The Girl with No Future

Byakuya had a strange feeling that someone had been watching him since the beginning, but when he turned his head to look for that strange gaze, he saw a dense mass of heads.

The shopping mall he was in was the largest and most bustling in Karakura Town, with a large flow of people. In addition, Byakuya's own handsome appearance and the noble temperament he exuded unintentionally made him the most eye-catching person in the crowd.

But Byakuya knew that what bothered him wasn't these passersby; their gazes didn't feel like admiration, but rather like being spied on.

Behind a large pillar not far behind Byakuya, Tsuna and Tatsuki were hiding. As expected of the captain, Byakuya's perception of his surroundings was sharp; he was almost discovered.

"Is that girl the Soul Society's sought-after 'Thought Bead'?" Tatsuki asked softly. "Captain Kuchiki didn't know? How come he's dating her?"

"How should I know?" Tsuna shrugged. "Byaku doesn't seem like the type to be easily swayed by looks or fickle."

Tsuna trusts Byakuya Kuchiki's character. In his daily life, Byakuya maintains a good social distance from any woman. The only people he gets close to are his adopted sister Rukia and the child-like Yachiru.

Tsuna even suspected that the Kuchiki Clan, one of the Four Great Noble Clans of Soul Society, might lose its lineage to Byakuya Kuchiki, since Rukia was adopted into the Kuchiki Clan and Byakuya was the one who was supposed to shoulder the Kuchiki Clan's legacy.

However, Byakuya's public image has always been that of someone deeply devoted to his deceased wife Hisana Kuchiki, which is why the future of the Kuchiki Clan is a cause for concern.

The Kuchiki Clan, one of the Four Great Noble Clans, won't perish any faster than the Shiba Clan, the former great noble family. At least the Shiba Clan still has Ichigo and Ganju as two flames, and Ichigo clearly has a girlfriend. The survival of the Shiba Clan is not a problem at all.

That's why Tsuna was so surprised when he discovered that Byakuya actually had romantic feelings. Byakuya Kuchiki really gotten it?

The operation to track Byakuya was still underway, but as they followed, Tsuna and the others gradually forgot their original purpose and actually started going shopping with their partners.

This is, after all, the most bustling shopping mall, with all types of shops available, making it perfect for couples to stroll around and enhance their relationship.

Even Uryū and Chad, who were both single, went their separate ways to visit shops that interested them.

"Ichigo- kun, let's hurry and get in line, a new batch of panels is about to be produced!"

A sweet voice containing a familiar name caught Byakuya's attention. He turned around and saw Orihime Inoue pulling Ichigo Kurosaki towards the bakery next to him.

Byakuya could clearly see Ichigo's expression stiffen when Byakuya turned around; sure enough, those prying eyes were from Ichigo Kurosaki and the others.

Seeing that Byakuya had already noticed him, Ichigo felt a little embarrassed to ignore him, so he pulled Orihime over to greet him, saying, "Byakuya, what a coincidence to run into you here! Are you here shopping too? Ahaha~"

Well, considering Ichigo's awkward laugh, Byakuya is absolutely certain that they were the ones spying on Ichigo.

"Byakuya, are they your friends?" Akina leaned closer and asked curiously. She also really wanted to make friends, otherwise she wouldn't have dragged Byakuya, whom she had just met, to go shopping.

At Byakuya's prompting, Ichigo, Orihime, and Akina introduced themselves, while Byakuya himself looked around and then raised his voice slightly.

"Come out, Sawada Tsunayoshi, I see you."

Byakuya didn't believe that someone with the brains of Ichigo the couple could come up with such a silly trick as stalking. There must be someone behind this, and if nothing unexpected happened, it could only be Tsuna, that idle gossip-loving guy.

"ε=(′ο`*))) Sigh, Ichigo Orihime, can't you two hide this when you're dating? You've been found out." Tsuna pulled Tatsuki through the crowd.

"Sorry, Tsuna, we were attracted by the aroma of the bakery," Orihime said playfully, sticking out her tongue.

Tsuna didn't mind. Everyone in the World of the Living knew that Orihime liked baking, and besides, Byakuya had already noticed something, so they would be found out sooner or later.

"Eh, two more new friends?" Akina asked, blinking her big eyes.

"Hello, I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi, and this is my girlfriend Tatsuki Arisawa."

Tsuna's sudden self-introduction caught Akina off guard. She quickly bowed, nodded, and introduced herself.

During this time, Tsuna gave Tatsuki a wink, and Tatsuki very sensibly moved closer to Akina. Together with Orihime, they praised Akina, and quickly established a friendship between the girls.

After greeting her new friends, Akina decided to take them to pick out accessories, leaving Byakuya three men behind.

"Want to sit in a coffee shop?" Tsuna asked. Byakuya didn't object, and Ichigo followed without a clear thought.

"What's wrong with you? Have you really fallen for Akina?" Tsuna asked curiously, still not believing that Byakuya would share his love with another woman.

"No, there's a very familiar feeling about Akina, a feeling that's very similar to my deceased wife, Hisana Kuchiki." Byakuya didn't hide anything; he also wanted to figure out what was going on.

Tsuna gave Byakuya a strange look. "You haven't seen the Seireitei's reply yet, have you?"

"Not yet."

Byakuya reported the abnormal spiritual pressure in the World of the Living, Squad 12 would reply with a message, but it was usually just a "received" message, so he didn't check it immediately.

"Take a look first, and forward a copy to Ichigo while you're at it." Seeing Ichigo's clear eyes, Tsuna said with a touch of reluctance.

The Squad 12's reply was very detailed, explaining the crisis that the World of the Living and Soul Society were facing, the importance of the Thought Bead, and requesting Byakuya to assist Toshiro in finding the Thought Bead in the World of the Living.

Byakuya placed the Gigai Communicator on the table. Seeing that Byakuya's eyes were closed, Tsuna knew that he had figured out many things and summarized directly.

"Akina is the Thought Bead, and your familiar feeling is perhaps because Hisana Kuchiki's memories are embodied in Akina."

One thing leads to another. Byakuya's hand, gripping the coffee cup, trembled uncontrollably. Why did Akina recognize him? Why did he feel a sense of familiarity with Akina? Why did Akina always speak to him with such an intellectual tone, almost unintentionally? Why could Akina always accurately grasp his preferences when they were shopping?

The only explanation is that Hisana Kuchiki's memories are in Akina's body. Akina didn't do it on purpose; too many memories are mixed in with her, and she can only occasionally recall memories related to Byakuya.

Pain and sorrow arose together. Seeing things related to Hisana once again, Byakuya felt no joy. There was only one reason why Hisana's memories were in Akina's body.

That is because Hisana Kuchiki encountered a problem during her reincarnation in the Three Worlds, so her soul and memories wandered to the Valley of Screams, and were eventually gathered by the Thought Bead.

Seeing that Byakuya remained silent, Tsuna continued, "You already know that the Soul Society and the World of the Living are connected by a place Valley of Screams. The collision of these two worlds is absolutely unacceptable."

"In other words, the only outcome for this Valley of Screams space is destruction. The Thought Bead and the Valley of Screams are interdependent. Once the Valley of Screams is destroyed and loses the support of the Blanks Power, the Thought Bead will only have one consequence: disappearance."

"It's fair to say that Akina is a girl with no future, and what's even more terrifying is that once the Thought Bead disappears, no one will remember that she ever existed."

"Akina is destined to be a forgotten memory; tragedy is her only ending."

"Tsuna, is there anything we can do for Akina? She's so pitiful!"

Hearing this, Ichigo could no longer hold back. Based on his previous observations, he thought that Akina was no different from any other high school student. Such an ordinary girl was burdened with a predetermined future. Wasn't this too much for Akina?

"The safety of beings in both realms is undoubtedly more important. The ending cannot be rewritten; the only thing we can do is change the process."

Tsuna finished his coffee in Ichigo, and headed outside, leaving a message behind.

"I will report to Old Man Yamamoto and set the destruction of Valley of Screams for tomorrow morning. Until then, Byakuya Kuchiki, please spend more time with Akina."

Hisana Kuchiki's memories reside within Akina, and Tsuna's advice, Byakuya will definitely stay with Akina until the very last moment of her life.

Even if Akina's disappearance ultimately causes Byakuya to forget this memory, he will still do it without hesitation. Hisana Kuchiki the first person to make Byakuya break the rules, and also the only person who can make Byakuya disregard all the rules.

Byakuya quickly stood up and walked out of the shop. Time was running out, and he wanted to spend as much time as he could. He had just stepped out of the coffee shop when he bumped into Akina, who had come looking for him.

"Byakuya, your friends have all gone back to their places," Akina said regretfully, having finally made two new friends.

Byakuya knew this was a space Tsuna and the others had created for them, and they couldn't waste this opportunity. "Is there anywhere you want to go? I'll go with you."

Akina's attention was immediately diverted, and her gloomy mood instantly turned into excitement. "Yes, yes, I want to go to the river, the park, the temple fair, and I also want to ride the Ferris wheel again. If possible, I also want to go home..."

The places Akina mentioned were quite scattered, but Byakuya wasn't surprised this time. This was probably the result of Akina's various different memories.

"No rush, I'll go with you, we'll go one by one," Byakuya said gently.

He knew the girl before him wasn't Hisana Kuchiki, but what did it matter? As long as she had even the slightest connection to Hisana, she was worth his utmost care.

Just as Byakuya had gone to great lengths to find Hisana, Rukia's only blood relative, he went against all odds to bring Rukia into the Kuchiki Clan and give her the Kuchiki surname.

Akina blushed at Byakuya's sudden display of affection. She stammered, not daring to look at Byakuya, and muttered, "Why are you being so nice to me?"