Chapter 32: A Divided Loyalty
Several Days Later — Karakura Town
“You bastard! Turn them back to normal!” Ichigo roared as he faced off against two men.
Both had black hair, though their appearances were otherwise very different.
One possessed slicked-back hair and a robust build.
The other had shoulder-length hair and a leaner frame.
Kūgo Ginjo and Shūkurō Tsukishima.
Scattered around the battlefield lay several unconscious bodies belonging to the remaining members of Xcution.
Giriko Kutsuzawa.
Jackie Tristan.
Yukio Hans Vorarlberna.
Moe Shishigawara.
Off to another side also lay the unconscious forms of Orihime Inoue and Yasutora Sado.
Ichigo had been forced to knock them out as well after they were brainwashed by Tsukishima’s Fullbring—
Book of the End.
As Ichigo glared at the remaining Fullbringers, his thoughts drifted back to the events of the past several days after Xcution first contacted him.
Ginjo—who was the same man whose bag had been stolen a while back—had stubbornly continued trying to approach him.
Every day after school.
Even showing up at his part-time job.
Remembering Caius’s warnings about the Fullbringers potentially targeting his family, Ichigo eventually decided to hear them out instead of continuing to ignore them.
With his powers fully restored and far stronger than before, Ichigo felt confident he could deal with them once they inevitably showed their true intentions.
He had been taken to Xcution’s hideout where they fed him a sob story about wanting to rid themselves of their Fullbring powers by transferring them to him.
Ichigo didn’t believe a single word.
Thanks to Riruka—who had already exposed their real goal after defecting to Caius’s side—Ichigo knew they were actually trying to steal his powers instead.
At least his Fullbring abilities.
So when they offered to help him unlock and train his Fullbring powers—
Ichigo immediately activated his completed Fullbring form on the spot.
The surprise on their faces had been obvious.
Even so, they still appeared pleased after briefly testing his strength in a spar against Ginjo.
Eventually, they became convinced Ichigo was the correct person to give their abilities to.
Ichigo, however, still didn’t trust them in the slightest.
Instead, he told them he needed several days to think about their offer.
During that time, he informed his friends about the situation and proposed launching a surprise attack before the Fullbringers could make the first move.
Orihime and Chad supported the idea immediately.
Uryu, however, remained distant.
Ever since learning about the coming Quincy war, the bespectacled Quincy had become noticeably withdrawn and seemed constantly lost in thought.
Rather than joining them, Uryu simply stated that with Ichigo’s current strength, he should have no trouble handling a group like Xcution himself.
Though disappointed, Ichigo understood and let the matter go.
Afterward, he and his friends remained on guard while specifically watching out for Tsukishima.
Thankfully, no attacks came during those few days.
And so the night of the confrontation finally arrived.
Together with Chad and Orihime, Ichigo headed toward the designated meeting place—
Only for the ambush to begin immediately.
Forced apart from his friends, Ichigo quickly dealt with most of the Fullbringers on his own.
Yukio.
Giriko.
Jackie.
Moe.
One after another, they fell in quick succession leaving only Ginjo standing.
However, when Ichigo noticed Tsukishima—the most dangerous Fullbringer and the man Caius specifically warned him about—was nowhere to be seen, a terrible feeling formed in his stomach.
His fears proved correct moments later.
Tsukishima finally appeared—
Alongside Orihime and Chad.
Even while attacking him, both wore visibly pained expressions.
Furious at himself for failing to protect them despite knowing the danger beforehand, Ichigo hardened his resolve.
He quickly separated them from Ginjo and Tsukishima by sending them flying, and then quickly and carefully knocked both unconscious before carrying them somewhere safer.
Only then did he return to confront the final two Fullbringers.
And now—
Back in the present—
Ginjo and Tsukishima could barely hold their ground as Ichigo relentlessly overwhelmed the two making it look almost effortless.
“You bastard! How are you this strong!? And how did you get your Shinigami powers back!?” Ginjo shouted furiously.
Their swords clashed violently before Ichigo overpowered him and knocked him away, immediately shifting his attention toward Tsukishima.
“Did you enjoy fighting against your friends?” Tsukishima asked mockingly, a sadistic smile spreading across his face.
The words only made Ichigo angrier.
“Shut up!”
Ichigo swung his shorter blade horizontally through the air.
“Getsuga Tenshō!”
A golden crescent of energy exploded from the blade at point-blank range, threatening to split Tsukishima clean in half.
Tsukishima’s eyes widened in shock, unable to dodge in time—
—but Ginjo suddenly shoved him aside at the last second.
The Getsuga continued onward before colliding with the mansion behind them.
BOOOOM!
A massive pillar of golden Reiatsu erupted into the sky, the resulting shockwave generating fierce winds powerful enough to nearly send everyone except Ichigo flying.
“Tsk.” Tsukishima clicked his tongue while shielding his face from the violent winds. “If I had known he was this strong, I would’ve targeted his family and human friends instead. But for some reason I couldn’t locate any of them the past few days.”
“It seems you vastly underestimated him, Ginjo,” Tsukishima continued calmly. “I recall you saying the only ones we needed to fear were his father, Kisuke Urahara, and Yoruichi Shihoin.”
Ginjo stared at the destruction in shock for a moment before snapping out of it and glaring hatefully at Ichigo.
“It doesn’t matter now!” Ginjo barked angrily. “Just help me kill him! Target his unconscious friends or something!”
An ugly grin spread across Tsukishima’s face as his gaze shifted toward the unconscious Orihime and Chad.
Ichigo’s expression instantly darkened.
In the next instant, he appeared protectively in front of his friends with a fierce glare.
“It seems Caius wasn’t wrong about you two,” Ichigo muttered coldly. “I was still holding back because I didn’t want to kill you… but maybe that was my mistake.”
“Don’t think you can kill us so easily, Kurosaki!” Ginjo roared as he charged forward alongside Tsukishima, both raising their weapons.
In response, Ichigo slowly lifted his larger blade.
Golden Reiatsu erupted around it violently as he grasped the weapon with both hands before swinging downward.
“Getsuga Tenshō!”
This Getsuga dwarfed the previous one.
The night itself turned gold as the massive blast surged forward—
—and the entire battlefield exploded.
Ichigo waited silently as the smoke and destruction slowly settled.
Eventually, two broken figures became visible on the ground.
Ginjo and Tsukishima.
Both were covered in blood with one arm and one leg missing each, barely clinging to life.
Letting out a weary sigh, Ichigo prepared to walk forward and make sure they were truly dead—
Only to suddenly freeze.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
Slowly, applause echoed from behind him.
A second later, Ichigo heard a voice he would recognize anywhere.
Mostly because the owner constantly pissed him off.
“Gotta hand it to ya, Ichigo,” Caius said amusedly. “For a second there, I thought you were actually gonna chicken out and spare them after everything they did.”
=====
Back to Caius
Looking at the shocked yet irritated expression the Strawberry was giving me, my grin only widened further, which naturally irritated him even more.
At the same time, I quietly noted how he didn’t seem nearly as tense as he used to be.
Good.
“Tsk, how long have you been here, you bastard?” Ichigo asked with a scowl while keeping me in his peripheral vision.
Notably, he never once took his eyes off Ginjo and Tsukishima.
Internally, I gave him a small nod of approval.
After all the times I had drilled it into his thick skull to never take your eyes off an enemy, I would’ve been genuinely annoyed if he forgot within weeks of our training ending.
“Long enough,” I replied casually with a shrug as I walked toward him with my hands in my pockets. “You’re welcome, by the way.”
Ichigo raised an eyebrow skeptically.
“For what exactly?”
“For keeping your human friends safe from the filthy hands of that sadistic bastard over there,” I answered calmly while pointing toward the dying Tsukishima with my head.
“You know… the ones without powers to defend themselves?”
When I saw the clueless look on his face, I couldn’t help rolling my eyes.
‘And he wonders why I call him an idiot,’ I thought with silent exasperation.
A second later, realization finally dawned on him and his eyes widened slightly before he awkwardly looked away.
“So that’s what Tsukishima meant when he said he couldn’t find them,” Ichigo muttered. “I’m guessing that was your doing?”
“Yep,” I replied, popping the p with amusement as I stopped beside him.
He nodded quietly before finally glancing back toward the defeated Fullbringers.
“So,” I continued casually, “are you gonna finish them off?”
I noticed his shoulders tense.
For a brief moment uncertainty flickered across his face—
—but eventually his eyes hardened with resolve.
“They’re already beaten,” Ichigo answered firmly. “I’ll just make sure they can’t escape.”
I raised an eyebrow at him before shrugging.
Then I simply pointed my hand toward Ginjo and Tsukishima.
Ichigo instantly realized what I intended to do—
—but reacted far too slowly to stop it.
The devouring void of Beelzebuth surged forward and instantly swallowed both dying Fullbringers whole.
“What the hell, Caius!?” Ichigo shouted in shock.
“There,” I said simply. “Now you don’t have to feel guilty about killing a couple of humans.”
I turned slightly and gave him a knowing look, causing him to visibly wince.
“Besides,” I continued calmly, “unlike you, I don’t mind getting my hands a little bloody.”
With that, I walked past him toward the remaining unconscious Fullbringers, leaving Ichigo staring silently at my back with a complicated expression.
“…What are you planning to do with the rest of them?” Ichigo asked.
His voice sounded calm—
—but I could still hear the nervousness underneath it.
I rolled my eyes and waved a hand dismissively over my shoulder.
“Relax. I’m not gonna kill them.”
I immediately sensed him relax slightly and nearly rolled my eyes again at the audible sigh of relief he let out.
“But,” I continued casually, “I am going to take their powers and turn them back into regular humans.”
“Y-You can do that?” Ichigo asked in surprise.
“Yep. It’s actually pretty simple,” I replied with a shrug as I finally reached the unconscious Fullbringers.
Then, right in front of Ichigo’s eyes, I devoured them as well.
“Hey! What the hell!?” Ichigo shouted in alarm. “I thought you said you weren’t going to kill them!”
“Relax. I know what I said,” I replied calmly.
Unlike before, I hadn’t allowed Beelzebuth to fully process them.
Instead, I had simply stored the unconscious Fullbringers inside Imaginary Space so Astra could work her magic.
‘You’re up, Astra.’
“Beginning full analysis,” Astra responded immediately.
I could practically feel the excitement radiating from her at getting access to several new abilities to study.
While that was happening, groans suddenly sounded from behind us.
Turning around, we saw Orihime and Sado slowly waking up while holding their heads in pain.
“Auuu~ My poor head,” Orihime groaned weakly while Sado silently shook his head.
“Inoue! Sado! Are you guys alright?” Ichigo immediately rushed over with a worried expression.
Hearing his voice, the two looked toward him before their eyes widened as the memories returned.
Instant guilt spread across their faces.
Orihime especially looked devastated as tears immediately began forming in her eyes.
“Kurosaki-kun! I-I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to attack you, but—”
She began rambling apologies through tears while Sado lowered his head in shame.
“Sorry, Ichigo,” Sado muttered quietly. “I have no excuse.”
Seeing his friends back to normal, Ichigo let out a relieved sigh before a small smile appeared on his face.
Then—to my surprise—he reached over and gently patted Orihime on the head.
The action instantly made her freeze mid-sentence.
“It’s alright, you two,” Ichigo said sincerely. “None of this was your fault. I’m just glad you’re both okay again.”
Sado nodded gratefully in relief.
Meanwhile, Orihime turned completely red down to her neck while frantically waving her arms around and muttering incoherent gibberish.
The sight actually made Ichigo smile a little wider.
Watching the interaction, I crossed my arms with impressed eyes.
‘Well, well. What do you know?’ I thought proudly. ‘Maybe all my teasing actually worked. I don’t remember him ever being this naturally friendly with Orihime before.’
Nodding sagely to myself, I came to a conclusion.
‘Yep. This clearly proves my teasing methods are flawless when dealing with the idiot.’
“As expected of Caius-sama,” Astra chimed in proudly. “By the way, the process is complete.”
‘Good work as always, partner,’ I praised with a smile.
A moment later, I casually released the unconscious Fullbringers back onto the ground before walking toward the trio.
As I neared them, however, I suddenly paused.
Then I sighed and looked up toward the sky, mild irritation appearing on my face.
‘Tsk. Typical,’ I thought with a roll of my eyes. ‘They only show up after all the fighting’s already over.’
From the sky above, a massive Senkaimon appeared.
Its doors slowly creaked open, revealing seven silhouettes standing within the darkness before gradually stepping into view.
From left to right stood:
Ikkaku Madarame.
Yumichika Ayasegawa.
Kenpachi Zaraki.
Tōshirō Hitsugaya.
Byakuya Kuchiki.
Renji Abarai.
And finally—
Rukia Kuchiki.
“What? Why are they here now?” Ichigo asked in surprise as he and the others finally noticed the arriving Shinigami.
A moment later, his eyes widened slightly before he quickly turned toward me with concern.
“Caius, you need to leave! They could be here for you,” Ichigo warned urgently. “You’re still wanted by Soul Society after all.”
His words finally made Orihime and Chad realize I was present as well.
“Aurelius-san?”
“It’s fine, Ichigo,” I replied calmly, waving away his concern while keeping my gaze fixed on the Shinigami descending from the Senkaimon. “I’d like to hear what they have to say.”
“Keh. And here I thought this fight was gonna be boring,” Kenpachi was the first to speak.
A massive grin stretched across his face as he immediately locked onto me, completely ignoring everyone else while bloodlust rolled off him in waves.
“Caius Aurelius,” Byakuya spoke calmly next. “We suspected you would be here.”
“So that’s the guy who beat Aizen?” Ikkaku commented while sizing me up with a battle-hungry grin eerily similar to Kenpachi’s. “Doesn’t look like much at first glance… but my instincts are screaming that I’d die instantly if I fought him.”
Yumichika and Hitsugaya remained silent, simply studying me carefully.
Meanwhile, Renji—and especially Rukia—looked visibly conflicted.
“…Mr. Slime,” Rukia muttered quietly under her breath.
There was obvious worry in her voice.
Her eyes briefly shifted toward Ichigo and his friends before her expression became even more complicated after noticing the tense look Ichigo was giving the arriving Shinigami.
“Kurosaki Ichigo,” Byakuya began calmly, finally turning his attention away from me. “What happened to Kūgo Ginjo?”
Before Ichigo could answer, I spoke first.
“I killed him.”
My tone remained casual, though I kept a particularly close eye on Kenpachi.
The man looked seconds away from attacking me.
“Keh heh! Forget about that weakling!” Kenpachi barked excitedly as he drew his sword and unleashed his Reiatsu. “We got a much bigger prize standing right here!”
Some of the others looked hesitant.
Ikkaku, Yumichika, and Hitsugaya, however, followed Kenpachi’s lead and released their own spiritual pressure as well.
I was just about to mock them before leaving—since I honestly wasn’t in the mood to fight them right now—
When something happened that genuinely surprised me.
Ichigo suddenly stepped up beside me.
Both his swords were already in his hands as he faced the Shinigami with a determined expression.
The action visibly shocked everyone present.
Especially after he spoke.
“I’m sorry,” Ichigo declared firmly, despite the reluctance still present in his voice, “but if you’re here for Caius… then I’ll stand in your way.”
“He’s done nothing that deserves being hunted by Soul Society.”
The looks on Rukia and Renji’s faces were absolutely priceless.