Time passed in the blink of an eye.
Under Rukia's daily training, Ichigo's strength continued improving at a steady pace.
Then, one day, when Rukia saw a Hollow signal flashing on the screen of her Soul Pager, she immediately grabbed Ichigo and rushed toward the location shown on the display.
The two ran all the way there, panting heavily by the time they arrived. But the sight before them left them deeply disappointed.
There was no Hollow at all.
Ichigo immediately grew annoyed and could not help complaining to Rukia. "That broken Soul Pager of yours should be retired already. It's reported Hollows several times now, but every time we rush over, we don't even see the ghost of one!"
His voice was full of dissatisfaction as he grumbled and merged back into his body.
At that moment, a man wearing glasses suddenly stepped out from the darkness.
He lightly pushed up his glasses, the corner of his mouth curving into a smile.
"Yo. Good evening, Kurosaki-kun, Kuchiki-san. What are you two arguing about?"
The moment Ichigo heard the voice, he turned around warily, his eyes locking onto this mysterious man.
"Who are you? And why do you know our names?"
The bespectacled man smiled faintly. Instead of answering directly, he asked, "Kurosaki, you can see Hollows, can't you?"
Ichigo's heart jolted, and shock appeared on his face.
Before Ichigo could react, the man muttered, "Honestly, another Hollow has appeared."
There was a trace of annoyance in his tone.
Ichigo quickly turned to look at Rukia, who immediately took out her Soul Pager and checked it.
"Ichigo, it shows a Hollow signal nearby," Rukia said anxiously.
"Where?"
Ichigo looked around nervously, but the surroundings were dark, and he saw no sign of a Hollow.
Seeing this, the bespectacled man let out a disdainful laugh.
Then he raised one finger and pointed accurately in a certain direction.
"How pathetic. You can't even figure out something like this, and you still call yourselves Shinigami?"
His words were filled with mockery and contempt.
As soon as he finished speaking, a cross bracelet dropped from his wrist.
In the next instant, powerful reishi energy erupted from the bracelet, the force so intense that it distorted the air around him.
A moment later, that reishi energy formed into a large spiritual bow, glowing with dazzling light.
The bespectacled man skillfully drew the bow and fired.
His movements were smooth and elegant.
As he released the string, an arrow formed from reishi shot forward, carrying sharp force as it flew toward the direction he had pointed.
Ichigo and Rukia widened their eyes and stared in the direction of the spirit arrow.
To their surprise, the arrow really did strike a Hollow hidden in midair.
The Hollow had no chance to resist. It was instantly pierced through by the arrow, then turned into ash and scattered in the air.
"Who exactly are you?"
Ichigo frowned, his gaze fixed tightly on the cold-looking man in glasses before him. He could feel a strong hostility radiating from the other party, but he had no idea why.
"Me? My name is Uryū Ishida. I am a Quincy! And I hate Shinigami like you very much."
The corner of Uryū Ishida's mouth lifted slightly, revealing a mocking smile.
"What are you talking about?"
Ichigo did not understand Ishida's words at all, and confusion filled his heart.
"I said I hate you very much, Ichigo Kurosaki!"
Ishida repeated himself, disgust flashing through his eyes.
Then he turned around and left without looking back, leaving Rukia and Ichigo standing there, staring at one another.
Ichigo stood blankly in place, watching Ishida's departing back with his heart full of confusion.
He did not know why this person hated him so much, and he had no idea how he was supposed to deal with it.
Ichigo looked at Rukia and said quietly, "He really seems to hate us…"
"It looks like things are getting more and more complicated…"
Rukia frowned, an ominous feeling rising in her heart.
At that moment, Ichigo suddenly remembered something and turned to ask her, "Right, that guy called Uryū Ishida said he hates me, but I don't even know him!"
Rukia, however, understood.
So this was a Quincy.
She had heard Kazuma mention them more than once.
In fact, the reason Kazuma had gone to Hell to rescue the first-generation captains last time was to kill the awakened King of the Quincy, Yhwach.
Now, she had finally seen a living Quincy with her own eyes.
However, what Rukia found strange was why Uryū Ishida hated Ichigo so much.
Was there some grudge between them?
Also, this Quincy seemed rather arrogant.
He opened his mouth and declared his hatred for Shinigami the moment they met.
Was he not afraid that one day he would run into a captain and get casually killed on the spot?
After all, this was Karakura Town.
And right now, Karakura Town was hiding a group of powerful first-generation Soul Society captains, including Kazuma.
Their strength was far beyond what an ordinary person could reach.
Moreover, Kazuma and those first-generation captains also held no small amount of hatred toward the Quincy.
If they really ran into Uryū Ishida, they might actually cut him down in passing.
Thinking of this, Rukia could not help feeling a little worried for Ishida.
...
In the school hallway, Ichigo was still angry about what had happened the previous night.
Ishida's words kept echoing in his mind.
"You don't even count as a Shinigami…"
Those words had stabbed deeply into Ichigo's heart, filling him with anger and humiliation.
"That damn Ishida. He actually dared say that to me! I'll make him regret it!"
Ichigo spoke through gritted teeth.
As he walked, his thoughts continued turning, and the anger in his chest burned hotter and hotter.
He could not understand why Ishida disliked him so much, to the point of saying such hurtful things.
After all, they had no deep grudge between them. It had only been their first meeting.
Thinking of this, Ichigo clenched his fist, wanting nothing more than to rush over and settle the score with Ishida immediately.
However, at that moment, he suddenly realized that he had forgotten Ishida's full name.
He only remembered that his surname was Ishida.
Just as Ichigo was trying hard to recall Ishida's name, Orihime suddenly appeared.
Seeing Ichigo's troubled expression, she asked curiously, "Kurosaki-kun, are you thinking about something? Is something bothering you?"
Ichigo was startled by Orihime and scratched his head awkwardly before answering, "It's nothing. Just a small thing."
Orihime looked at Ichigo and smiled.
"Actually, I heard what you were saying just now. You were talking about Ishida-kun, right?"
Ichigo's mouth fell open in surprise.
"Huh? Orihime, how do you know that name?"
Orihime smiled proudly.
"Because Uryū Ishida is in my Handicrafts Club."
Ichigo became even more surprised.
He had not expected Orihime to know Ishida.
Curious, he asked, "Handicrafts Club? What kind of club is that?"
Orihime smiled and explained, "The Handicrafts Club is a club where we learn all kinds of handmade skills. We learn knitting, embroidery, pottery, and things like that together."
After hearing that, Ichigo still did not really understand, but he also did not want to keep asking.
Orihime seemed to see through his thoughts and took the initiative to offer to bring him to see Ishida.
As soon as she said that, she grabbed Ichigo's hand and ran toward the classroom.
The two arrived at the classroom door and secretly poked their heads inside.
Orihime pointed at a boy in the classroom and whispered to Ichigo, "Kurosaki-kun, that's Ishida-kun."
Ichigo looked carefully and confirmed that the boy was indeed the Ishida he had met the previous night.
His eyes filled with anger and provocation, as if saying, 'Just you wait. I'll definitely make you regret this!'
However, in his heart, he was still caught up on one thing.
What exactly did the Handicrafts Club even do?
Even though Orihime had already explained it to him, he still thought it was strange.
Why would a club like that even exist?