Two days flew by in the blink of an eye. Life at the Kurosaki house remained as peaceful as ever; the only change was that a lion plushie named Kon had appeared in Ichigo's room.
Since Wu Biao hadn't recovered yet, Isshin hadn't let him go out to protect world peace these past two days...
Wu Biao had complained every day that his body was about to rust, but tonight was different.
The whole Kurosaki family had gathered in the living room, including Wu Biao, whose right arm was wrapped in layer upon layer of bandages, and Shibata Parrot. Isshin stood in front of them, dressed formally.
As for Shibata Parrot, after Wu Biao had passed out, the little guy had refused to let Ichigo perform a soul burial on him. He insisted on staying by Wu Biao's side.
So after discussing it with Rukia, they hadn't forced a soul burial on him and had let Yuichi stay instead.
The Kurosaki family naturally had no objections. The little guy didn't eat much, and he was sweet-talking enough to win over Yuzu and Shyarly right away.
But since Yuichi only wanted to stay by Wu Biao's side, the two girls had been giving Wu Biao dirty looks nonstop these past two days.
Anyway, a blackboard stood beside Isshin, with a few crooked characters written on it: Kurosaki Family Meeting!
"Now then, let's decide everyone's jobs for tomorrow!" Isshin said with a cough. Down below, Shyarly gave a disdainful little snort. She knew all too well what her dad was like. A meeting to decide things... Yeah, right.
Sure enough, Isshin's next words revealed his scummy nature: "But since Dad is the chairman with absolute power, the final say belongs to Dad!"
"Then what's the point of having a meeting!" Shyarly cried out angrily.
A crafty glint flashed in Isshin's eyes. He pointed at Shyarly and said, "If you want to speak, raise your hand first, Chief Strategist Shyarly!"
"I'm... the chief strategist?" A string of little stars immediately appeared in Shyarly's eyes. She was clearly very pleased with the position!
Ichigo shook his head at the sight. His old man was really good at changing the subject.
Wu Biao was sprawled on the table, bored out of his mind as he smoothed Yuichi's feathers. He wasn't listening to a word Isshin was saying.
"Yuzu will continue as the bento strategist!" Isshin pointed at Yuzu, then glanced at Wu Biao and added, "Make sure the portions are generous!"
"Understood!" Yuzu gave a perfectly convincing salute.
"Wu Biao will be in charge of carrying the luggage!"
Hearing his name, Wu Biao looked blankly at Isshin. "Boss, what did you just say?"
Isshin didn't seem to mind and repeated himself. "Tomorrow is the anniversary of Ichigo's mom's death. We're going to visit her grave in the countryside, and you'll carry the luggage!" He looked at Wu Biao's right arm and paused before asking, "Will that be a problem?"
The anniversary of her death?
Wu Biao's expression grew solemn. He might have been a bit of a blockhead, but he understood that the dead deserved respect. He didn't ask any questions and simply nodded. "No problem, Boss!"
At the side, Ichigo's expression darkened noticeably at the words "anniversary of her death," and his whole body tensed up.
Isshin glanced at him discreetly and couldn't help sighing inwardly. But then he called out excitedly, "That's the end of the meeting! Ichigo, you guys come and see how Dad's new haircut looks!"
The next morning, the whole family took a bus to the outskirts of Karakura Town. Since there was no bus service to the cemetery on the mountaintop, they got off at the foot of the mountain and continued on foot, making their way up the steep slope.
Wu Biao and Ichigo walked at the back of the group, carrying a huge bundle on Wu Biao's left shoulder. He looked completely relaxed; the weight was no more than a feather to him.
Everyone else was drenched in sweat. The June weather was already hot, and the slanted road had them all panting after only a short while.
Only Yuichi, perched on Wu Biao's shoulder, looked utterly relaxed. He even hummed the little tune Wu Biao had taught him: "Two tigers, two tigers, run so fast. One has no butt, one has no head. How strange, how strange..."
With Brother Biao's low intelligence, it was the only song he'd remembered from childhood to adulthood... And now that Yuichi was singing it, the tune was surprisingly catchy—at least a hundred times better than Brother Biao's tone-deaf singing.
"Hmm?" Wu Biao suddenly stopped and sniffed.
"What's wrong, Brother Biao?" Ichigo asked in confusion.
"Nothing. That Onion Head who's staying in your room is here too!" Wu Biao said, pointing ahead along the road. Yuzu and Shyarly were looking in surprise at Rukia, who stood in the distance in a white dress, waving at them.
"Brother Biao... do you have a dog's nose?" Ichigo's mouth twitched. How did Brother Biao even know that Rukia was staying in his room?
Wu Biao gave a smug smile, then suddenly froze and rubbed his chin. "That's strange. I feel like someone with an aura pretty similar to yours has shown up!"
Similar to my aura?
Ichigo froze, but before he could figure out what Wu Biao meant, Yuzu and Shyarly's guesses interrupted him. He leaned close to Wu Biao and whispered, "Brother Biao, don't ever say the words 'mating partner' in front of Yuzu and the others!"
After warning Wu Biao, Ichigo dashed forward and dragged Rukia into the small grove beside the road.
"Big brother?" Yuzu froze at the sight.
Shyarly, beside her, rubbed her chin and let out a sly chuckle. "Heh heh heh..."
"Shyarly, what are you laughing at?"
"Anyway, you're old enough to leave your big brother and strike out on your own!"
"..."
The sisters chatted as they walked ahead. Wu Biao tilted his head and followed behind them, sniffing every now and then. As for Isshin... who knew where he'd gone? Shyarly had kicked him flying earlier, and he'd probably rolled all the way down to the foot of the mountain.
His special Gigai really had incredible durability!
By the time the group reached the cemetery, Isshin had caught up from behind. They entered the graveyard and went to a gravestone near the back. When Wu Biao saw the colorful photograph on it, he couldn't help smiling.
Maybe that was the Kurosaki family's special touch. Even something as sad as this could make people laugh when Isshin, that clown, got involved.
Before Yuzu and Shyarly had even finished paying their respects, Isshin came bounding over. "Come on, come on, let's cheer up! As usual, we're holding the Thrilling Kurosaki Family Gravestone Dominoes Tournament this year! Two and a half hours of edge-of-your-seat excitement and maximum destruction!"
Gravestone dominoes...
Shyarly's mouth twitched. You bastard, were you trying to get the whole family arrested?
She cursed him silently, then leaped up and kicked him. As expected of a member of the school soccer team, her kick landed right on Isshin's face. "Go and start your life over from the beginning, you moron!"
Wu Biao, however, walked over with interest. "Boss, how do you play gravestone dominoes? Count me in!"
"..." Isshin's face darkened. He'd been joking, but this blockhead had actually taken him seriously. And if a nonhuman like Wu Biao started knocking over gravestones, the whole family would really get arrested by the Earth Defense Force!
But before he could change the subject, Wu Biao sniffed and looked toward the distant woods, a delighted smile spreading across his face. "Boss, I'm going out for a bit!"
Isshin froze. The smile vanished from his face, and he glanced discreetly at Yuzu and Shyarly in the distance. When he saw that they weren't paying attention, he frowned and asked, "What did you sense? Was it one of those monsters you mentioned before?"
Wu Biao shook his head. "It feels pretty similar to Ichigo."
A Shinigami?
Isshin's brow didn't relax. Instead, it furrowed even more. He'd asked Urahara Kisuke about it the day after Wu Biao first told him what he knew, so he was aware of Rukia's existence.
If an unfamiliar Shinigami had appeared now, didn't that mean...
"Boss, I'll go check it out first!"
Without waiting for him to reply, Wu Biao dropped the bundle and sprinted into the woods.
Before you continue