After a long, busy day, Masaki Kurosaki finally had a moment to catch her breath.
She leaned tiredly beside the dining table, intending to rest for a short while.
But then a nightmare struck without warning and jolted her awake from that brief sleep.
...
Flashback
Several years ago, when Ichigo was only nine years old.
It was on that particular day that Masaki Kurosaki lost her power as a Quincy.
That day, the surviving Quincy suffered a terrible calamity.
Yhwach's Auswählen.
That powerful and mysterious existence used an irresistible force to forcibly absorb the power of every Quincy.
Aside from Ryūken Ishida and his son, Uryū Ishida, no other Quincy was spared.
The incident did not merely strip them of their power.
It also caused the deaths of many mixed-blood Quincy, including Ryūken's wife, Kanae Katagiri.
Because of this, a deep seed of hatred toward Yhwach was planted in Ryūken Ishida's heart.
As for why he and Uryū Ishida had not lost their powers to Auswählen, perhaps it was because of their unique bloodline, or perhaps because Ryūken had already seen through Yhwach's intentions and taken countermeasures in advance.
As for Masaki, who had lost her power, she and Ichigo were attacked by Grand Fisher while she was on her way to pick him up from the karate dojo.
She held Ichigo tightly in her arms.
Just as she thought she and Ichigo were about to be devoured by that Hollow, a mysterious man dressed in black suddenly appeared.
His blade fell in a single clean stroke, instantly cutting down the Hollow.
Masaki stared at the newcomer.
He wore a black trench coat and, at first glance, did not look like a Shinigami in the traditional sense, since he was not wearing the signature shihakushō.
However, from the cold gleam of the Zanpakutō in his hand, she could tell that this person was indeed a Shinigami.
Masaki looked at the Shinigami before her with gratitude, her eyes filled with emotion and respect.
Softly, she asked, "May I ask your name?"
The man turned his head slightly and gave her a gentle smile.
"Masaki-san. It's been a long time."
Masaki's eyes widened.
She stared hard at his face, as though she could not believe what she was seeing.
She froze in place for a long while, unable to say a single word.
"You…!"
"My, my. Has Masaki-san already forgotten me?"
Seeing Masaki's stunned expression, the man smiled with a hint of teasing.
"Captain Kazuma?" Masaki's face looked as if she had seen a ghost, and her voice trembled as she spoke.
"Weren't you killed by Aizen?"
She could hardly believe her eyes. Someone who had supposedly died years ago was standing right in front of her.
"Masaki-san, let's not talk about that here. This isn't the right place. We should leave first." Kazuma spoke gently.
Masaki snapped back to herself and quickly nodded.
Carrying Ichigo in her arms, she followed Kazuma away from the scene.
On the way, Masaki could not stop herself from asking, "Captain Kazuma, what exactly happened back then? How did you…"
"You mean all of you saw Aizen stab me to death, right?"
Kazuma spoke calmly about what had happened years ago, as if it had been nothing more than a trivial matter.
But his next words left Masaki utterly shocked.
"In your eyes, he did stab me. But I allowed it to happen on purpose."
Masaki's eyes widened, disbelief spreading across her face.
She could not understand why Kazuma would say such a thing.
Did he truly not care about his own life?
After a long pause, she finally asked, "What do you mean, you allowed it on purpose?"
Kazuma smiled, seeming somewhat helpless about the question.
"I was a captain in Soul Society for too long! Am I not allowed to enjoy myself a little? Being an ordinary person is much more comfortable. No division duties, no sitting in the captain's office every day, and no need to stay in boring old Soul Society."
His eyes showed a trace of fatigue and weariness, as though he had long since grown tired of the responsibilities and pressure that came with being a captain.
Masaki was left completely speechless.
He had been captain for too long? Had this man really held the position for that many years?
"Besides, I was seriously injured at the time," Kazuma continued. "Even if I didn't die, I wouldn't have been able to continue serving as a captain. So I simply borrowed Aizen's hand to fake my death and leave the Seireitei."
Masaki fell silent for a moment.
She began to understand Kazuma's choice.
Perhaps for him, this had been a kind of release.
"Then why didn't you contact us afterward?" Masaki asked.
"I didn't want to be dragged into Shinigami conflicts again, and I didn't want to bring trouble to all of you," Kazuma answered blandly.
Masaki looked at him, complicated emotions rising in her heart.
Just then, Ichigo woke up.
Looking at the unfamiliar surroundings, he immediately became alert.
"Mom, where is this? And who's this strange uncle?"
Ichigo blinked curiously at everything before him, his small hand gripping tightly onto the corner of his mother's clothes.
Kazuma smiled and rubbed Ichigo's little head.
"So this is your and Isshin's child. How did he inherit that bright orange hair of yours?"
"His name is Ichigo. He's mine and Isshin's first child and he also has two adorable twin little sisters. But speaking of that, Captain Kazuma, don't you think orange hair looks very handsome on him?"
"Haha, it is handsome."
Kazuma laughed as he looked at Ichigo, a trace of affection flashing in his eyes.
"But I still prefer your father's black hair. By the way, Ichigo, when you grow up, you have to protect your mother properly."
"Of course. I'm a man. I'll protect Mom!"
Kazuma quietly looked at Masaki, doubt appearing in his eyes.
"I noticed earlier that you seem to have lost your Quincy powers. What exactly happened?"
There was a hint of tension in his voice, as though he was worried about something.
Masaki gently shook her head, confusion written across her face.
"I don't know what happened either. A few days ago, the surviving Quincy suddenly lost their powers. Some even died because of it. Ryūken came to check on my condition, but even we still don't know anything about this phenomenon."
Hearing this, Kazuma's brows furrowed even deeper.
"That really is troublesome. If you've lost your Quincy powers, then when you face Hollows again, you'll have no means of resisting at all. On top of that, your bodies already carry a high concentration of reishi, which makes you easier targets for Hollows. This is indeed a very difficult problem."
His tone was full of concern, as though he was thinking about how to solve the issue.
After pondering for a while, Kazuma raised one finger and injected a trace of Shinigami power into Masaki's body.
"This should do."
"Captain Kazuma, what did you do to me?"
Masaki could feel her body filling with Shinigami power.
"Just an interesting little experiment. It simply allows you to become a Shinigami."
Masaki's mouth fell open.
"You turned me from a Quincy into a Shinigami…"
She no longer believed Kazuma's claim that he had been badly injured and weakened.
Was this something a person whose strength had greatly declined could do?
Kazuma looked at Masaki's confused expression and laughed inwardly, but he had no intention of explaining further.
Then he reached out and gently placed a finger on Ichigo Kurosaki's forehead.
As he moved, a faint light bloomed from his fingertip.
The light instantly pierced through Ichigo's forehead and entered the depths of his mind.
Ichigo had already woken up, but under the influence of that light, he fell asleep once again.
Kazuma's power sealed Ichigo's memories of him, preventing the boy from remembering anything related to Kazuma.
Satisfied, Kazuma withdrew his finger and turned to look at Masaki.
His gaze carried a certain authority that made people instinctively feel awe.
"I sealed Ichigo's memories of me. I won't do the same to you, but you must remember this. You cannot tell anyone that I'm still alive. I don't want to be disturbed."
Kazuma's voice was low and powerful, carrying an irresistible weight.
Masaki hesitated for a moment, her eyes filled with confusion.
In the end, however, she still nodded, agreeing to Kazuma's request.
"All right. I understand. I won't tell anyone that you exist."
There was a hint of helplessness in Masaki's voice.
Kazuma smiled and nodded, then turned to leave.
His figure moved like a ghost, swiftly blending into the night.
"Then I'll be going, Masaki-san. Goodbye."
Kazuma's voice echoed through the air before gradually fading away.
His departure was as sudden as his arrival, leaving not the slightest trace behind.
Masaki stood quietly where she was, gazing in the direction where Kazuma had disappeared.
Her heart was filled with complicated emotions.
There was curiosity over how Kazuma had survived, concern about what the future might bring, and the strange unease of having somehow become a Shinigami.
After leaving, Kazuma was in an exceptionally good mood.
Thinking back to what had just happened, he could not help laughing aloud.
Masaki Kurosaki, transformed from a Quincy into a Shinigami.
That was truly something worth looking forward to.
It could be considered one of Kazuma's sudden, mischievous little pranks.
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