As soon as Riruka saw Shin, she bristled. "You! Yesterday I invited you and you didn't come, so why are you showing up uninvited today?"
Shin pointed at Ichigo and said, "Don't misunderstand. I came with him."
"Hmph!"
Riruka turned her head away, no longer paying attention to Shin.
Shin looked around but didn't see Shūkurō.
"Nohara-san, Kurosaki-kun, please have a seat." Ginjō gestured for them to sit down.
"Why aren't Chad and Orihime here?" Ichigo asked directly.
Kūgo explained, "They're training right now. They're not here."
"Can we watch their training?"
Ichigo wanted to see for himself if the so-called training was real.
"Hahaha, Kurosaki-kun, you're worried about your friends, aren't you?" Kūgo laughed.
"Then come and see with me."
With that, Kūgo led them to a room with a large screen displaying images of Chad fighting Shūkurō.
"This is the surveillance from their training ground. You should be reassured now."
Ichigo carefully confirmed that it was live footage, and that Shūkurō was truly training Chad, before finally relaxing.
Seeing that Ichigo seemed to genuinely believe there was no problem, Shin secretly shook his head.
Kūgo and Shūkurō would never be so kind as to enhance their abilities, they were probably harboring some malicious intentions.
Kūgo asked, "Kurosaki-kun, how about it? Will you join us?"
Ichigo shook his head. "I won't join you."
Kūgo's lips curved upward. "Don't you want to master another power? From what I know, your Hollowfication still has quite a few problems, doesn't it?"
Ichigo was somewhat astonished. "How do you know about Hollowfication?"
"Xcution's intel gathering is very strong. How about you, Nohara-san?" Kūgo seemed to be showcasing Xcution's power.
Shin asked, "What exactly is the cooperation Ginjō-san is talking about? Don't tell me it's to maintain the safety of the Human World."
Kūgo said with regret, "I'm afraid Nohara-san will only get the answer to that question after agreeing to cooperate."
"All I can say is that this cooperation will benefit both of us."
Shin still refused without hesitation.
So, Kūgo turned his attention to Ichigo again. "Kurosaki-kun, can we talk alone?"
Upon hearing this, Shin returned to the living room.
He walked over to Riruka, who was sitting at the bar drinking tea, and said to Giriko, "Sir, could I have a cup of black tea?"
Giriko nodded and began to prepare it.
"Are you not going to acknowledge me, Riruka-san?"
...
Inside the room.
Kūgo asked, "Kurosaki-kun, you're a Substitute Shinigami, so Soul Society must have issued you a Substitute Shinigami badge, right?"
Ichigo didn't answer, surprised that Kūgo seemed to know everything.
Seeing this, Kūgo pulled out a Substitute Shinigami badge from his pocket.
Ichigo's eyes widened. "Why do you have one too?"
Kūgo gave a self-deprecating smile and said, "Isn't the answer obvious? Because I used to be a Substitute Shinigami too. Now, I've long since left Soul Society."
Ichigo asked, "What do you mean by all this?"
"Kurosaki-kun, you probably don't know the true purpose of the Substitute Shinigami badge, do you?"
"It's not an identity document. If you show it to ordinary Shinigami, do you believe they won't even know what this thing is?"
"Its purpose is to restrict and monitor Substitute Shinigami."
At this point, Kūgo's voice rose a few octaves.
"Soul Society appears righteous and awe-inspiring, but in reality, it's just a facade."
Ichigo murmured, "I've... already sensed what you're saying."
It turned out that ever since he obtained the badge, Ichigo had noticed his strength weakening. Combined with Jūshirō's words at the time, he had realized that the badge was not simple.
As for monitoring, he didn't care. On the contrary, he thought monitoring was beneficial, as the power of the Hollow within him was unstable. If anything happened, perhaps Soul Society could help deal with it.
Now it was Kūgo's turn to be shocked. He had originally intended to use this to stir up Ichigo's dissatisfaction with Soul Society, thereby better recruiting him.
Ichigo said, "If that's all Ginjō-san wants to say, then I'll be leaving."
Kūgo was completely baffled. He couldn't understand Ichigo's thought process—being used and monitored, yet completely unconcerned?
When Ichigo came out, Shin was teasing Riruka.
Ichigo was speechless.
Shin coming with him was secondary, finding beautiful women was probably his main goal.
At this moment, Shin noticed Ichigo. "Done talking?"
"Yeah, let's go."
"Alright, bye, Riruka... sama."
Shin deliberately leaned close to Riruka's ear to say the last word.
Riruka felt the warmth on her ear, and her body felt as if it had been struck by electricity. She feigned composure and said, "Goodbye."
Kūgo saw this scene. After the two left, he asked, "Riruka, is Shin interested in you?"
Riruka's cheeks flushed slightly, and she said with an exaggerated tone, "Huh? How... how could that be? Who would like a guy like that?"
Seeing her evasive answer, Kūgo didn't understand Shin's intentions, but he did understand Riruka's feelings.
—
After Shin left the apartment, he asked Ichigo what they had talked about.
Ichigo revealed everything about the Substitute Shinigami badge.
Shin became even more convinced that Kūgo intended to oppose Soul Society, but he didn't understand where Kūgo got the courage.
Just with Xcution?
It wasn't that Shin looked down on them, but with just a few of them, they could barely shake Soul Society in the slightest.
Shin looked at the Substitute Shinigami badge in Ichigo's hand. "So, now that you know, are you still carrying the badge?"
"Whether it's restriction or monitoring, it doesn't matter. With it, Soul Society is reassured, and my family and friends are safer." Ichigo gripped the badge tightly.
Shinohara hadn't expected the usually impatient Ichigo to see things so clearly. Perhaps when it came to family and friends, Ichigo would be different.
In the original timeline, Soul Society planned to use the Kūgo incident as a test. If Ichigo didn't fight Kūgo, they would eliminate Ichigo as an unstable factor.
Therefore, Soul Society's justice was only relative, only for Soul Society itself.