"Why does it feel like no one remembers Rukia-chan at all?" Orihime asked continuously.
"Yeah," Tatsuki added, "I even asked Chizuru today. She said she doesn't remember anyone named Rukia Kuchiki in our class.
I thought maybe I was hallucinating!"
But after hearing the two girls, Ichigo's mood didn't improve at all.
He said lowly, "Rukia... she's gone.
She went back to where she came from."
Tatsuki, seeing Ichigo's troubled expression, moved closer and hugged his arm.
"Ichigo... could you tell us about Rukia?" she asked gently.
Ichigo nodded.
One word at a time, he told them everything — how he met Rukia, how they went from strangers to close friends.
He remembered everything, and he spoke about it all in detail.
Finally, Ichigo's voice grew pained as he said,
"I shouldn't have just stood there and watched as her brother took her away."
Tatsuki sighed, pulling Ichigo's head down into her arms.
"It's not your fault, Ichigo.
You didn't know what would happen to her after she left, did you?"
Ichigo still looked pained.
Orihime quickly added,
"Being sad won't help anything now, Kurosaki-kun.
We should be thinking about what to do next!"
Hearing that, Ichigo lifted his head.
His eyes burned with resolve.
"I'm going to Soul Society.
I'm going to save Rukia!"
The moment he said that, Tatsuki immediately responded,
"Okay. I'll go with you!"
"And me too!" Orihime added firmly.
"Listen, Tatsuki, Inoue — this isn't a joke!"
Ichigo said seriously.
"Going to another world isn't some sightseeing trip."
"And besides, this is my mistake.
I need to fix it myself.
You don't need to risk your lives for it."
Hearing that, Tatsuki looked into Ichigo's eyes and said,
"Ichigo, your problems are my problems.
And Rukia-chan is my friend too.
If you're going to save her, then I'm definitely going with you!"
"That's right!" Orihime nodded vigorously.
"Kurosaki-kun, Rukia-chan isn't just my friend either.
She helped me see my brother again.
I owe her.
And even though I'm not strong in fighting, Tatsuki knows —
my healing ability is really good.
I can help you!"
Ichigo looked at the two girls, but said nothing.
Deep inside, he had already decided not to drag them into this.
Even if Tatsuki was special to him, it wasn't enough reason to involve her.
"Let me think about it," Ichigo said quietly before leaving the rooftop.
He didn't say a single word about the plan to depart in ten days.
Tatsuki watched Ichigo walk away.
She understood.
No matter what she said, Ichigo wouldn't take her with him.
But so what?
She, Arisawa Tatsuki, would go anyway —
not just for Ichigo, but also for her own friend!
At that moment, Urahara Kisuke appeared, tapping his fan lightly.
"Two lovely ladies, it looks like you're in a bit of trouble, hm?"
Tatsuki and Orihime both froze, staring at him.
—
Meanwhile.
Ichigo spoke with his father and two younger sisters, telling them he was going on a trip for a while.
He said he might not be back until just before school started again.
He also mentioned there would be no cell signal where he was going —
so they shouldn't worry if they couldn't contact him —
and that Tatsuki would be going with him.
Originally, Kurosaki Isshin wasn't too happy about the idea.
But the moment he heard Tatsuki was going too, Isshin immediately gave Ichigo a big thumbs-up with a huge grin.
Ichigo sighed helplessly, packed his bags, stocked up on food and water, and headed toward the deep mountains — somewhere completely deserted.
Since both Zangetsu and White Ichigo said he needed a quiet place, the deserted mountains were the perfect choice.
Ichigo immediately entered his Shinigami form.
Within half a day, he arrived deep in the mountains.
"Phew... this should be good enough," Ichigo muttered as he surveyed the surroundings.
If he didn't have powers, he definitely wouldn't dare to come to such a place alone!
"Alright!"
Ichigo drew his zanpakutō, following what Zangetsu and White Ichigo had taught him, and released the two of them into the world.
Boom.
Ichigo's zanpakutō vanished.
In its place stood the fully materialized forms of Zangetsu and White Ichigo.
Zangetsu calmly looked around, nodded, and said,
"Good.
Ichigo, this is an excellent place."
White Ichigo grinned at Zangetsu,
"So... which of us goes first?
Isn't he in a hurry?"
"I'll go first," Zangetsu said without hesitation.
White Ichigo nodded and said nothing more.
Instead, he released his own spiritual pressure, flattening a huge area of the mountain into an open field.
The space was no smaller than four full-size soccer fields!
After all, if they didn't have that much space, it wouldn't be enough for the destruction Ichigo would unleash during the test!
After finishing the preparations, White Ichigo leapt to the top of the mountain and sat down casually to watch.
In the center of the field, Zangetsu and Ichigo faced each other.
"Zangetsu-san, what's the content of your test?" Ichigo asked, itching to get started.
Zangetsu waved his hand.
Suddenly, countless strangely-shaped zanpakutō fragments appeared, planted upright all over the field.
Ichigo's eyes widened at the sight.
"What... is this?"
Zangetsu explained calmly,
"These are fragments of your zanpakutō, Ichigo.
They are incomplete pieces of Zangetsu.
Your task is to find the real Zangetsu among them — and use it to defeat me."
"This is your Bankai exam."
As he spoke, Zangetsu casually picked up one of the fragments — a twisted blade that barely resembled a proper sword.
"Come, Ichigo.
The exam begins now."
Ichigo stared at the endless sea of broken blades, his scalp tingling.
Good grief —
finding the real Zangetsu among all this was no different from searching for a needle in a haystack!
As Zangetsu stepped forward with his weapon, Ichigo urgently scanned the area.
He spotted a blade that looked very similar to Zangetsu and used shunpo to dash over and pull it out.
"Come on, Zangetsu-san!"
"Hmph!"
With a flash, Zangetsu appeared right behind Ichigo.
But Ichigo had already caught his movement and swung the weapon behind him to block.
Unfortunately —
Crack!
Ichigo's blade shattered instantly under Zangetsu's strike, offering no resistance at all!
Even though Ichigo was shocked, he didn't dare to hesitate.
He rolled clumsily to dodge the next attack.
But Zangetsu didn't give him a chance to breathe —
his speed was even faster than Ichigo's!
In the next instant, he appeared right in front of Ichigo —
his weapon raised high!
(End of Chapter)
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