— — — — — —
A hand suddenly reached out from around the corner, clamping over Ryo's mouth and yanking him back, slamming him into the wall.
Through it all, Ryo didn't resist. He simply turned his eyes toward the person behind him—a girl with long orange hair, nervously peeking out like a curious ostrich.
Orihime Inoue. A teenage girl with a face and figure way beyond her years.
And right now, she had him pinned in a corner, hand still over his mouth.
Their bodies were practically pressed together—his back against her chest.
If the context of the world hadn't been so serious, Ryo might've thought he'd stumbled into some rizz adult scenario.
But nope—just his imagination running wild.
Once she was sure the coast was clear, Orihime finally let out a relieved breath and took her hand away, puffing out her cheeks in frustration.
"Uryu-kun, what were you thinking?! Walking around so casually like that—what if someone saw you?!"
She'd just seen "Uryu Ishida" (or rather, Ryo pretending to be him) strutting through the alley without a care in the world, and it nearly gave her a heart attack.
Didn't he know she had just evaded a Shinigami patrol? They were still nearby!
If Uryu got spotted, wouldn't he end up beaten to death by those meathead Shinigami whose muscles were probably bigger than her entire head?
Uryu-kun is usually more careful than this... Orihime silently grumbled.
"Getting spotted would actually be ideal," Ryo replied with a faint smile. Mimicking Aizen's calm demeanor, he adjusted his glasses and said coolly, "Orihime, don't you realize? The more attention I draw here, the less pressure Ichigo has to face. That raises the chances we can rescue Rukia."
Ichigo Kurosaki. Rukia's rescue.
By name-dropping both the protagonist and their mission, Ryo was betting that Orihime wouldn't suspect a thing.
And just as he predicted, she froze for a second—then quickly bowed her head with a red face.
"S-Sorry, Uryu-kun! I misunderstood. I didn't mean to mess up your plan!"
Ryo adjusted his glasses again, deadpan. "Isn't an apology supposed to show something?"
"Ehhh?" Orihime, still half-bowed, tilted her head in confusion.
Ryo stared at her for a moment... then gave a mischievous grin.
"Just kidding."
"Ah! That was a joke, huh?!" Orihime giggled awkwardly and scratched the back of her head.
Ryo smiled softly as he watched her.
In truth, he had been joking—but it was intentional. He was testing whether breaking character as Uryu would make her suspicious.
And now it was clear—she wasn't the least bit suspicious.
Which meant she probably wasn't that close to Uryu in the first place. At least not enough to notice small differences in his behavior.
That worked in Ryo's favor. He wouldn't need to try too hard to act like Uryu Ishida.
As long as he summoned a spirit bow and moved like a Quincy, no one would question him.
And why could he use a Quincy bow?
Simple.
The reason most Shinigami couldn't use Quincy weapons was their low control over Reishi. But Ryo's control was leagues above Ishida's—so naturally, if Ishida could do it, Ryo could do it better.
In short, there was no risk of being exposed—at least not right now.
With that thought, Ryo calmly adjusted his glasses again and said:
"Well, since that plan's out the window, time for Plan B."
"Plan B?" Orihime blinked, tilting her head.
She knew she wasn't the brightest, so she completely trusted Uryu. He always had the top grades—no way his ideas would lead them wrong!
"Mission: Undercover Espionage," Ryo declared as he reached behind his back—pulling two sets of Shihakushou from his gift card inventory.
"We'll infiltrate the ranks of the Shinigami, figure out where Rukia's being held, and pass the info to Ichigo."
"Whoa! That's genius!" Orihime clapped her hands in sudden awe.
Ryo wasn't surprised. In her eyes, he was Uryu Ishida, and she'd clearly dropped her guard. As long as his ideas didn't sound too dumb, she wouldn't question him.
He handed her one of the uniforms. "Let's not waste time. We need to change out of these obvious outfits."
"Okay!" Without hesitation, Orihime started undressing right in front of him.
For a second, Ryo was speechless.
A few moments later, with most of the uniform on, Orihime was struggling with the last adjustments. She cinched the waist tight, then turned toward him with a puzzled look.
"Uryu-kun? Aren't you gonna change too?"
"…."
Ryo stayed silent for a moment—then realized something.
He'd just gone from being Team Rukia a second ago… to a full-on Orihime stan.
Guess that's just human nature—your values follow your senses.
He changed quickly, then noticed Orihime tugging uncomfortably at her uniform.
"What's wrong?" he asked with a slight frown.
"It's too tight… I can barely breathe!" she complained, clearly struggling.
"That was the biggest size I could find…" Ryo replied, at a bit of a loss.
He'd looted it earlier from a Shinigami's home, specifically grabbing the largest available size.
And still it was tight?
He had no words.
Orihime looked down and sighed. Yup—still couldn't see her feet. Her chest was just that in the way.
"I'm sorry. I can't even wear a uniform properly…"
Ryo gently patted her shoulder, trying to reassure her.
"It's fine. You look good enough."
He then continued, "We'll pretend we got separated from the Fifth Division during a Hollow pursuit and blend in with another squad. Ideally, we'll run into a Captain from the Thirteenth Division."
"Huh? A Captain?" Orihime blinked. "Didn't Yoruichi-san say we should avoid them?"
Yoruichi Shihouin, huh... One of the people resisting Aizen behind the scenes.
Ryo's glasses glinted as he lowered his gaze.
"Orihime, if Rukia is set for execution over a serious crime, then she's probably locked up in some high-security prison. And those places? Only Captains would know how to access them."
"That... makes sense," Orihime said, rubbing the back of her head.
Ryo smiled warmly.
"Also, it's not like I haven't faced a Captain before. And if it's just one of them... I'm pretty sure I can take them."
"Seriously?! Uryu-kun, you're amazing!" Orihime's eyes sparkled in disbelief.
She couldn't believe someone could stand up to one of the terrifying Captains Yoruichi had warned them about.
Seeing her look of admiration, Ryo adjusted his glasses again, flashing a confident smile.
"Stick with me. As long as I'm here, nothing stands in our way."
"Okay!" Orihime nodded eagerly, eyes full of trust.
"Kuhahaha—!!"
"Haha! What did I just hear?! Is this a comedy skit? 'Nothing stands in our way'?! Are you serious right now?!"
Laughter rang out from the shadows around them.
Ryo turned slightly—and spotted a man with a bizarre yin-yang face, wearing a Captain's haori. Standing beside him was a tall, sultry woman with a long ponytail.
Captain of Squad Twelve: Mayuri Kurotsuchi. And his lieutenant: Nemu Kurotsuchi.
Ryo pushed up his glasses, a faint smile on his lips.
Looks like his first experimental subject… had just walked into the trap on his own.
So time to kill a Captain?
.
.
.