[Quincy Archer Hates You Arc] Part 34: Can I be your enemy?

# July 17 | Somewhere in Karakura Town #

After the events with Don Kanonji and Kagine-sensei, I tried to take a break from my training and decided to focus on my studies. I expected to have a quieter week, but unfortunately we don't always get what we want.

Apparently, Rukia was getting alerts from Hollows and was dragging Ichigo off to do his job as usual. The problem is that every time they arrived at the place, they didn't find any Hollow. There were days when they took me along with the hope that I could feel the Hollow's spiritual energy in the place and sometimes we spent the whole day hunting Hollows in vain.

I already knew that Uryu was the cause of this and I confess that at first it was funny for him to make a clown out of everyone…until I remembered that he was completely destroying a spirit…

Yato: 'And to make matters worse…with each Hollow he kills, Soul Society eliminates someone from the Rukongai to keep the worlds in balance…I better try to talk to Uryu when he appears…'

Ichigo: "Again there aren't any Hollows around here!! There wasn't a Hollow when it was lunch time and there isn't a Hollow now either!!"

Rukia: "Shut up!! Hurry up and get back to your body!!"

As they argued, I looked in the opposite direction when I noticed Uryu approaching. He was dressed in traditional Quincy attire consisting of a priest's white garment.

Uryu: "A fight between friends? That's a disgrace."

His sudden appearance gave Ichigo and Rukia a slight fright, who turned to see who had spoken to them.

Uryu: "Good evening, Kurosaki-san. Yasakani-san. Kuchiki-san."

Ichigo: "...Who are you? And what are those clothes? Are you some kind of priest?"

Yato: "...Good night, Ishida-san." - I tried to look as casual as possible.

Ichigo: "Wait, do you two know each other?"

Uryu: "Oh, so you were aware of me, Yasakani-san? At least one of you isn't a lost cause."

Cheshire: 'What an asshole…'

Yato: 'Don't tell me…'

Ichigo: "I'm really confused…how do you know our names and where do you know each other from?"

Uryu: "Kurosaki-san, you can see spirits, correct?" - He ignored the question and turned his attention to Ichigo.

Ichigo: "W-what!? But what are you talking about!?"

Uryu: "Ah, a new Hollow has appeared…" - He ignored Ichigo's question again.

As soon as Uryu announced the Hollow, Rukia's cell phone started ringing.

Rukia: "A Hollow actually appeared!"

And this time, just to tease, I pointed towards the Hollow before Uryu.

Yato: "It's over there."

Uryu: "That's right, Yasakani-san…"

He turned his back to us as he extended his right arm and it wasn't long before he turned his attention to Ichigo.

Uryu: "You can't do something as basic as sense spiritual energy and you still call yourself a shinigami?"

Without even waiting for an answer, using the Quincy cross he kept attached to his wrist, Uryu created a large bow of reishi and in a quick movement, shot a powerful arrow in the direction where the Hollow had appeared.

Seconds later, even though no one actually saw the Hollow because he was so far away, Rukia's cell phone stopped ringing.

Rukia: "The signal…disappeared…!"

Ichigo: "What...the hell are you…!?"

Uryu: "I'm Uryu Ishida. A Quincy…and I hate Shinigami."

Ichigo: ".....What...?"

Uryu: "Don't you understand, Ichigo Kurosaki? What I'm saying is…I hate you."

After Uryu's statement, everyone was silent for a few seconds.

Yato: "...Okay...now could you tell the truth? Because it seems like not even you believe this..."

Rukia and Ichigo looked at me in surprise while Uryu narrowed his eyes.

Uryu: "Yasakani-san, whether you believe my words or not makes no difference."

Yato: "Hum…it's not that I don't believe it, it's more that what you said doesn't make sense. For example, you know shinigami and can locate a Hollow's spiritual energy at an absurd distance, which means you've trained your powers for quite some time."

Uryu: "What's your point?"

Yato: "You're the smartest student in our class and I highly doubt you haven't noticed Ichigo's spiritual energy."

Ichigo: "Wait…you mean to tell me he studies in our class!?"

Uryu: "Oh, so despite appearances you are not only capable of sensing spirit energy but also a good observer. Looks like I gave you less credit than I should have, Yasakani." - He said while adjusting his glasses.

Yato: "So I wasn't mistaken about that, Ishida-san?" - I gave a slight smile trying to lighten the situation.

Uryu: "You're right, Yasakani. Thanks to Kurosaki's foolish inability to restrict his spiritual energy. Even a monkey would notice him."

Ichigo: "What did you say?" - He asked annoyed.

Uryu: "You are that kind of person, Kurosaki. You lack the ability to sense the presence of people with high spiritual power. The evidence is that you haven't noticed my existence until today."

Yato: '...Cheshire…isn't that Uryu dialogue happening a little too soon?'

Cheshire: 'Yeah…shall we watch it while eating popcorn?'

Ichigo: "My bad! I suck at remembering people's faces, so-"

Uryu: "That's not the point. Since I entered Karakura High School I noticed how unusually high your spiritual energy was. And that in the middle of May, you acquired the powers of a shinigami, and the true identity of Rukia Kuchiki."

Rukia: "But how did you…?"

Yato: "Your words only confirm how strange your claim to hate Ichigo was. I mean… if you really hate shinigami, wouldn't it be right for you to say those words to Rukia as soon as she appeared in town?"

Rukia: "Yato…?"

At that moment, I noticed that my question made Uryu a little uncomfortable and he didn't answer me right away, so I took the opportunity to continue talking.

Yato: "Instead, you waited for Ichigo to receive these powers before approaching him. I really believe that you hate shinigami…but hating Ichigo seems more like something you're forcing yourself to do…what you really want, Ishida- san?"