212: Chapter 212 I am her, she is not me

Tuaner's slap, combined with her soul-shaking question, left Kaien Shiba stunned in place.

Isshin Kurosaki tried to drag him away again because the look in Retsu Unohana's eyes when she stared at Kaien Shiba was already slightly off, like a killer looking at an order.

"I can walk on my own!" Kaien Shiba swatted away his uncle's hand and walked out of the 4th Division, looking completely dejected.

Upon reaching the door, he suddenly asked Mia, "Was it you or Tsu who was guarding me that day?"

"It was me, and it was also Tsu." Mia didn't offer him any final despair or comfort. She simply stated the cruel reality.

"My zanpakuto has the ability to devour all things. After eating Aaroniero that day, I obtained the shell of Shihou Tsu that he was wearing, along with her memories, personality, habits—or rather, everything."

Mia continued, "From that moment on, she became a part of me. Inseparable."

She looked up at Retsu Unohana, who looked ready to kill. "Of course, I sealed away some of the unpleasant memories." Mia raised her left hand, which held a pink orb of light with black markings.

Retsu Unohana snatched it away and then crushed the object with her spiritual pressure...

Tuaner also patted her chest and let out a long sigh of relief. Thank goodness, thank goodness...

"So, can I call you Mia, or can I call you Tsu?" Kaien Shiba's refusal to give up made Tuaner start preparing her special move—a few solid punches.

"As you wish. Either way, it's all me. However, I probably won't use her face to appear in public again. When I turn into 3rd Seat Shihou Tsu, it causes pollution to my self-perception..." Mia turned gracefully and walked toward the depths of the 4th Division barracks.

"Isane, I want to take a bath. The sandstorms in Hueco Mundo were too intense... What? Tuaner, you want to join? You should go with Captain Unohana instead..." Mia's voice gradually faded into the distance.

Kaien remained standing there, lost in thought.

Shinji Hirako had kept his mouth shut the entire time, watching the show, but his hands hadn't stopped. He used a recording Kido to capture the whole process, which happened to be a strong suit of his illusion-type zanpakuto.

As he finished recording, Shinji Hirako suddenly tilted his head and thought, what is Aizen doing right now?

... Hueco Mundo, Las Noches.

Aizen was listening to Kaname Tosen report on recent events, including Mia and Shinji Hirako coming to Hueco Mundo to slaughter a wave of Hollows and Arrancar.

"Gin has already left, so you'll have to take on more responsibility. Actually, I quite admired him." Aizen stroked his smooth chin thoughtfully.

"Are you saying that the Hogyoku power inside Nnoitra and Aaroniero was absorbed by Mia, either directly or indirectly?" Aizen's lips curled upward.

"Yes." Kaname Tosen replied concisely.

"Good, go back to your duties, Kaname Tosen." Aizen dismissed him, and Kaname Tosen bowed and left.

The great hall returned to silence. "Heh, my things aren't so easy to take, Ms. Mia..." Aizen muttered to himself.

... Night fell. Mia, still damp from her bath and wearing a loose outer robe, lay lazily on the [engawa] as usual. Outside the wooden corridor was the courtyard; she seemed to be reminiscing about the many little things that used to run around here.

"Sigh, even the smallest one, Toshiro, has become the captain of the 10th Division. No more iced drinks to drink." Tuaner's complaints reached Mia's ears.

"Still complaining? I don't know who it was just now who jumped into my bathwater without a care. Don't you know my bathwater has magical powers? Do you want to die?" Mia began to use Tuaner's head like a wooden fish to tap on.

"I'm your retainer. I tried it a long time ago; I'm basically immune to your pink bathwater." Tuaner refused to submit.

"There's no helping you..." Mia lay back lazily. The starry sky above seemed no different from her hometown's, but it was certainly not the same sky.

"What about later? You seem to have absorbed something incredible now." Tuaner's eyes turned crimson as she observed Mia repeatedly.

"We'll see when we get there." Mia took a sip of the fruit wine in her cup. "Anyway, I won't be the stepmother to a strawberry-head."

"Sister Loran has already distributed a large amount of your bathwater in the Maggot's Nest. It's in high demand." Tuaner's well-intentioned reminder gave Mia a headache.

She had originally thought Rukia would be taken up to the Sokyoku Hill for execution, so she had planned to assemble a suicide squad.

But plans couldn't keep up with changes; Sosuke Aizen exposed himself early. However, Sister Loran had still turned those prisoners into Mia's loyal followers. She even said, "There will always be a time when they are useful."

"I don't even need to calculate to know that Aizen is probably about to arrange for the capture of Inoue Orihime. Because the [Hogyoku] is out of power." Mia rested her head on Tuaner's slender, black-stocking-clad thighs, and the image of the two of them making a scene in the bathroom earlier flashed through her mind, causing her cheeks to flush.

"Should we notify Kurosaki Ichigo?" Tuaner was someone who never minded stirring up trouble.

"Notify me of what?" A strawberry-head with orange hair burst in from outside the courtyard without even knocking.

"Rude!" Tuaner took out [Twin Swallows] and unleashed a "windmill" attack.

A wall of the 9th Division barracks was sliced down by Tuaner. Kurosaki Ichigo barely blocked Tuaner's attack.

"Eh? What are you crazy women doing? The captain of the 9th Division notified me to come!!" Kurosaki Ichigo thought that while this woman was truly beautiful, she was also truly crazy.

"Stop, Tuaner. I asked him to come." Mia felt heartbroken over the funds for renovating the outer wall. That money could have bought several hot pot meals for all the villains of the 11th Division and the rough men of the 9th Division.

"Tch, loser, can't even beat me." Tuaner didn't know who she was angry with, but she turned and stomped off to the back of the barracks.

"Are you insane?!" Kurosaki Ichigo felt that just now, his head had almost been cut off by Tuaner's wheel blades.

"Student Kurosaki Ichigo, your childhood friend Inoue Orihime has been targeted by Sosuke Aizen. It is estimated that the personnel sent to capture her have already departed from Hueco Mundo." Mia's charm gave her words even more persuasive power.

"Alright, thanks for the heads up!" Kurosaki Ichigo replied and stood there hesitating for a moment, seemingly wanting to say something.

"Speak, what do you want to ask?" Mia tilted her head, a playful smile climbing onto her cheeks.

"Are you really my sister-in-law?" Kurosaki Ichigo's straightforwardness was famous.

"Shihou Tsu is a part of me, but I will not fulfill her obligations. Is that answer satisfactory?" Mia was already a bit tired of this question.

"Uh, sorry, Kaien-nii asked me to ask. I'm going to protect Inoue Orihime now, farewell, Captain Mia." After saying that, the strawberry-head remembered something, his face turning bright red as he fled from the 9th Division like a bolt of lightning.

When Kurosaki Ichigo returned to the real world, he happened to catch Ulquiorra bringing Yammy to commit robbery.

He activated Bankai, and then Ichigo was swatted to the ground. He then activated Hollowfication, but couldn't look cool for more than three seconds. After cutting off Yammy's arm and opening a large "skylight" on his body from shoulder to rib, he was swatted to the ground again due to White Ichigo's agitation. He performed just a little bit better than in the original work.

This time he fainted directly. Later, he only survived thanks to the help of Kisuke Urahara, who was packing his bags and preparing to go to the Soul Society to take up the post of Chief of Staff at the General Staff Headquarters.

As for Inoue Orihime, she was naturally kidnapped...