Did he really want Ichigo and the others dead? If Kōe had heard Yumichika's words, he probably would have laughed out loud. He couldn't bear to let these people die—including the 'kind' girl standing right in front of him, who had stopped her frantic escape just to apologize for bumping into him.
Thanks to her Shun Shun Rikka, Inoue Orihime had managed to land safely. Her luck was also quite good; the area she dropped into seemed very remote, with no Shinigami in sight, which meant she wasn't immediately captured while recovering from her dizziness.
On her way to find Ichigo and the others, she had carefully avoided most of the passing Shinigami patrols. Everything seemed to be going smoothly.
However, sometimes good luck alone just wasn't enough. Just a moment ago, a squad of Shinigami had clearly turned around to leave, but when she peeked out from around the corner, she suddenly lost her balance, fell to the ground, and let out an involuntary yelp.
When would she ever grow out of this clumsiness? And now she had bumped into someone else at a corner. Chad had once joked about her rock-hard skull—if she didn't control herself, she really might end up injuring someone.
"I-I'm sorry! Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine."
Orihime looked up. The man she had bumped into was wearing glasses. He was a bit taller than Ichigo and looked to be about her age.
His small eyes were narrowed into slits because he was smiling. He didn't seem annoyed that she had bumped into him; in fact, he almost looked a bit happy?
The sound of footsteps behind her was drawing closer. Orihime suddenly remembered that she was currently on the run. She hastily bowed to the man, bypassed Kōe, and continued fleeing backward.
"Wait, are you Inoue Orihime?"
"Y-You know me?" Orihime looked back. She had absolutely no impression of this person.
"Rukia told me a bit about her life in the World of the Living. Orange hair and a girl—you must be Inoue Orihime." Kōe spoke as if he had genuinely recognized her solely through Rukia's descriptions. "As for me, I guess you could say I'm one of Rukia's older brothers."
In reality, Rukia had barely told her anything about herself. Even so, Orihime believed Kōe's words. "H-Hello, nice to meet you. I'm Inoue Orihime."
"So, you guys are the Ryoka causing such an uproar in the Seireitei?" Kōe crossed his arms and continued asking, "Did everyone Rukia mentioned come? Like that guy named Cha..."
"Sado Yasutora?"
"Right, right, right, that's the name." Kōe nodded repeatedly to confirm he had heard correctly, then asked, "And someone named Ishida? Did that Kurosaki Ichigo come too?"
"We all came, because Ichigo is absolutely determined to save Kuchiki-san." Orihime rubbed the back of her head, smiling apologetically. "Have we caused you too much trouble? I'm really sorry!"
*Why is she apologizing again? This girl is exactly the same as she was in my past life—just as headache-inducing.*
Kōe sighed inwardly, though the smile on his face barely shifted. Just as he was about to continue fishing for information, someone suddenly leaped out from his right, cutting off the words on his lips.
"This is the end of the line!"
The person who suddenly leaped up, gripping a sword with both hands and slashing downward, startled Orihime. If he kept going, he was going to cut Rukia's older brother!
"Santen Kesshun!" Orihime quickly stepped behind Kōe. Three points of light flew from her hairpins, forming an inverted triangular light shield in mid-air that protected both herself and Kōe.
At the same time, the fierce-looking attacker in the air seemed to realize something terrifying. He began flailing his limbs wildly, like a drowning man desperately struggling to stay afloat.
Unfortunately, air wasn't water, and it couldn't support his massive body. His wide, square face smashed directly into the shield. It looked like a heavy impact.
"M-Mr. Chōzuka! I am Ikkanzaka Jirōbō!" Though looking a bit pathetic, the man immediately scrambled to his feet and spoke with deep respect. "Thanks to your guidance, I was able to graduate from the Shin'ō Academy. I'm now the 4th Seat of Squad 7. I didn't expect to see you here!"
At this moment, the squad members who had been chasing Orihime finally arrived. Before they could utter any harsh words, they spotted Kōe standing next to her and bowed in unison. "Lord Chōzuka!"
*Rukia's older brother seems to be a very important person.* Orihime looked at the highly respectful crowd around them. It turned out he wasn't the non-combatant she had assumed him to be.
"Looks like you won't be able to just walk away." Kōe ignored the greetings around him, instead patting Orihime on the shoulder. "You still need to regroup with Ichigo and the others to save Rukia, right?"
"Y-Yes."
"You protected me just now, so I'll give you a chance." Kōe slowly walked over to Jirōbō's position, rolling his wrists as he spoke. "Next, I will attack you. If you can block my attack with that technique from just now, everyone here will pass out, and I'll let you leave. How about it, want to give it a try?"
"She's a Ryoka, how can you let her go? Lord Chōzuka!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the surrounding squad members erupted into an uproar. Jirōbō reacted the strongest; the merit that was practically already in his hands was about to vanish, which he absolutely could not accept.
"Mr. Chōzuka, this is Squad 7's guarded area. You have no right to deal with the Ryoka! Moreover, even for you, letting a Ryoka escape is a serious crime!"
"Are you really in a position to dictate what I do?!" Kōe turned his head and glared at Jirōbō. There were plenty of people in the Seireitei who could keep him in check, but this mere 4th Seat was certainly not one of them.
"Are you ready? You only get one chance. If you can't block it, your journey ends here."
Orihime nodded seriously. She could see the difficult position he was in. She had come to Soul Society to protect Ichigo. If she needed someone else's protection just to reach Ichigo's side, then all her special training would have been for nothing.
"Santen Kesshun!"
"Great spirit, not bad," Kōe praised. The very next second, he appeared right in front of Orihime, his right fist slamming heavily onto the light shield. "But spirit alone is far from enough!"
Did shattering light make a sound? If it did, why did it sound like the howling wind?
Orihime only felt her Santen Kesshun flying backward toward her, hitting her body and turning into countless tiny specks of light. Like sparks leaving a bonfire, they swirled once before completely fading into the air.
The raging wind desperately tore at her hair. She tried to raise her hand to block it but found she couldn't—no, rather, there was no need to, because a hand was already blocking right in front of her face.
"What a pity. Your journey ends here."
The shield of protection had been destroyed by a single fist. Would the shield in her heart shatter too? Because of those words? Because of this man?