When we fought Aizen, it was already winter. Now, more than a month has passed, and school is on winter break.
In Japan, a semester has three breaks: summer vacation, winter vacation, and spring break. Summer vacation is similar to our summer vacation, but winter vacation is much shorter. Japan winter vacation is only half a month long, which is the New Year's shrine visit often seen in anime, lasting about a week before and after January 1st, since New Year's Day is the Japan New Year.
Then, the Spring Festival break is a holiday from March to April, which is also half a month long.
School's out for winter break, and the Paranormal Detective Agency has expanded to eight people. Tatsuki Arisawa and Asano Mizue have successfully awakened their Fullbring and joined the agency.
Thus, the two learned of Ulquiorra's true identity. However, contrary to Orihime's expectations, Tatsuki didn't care much. After all, Tatsuki wasn't anyone to Ulquiorra, and a normal infatuation didn't mean that Tatsuki Arisawa had truly fallen in love with Ulquiorra.
However, the other one was different. After awakening Fullbring, she had a vague memory of many things from before. Unfortunately, Asano Mizue's Fullbring was a kind of completion ability, and she completely remembered her erased memories, including the existence of Ikkaku Madarame.
Both of them Tatsuki Arisawa's ability is related to her previous talent: Danger Detection. This ability allows Tatsuki to fully sense the danger level of a target, even bypassing their concealment. She previously used this ability to test Ichigo and Ulquiorra, and they were terrified.
I was truly terrified. Her ability only assesses the relative strength of both sides; it can't truly intelligently determine who's good and who's bad. However, Tatsuki does have a hidden ability: the ability to gauge Threat Levels. This is a deduction made by the Fullbring Organization based on her abilities, and this ability truly allows her to distinguish between good and bad.
This concept of a hidden ability originates from the Fullbring Organization's development, organization, and summarization of Fullbring. In terms of Orihime's abilities, she currently only possesses Arc Heaven Slash Shield, Sōten Kisshun, and Santen Kesshun; later, she also mastered Shiten Kōshun.
However, it's clear that her abilities don't end at the fourth level. Shun Shun Rikka's highest ability is at the sixth level, meaning she has two hidden abilities.
Sado is different from Orihime; his current ability is limited to his arms, but he can continue to develop other parts, eventually forming his complete form, the Demon Giant. However, Sado is currently finding this development very difficult, as his arms are indeed insufficient for higher-intensity battles, a fact Sado is also aware of.
Asano Mizue's ability is called Fragment Restoration, but this isn't her essential ability. Fullbring development now has several variations, much like the pure Zanpakuto theory.
What is a fundamental ability? It's similar to the awakening of a soul's Shikai, Aizen's Kyōka Suigetsu, Little Lion's Hyōrinmaru, or Jun's Non-Aggression. In terms of Fullbring, it's like Orihime's Shun Shun Rikka.
Asano Mizue's true ability is combat-oriented, a fact confirmed by the Fullbring Organization. But why did she awaken the ability to Fragment Restoration? It's all because of her love for Ikkaku Madarame.
Wow, this is too much! She's so obsessed with Ikkaku that she's practically throwing herself at him. Then, when the Soul Reaper left, he erased their memories. But Asano Mizue has Spiritual Power and is somewhat resistant to these things.
So she had a tiny bit of memory fragments, and when she was developing her awakened abilities, she grasped these fragments, ultimately awakening her abilities to complete and reassemble the fragments, and regaining her memories.
This ability isn't particularly strong, but it's a different story for Paranormal Detective Agency —a very useful detective skill. As for Asano Mizue's true combat ability, that might only be unlocked after a long time or by chance; it's unlikely she'll obtain it in the short term.
While others spend their winter break at home playing or going out with classmates, the Paranormal Detective Agency's winter break is all about completing missions. The human mortality rate is consistently high during winter, around the New Year period, and the incidence of paranormal events is also higher.
The group was currently playing cards in the RV. The Paranormal Detective Agency was quite famous now, especially within a specific circle, and naturally, they were very wealthy. Anyone who could afford to hire a paranormal investigator would pay a hefty sum.
So the agency's equipment is quite good. This RV is used for long-distance missions. The driver is Reigen Shinchō, and there aren't any cramped spaces for nine people inside.
Reigen Shinchō is explaining the mission to Ulquiorra, and Orihime is listening. Everyone else is just playing around; with Ulquiorra around, they're practically useless. But Orihime is determined to keep an eye on Ulquiorra.
"The Wu Port family's mission this time might raise some ethical issues."
Ulquiorra flipped through the documents. "Ethics? You mean the death of their elderly relative was intentional, a murder?"
"Hmm, the Visionary on the available materials, the possibility of murder is very high."
"So their elders turned into spirits after death and started attacking them."
Yes, that's very likely the truth.
"But what does that have to do with us? We're Paranormal Detective Agency; we only manage the unreal. How he became an unreal being is none of our concern."
"Sigh," Reigen Shinchō sighed, "Ulquiorra, sometimes you're just too calm, too fixated on logic. While this disregard for logic might keep your mind perpetually calm, it can sometimes mislead you."
"Why?" Ulquiorra asked, puzzled.
"Because humans are not all logical beings. To be precise, logical beings like you and me are in the minority. Most human thoughts are very emotional, which means that many impulsive choices are made, and these impulses are the root cause of many events."
"Is impulsiveness something that cannot be explained by logic?"
"Yes," Reigen Shinchō nodded seriously, "For example, if someone sees another person abusing a stray cat, and then he kills the abuser, do you think that makes sense?"
"That doesn't fit," Ulquiorra shook his head. "No one would kill someone for a stray cat."
"But this is a real case, a lawsuit I handled seven years ago. The murderer was a department manager at a company who loved cats, that's the first point. Then, his company was doing poorly at that time, and he hadn't slept for three days due to immense pressure, that's the second point."
"Then he went home and discovered his wife was cheating on him, that's the third point. Then he went out for a drive to clear his head, and because he was feeling down, he got into a minor accident, that's the fourth point. Finally, while looking for a place to rest and clear his head, he saw a cat abuser, and in a fit of rage, he vented all his anger on the cat abuser, and in the end, he killed him!"
"He killed an innocent person; human life and cat life cannot be considered equal."
"Stop!" Reigen Shinchō interrupted Ulquiorra. "I understand your logic, but that's just how it is. Humans don't always act entirely according to logic, so..."
Therefore, my thinking can be led astray by logic.
"Yes"
Ulquiorra frowned. He was confused. Ulquiorra hadn't had any expectations for the World of the Living, but after starting school, he discovered that acquiring knowledge was an interesting thing, or at least he enjoyed it.
After meeting Reigen Shinchō, he was even happier. (Okay, he doesn't have a heart.) Ulquiorra placed Reigen Shinchō at a very high level in his ranking system because Ulquiorra respects those who possess knowledge; he recognized that possessing knowledge can be very powerful.
The word "logic" was taught to him by Reigen Shinchō, and he fell in love with it the moment he learned it. But now, Reigen Shinchō is telling him that logic isn't always correct, which is causing Ulquiorra some distress.
However, after much contemplation, Ulquiorra's interpretation was, "Can I consider impulsivity a pathological condition?"
Reigen Shinchō gave a wry smile. "Don't you ever have any impulsive moments, Ulquiorra? You're too calm. Psychologically, this is called Emotional Deficiency Disorder. I think you might need to see a psychologist."
"I don't need a doctor, there's absolutely nothing wrong with my body."
"Doctors don't just treat the body, they also treat the mind, making your Heartspirit more beautiful and your mood more cheerful."
"Heartspirit? Feelings?" Ulquiorra clutched his chest, feeling the Gigai's heartbeat. "I... I don't know, but I don't have any illness."
"Alright, you have your own considerations," Reigen Shinchō, helplessly. "But think about it, from your childhood until now, over a decade ago, haven't you ever acted impulsively? Haven't you ever strayed from logic? Reflect on your past self and think about it for a moment."
However, Reigen Shinchō didn't know was that Ulquiorra was an Arrancar, and his previous life was immeasurable; even his life after becoming Arrancar was already several hundred years old.
Moreover, throughout this long period, Ulquiorra never deviated from logic; he always silently followed his own thoughts and did what was most beneficial to himself.
Yes, he only does what benefits himself. Even the Soul Reaper Sōsuke Aizen, whom he admires, or Jun Shimizu, who gave him the Arrancar identity, cannot change his nature. He is Ulquiorra, and only Ulquiorra.
He looked up and saw a girl there. Ulquiorra froze. Just over a month ago, facing Ichigo Kurosaki's fierce attack, he had chosen to spare Ichigo Kurosaki for this girl, even though the situation might have cost him his life.
"What is that? Could it be that it's impulsiveness!? I can be impulsive? Why is that?"