[TIMESKIP – ONE WEEK LATER]
As you can tell, Sora didn't stay much afterward. Ichigo did get his brand-new Zanpakuto though. News of the Tsunayashiro family did occur—apparently, in his clash with Aizen, some of his projectiles hit the middle of their mansion.
It was purely an accident. Due to a crack in the royal palace, the arrow managed to slip through, and in a small crack in the Seireitei Membrane—somehow, some way—was at the perfect spot for the projectile to go through.
One of the drunk guards at the Tsunayashiro family accidentally turned off their defense for a millisecond before immediately turning it back on.
Unfortunately, in that small time frame, the arrow managed to slip through. Sad. So sad.
And Sora couldn't be convicted of shit. There was no proof he did such a thing, and even if the arrow could be traced to him—which it couldn't—it was made of ambient Reishi in the royal palace with no trace of Sora's Reiryoku anywhere on it.
So yes, they just got hit with a stray. They're all dead now. So sad.
He would have mourned their deaths... if he felt like it.
Anyway, once shit was done, Sora dipped.
"I'm not missing my TV show for some boring post-war paperwork," he announced to absolutely no one, already halfway into a Senkaimon portal. He blew a playful kiss toward Rukia on the way out, who blinked in confusion.
"...TV show?" she muttered. "What show?"
She'd never know.
"Call me when you're stopping by, Rukia-chan," he said with a smile.
"See ya later, brother-in-law." That was to Byakuya.
"And be honest with your goddamn words." That was to Gin.
Anyway, as much as the captains didn't want to—didn't believe Gin should rejoin—they couldn't defy the Soul King's order. Plus, with Ichibē saying it was the Soul King's will and revealing Gin's innocence, he could join.
Though the second that was said, a Sora clone who was there would appear and say very loudly that he liked Rangiku, before giving Gin a smile and vanishing.
So yeah, there was that.
[SCENE – HUMAN WORLD | ISHIDA HOUSEHOLD]
The front door creaked open quietly. Too quietly.
Inside, Ryuken Ishida—stoic Quincy, surgeon, emotional vacuum—stood in his pristine living room, wearing gloves and holding a duster like it was an actual weapon of precision.
He did not expect what came next.
"PAPAAAAA~!!"
THWUMP.
A blur of chaos slammed into his back like a missile, nearly knocking him flat. The duster went flying. Ryuken staggered forward, now carrying a 16-year-old maniac on his back. Said maniac was currently braiding his hair and laughing like he'd just won the lottery.
"...What... is this?" Ryuken said, already regretting everything. Sora was acting more... like Sora than usual.
Something was off. What was this boy scheming? At his young age, even Ryuken knew of this boy's very scheming ways.
Sora was very innocent—he'd rather not put that on anyone's soul.
"You never called," Sora sniffed dramatically, nuzzling his cheek against the back of Ryuken's head. "I missed so many father-son baseball games. Where were you when I needed you?"
"Sora... you are acting too giddy. Did you eat too much sugar again?" That focus on the again part said a lot about Sora's character. He didn't care though.
"You're being distant again, Dad. That's just like you."
Footsteps approached from the hall.
Uryu stood there, arms crossed, eyebrow twitching as he watched Sora practically coiled around his father like an affectionate snake.
"...What is happening."
"Oh! Bro!" Sora beamed, raising one hand in a peace sign while still dangling from Ryuken's back like a stubborn backpack. "Turns out we're related! Biological, even! Half-brothers or cousins—I'll let the fanfic reader decide!"
Heh. The fuck was he referring to? Was Sora high?
What could he possibly be talking about?
"Please let this be a joke," Uryu muttered flatly, shooting Ryuken a desperate look.
Ryuken, still straight-faced despite the chaos riding his spinal column, closed his eyes and muttered, "He... is not lying."
Sora grinned wider and grabbed Uryu by the shoulders, pulling him into a totally one-sided bro-hug.
"You hear that? We're family now!" he said giddily, eyes sparkling. "I always wanted a cousin who looked like he was permanently stuck in a library. This is perfect!"
Uryu, pinned in the hug and emotionally malfunctioning, let out a soft, broken sigh.
"...Why is it always me."
Sora had a big-ass smile on his face.
"Oh, by the way, for the next six months, I won't have access to my Quincy abilities."
...
...
Heh.
Ryuken's brows furrowed a bit.
Did Sora use that technique?
"No, I didn't use it, but for me to use the move that ended off Aizen, I had to say goodbye to those powers for six months."
"Is that why I can't sense you?" Uryu asked, not sensing the trap he was walking into.
"Oh no, you can't sense me because I am stronger than you. Like, by a lot. So no, say goodbye to your hopes of being stronger than me, even on a technicality."
...
Wow.
So it's like that.
"So, I presume that six months is the amount of time it will take for your adaptation to adjust to your current sense," Ryuken added, to which Sora nodded.
"So, to sum it up—I am still strong as shit, I just can't do Quincy stuff. I'm more of a Shinigami right now than a Quincy." Sora sighed a bit, sad.
A/N