Surprise, Surprise!

10 advanced chapters on my Patreon: Fiction Haven

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In the middle of the class, Ichigo's Denreishinki which he had just received this morning beeped. A light frown marred his face when he heard the same beeping sound coming from Orihime and Chad. His friends were not Shinigami, so they shouldn't concern themselves with Hollow appearance. Even as a (Substitute) Shinigami himself, he didn't feel any obligation to kill Hollows on behalf of Soul Society.

He would have gladly killed Hollows if there had been a clear payment given to him. Different from his slumbering counterpart, he didn't do things for free. He didn't like imposing his life view on people, but he believed his friends should think like him in this situation. Shinigami professed themselves as the agent of the afterlife. They should live up to their name and not rely on humans to take care of their mess.

Eyeing Chad and Orihime, he gestured for them to remain. They looked at him with wide eyes, doubting his judgment for the first time. Ichigo nodded in assurance, calming their nervous heart down. They were quite reluctant but eventually focused on their lesson. The exchange was not missed by Uryū. He wondered why Ichigo was so calm about a Hollow appearance. He would have rushed out if he still had his power.

When the bell rang, Orihime and Chad rushed to Ichigo's desk. Ichigo casually looked up and then smiled at them as he flashed his lunch box.

"Wanna have lunch together?"

"Yes," Orihime and Chad answered solemnly.

Ichigo stood up and then turned to Uryū. "Are you joining us?"

"Sure," Uryū replied, curious about what Ichigo had to say.

Getting out of the classroom with the three of them, Ichigo left the bunch of curious students behind. On their way to the rooftop, many eyes were planted on Ichigo. His gait and appearance attracted everyone's attention. The male students wondered why he seemed so familiar meanwhile the female students realized that Ichigo was a top-tier eye candy.

Despite being aware of his attractiveness, Ichigo attributed the look he was receiving to his protagonist's halo. He didn't believe such a thing existed in this world but found it more believable than the simple-minded female populace fawning over his look. He regarded his look as otherworldly, but he didn't think it could cause such a reaction.

Upon getting to the rooftop, he told everyone to sit down before doing so himself. He slowly unwrapped his lunch box, torturing his three friends with suspense.

"Is it okay for us to leave a Hollow roaming the town?" Orihime asked in worry, expressing everyone's thoughts.

"It should be all right. The town has a Shinigami assigned to take care of the Hollow," Ichigo replied calmly. "You guys are not Shinigami, so you shouldn't feel obligated to exterminate Hollows. They regard me as a Substitute Shinigami, but I don't feel obligated. Let the Shinigami do their job. At least, until Soul Society compensates us with something."

Uryū widened his eyes at Ichigo's pragmatic explanation. Ichigo sounded like his father but more opportunistic. He was usually a logical person, but he couldn't agree with Ichigo's logic this time. Ichigo's decision might endanger a spiritually aware person. He didn't like that Ichigo was willing to overlook that possibility just for compensation.

"Have you fallen from grace, Kurosaki? You have the power to prevent something bad from happening to innocent people, but you don't just because you are not getting paid? I am disappointed. I am ashamed of ever admiring you."

Ichigo listened to Uryū's rant calmly. He raised his hand when Uryū stood up, preventing Uryū from running off.

"Listen to me, Uryū. Don't get your panties twisted." Ichigo's honeyed voice irked Uryū, but he complied. He sat down, causing Ichigo to nod his head in approval. "Good. Now, let me remind you that there are two known Shinigami other than me and whomever Soul Society assigned to this place. I am sure you know whom I am talking about."

Pausing to let them absorb his words, he continued, "If they have the same compassion we have toward souls and a sense of duty as a Shinigami to protect humans, do you think they will remain quiet when a dangerous Hollow appears?" Uryū widened his eyes in realization, causing Ichigo to smile. "But more than that, we need to make it clear to Soul Society that we are not their underlings. We are not one they can use and cast away once we have fulfilled our purpose."

"Rukia's execution was caused by Aizen's machination, but notice how none of them questioned the strange decision Central 46 made. It would only need one suggestion from an obnoxious bastard from that council for us to be used like a tool. We need to establish a boundary. We have to make it clear that we are separate entities from Soul Society, so any form of cooperation must be agreed upon formally first."

Ichigo recalled what happened to himself in another universe. After sacrificing his power to defeat Aizen, Soul Society abandoned him. The reward they gave to their savior was leaving him alone and calling it peace. It would have been less bitter if they had compensated him with money. They didn't. He needed to work part-time to earn extra cash.

"Soul Society has a lot of problems and who knows when they are going to get us involved? I won't stay down when our world is in danger, but I refuse to fight on Soul Society's behalf without a proper deal as if it was the most normal thing to do," Ichigo finished.

"You make it sound like you are looking for money," Uryū commented with a sigh.

"We are putting our lives and future in the line, Uryū. We have to experience the struggle of life before dying and going to society. We hamper our education by going out to help them. Moreover, we risk ourselves getting killed every time we head out to do their job. Expecting some compensation is not something to be ashamed of."

"I know. What I wanted to say is that you just have to say that you don't want Soul Society to force us to take action, so the Shinigami can forego their job."

"That's basically what I am saying!" Ichigo rebuked with a light scowl.

"You emphasized too much on compensation, idiot!" Uryū countered.

"That's what you got; not what I said."

"This idiot…"

Uryū sighed and then gave up on arguing with Ichigo. Ever since getting his True Shikai, Ichigo got harder to argue with. He had never been easy to argue with but hadn't been that logical. He reasoned with Uryū using logic and he found himself at a loss every time. As someone who prided himself on his intelligence, he found it irritating.

"So…are we going to pretend we don't see what happens from now on? I get that Kurosaki-kun wants us to be safe, but just because it is right, I don't think you should do it!" Orihime voiced out her thoughts.

"Don't worry, Orihime. Soul Society will soon take action and we will be able to formally do our 'job' in no time," Ichigo assured with a soft smile, relaxing Orihime. "Besides, I am not telling you to turn a blind eye to the happening. If you meet a Hollow by chance, you may exterminate it. I just don't want you chasing around Hollows. Wait until it becomes our official job."

Uryū once again noted how eerily similar Ichigo sounded to his father. The pure pragmatism and cold logic Ichigo displayed made him wonder what he was willing to risk to achieve his goal. Recalling Ichigo's way of using the situation to his advantage and subtle manipulation to let people see what he wanted them to see, Ichigo reminded Uryū of Aizen.

His spine involuntarily chilled at the thought. He hoped he was just reading too deep into Ichigo's recently changed behavior. He didn't think he would ever want to trust his back to Ichigo if he behaved like Aizen, even if everything Ichigo did was for his and his friends' safety. He shook his head at his grim thought before wondering when Soul Society would take action.

Three days passed without any signs of Soul Society taking action. The group ignored their Denreishinki's notifications, only killing Hollows that appeared close to them. The lack of action from the other side made Uryū think that they weren't needed in the first place, which was not that surprising given how the world could function just fine even before their involvement.

Given his nature, though, he couldn't accept that. As a Quincy, he had a sense of obligation to protect his fellow humans from Hollows. The Shinigami were not omnipotent. They couldn't always arrive in time. It would only need a few seconds of tardiness to lose a life. Should they remain 'apathetic,' many people would unnecessarily die. As someone who lost his mother to a Hollow, Ichigo should have thought the same.

Nodding to himself in his seat, Uryū decided to talk to Ichigo when lunch break came. The bell rang, causing him to pay attention to the front of the class. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed Ichigo slightly shifted. He followed Ichigo's line of sight, in time to see the door slide open. A youthful woman dressed in a suit with her braided hair landed between her ample bosom walked in.

"Good morning, everyone. I will be your new Biology teacher."

Uryū blinked his eyes as the woman stood before the classroom.

"My name is Unohana Retsu. Let's have a fun class."

As excited whispers about the attractive new teacher filled the room, Uryū saw Retsu cast a glance at Ichigo, causing a faint grimace to appear on Ichigo's face. His friends told him that Ichigo was quite close with the woman, so the conflict in Ichigo's eyes confused him.

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Honorary Mention:

Venerable Immortal Adan Smith

Venerable Immortal Haider Alkefaji

Venerable Immortal B0mbaCl0ckBob

Venerable Immortal Jack Wright

Venerable Immortal SilverWolf