The street, after its brief chaos, lay in ruins.
Though Higashi Shuuichi had deliberately restrained his own spiritual pressure, the sheer volu released at the end by the armored warriors had overwheld the area. Most of the sickly civilians living there—already hanging by a thread—perished in that spiritual storm.
The sheer destructive power of just high-seated officer-level reiatsu explained why Soul Society had such strict regulations—any Captain or Lieutenant assigned to the World of the Living had to suppress at least 80% of their reiatsu. Without that limit, the result was mass death.
"Shuusuke. They teach you how to perform Konso at the Spiritual Arts Academy, don't they?"
Higashi Shuuichi asked the question as he looked around at the freshly dead.
He wasn't one to ddle, but Satomi's Fullbring intrigued him. If helping out with this kind of task gave him more ti to observe her, he was happy to oblige.
Besides, judging by Kisaragi Shuusuke's eager expression, he clearly wanted the job.
Konso—Soul Burial. A basic rite, guiding the souls of the dead in the World of the Living into Soul Society.
It was how nearly all the residents of Rukongai ended up there.
Including the original soul that once inhabited Shuuichi's current body.
"Thank you, Master Shuuichi!"
Nagasawa Satomi walked over, watching as Shuusuke labored under the sun, guiding souls one by one. She bowed sincerely to Shuuichi.
Things had gone wildly off-script—nothing had played out like she'd expected—but the end result was a win.
She'd secured these people a chance to reach Soul Society.
A better afterlife—that was her only wish for them.
As for those strange samurai who ca after her, she knew they were targeting her, not Shuuichi. If anything, she owed them a debt.
Without Higashi Shuuichi, she might not have survived.
"No need to thank . It's what we Soul Reapers are supposed to do."
Shuuichi replied casually as he ran his fingers over a fragnt of armor stripped from the last red-held warrior. The texture—it didn't feel like anything from this world.
Sotis he hated having a brain but no science sense.
Weren't smart people supposed to understand everything?
Surely he wasn't stupid.
He knew the fragnt was important—maybe even extrely dangerous—but couldn't decipher it. And there was no way he was handing it to Urahara Kisuke.
If it was linked to Fullbringers—or worse, to fragnts of the Soul King's body—then that would be like tossing a pork bun to a dog. It wouldn't co back.
So he said nothing.
He and Satomi stood in silence, watching as Shuusuke worked, drenched in sweat, performing soul burials with calm focus.
"Um... Master Shuuichi, is there anything I can do to help Shuusuke-kun? He looks... really tired."
Satomi finally broke the silence.
"No. You're not a Soul Reaper. You haven't learned how to perform Konso. You wouldn't even know how to guide souls through the Dangai safely."
He may as well have said Don't get in the way outright.
"Oh..."
Satomi glanced at Shuuichi's profile. He didn't seem quite as gentle or easygoing as Shuusuke had made him sound.
Serious. Unapproachable.
She turned her eyes back to Shuusuke.
Yep, Shuusuke-kun's way cuter.
"By the way, Satomi—is it alright if I call you that?"
Just as she was silently enjoying the sight of Shuusuke hard at work, Shuuichi's voice snapped her out of it.
Her guard, montarily lowered, went up again—then down. Shuuichi's tone didn't feel threatening.
"Ah? O-of course, Master Shuuichi!"
She turned to face him. But as expected, he wasn't even looking at her—just speaking casually.
"Hm. Satomi, I rember you said soone once told you about us Soul Reapers. Could I ask who that was? Do you know where they are now?"
The armor fragnt could wait. There was soone else he had in mind—a specialist, maybe. But finding them wouldn't be easy.
"Oh! You must an Sister Mai. She saved from a Hollow and raised afterward. But she left about a year ago with her husband..."
Satomi's face dimd with sadness. Clearly, this 'Mai' ant a lot to her.
"She left a year ago? With her husband?"
Shuuichi frowned.
That wasn't just any ti.
That was exactly when he and the others had defected from Soul Society and arrived in the World of the Living.
To leave during such a volatile mont...
Things were getting more interesting by the second.
"Do you know your sister's full na? Or her husband's?"
Shuuichi pressed gently.
"Mmm..." Satomi thought for a mont. Mai-neesan had never told her to keep it secret, so she figured it was safe.
And this Master Shuuichi didn't seem like a bad guy.
"I think her surna was Kurosaki. But I rember her saying it wasn't her original na. She took her husband's na when they got married."
She spoke innocently.
She had no idea what kind of shockwaves her words just sent through Higashi Shuuichi's mind.
Kurosaki.
Tch tch tch...
Now this was interesting.
Forget Satomi knowing a bit about Soul Society. At this point, if she turned around and told Shuuichi she'd heard of Yhwach, he wouldn't even be surprised.
Because the surna Kurosaki wasn't just familiar—it ant sothing.
It was the na of one of the last surviving pure-blood Quincy families in the Living World.
Not to ntion—the protagonist of the future bore that na too.
Shuuichi didn't know how powerful those pure-blood Quincies were at this point in ti, but one thing was certain: Kurosaki Mai and her husband had left because of them.
They'd seen the signs. Maybe they even t Urahara Kisuke.
"Just one more thing," Shuuichi mused silently, "Is this Lord Sabu tied to the Kurosakis too...?"
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