That old bastard just loved speaking in riddles.
He always stopped halfway through whatever he was saying.
How had the Captains of the Gotei 13 endured him?
During class, he was distractedly fiddling with the Substitute Shinigami Badge in his hand.
Suddenly, he noticed that his three best friends—Uryu Ishida, Orihime Inoue, and Chado Yasutora—were all staring fixedly out the window.
"What's wrong?" Kurosaki Ichigo asked curiously, also looking out the window. But there was nothing outside, only an eerie silence.
Could there be a Hollow?
Ichigo's heart jolted, but he couldn't help with anything right now. He couldn't even see them, so he simply focused on listening to the lecture.
But the feeling of being isolated without realizing it was extremely painful. Suddenly, Uryu Ishida stood up. "Teacher, I'm not feeling well. I'm going outside for a bit."
Before the teacher could agree, Uryu Ishida had already left.
The oppressive feeling in Ichigo's heart grew stronger and stronger.
If he knew nothing, that would be one thing. But now, people were clearly fighting desperately for the safety of this world, while he could do nothing and could only obediently watch from the sidelines.
That restless feeling was unbearable.
On his way home from school that evening, Ichigo ran into that young man again—Ginjo Kugo.
"Ah? It's you? Thank you so much for today." Ginjo Kugo wore a bright smile.
That whole incident had naturally been staged by him.
The thief had been hired with his money, too.
Ichigo's single tug had dislocated the thief's arm, and Ginjo Kugo had even spent a large sum on medical expenses.
Fortunately, he had accumulated quite a bit of savings over the years.
Completing missions wasn't easy, and the people above didn't even approve funding.
"It's you." Ichigo frowned.
He already knew that