Chapter 385: BSUS Chapter 388: A Heavy Cry for Help

The half of Karakura Town that had been lost seemed frozen in time, though if it truly were frozen, perhaps that would be a good thing.

It was over a day later when Ichigo finally woke up. Propping himself up with his hands, he sat up and looked around. It was a simple stone room; he couldn’t tell if he was underground beneath Urahara’s place or at the Visoreds’ base.

“You’re awake, Kurosaki.”

“Inoue, huh.” Ichigo shook his head, trying to clear his mind. “Where are we?”

“We’re underground at Urahara’s place. You’ve been unconscious for almost two days.”

Ichigo failed to notice the deep anxiety hidden beneath Inoue’s concern, assuming she was merely worried about his physical condition. “Don’t worry, Inoue. My body is completely fine now.” To prove his point, he deliberately flexed his arm as if showing off his muscles.

“You still need to be careful.”

“No need to be so tense, Inoue,” Ichigo said, waving a hand dismissively before pressing on. “What happened to those Arrancar? Is everyone okay!?”

“Y-Yeah, everyone is fine. Hirako, Urahara, and the others drove the Arrancar back. Y-You don’t need to worry, Kurosaki.”

“Thank goodness for them. I didn’t end up being much help this time,” Ichigo muttered, chiding himself. He then swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stood up, his face once again brimming with fighting spirit.

He was well aware of the gap between himself, the Espada-level Arrancar, and people like Hirako. However, he would no longer blame himself or lose his way because of it. Even though he had only managed to suppress Grimmjow for a mere eleven seconds, he had realized that the gap wasn’t insurmountable. He could still get stronger.

“You shouldn’t be moving around yet, Kurosaki!”

“I’m already fine. Besides, I need to hurry up and train.” Ichigo patted Inoue’s shoulder reassuringly. “Don’t worry. I won’t doubt myself anymore, and I definitely won’t let myself be weak, Inoue.”

“You can’t go outside right now! I-I mean, Urahara said you need to rest!”

Even though she quickly corrected herself, her panic finally caught Ichigo’s attention. It seemed Inoue’s earlier anxiety hadn’t just been for his sake alone.

“Did something happen to Chad!? Or Ishida! How are Karin and Yuzu? What exactly is going on outside, Inoue!”

“N-No, nothing happened,” Inoue hastily denied. But Ichigo clearly didn’t believe her, brushing right past her and heading for the exit.

“Ichigo, you can’t go out yet, Ichigo!”

The others scattered throughout the cavern noticed the commotion as well. Just as Ichigo reached the bottom of the ladder leading up, a group surrounded him. Renji stood at the forefront, looking rather grim.

“Are you going to stop me too?”

Renji forced a smile. “Your body isn’t ready for you to keep training…” He hesitated for a moment before dropping the excuses entirely. “You can’t leave without Urahara’s orders. Don’t make this hard on us, Ichigo.”

The ominous feeling in his chest was practically overflowing. Ignoring the blockade in front of him, Ichigo pushed forward to leave. Seeing this, Renji reached out to grab him. Suddenly, a mask adorned with red stripes and a bared, sinister grin materialized over Ichigo’s face. His entire aura shifted instantly, turning him into something akin to a rampaging beast.

Moving faster despite reacting later, Ichigo easily shoved Renji aside before the Shinigami could even lay a hand on him.

Seeing the situation turning sour, Matsumoto, Ikkaku, and the others immediately closed in. But Ichigo was a step faster, darting up the long ladder and bursting out of the underground cavern.

Through the windows, the sky was somewhat dim; the sun had likely just set. Yet, the Urahara Shop was terrifyingly quiet.

There was no sound from Jinta, Ururu, or Tessai. Normally at this hour, they would be eating dinner and roughhousing.

Ichigo’s ominous premonition had been validated. He was absolutely certain something had happened outside. Even in such a dead-silent room, he couldn’t hear a single noise from the outside world.

His pursuers were closing in from behind, but Ichigo had already forgotten their existence. Even using Shunpo felt too slow for the short distance. As he reached the entryway, the sliding door opened on its own.

“Urahara?”

The person at the door was indeed Urahara. Were it not for his empty hands, his leisurely demeanor would make him look like an ordinary man just returning from a grocery run.

“You’re awake, Ichigo. It looks like your body is fully recovered as well.”

“Ichigo, you bastard, get back down there with us right now!”

Renji and the others swarmed up behind him. Urahara looked bewildered, asking uncertainly, “Are you all playing tag in my house?”

“Urahara, what exactly happened outside? Is everyone okay?”

“If you mean Chad and Ishida, as well as Hirako and your family, they are all perfectly fine. There were no casualties among them,” Urahara said calmly, before his tone shifted. “However, something did indeed happen outside…”

Ichigo’s brows instantly furrowed into a tight knot. Behind him, Renji and the others voiced their warnings, knowing this revelation might deeply affect Ichigo.

Urahara raised a hand to signal that he understood. Staring directly into Ichigo’s eyes, he continued, “Since you all have already let him catch on, how can you possibly stop him now? As for what happened… come with me, Ichigo.”

The group said no more. Stepping onto invisible stairs, they followed Urahara up into the sky above Karakura Town.

The grayish-blue sky overhead gradually darkened. This was the time when thousands of homes should be lighting up, a time to wash away the day’s fatigue and worries with family. Yet, the city below seemed to have fallen asleep early; not a single house had its lights on.

The city unrolled before his eyes like a scrolling painting, but a profound sense of unfamiliarity welled up in Ichigo’s heart. This didn’t look like the city he lived in.

Finally, the scroll reached its limit, stopping where it shouldn’t have. One step further was a bottomless abyss. Just standing there was enough to make one’s legs go weak.

Tessai, Jinta, Ururu, and a group of people Ichigo had never seen before were currently busy at the edge of that pitch-black, bottomless pit, seemingly painting or drawing something.

But in his memory, that place wasn’t like this. That area was supposed to hold their school, the park, and Tatsuki’s house should have been there too.

*’The Ōken requires two materials: one hundred thousand souls, and the Jūreichi, which is Karakura Town.’*

Inoue’s past words suddenly surfaced in his mind. Ichigo whipped his head toward Urahara, who seemed to have already anticipated his thoughts. “The missing half of Karakura Town hasn’t been forged into the Ōken yet, you don’t need to doubt that. Of course, your assumption is correct. That half of the city was taken by Aizen, and it is currently in Hueco Mundo.”

“Then the people…”

“Including the residents there, yes. They were all transferred into Hueco Mundo by Aizen. We cannot guarantee that they are safe.”

The fierce wind blowing from below carried a sound like wailing. In Ichigo’s ears, it sounded as though countless people were crying out for help through their tears, shaking him to his very core.

It was so heavy, it left him breathless.