"Rukia Kuchiki, I found you!"
His hair was bright red, tied up with a band into a spiky, skyward style.
Large blue tattoos covered the area above his eyebrows, nearly blanketing his entire forehead. Similar blue markings ran across his neck, shoulders, chest, and abdomen. Wearing goggles on his forehead, Renji Abarai stared at the Gigai below with an unsettling, malicious grin.
When Renji Abarai first appeared, he looked wicked enough to ooze pus, to the point that Rukia Kuchiki did not recognize him at first.
After all, the scene and image really did make him look like a villain.
Byakuya Kuchiki silently watched his sister-in-law bicker and fool around with Ichigo Kurosaki.
Humans?
It was not until nightfall that they appeared before Rukia Kuchiki.
Rukia Kuchiki froze when she saw the two of them.
"Elder Brother!"
Rukia Kuchiki hurriedly bowed respectfully.
"Very good, Rukia. It seems you have not forgotten your identity."
Byakuya Kuchiki spoke calmly.
Rukia Kuchiki realized she was probably in trouble. She had not expected that concealing her whereabouts and planning to contact them after recovering her spiritual power would end up alerting her elder brother.
Toward Byakuya Kuchiki, Rukia Kuchiki felt both admiration and a measure of fear.
"Who are they?"
Ichigo Kurosaki asked, utterly oblivious to the atmosphere. Of course, he felt that the people opposite him looked like they had bad intentions.
Then, after only a few words, the thickheaded Ichigo Kurosaki got into a conflict with Renji Abarai.
Though Renji Abarai looked careless and boorish, he was actually quite shrewd. He wanted to test whether something was wrong with Ichigo Kurosaki. Otherwise, how could he possibly see Soul Reapers like them?
Perhaps he was the true culprit behind Rukia Kuchiki losing her spiritual power!
Byakuya Kuchiki tacitly approved of Renji Abarai's actions.