Chizuru's Battle

"Damn, what's wrong?" Uryu Ishida followed his gaze, his brows furrowing as well. "Now that's... quite a spectacle."

The place that should have been the Karakura Town Museum was now shrouded in strange, dense fog, with only a vaguely visible entrance showing through.

The museum's entrance stood open like the gaping maw of a man-eating beast, waiting for its prey to walk straight into its trap.

Ichigo glanced left and right. The streets were deserted, with only the dim streetlights casting a faint yellow glow. The silence was unnerving.

"Still no sign of Aunt."

Renji muttered, "Could something really have happened to her?"

Ichigo looked at him speechlessly. "You... weren't you the one insisting just now that there was absolutely no way that could happen?"

Renji picked his nose. "Even the best horse can stumble, and even the wisest person can slip up. Who can say for sure?"

Clearly, he still believed in Yuko deep down.

The moment Kon heard that, he started making a fuss again, waving his arms and legs. "No! We've already lost one beautiful girl. The big beauty absolutely can't get hurt!"

The corner of Ishida's mouth twitched. "Instead of worrying about Teacher Yuko, why don't you think about how we're going to take Inoue and Chad back from the enemy later?"

At that, Ichigo became even more exasperated. "Who knows what Aunt and that unscrupulous merchant are scheming."

"They inexplicably kidnapped Inoue, and now a fake kidnapping has turned into a real one. We don't even know who the enemy is."

"That hateful brat actually played us all for fools."

A fake kidnapping turning into a real one...

"...Kurosaki."

Ishida suddenly spoke, but stopped mid-sentence.

Ichigo turned toward him in confusion. "What is it?"

"No, it's nothing."

Just as Ichigo was about to press him,