Early the next morning, in the dining room of the Urahara Shop.
Sasuke appeared at the breakfast table with faint dark circles under his eyes, his expression even more stoic than usual.
"Morning, Sasuke-kun."
Urahara greeted him with a smile, fanning himself as if he hadn't noticed anything amiss.
He pushed a steaming cup of tea towards Sasuke, "Didn't sleep well last night? Was the bed too hard? Not used to it?"
Sasuke pulled out a chair and sat down, giving him a faint glance. He knew perfectly well Urahara was referring to his Reiatsu disturbance the previous night.
"It was fine." He stated succinctly, lowering his gaze and picking up his bowl of miso soup.
Seeing Sasuke wasn't taking the bait, Urahara didn't seem bothered. He rested his fan against his chin and casually changed the subject.
"Speaking of which, Kuchiki-san didn't look too good when she left yesterday. After all, transferring Shinigami powers to a human is a grave crime among grave crimes in the Soul Society."
His eyes scanned Sasuke's face with interest as he continued in a joking tone.
"Not reporting a companion's serious crime to the Seireitei is outright harboring a criminal, you know. Why didn't you do it, Sasuke-kun? You clearly seem to dislike her."
Sasuke's soup-drinking motion paused slightly.
He slowly set down his bowl and looked directly at Urahara.
"I have no companions."
His voice was as cold as ever, "Secondly, I hate writing boring reports like that. Whether she lives or dies is none of my business."
Sasuke didn't give Urahara a chance to ask further. He leaned forward slightly, throwing the question back at him.
"More importantly, Shopkeeper Urahara."
Sasuke took the initiative, a hint of accusation in his tone, "From what I know, the 'Gigai' you gave her is supposed to help a Shinigami who has lost their power slowly recover their Reiatsu by working within it, correct?"
Urahara's fanning stopped.
Sasuke's gaze sharpened, "But yesterday, I didn't sense any sign of Reiatsu recovery on that woman. On the contrary, her spirit body was still being continuously suppressed and broken down by something."
"The Gigai you gave her isn't a normal one."
The smile on Urahara Kisuke's face stiffened. His eyes, usually narrowed, opened slowly, revealing unconcealed surprise.
He hadn't expected this young man to discern this from just one brief encounter.
"Oh?"
Urahara quickly regained his frivolous demeanor, laughing it off, "Sasuke-kun is truly observant. To notice such a subtle detail."
"That's right. It indeed isn't an ordinary Gigai."
He didn't explain the Gigai's true purpose. Instead, he pivoted, steering the conversation in another direction.
"However, being able to see through this shows that Sasuke-kun's perception and analytical skills regarding Reiatsu far exceed the ordinary. This will be a great help in researching the power within you."
Sasuke snorted coldly and didn't press further.
From the other party's reaction, he had confirmed his suspicion.
'From the moment she stepped into this shop, Kuchiki Rukia had already fallen into this man's schemes.'
'And I...'
Sasuke picked up the cup of tea in front of him, which had cooled somewhat, and drank it in one gulp.
'Perhaps, it was the same.'
Just as the air began to grow silent, Urahara's eyebrows twitched slightly. His fan stopped mid-air, and his gaze turned towards the window.
"Ara ara..." He let out an ambiguous exclamation.
A not particularly powerful, but chaotic Reiatsu was rapidly approaching from the distance.
Sasuke naturally sensed it too. It was the spiritual pressure of a Hollow.
Urahara closed his fan and lightly tapped the table with it, a smirk playing on his lips.
"It seems our Substitute Shinigami is in trouble."
He said leisurely, his eyes subtly glancing towards Sasuke, "Kuchiki-san gave all her power to him. She probably can't be of much help herself right now."
He changed his tone, feigning a concern that sounded obviously fake, "This is quite troublesome. If this Substitute Shinigami can't even handle a Hollow of this level, and if the commotion gets too loud, attracting the attention of others from the Soul Society..."
Urahara paused here, looking meaningfully at Sasuke.
"If unrelated Shinigami come running to Karakura Town to investigate everywhere, it might affect our research on traversing to another world, Sasuke-kun."
Sasuke set down his teacup. He had, of course, heard the underlying meaning in Urahara's words.
"...Troublesome."
His face was full of impatience, but he still stood up from his chair.
Just as Urahara had anticipated, he couldn't allow anything to affect his plan to return.
Watching the now-empty seat, the smile on Urahara's face finally became a bit more genuine.
"What a thoroughly un-lovable child. Clearly cares deep down, but his mouth says..."
"Meow~"
A light cat's meow interrupted his muttering.
Yoruichi had appeared on the dining table at some point, elegantly licking her paw.
"Is it really alright to let him handle it?"
Yoruichi spoke, "With that child's way of doing things, aren't you afraid he'll make a bigger mess?"
"Don't worry, Yoruichi-san."
Urahara closed his fan, the smile fading from his face, "Although his actions are unruly, he understands priorities. Moreover, Ichigo also needs some real pressure to grow up quickly."
Yoruichi was silent for a moment, seemingly accepting this explanation.
"Rather than that, Kisuke..."
Yoruichi's tone turned serious, "What we should really be worried about right now is that girl from the Kuchiki Family."
"Mhm." Urahara responded. He knew what Yoruichi was going to say.
"Do you really plan to just let her stay in the human world like this?"
Yoruichi walked to the window, looking at the distant sky, "That thing inside her..."
Urahara spoke slowly, "This is also unavoidable. To prevent that man from noticing, this is the only method for now."
"That Gigai will continuously break down her spiritual body, gradually transforming her from a Shinigami into a mortal. By then, the Hogyoku will completely fuse with her soul. At that time, even that man won't be able to extract the Hogyoku from her."
"I understand your plan."
Yoruichi turned around, somewhat worried, "But we both know the rules of the Seireitei. If a Shinigami doesn't return for so long without reason, they will inevitably send someone to investigate."
"If it's just an ordinary pursuit squad, that's one thing. But what if that man senses something and sends someone..."
Yoruichi didn't say the name, but both of them knew.
Aizen Sosuke.
The man lurking in the shadows of the Seireitei, coveting the power of the Hogyoku.
"Of course I know."
Urahara sighed, resting his fan against his chin, his brows furrowed, "That's why we need time even more. We need the fusion process to complete as quickly as possible before the Soul Society reacts."
Yoruichi continued to ask, "But, Urahara, have you thought about another problem?"
"Hmm?"
"Uchiha Sasuke."
Yoruichi's tone became even more complex, "He saw through the abnormality of the Gigai today. Tomorrow, he might discover something deeper. If he reports these things to the Seireitei..."
Urahara Kisuke fanned himself and smiled, "No need to worry. Although he is a registered Shinigami of the Seireitei, by the looks of it, he doesn't have much loyalty to the Seireitei."
"…"
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