An Overly Friendly Host (3)

10 advanced chapters on my Patreon: Fiction Haven

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"Ichigo-chan sure is ruthless, huh?" Gin remarked as he watched Ichigo roughed Barragan up. "I wonder if he ignores Barragan's Senescencia. I wouldn't recommend that. He will be an old man by the time the fight ends."

Gin's remark caused Yoruichi's eyes to narrow. Even when beat up, the annoying bastard still found his way to get under your skin. He was wise enough not to taunt Retsu, though. Gin would mock Yoruichi whenever she told him to keep quiet but would shut up when Retsu sent a look his way.

"But a fight this big is bound to attract some attention, no? The smarter Adjuchas will get away, but most Gillians and prideful Adjuchas will investigate what happens, no? I wonder where they are now."

"What are you talking about?"

Gin's words made Yoruichi and Retsu slightly worry. They didn't think the declining population of Menos in the forest was weird until Gin mentioned it. As someone who worked under the man who had been fooling Seireitei for a century, Gin must know something. His words shouldn't be taken with a grain of salt.

Predictably, Gin didn't have any intention to elaborate. He gave them his famous face-splitting grin, taunting them to squeeze information out of him. Retsu's eyes sank coldly. She might not be part of the Interrogation Department, but she knew how to make people spill their guts…metaphorically and literally.

Whoosh!

"Ah, watch out! I don't want to get old."

Before Retsu could make the snake bastard squeal, a wave of Respira came at them. Yoruichi, Retsu, and Ashido quickly moved out of the way, not forgetting to bring Gin with them. As much as they wanted to let the wave rot the bastard, they still needed the information he held.

Boom!

Ichigo slammed Barragan into the ground with Zangetsu. Barragan's axe trembled under Ichigo's Zanpakutō, desperately trying to stop their advance. The self-proclaimed Arrancar King roared. He increased the effect of Senescencia, engulfing him and his enemy in a dome of purplish miasma. He couldn't understand it. His power didn't work on Ichigo.

"Time is not something you can go against! How can you not age?" Barragan growled.

"I age, but that doesn't mean I have to grow weak," Ichigo cackled.

"That doesn't make sense," Barragan fumed.

"We can eradicate a mountain with a swing of our weapon—why are you surprised by nonsensical phenomena?" Ichigo sneered. "But I will give you the answer to your question. Age doesn't kill an immortal."

"Impossible!"

Ichigo laughed manically as he swung Zangetsu upward, lifting Barragan into the air. He shot Getsuga Tensho point blank, sending him to the forest's ceiling. Barragan blocked the attack with Gran Caida in his remaining hand, unable to counter it. Ichigo's horns produced a whitish-black Cero and shot it at Barragan.

"I, the king, am losing? Impossible!"

"You may be a king, but you are not THE king. That title belongs to me, asshat."

Boom!

Ichigo cackled as Barragan was engulfed in a thick Reiatsu explosion. It lasted for ten seconds before slowly dissipating. What remained from Barragan were his skull and a bit of his chest bone. Ichigo's overpowered attack had blasted the rest of his skeletal body. To Ichigo's amusement, the disintegrating Gran Caida was flying toward him. Realizing his inevitable demise, Barragan had thrown Gran Caida at Ichigo in a desperate attempt to get him.

Ichigo stopped accessing his Hollow Reiryoku, causing his mask to crack and dissipate. He secured Zangetsu on his waist and back before walking toward Retsu and the others. He had something to ask Gin. He knew the pale bastard came at him for a reason.

"That was impressive, Ichigo-kun," Retsu praised with a smile. "I like how dominant you are," she added with pink cheeks.

"Indeed. I surprised myself too," Ichigo nodded with a light smile. "Barragan's power was a nightmare to counter."

"Didn't know you were acquainted already," Gin grinned. No one paid heed to his words.

"How did you counter the corrosion?" Retsu inquired.

Ichigo turned to Gin and found him looking at him curiously. Ichigo was aware that Gin was plotting for Aizen's defeat but didn't want to take chances. He approached Gin and covered Gin's ears with his hands. Gin sneered as Ashido who was holding him blinked in surprise. Gin's sneer immediately disappeared when Ichigo's Reiatsu pulsed and shattered his eardrum. Ashido flinched at the brutality but didn't say anything.

"His power didn't corrode things. It allowed him to manipulate time: he could slow down projectiles and accelerate aging," Ichigo explained. "I countered the former with being faster, though creating a Reiryoku barrier will also help you greatly. To counter the latter, I had to overflow my cells with Reishi to increase my lifespan. The accelerated aging depleted the Reishi instead of wearing my body down."

"That was dangerous, Ichigo-kun," Retsu frowned. "You are gambling with your soul. Even though the accelerated aging burned the Reishi, your soul still had to endure power that didn't come from your innate Reiryoku at the end of the day."

"Yeah, he was quite troublesome," Ichigo admitted.

"Let me check your body."

Ichigo shrugged, allowing Retsu to perform a diagnosis on him. His eyes went to Gin whose eternal grin had become strained. A smirk rose to Ichigo's face. He didn't hate Gin. The man was annoying but a good guy…kind of. Gin was willing to do anything to take Aizen down to avenge his friend. The method was dubious, but Ichigo could understand Gin as he would do the same. Regardless, it was fun to see Gin suffer.

"Can you lip-read?"

"Talking to a deaf man—Ichigo-chan is sure a tease, huh?" Gin mocked.

"I guess he can't."

"Ichigo," Yoruichi called. "He addressed the declining population of Gillians and Adjuchas in the forest earlier. I think we need to question him about that."

Ichigo hummed. He could somehow guess where the Gillians and Adjuchas had disappeared. Ichigo flicked the air, opening the Garganta. They would return to the human world and question Gin on the way. Ichigo asked Ashido if he wanted to come along, but he refused. He still wanted to eradicate every Menos in the forest.

Ashido's resolve might be stupid, but Ichigo respected it. He didn't bother to dissuade Ashido—he didn't care, to be honest—and stepped into the Garganta with his girls and their hostage. Retsu quickly healed Gin's ears, restoring his ability to hear. Gin's mocking grin returned at full force as he knew what Ichigo would say.

"Curious where they are, aren't you?" Gin mocked.

"Nah, just tell me why you attacked me," Ichigo waved dismissively.

"To wear you down."

"Well, that didn't work out, so what now?"

"Oh, that is not the end of it," Gin snickered.

Ichigo's unsaid question was answered in the form of Szayelaporro Granz waiting at the end of the Garganta with his Fracción. The Octava Espada was tinkering with the Garganta, disconnecting it from the human world.

From the warm greeting and Aizen's unwillingness to let him go, Ichigo concluded Aizen was an overly friendly host.

…

Kūmon, the method Menos used to travel to the Human World, riddled the sky. Ordinary humans might not see anything wrong, but the spiritually aware would find the slits in the sky disturbing. Is the world going to end? These thoughts swirled in their mind. The more informed people knew what was about to happen. Nevertheless, they still freaked out when a masked behemoth peered out of the slit before stepping out.

Tens of Menos announced their presence in Karakura town, overwhelming it with their Reiatsu. The Shinigami stationed there immediately went into action. They didn't know what happened, but that was irrelevant as they would do their job regardless. One shop owner looked at the sky with a contemplative hum. His sparkling eyes hidden beneath his hat were telltale signs of comprehension.

"What is happening?" Ishida Uryū wondered, stopping his training in the Study Chamber beneath his family's hospital.

Ryūken would have normally scolded his son for his inattentiveness, but the sudden surge of malicious Reiatsu made him cautious. "Something is happening. Let's put the training on hold. I don't have a good feeling about this."

At the same time, the self-proclaimed retired Shinigami, Kurosaki Isshin stood up from his chair with a serious face. He went out of the clinic and looked for his daughters. Karin and Yuzu were shaken. Isshin's eyes hardened at the scene, but a goofy smile still found its way to his face.

"Girls, why don't you stay in the house for a moment? It doesn't feel good outside," Isshin said as nonchalantly as he could. He knew he failed miserably when he saw Karin's eyes tense further. "Ah, Yuzu. Where is that doll that Ichigo gave you?"

"I- It's in my room," Yuzu timidly said.

"I will borrow it for a moment."

Before Isshin could go to Yuzu's room, the room burst open. Isshin would have killed whoever entered their house that way if it hadn't turned out to be Nova who was taking care of Ichigo's body. Isshin nodded at the Mod Soul, prompting him to nod in understanding. Isshin went to Yuzu's room and extracted the Mod Soul hidden in her doll before swallowing it.

"Take care of my daughters, Kon."

"Leave it to me, Captains!"

Now in his Shinigami garb, Isshin left the house. As soon as he was outside, four Adjuchas glared down at him. He felt like it was only yesterday he had faced an Adjuchas near their house. There was never a peaceful day in the Kurosaki household.