A Crazy Proposition

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For some reason, Retsu was being careful around him. He wouldn't say that she was walking on eggshells around him, but he could feel that she was holding herself back. He could feel the invisible barrier between them that she set to separate herself from everyone but him. He should be glad that she treated him like anyone, but he wasn't.

'What happened to my angelic devil!?'

With that echoing in his mind, Ichigo had been staring at Retsu since the morning. Even as she was teaching in the class, he still kept his gaze on her. If he was not so oblivious and dismissive about romantic feelings, he would have noticed how Retsu was enjoying his attention. If he had been keener, given how intimate their position was in the morning, he would have realized that, in fact, nothing was wrong.

Unwilling as she was to admit it, Retsu was feeling quite uncomfortable about what had happened the day earlier. Ichigo had gone home at ten and that was way past dinner. She had had dinner with him, so she could smell Yoruichi strongly. Although she couldn't define what she felt toward Ichigo, she was sure she didn't like what she saw.

'Maybe, I should have listened to Isane's advice to read one of those romance novels,' she mused in amusement. 'What do I have to do after giving him the cold shoulders?'

Amusingly, both of the parties were as clueless about romance as toddlers.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Ichigo tore his gaze away from Retsu when his Denreishinki notified him of a Hollow's presence. He always stretched his Reiryoku as far as he could to detect Hollows, so the fact that he couldn't feel the Hollow meant that it was far enough from the school. Putting his hand in his pocket, he took out Nova's Gikongan and ejected his soul.

Retsu paused in her teaching to look at Ichigo's soul. Ichigo nodded at her, prompting her to resume her lecture. Turning to the window, he motioned for his friends to stand down. He was more than enough to take care of some insignificant Hollows.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

That was until their Denreishinki went off rowdily. At this moment, Ichigo could already feel several strong presence. Recalling his otherworldly knowledge, he was sure that today was the day some experimental Arrancars paid a visit to Earth. His deduction was confirmed to be true when he noticed a familiar presence.

"I am going to murder that bastard myself," he muttered as his eyes gleamed in cold fury.

Everyone who could see him froze. Ichigo had been calm and amiable for the last two weeks. Even before his awakening, he had never looked so angry. Saying that would be wrong. He had been angry but never looked so murderous.

Swish!

As he disappeared with Shunpō, his friends snapped out of their stupors and raised their hands. Despite his state, Uryū also raised his hand. Soon, the three of them left the class under the curious stare of their classmates. Retsu felt a strong urge to follow them but held herself. She knew Ichigo would do fine, after all.

On the other side of the town, the said Shinigami was passing through the street at a breakneck speed. It didn't take him long to reach his target, a huge Arrancar covered with fur clothing. The abhorrent Arrancar didn't expect an attack at all but still managed to put his sword before him. Of course, he could never contend against Ichigo's monstrous strength.

Boom!

"Gah!"

Being flung like a ragdoll, the Arrancar had a mind to groan painfully. His body skidded for a few seconds before stopping. As he stood up, the pain on his face immediately made him forget his monstrous opponent. Cold fear washed over him as he felt the crack in his mask.

"Hold your sword properly."

The cold voice of his opponent made him raise his head. His eyes widened as the image of a woman he had eaten less than a decade ago overlapped with his opponent's figure.

"You are that boy that I failed to kill."

"Thank you for coming on your accord, Grand Fisher. I was about to come to Hueco Mundo and kill you there."

If he hadn't felt the extent of Ichigo's strength, Grand Fisher would have laughed at that statement. Knowing what Ichigo could do to him, cold sweat drenched his forehead. His plan to toy with Ichigo and his family turned out to be a mere delusion. Logically, at this point, he should back down.

"Why don't we see the truth behind those words?"

Alas, as a naturally sick-minded creature, his survival instinct was drowned by his irrational pride.

"Bakudō #61: Rikujōkōrō."

Any semblance of arrogance and mirth on Grand Fisher's face was wiped off clean as his body was immobilized by six yellow ribbons. Each step Ichigo took to eliminate the distance between them echoed loudly in his ears. It was but his mind's attempt to rationalize his doom. Ichigo didn't make a sound.

As soon as Ichigo stood right in front of him, his arm fell off. Ichigo watched in boredom as he screamed at the top of his lungs. It had been some time since he was last hurt. He didn't like the pain at all. To his utter horror, Ichigo cut his fingers at once. Ichigo gave him a few seconds to register the pain before cutting his arm into several parts.

The only thing that picked Ichigo's interest was the blood coming out of the stump. Grand Fisher noted that with absolute fear. Ichigo waited for the cut limbs to regrow before cutting open Grand Fisher's stomach. He was curious about the innards of an Arrancar. To his fascination, they looked just like a human's.

"What are you doing, you sick fuck!? Kill me already!"

"Hush…" Ichigo put his index finger before his mouth. "Trash don't have any right to speak. You should be grateful that I am even willing to do this to you."

"This sick motherfucker!" Grand Fisher shouted indignantly, briefly forgetting his pain.

"Funny," Ichigo chuckled before settling a soul-withering glare at Grand Fisher. "I would be able to fuck my mother if she was still alive. I wouldn't do that but, at least, that would make me a motherfucker."

Grand Fisher hadn't fully registered the absurdity of the statement when he felt his intestines were pulled out of his body. He pathetically grunted as his organs touched the ground. Ichigo barely paid any attention to them as he pulled another organ out of Grand Fisher's stomach cavity. Grand Fisher's anguished scream was conveniently ignored, but the hand on his shoulder made Ichigo pause.

"Stop it, Ichigo. Your mother wouldn't be smiling if she saw what you did."

"I thought you were on a month-long training."

"What can I say? I am that good."

Ichigo snorted before facing the man who had his hand on his shoulder, Shiba Isshin, the former Captain of the Tenth Division, his father. As their eyes met, Ichigo could see the bitter look on Isshin's face.

"Just kill it already."

"It is the one that took the biggest chunk out of our family. Don't you think we need a little payback?"

"Don't bargain with me, Ichigo. You are trailing to a dark path."

"Why is it only now that you are trying to act like a proper father? You didn't do anything when I went against the whole Seireitei which was more reckless than what I am doing."

Isshin was speechless for a moment, unable to refute his son's words. It especially hurt when Ichigo said them with a matter-of-fact tone.

"Your mother's soul is in there. At least… do it for your mother," he said with a defeated smile after some time.

Ichigo remained silent for a moment before plunging his bigger sword into Grand Fisher's head. Isshin had hoped that Ichigo would do it less brutally but was also fine with that. That was until Ichigo poured his Reiryoku into his sword and blasted Grand Fisher's head. The bloody display passed quickly as the desecrated body turned to ash that quickly disappeared into thin air.

"Soul Society is a shitty place, but I hope her good karma lands her in a good region," Ichigo remarked as he gazed at the sky, intentionally ignoring his father's shocked look.

"It is very unlikely for a soul eaten by a Hollow to immediately reincarnate as a resident of Soul Society," Isshin said bitterly. "She might end up as a mere building material there. Well, a part of her soul, at least. Who knows? I don't want to think about it." Isshin breathed softly, running a hand through his hair. The breath he released seemed to take two decades out of his age.

Chuckling humorlessly, Isshin looked at Ichigo before grinning teasingly. "You look good. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought you were Ryūken's follower."

"There is nothing wrong with Quincy's sense of fashion," Ichigo quipped, causing him to blink.

"Damn. You also sound like him."

Laughing boisterously this time, Isshin patted Ichigo's shoulder. His laugh became subdued when Ichigo didn't share his sentiment. Chuckling nervously as he looked into Ichigo's empty eyes, he dreaded what was to come. His wariness didn't go unawarded as he received a strong hit to the jaw the next moment. Alas, he couldn't block it in time.

"That was for not coming in time to save Mom… and for keeping all of the shit to yourself," Ichigo muttered before running his hand to his hair while sighing exasperatedly. "Let's come clean. Tell me everything."

Sitting up, Isshin nursed his aching jaw before muttering, "Fine. Let's go to Urahara. I will tell you there."

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Honorary Mention:

Venerable Immortal Adan Smith

Venerable Immortal Haider Alkefaji

Venerable Immortal B0mbaCl0ckBob

Venerable Immortal Jack Wright

Venerable Immortal Rollo

Venerable Immortal Star Dragon Bahamut

Venerable Immortal Wilfrid Calixte Killian