Sasuke took the cup of tea, raised his head, and his now-calm eyes looked directly at Urahara.
"During the time I was unconscious, did my body, or rather my soul, show any abnormalities?"
Urahara's fan-waving motion paused slightly, a faint glint of light flashing in his eyes.
"Abnormalities? None at all." he shook his head decisively, "Your Reiatsu was very stable. Aside from some internal injuries from clashing head-on with the Gillian, everything else was normal."
"What's wrong, Sasuke-kun? Did you have a nightmare?"
Sasuke was silent for a moment, as if weighing how to broach the subject.
In the end, he decided to reveal part of the information.
"Just now..." Sasuke's brow furrowed slightly, "I went to that world again."
"Oh?" Urahara was genuinely interested now, leaning forward slightly, "Again? While you were unconscious?"
He looked at Sasuke with great interest, adding, "But, Sasuke-kun, your body was lying right here the whole time. That doesn't sound like any 'Dangai Transit' I'm familiar with."
Sasuke didn't explain that part and continued on his own, "I was there for a long time, but when I went back to that world again, everything was exactly as I left it. It seemed like time hadn't passed at all."
"Perhaps it's the same in this world, which is why you thought I was lying here the whole time."
"!!!"
The smile completely vanished from Urahara's face.
He stood up abruptly, his eyes shining with an almost fanatical light.
"Time didn't pass?" He muttered to himself, as if confirming he hadn't misheard, "Relative time stasis in the traversed world? What an astonishing law!"
He quickly walked over to Sasuke, unable to contain his excitement, "Sasuke-kun, you told me last time you went over because you heard a 'voice'."
"This time, how did you go over?"
"...I don't know." Sasuke's voice was flat.
"Eh? Don't know?" Urahara's expression showed surprise.
Sasuke glanced at him, took the plain-looking Asauchi from the wall, and placed it horizontally in front of him.
"After fighting the Gillian and falling unconscious, I woke up to find myself in that world. I tried various methods but couldn't return."
"Later, I accidentally tried Zanpakuto Meditation with this sword." He paused, recalling the scene at the time, "Then, I entered a blood-red world and met the source of that voice from last time."
"After my conversation with it ended, the Inner World began to collapse, and then I returned."
"I see..." Urahara paced slowly, rapidly connecting all the clues in his mind.
'So it seems the key to the crossing is likely the Hollow within Sasuke-kun.'
Thinking this, Urahara finally stopped pacing.
He slowly raised his head, but instead of offering his analysis and deductions as Sasuke expected, he suddenly closed his fan and turned his gaze toward the window.
"What a beautiful black butterfly."
Sasuke's brow furrowed slightly. He followed Urahara's gaze out the window but saw no butterflies… only the slightly glaring sunlight and pedestrians coming and going on the street.
'What kind of riddle is this man talking in now?'
Urahara didn't explain. He walked to the shop entrance on his own.
Sasuke's eyes turned cold.
Without hesitation, he followed him out.
Outside Urahara Shop, a completely black cat was crouching in the shadows of the shop's eaves, seemingly dozing.
"Oh ya, Yoruichi-san." Urahara's voice was lazy, carrying a hint of teasing, "The weather is so nice today. Have you also come out to sunbathe and enjoy the scenery?"
"No need to keep pretending to be so relaxed, Kisuke." The black cat slowly opened its golden eyes, its voice low, "You know, don't you? They've arrived."
The moment Yoruichi's words fell, Sasuke's figure appeared beside her.
"They?" A flicker of confusion passed through Sasuke's eyes, but he immediately understood.
Yoruichi was referring to the pursuers sent by the Soul Society to capture Rukia.
After all, Rukia had transferred her Shinigami power to a human and stayed in the world of the living for so long. The Seireitei couldn't possibly have no reaction.
Sasuke wasn't surprised by this, he merely asked calmly, "When?"
"Soon, perhaps even tonight."
…
Karakura High School.
Rukia stood by the window, her gaze unconsciously drifting outside.
On the playground, P.E. class had just ended.
Ichigo was walking back to the school building with a few classmates, arms slung over each other's shoulders, his face wearing its usual bright smile. He seemed to have completely recovered from yesterday's battle.
Rukia's mood grew heavier.
'Ichigo...'
'The appearance of the Menos Grande, and then repelling it… this intel had likely already reached the Soul Society.'
'And that damn Uchiha brat...'
Just thinking about that guy made Rukia's blood boil.
'Although we are companions fighting side by side, he always acts superior and the words he says can make people angry to death.'
'But, during the most dangerous moment, he was the first to step forward...'
'What a confusing bastard.'
Ding ling ling…
The class bell rang, interrupting Rukia's thoughts.
Ichigo carelessly pulled out his chair and sat down, tossed his textbook onto the desk, and let out a yawn.
Just then, the classroom door was pushed open gently.
A familiar figure appeared in the doorway.
It's Ishida Uryu.
Both of his hands were wrapped in thick bandages, his face somewhat pale. He pushed his glasses up his nose and walked straight back to his seat.
Ichigo looked at him with concern.
"Don't worry too much. It's not your fault." Rukia, sitting next to Ichigo's seat, suddenly remarked, "He brought those injuries on himself."
Ichigo turned his head away awkwardly, "I... I'm not. I'm not worried about him over injuries like that."
Rukia stared at Ichigo, her voice tinged with amusement, "Who said anything about worry? I just said don't mind it."
Ichigo clenched his fist. "You..."
Rukia smiled as she looked at Ichigo, then suddenly noticed a strange black butterfly flying past the window. Her eyes instantly grew complex.
…
Long after school ended, at dusk, outside Kurosaki Residence.
Kon struggled to climb onto the second-floor windowsill, peeking inside.
Inside the room, Rukia was sitting at the desk, her expression serious. The pen in her hand moved rapidly across the paper, as if she was writing something important.
"Nee-san!"
Kon executed a perfect backflip, landing steadily on Rukia's desk. He placed his hands on his hips, striking what he thought was his coolest pose.
"I, Kon-sama, am going to leave for a while to find my one true love! Don't miss me too much, though I know it'll be hard, wahahaha…"
He was immersed in his own fantasy when his peripheral vision accidentally caught sight of the paper under Rukia's pen.
'Note...'
Kon's laughter cut off abruptly.
"N-Note?!" His voice instantly shot up an octave. He pointed at the paper with an expression as if the sky were falling.
"Nee-san, are you abandoning me?! Have you forgotten the deeply moving bond between us?! Forgotten the days we fought side by side?!"
While making his appeal, he was about to pounce and cling to Rukia's leg, ready to stage a heart-wrenching plea to stay.
However, what greeted him was a piece of tape precisely stuck over his mouth.
"Mmmph mmmph…!!!"
Kon's mouth was firmly sealed, only able to emit incomprehensible wails of distress. His small eyes were filled with shock and grievance.
Rukia's face was expressionless as she tore off a long strip of tape and wrapped the still-struggling Kon from head to toe several times, securing him tightly.
After finishing this, she picked up the bound Kon from the desk, ignored his indignant look, and carried him straight into the bathroom.
Her gaze finally settled below the toilet.
"Hmm, this is a good spot. Very hidden."
She nodded in satisfaction, then mercilessly tied the still-struggling Kon to the back of the toilet's lower section.
---
Check out My Patreon For 40+ Advanced Chapters:
Pat reon.com/IamPoorGuyToo