Chapter 41

As soon as Errol entered the classroom, he immediately caught the gaze of Rukia and Ichigo. However, they were not just staring at him, but also at Uryu who was by his side.

Errol tapped Uryu and whispered in his ear, "Hey, why are they staring at you? I can understand why they're staring at me, but what did you do?"

"Well, last night there was another hollow, and they were close by when I killed it. I decided to just confront them and said I don't like Shinigami's," Uryu said, adjusting his glasses. "How about you?"

"I was at my usual shop for spiritual aspects when I ran into Kuchiki. I decided to ignore her and disappeared like some cool, mysterious character," Errol sounded smug at the last part. Uryu nodded his head as if he understood him. The moment he appeared to them during the night and showed his abilities felt cool.

School proceeded as normally as possible, the only difference being the secret glances thrown at Errol and Uryu. Errol was getting irritated and shot a middle finger in the direction he felt the gaze coming from.

Rukia, who had been secretly glancing at Errol, found it hard to believe that she hadn't noticed his abnormalities for a month. She was taken aback when she saw him give her the middle finger. She didn't understand what it meant, but for some reason, she felt insulted.

She decided to mimic him and also raised her middle finger, which earned her some weird looks from her classmates. She immediately noticed and put her hand down.

The school day passed normally until it was time to go home. Errol approached Uryu and tapped him.

"You can go home alone, I still need to pick up my purchase," Errol said.

"Why are you telling me? I'm not your nanny," Uryu responded without even looking at him.

Errol shrugged his shoulders before leaving the classroom and heading in the direction of Urahara's shop. As he walked, he suddenly felt someone following him.

He kept walking for a few minutes before finally stopping. "Okay, Kuchiki-san, would you mind not following me?" Errol asked as he turned around.

Rukia, who had thought she hadn't been noticed, immediately panicked. "Wh-Who said I am following you!? I am just walking in the same direction as you."

"Is that so? Then why are you not approaching me?" Errol asked.

Rukia quickly thought of a response. "And why would I get close to you? Are we close?"

"That's...a good point," Errol nodded. "Okay then, but please stop being sneaky."

"Who do you think is sneaking!?" Rukia retorted.

"You," Errol pointed at her before turning around and leaving her behind.

"That guy..." Rukia grumbled, a tick mark appearing on her forehead.

Errol arrived at Urahara's shop and found Jinta and Ururu playing some sort of game before Jinta started bullying her.

"Stop! Jinta, you're being unfair, it's already your 15th loss!" Ururu protested through her tears.

"Who gave you the right to say something! We'll play until I win!" Jinta retorted childishly, rubbing both his fists on Ururu's head. Suddenly, he felt two fists on his own head and experienced the same pain.

"Ouch! Ouch! Stop whoever you are, or I'll beat you! Ow! Ow!" The pain intensified as he spoke.

"How many times do I have to say this, don't bully Ururu," Errol, who was the cause of Jinta's pain, said calmly as he sighed. The kid never learned.

He suddenly felt a presence approaching and greeted the person. "Good afternoon, Tessai-san."

"Good afternoon to you too, Errol-kun. Please come in, your purchases are already packed," Tessai replied.

"Thanks," Errol said as he entered.

"Oh, Errol-kun, your purchases are over th-" Urahara began, before a phone hit his face. He could have dodged it if he wanted to.

"Hey, Urahara, I've been calling for a while now, why aren't you answering!?" Rukia asked, sounding like a delinquent.

Errol looked at her weirdly, which she noticed. "What?"

"Where is your ladylike behavior?" Errol asked, amused.

"I've thrown it away," She said, not caring anymore. "Anyway, Urahara, I've come to ask about Quincy."

"Quincy? It's been a while since I heard that term," Urahara said, sounding melancholic.

"Liar, I've mentioned it to you sometimes when I visit here about my friend Quincy," Errol gave him a stare, which made Urahara cough.

"Eh, so you're not a Quincy?" Rukia asked, surprised.

"What gave you that idea?" Errol asked.

"I mean, I thought you were one when you were human and friends with a Quincy," She said.

"Well, how about I tell you about the history of the Quincy," Urahara suggested as he sat down.

"Well, although I've already heard it, maybe I missed something. So go on," Errol said.

Urahara began to tell the history of the Quincy, a story known to many people. Tessai came in and prepared them some tea. Despite his intimidating appearance, no one would expect him to be a gentleman.

Meanwhile, Uryu was confronting Ichigo, telling him how he knew when and from whom he got his Shinigami powers. He also told him how incompetent he was and that Shinigami were unnecessary.

"Fight me, Kurosaki Ichigo," Uryu challenged.

"Why would I fight? It's meaningless as I would win," Ichigo responded before turning away.

Uryu felt angry at Ichigo's dismissal of his challenge and his arrogance. He began to taunt Ichigo.

"I see, so you won't accept my challenge. Well, it can't be helped. After all, you're just a temporary Shinigami. Without permission from Kuchiki Rukia, the one who gave you power, you can't even lift a finger," Uryu's words managed to stop Ichigo in his tracks.

"What did you say?" Ichigo glared at him before he calmed down and took some deep breaths. "Okay, let's see what this fight of yours is about."

He took a lion toy from his pocket that started to move; inside was Kon, a mod soul. Ichigo took the pill inside and swallowed it, releasing his Shinigami form from his body.

"Hey, Kon, get out of here. I still have something to do with this guy," Ichigo said.

Uryu took something from his pocket that was the shape and size of a coin. This thing was bait to attract hollows. He remembered Errol's words about him being impulsive, but right now...

'Sorry, Errol, but I can't miss this chance to compete with a Shinigami and show them that we Quincys are superior.'

Back at Urahara's shop, Errol noticed Ichigo's spiritual power. Suddenly, he felt a surge of spiritual power all around Karakura town, the signature of a hollow.

(AN: Just to let you guys know, Errol didn't watch Bleach in its entirety. At this part, he didn't know how Uryu appears and his interaction with Ichigo. He just saw Uryu in later episodes where they were already comrades.)