The Taste of Defeat and the Howling Wind

"Ahhhhhh--"

Kurosaki Ichigo opened his eyes to see the face of a middle-aged man wearing square glasses. Before he could even process what had happened, he sat up and kicked the man away.

"You're awake, Kurosaki-san."

Ichigo followed the voice and found Urahara Kisuke sitting nearby. The scenes from before he lost consciousness flooded back into his mind like a tidal wave, and his expression changed instantly: "Where are Brother Biao and Ishida?"

"As for Ishida-san, although he lost a lot of blood, his injuries were not critical. He woke up on the spot and left! As for..." Urahara Kisuke's expression darkened.

Where was Brother Biao?

Seeing Urahara's expression, Ichigo couldn't help but recall the sight of Brother Biao covered in blood before he passed out. His face turned deathly pale. Ignoring the sharp pain in his body, he sat up and grabbed Urahara Kisuke by the shoulders.

"Where is Brother Biao? Where is he?"

Whoosh--

The sliding door of the room opened, and Wu Biao poked his head in, his mouth stuffed with food: "Why are you calling me?" Seeing that Ichigo was awake, Wu Biao walked in carrying a rice cooker: "Yo, Ichigo, you're awake!"

"As for Wu Biao-san, he woke up as soon as he returned, and after making a phone call, he started clamoring for food!" Urahara Kisuke said with a gloomy face, then looked at Ichigo with a pleading expression: "Kurosaki-san, could you please ask Isshin-san to pay for some of the food expenses? I really can't afford to feed him at this rate..."

"..." Kurosaki Ichigo was speechless for a moment, but then he felt a sense of relief.

Although Brother Biao was covered in bandages, with some spots already soaked through with blood, at least he was alive...

"If there's nothing else, I'm going back to eating!"

Wu Biao grinned and turned to walk out of the room. However, the moment he turned away... the silly smile on his face vanished, replaced by self-reproach and... bitterness!

He had lost...

For the first time since he was born, he had lost.

A total defeat, a defeat where he was powerless to resist, even after giving it his all... he still lost!

He had even been forced to watch the person he wanted to protect lie in a pool of blood, while the one responsible for it all walked away.

So weak!

So... I am this weak!!!

Since he was born, ever since he could understand things, Wu Biao had never lost a fight. Especially after reaching adulthood, he hadn't even needed to use his full strength.

This made him feel bored and listless. Every day, he hoped to fight someone stronger than himself, but... now that he had truly been defeated by someone else, this unprecedented sense of frustration...

It really was agonizing!

This feeling of weakness... it was truly disgusting!

Casually placing the rice cooker he had grabbed from the table back in its original spot, Wu Biao walked out of the Urahara Shop under the strange gazes of the two children.

Jinta stared blankly at Wu Biao's back, then rubbed his eyes vigorously. After confirming it wasn't a hallucination, his face turned fearful: "Ururu, Ururu, am I hallucinating? That glutton didn't even finish his meal?"

Ururu nodded, her face full of hesitation.

After leaving the Urahara Shop, Wu Biao looked up at the night sky, quietly experiencing this unprecedented sense of frustration.

This feeling made him angry, sad, and ashamed, but deep in his heart, there was also... joy and excitement.

Joy because of the defeat!

Excitement because of the strong opponent!

But when he thought of Ichigo's battered body, all that remained was anger.

Losing to someone else was painful for Wu Biao.

But what hurt him even more was... his family being harmed while he could do nothing. That was the reason... for the uncontrollable sense of frustration Wu Biao felt!!!

Wu Biao sat down on the steps, reached into his jacket, pulled out a cigarette, and lit it. There were already a dozen cigarette butts on the ground in front of him.

He had been sitting here smoking the whole time, only entering the house when he heard Ichigo's voice.

However, lost in thought, Wu Biao didn't notice that Ichigo was standing behind him, watching his back for a long time, a look of determination appearing in his eyes.

"Brother Biao!"

Wu Biao was startled, then hurriedly crushed the cigarette in his hand. He didn't want Ichigo to see him in such a pathetic, decadent state.

Masking his dejection, Wu Biao turned to the approaching Ichigo and grinned: "Yo, looks like your injuries have already healed!"

Seeing this, a bitter look appeared on Ichigo's face: "Brother Biao, if you can't smile, don't force it!"

"Huh?" The smile on Wu Biao's face stiffened, then returned to normal: "What's wrong? Did you hurt your head? You're starting to talk nonsense!"

"Brother Biao, you were never one to hide your feelings. Your usual smile is the kind that looks silly but makes people happy without them realizing it, not this stiff smile that's obvious at a glance. And you don't use the word 'yo' before you speak; you're always straightforward, saying exactly what's on your mind!"

"Tch!"

Wu Biao gradually let his silly smile fade and sighed: "True, this taste of defeat is really damn hard to swallow!" He pulled out another cigarette, lit it, took a deep drag, and lay back, staring up at the void above.

"But it also made me realize how weak I am!"

Ichigo nodded.

What was the difference between him, who could only watch helplessly as Rukia was taken back to the Soul Society, and... Wu Biao, who could only watch helplessly as Ichigo fell into a pool of blood?

The words Urahara had relayed from Ishida earlier made Ichigo feel particularly bitter.

Is he really the only one who can save Rukia?

They certainly think highly of me...

"Brother Biao, you... you shouldn't go on this rescue mission to the Soul Society!" Ichigo looked at Wu Biao, who was lying to the side, and said in a low tone.

This matter had nothing to do with Brother Biao to begin with; if he hadn't met Ichigo, he wouldn't even know that Shinigami and Hollow existed.

No matter how strong Brother Biao was, he was still just a human, and Ichigo didn't want to drag him into this any further.

Don't go?

Wu Biao was stunned by these words, then sat up and stared at Ichigo, saying in a deep voice, "Why?"

"They are different from you, Brother Biao. They aren't human, they are Shinigami. You're a human, so don't get involved in this." Kurosaki Ichigo felt a pang of guilt when he saw the look in Wu Biao's eyes, but he remained firm. "That's why, Brother Biao, you cannot go!"

"No way!"

Wu Biao took a deep drag of his cigarette, his expression turning ferocious as he snarled, "I'm going to take them on. I'm absolutely going to get that sissy and beat him to a pulp!"

"But they aren't like you. They are Shinigami, and a place like the Soul Society is only for the dead."

"Bullshit! You think I'm an idiot? How come they can come here, but I can't go over there?"

"..." Kurosaki Ichigo.

"Then let's go!"

Urahara Kisuke's voice suddenly drifted over. Wu Biao and Ichigo turned around to see that Urahara had arrived at the shop entrance at some point, leaning against the doorframe with a faint smile on his face.

"However, Mr. Wu Biao, you are different from Mr. Kurosaki. I know how to train Mr. Kurosaki. But your situation is quite unique; you rely entirely on physical strength and possess not a shred of spiritual power, so I don't even know how to train you!"

He paused here, his smile fading as he looked at Wu Biao with a solemn expression. "Forgive my bluntness, but while your current strength is formidable, there are many people in the Soul Society who can kill you—far more than you can imagine."

"The person who defeated you was strong, but as far as I know, that person had four-fifths of his power sealed. That means he was only using one-fifth of his strength when he fought you, and there are at least twelve others in the Soul Society just as strong as him!"

Ichigo's expression sank immediately upon hearing this, but a glimmer of excitement appeared in the eyes of Wu Biao beside him.

"Is that so!"

Wu Biao muttered to himself, then grinned. It was a smile mixed with excitement and thrill: "The Soul Society really is a great place!"

"Brother Biao..."

Ichigo wanted to persuade him further, but was interrupted by the sound of helicopter rotors. He looked up and saw a helicopter hovering above the Urahara Shop. "What is this?"

"Spirit are always with you, my disciple, your master has come to pick you up!"

A familiar voice, a familiar catchphrase, and that incredibly chuunibyou tone—Ichigo immediately realized who had arrived!

The spirit detective, Don Kanonji!

"Master Kanonji!" Brother Biao stood up from the ground, waving at the sky with an excited face!

Urahara Kisuke's face darkened. He looked at Wu Biao in disbelief and said, "I previously asked you to follow Yoruichi so she could train you according to your constitution. You refused, claiming you had to train with your own master. That so-called master wouldn't be... this guy, would he!"

Urahara suddenly felt the urge to rip off his hat and tear out a few handfuls of hair. The head of the Shihoin clan of the Seireitei, the former commander-in-chief of the Onmitsukido, and the former captain of the Second Division, had actually lost out to a human who only had a bit of broken spiritual power?

If word of this reached Yoruichi, who knows if she would revert to her original form and beat this master-disciple pair to a pulp!

"Come, my disciple, let your master take you to sweep away all the injustices in this world!" Following Kanonji's chuunibyou declaration, a rope ladder was lowered.

Wu Biao nodded vigorously. "That's right, let's go wipe out all the evil in this world together, Master Kanonji!"

"My disciple!!!"

"Master Kanonji!!!"

"..." Kurosaki Ichigo.

"..." Urahara Kisuke.

So blinding...

Knowing this pair of master and disciple is truly, damn it, so embarrassing...

"That's how it is. I'm going to go train with Master Kanonji for half a month. The day I return shall be the day we crusade against the Soul Society!"

"..."

The corner of Ichigo's mouth twitched. Sure enough, whenever he gets together with Kanonji, Brother Biao's chuunibyou levels go off the charts. But...

"Brother Biao, won't you reconsider?"

Following Kanonji to train—this is just too unreliable!

"My mind is made up, say no more!" Wu Biao looked up at the sky, his hair fluttering in the strong wind from the rotors. "The wind here... is a bit noisy!"

Noisy my foot...

Urahara Kisuke suppressed the urge to curse and snapped, "If you're going, get lost! We leave in 17 days, don't be late!"

Wu Biao grabbed the rope ladder, waved at the two men with dark expressions, and said, "Don't worry, in our line of work, we are always punctual. I'm off!"

Ichigo couldn't help but cover his face. Since when did the guy who does odd jobs at his clinic change professions?

Wu Biao on the rope ladder climbed into the helicopter with incredible speed. From afar, one could see the two idiots with their hands on each other's shoulders, blowing in the noisy wind, their wild laughter echoing through the night sky.

"Wahahahaha!"