Chapter 13: Uryu Ishida's CEO-Style "Runaway Bride" Chase
Unbeknownst to Ichigo Kurosaki, the filming had already begun.
Those little infant angels, despite being a bit dim-witted and incapable of understanding complex behavioral logic, were more than capable of opening screen-recording software and capturing video.
Mo Yu was only a web novel author, but as a failing one, he was constantly plotting an exit strategy. During the rise of the short-video era, he had specifically studied screenwriting, hoping to apply for a job writing scripts for short dramas. He was even hired once, but as the saying goes, "there's no such thing as rock bottom—only a deeper pit." Just as he received his employment notice and took a taxi to the office, he discovered to his horror that the media company had disbanded on the spot because the young partners had escalated a creative disagreement from an argument into a physical brawl.
Mo Yu hadn't been sad, though. The partners had waved their hands and distributed the company's assets to the employees as severance pay. He didn't know about the others, but as a new hire who had been on the clock for less than an hour, Mo Yu happily lugged a laptop home.
If he had to create an anime from scratch, he wouldn't have the skills. But with raw video footage, Mo Yu felt that editing and arranging it wouldn't be a problem—especially since he didn't intend for the first episode to be long or complex.
Ichigo's early scenes were short: just showing his face and establishing the basic setting of a school security guard to pave the way for future scenes. Mo Yu checked in and found that Ichigo was settling into the role well, so he stopped worrying about him.
After turning Grand Fisher into the villain, Mo Yu still had much to do, such as grinding experience to boost Rukia Unit-01's strength and dealing with Uryu Ishida. Naturally, he had no time to linger, so he piloted Rukia to bounce away.
A long time later, Grand Fisher finally woke up. He crawled to his feet and stared blankly at his hands.
"Who am I? Where am I?"
He had forgotten everything that happened before, but he vaguely remembered that his hands weren't supposed to be this weak. However, the confusion quickly dissipated because a man's silhouette emerged in his mind.
A powerful craving, like the prodding of destiny, made Fisher desperately want to possess him. He murmured to himself:
"Uryu Ishida... no matter the cost, I must have you!"
Suppressing that intense desire for a moment, Fisher realized he was naked. With a thought, his skin writhed like a living thing, constructing the appearance of clothes. Driven by instinct, Fisher "remembered" his innate ability: an incomplete flesh disguise. It wasn't strong, but it was very practical.
Then, Fisher "remembered" that he seemed to be a politician—a ruthless man of high status. He mused for a bit, thinking this must be an identity he had assumed using his flesh disguise before, though he had no idea why he had ended up in a state of total amnesia.
Fisher gazed toward a specific part of Karakura Town—a villa community where the wealthy and powerful gathered.
"I'll re-acquire a useful politician identity first, then I'll go look for Uryu Ishida!"
Having made his decision, Fisher embarked on his journey. Naturally, he didn't notice that from a higher dimension, an observer was recording his every move.
Walking out of the school gates, Uryu Ishida pushed up his glasses, a trace of dissatisfaction deep in his eyes.
As a Quincy, Uryu had been tracking Hollows the day before, only to find Ichigo caught in the crossfire. Naturally, he hadn't stood by. Uryu had discovered long ago that while his father was an elite hospital doctor with a cold personality, he was actually good friends with Ichigo's father, the family doctor in the small clinic. They occasionally went out for drinks or fishing after work.
Uryu and Ichigo went to the same school. In a sense, they were family friends. Although Uryu was usually busy training and hunting wandering Hollows, he hadn't talked much with Ichigo until he saw the boy begging a Soul Reaper for power. That was when he stepped in to trigger Ichigo's potential using Quincy methods.
Of course, this was also because Uryu noticed Ichigo had instinctively used Blut Vene (Still Blood Guise)—a unique Quincy skill—during the fight. Only then did Uryu realize why his cold, arrogant father was friends with a loud, brash man like Isshin: the Kurosaki family also carried the Quincy bloodline.
After triggering Ichigo's potential, Uryu gave him some space to adapt—and also because he didn't want to deal with Rukia too much. Today, Uryu had planned to explain the truth of the world to Ichigo: the evil Hollows, the righteous Quincies, and the treacherous, thieving Soul Reapers.
Instead, Ichigo had come to school only to disappear with Rukia shortly after, both taking the afternoon off.
Meeting another Quincy descendant for the first time, and wanting to guide a talented junior for the first time... why did these two "firsts" combine to give him the feeling of being "cuckolded"?
Thinking of this, Uryu—refusing to be the "loser" in this dynamic—snorted coldly and decided to intercept Ichigo at his house.
To hell with that Soul Reaper girl. I, Uryu Ishida, am going to be the most important mentor in Ichigo's life.
As Uryu reached a secluded spot, he suddenly stopped. His gaze turned solemn. A strange, murderous atmosphere began to envelop him.
"A Hollow?" he whispered. Reishi light began to gather on his fingers, but it suddenly stalled. Appearing before him was not a Hollow, but an indescribable... monster!
Despite wearing a girl's school uniform, the figure showed zero feminine traits. The powerful muscles, looking as if they were cast in steel, radiated an overwhelming masculine presence! Most importantly, the person wore a mask.
It was a bone mask with faint ice-blue patterns, seemingly not yet fully formed, its edges writhing like a living creature. Behind the mask, the whites of the eyes were stained with beastly darkness, and the pupils were frantic, blood-red slits.
Uryu had never seen such a creature—colder than a Soul Reaper, more violent than a Hollow. Even without moving, the inhuman aura it radiated made it hard to breathe.
"Who are you?" Uryu barked, raising his hand to manifest his Reishi bow. He received no meaningful reply. The inhuman entity simply opened its mouth, let out a piercing shriek, and its figure blurred.
Time seemed to slow down. By the time Uryu regained his senses, the monster was beside him, unleashing a relentless assault. It was so fast he couldn't even react. Uryu's only choice was to pump Reishi into his blood vessels, activating Blut Vene to boost his defense and tank the hits.
Fists flew like the wind, rocking Uryu back and forth as combo markers like +1 HIT, +2 HIT appeared over his head. Suddenly, the assault stopped. Thinking he saw an opening, Uryu used Hirenkyaku to fly backward. However, a feeling of being locked on filled his heart. He looked closely and saw the monster standing still, charging energy. A mirror, as clear and bright as moonlight, manifested in its palm.
In the next instant, several phantom clones flew out from the monster, overtaking Uryu. A combo even more intense than before swarmed him. Uryu couldn't hold out; he was pinned to the ground and ground into the dirt. As he was being pummeled, he saw the clones pull out strange items—scissors, hair gel, and other oddities—and start "working" on him.
"Wait! Kill me if you want, but don't cut my hair! Don't tear my clothes! AHHHHHHH!"
After a storm of "ravaging," the monster crushed the lunar mirror in its hand, gathered the Reishi light in its palm, and slammed it into the downed Uryu. Then, it pulled a plastic bag full of items from its back, tossed it down, and bounced away.
Uryu was left lying on the ground, his clothes in tatters, tear streaks on his face, and his glasses crushed. He looked completely "broken."
A long time after the monster left, Uryu crawled up. It was only then that he realized despite being frantically combo-ed on the ground for so long, he wasn't injured at all. Instead, he felt a mysterious sense of refreshment, as if he'd received an expert massage. However, as the cold wind blew against his shredded clothes, he shivered. He looked at the plastic bag; inside was a brand-new school uniform and even a new pair of glasses. The style of the uniform and glasses, however, was completely different from his previous ones.
Uryu stood in the wind, utterly bewildered. He had no idea what that mysterious monster was about. It appeared with such ferocity, gave him a "physical one-click outfit change" without a word, and then just left?!
After a more careful check, Uryu was horrified to find that his Quincy powers were actually...
"You're saying you were attacked by a mysterious, savage monster that forced a change of hair and clothes on you, and even sealed your Quincy powers?"
When Ichigo returned home after his shift, he found Uryu and Rukia already waiting for him. Naturally, the first meeting of the "Protagonist Group" began. Uryu explained what happened, and for someone usually calm, he was extremely indignant.
Looking at Uryu's new "Mohawk-style" hair held in place with massive amounts of gel, Ichigo's mouth twitched. He didn't know what to say. Consequently, he didn't notice that when Uryu mentioned the monster, Rukia's gaze shifted around nervously, and her hands on her knees were trembling slightly.
As a newcomer to the supernatural world, Ichigo didn't know if "monsters that force outfit changes" were real. He looked up and asked, "Rukia, do you know what kind of monster that is?"
Rukia's eyes darted around. Like a startled rabbit, she shook her head frantically. "No! No, I didn't do it! I don't know anything!"
Ichigo thought she was acting weird, but didn't dwell on it. He looked up and asked, "Observer, do you know anything about this?"
After a moment, the holy voice came from above:
"I actually do know a thing or two..."
Uryu was startled. After he had messed up the plot the day before, Mo Yu hadn't spoken, so this was Uryu's first time hearing him. He looked around to find the source but failed. He asked Ichigo, "Who is that? Where are they?"
Ichigo shrugged. "I'm not sure. He calls himself an 'Observer.' He showed up yesterday and knows a lot about the past and future. He likes to use that info to bait people into working for him. Judge for yourself how to deal with him. Observer, tell us more about that monster."
Mo Yu said with a slight smile: "In this world, certain entities attempt to manipulate the flow of destiny. At certain times, they bestow power upon agents to carry out their will. Specifically, they make a specific person appear at a specific place, in a specific form, to perform a specific plot. This is what's called 'Destiny.' Well, that's free info. If you want to know more, Uryu Ishida, sign a labor contract with me. Work for me for a while, and I'll tell you everything."
Ichigo was shocked. As a rookie, he hadn't expected such a bizarre existence to be in this world. Uryu had been a Quincy for years, but his experience was limited to Karakura Town. He couldn't tell if the voice was telling the truth and frowned in deep thought. Only Rukia looked as if she wanted to say something but ultimately kept quiet.
Mo Yu continued: "Uryu Ishida, you've been targeted by the 'Controller of Destiny.' You'd better be careful lately. Based on my understanding, that Controller isn't malicious; he just likes to cause chaos. You might experience some harmless but bizarre events soon. But don't worry—even though you've lost your power, Ichigo will protect you."
Ichigo sighed. He felt like his fate had turned weird lately. Rukia gave him her power and lost hers; Uryu triggered his potential and also lost his.
Am I some kind of 'Power Black Hole'? Does everyone who gets close to me lose their power?
Regardless, since Uryu was powerless and in danger, Ichigo couldn't ignore him. He patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, I'll protect you."
Uryu felt touched, thinking his gift of power to Ichigo hadn't been in vain. He then planned to teach Ichigo some Quincy training techniques. Since it wasn't appropriate for Rukia to watch, she excused herself. After leaving the house, Rukia looked up and said:
"Observer! You manipulated me to attack Uryu, and you actually have the nerve to use that to trick him into signing a contract? What are you trying to do?"
Mo Yu laughed. "I already stated my goal. I'm trying to control destiny, making Uryu perform specific plots at specific times and places. Don't worry, I'm not stingy. Every bizarre fate has a reward attached to it. It's not a bad thing for Uryu—just as you, having been controlled by me for a day, have gained quite a lot, haven't you?"
Rukia fell silent. Today, under Mo Yu's control as "Rukia Unit-01," she had ruthlessly suppressed the Hollows of Karakura Town. Not only were the results impressive, but more importantly, the power she had lost was returning.
Though the Hogyoku no longer responded and she couldn't use those powerful finishers, her "Hollow-mutated" body and her growing Soul Reaper strength were very real. She clenched her fists, feeling that she could easily defeat ten of her former self.
In Hueco Mundo, strength is everything; in the Soul Society, the culture was similar. This "reward," though a bit shady, was undeniably generous.
Maybe I can challenge a Captain now, she thought, before quickly suppressing it. Most of this power was "unauthorized," and more importantly, the "Muscle Monster" form she took when fully releasing her power was way too embarrassing.
Rukia returned to Urahara's shop, where she was staying.
Late at night, after Uryu finished teaching Ichigo some basic techniques, he said his goodbyes and left. As he walked down the dimly lit street, a luxury car pulled up behind him.
Recalling Mo Yu's warning, Uryu grew wary. He reached into his pocket and dialed Ichigo's number. At that moment, the car stopped, the door opened, and a "bad guy" with a very distinct look and aura stepped out.
As soon as he got out, the man "Kabedon-ed" Uryu, pinning him against the wall!
"Young man, you've piqued my interest. I am a well-known politician. Come with me, and I'll ensure you never want for anything!"
Uryu's eyes widened. He hadn't expected the "harmless but bizarre event" to manifest like this.
You call this harmless?! This is a massive problem!
"Damn Controller of Destiny, I'll get you for this!"
Despite the rage in his heart, Uryu didn't plan to submit. Even without Reishi, he had his martial arts. Did people think his years of training were for show?
He struck out like the wind, but after a few exchanges, he was caught by the "bad guy" and Kabedon-ed against the wall for a second time. Uryu began to doubt reality.
Are politicians these days all this good at fighting?
With a rrrip, his clothes were torn. Uryu's eyes filled with horror. He gave a massive shove and fled frantically.
"Hehehe! No matter where you run today, I, Fisher, will have you!"
The "bad man" chased after the distorted, terrified Uryu with a sinister grin.
As the saying goes: He chases, he flees, but they are both moths destined for the web of love.
When Ichigo arrived on the scene, this was the abstract picture that met his eyes.
End of Chapter
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