Having meetings at night wasn't enough, they had to hold them during the day too.
After all that rambling, there still hadn't been a single fight.
Kenpachi Zaraki was thoroughly irritated. He had spent a long time that morning attaching bells to his hair, and when he realized he'd be late for the meeting, he simply decided not to go.
The Eleventh Division had its privileges. If he didn't feel like going, no one could force him.
"So you're the Ryoka who fought Ikkaku?" Kenpachi Zaraki looked down at Ichigo Kurosaki.
The pink-haired Yachiru Kusajishi peeked out from his shoulder, curiously sizing him up.
"Yeah!" Ichigo Kurosaki replied. "That's me..."
Before he could finish, the wooden sword in his hand snapped in two.
"Perfect. Come fight me!" Kenpachi Zaraki grinned fiercely as he raised his wooden sword. "Let me see what someone connected to Muten Natsu can do!"
"Captain Zaraki really hasn't changed..." Tetsuzaemon Iba said with a hint of nostalgia. He had once been part of this same noisy atmosphere. "Still that obsessed with fighting... Hey, why did you run that far away?"
He looked in confusion at Yumichika Ayasegawa, who had already retreated a good distance.
Bang!
A wooden sword came slashing down. Tetsuzaemon Iba dodged cleanly with a swift step.
"Long time no see!" Kenpachi Zaraki swung his weapon again. "Let's warm up!"
Tetsuzaemon Iba: "...?"
Ichigo Kurosaki seized the chance to vault out the window and run. He had come here to train, not because he was itching to get beaten up, so there was no way he was sticking around.
Only after the noise behind him faded did he slow down, spotting a familiar figure ahead.
Tall, broad-shouldered, with dark skin.
Ichigo Kurosaki waved as he ran toward him.
"Chad!"
"Ichigo." Yasutora Sado raised a hand in response, looking him over. "Your injuries..."
"I'm fine now. The 4th Division is really amazing."
Yasutora Sado nodded. He had experienced that firsthand as well.
"Are you heading somewhere?"
"I ran into the Thirteenth Division's Third Seat, Kotetsu, at the 4th Division earlier and asked her about Shibata."
Yūichi Shibata was the boy who had once possessed the parrot. With Muten Natsu's help, he had later come to Soul Society.
The Thirteenth Division's Third Seat, Kotetsu, was Isane Kotetsu's younger sister, Kiyone Kotetsu.
Her Kaidō skills were no less impressive than her sister's. The reason she hadn't joined the 4th Division was because the Thirteenth Division's Captain, Jūshirō Ukitake, was in poor health and needed someone to look after him.
After the death of Thirteenth Division Lieutenant Kaien Shiba, the Third Seat should have been promoted to Lieutenant.
But everyone felt that no one could surpass Kaien Shiba, and they also wanted to leave the position as a tribute to him, so the Lieutenant seat remained vacant.
The duties of the Lieutenant were instead shared by the two Third Seats, Kiyone Kotetsu and Sentarō Kotsubaki.
When Yasutora Sado mentioned his promise with Yūichi Shibata to Isane Kotetsu, she admitted she didn't know much about Rukongai and brought up her younger sister, Kiyone Kotetsu, who served as Third Seat in the Thirteenth Division.
Ichigo Kurosaki also remembered Yūichi Shibata. Walking alongside Yasutora Sado, he slowed his steps.
"Well then..."
He had been thinking of finding some excuse to split off so Yasutora Sado could catch up with Yūichi Shibata properly. But after a moment, realizing he had nowhere in particular to go, he simply said goodbye.
"Take care on your way."
"Yeah!" Yasutora Sado nodded and ran toward the Hakutōmon.
Yūichi Shibata was in West Rukongai.
"Oh, right!" Ichigo Kurosaki called out. "Say hi to him for me!"
Yasutora Sado stopped and raised a thumbs-up without turning around.
Watching him leave, Ichigo Kurosaki looked around blankly.
There really wasn't anywhere for him to go.
Everything here was unfamiliar.
"Kurosaki...-san?"
"That's me." Ichigo Kurosaki turned around. "You are...?"
"I am Izuru Kira, Lieutenant of the Third Division." Noticing his confusion, Izuru Kira added, "Captain Ichimaru's aide."
"Ah... uh..." Ichigo Kurosaki recalled that ever-smiling man and hesitated. "My condolences... no, I mean..."
"Thank you." Izuru Kira bowed deeply. "I'm very sorry about what happened before. I..."
"There's no need to apologize to me. We don't even know each other, and honestly, you look like you've had it worse than I have..." Ichigo Kurosaki gave a small smile. "By the way, have you seen Muten Natsu?"
He figured he could ask Muten Natsu to show him around somewhere interesting.
"After leaving Kuchiki-san, I was actually on my way to find him, and I ran into him just now." Izuru Kira lowered his head. "I apologized to him, but he refused to accept it. He seemed to be in a hurry, so I didn't press him. Everyone says I didn't do anything wrong, but I really did make a mistake. And now I feel relieved because everyone is forgiving me... I'm truly awful... I'm sorry, I must be talking nonsense."
Ichigo Kurosaki grabbed his shoulders.
"I get how you feel!"
"Huh?"
"I really do," Ichigo Kurosaki said, recalling the way Orihime Inoue had looked at Muten Natsu, trying to match that same sincerity. "Because you know you had a part in it. So no matter what, you don't want to make excuses for yourself. If someone would just blame you, it might even make you feel a little better."
Izuru Kira suddenly became aware of how poorly he expressed himself. He hadn't expected Ichigo Kurosaki to describe his feelings so precisely... though the look in his eyes felt a bit intense.
Seeing that his words had landed, Ichigo Kurosaki continued more confidently.
"But the person who got hurt doesn't need someone to blame. What they need is the truth... Actually, that didn't come out right. Let me put it another way."
Izuru Kira: "..."
"More than someone to take their anger out on, what people really need is someone who'll stay by their side." Ichigo Kurosaki looked at him seriously. "If you've found the courage to face the people you feel you've wronged, then you definitely have the courage to stand and fight alongside others too."
Izuru Kira bowed deeply.
"Thank you very much."
"I'm just repeating something someone else told me..." Ichigo Kurosaki patted his shoulder. "Trust everyone, and work hard to become someone they can trust too."
Watching Izuru Kira walk away, Ichigo Kurosaki let out a long breath, feeling unexpectedly fulfilled, like he had done something meaningful.
And yet, he still had no idea where to go next.
"I should've asked him where Muten went..." Ichigo Kurosaki muttered, glancing around. "Where did Muten go, anyway..."