Message on the Night Wind

Kurosaki Ichigo, who had rampaged in extreme fury and transformed into a Minotaur Hollow last night, finally awoke with a splitting headache after spending an entire day in deep unconsciousness.

"Where... am I?"

Ichigo struggled to prop himself up on the bed, his vision still somewhat blurred as he blankly surveyed the unfamiliar furnishings around him.

Only after quite a while, as fragmented memories surged back like a tide, did he barely recognize this place as the temporary base he and Yoruichi Shihoin had chosen when they first arrived in the Soul Society.

"Did Yoruichi Shihoin bring me back?"

Kurosaki Ichigo rubbed his throbbing temples, his brow tightly furrowed.

After putting on that Mask, he had completely lost all awareness of what happened in the real world.

During that stretch of darkness, his consciousness had been dragged into the Inner World.

There, he saw that mad version of himself again, that utterly white embodiment of Hollow Power.

To fight for control over his body, they had waged a desperate battle in the spiritual world.

According to that White entity's arrogant claim, as long as Ichigo defeated him, he would be able to completely master the Hollow's power.

"Hollow Power... it wasn't as hard to control as I imagined."

Ichigo unconsciously clenched his fist, feeling the new power inside him. It was violent, yet more abundant than ever before, and the great weight hanging over his heart finally fell away.

No matter how dangerous the process had been, no matter how much chaos he had caused yesterday, at least he had survived.

And he had survived right in front of Ross.

Though he did not know how he had escaped in the end, that alone was a tremendous miracle, enough to encourage him now.

"No, there's no use guessing here. I