"Rukia! Rukia!"
In her sleep, Kuchiki Rukia vaguely felt as if someone was calling her.
'Am I dreaming? I think I hear Ichigo's voice.'
Rukia smacked her lips, rolled over, and went right back to sleep.
"Rukia!"
The voice grew louder and louder.
"So annoying! Ichigo, why are you bothering me even in my dreams?"
Unable to endure the voice in her head any longer, Rukia opened her eyes.
Clearly, this nap was not happening!
"Huh?"
The moment she opened her eyes, Rukia froze.
It wasn't Ichigo calling her in a dream. He was standing right in front of her, calling her to wake up!
"An illusion?"
"I must still be half-asleep!"
"Time to sleep again!"
After three straight rounds of confusion, she shut her eyes, then opened them once more.
Ichigo was still standing right there.
Smack!
Refusing to believe it, Rukia slapped Ichigo clean across the face.
"Arghh! My hand stings a little. So he's real?"
Ichigo had been quietly watching Rukia's little performance, only to get slapped out of nowhere.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!"
He flicked her forehead in return.
Rukia was still marveling at how satisfying that slap had felt when the forehead flick landed.
"Ow! Ow! Ow!"
Now she was finally certain.
This wasn't a dream. Ichigo really had come to save her!
"Ichigo, why are you here?"
"Isn't it obvious? I came to save you."
Ichigo, who had just mastered Bankai, had caught Kotetsu Isane's Tenteikūra message at exactly the right time, then rushed toward the Senzaikyū without stopping.
Rukia had been waiting and waiting in her sleep.
She hadn't waited long enough for Byakuya, who had gone to appeal to Central 46, to return.
She hadn't waited for the Aizen that Kazuma said would come, either.
Instead, she'd waited for Ichigo.
"Ichigo! All the chaos in the Seireitei these past few days was because of you, wasn't it?"
"Yeah. More accurately, me, Inoue, Chad, and Ishida all came to save you."
As he spoke, Ichigo proudly flashed her a V-sign.
"You need to hurry up and leave! If my brother or another captain comes by later, you'll be in trouble."
Rukia covered her face with one hand.
Ichigo was acting like an idiot.
Was the Seireitei really the kind of place he could just barge into whenever he pleased?
If he ran into a captain later, wouldn't he get cut to pieces?
"Kuchiki Byakuya? I learned Bankai, you know! So what if he's a captain? What's there to be scared of? If he shows up again, I'm definitely getting revenge for those two slashes from before."
It had to be said — learning Bankai had gone straight to Ichigo's head again.
He still didn't understand that there could be a massive gap between one captain and another.
"What? You learned Bankai?"
Rukia suddenly felt deeply depressed.
First, Abarai Renji had shown off his Bankai right in front of her.
Even though Kazuma had still cut him down, it was still Bankai.
Now Ichigo had shown up and told her he'd learned Bankai too.
Was Bankai really that easy to master? Ichigo hadn't even had Shinigami powers for very long, and he'd already learned it.
Was this talent? Or was he just a walking cheat?
'I'm done. What's even the point anymore? I might as well just keep learning how to slack off from Sensei.'
Rukia felt like her whole world had come crashing down.
While the two of them were still talking, Aizen Sōsuke made his entrance, Ichimaru Gin at his side.
"It's you! You're the guy who sent me flying at the start, and you hurt Jidanbō too!"
Ichigo sensed someone approaching.
The moment he turned and saw Aizen and Ichimaru Gin, his anger surged.
It was true what they said — enemies always burned hottest the moment they came face to face.
He wanted nothing more than to draw his blade and cut Ichimaru Gin down on the spot!
"Ichigo! Run! Those two are the Third Division Captain Ichimaru Gin and Fifth Division Captain Aizen!"
Rukia hurriedly urged him to leave, terrified he'd die here.
"So you two are Aizen and Ichimaru Gin? I heard the message just now. You're the traitors of Soul Society, right? Perfect. I'll help Soul Society clean the house while at it!"
Ichigo started talking tough too. Right now his confidence was running sky-high.
They were just captains, he could cut them down!
"What message?"
Rukia had been sleeping soundly and had no idea what had happened.
"Oh my, oh my. If it isn't Kurosaki Ichigo. Want another taste of being sent flying by me?"
Ichimaru Gin watched him with interest.
"Cut the crap! I'm going to cut you down!"
"Getsuga Tenshō!"
Before Gin could even finish teasing him, Ichigo's anger was already at a boil.
Without another word, he gripped Zangetsu and unleashed a powerful slash with lightning speed.
The attack tore across the sky like a streak of silver light, carrying an unstoppable momentum straight toward Ichimaru Gin.
"Honestly, interrupting people while they're talking is very rude!"
Gin frowned slightly, but his blade didn't hesitate for a moment.
He drew it in an instant, using years of battle experience and refined swordsmanship to steadily block the Getsuga Tenshō that looked powerful enough to level everything in its path.
A sharp gleam flashed through his smiling eyes as he studied the furious Ichigo — like a hunter admiring prey he was about to toy with.
"Why don't you lie down for now? Our real target is Kuchiki Rukia."
The smile in Gin's eyes gradually faded, replaced by a cold killing intent as he launched his counterattack.
With a low call, he released his blade.
"Shoot to kill, Shinsō."
Shinsō, radiating a cold aura, suddenly extended.
Its sharp tip flashed with a chilling light, as if to run Ichigo straight through.
Ichigo's heart jumped, and he threw himself aside with everything he had, trying to escape the deadly strike. But Gin's attack was far too fast.
Even as quickly as Ichigo reacted, Shinsō's edge still caught his arm, and blood instantly welled up, staining his sleeve red.
"Damn it!"
Ichigo looked at his injured arm, anger boiling in his chest.
That fierce fighting spirit made him forget the pain almost at once.
He gritted his teeth hard, his eyes burning, and unleashed an even more ferocious Getsuga Tenshō.
The sheer reiatsu behind it nearly set the surrounding air ablaze.
Gin watched the incoming slash with the same faint smile, though a trace of seriousness had entered his eyes now.
He gathered reiatsu into his Zanpakutō, then flicked the slash sharply upward.
The fierce Getsuga Tenshō was knocked off course, flying away like a meteor gone wild before it carved into a distant wall and left a deep crack behind.
"Is that the only move you know?"
With that, Gin closed the distance like a ghost. His Zanpakutō flashed again, opening another deep wound on Ichigo's body.
After taking two slashes in a row, hot blood rushed through Ichigo, and his fury exploded. His eyes went wide as he roared.
"Ichimaru Gin, don't get carried away! I'm not going down that easily!"
Ichigo endured the pain, swung Zangetsu, and attacked again.
Gin dodged easily and mocked him. "Your attacks have no effect on me. Give up!"
Against all of Ichigo's rage, Gin casually blocked every slash and carved several more wounds across his body.
"Give up, Kurosaki Ichigo. You are not my opponent."
Gin was still trying to talk him into standing down.
"You think this is enough to make me submit? Watch closely!"
Instead of getting angrier, Ichigo smiled. He gripped Zangetsu with both hands and pointed it forward.
"Bankai. Tensa Zangetsu!"