto, who had stopped nearby to watch after pretending to run off, breathed a small sigh of relief at her subordinates' actions and apologized in her heart.
'Besides, if that's Lieutenant Kaien Shiba over there, I'm sure he can stop the Captain! She did say she was his sister... Honestly, I probably couldn't stop the Captain if he truly went on a rampage... Ugh! I hate that this is all I can do!!'
Lamenting her powerlessness, Rangiku Matsumoto stood in a position where she could intervene at any moment and watched the situation. She understood better than anyone that she had dumped a troublesome mess on them.
If they all managed to get through this safely, she decided she would buy everyone a drink, all while staring ahead with a grim expression.
---
"...I hope you're prepared."
"Heh, for what?"
"Don't play dumb! Sit upon the frozen heavens, Hyorinmaru!!"
Toshiro Hitsugaya released his Zanpakuto toward Kukaku Shiba, who continued her mocking attitude despite the chaos she had caused. Seeing this, Kukaku Shiba became twice as cautious internally, though she maintained her composed facade.
"Ooh, scary, scary. Looks like an ice-type Zanpakuto."
"What of it!"
A massive amount of water and ice was generated from the Zanpakuto, surging toward Kukaku Shiba. But as the decoy, she didn't try to avoid it; instead, she laughed loudly.
"Hah! How dull! Let's make things a bit more festive and flashy!! Way of Destruction Number Seventy-three: Blue Flame Crash!!"
She met the formless chill rushing at her head-on by firing a Blue Flame Crash from both hands. High heat and low temperature clashed, creating a massive explosion.
"That won't work!!"
However, Hyorinmaru's chill didn't stop there. Though some of its momentum was lost, an ice dragon burst through the smoke. Through a gap in the smoke that briefly revealed his opponent, Toshiro Hitsugaya noticed something.
Kukaku Shiba was posing as if she were about to fire a bow and arrow.
"Shiba-style Archery: Point Break!!"
"Tch!?"
The moment their eyes met through the smoke, Kukaku Shiba fired the technique. But it wasn't an arrow that flew out; it was a single streak of light. Toshiro Hitsugaya easily dodged the Kido-like beam of light by tilting his head.
"A surprise attack? Your aim is lacking."
"Whoa... Cold, cold! Seriously, when it's this cold, it makes me want some hot sake!"
As for Kukaku Shiba, the cost of using the technique was high. Because she had attacked in succession, she couldn't fully escape the blast of cold air, and parts of her body were encased in ice.
Although she was wearing undergarments with some resistance to blades, impact, and Kido—rather than her usual revealing outfit—Toshiro Hitsugaya's attacks easily bypassed such defenses.
Irritated by the cold that seemed to pierce her to the bone, Kukaku Shiba nevertheless didn't stop her banter. That casual attitude only served to irritate Toshiro Hitsugaya further.
"Don't screw with me!!"
"Shiba-style—"
Kukaku Shiba immediately reacted to Toshiro Hitsugaya's attempt to follow up with another attack, slamming her hands onto the ground while ignoring her body's screams from the cold.
"What are you... Whoa!?"
Just as Toshiro Hitsugaya braced himself for another attack, an intense sensation of wrongness surged up from the soles of his feet. Before he could react, he lost his footing and slipped violently, his posture breaking.
Barely avoiding a fall by sheer core strength, he realized what had happened.
"Mud!?"
The paved road from a moment ago had instantaneously transformed into a peat-like bog, like a bottomless swamp. It was a simple truth: if one stepped onto such a surface expecting solid ground, this would be the result.
Desperately fighting to stay upright, he solidified the surrounding spiritual matters to create a foothold, then slammed his limbs against it, using the recoil to force himself into the air.
"Damn it, such a childish trick..."
"Well, yeah... Normally, someone would either fall or do exactly that. Right, kiddo?"
He hadn't realized he was jumping right into Kukaku Shiba's trap.
"..!?"
"Shiba-style Archery: Explosive Flare!!"
Toward the defenseless Toshiro Hitsugaya who had just leapt up, Kukaku Shiba launched a sphere of light about the size of a volleyball created by her technique.
Upon impact, the sphere released a massive explosion, shockwave, and light. It was as if a lit firework had been thrown directly at him.
"Hehe, you let your guard down, didn't you?"
If someone slips, they either fall or they're forced to jump to avoid it. That's the normal reaction. Furthermore, if the opponent is angry and their vision is narrowed, the probability of them stubbornly trying to avoid the trap increases.
Exposing oneself in such an unstable state was, to Kukaku Shiba, the same as saying, 'Please, take a shot at me.'
Kukaku Shiba smirked slightly, forgetting even the pain of the cold, as things went exactly according to plan.
"But still... whoa!!"
"So? Is your little street performance over?"
Kukaku Shiba leaped to the side to dodge Toshiro Hitsugaya's incoming slash.
'Tch! He blocked the Explosive Flare head-on and he's already back for more? I guess every Captain really is something else...'
She gritted her teeth in frustration. That last attack was one she had been quite confident in.
Thanks to having Kaien Shiba nearby, she thought she understood the weight of high spiritual pressure, and she should have been able to at least deal some damage.
But judging from his appearance, he had likely created a wall of ice at the last second and wore it like armor to protect himself. The proof was in the fact that the tips of Toshiro Hitsugaya's hair and the hem of his robe were slightly frozen—being almost unhurt was beyond her expectations.
Still, Kukaku Shiba didn't lose her smirk.
"...But the idea of me losing is even more impossible."
"Huh? What are you—gah!?"
"Sis! Are you okay!?"
Ganju Shiba arrived from behind, blowing Toshiro Hitsugaya away with a powerful lariat to the neck.
"Hey, Ganju Shiba. Good timing."
"But, but what should I do... I... I just sent a Captain flying..."
"Don't worry about it. If you can blow away a Captain, it just means you've got a bright future. Think of it as a way to sell yourself."
The person who spoke to calm the panicked Ganju Shiba wasn't Kukaku Shiba. A Soul Reaper appeared behind Ganju Shiba, laughing off his worries with a bright smile, telling him to think more positively.
"Don't you think so too? Right, Captain Hitsugaya?"
"Kaien... Shiba...!"
"Kaien Shiba? Who's that? I'm Ichigo Kurosaki!"
He spoke with complete abandon, proudly puffing out his chest while showing off his orange-dyed hair.
"You should have been causing a ruckus over there..."
"Now, what would you be talking about? Maybe there was some kind of signal?"
A signal—hearing that, one thing occurred to Toshiro Hitsugaya.
"That... was it!!?"
The attack Kukaku Shiba had fired, called Point Break. Its true nature was a "beam of light." Because he had easily dodged it by just tilting his head, he had dismissed it, but if its purpose wasn't damage but a signal—
"I'm not so full of myself that I'd think I could take on a Captain all by myself."
"Guh...!!"
Realizing he had been completely toyed with, Toshiro Hitsugaya ground his teeth.
"Well then, it's time to tag in. If this hair helps me stall the Tenth Division Captain, then it was worth it."
"You, Shiba! Do you understand!? What you're doing..."
"Heh, who knows!!"
Though she seemed fine, the damage Kukaku Shiba had taken from the cold was by no means light. Deciding he couldn't let his sister fight any longer, Kaien Shiba stepped forward, drawing his Zanpakuto and challenging Toshiro Hitsugaya.
"Unfortunately, I'm 'Ichigo Kurosaki the intruder'! I don't really get those complicated matters!!"
"You bastard!!"
"Since we both graduated early from the Spiritual Arts Academy, why don't we have a little swordplay! Junior!!"
"Whose side are you even on!?"
'Still, what should I do...'
Kaien Shiba was also conflicted. On his way here, he had heard from Rangiku Matsumoto—very briefly—that Toshiro Hitsugaya was acting strange and her plea to stop him.
Even if she hadn't asked, Kaien Shiba had no intention of actually defeating Toshiro Hitsugaya. He wasn't cold-hearted or inhuman enough to ruthlessly strike down an opponent who was clearly not himself.
He was managing to keep Toshiro Hitsugaya engaged with his nonsense, but he knew that facing a Captain was still a tall order, and a single drop of cold sweat ran down his mind.
"Hey, Ganju Shiba, let's do that."
"That? Wait, Sis, you don't mean!?"
At the same time Kaien Shiba began his battle, Kukaku Shiba pointed to the sky, prompting her brother to help. Ganju Shiba was confused for a moment, but as soon as he realized what his sister was trying to do, his face went pale.
"Here we go—"
"Wait, Sis! Ah, geez—"
"Shiba-style Technique—"
"Shiba-style Technique—"
"Heaven's Call!!"
The sister and brother. The two of them synchronized their breathing and activated a special technique.
That said, the technique wasn't the kind that produced an immediate effect upon activation. Only Kaien Shiba, who knew the effect of the technique, let a smile slip at what they had done.
"This is!! Heh, what a bunch of siblings who care about their big brother. They're gonna make me cry!!"
"What!? This is... the sky! Hyorinmaru!?"
The Heaven's Call technique worked slowly but surely, mitigating the cold air that Hyorinmaru had generated.
Toshiro Hitsugaya cried out in confusion at the sensation of gradually but certainly losing control over the cold, as if his neck were being squeezed by silk thread.
Shiba-style Technique: Heaven's Call.
The technique was one that temporarily controlled the weather. Compared to Hyorinmaru, which was said to be able to command the heavens, it was small-scale and had a high cost, but it literally manipulated the weather at will.
Clear skies, clouds, rain, even snow and wind didn't matter. It used the sunlight to cancel out Hyorinmaru's power to command the heavens with ice and snow, and by slowly raising the temperature, it neutralized the Zanpakuto.
"Now we can do this!! Even if you're a Captain, you're just a brat who won't listen, so this might be a bit of a rough lesson! Get ready!!"
That was the moment the scales of battle tipped slightly toward Kaien Shiba and the others.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]