After resolving the issue with the Soul Candy, Ichigo and Rukia prepared to go home.
Ichigo toyed with the Soul Candy in his hand.
"Rukia, there are still some things I want to say to this Modified Soul. Do you have any way to wake the consciousness inside it?"
"In theory, all you need to do is place it inside a body. But there aren't any corpses nearby, so where are we supposed to find one? Should we check a hospital morgue?"
Rukia's words nearly made Ichigo trip.
"Are you kidding me? You want me to steal a corpse? Besides, the body you're using right now isn't exactly a human body either."
"That's true," Rukia said. "But there doesn't seem to be anything nearby that can hold a Soul Candy."
"Wait!"
Ichigo suddenly thought of something and turned toward a trash can by the roadside. Inside was a stuffed bear toy someone had thrown away.
"I wonder if this thing can be used as a container for the Soul Candy?"
Ichigo quickly walked over, picked up the stuffed bear, and stuffed the Soul Candy into its mouth.
"You're not seriously thinking of using that thing as a container, are you? Will that even work?"
Rukia looked at Ichigo in confusion.
"Let's try it."
Ichigo shook the bear a few times and found that there was no response.
"See? This container is useless."
Before Rukia could finish speaking, the bear in Ichigo's hand suddenly moved.
"Hey! Shaking someone around like that is really rude, you know?"
The stuffed bear actually spoke!
Ichigo was startled and instinctively threw it away.
"Ow, ow, ow!"
After falling to the ground, the stuffed bear rubbed its backside and stood up.
Then it pointed at Ichigo.
"Kurosaki Ichigo, come on! Let's continue our unfinished duel!"
Ichigo froze for a second.
Then he clutched his stomach and burst into laughter, laughing so hard that tears nearly came out.
Only then did the bear realize that the Ichigo in front of him looked enormous.
It lowered its head to look at its own body and finally realized that it had become tiny.
"Eh? Wait, this isn't right! Why am I so soft? I don't even have bones! Despicable! You were afraid you couldn't beat me, so you gave me a body like this, didn't you?!"
The stuffed bear angrily pointed at Ichigo and started cursing.
Ichigo revealed an evil smile, crouched down, and grabbed the bear in one hand.
"Modified Soul, I still have some things I want to say to you! Let me show you plenty of affection."
"Ahhh!"
A miserable scream echoed through the street.
...
"Ichigo, wake up! We agreed to go hiking today."
The stuffed bear jumped down from the cabinet and stepped on Ichigo's face.
"Kon! You're so noisy! It's way too early for this. You have no self-awareness as a toy at all."
The moment Ichigo opened his eyes and saw the bear stepping on his face, he grabbed it and tossed it onto the floor.
The stuffed bear crawled back up and questioned Ichigo about what "Kon" meant.
Ichigo answered weakly, "Kon is your name. I derived it from the words Modified Soul."
"What kind of lousy name is that? I don't like it at all. It's way too half-hearted!"
Kon complained unhappily.
"Take it or leave it."
After saying that, Ichigo lazily lay back down, planning to get a little more sleep.
Just then, Rukia, who had been sleeping inside the closet, was woken up by the noise.
She pushed open the closet door and lightly jumped down, only for her foot to land directly on Kon.
Before Ichigo could say anything, Kon, who was trapped beneath Rukia's foot, suddenly shouted excitedly, "Whoa, this angle is amazing! Being a stuffed bear isn't so bad after all!"
Rukia lowered her head and immediately saw Kon staring up at her with a lecherous look.
Her face flushed red with anger, and she stomped on him several times.
From Kon's point of view, even being trampled like this felt oddly worth it, as if he could die without regrets as a bear.
After Rukia finished venting, she tossed Kon aside.
Ichigo burst into laughter at the sight, while Kon lay on the ground, unable to move.
"Ichigo, don't laugh!"
Rukia glared at him.
"Brother, Rukia-oneechan, are you awake yet? It's time to go hiking!"
Yuzu's voice came from outside the door at just the right moment.
Ichigo held back his laughter and said, "All right, let's hurry up and go. Otherwise, we'll miss the nice spring weather."
And so, Ichigo's family, Rukia, and Kon all set out together for their hiking trip.
Along the way, Kon kept looking for chances to act perverted around Rukia, which left her deeply helpless.
Ichigo, meanwhile, snickered from the side.
'So this Kon is actually a huge pervert too.'
As they walked, Rukia suddenly paused, as if she had sensed something unusual.
She made an excuse about needing to use the bathroom and told Ichigo and the others to go ahead first, then quickly slipped into the nearby woods.
Ichigo looked in the direction Rukia had gone and felt that something was wrong.
He wanted to follow her and take a look.
But before he could even take a step, Masaki Kurosaki grabbed him and looked at him with a very kind, very frightening smile.
"Ichigo, Rukia is going to the bathroom. What exactly are you planning to do?"
Isshin Kurosaki burst into laughter.
"Masaki, Ichigo isn't a little kid anymore. You know what I mean?"
As he spoke, he even winked at Ichigo.
Ichigo's face darkened with irritation.
He truly had no idea what to say about his unreliable father.
With that kind of perverted personality, he really did not know what his mother had seen in him.
Ichigo sighed helplessly and thought, 'I'm just worried Rukia might run into danger…'
But under his mother's pressure-filled gaze, he obediently stayed where he was and waited for Rukia to return.
...
"Who are you?"
Rukia had long since noticed someone following them.
"Yo, if it isn't the Kuchiki family's young lady, Rukia Kuchiki. Your name is famous throughout Shin'ō Academy. I'm Keijirō Saitō. Surely you've heard of my great name, right?"
Keijirō Saitō expected Rukia to be impressed.
What he received in response, however, was only three words.
"Never heard it."
"Who exactly are you?"
Rukia stared at the man.
"What do I look like, judging from my outfit?"
Keijirō teased her with a smile.
"You're an undercover Shinigami from Soul Society, aren't you?"
Rukia studied his clothing a few times.
Keijirō's kasa was tilted upward, and the word "Correct" was written on it.
"What do you want with me?"
After learning his identity, Rukia looked at Keijirō warily.
"Why is the young lady of the Kuchiki family lingering in the World of the Living instead of returning to Soul Society? Is it because of that brat named Kurosaki Ichigo? Rukia, have you awakened to love and fallen for that kid who only recently obtained Shinigami powers?"
"What nonsense are you talking about? How could that be possible?"
"Oh my, and here I thought I had come up with a very good excuse for you. Since you don't appreciate it, don't blame me for taking you back to Soul Society by force."
As he spoke, Keijirō drew the Zanpakutō at his waist.
Rukia's expression turned grave, and she also raised her hand into the starting stance for Sōkatsui.
Keijirō felt the fluctuations of reiatsu coming from Rukia and was deeply surprised.
According to the intelligence he received, Rukia's reiatsu should not have recovered at all.
So why was it still this strong?
Had something gone wrong with the information?
Keijirō sensibly put away his Zanpakutō.
Since Rukia's reiatsu was even stronger than reported, there was a chance he might not be able to beat her if he made a move.
"Kuchiki-san, since you are unwilling to return, then so be it. However, I was the one who came this time. Who knows who will come next time? You had better prepare yourself."
After saying that, he left the area with Shunpo.
A little while later, Rukia emerged from the woods.
Her expression was somewhat heavy, as if she had encountered trouble.
Ichigo immediately walked over to ask what had happened, but Rukia only shook her head and said it was nothing.
"Are you really okay?" Ichigo asked in confusion.
He had clearly sensed reiatsu fluctuations earlier.
Rukia nodded and smiled.
"Mm, it's already been resolved. Let's keep going."
After saying that, she turned and walked forward.
Ichigo looked at Rukia's back, and a trace of worry rose in his heart.
He knew Rukia was definitely hiding something.
But since she did not want to say it, he could not press her further.
So he silently followed Rukia and his parents, continuing toward their destination.